back to indexBerean Community Church Sunday Service 06.18.23 "We Cry ABBA Father"
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and I'm going to start with Pastor Peter Chung 00:12:08.000 |
who is going to come up and he has some announcements 00:12:18.000 |
over the last couple of months we've had a couple of 00:12:20.500 |
incidences where people have invited people to church, 00:12:29.000 |
And so we are having problems with our parking, 00:12:31.500 |
we are having problems just with our seating. 00:12:37.500 |
that's actually going to start launching next Sunday. 00:12:40.500 |
So the hours are, the times are 8.15, 10.15, 12.15, 00:12:44.500 |
so every other hour on the 15th minute for about an hour. 00:12:48.500 |
So if you guys can, if you want to park at the farther lots, 00:13:18.000 |
So it's not a far distance, but there will be a shuttle 00:13:26.000 |
for the parents of smaller children and newcomers, 00:13:31.500 |
they're not going to quite know where to park. 00:13:36.500 |
as our church is getting a little bit bigger. 00:13:38.500 |
Today it doesn't look like as much of a problem, 00:13:41.000 |
but normally our second service is pretty packed. 00:13:57.500 |
They are serving the Lord in the best way they can. 00:14:12.500 |
- All right, so along with that, as you guys know, 00:14:23.500 |
So if you want to take pictures with your father, 00:14:35.000 |
homemade cookies that the children and the moms made. 00:14:53.000 |
And we'll quietly acknowledge what's going on. 00:15:00.500 |
just go visit and grab your goodie bags, okay? 00:15:08.500 |
the next session is starting on Sunday, July 9th. 00:15:13.500 |
if you are intending to become a member of the church. 00:15:15.500 |
And that's taking place July 9th through September 3rd, 00:15:34.500 |
and Elder Phillip is going to be taking charge of that, 00:15:42.500 |
We have quite a few who have already signed up, 00:15:44.500 |
but because the hotel has given us a hard line June 25th 00:15:50.500 |
and get the special rate that they've given us, 00:16:02.000 |
there will be a separate retreat fee from the church, 00:16:07.500 |
and end up paying the fee that they want you to pay, 00:16:12.000 |
or you might have to go offsite to be able to do that. 00:16:14.500 |
But if you are planning to go and you haven't, 00:16:19.500 |
that you'll be able to register through the normal way. 00:16:36.500 |
and then we're flying out at 12 o'clock a.m., 00:16:43.000 |
Pastor Nate and myself will be leading the team, 00:16:47.500 |
And so there's quite a few things that we're doing. 00:16:50.500 |
Our main goal is to reach the college campuses, 00:16:56.000 |
at Hongdae, at Myeongji, and Ewha Womans University, 00:17:08.000 |
they're called the International Mission Board, IMB, 00:17:10.000 |
has designated South Korea as a receiving nation now. 00:17:25.500 |
in Korea, it is declining at an alarming speed. 00:17:31.000 |
the number of people who claim to be Christian 00:17:43.500 |
that many people are walking out of the church, 00:17:51.500 |
and they're starting to send mission teams out there. 00:18:02.000 |
They've been so disappointed by Christianity in Korea, 00:18:05.000 |
they're more willing to talk to foreign students 00:18:09.000 |
And so it kind of puts them in a unique place 00:18:15.500 |
they're more willing to talk to us about Christianity, 00:18:18.000 |
because they know how much of a positive impact 00:18:38.500 |
So when other missionaries and other people come, 00:18:48.000 |
we're going to be engaged in street evangelism, 00:18:55.000 |
They're street performing and attracting people. 00:18:59.000 |
where we're going to be sharing the gospel with people. 00:19:01.500 |
We're going to be doing some homeless ministry. 00:19:07.000 |
to recruit students and share the gospel with them. 00:19:40.000 |
and he's going to give his testimony and be baptized. 00:19:42.000 |
And those of you who have physical offerings, 00:19:43.500 |
again, we have a box in the back on the way out. 00:19:58.500 |
That we can be the light wherever you send us. 00:20:04.500 |
and various places, Lord God, that you have sent us. 00:20:11.500 |
Help us, Lord, to live as if we're just passing through. 00:20:28.500 |
that you would help us to give in a manner of worship. 00:22:03.500 |
I'm reminded that what we do is entirely different 00:22:08.500 |
from anything the world gathers together to do. 00:22:11.500 |
That begins with God's presence among his people. 00:22:35.000 |
- I invite you guys to put your hands together for the song. 00:23:21.500 |
♪ In your presence all our fears are washed away ♪ 00:23:50.000 |
♪ Hear the sound of hearts returning to you ♪ 00:24:07.500 |
♪ In your kingdom broken lives are made new ♪ 00:24:31.500 |
♪ In your presence all our fears are washed away ♪ 00:25:41.000 |
♪ In your presence all our fears are washed away ♪ 00:25:56.000 |
♪ In your presence all our fears are washed away ♪ 00:27:47.500 |
♪ Unless the Lord does raid the house in vain ♪ 00:32:13.500 |
My parents and my oldest brother moved to America in 1993. 00:32:34.500 |
With no choice, we followed our parents to a new world. 00:32:41.500 |
Growing up in China, my parents taught me everything 00:32:48.500 |
Knowing that we were being raised in a country 00:32:54.500 |
they made sure and prayed for other missionary families 00:33:11.500 |
we were able to create a missionary community. 00:33:20.500 |
pray for one another, and support one another. 00:33:36.500 |
I lacked true, consistent authenticity in my beliefs, 00:33:47.500 |
the good Christian kid I thought I was supposed to be. 00:34:02.500 |
and graduated from an international high school. 00:34:13.500 |
However, despite attending a Christian college, 00:34:27.500 |
I graduated and moved to Chicago for two years, 00:34:46.500 |
while I left them at the early age of 15 in Thailand. 00:34:50.500 |
With no safety net and no permanent family base, 00:35:01.500 |
During school, as all my friends left to go home, 00:35:05.500 |
I needed to figure out where I would be living 00:35:10.500 |
I worked all year round to support myself financially 00:35:15.500 |
and began to learn how to cook Korean and Chinese food 00:35:18.500 |
to save money to also grasp onto any bit of home that felt familiar. 00:35:57.500 |
