back to indexBerean Community Church 6/9/24
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In a dry and weary land where there is no water. 00:03:18.160 |
Because your loving kindness is better than life, 00:03:24.560 |
and praise him for his loving kindness together. 00:07:01.920 |
Let me get to a few announcements before we get started. 00:07:08.760 |
And so our children's department and the children, 00:07:11.920 |
they have snacks and milk tea and various things 00:07:14.420 |
that are prepared for the fathers next Sunday. 00:07:19.380 |
So whether you are here or you're gonna bring a father 00:07:22.280 |
to the service, make sure you visit that again 00:07:29.480 |
So this is an eight-week course starting from about 9.30 00:07:46.080 |
And so if you wanna become a member of the church, 00:07:48.980 |
And the beginning of that is going to be on July 7th. 00:07:54.720 |
So if you're planning to take it, please do that. 00:08:01.760 |
but the other side where the youth group meets, 00:08:04.320 |
that's where the membership class takes place. 00:08:07.280 |
And that's what that, it'll begin on July 7th. 00:08:15.840 |
and I know if you're new to the church and you say, 00:08:20.760 |
When we actually gather, there's actually quite a few of us. 00:08:26.360 |
but on July 14th at 1 p.m. after the third service, 00:08:31.480 |
that's gonna be taking place at a local park. 00:08:36.880 |
and it can be a casual time to meet other people 00:08:41.520 |
Please come join us for that on July 14th, okay? 00:08:59.220 |
that you can visit on the way out, all right? 00:09:05.000 |
Father, we thank you so much for your love and kindness 00:09:18.240 |
that we may focus our full attention on Christ, 00:09:24.200 |
that we would apply all that you have to teach us. 00:09:37.440 |
May it be multiplied for the sake of your kingdom. 00:10:17.700 |
and take a moment to say hello to those around you, 00:11:12.480 |
♪ Whose love is mighty and so much stronger ♪ 00:11:17.240 |
♪ The King of glory, the King above all kings ♪ 00:11:22.240 |
♪ Who shakes the whole earth with holy thunder ♪ 00:11:31.680 |
♪ Who leaves us breathless and all in wonder ♪ 00:11:36.440 |
♪ The King of glory, the King above all kings ♪ 00:12:33.880 |
♪ Who brings the orphan, a son and daughter ♪ 00:12:43.480 |
♪ Who rules the nations with truth and justice ♪ 00:12:48.220 |
♪ Shines like the sun in all of its brilliance ♪ 00:12:53.080 |
♪ The King of glory, the King above all kings ♪ 00:13:45.580 |
♪ Worthy is the King who conquered the grave ♪ 00:13:55.080 |
♪ Worthy is the King who conquered the grave ♪ 00:14:04.420 |
♪ Worthy is the King who conquered the grave ♪ 00:19:40.720 |
- Hello, my name is Joshua Yoo, and this is my testimony. 00:19:49.420 |
In other words, I was not a Christian at all. 00:19:53.220 |
I only pretended to be a stereotypical nice Christian boy 00:19:58.120 |
but every single second I got outside of church, 00:20:01.020 |
I spent all my time constantly lying, bullying, stealing, 00:20:17.320 |
I only claimed, I constantly claimed to be a Christian, 00:20:31.820 |
And I wanted others to think that I was cool and strong. 00:20:41.020 |
And worst of all, I got exactly what I wanted. 00:20:50.020 |
where I regularly got to meet with celebrities 00:21:03.220 |
and a lot of other people would come up to me 00:21:13.920 |
and I even benefited from having a somewhat social status. 00:21:18.620 |
But all of this, it never fulfilled me at all. 00:21:22.320 |
I was still extremely empty and broken inside. 00:21:32.920 |
and I realized I was just chasing empty pursuits. 00:21:44.320 |
and more alone than I ever had in my whole life. 00:21:51.420 |
I lost everything that I believed was rightfully mine. 00:22:03.820 |
because I really had nothing else to do with my life. 00:22:15.920 |
everyone was so accepting of who I am as a person, 00:22:26.520 |
Why do they even care about a terrible person such as myself? 00:22:32.320 |
And I found all these people to be very intriguing, 00:22:41.020 |
Now, the only reason why I kept coming out to church 00:22:48.520 |
but because I just happened to like the people that I met here. 00:22:54.720 |
and very different reasons for me coming to church. 00:23:04.320 |
the more I realized my own brokenness and emptiness. 00:23:07.420 |
God opened my eyes to all of my own destructive habits 00:23:18.120 |
my own sinful actions that I committed every single day. 00:23:39.620 |
And why should I even trust the Bible at all? 00:23:42.320 |
Why do I even need to follow a thing the Bible says? 00:23:50.420 |
Reading this book was so challenging and brutal. 00:23:58.620 |
I felt like the Bible attacked my way of life, 00:24:01.320 |
and it told me that what I wanted was inherently wrong. 00:24:07.920 |
and helpful guidance from everyone around me, 00:24:10.320 |
I came to the realization that God is indeed real, 00:24:17.220 |
Then I had to ask myself a series of very important questions. 00:24:20.820 |
If I truly believe in a God that is all-powerful, 00:24:27.320 |
does His commands need to change to fit my lifestyle, 00:24:30.120 |
or do I need to change my lifestyle to fit His commands? 00:24:33.320 |
Who is more right, God's way or my own desires? 00:24:40.220 |
that just because I did not like the truth gave me no right. 00:24:46.420 |
it does not give me the right to reject the truth. 00:24:58.420 |
I believe the Bible is true. I believe God is real. 00:25:05.520 |
I accept God as the highest level of authority in my life. 00:25:09.620 |
I am saved. I stand here today because I placed my faith in God. 00:25:16.920 |
Joshua, do you understand when you're going to the water, 00:26:07.420 |
If you can turn your Bible with me to Luke chapter 8, verses 19 to 21. 00:26:30.220 |
and they were unable to get to him because of the crowd. 00:26:35.320 |
'Your mother and your brothers are standing outside wishing to see you.' 00:26:40.620 |
'My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.'" 00:26:53.020 |
Help us, Lord God, to be more than just mere hearers, 00:27:00.320 |
How many of you have heard of the name Katelyn Clark recently? 00:27:05.420 |
Okay. I'm assuming if you will, when any kind of social media, 00:27:10.720 |
I mean, she's been the probably number one news that's been going on. 00:27:14.120 |
