back to indexBerean Community Church Sunday Service 1.15.2023
00:04:46.700 |
We're gonna go ahead and start our worship here. 00:04:54.360 |
♪ Oh God, before the mountains were brought forth ♪ 00:05:12.080 |
♪ Before days of spring and summer filled the earth ♪ 00:05:28.080 |
♪ We dwell beneath the stars in ancient skies ♪ 00:05:39.580 |
♪ A thousand years are nothing in your sight ♪ 00:05:55.200 |
♪ And all our days are held within your hands ♪ 00:06:49.920 |
♪ And all our days are held within your hands ♪ 00:07:29.420 |
♪ Oh God of light our ways are known to you ♪ 00:07:34.420 |
♪ But by your grace you're making all things new ♪ 00:08:05.420 |
♪ And all our days are held within your hands ♪ 00:08:30.420 |
♪ And all our days are held within your hands ♪ 00:09:12.420 |
Let me jump to our announcements before we get started. 00:09:15.420 |
First of all, our weekday Bible study is gonna start 00:09:21.420 |
And again, our kickoff for that will be this coming Friday. 00:09:26.420 |
We have praise and prayer at 7.30 p.m. in this room. 00:09:29.420 |
And so that'll kind of get us ready for the Bible study. 00:09:42.420 |
So if you are involved in any kind of ministry 00:09:47.420 |
there is a child training that is required in the church. 00:09:54.420 |
So the sign up for that is gonna be on the website 00:10:07.420 |
if you are new to the church and you're not familiar with 00:10:17.420 |
we have a Bible Lab that's starting on January 29th 00:10:21.420 |
I think it's three sessions that's taking place 00:10:27.420 |
And so I highly recommend that you take that class. 00:10:32.420 |
and kind of figure out how to do this inductive Bible study 00:10:50.420 |
okay, some of you guys may have looked at the app 00:10:56.420 |
At 1.30 in this room, we're gonna start our members meeting, 00:11:01.420 |
which is, again, our quarterly members meeting. 00:11:07.420 |
We are recommitting to our covenant as a church, 00:11:10.420 |
and so please make sure you come to that at 1.30. 00:11:16.420 |
for us to start at 1.30, we wanted you to stay on campus. 00:11:30.420 |
and then come straight into the meeting at 1.30. 00:11:39.420 |
So right after service, you'll see where you can go 00:11:41.420 |
and grab that lunch, and you can just spread out in the church. 00:11:58.420 |
Okay, but again, we don't know what the weather's gonna be like, 00:12:06.420 |
you've already probably seen as you're going into the cafe area, 00:12:09.420 |
you'll see the youth group out there wanting your money. 00:12:15.420 |
and that's to raise funds for their retreat that's coming up. 00:12:23.420 |
And so if you go to that table, they can take Zelle or cash. 00:12:35.420 |
I don't have a sample to show you, but I heard it was awesome. 00:12:41.420 |
so I'm gonna go there as soon as possible to get that. 00:12:44.420 |
So that is also going to help them with their summer retreat, 00:12:54.420 |
our brother Josh Yunui is gonna come up and give his testimony, 00:12:59.420 |
For those of you who brought physical offering, 00:13:02.420 |
there is an offering basket over there by that door as you're exiting. 00:13:13.420 |
for your continued grace and love over our lives. 00:13:24.420 |
help us, Lord God, to have faith, confidence. 00:13:28.420 |
Lord, that our profession would not be empty words, 00:13:40.420 |
that even in this giving may it be an act of worship to you, 00:13:44.420 |
and may it be multiplied 30, 60, 100-fold for your kingdom. 00:20:36.420 |
♪ When darkness fails, His love leaves no trace. ♪ 00:23:23.420 |
I had faithful parents who always tried to point me to God, 00:23:26.420 |
and I believe I was a pretty good person growing up. 00:23:31.420 |
I was a regular churchgoer without seeing my need for Christ 00:23:34.420 |
as a wretched sinner that had no true good inside. 00:23:37.420 |
When I was younger, I remember thinking that certain sins 00:23:43.420 |
In fact, I would completely zone out the pastor 00:23:45.420 |
and pinpoint the people who I thought really needed 00:23:51.420 |
I would try to convince and justify that I'm a better Christian 00:23:54.420 |
than others, making me so blind to my own sin 00:24:01.420 |
I didn't see how prideful, judgmental, greedy, 00:24:10.420 |
The worst of it all is that I thought this whole time 00:24:13.420 |
I was saved, and that was the furthest thing from the truth. 00:24:16.420 |
It was apparent that I had no real understanding 00:24:19.420 |