A year from my move, I started to attend a Korean 00:36:14.500 |
God started to heal my heart and to reveal himself to me. 00:36:24.500 |
I broke down as I realized that he had never left me, 00:36:32.500 |
and that he had been with me every step of the way 00:36:52.500 |
he still waited patiently to welcome me back into his loving arms. 00:37:03.500 |
I felt so unworthy of it and was in disbelief 00:37:19.500 |
because the life that I have lived up to this point 00:37:27.500 |
of being sent away from family for schooling, 00:37:31.500 |
of learning to live and figure out life independently on my own, 00:37:37.500 |
all of this is a testament to his faithfulness to me. 00:37:43.500 |
Even when I felt like I was navigating life on my own, 00:37:52.500 |
brought me the right people at the right times, 00:38:18.500 |
to seeking out his will and to glorify him always. 00:38:29.500 |
and have strived to put him first before my own life. 00:38:34.500 |
I have looked to him to transform my old life into a new one, 00:38:47.500 |
I pray that he would use them to grow and strengthen me 00:38:55.500 |
I know this is just the beginning of my journey, 00:39:04.500 |
I long to know and love him more each and every day. 00:39:42.500 |
Do you understand when you go into the water, 00:39:46.500 |
When you're coming out, you're united to the resurrected life? 00:39:49.500 |
I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:40:11.500 |
Thank you, Daniel, for that powerful testimony. 00:40:16.500 |
If you can turn your Bibles with me to Galatians 4. 00:40:29.500 |
and we wanted to take at least today to address an issue of 00:40:37.500 |
So I'll be reading from Galatians 4, 6 and 7. 00:40:40.500 |
"Because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his Son 00:40:51.500 |
Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; 00:41:07.500 |
We pray for hearts that are eager to be molded, 00:41:11.500 |
that we do not filter your word based upon our own prejudice, 00:41:20.500 |
Help us not to conform to the pattern of this world, 00:41:23.500 |
but be transformed by the renewing of our mind 00:41:29.500 |
Teach us, guide us, lead us, rebuke us, establish us, 00:41:38.500 |
I think those of you guys who have been at our church for a while 00:41:41.500 |
know that years ago, every Mother's Day and Father's Day, 00:41:44.500 |
I used to give Mother's Day sermons and Father's Day sermon, 00:41:49.500 |
and spent the day glorifying somebody else outside of our Heavenly Father. 00:41:54.500 |
But I did want to spend at least today talking about what it means to be a father 00:42:06.500 |
the context of this verse is where Apostle Paul spends the whole letter 00:42:11.500 |
kind of rebuking and challenging the leaders and the members of the church in Corinth. 00:42:18.500 |
All kinds of chaos has been coming into this church. 00:42:21.500 |
There's division, immorality, the worship was done in vain, 00:42:30.500 |
And so as a result of that, the church was being ruined. 00:42:33.500 |
And so after chapters of writing and what to be corrected, 00:42:39.500 |
in 1 Corinthians 16, 13, Paul kind of concludes the letter by saying, 00:42:44.500 |
"Be on alert, stand firm in the faith, and act like men, be strong." 00:42:55.500 |
And the reason why the NIV translated it that way is because it's-- 00:43:01.500 |
So they've kind of translated it, so, well, it means to be courageous. 00:43:05.500 |
In the Greek, that's not how it's spelled or formulated. 00:43:12.500 |
You should have understood what that meant, act like men. 00:43:15.500 |
But what does that mean today, to act like men? 00:43:21.500 |
In fact, it almost sounds like it's wrong to say be a man 00:43:27.500 |
You're a misogynist, you're a sexist, you're toxic masculinity. 00:43:33.500 |
We need to make sure that we have a clear biblical understanding 00:43:40.500 |
that we do not follow the pattern that we are being forced in our culture, 00:43:46.500 |
in schools, in our universities, and even at work. 00:43:52.500 |
You know, it's interesting that Time magazine had an article in May 22nd, 00:43:56.500 |
in the year 2000, called "The Hottest Jobs of the Future." 00:43:59.500 |
And obviously, the year 2000, there was a revolution of computers 00:44:03.500 |
that were taking place and the world was going to change, 00:44:10.500 |
that there are some jobs that are going to become obsolete 00:44:14.500 |
in the next century because of the computer revolution. 00:44:18.500 |
And in the list of jobs that are disappearing in the next century, 00:44:27.500 |
The occupation or the position of father is going to disappear. 00:44:33.500 |
"Ditro fertilization and cloning, dads could become dinosaurs." 00:44:37.500 |
That's what it says in this article, and this was written in the year 2000. 00:44:41.500 |
Now, 23 years have gone by, and you could see now 00:44:45.500 |
how the world has become hostile toward fatherhood 00:44:53.500 |
In fact, it's beginning to penetrate into the church. 00:44:57.500 |
Certain doctrines that we have held for centuries are being challenged, 00:45:01.500 |
not because of new revelation of what the Bible says, 00:45:04.500 |
because of the pressure of the secular world. 00:45:08.500 |
Some of you guys may remember, not that long ago, 00:45:14.500 |
and the main reason why is because the people who own the rights to the NIV 00:45:19.500 |
has publicly stated that they are going to make all the pronouns gender neutral. 00:45:25.500 |
Not because the Bible--they found some new revelation in the Bible, 00:45:30.500 |
but simply because they needed to sell more Bibles. 00:45:34.500 |
That if they don't make it gender neutral, it's not going to be palatable to the masses. 00:45:41.500 |
they said they're going to make everything gender neutral, 00:45:43.500 |
or else the Bible's not going to sell, and the NIV's going to die, 00:45:48.500 |
Since then, many translations, even the more literal translations, 00:45:54.500 |
And that pressure basically is if we do not go gender neutral, 00:45:57.500 |
you're not going to be able to survive as a business. 00:46:00.500 |
You can hold on to your principles, but what good is it if you can't sell Bibles? 00:46:04.500 |
So more and more, Bible translations are turning to gender neutral, 00:46:08.500 |