And recently she broke the attendance record that matched the NBA Finals, 00:27:23.720 |
And obviously she's been on the news about how she's breaking all the records. 00:27:31.420 |
But along with that, there's a lot of criticism, a lot of jealousy, 00:27:37.320 |
So that's also become a big part of the media. 00:27:39.320 |
So if you've been watching, you know the discussion that's going on. 00:27:42.720 |
And the reason why I'm bringing up her name is because the crowd that is following Jesus is growing. 00:27:48.220 |
And what's interesting is it was hard for me not to kind of relate to what's going on. 00:27:51.920 |
Not that Katelyn Clark is any kind of messiah, right, but she is changing the WNBA. 00:27:57.520 |
Because there's been so much talk about how people are not watching, 00:28:02.620 |
And all of a sudden this one girl shows up and she's breaking all the records, 00:28:07.020 |
and the attendance is going through the roof. 00:28:09.320 |
But along with that, the same people who've been complaining about how they're not being paid enough, 00:28:14.520 |
and people are not watching, a lot of them are the ones who are criticizing and making it difficult for her, right? 00:28:21.220 |
Again, my point is not talking about Katelyn Clark this morning, right? 00:28:25.120 |
But the text that we're looking at says the crowd around Jesus is growing so large 00:28:30.820 |
that they're having a hard time containing them, and it's still in the process of growing. 00:28:35.420 |
And people have been waiting for the messiah for hundreds of years, 00:28:40.020 |
telling each other that no matter how difficult it is, when the messiah comes, he's going to fix everything. 00:28:45.120 |
But now that the messiah has shown up and he's giving all the evidence of a genuine messiah, 00:28:49.920 |
the same people who've been teaching them that the messiah is coming is slowly beginning to turn against him. 00:28:56.020 |
Jealousy. And eventually their jealousy is going to grow to the point where they're going to turn him in, 00:29:03.520 |
Well, the text tells us that this crowd was so large that his own family members couldn't get to him. 00:29:09.520 |
And what he says in this text, on the surface, looks very insensitive. 00:29:15.120 |
Can you imagine if Caitlin Clark is playing, and you have 20,000 people coming, 00:29:19.420 |
and the officials or the attendants are coming, and they say, 00:29:23.820 |
"Hey, Caitlin, your mom and your brothers are outside, and they can't get to you because the crowd is too large." 00:29:28.520 |
And then Caitlin turns around and says, "These are my brothers. That's my mother from this point on." 00:29:35.520 |
So if you read that from the surface, and you don't really ask the question, 00:29:38.920 |
or you may look at that and say, "Oh, Jesus really doesn't care about his mom, right? 00:29:43.320 |
He doesn't really care about his sisters." It sounds very insensitive 00:29:46.920 |
if you don't understand the context of what he is saying and why he's saying this. 00:29:53.020 |
There's two points that I want to make from this text to help us to understand what's going on 00:30:01.620 |
Okay, so actually there's four points, actually three points, okay? 00:30:05.520 |
So the first thing that we need to understand is Jesus is declaring to us absolute allegiance to God first. 00:30:12.620 |
Absolute allegiance to God first. On the surface, again, it may sound very insensitive. 00:30:18.220 |
In fact, if you understand the context in Jesus' speaking, 00:30:22.320 |
I think it will help us, and initially it would make it even worse, right? 00:30:27.920 |
You know what's really interesting about the Bible is the Bible is written in two very distinct cultures. 00:30:33.720 |
You have the Old Testament, the Hebrew culture, by tradition was an Asian culture. 00:30:39.920 |
It's very honorific where you honor your grandparents and great-grandparents. 00:30:45.920 |
In fact, the typical Jewish home had three generations. 00:30:50.120 |
You had grandparents, the parents, and the children. That was very typical. 00:30:54.020 |
And so that unit, when they said family, like today when you say family, 00:31:00.120 |
But in the Jewish home, it was mom, dad, grandparents, grandmother, and their children, 00:31:05.220 |
and they stayed together as long as possible. 00:31:06.920 |
In fact, even in the United States, it was probably that structure until not that long ago, 00:31:15.320 |
So family, in this tradition, meant everything. 00:31:18.920 |
In fact, if you read the Old Testament, whenever a character is introduced, 00:31:23.420 |
they would not only tell them who they are, they would tell them who their parents are. 00:31:28.020 |
In Zephaniah 1.1, it said, "The word of the Lord came to Zephaniah, son of Cushi, 00:31:32.220 |
son of Gedaliah, son of Amoriah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah, son of Ammon, king of Judah." 00:31:39.020 |
Imagine today, if we're introducing something and say, 00:31:41.820 |
"I'm the son of Charles, the son of Jack, the son of John, the son of this," right? 00:31:46.920 |
And they say, "Well, why are you saying all of that?" 00:31:53.720 |
And it's a very Asian culture. Even the language itself is very Asian. 00:31:57.920 |
So if you look at the Asian culture, their language isn't very precise. 00:32:05.620 |
And so if you read poetry or you read narratives, you get the sense of how they felt, right? 00:32:13.220 |
But if you wanted to write a legal document, you need a precise language, 00:32:17.420 |
the tense and what it relates to, and that's the Greek. 00:32:22.720 |
So Hebrew is great at writing poetry and narratives, 00:32:26.620 |
and Greek is much better and precise in writing documents. 00:32:32.320 |
And it makes so much sense because when you go to the New Testament, 00:32:35.120 |
they're writing very specific doctrinal statements that describe for us in detail 00:32:41.020 |
God's holiness and his relationship and atonement and what that means to the church, 00:32:45.120 |
the future coming of Christ, our relationship, how we got saved. 00:32:48.920 |
And so all of these things are written in very descriptive language to write a legal document. 00:32:59.220 |
The Old Testament written in Hebrew where so much of it is poetry. 00:33:02.820 |
When you read the narratives, when you read the poetry, 00:33:06.220 |