of the gravity of my sin, no idea how wrong it was 00:24:29.420 |
Things began to change for me in middle school, 00:24:34.420 |
I was going to my third different school in three years, 00:24:37.420 |
and with that came a lot of social anxiety and weariness, 00:24:44.420 |
and adapt to my surroundings again and again. 00:24:47.420 |
I felt like nobody understood what I was going through, 00:25:21.420 |
as the orchestrator of these events in my life, 00:25:53.420 |
The debt I couldn't pay that only Jesus could. 00:26:37.420 |
Fast-forwarding to my junior year of college, 00:26:40.420 |
I faced a humbling trial that tested my faith. 00:26:47.420 |
when a relationship I cared about so deeply fell apart. 00:26:56.420 |
I turned away from the Lord and stopped going to church. 00:26:59.420 |
In an effort to numb myself to the pain I was feeling, 00:27:03.420 |
I turned to alcohol, smoking, and the pleasures of the world. 00:27:07.420 |
I desired temporary fulfillment as a means to satisfy my flesh, 00:27:26.420 |
This path of destruction bled into this year of my senior year of college, 00:27:36.420 |
Yet again, God, full of grace and mercy, stepped in. 00:27:54.420 |
coupled with the guilt and shame I felt inside 00:28:05.420 |
I cannot explain why I walked through these sanctuary doors. 00:28:12.420 |
that drew me, as I had nothing inside that wanted God. 00:28:17.420 |
I was reminded of Jesus' redemptive work on the cross 00:28:23.420 |
There is no soul out of his reach or beyond saving. 00:28:29.420 |
as I remember the God who saved me years ago, 00:28:32.420 |
and how he has remained faithful to me, even when I was unfaithful to him. 00:28:36.420 |
It baffles me that God would pull me out of my pit of depravity, 00:28:40.420 |
when all I have to offer him are my sins, failures, and shortcomings. 00:28:44.420 |
This past year made me think of Luke 15, 11-32, 00:28:54.420 |
coming back to his gracious and loving father. 00:29:00.420 |
and leaving me to suffer my sin and worldly sorrow, 00:29:03.420 |
he had compassion on me and longed for me to walk beside him once again. 00:29:10.420 |
and I took for granted how good the Lord has been to me. 00:29:13.420 |
Rather than trusting in him and being grateful for the way he has sustained me, 00:29:17.420 |
I idolized and fixed my gaze on other people and the things of this world. 00:29:22.420 |
Instead of turning to him when I had no direction, 00:29:31.420 |
God had to break me for me to realize that all I need is him. 00:29:39.420 |
God was always right there holding me in the palm of his hands. 00:29:45.420 |
"God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 00:29:57.420 |
"Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, 00:29:59.420 |
keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, 00:30:09.420 |
for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ and God." 00:30:12.420 |
Praise the Lord for the work he has done in my life 00:30:18.420 |
I thank God for who he is and all his holiness and majesty 00:30:22.420 |
and how he has opened my eyes to the truth of the gospel. 00:30:26.420 |
A life without Christ is a life not worth living. 00:30:47.420 |
You understand when you're going into the water, 00:31:16.420 |
All right, Josh, thank you for that great testimony. 00:31:33.420 |
All right, if you can turn your Bibles with me 00:31:41.420 |
We're going to give our final message on this topic. 00:31:59.420 |
keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving, 00:32:04.420 |
that God will open up to us a door for the Word 00:32:07.420 |
so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, 00:32:13.420 |
that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak." 00:32:19.420 |
Heavenly Father, we pray that your Holy Spirit would guide us, 00:32:24.420 |
that your Word, your Word only, would go forth. 00:32:31.420 |
We desire to worship you and to listen to you. 00:32:38.420 |
protect the words that are coming out of my mouth. 00:32:46.420 |
Oftentimes, and I'm sure you may have said it, 00:33:05.420 |
you find that every problem that you see in today's church, 00:33:18.420 |
Every problem that you can think of exists in the early church. 00:33:25.420 |
because there was division and infighting within the church. 00:33:29.420 |
And there was this sharp division where before, 00:33:32.420 |
the rich people would hang out with the rich people 00:33:34.420 |