and as a result of that, it's beginning to confuse the church, 00:46:21.500 |
I don't know if all of you have done it, but even the cats that we have, 00:46:25.500 |
it was kind of a given understanding that if you're going to own pets, 00:46:31.500 |
Not have to, but you just kind of--that's just the culture. 00:46:34.500 |
And the whole purpose of neutering them is so that they can't reproduce. 00:46:37.500 |
You don't want unwanted cats or dogs running around, 00:46:51.500 |
to what's happening with our men in our culture. 00:46:57.500 |
and the purpose of neutering is so that you cannot reproduce. 00:47:00.500 |
That whatever was passed down from generation, that it's going to stop here. 00:47:04.500 |
And they are actively trying to neuter manhood 00:47:10.500 |
What does it mean to be a man? What does it mean to be a father? 00:47:14.500 |
And so that's why I felt compelled to address this issue in our church, 00:47:20.500 |
and there might be some things that I will say 00:47:22.500 |
that may not be comfortable with some of you in the church, 00:47:26.500 |
but in order to make a stand against what's happening in our culture, 00:47:33.500 |
to clarify what the scripture teaches of the calling of man. 00:47:38.500 |
The origin of understanding of God the Father, 00:47:41.500 |
it actually has--it's placed in the Bible from the beginning. 00:47:46.500 |
God himself calls himself the Father of Israel, 00:47:49.500 |
but it's almost never used in a personal sense 00:47:55.500 |
That idea of a personal relationship of God being the Father 00:48:02.500 |
He uses 165 different times in the Bible to address God as Father. 00:48:15.500 |
or it would be God addressing Israel as himself as the Father. 00:48:19.500 |
But this personal address as God being the Father 00:48:23.500 |
was pretty much introduced by Christ himself. 00:48:27.500 |
In Mark 14, verse 36, Jesus calls God Abba Father 00:48:32.500 |
as he is wrestling at the Garden of Gethsemane, 00:48:40.500 |
and it gives the reason why they hated Jesus, 00:48:45.500 |
"For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus 00:48:48.500 |
because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 00:48:51.500 |
But he answered them, 'My Father is working until now, 00:48:55.500 |
For this reason, therefore, the Jews were seeking all the more 00:48:58.500 |
to kill him because he not only was breaking the Sabbath, 00:49:05.500 |
Did you notice that? He says, "For this reason." 00:49:17.500 |
But he said they wanted to kill him for this reason, 00:49:25.500 |
What's interesting about the introduction of this term, 00:49:34.500 |
is something that he did not only for himself, 00:49:43.500 |
to our personal relationship with God the Father. 00:49:46.500 |
That he's not just some being from a distance, 00:49:48.500 |
that somebody that we admire from a distance, 00:49:51.500 |
but that he wanted to make God our Abba Father. 00:49:57.500 |
"For you have not received the spirit of slavery, 00:50:02.500 |
but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons, 00:50:07.500 |
The whole purpose of salvation is our adoption. 00:50:15.500 |
not simply so that your sins could be forgiven, 00:50:24.500 |
that we too may be able to call God our Abba Father. 00:50:30.500 |
sorry, verse 16, "the Spirit himself testifies with our spirit 00:50:33.500 |
that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, 00:50:46.500 |
"Because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of sons 00:50:51.500 |
Therefore you are no longer slave, but a son, 00:51:02.500 |
but it's to reconcile us with the Holy Father, 00:51:06.500 |
that we may ourselves address him as Abba Father. 00:51:21.500 |
Abba Father, a personal relationship with God. 00:51:31.500 |
Now some people have used that, and abused that, 00:51:51.500 |
if you do not understand if he is not your Abba Father. 00:51:57.500 |
he's not the one that you run to when you are in danger, 00:52:06.500 |
You know what's interesting is this term Abba Father, 00:52:10.500 |
"No, Abba means it's an intimate word, Daddy." 00:52:17.500 |
And they're not necessarily completely wrong, 00:52:28.500 |
So it's no different than the next word, Father. 00:52:34.500 |
is using the former Hebrew and Aramaic term for Father, 00:52:40.500 |
and then the word that's translated Father here, 00:52:54.500 |
it would basically mean, and I'm going to use Korean 00:53:20.500 |
and if you understood the meaning of Abba Father, 00:53:26.500 |
When Jesus wanted to say something very serious 00:53:30.500 |
"Hey Peter, I know you have ADD, but pay attention. 00:53:33.500 |
"Peter, Peter, I say to you, like pay attention." 00:53:36.500 |
Or if he had something really important to say, 00:53:38.500 |
"Truly, truly I say to you," and he repeated it twice. 00:53:43.500 |
to cry Abba Father was for the purpose of emphasis, 00:53:47.500 |
that this is the point that he's trying to get at. 00:53:53.500 |
He said, "He reconciled us so that we can call him 00:54:03.500 |
That's the first reason why he uses the term Abba Father. 00:54:07.500 |
The second term is related to why some people 00:54:10.500 |
do translate this Daddy, because it's an intimate term. 00:54:18.500 |
but it is a more personal, it is more intimate 00:54:24.500 |
And so he's saying that he's not just talking about God, 00:54:31.500 |
He's talking about our dads, like personally. 00:54:39.500 |
is that to bridge the gap between the Old Covenant 00:54:44.500 |
Why did God do what he did in the Old Covenant, 00:54:51.500 |
the whole emphasis is about bringing us to God, 00:54:59.500 |
"Therefore let us draw near with confidence." 00:55:11.500 |
He said, "All of this is so that we may have confidence 00:55:15.500 |
to draw near, that we may see him as our Abba Father." 00:55:21.500 |
in the book of Hebrews, chapter 7, verse 19, 25. 00:55:27.500 |
"Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence 00:55:29.500 |
to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 00:55:31.500 |
by a new and living way, which he inaugurated for us 00:55:36.500 |
and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 00:55:43.500 |
having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience 00:55:49.500 |
So just to summarize, the whole point of the gospel 00:55:57.500 |
So if you worship him, you honor him, you believe him, 00:56:14.500 |