you get the sense of how God feels, what the people are feeling. 00:33:10.920 |
So I would say generally speaking, that's probably the distinction that I felt. 00:33:16.420 |
Being an Asian American, that there is a very strong distinction 00:33:20.820 |
between the Asian culture and the Western culture. 00:33:23.120 |
The Western culture prides itself of being independent. 00:33:29.920 |
But in the Asian culture, independence isn't considered mature. 00:33:35.320 |
In the Asian culture, until you acknowledge your parents and grandparents, 00:33:39.920 |
until you're mature enough to be able to recognize your heritage, 00:33:47.620 |
So Jesus is speaking to a culture that is Asian by nature, 00:33:53.320 |
but it's beginning to transition to the Western culture. 00:33:55.720 |
So Jesus' time that the Jews were very Asian American, 00:34:01.320 |
which many of us have the advantage of understanding. 00:34:07.320 |
where the Greeks and the Romans are beginning to influence the younger generation. 00:34:12.020 |
And even the language is being changed to Aramaic, to Greek. 00:34:16.920 |
But then the older tradition comes from a very Asian, honorific parent generation. 00:34:23.820 |
Now, all of this I'm saying to you as a background, so you can understand. 00:34:27.720 |
And I think again, many of you may understand. 00:34:31.720 |
Jesus himself was in a very unique situation, 00:34:34.720 |
because we don't hear about Joseph after Jesus' childhood. 00:34:39.120 |
So most scholars believe that Joseph probably died when Jesus was young, 00:34:44.920 |
And so as a result of that, being the firstborn, 00:34:47.620 |
he was the breadwinner, he had to take care of the family. 00:34:51.120 |
So his position in this family wasn't just a child and a mother. 00:34:56.920 |
Now, considering all of that, considering he's come from Asian culture, 00:35:02.020 |
where he is expected to take care of his brothers and his mom, 00:35:05.720 |
who's been widowed, to say what he says here is beyond insensitive. 00:35:16.120 |
And we're talking about this a week before Father's Day. 00:35:20.920 |
So understand that that's the context in which it would have been. 00:35:23.820 |
What Jesus is saying to a first-century Jew would have been very shocking. 00:35:30.120 |
Even if it is shocking for us today, it would have been very shocking 00:35:32.620 |
for the first generation, for that generation. 00:35:38.120 |
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth, 00:35:40.020 |
but I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 00:35:43.920 |
For I came to set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother 00:35:47.220 |
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, 00:35:49.820 |
and man's enemies will be the members of his household. 00:35:52.920 |
He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, 00:35:56.620 |
and he who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." 00:36:01.620 |
Now, again, in a Western culture, you may look at that and say, 00:36:04.220 |
"Well, I don't have a problem with this, right? 00:36:08.920 |
I've had problems with my parents anyway, right?" 00:36:11.420 |
In a Western culture, you're independent, you pay your own bills, you're an adult. 00:36:16.020 |
You say this in an Asian culture, in that particular generation, say, 00:36:19.020 |
"If you love your mother and father more than me, 00:36:20.820 |
your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of me." 00:36:24.820 |
This is a shocking statement that Jesus is saying. 00:36:29.420 |
"He who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. 00:36:36.420 |
and he who has lost his life for my sake will find it." 00:36:40.520 |
Now, we look at this text, and we know that passage well about lordship. 00:36:46.520 |
"He who does not deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me cannot be my disciple." 00:36:52.420 |
But understand that that lordship text is stated after talking about 00:37:02.920 |
the relationship with mother and father and to their children. 00:37:08.020 |
So in the context, when he says, "You need to pick up your cross," 00:37:11.120 |
in the Western culture, we think, "You know what? I had this desire to become rich. 00:37:15.520 |
I had this desire to have a big house. I had this desire. 00:37:18.920 |
So I'm going to pick up my cross and deny myself." 00:37:22.720 |
To a first-century Jew who was loyal to his heritage, 00:37:29.120 |
his greatest temptation was to his parents and his own children. 00:37:36.820 |
And in the context in which Jesus is speaking, 00:37:39.720 |
he's talking to an Asian good son, a daughter who has made their life plan, 00:37:48.920 |
life goal, first and foremost, to be a good son, to be a good daughter. 00:37:55.820 |
He says, "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for my sake will find it." 00:38:02.620 |
So first thing that he's trying to teach his disciples and the crowds that are coming 00:38:06.920 |
is the supremacy of Christ, supremacy of God over all things. 00:38:12.620 |
If you've ever traveled or if you've been actively trying to evangelize, 00:38:16.420 |
one of the most common obstacles that you will face is loyalty to their family. 00:38:24.020 |
In Japan, part of the reason why it's so hard to penetrate this country with the gospel 00:38:32.020 |
is because their social ties to their family is so tight. 00:38:36.420 |
By culture, they're not allowed to break out of what's acceptable. 00:38:42.020 |
You may have heard this, the common saying in Japan is, "The nail that sticks out gets hammered first." 00:38:49.320 |
So they don't like to break out of tradition. 00:38:52.820 |
And so what's the most common objection to following Christ is, 00:38:57.620 |
"If I make this decision, I will be shunned by my family. 00:39:03.020 |
My father and my mother, my brothers and my sister, they will reject me. 00:39:07.920 |
And if I do something to get rejected by them, they will be rejected by my grandparents." 00:39:14.820 |
I've seen this over and over again, people who come from the Middle East, even in our culture. 00:39:23.220 |
We have people who come and say, "I believe all of this, but I cannot make the final decision. 00:39:26.920 |
I can come to Christ, I can do this, but I can't be baptized. 00:39:31.120 |