and poor people would hang out with poor people. 00:33:36.420 |
And so you can see how uncomfortable it would be 00:33:43.420 |
and there happened to be in this, a former slave, 00:33:48.420 |
And yeah, they caused a lot of problems in the early church, 00:33:51.420 |
and so there was a lot of divisions and concerns. 00:34:01.420 |
we think of faith without deeds is dead, which is true, 00:34:04.420 |
but the specific thing that he was addressing 00:34:06.420 |
was the division in the church between the rich and the poor. 00:34:09.420 |
So you'll notice that if you study the book of James, 00:34:11.420 |
that that's peppered throughout all of scripture. 00:34:13.420 |
In fact, James says this, and this is how he describes the problem, 00:34:19.420 |
"You lust and do not have, so you commit murder. 00:34:22.420 |
You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and you quarrel." 00:34:27.420 |
I mean, that doesn't sound like an ideal church. 00:34:30.420 |
Now, he says there's divisions, there's envy, 00:34:33.420 |
there's fighting, quarreling, and then he says you commit murder. 00:34:37.420 |
Now, I'm not sure if he's talking about literal murder 00:34:40.420 |
or he's referring to metaphorically when Jesus says 00:34:43.420 |
that if you hate your brother, you're committing murder. 00:34:45.420 |
We don't know, but the fact that he describes and says 00:34:48.420 |
that you commit murder, you have lust in your heart, you have envy, 00:34:52.420 |
and he says the reason why these problems exist in your church, 00:34:56.420 |
he says, "Because you do not have because you do not ask." 00:35:00.420 |
And then secondly, "You ask and do not receive 00:35:08.420 |
In other words, he says all kinds of problems 00:35:11.420 |
entered into the church because you're not praying. 00:35:15.420 |
And if you are praying, you're not praying effectively. 00:35:18.420 |
So he pinpoints in the book of James, he said, 00:35:21.420 |
"It is the lack of prayer that has caused all this problem in your church." 00:35:26.420 |
You're not asking. You want it from the world, 00:35:29.420 |
you want it from each other, you want it from hard work, 00:35:37.420 |
that here's my wish list, and then God, you know, 00:35:41.420 |
And then when it doesn't happen, you get frustrated, 00:35:43.420 |
and then basically you have a room filled with frustrated people. 00:35:47.420 |
There's division, there's envy, there's coveting, there's slander, 00:35:52.420 |
all kinds of things that come into the church. 00:35:54.420 |
And that's why you ever notice that if you've ever traveled, 00:36:04.420 |
Then if you go to parts of the world where it's kind of rural, 00:36:07.420 |
they just naturally tend to be more friendly and hospitable. 00:36:13.420 |
If you're around a lot of people all the time, 00:36:21.420 |
and if the church is filled with people who are frustrated, 00:36:26.420 |
relationships are going to be more difficult. 00:36:37.420 |
where you are doing customer care constantly, 00:36:41.420 |
that you're probably cranky at the end of the day, right? 00:36:46.420 |
So if you are surrounded by people who are frustrated, 00:36:51.420 |
And he says that's what happened in the church. 00:36:53.420 |
The reason why there's division and envy and slander and even murder 00:37:00.420 |
And when you are praying, you're praying ineffectively. 00:37:03.420 |
See, when he told us to pray, he didn't just say, 00:37:09.420 |
"I want to get married, and here's the qualities of a guy that I want." 00:37:14.420 |
He needs to have a certain kind of eye, certain skin, 00:37:27.420 |
We don't believe in the health and wealth gospel. 00:37:32.420 |
And yet, if we're not careful, the way we practice prayer 00:37:37.420 |
is no different than the health and wealth gospel. 00:37:41.420 |
the only difference is that they come out and say it, 00:37:46.420 |
If we believe him, he's going to bless us, so we do it. 00:37:49.420 |
We're savvy enough, and we know the Bible well enough, 00:37:52.420 |
to know that that's not what the Bible teaches. 00:37:54.420 |
And yet, the way we practice our faith is no different, 00:37:59.420 |
that what we desire from God is a bunch of wish lists 00:38:04.420 |
And he says the frustration, division in the church 00:38:10.420 |
And so when Paul tells them to be devoted to prayer, 00:38:15.420 |
and then in today's section, starting from verse 3 and 4, 00:38:19.420 |