Look what Jesus did so that there's no barrier 00:56:33.500 |
what happened in the Old Testament to the New Testament 00:56:35.500 |
is because of that, we are able to call him our Abba Father 00:56:43.500 |
So if you do not draw near, you miss the whole point. 00:56:46.500 |
If all you do is celebrate and honor him from a distance. 00:56:51.500 |
You know what's really interesting about all of this? 00:56:56.500 |
why some people say, "Oh, this is equivalent to daddy." 00:57:04.500 |
But I remember when my children were younger, 00:57:07.500 |
and some of you guys' older parents may relate, 00:57:09.500 |
once they hit kind of like pre-teen, pre-puberty, 00:57:17.500 |
And I remember my oldest son, when he was about fifth grade, 00:57:21.500 |
he came home from school and one day he said, "Hey, dad." 00:57:25.500 |
And I don't know why, that just hit me wrong. 00:57:29.500 |
Like, "Dad, I'm not your dad. I'm your daddy." 00:57:36.500 |
I want to hold on to you a little bit longer." 00:57:39.500 |
So I asked him, like, "Not yet. You're not ready." 00:57:48.500 |
So from that point on, he went back to calling me daddy, 00:57:51.500 |
and then all the other siblings followed suit, 00:57:58.500 |
They whisper it when there's other people around. 00:58:04.500 |
I prefer it because there's an intimacy, right? 00:58:08.500 |
And again, I'm not saying that this is true in every family, 00:58:11.500 |
but I know other families do the same, right? 00:58:13.500 |
Because personally, I just don't want to be a figurehead. 00:58:18.500 |
like there's something personal with me, right? 00:58:20.500 |
And the whole point of it is, again, the idea is 00:58:27.500 |
just like our brother Daniel was talking about, 00:58:30.500 |
like just knowing that after all these years, 00:58:33.500 |
God still loves him, God still cares for him, 00:58:40.500 |
You know, every once in a while, I want to meet somebody, 00:58:43.500 |
and I'll say, "Hey, can I meet in my office?" 00:58:48.500 |
whenever I ask somebody to come to my office, 00:58:50.500 |
the first thing that they ask me is, "What did I do?" 00:58:56.500 |
"No, no, no. That's just the easier place to meet." 00:59:01.500 |
You know, sometimes I'll be walking in there, 00:59:03.500 |
and I'll see one of my kids laid down taking a nap. 00:59:07.500 |
and that's kind of like they're just keeping it there for a while. 00:59:09.500 |
Right? They don't have any problem coming into my room 00:59:17.500 |
see God as our personal father, our Abba Father. 00:59:22.500 |
Heaven is not simply a place that's just nicer, 00:59:32.500 |
That's our Father's place. That's how Jesus described it. 00:59:48.500 |
you kind of hit a point where you want to go home. 01:00:02.500 |
That the old covenant Jews were following him 01:00:06.500 |
and trying to obey him from a distance as a figurehead, 01:00:08.500 |
but they did not know him as their Abba Father. 01:00:12.500 |
And so Christ came to become a sympathetic high priest 01:00:19.500 |
But there's another aspect of this Abba Father 01:00:23.500 |
the Hebrew word for father was Abba, not Abba. 01:00:29.500 |
Abba was eventually kind of evolved into the Aramaic term. 01:00:43.500 |
And what's interesting is the Hebrew alphabet 01:01:03.500 |
And so if you look at the two images of these two words, 01:01:06.500 |
Aleph and Beit, the first two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, 01:01:09.500 |
if you can put up the picture, you guys have it. 01:01:25.500 |
Okay, so I'm just going to have to tell you, okay? 01:01:36.500 |
The picture that is attached to it is a picture of an ox. 01:01:40.500 |
And that picture of an ox represents strength. 01:01:52.500 |
The second word, Beit, like what we would pronounce B, 01:01:57.500 |
the picture that they have that is attached to that word, 01:02:01.500 |
is the picture of a tent, and tent meaning the home. 01:02:08.500 |
that is translated father in the Old Testament, 01:02:32.500 |
the strength of the home, the leader of the home. 01:02:38.500 |
what does it mean to be a father in our generation? 01:02:40.500 |
First, the idea comes from God, and then God gives it to us. 01:02:44.500 |
Our understanding of what it means to be a father 01:02:49.500 |
Now these four things that I want to talk about 01:03:09.500 |
When God gave the law to Moses and to be passed down, 01:03:13.500 |
he intended that this education system of the law 01:03:18.500 |
to be given from father to sons to children on and on. 01:03:25.500 |
For 6, 617, 1119, on and on, he says the same thing. 01:03:29.500 |
Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently 01:03:39.500 |
but make them known to your sons and your grandsons. 01:03:41.500 |
And this phrase is repeated over and over again. 01:03:45.500 |
The modern-day school system was created in 1857 01:03:58.500 |
parents were becoming more and more absent in the home. 01:04:02.500 |
they didn't know what to do with their children, 01:04:04.500 |
so they came up with this corporate education 01:04:15.500 |
And that was, you know, in the last 150 years. 01:04:21.500 |
it became the normal way that children are raised. 01:04:33.500 |
and then you send them to church for spiritual education, 01:05:05.500 |
people say, "Well, you know, I had them and I feed them 01:05:08.500 |
"and I make sure that they don't die, you know, 01:05:33.500 |
"that they should teach them to their children, 01:05:40.500 |
"that they may arise and tell them to their children, 01:05:43.500 |
"that they should put their confidence in God 01:06:03.500 |
is because the previous fathers did not do their job. 01:06:10.500 |
reason why their hearts have not been prepared 01:06:24.500 |
the strength of the home, first and foremost, 01:07:00.500 |
it must be so that it's the best way to educate them, 01:07:08.500 |
But that responsibility was given to us as fathers. 01:07:16.500 |
and Joshua makes a stand at the end of his life. 01:07:28.500 |
"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, 01:07:30.500 |
"choose for yourself to say whom you will serve, 01:07:37.500 |
"or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. 01:07:39.500 |
"But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." 01:07:45.500 |
he addresses the problem of the nation of Israel. 01:07:50.500 |