My parents will allow me to go to church, but they won't allow me to be baptized 00:39:34.520 |
because baptism means that you're just becoming a new person and we will not allow that." 00:39:39.720 |
And so oftentimes we have to talk to people what Christ says here. 00:39:50.420 |
In India, so much of the opposition toward the gospel is that they will be shunned by their family, 00:39:57.720 |
and then ultimately by the village, and then ultimately by the whole culture. 00:40:02.120 |
And so Christ knew, not only his disciples, but the people who are following him in that culture, 00:40:08.320 |
one of their biggest stumbling blocks is going to come from their own family. 00:40:14.420 |
And Jesus is preparing his disciples for what is inevitably going to come. 00:40:21.220 |
When we think about peace and safety in our generation, we think that if I follow Christ, 00:40:28.220 |
and if I'm obedient, if I'm active at church, that God's going to answer my prayers, 00:40:32.420 |
he's going to bless my family, we're going to have good health, 00:40:35.620 |
my children are going to be taken care of, we're going to live a long life if I'm a good Christian. 00:40:42.620 |
As long as I'm good, I'm a good father or a good mother, 00:40:46.120 |
and I take care of my children, that all of these things are going to be good. 00:40:52.020 |
But the text that we're looking at, Jesus says, he goes even further than that. 00:40:56.120 |
In Luke chapter 14, he says, "He who does not hate his father and mother and wife more than me cannot be my disciple." 00:41:04.420 |
The reason why Jesus is saying this is that the only way, one, that they're going to persevere 00:41:13.820 |
When God said, "Thou shalt worship no other gods before me," that includes your mom and dad and your children. 00:41:21.820 |
That includes your mom and dad and your children, your husband, your wife. 00:41:26.120 |
And the reason why is the only way that a child or mom or dad can be saved is God. 00:41:32.420 |
The power is not in you, the power is not in me, it's in God. 00:41:35.820 |
So unless Christ is supreme, he cannot demonstrate his power. 00:41:43.420 |
Anybody who's been on a plane for any period of time, like even once, 00:41:47.620 |
every single flight, even a 40-minute flight, that you're going somewhere nearby, 00:41:52.920 |
they always will start by telling you, "We're going to give this presentation." 00:41:57.320 |
And what's the first thing that they tell you? 00:41:58.820 |
If something happens, that oxygen mask falls down, and what do they tell you? 00:42:07.520 |
They said, "When that thing comes down, don't worry about your kids. 00:42:12.520 |
Don't worry about if you have aging parents that they can't reach this. 00:42:18.420 |
Now, how many of you, when you hear that, say, "That is not right. 00:42:34.520 |
Because if you don't put it on, and you might be the adult, you might be the healthy one, 00:42:45.620 |
Make sure you're good so that you can take care of the others." 00:42:52.520 |
So when Jesus says, "My mother and father, my brothers, sisters," 00:43:01.620 |
he knows the greatest temptation, in particular this culture, 00:43:08.220 |
is our loyalty to the people that we care about and love, 00:43:12.820 |
that we can come this much, but we can't go further than that, 00:43:15.520 |
because I love my mom, I love my dad, I love my children. 00:43:19.820 |
Plenty of people who are genuine followers of Christ 00:43:24.120 |
come all the way to the point and say, "I can sacrifice, but not my children. 00:43:29.020 |
I can do this. Whatever you ask of me, I will do, but not my kids, not my wife." 00:43:35.520 |
And as a result of that, we harden our hearts toward an area of our life. 00:43:40.420 |
"I will open every other door, but except this door," 00:43:43.620 |
not realizing that that door closes all the other doors. 00:43:49.120 |
And the Scripture says that you have become hard of hearing, 00:43:52.720 |
and the reason why is because the Word of God no longer penetrates, 00:44:00.620 |
Or somehow we've convinced ourselves that obeying God means to be a good mother, 00:44:07.220 |
Obeying God means to be a good father, and that's it. 00:44:09.220 |
As long as I'm a good husband, as long as happy wife, happy life. 00:44:20.720 |
If your wife is happy because you're living in compromise, 00:44:28.020 |
Jesus knew that the greatest temptation for his disciples 00:44:32.120 |
was not going to come from the Pharisees, was not going to come from materialism. 00:44:40.220 |
Luke 9, 59-62, and he said to Jesus, talking about discipleship, he says, 00:44:45.420 |
"Follow me," but he said, "Lord, permit me to first go and bury my father." 00:44:51.120 |
Again, that would be a great title for Father's Day sermon. 00:44:56.620 |
Say, "Take care of your father first. Honor your father." 00:45:00.020 |
Except, he says in verse 60, but he said to him, 00:45:04.520 |
but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God." 00:45:08.820 |
Did he actually say that? Yeah, that's what he said. 00:45:13.920 |
but first permit me to say goodbye to those at home." 00:45:16.920 |
But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow 00:45:20.120 |
and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." 00:45:24.720 |
Jesus, first and foremost, is teaching the supremacy of God above all things. 00:45:30.320 |
Of course, he's not saying that you can't honor them. 00:45:33.020 |
He says we have to honor them. We have to obey them. 00:45:40.720 |
He knows that this is going to be their downfall. 00:45:44.820 |
That this is what is going to cause them to compromise. 00:45:47.520 |
This is what's going to cause them to have selective hearing. 00:45:51.720 |
That their obedience to God is going to be pigeon-held into what I can and cannot obey. 00:45:59.920 |
What I am willing and unwilling to do. I am willing to sacrifice my own life, 00:46:04.420 |
but not my kids. Not my parents. Not the ones that I love. 00:46:15.420 |
We convince ourselves that's not what we're doing 00:46:24.120 |
I remember when my kids were younger, especially when I had my firstborn. 00:46:29.520 |
You know, I made a sacrifice. I said, "You know what? I'm not going to pursue money. 00:46:35.420 |
And I was prepared for whatever was coming down until I had my kid. 00:46:41.720 |