he says, "Be devoted," and he gives them specific prayer requests. 00:38:22.420 |
One is to pray that the door will be opened for the Word of God, 00:38:29.420 |
Like I said, the praying is not just making a list. 00:38:32.420 |
The primary thing that we are called to pray for 00:38:39.420 |
He didn't just say, "Pray whatever you want." 00:38:40.420 |
In John 15:7, he says, "If you abide in me, my words abide in you. 00:38:44.420 |
Ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you." 00:38:57.420 |
And the Bible lays out for us so clearly what his will is. 00:39:04.420 |
We often seek his will in, "Do I get this job? 00:39:17.420 |
The Bible never says, "You need to be this, or you need to be that." 00:39:38.420 |
You cannot know God until you understand the mind and the heart. 00:39:43.420 |
That was exactly the problem with the Pharisees. 00:39:46.420 |
The Pharisees understood the letter of the law. 00:39:52.420 |
and they wanted to make sure that they kept the Sabbath holy, 00:39:55.420 |
and they wanted to be perfect in abiding by the law. 00:39:59.420 |
And that's exactly how Paul describes himself. 00:40:01.420 |
When it comes to the law, he said he was perfect. 00:40:13.420 |
as Jesus is hanging around the tax collectors and the sinners, it says in verse 1, 00:40:19.420 |
they're coming to listen to him, and he's engaging them. 00:40:24.420 |
"Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, 00:40:27.420 |
'The man receives sinners and eats with them.'" 00:40:37.420 |
And the reason why they're trying to keep the law 00:40:39.420 |
is because they went into captivity because they didn't keep the law. 00:40:45.420 |
So he said, "Because of all the years that you've ignored my Sabbath, 00:40:48.420 |
I'm going to take you into captivity for 70 years, 00:40:57.420 |
the Pharisees were created so that they can keep the law. 00:41:01.420 |
And that's why they said, "You're hanging around with sinners," 00:41:08.420 |
They're trying so hard to keep the letter of the law, 00:41:18.420 |
So if you notice, the Pharisees come to rebuke Jesus 00:41:25.420 |
but you're dragging everybody else with you to be unclean. 00:41:28.420 |
And if you keep doing that, then we're going to lose the blessing of God. 00:41:45.420 |
He says he leaves them behind because that one sheep is so precious to God 00:41:55.420 |
He's saying every single one of these sheep are important to God. 00:41:59.420 |
The second parable is just like the first parable, 00:42:06.420 |
and when he finally finds the coin, they throw a big celebration. 00:42:10.420 |
And then the third and the final and the main point that he was trying to get 00:42:13.420 |
is the prodigal son, which Josh mentioned this morning. 00:42:18.420 |
The prodigal son, in rebellion, wants his inheritance. 00:42:21.420 |
He disappears, and when he hits the pits, he comes back, 00:42:33.420 |
And then he turns around to the older brother who's complaining. 00:42:37.420 |
"I did all the things right, but you never celebrated for me." 00:42:41.420 |
And yet this guy goes in rebellion, he comes back, 00:42:47.420 |
started because the Pharisees pointed at Jesus and saying, 00:42:51.420 |
"You're hanging out with sinners, and you're making not only us unclean, 00:43:10.420 |
but you don't understand the purpose of the law." 00:43:14.420 |
"You understand the Bible, but you don't know the purpose of the Bible." 00:43:22.420 |
you end up dissecting the Bible, doing inductive Bible study, 00:43:25.420 |
and getting theology right, but you completely missed the whole point." 00:43:28.420 |
This whole reason why Leviticus and Sabbath and all of that was established 00:43:32.420 |
was to prepare them for what Jesus came to do. 00:43:38.420 |
"For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost." 00:43:49.420 |
Not to simply show them an example of what a man looks like 00:44:00.420 |
was so that it would prepare you for my coming. 00:44:05.420 |
In fact, Paul himself says, 1 Corinthians 3, 9, 00:44:07.420 |
"For we are God's fellow workers, you are God's field, God's building." 00:44:20.420 |
We're not just observants. We don't just watch him. 00:44:26.420 |
we are to be his co-laborers for the same purpose. 00:44:36.420 |
as though God were making an appeal through us." 00:44:39.420 |
We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 00:44:47.420 |