he says, "For me and my house, we'll serve the Lord." 01:07:53.500 |
He doesn't say, "We need to reform the temple. 01:08:00.500 |
He says, "No, for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." 01:08:04.500 |
He starts at his home, and he challenges them, 01:08:12.500 |
"Are you going to follow the pattern of this world 01:08:14.500 |
"and go back and forth wherever it's more convenient 01:08:19.500 |
"For me and my household, we will serve the Lord." 01:08:25.500 |
are on the shoulders of the fathers to take care of them. 01:08:29.500 |
We cannot dish this out, this responsibility out. 01:08:37.500 |
was at the beginning of his Parkinson's disease, 01:08:39.500 |
and so they thought his ministry was going to be over. 01:08:46.500 |
asking him, "After all these years of ministry, 01:08:49.500 |
"if you were to go back, what would you do differently?" 01:08:55.500 |
And they said, "This is a man who most likely 01:08:58.500 |
"were able to preach the gospel to more people 01:09:13.500 |
that for millions of people who preached the gospel, 01:09:16.500 |
even my own mother came to Christ through his crusades. 01:09:20.500 |
And they asked him, "If you were to do it over, 01:09:42.500 |
So obviously, the interviewer asked him further questions, 01:09:44.500 |
like, "What do you mean by that, travel less?" 01:09:51.500 |
"that I didn't spend enough priority on my own children." 01:09:55.500 |
And he said, "Of all the things that he would do over again," 01:10:06.500 |
We are called to disciple our children, the fathers. 01:10:27.500 |
You can't simply say, "I don't like being that guy, 01:10:38.500 |
is probably the one who is leading that home. 01:10:44.500 |
I was meeting up with local church missionaries 01:11:00.500 |
Everybody would study, and they would come back, 01:11:05.500 |
You guys are unbiblical because you have pastors 01:11:07.500 |
and elders and leaders, even though the Bible says so. 01:11:12.500 |
I asked them, "If somebody comes into your church, 01:11:16.500 |
"and they start saying things that are contrary 01:11:18.500 |
"to what you guys believe, what do you guys do?" 01:11:25.500 |
"and we'll make sure that they don't repeat that 01:11:31.500 |
"that when false doctrines, like according to you, 01:11:36.500 |
"they'll stand up and say you are not allowed to do that 01:11:45.500 |
in your church to make sure that false doctrines 01:12:00.500 |
"My son, do not reject this discipline of the Lord 01:12:07.500 |
"even as Father corrects the son in whom he delights." 01:12:09.500 |
He doesn't say, "Fathers, you have to discipline." 01:12:13.500 |
Hebrews 12, 7, "It is for discipline that you endure. 01:12:19.500 |
"For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?" 01:12:27.500 |
Colossians 3, 21, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children 01:12:32.500 |
In your discipline, make sure that you are tempered, 01:12:36.500 |
that you're not just giving full vent to your anger, 01:12:43.500 |
Thirdly, fathers are the providers of the family. 01:12:53.500 |
This doesn't mean the Bible says that women can't work 01:13:00.500 |
you need to stay home and you can't have a job. 01:13:04.500 |
But the Bible does describe that responsibility 01:13:11.500 |
In 1 Timothy 5, 7, "But if anyone does not provide for his own, 01:13:14.500 |
"and especially for those of his own household, 01:13:17.500 |
"he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." 01:13:24.500 |
That responsibility is on the shoulders of the men. 01:13:26.500 |
Matthew 7, 9-11, even the way he describes prayer. 01:13:29.500 |
"Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for love, 01:13:35.500 |
"If he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 01:13:38.500 |
"If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, 01:13:42.500 |
"how much more will your Father who is in heaven 01:13:47.500 |
This is such a difficult thing in our generation 01:13:53.500 |
because the understanding of fatherhood has been so watered down. 01:13:59.500 |
It almost seems sinful to say, "Be a man and do this." 01:14:07.500 |
Now, many of us, especially those of you who are older, 01:14:16.500 |
our fathers were not able to make enough money, 01:14:24.500 |
because that was the only way for them to survive. 01:14:27.500 |
And so they had to do what they needed to do. 01:14:32.500 |
"This is the only way that you're going to take care of your family." 01:14:35.500 |
But at the same time, the Bible makes it very clear 01:14:39.500 |
that responsibility, that weight is on our shoulders. 01:14:43.500 |
You know, I see in our generation more and more people 01:14:46.500 |
because they want to live a certain lifestyle, 01:14:57.500 |
a certain style of life you're going to have, right? 01:15:05.500 |
But the idea of lifestyle is certain things that are added to your life. 01:15:16.500 |
I need to do this and this and this and this. 01:15:19.500 |
And oftentimes, who we end up forfeiting is our own children 01:15:28.500 |
I remember early on--and again, I never went to father's school. 01:15:33.500 |
I come from an immigrant family where my parents were busy with ministry. 01:15:43.500 |
So I remember the first time I became a father, I was scared to death 01:15:51.500 |
And I remember thinking, like, I break everything. 01:15:55.500 |
My dad would always say, like, "Peter, you're too rough." 01:15:59.500 |
And anything that's in my hand, eventually--I'm just curious. 01:16:02.500 |
I want to break it apart and see what's inside. 01:16:04.500 |
Or sometimes I play with it too rough and it would break. 01:16:07.500 |
And I remember they would give me my firstborn, 01:16:10.500 |
and I remember taking him home thinking, "Oh, my God, I'm going to break him too." 01:16:20.500 |
I remember early on thinking, "I'm going to be the best father that I know how to be," 01:16:28.500 |
I didn't know what that meant, but I want to try. 01:16:30.500 |
So I remember early on--and some of you guys who know, I just don't spend money. 01:16:35.500 |
I don't have habits where I have to go buy stuff. 01:16:38.500 |
But I spent $800 on Hanna-Barbera Bible stories. 01:16:50.500 |
But I bought it because I wanted to make sure that I prepare so my children, 01:16:54.500 |
when they're old enough--and this is right after we got married. 01:17:02.500 |