And I remember driving around in a pickup truck with no air conditioning 00:46:45.620 |
and having an infant in my car in the front seat. No back seat, just the front seat. 00:46:49.620 |
And I remember every time I had to put him in the car, 00:46:51.720 |
he would end up with a rash on his back because of sweat coming down his back. 00:46:56.220 |
For the first time after committing my life to be a pastor, 00:47:05.420 |
And I wasn't trying to buy a big house. I wasn't trying to get rich. 00:47:09.420 |
I just wanted enough money so I can buy a car with air conditioning 00:47:12.820 |
so my son doesn't have to break out in rash every time I put him in the car. 00:47:18.120 |
And I remember first time thinking, "Maybe I can do something else. 00:47:21.620 |
Maybe I can get a side job. Maybe I can go to a bigger church." 00:47:25.720 |
And I remember when those thoughts begin to creep in that this is the beginning of the temptation. 00:47:31.120 |
And it was for good reason. I just wanted to be a good dad. 00:47:39.620 |
Jesus knows that his disciples are going to be tempted with this. 00:47:46.120 |
That the things that they are the most loyal to, the people that they love the most, 00:47:50.120 |
is going to be the source of the greatest temptation for them. 00:47:56.420 |
The second point in this, he says, the identifying mark of this. 00:48:01.820 |
If Christ has to have supremacy over all things, 00:48:07.320 |
he says this new family, what is this new family? 00:48:09.920 |
Luke 8.21 says, "He answered and said to them, 00:48:12.720 |
'My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.'" 00:48:19.120 |
So it's clear that the new family that we have in Christ, we call the church, Ekklesia. 00:48:25.320 |
But the very meaning of the word Ekklesia, it means the gathering of called out ones. 00:48:31.420 |
That's a literal meaning of the word Ekklesia. 00:48:35.920 |
Gathering of called out ones. So what does that mean? 00:48:39.520 |
It's not just a gathering. It's not just any gathering. 00:48:41.820 |
Gathering of called out ones. Called out from what? 00:48:47.220 |
Called out from your old life. Called out from your old loyalties. 00:48:53.020 |
Called out from the old rat race. Called out where he says, 00:48:57.420 |
"Come to Christ who is outside the camp, that we may join him to go outside the camp." 00:49:04.420 |
So the very definition of a church is a gathering of called out people. 00:49:12.220 |
Jesus says in John 3, 5-6, to Nicodemus, "Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, 00:49:18.020 |
unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 00:49:22.620 |
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.'" 00:49:26.320 |
Now some people have debated that the water here he's referring to is baptism. 00:49:33.720 |
I think he's just talking about somebody who's born in the flesh 00:49:37.020 |
versus somebody who's a Christian who's born in the Spirit. 00:49:40.720 |
He says, "That which is born of water." Somebody who's born, the water breaks, 00:49:44.320 |
and then he is born physically. So you may be physically born as a Jew, 00:49:50.420 |
tribe of Benjamin. He said, "But you're of the flesh." 00:49:54.320 |
But the people in the kingdom of God are not only born of water, 00:49:57.120 |
but they are also born of Spirit. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, 00:50:01.220 |
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 00:50:04.620 |
So the family of God are people who have been called out and are born again. 00:50:12.020 |
So the family of God isn't just simply because you became a member 00:50:14.820 |
or that you're at the church or you're serving the church. 00:50:18.220 |
He says, "The identifying mark of a genuine believer, 00:50:21.320 |
a new family in Christ, is the Holy Spirit, that we have been born again. 00:50:25.220 |
We have been called out from our old loyalty to Christ, 00:50:29.520 |
who is supreme over all things." Ephesians 2:19. 00:50:32.020 |
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, 00:50:34.020 |
but you are fellow citizens with the saints and are of God's household. 00:50:39.720 |
Now we are in God's family. In fact, that's a language that's used in 1 Timothy 5, 1 and 2, 00:50:46.320 |
referring to us and how we ought to relate to one another. 00:50:49.120 |
And he says, "Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, 00:50:55.620 |
and to the younger men as brothers, to the older women as mothers, 00:50:59.120 |
and the younger women as sisters in all purity." In other words, 00:51:02.120 |
he uses that language of a family, that now this is our family. 00:51:07.520 |
This is a gathering of called-out people who have put aside their old loyalty 00:51:12.520 |
and that now because of our loyalty to God, now you and I have become a family. 00:51:18.120 |
Older men as fathers, older women as mothers, younger as our brothers and sisters, with all purity. 00:51:27.420 |
He said this, born-again Christians in the Spirit, 00:51:32.320 |
these are people not only who hear the Word, but he says those who obey the Word of God. 00:51:38.620 |
Obey the Word of God. So just because you're in Bible study, 00:51:42.320 |
just because you attend service on every Sunday, doesn't mean that we're family of God. 00:51:47.220 |
People, if you've come from a church that doesn't practice membership, 00:51:51.120 |
that you know, there's a sometimes there's like a violent reaction like, "Membership? 00:51:55.420 |
You guys are exclusive. I thought the Kingdom of God is open to everybody. 00:51:58.620 |
I thought we're gracious to everybody." If you read the Scriptures carefully, 00:52:03.120 |
the criteria for membership of the church is much more stringent than anything that you will experience here. 00:52:11.720 |
The entrance into the Kingdom of God, the criteria for the Kingdom of God, 00:52:14.520 |
yes, it is by the grace of God, but he says it's not those who hear, 00:52:18.820 |
it's those who obey the Word of God. You need to obey. 00:52:23.120 |
You know, we have tenfold covenant in our church that we're asking you to follow. 00:52:27.020 |
It's basically basic Christianity what we have. 00:52:31.720 |
But what the Bible requires for membership in the family of God is much more stringent. 00:52:39.420 |