now that we are saved, we are called to do the same. 00:44:53.420 |
To plead with the fallen world to be reconciled with God. 00:45:08.420 |
But in your devotion, it's not just being devoted 00:45:11.420 |
and after you make a list of things that you want. 00:45:17.420 |
All of that, every Buddhist prayer, looks the same. 00:45:29.420 |
Say, "Lord, answer my prayer so that I can have a better business. 00:45:36.420 |
Every Mormon, every Catholic, every Muslim prays that same prayer. 00:45:42.420 |
If our prayers don't look any different, then we're no different. 00:45:45.420 |
We just have chosen this avenue to get what we want. 00:45:49.420 |
That's not what he's saying when he says to be devoted to prayer. 00:45:53.420 |
He said, "Be devoted to prayer that the door may be open 00:46:10.420 |
It's like, "We live in Orange County, so we don't see a lot of open doors." 00:46:18.420 |
but we don't see much open doors here because people are not welcoming. 00:46:23.420 |
I remember back in the '80s, as a young Christian, 00:46:31.420 |
And I remember in send-off services, people would be in tears. 00:46:36.420 |
And the reason why they were in tears is because back then, 00:46:40.420 |
when people went out to missions, we didn't expect them to come back 00:46:48.420 |
Even in 1993, when I was in China, just to make one phone call cost me $30. 00:46:58.420 |
So it's a blessing because we're able to communicate, 00:47:03.420 |
But back then, once you left, that was your life. 00:47:08.420 |
I had one of my friends, one of my roommates, 00:47:11.420 |
I remember when they were headed out for missions, 00:47:14.420 |
he had an aging father that he had to take care of, 00:47:17.420 |
and at the end of the day, he entrusted him to the Lord, and he left. 00:47:22.420 |
And when he left, he left knowing, or at least believing, 00:47:26.420 |
that he's never going to be able to see his dad again. 00:47:36.420 |
All of this, if we recognize it for what it is, is a blessing from God 00:47:39.420 |
that the world has become a lot more accessible. 00:47:42.420 |
But along with that has created a spirit of ease within the church 00:47:47.420 |
where an open door means a rolled-out red carpet. 00:47:52.420 |
Our bills are paid. Our children are taken care of. 00:47:59.420 |
And so all of that's to be laid out, or else the door's not-- 00:48:02.420 |
door's not open because they don't want us here. 00:48:06.420 |
Door's not open because we don't have enough money. 00:48:13.420 |
"For a wide door for effective service has opened to me, 00:48:20.420 |
I mean, in our culture, he says "many adversaries." 00:48:25.420 |
They don't want me there, so maybe the door's not open. 00:48:29.420 |
but there's many people who don't want me to be there." 00:48:33.420 |
You notice that Paul says, "Pray for the open door," 00:48:46.420 |
In fact, oftentimes, the opposition was what led to the revival. 00:48:54.420 |
"But you know that it was because of bodily illness 00:48:57.420 |
that I preached the Gospel to you the first time." 00:49:03.420 |
And we say, "Well, if I'm ill, that means the door is shut." 00:49:06.420 |
Because I have to be healthy, the bills have to be paid, 00:49:09.420 |
we have to be welcomed, there has to be somebody welcoming us, 00:49:17.420 |
because God caused me to be ill, the door was open, 00:49:21.420 |
and I preached the Gospel to you the first time, 00:49:23.420 |
and that which was a trial to you in my bodily condition, 00:49:26.420 |
you did not despise or loathe, but you received me 00:49:28.420 |
as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus himself." 00:49:30.420 |
So open door for him was his illness, was his sickness. 00:49:37.420 |
"Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord 00:49:40.420 |
will spread rapidly and be glorified just as it did also with you." 00:49:44.420 |
He didn't just pray and then wait to see the red carpet. 00:49:50.420 |
He had a sense of urgency to get the Gospel out. 00:49:54.420 |
So he prayed and he acted to see in what avenue, 00:50:03.420 |
In fact, in Ephesians 5, 15-16, "Therefore be careful how you walk, 00:50:06.420 |
not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, 00:50:15.420 |
Think about what has happened in the last two years, 00:50:22.420 |
and some churches shut down a bit longer than that. 00:50:27.420 |
And during that period, there was a disturbance in the church 00:50:31.420 |