And by the time my kids were old enough to watch it, it became lame already. 01:17:06.500 |
So all this computer stuff came out, and Hanna-Barbera--it felt like it was 20, 30 years old. 01:17:12.500 |
So more than half of it we never even opened. 01:17:19.500 |
I didn't know what that meant, but I want to be a good father. 01:17:23.500 |
Early on, because we were having financial problems, my wife was working, 01:17:29.500 |
and we had Jeremy at daycare because I had to do ministry, and then Esther had to work. 01:17:37.500 |
But early on, before she went in, I asked her because she got accepted to a pharmacy school, 01:17:45.500 |
And the reason why--because I wanted her to run with me. 01:17:49.500 |
So at that time, I was speaking in a lot of churches, and during the summertime, 01:17:53.500 |
we would go to retreats, and so if you have that job, you're not going to be able to come. 01:17:57.500 |
So maybe if you became a schoolteacher, that you would have summer breaks, 01:18:01.500 |
and then you'll be a little bit more flexible, and you can come with me. 01:18:05.500 |
But the second reason was because I was making so little money, if she became a pharmacist, 01:18:10.500 |
she would be making four times what I was making at that time, and I was afraid. 01:18:14.500 |
I was afraid that if she makes that kind of money, and I am making four times less, 01:18:20.500 |
and we get used to that lifestyle, that if we ever wanted to ask her to stay home, 01:18:28.500 |
How are we going to go from making what she's making, being used to having that kind of money, 01:18:33.500 |
and then all of a sudden, we're going to get rid of two-thirds of our income, 01:18:39.500 |
So from the get-go, in order to prevent that temptation, I asked her not to go into that field. 01:18:45.500 |
Eventually, even though as a schoolteacher, she was still making double what I was making as a schoolteacher, 01:18:53.500 |
eventually I asked her to stay home, and the reason why I asked her to stay home was 01:18:57.500 |
Jeremy was going to daycare and coming back sick all the time, 01:19:04.500 |
She's tired, and from four or five o'clock until he slept, there was just no peace at home. 01:19:11.500 |
And so I remember, and again, this is not because I was convicted about, you know, you can't work or any of that. 01:19:16.500 |
It was just practically that there's no peace at home because my kids are going to be like constantly, 01:19:24.500 |
and they're away from us, and when they are together, 01:19:26.500 |
we don't want to use that three, four hours with them to discipline them, 01:19:30.500 |
and then send them back to school the next day. 01:19:32.500 |
So it was more of a practical decision that even though I'm going to be losing my health coverage and all that stuff, 01:19:38.500 |
I'd rather have peace at home, and I'm going to, even if I have to get a second job, 01:19:43.500 |
I'd rather get a second job, and I'm huffing and puffing, but at least my kids and my wife will be taken care of, 01:19:53.500 |
As difficult as that was, it was the best decision that I made. 01:19:58.500 |
As difficult as that, and yes, we had financial problems. 01:20:02.500 |
There were periods when I couldn't even ask her to go buy grocery. 01:20:06.500 |
Now, I share all of this, not because I did everything perfectly, 01:20:11.500 |
but this temptation to live a certain lifestyle, this lifestyle that we have planted ourselves in, 01:20:25.500 |
If there's anything that you should not compromise is your children, not your lifestyle. 01:20:32.500 |
So again, I'm not saying that there's a certain path that everybody needs to go to, 01:20:36.500 |
but that responsibility for the husband, for the father, it's on our shoulders. 01:20:46.500 |
We don't come home and say, "You know what? It's too hard for me, so you should do it too." 01:20:51.500 |
Now, you may be in a situation where that may be necessary, but that responsibility is on us. 01:21:01.500 |
And so the responsibility of the father is to create a place where the wife can be the best wife that she can be, 01:21:10.500 |
so that she can be the best mother that she can be. 01:21:13.500 |
That responsibility is on the shoulder of the father. 01:21:19.500 |
I know that's difficult, and I have not done a perfect job in that myself. 01:21:27.500 |
But today, as men are being deliberately neutered in our culture, 01:21:34.500 |
if there's any time in history where men need to act like men, it's today. 01:21:40.500 |
We need to take responsibility of our own homes and shoulder that ourselves. 01:21:47.500 |
Again, early on, when we didn't have a lot of money, ESSER did a far greater job balancing our checkbooks. 01:21:55.500 |
Some of you guys have no idea what that means. 01:21:58.500 |
A long time ago, before computer, we had to wait for the bank statement to come, 01:22:03.500 |
and then you'd keep record of what you spent, and then you would reconcile with what the bank says that you spent. 01:22:10.500 |
And so once a month, you would have to take the bank statement and reconcile it. 01:22:16.500 |
So whenever I do it, it just never comes out the way it should. 01:22:20.500 |
I'm always missing two, three hundred bucks, or next time I do it, it's like, "Oh, we're rich." 01:22:26.500 |
Not because we really are, because I'm just not good at keeping records. 01:22:31.500 |
But there was a stretch in our early days in marriage where I wasn't getting paid from church, 01:22:39.500 |
And I'm not talking about this church, but the previous church I was at. 01:22:42.500 |
So there were stretches, and I remember one year, there was about four or five months that I didn't get paid at all, zero. 01:22:48.500 |
So I was going out washing cars and doing whatever I needed to to pay bills, 01:22:51.500 |
but I remember coming home one day, and ESSER was sitting on the bed crying because she was so anxious that we didn't have money. 01:22:58.500 |
And so I came and I saw her a couple times, and after that I said, "You know what? 01:23:05.500 |
So I took that away from her, even though I knew I'm going to be losing some money, you know what I mean? 01:23:12.500 |
But when that pressure of finance comes, I need to take that responsibility. 01:23:18.500 |