And so he says in John 8, 31, 32, listen to this carefully. 00:52:43.620 |
Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed him, right, who had believed him, 00:52:49.620 |
"If you continue in my Word, then you are truly my disciples of mine, 00:52:53.920 |
and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." 00:52:57.620 |
Now again, remember, he's talking to Jews who had believed, and he says, "If you continue," 00:53:08.520 |
"If you obey my Word, then you are disciples," not simply somebody who raised their hand, 00:53:14.520 |
not somebody who says, "You know what? I want to accept that for myself. 00:53:17.620 |
I want to give him a try," but he says, "He who hears my words and obeys my Word are my disciples." 00:53:24.620 |
Now I don't have the verses up here, but as soon as they hear that, they get offended. 00:53:28.220 |
Set free? They prided themselves of being free. 00:53:33.420 |
"We're children of Abraham. We've never been slaves. 00:53:35.720 |
How dare you call us and tell us that we need to be free?" 00:53:38.920 |
They go back and forth, back and forth, and Jesus says in John 8, 44, 00:53:43.220 |
"You do not understand what I'm saying because your father is the devil." 00:53:48.020 |
And he's talking to people who John says believed, and then he says, "Your father's the devil." 00:53:56.720 |
Ephesians 2, 8 through 10, isn't it salvation by grace? Of course it's by grace. 00:54:02.020 |
The Bible says it's by grace. It says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, 00:54:06.020 |
and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." 00:54:10.720 |
Right? We all know that passage. We memorize that passage. 00:54:13.320 |
Some of you grew up in the church sang that passage. 00:54:21.320 |
But we should also sing the second part, which says, "For we are his workmanship, 00:54:28.320 |
He says, "The reason why you're saved by grace is so that you may have good works, 00:54:34.420 |
that he may restore us, that we may live the righteous life that he had called us to live, 00:54:47.720 |
but the grace of God also frees us from the power of sin, 00:54:57.120 |
It's just like somebody who's been trying to get on the tennis team all his life, 00:55:04.720 |
And all of a sudden they go on the basketball court, and he jumps 55 inches. 00:55:12.220 |
And he wakes up and realizes, "Oh, this is much better fitting." 00:55:17.920 |
This is what I was made for. I was made to dunk over people. 00:55:22.020 |
You know what I mean? I was made for highlights. 00:55:25.820 |
The Bible tells us that you and I have been created for righteousness. 00:55:30.820 |
So a professing Christian who is living in perpetual disobedience is a miserable individual, 00:55:37.320 |
because his expectations and his life does not match. 00:55:43.320 |
Because he is miserable. He feels disconnected in the church. 00:55:47.220 |
He doesn't have fellowship in the church, while he is living in disobedience. 00:55:52.720 |
And he thinks that his disconnection with the church is because people are not nice to him, 00:55:57.820 |
that people are not reaching out to him. That's why they feel disconnected. 00:56:00.920 |
But the fundamental disconnection is that you're in a place where you don't belong, 00:56:06.520 |
where you have openly said, "I'm not going to follow Christ in my life." 00:56:11.120 |
It's like somebody with a USC jersey goes into the UCLA locker room and says, 00:56:18.420 |
You're in the wrong locker room. You need to go to USC. 00:56:25.720 |
You're wanting to be accepted, loved, be a part of a community wearing the wrong jersey. 00:56:33.320 |
Now, if you say that you're not a Christian, understandable. 00:56:37.920 |
"I have a USC, but I'm kind of questioning my jersey. 00:56:41.320 |
Their team hasn't been good for a while, and I want to experience this new life at UCLA." 00:56:46.620 |
And so you're there kind of like taken off, and you're just kind of curious, and you're looking. 00:56:51.220 |
And UCLA is doing their best to kind of recruit you to that. 00:56:54.120 |
But you're coming in there with a USC, and it's like, "How come nobody accepts me here? 00:57:01.420 |
Why can't I wear this jersey and play football for UCLA?" 00:57:10.020 |
The most miserable person in the church is somebody who claims to be a Christian 00:57:19.520 |
See, your mother, your father, your son, your daughter are those who says who hear and who obey. 00:57:27.320 |
John 8, Ephesians 2, 8, 9, it says, "Created for good works which God prepared beforehand 00:57:35.920 |
A genuine child of God only finds true rest and happiness when he is living righteously 00:57:47.220 |
That's why grace covered by the blood of Christ opened the door 00:57:50.920 |
so that you may live what God intended you to live. 00:57:55.320 |
So a Christian, professing Christian who's living in disobedience is a miserable individual. 00:58:01.120 |
And you can blame the context, you can blame the people, you can blame the leadership, 00:58:06.520 |
but at the core of it, you're walking in contradiction to your own confession. 00:58:13.720 |
Now, that doesn't mean a Christian doesn't struggle at times. 00:58:16.820 |
That doesn't mean a Christian sometimes wrestles with sin. 00:58:20.120 |
But there's a huge difference, according to 1 John 1 and 2, 00:58:23.220 |
between somebody who is living in sin and somebody who is struggling in sin. 00:58:27.520 |
God is patient with Christians who are struggling, 00:58:31.520 |
wanting accountability, wanting to grow, but are struggling in an area 00:58:35.320 |
versus an individual who has accepted his sin. 00:58:44.720 |
I'm going to keep this jersey on. I have no intention of taking off this jersey. 00:58:52.420 |
Salvation is by grace alone, but saving grace is never alone. 00:59:06.120 |
they were concerned that people are going to be confused. 00:59:09.520 |
That it doesn't mean salvation by grace doesn't make—well, God saved you. 00:59:13.520 |
Now you can do whatever you want. Since now you have the ticket to heaven, 00:59:16.420 |
some of them are going to be obedient, some of them are going to be disobedient, 00:59:19.220 |
some of them are going to follow Christ, some people aren't even going to attend church. 00:59:24.220 |
But now that I have a ticket, I just may not be in the front line, 00:59:27.720 |