because they were saying this is not essential, 00:50:33.420 |
and that you're not allowed to sing, you have to wear a mask. 00:50:36.420 |
And so restrictions were given against the Constitution, 00:50:47.420 |
And we live in a free country where we can fight, where we can vote. 00:50:51.420 |
But in the midst of this, if we're not careful, 00:50:55.420 |
we can completely miss the open door that God has created for us. 00:51:00.420 |
That our primary problem should not be complaining 00:51:03.420 |
that they're making it harder for us to get together, 00:51:07.420 |
what has this caused for the purpose of the gospel? 00:51:13.420 |
Doors have been opened more widely than I've seen in my whole ministry career. 00:51:24.420 |
wondering if there's more to this life than this, than ever before. 00:51:28.420 |
Just non-Christians who've never attended church are just walking in, asking questions. 00:51:34.420 |
I've had phone calls at the beginning of the pandemic 00:51:38.420 |
from people that I've known when they were younger, 00:51:40.420 |
who've fallen away many years ago, calling me, 00:51:47.420 |
and they were scared that maybe they're going to fall, 00:51:49.420 |
and then they don't want to die in that state. 00:51:51.420 |
So they were calling me, asking me for prayer, 00:51:53.420 |
so they would bring to prayer and repentance and come back. 00:52:00.420 |
That although on the surface, there were some restrictions and discomfort, 00:52:05.420 |
but behind the scene, it was clear that God was working. 00:52:10.420 |
When our mind and heart is focused on ourselves, it's easy to miss that. 00:52:15.420 |
That God has opened doors to make every opportunity. 00:52:23.420 |
He says, "But there's tons of people, nurses, doctors, other patients." 00:52:27.420 |
I feel like the hospital is one of the best places to share the gospel, 00:52:31.420 |
because people are desperate, they're in need. 00:52:34.420 |
Those of you who are nurses, those of you who are teachers, 00:52:38.420 |
those of you who are in the corporate, working, 00:52:41.420 |
doors are open when we are praying and asking God, and we are seeking. 00:52:51.420 |
But when we look for an open door, meaning they're inviting us, 00:52:55.420 |
the red carpet, and I come to, I'm desperate, can you come teach me? 00:53:02.420 |
It's like, "What prevents me from being baptized?" 00:53:10.420 |
Paul was eagerly, "Devote yourself to prayer for opportunities to preach the gospel," 00:53:16.420 |
he says, "so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ." 00:53:20.420 |
Speak forth, to proclaim the mystery of Christ. 00:53:30.420 |
No one is really supposed to understand this, it's the mystery. 00:53:40.420 |
There are some parts of it where it's reflective of what the Bible says, 00:53:44.420 |
but repeatedly over and over again in the New Testament, 00:53:51.420 |
You know, I looked up to see, like online, to see what is a mystery? 00:53:59.420 |
And I came across seven things that is required to be a good mystery, right? 00:54:05.420 |
And this is not a Christian thing, it's just their definition of, 00:54:08.420 |
if you're going to make a movie, if you're going to make a mystery novel, 00:54:12.420 |
First, it says it requires a strong hook, meaning a problem, 00:54:18.420 |
So if you watch a movie, like it starts with an event, boom, you know, 00:54:23.420 |
they're all having drinks and they're having fun, 00:54:26.420 |
and boom, the light turns off and somebody's dead, right? 00:54:30.420 |
And usually some kind of a big crime, who did it? 00:54:42.420 |
Genesis begins with God's glory in creation, and then he says, 00:54:46.420 |
"If you eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall surely die." 00:54:53.420 |
And as a result of that, God said, "You're going to die." 00:54:56.420 |
So the hook is, the problem is, how are we going to solve this 00:55:00.420 |
when God clearly says in the beginning that we're going to die? 00:55:06.420 |
So the whole book of the Bible is solving this problem. 00:55:14.420 |
Well, second thing it says, there's a detective. 00:55:17.420 |
They call it a sleuth, there's somebody who's there who's examining, 00:55:20.420 |
So every mystery has somebody who's there trying to figure this out. 00:55:27.420 |
The whole purpose of reading the Bible is to get the hook, 00:55:30.420 |
this is the problem, how do we figure this out? 00:55:32.420 |