I don't want her to think, "I've got to get another job. I've got to go do this." 01:23:23.500 |
So I took that on so that when I felt like that we're going to be short of money, 01:23:27.500 |
so that I can go pass out flyers and wash cars and cut grass, whatever I needed to do, 01:23:31.500 |
so that she can be home and give full attention to our family. 01:23:44.500 |
Again, I'm going to say, because I know somebody in this room is going to say, 01:23:48.500 |
"Oh, this guy's legalistic. He's telling us that women need to stay home barefoot and pregnant." 01:23:55.500 |
What I am saying, principally, that's the men's responsibility. 01:24:06.500 |
That if the men don't take that responsibility, we're not leaders. 01:24:14.500 |
You can't be a leader simply because the Bible says that God's given you this title. 01:24:19.500 |
You're a leader because you're leading, because you're up in the front. 01:24:25.500 |
You're the one who is willing to go out and get your hands dirty, stay up late, get the second job, 01:24:32.500 |
We live in a culture where you're taught since you're young, "Follow your dreams." 01:24:38.500 |
"Follow your dreams" is just another way of saying, "Give into your flesh." 01:24:48.500 |
For men, we don't look for careers that make me feel happy. 01:24:54.500 |
We choose careers that are going to help me to take care of my family. 01:25:02.500 |
What fulfills me is to see my children taken care of. 01:25:05.500 |
What fulfills me is my family being taken care of. 01:25:24.500 |
His desire, He says, "We are hidden in Christ." 01:25:28.500 |
When He comes in glory, we will be glorified with Him. 01:25:31.500 |
But while we're here, God has placed that responsibility on the shoulders of men. 01:25:36.500 |
Fourth and finally, the primary call of the Father is redemption. 01:25:44.500 |
Says Psalm 103.13, "Just as the Father has compassion on His children, 01:25:48.500 |
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him." 01:25:51.500 |
And the imagery that Jesus gives of Him pursuing sinners is the prodigal son. 01:25:58.500 |
And the Father patiently waits for the son to return. 01:26:03.500 |
And so the imagery that He gives of redemption is of Father and Son. 01:26:08.500 |
The primary call of a father is to bring salvation to the home. 01:26:14.500 |
And that's why he says in John 10.10-16, Jesus says, 01:26:17.500 |
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 01:26:19.500 |
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." 01:26:22.500 |
How is He going to do that? He says in verse 11, "I am the good shepherd." 01:26:25.500 |
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 01:26:28.500 |
He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, 01:26:32.500 |
sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, 01:26:34.500 |
and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 01:26:37.500 |
He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. 01:26:41.500 |
I am the good shepherd. I know my own. My own knows me. 01:26:45.500 |
He said that responsibility to take care of your children in your home 01:26:52.500 |
And if you hand that over to anybody else, when danger comes and hardship comes, 01:26:56.500 |
they are going to be going to self-survival mode, 01:26:59.500 |
and your children are not going to be taken care of. 01:27:02.500 |
He says the call of the Father, the good shepherd, is to lay down His life for the sheep. 01:27:08.500 |
That's what we've been called to, to lay down our life for our sheep. 01:27:12.500 |
Every father, your sheep is your children, your own family. 01:27:18.500 |
And so we are here. God has called us to lead by laying down our life. 01:27:23.500 |
Isn't that what He says about relationship between husband and wife in Ephesians 5, 22 and on? 01:27:30.500 |
That as Christ gave His life to wash and regenerate the wife, 01:27:35.500 |
He said that's what's been given to our fathers, 01:27:42.500 |
And if you hand that responsibility to anybody else, 01:27:51.500 |
And He goes on to say, "I have other sheep which are not in the fold. 01:27:54.500 |
I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice, 01:27:57.500 |
and they will become one flock with one shepherd." 01:28:04.500 |
I had a conversation with a young father recently, 01:28:09.500 |
and they were away, and I don't want to mention his name because I don't want to embarrass him, 01:28:13.500 |
but I was so encouraged by the conversation because they were away, 01:28:17.500 |
back in another country in their hometown, and in the months that they were there, 01:28:21.500 |
he said they were wrestling, him and his wife were wrestling, 01:28:27.500 |
They have relatives there to take care of their children. 01:28:32.500 |
In fact, in their public school, they would have an option to have Christian education, 01:28:39.500 |
So they said in every way, it's a much easier life, it's a slow pace of life, 01:28:43.500 |
and their lifestyle would be much better over there. 01:28:47.500 |
But during the whole time, they wrestled with finding a good church to go to. 01:28:51.500 |
And so he said that they were going back and forth, and at the end, 01:28:54.500 |
the reason why they made that decision is because they wanted their children to be raised at Berean. 01:28:59.500 |
And he said the reason why--not to say that Berean is the only church, 01:29:03.500 |
but because they had such a hard time finding a church, he said the reason why they came is 01:29:07.500 |
so even though they may have a much easier, physically protected, more comfortable life over there, 01:29:12.500 |
I'd rather put my children in a situation where they will hear the gospel and be safe. 01:29:17.500 |
Their salvation is more important than anything else that they may be able to provide over there. 01:29:27.500 |
because our church is filled with young families. 01:29:30.500 |
I wish I had better instruction when I was younger 01:29:34.500 |
so that I wouldn't have bought Hanna-Barbera. 01:29:37.500 |
You know, there's a lot of other decisions that I made. 01:29:42.500 |
When I look back at the years, and I wish--there are certain things that I did differently. 01:29:54.500 |
even though we had some hardships in finance. 01:29:57.500 |
Everything that I regret has to do with my children. 01:30:12.500 |