but I have a ticket to get in. They were concerned that people are going to think that, 00:59:32.820 |
and that's why they said, "He who does not have the church as his mother 00:59:38.720 |
cannot have God as his father." And they were saying the same thing. 00:59:44.420 |
Not simply those who hear, but those who obey the Word of God. 00:59:52.420 |
"By this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments." 00:59:57.120 |
That's how we know, he says. The one who says, "I have come to know him," 01:00:00.120 |
and does not keep his commandment, is a liar. Right? 01:00:07.620 |
But whoever keeps his word in him, the love of God has truly been perfected. 01:00:11.020 |
By this we know that we are in him. The one who says he abides in him 01:00:14.620 |
ought himself to walk in the same manner as he walked. 01:00:20.420 |
Now, if I just said this, and I didn't quote the verse, 01:00:30.120 |
By this you know, if you obey his commandments. 01:00:32.520 |
If you don't obey his commandments, and you say that you're a Christian, 01:00:37.920 |
Now, if I said that, and I didn't actually tell you where it came from, 01:00:41.920 |
I bet you many of you would be like, "What kind of a preacher is this? 01:00:52.620 |
And this is not the only text. James chapter 2, 17-20. 01:00:56.020 |
"Even so, faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. 01:01:00.520 |
But someone may well say, 'You have faith, and I have works. 01:01:03.020 |
Show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.'" 01:01:06.720 |
He's not saying that you're going to be saved by works, 01:01:09.220 |
but you're the proof of genuine faith. It was proven by your works. 01:01:15.620 |
You believe that God is one, you do well. The demons also believe that, and they shudder. 01:01:19.620 |
You know who recognized the identity of Jesus first, before anybody else? 01:01:26.220 |
When they saw him, they said, "Son of God, have you come before your time to torture us?" 01:01:31.220 |
And they fell on their knees, because they recognized who he was. 01:01:37.520 |
And he says, "Yet they believed, but they didn't obey, they didn't surrender, they didn't repent." 01:01:42.520 |
And he says, "A professing Christian, who have never repented, is like the demons. 01:01:48.620 |
They know the truth, but they have not been set free." 01:01:54.520 |
He says, "If you believe that God is one, you do well. The demons also believe and shudder. 01:01:58.020 |
But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?" 01:02:09.120 |
If you profess to know God, and you are clinging to everything that you knew before you met Christ, 01:02:19.020 |
And if you've never repented, it means you've never been forgiven. 01:02:24.020 |
If you have your old life, and all you did was add Christ to your old life, you've never repented. 01:02:38.020 |
As fundamental and as basic as this is, this message will keep away many, many professing Christians. 01:02:50.420 |
And I'm just telling you what the Bible says. 01:02:54.520 |
"He who hears my words and obeys my word, they are my mother. They are my brothers." 01:03:05.520 |
And that's why, if you see the preaching of the early church, you never hear the preaching and say, 01:03:11.320 |
"You know, this is what Jesus has done for you. He loves you. You don't have a purpose. He's going to give you a purpose. 01:03:16.520 |
Would you receive the baptism of acceptance?" 01:03:20.820 |
No. They didn't proclaim the baptism of acceptance. They proclaimed the baptism of repentance. 01:03:28.320 |
Peter says in his first sermon, "Repent, each of you. Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ." 01:03:37.620 |
You've gone astray. Now turn your life around and come to Christ, so that your sins may be wiped away." 01:03:44.120 |
Paul says in Acts 17.30, "Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, 01:03:48.120 |
God has now declared to men that all people everywhere should repent." 01:03:52.720 |
As he is going to Jerusalem, knowing that he's going to be captured, possibly die, 01:03:58.520 |
and he's reiterating his message to the elders of the church of Ephesus, 01:04:03.220 |
he says, "Solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." 01:04:10.820 |
Receive the baptism of repentance, not baptism of acceptance. 01:04:20.920 |
Nowhere in the Bible does it say, "Can you please accept Jesus?" 01:04:24.420 |
No, he says, "No. Sinners have offended a holy God." 01:04:29.020 |
And God is gracious, not wanting us to perish, that He's been patient. 01:04:34.720 |
And this is the only reason why He hasn't returned yet, because He's being patient with sinners, 01:04:41.020 |
that in time, that others may also repent and come to Him. 01:04:46.420 |
It's a baptism of repentance, not baptism of acceptance. 01:04:53.420 |
So why is he saying this? Let me reiterate, as we wrap up. 01:05:03.720 |
If you want to save your mother, your father, your children, put Christ first. 01:05:20.020 |
You do not have the power to convince your loved ones. 01:05:24.720 |
You do not have the power to convince even your own children. 01:05:29.220 |
Only when Christ is sitting on the throne in your life, not a sub-throne, not an additional throne, 01:05:37.120 |
but the only throne that only one person can sit in, only when Christ is sitting on that throne, 01:05:51.320 |
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you." 01:05:59.120 |
He says, "The greatest temptation in their life is going to come through people that they love." 01:06:03.720 |
Remember James and John? They sacrificed everything to follow Christ. 01:06:08.820 |
And their mother was following with them, and she was there at the crucifixion. 01:06:15.320 |
And as they were following, she was talking to their sons and saying, 01:06:19.620 |
"Hey, you know, it's great that you're following Jesus, but make sure you're going to get something out of it. 01:06:23.920 |
Make sure that you're going to sit on your left or to the right." 01:06:30.020 |
That sounds like a tiger mom. "Go, go tell him. Forget it, let me go talk to him directly." 01:06:41.420 |
He was warning the disciples, "Your greatest stumbling, greatest temptation is going to come 01:06:46.020 |
in the context of the people that you love dearly." 01:06:50.620 |
Remember Peter? As Jesus is headed toward the cross, he loved Jesus. 01:06:56.220 |