And we're examining and putting the pieces together. 00:55:35.420 |
And then third, it says it requires a villain, right? 00:55:39.420 |
Somebody who's always trying to mess up the story. 00:55:44.420 |
He's tripping people up in everything that God is doing. 00:55:52.420 |
That every part of this mystery, they're all connected together. 00:55:54.420 |
So something that you found out in chapter 2, you reveal is connected to this. 00:55:58.420 |
And then you see Genesis, how connected to Leviticus, 00:56:01.420 |
and how Leviticus is connected to the book of Daniel. 00:56:04.420 |
And you see a flowing narrative, what we call the meta-narrative. 00:56:08.420 |
Meta-narrative is every part of the Bible that's connected to each other. 00:56:18.420 |
Clues are dropped all throughout this meta-narrative 00:56:22.420 |
to kind of get you to be sucked in, that this is coming, 00:56:25.420 |
that this is what's going on, but this is coming. 00:56:30.420 |
All throughout the Bible, the prophets are dropping hints here, 00:56:33.420 |
this is coming, we know this is what's happening, and this caused this, 00:56:36.420 |
but at the end, this is what it's leading to. 00:56:43.420 |
Meaning there's things that cause you to go astray, 00:56:45.420 |
thinking like maybe this is the answer, and you realize that's not the answer. 00:56:49.420 |
Maybe this is the answer, that's not the answer. 00:56:55.420 |
Promising peace while they themselves are prisoners of their own flesh. 00:57:00.420 |
Again, this is not--I didn't get this from the Bible. 00:57:03.420 |
This is what Hollywood's saying is if you want to make a good narrative, 00:57:06.420 |
write a good mystery, this is what's required. 00:57:14.420 |
You don't start with a hook and say, "Oh, well," and then it finishes. 00:57:17.420 |
The purpose of this is to draw the people into the narrative 00:57:23.420 |
so that when we come to the conclusion, we all realize how we got here. 00:57:30.420 |
That's why you can't jump into the middle of the story in the mystery, 00:57:34.420 |
because by the time you get to the conclusion, 00:57:36.420 |
you don't really understand why this needed to be solved. 00:57:43.420 |
Why does he just say they sinned, Jesus came, you believe, and we're in heaven, 00:57:51.420 |
That's the reason why you get hooked on mystery, 00:57:53.420 |
because as you get hooked on the mystery, we become engaged in this story. 00:57:59.420 |
We're not just studying it. We're not just examining it. 00:58:02.420 |
We're engaged. We become part of this story as we try to unravel this problem. 00:58:09.420 |
And as we observe what God is doing throughout history, 00:58:11.420 |
by the time when Christ comes and we are glorified, we're part of this story. 00:58:18.420 |
We're not just observers. All for what purpose? 00:58:22.420 |
So that he may open our eyes to the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:58:28.420 |
That we may know the value of what we have in him. 00:58:32.420 |
And that's why Paul says to be devoted in prayer, 00:58:38.420 |
that I may speak forth to proclaim the mystery of Christ, 00:58:41.420 |
that I may make it clear, so that other people may be drawn into this mystery. 00:58:51.420 |
but to be sucked into this mystery so that we may celebrate Christ together. 00:58:57.420 |
That's why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2, 1-5, 00:59:00.420 |
he says the power of the gospel is the message itself, is Christ crucified. 00:59:06.420 |
1 Corinthians 2, 1-5, "And when I came to you, brethren, 00:59:08.420 |
I did not come with superiority of speech or wisdom." 00:59:11.420 |
He was not a salesman. Paul was not effective because he was gifted in speaking. 00:59:17.420 |
In fact, the New Testament describes him as they weren't impressed with his preaching. 00:59:22.420 |
Apollos was the preacher. Peter was the man of action. 00:59:27.420 |
Paul was more like a scholar. But they were not impressed with his preaching. 00:59:32.420 |
He said, "I did not come with superiority of speech or wisdom, 00:59:38.420 |
Think about it. If his primary call was to make the gospel clear, 00:59:43.420 |
you would think that the best person for this is the most gifted speaker. 00:59:57.420 |
but he was a broken man who recognized his own sins. 01:00:03.420 |
for I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 01:00:09.420 |