And, you know, yesterday we celebrated Father's Day and my kids took me out. 01:30:16.500 |
So they're all older and they have some money now. 01:30:18.500 |
Now they actually can pay for dinner and they got me a nice iPad, you know, 01:30:27.500 |
But to be honest, the best gift that I will remember from yesterday 01:30:32.500 |
was we got a long extended time to spend together, you know. 01:30:36.500 |
And we had dinner together, then we went and got some yogurt land. 01:30:41.500 |
And to be honest, I don't know if they were antsy to get out 01:30:44.500 |
because it's so hard to get the older children to come. 01:30:46.500 |
They all have jobs and they have their own friends and all this stuff. 01:30:49.500 |
So it's hard. We have to make an appointment with them to have family dinner. 01:30:53.500 |
And it just happens that both of my older children's girlfriends were not in town, 01:31:01.500 |
So we're just sticking around, we're just, you know. 01:31:03.500 |
And then we go--nothing special, we're just kind of sitting around. 01:31:07.500 |
And so we were able to spend hours together, which is so rare, you know. 01:31:12.500 |
But that's what made me happy more than anything else, 01:31:15.500 |
that I was able to spend that kind of time with my children. 01:31:18.500 |
And if there's any regret, I wish they were smaller when they didn't drive 01:31:23.500 |
and they were stuck with me, and so I could have that kind of time with them. 01:31:28.500 |
And I remember when I was in India, I had a dream that my second son, Isaiah-- 01:31:33.500 |
I don't know why, but he came out as a 3-year-old in my dream in India. 01:31:37.500 |
I have better dreams in India for some reason. 01:31:40.500 |
And I remember being so happy that he was with me. 01:31:45.500 |
I remember just holding him, just walking around, just having silly talk with him 01:31:49.500 |
and just thinking, like, "Oh, I get to experience this again with my kid." 01:31:53.500 |
And I woke up and was like, "Oh, it was a dream." 01:32:01.500 |
I felt it emotionally, I was able to experience that again. 01:32:04.500 |
But, you know, those years have passed many, many years. 01:32:08.500 |
When we're young parents, we get so caught up in the next stage, 01:32:12.500 |
eager to have our kids there and then move on to the next. 01:32:15.500 |
And then once you get there, you live the rest of your life regretting. 01:32:20.500 |
I wish I was more present and understood how time flies. 01:32:26.500 |
And so all the priorities that we had when we were younger gets flipped upside down, 01:32:30.500 |
thinking I would give up so much if I could just have the kids in my home again. 01:32:37.500 |
That responsibility, especially to young men, is on our shoulder, 01:32:48.500 |
so that our boys would also grow up to be good men and good fathers. 01:32:53.500 |
Do not allow the pressure that's coming from our culture 01:32:57.500 |
to dictate your priorities at this stage of life. 01:33:05.500 |
that we do not follow the pattern of this world, 01:33:08.500 |
but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. 01:33:19.500 |
and there's a lot of things that you regret in life, 01:33:29.500 |
All of this is so that the next generation of people, 01:33:36.500 |
that no matter what is happening around there, 01:33:38.500 |
for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. 01:33:50.500 |
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your blessing, for your guidance. 01:33:54.500 |
Lord, we know the burden that the men in our church have on our shoulders. 01:33:59.500 |
Help us, Lord God, not to flee from it, not to pass it on, 01:34:07.500 |
to take up that burden for the sake of our wives and our children, 01:34:14.500 |
that they would be blessed as you blessed us, 01:34:17.500 |
that they would know you as you drew near to us. 01:34:21.500 |
And so I pray, especially now, Lord God, as our school systems, 01:34:25.500 |
or even our government is actively practicing and pushing laws, Lord God, 01:34:36.500 |
and particularly as men and fathers, to stand firm, 01:34:40.500 |
that we would stand, Lord God, to fight this good fight, 01:34:45.500 |
that our homes, Lord, that there would be no question, 01:34:49.500 |
is a place where we have committed to follow Christ. 01:34:53.500 |
And for that end, we pray for your blessing and strength. 01:35:23.500 |
I once was lost in darkest night, yet thought I knew the way. 01:35:33.500 |
The sin that promised joy and light had led me to the grave. 01:35:42.500 |
I had no hope that you would all arrive all to your will. 01:35:52.500 |
And if you have not loved me first, I would refuse you still. 01:36:13.500 |
But as I ran, my help arose, different to the cost. 01:36:23.500 |
You looked upon my helplessness and led me to the cross. 01:37:55.500 |
And if so all might see, the strength to follow your commands could never come from me. 01:38:09.500 |
Oh Father, you, my ransom, I, in any way you should. 01:38:19.500 |
Let my song forever be my only constant issue. 01:39:32.500 |
Heavenly Father, Lord, you know our weaknesses, you know our fear, you know our mistakes, you know our regrets. 01:39:41.500 |
Help us, Lord God, that your grace would be sufficient. 01:39:45.500 |
It would be sufficient, Lord, for us not to look behind. 01:39:49.500 |
It would be sufficient, Lord God, that we may run the race with perseverance today. 01:39:56.500 |
That it would be sufficient to keep us hoping and striving after righteousness as you have placed before us. 01:40:05.500 |
I pray, Father God, especially now as we celebrate Father's Day, to establish the men in our church, Lord God, 01:40:12.500 |
to be the strength, to be the leaders in our home. 01:40:16.500 |
That as the world is attacking manhood, families, I pray, Father God, that we would stand strong against the tide. 01:40:27.500 |
That we would be a brighter light than ever in this dark world. 01:40:32.500 |
As you warned us, as evil is increasing, that love of many will grow cold. 01:40:38.500 |
Help us, Lord God, not to fall into that temptation. 01:40:41.500 |
Help us not to make a goal to win in this rat race, but to live as sojourners who are simply passing through. 01:40:50.500 |
That we would simply be a greater and greater light and the aroma of Christ wherever you send us.