And when he said, "Even if everybody abandons you, I will not abandon you. I will die for you, Jesus." 01:07:05.220 |
Because when the soldiers came, he was the only one who took out the knife. 01:07:10.920 |
They came with swords to capture one man, and Peter was the only one who took out the knife. 01:07:18.420 |
Jesus didn't look at Peter and say, "Peter, your loyalty is going to be rewarded. 01:07:22.920 |
Well done, my good and faithful servant." Is that what he said? 01:07:30.620 |
Because Satan is using your love for me to try to hinder me to go to the cross. 01:07:36.520 |
Satan is using your loyalty to me to prevent me from going to the cross. 01:07:48.620 |
And he knew it was going to go to his disciples. He knew. 01:07:57.520 |
Because he's about two years away from the cross. 01:08:04.320 |
He's the head of the household, and they're depending on him. 01:08:10.520 |
"You're doing all of this stuff. Why don't you go?" 01:08:13.320 |
And Jesus says, "A prophet is not welcomed in his own home." 01:08:16.120 |
His own family rejected him, didn't understand him. 01:08:18.620 |
But now that he's gaining fame, his family is starting to show up into the crowd. 01:08:23.020 |
"Where is Jesus?" And he's not only warning his disciples to protect them, 01:08:31.720 |
He's not going to be able to be that person for long. 01:08:35.520 |
In two more years, he has to go to the Father. 01:08:37.720 |
He's going to be crucified, and they're going to go through tremendous pain. 01:08:40.920 |
And remember when Jesus was hanging on the cross, 01:08:44.620 |
one of the last words that he says, he looks at Apostle John and says, 01:08:48.120 |
"Take care of my mother. Take care of my mother." 01:08:55.720 |
Jesus knew exactly where their weak point was. 01:09:00.020 |
If you're a mother or father, every mother and father's weak point is their children. 01:09:09.520 |
"I will follow Christ, and I will give my life. I will sacrifice. 01:09:12.820 |
I will be home. I can do it, but not my kids. Not my kids." 01:09:18.420 |
And so we live all our lives protecting, providing. 01:09:22.220 |
And we've given up finances for ourselves, but not for our kids. 01:09:26.120 |
And all the fears and all the temptations that we gave up to follow Christ, 01:09:31.020 |
all of a sudden, it resurfaces when we have children. 01:09:36.220 |
I want to sacrifice for them. I want to take the bullet. 01:09:39.920 |
But for my kids, I want them to be taken care of, be safe, provided for. 01:09:45.820 |
I don't want them to miss out. I don't want them to be weird at school. 01:09:49.420 |
I want them to be taken care of. I don't want them to pick up their cross. 01:09:55.420 |
And if we're not married, our greatest temptation could be our own parents. 01:10:05.120 |
They lived a hard life. I want to provide for them. 01:10:11.420 |
But Jesus knows that very spot that you refuse to surrender to Christ 01:10:17.020 |
is the very area where Satan will continue to attack. 01:10:23.920 |
When we disobey, we never say, "No." We say, "Not now." 01:10:28.420 |
Once this is taken care of, once my children are well, 01:10:31.720 |
once my parents are well, then I will follow you. 01:10:34.520 |
So disobedience never looks like, "No. It's not now." 01:10:42.020 |
when I've saved up enough money, when I've done this and I've done that. 01:10:45.920 |
Not knowing that Satan is using that to keep you away from God. 01:10:54.720 |
So when you understand the context of what Jesus is saying, 01:11:04.520 |
The only answer to all the problems of mankind. 01:11:12.920 |
and all these other things shall be added unto you. 01:11:22.120 |
Lord, we pray that Your Word, as difficult as it may be at times to apply, 01:11:29.220 |
help us, Lord God, to trust in Your sovereign grace. 01:11:33.720 |
That everything that You teach us, everything that You command of us, 01:11:38.320 |
ultimately is for our life and the life of those that we love. 01:11:43.620 |
Help us, Lord God, to surrender all things for the sake of Your name. 01:11:47.320 |
Help us, Lord God, to know the sweet fellowship 01:11:50.520 |
of being a part of a church who have been called out according to Your purpose. 01:11:56.320 |
That we may be unified in one spirit, one love, one mind, 01:12:01.620 |
to pursue You together as one family for the sake of Your glory. 01:12:20.620 |
We were ruined in our sin, we were guilty and undone, 01:12:29.820 |
when Your love reached out with sovereign hands and beckoned us to come. 01:12:39.120 |
You sought out the poor to live, made the rotten foes come home. 01:12:48.220 |
With the lavish feast, You welcomed us, for You made us Your own. 01:13:09.020 |
We are heirs with Christ, bought by His blood. 01:13:18.320 |
Oh, how great the love that we've been shown, 01:13:27.520 |
when Your children come, You made us Your own. 01:13:50.520 |
We draw near You now with confidence, for all our fears are gone. 01:14:00.020 |
With Christ the King, we too will be saints with You. 01:14:09.020 |
And forever we will be Your things, for You made us Your own. 01:14:29.520 |
We are heirs with Christ, bought by His blood. 01:14:38.520 |
Oh, how great the love that we've been shown, 01:14:47.520 |
when Your children come, You made us Your own. 01:15:06.520 |
We are heirs with Christ, bought by His blood. 01:15:15.520 |
Oh, how great the love that we've been shown, 01:15:25.020 |
when Your children come, when Your children come, 01:15:34.520 |
when Your children come, You made us Your own. 01:15:51.020 |
Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, 01:16:01.020 |
make my joy complete by being of the same mind, 01:16:04.020 |
maintain the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 01:16:13.020 |
that our confession would be more than just words. 01:16:16.520 |
I pray that You would build up this church in one mind, 01:16:19.020 |
in one spirit, in one purpose, in one obedience, 01:16:25.020 |
that this world that has been lost may see the light in Christ, 01:16:29.520 |
that more and more and more people may come into the light, 01:16:36.520 |
for the sake of Your glory and for the sake of the lost. 01:17:11.520 |
An empty grave is there to fill, a sacred land 01:17:48.520 |
And life is worth the living, just because He lived 01:17:57.020 |
Never seen what heart could fathom such boundless grace