I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling." 01:00:13.420 |
In other words, I can't take the credit for what happened. 01:00:18.420 |
If you were to look to me, it says I was weak, I was trembling, I was in fear. 01:00:25.420 |
I wasn't fruitful because I knew better or I was more disciplined. 01:00:33.420 |
"And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, 01:00:36.420 |
but in demonstration of the Spirit and power, 01:00:38.420 |
so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of man, but on the power of God." 01:00:43.420 |
Now, some people look at this and say, "Well, he demonstrated the power of God. 01:00:46.420 |
He was an apostle, so he performed miracles." 01:00:48.420 |
Now, that's not something we can do, so therefore this is not relevant to us. 01:00:53.420 |
Now, we may not be apostles and we may not be showing sign gifts, 01:01:03.420 |
He was able to perform miracles because there were sign gifts to prove who he was. 01:01:07.420 |
But that same Holy Spirit, that same power resides in us. 01:01:12.420 |
So he says he was determined that in his preaching, that in his sharing, 01:01:18.420 |
that the power of the Holy Spirit, not his power, but the power of the Holy Spirit is demonstrated. 01:01:23.420 |
Now, let me break this down in practicality, what that looks like. 01:01:29.420 |
When we pray, we're communing with the Holy Spirit. 01:01:35.420 |
And we are abiding by the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus said in John 15, 01:01:40.420 |
"You cannot bear fruit unless you are abiding in me." 01:01:42.420 |
And then he was talking about the Holy Spirit that's going to come, 01:01:44.420 |
the Counselor who's going to teach you all things. 01:01:46.420 |
And you need to continue abiding in the Holy Spirit if you want to bear fruit. 01:01:50.420 |
So when we pray, we are communing and abiding in the Holy Spirit. 01:01:54.420 |
So when the Holy Spirit is ignited in us, if you can use those words, 01:02:00.420 |
when the Holy Spirit is groaning on our behalf, what happens? 01:02:08.420 |
We sing every week songs, we study doctrines, but our problem is 01:02:13.420 |
our life doesn't take us down that direction. 01:02:16.420 |
Our natural life takes us down a direction like everybody else. 01:02:20.420 |
We're worried about paying bills and taking care of our children 01:02:23.420 |
and getting jobs and being sick and not getting sick 01:02:31.420 |
So we come to church, at best, 10% of your life, at best, 01:02:35.420 |
it's probably not even 10%, 10% of your life you're being reminded 01:02:43.420 |
We're going to go. We're just sojourners passing through. 01:02:45.420 |
But the 90% of our life is, "I don't want my kids to miss out. 01:02:53.420 |
I want to live a long life. I want my parents to do well. 01:03:01.420 |
But when the Holy Spirit is ignited in us, all of a sudden, 01:03:06.420 |
everything that we profess to believe becomes real. 01:03:10.420 |
It becomes real, that this is just--we're just passing through. 01:03:14.420 |
We see everything through the lens of the Holy Spirit. 01:03:17.420 |
And when that happens, conviction comes over us. 01:03:21.420 |
Conviction. Not just profession, but conviction. 01:03:26.420 |
We can profess, we can sing about the words that we sing, 01:03:29.420 |
but you know the difference between convicted by those words 01:03:36.420 |
So when the Holy Spirit is working in us, conviction, things become real. 01:03:41.420 |
Life and death and judgment and grace and eternity becomes real. 01:03:46.420 |
It's not just a doctrine of the church, it's the reality of our lives. 01:03:49.420 |
And then when conviction happens, conviction brings boldness. 01:03:54.420 |
When you see somebody who is on a boat, ready to fall off of a cliff, or a fall, 01:04:01.420 |
your natural reaction--because if you believe that that's happening, 01:04:04.420 |
your natural reaction is, "Get off that boat!" 01:04:07.420 |
You don't have to be an extrovert to have boldness. 01:04:14.420 |
Boldness doesn't come from training. Boldness doesn't come from talent. 01:04:21.420 |
If you believe that that's what's happening, your natural knee-jerk reaction, 01:04:24.420 |
no matter what kind of person, no matter what gifting you have, 01:04:33.420 |
But the reason why we don't feel a sense of urgency is because of lack of conviction. 01:04:38.420 |
And the reason we have lack of conviction is because we're not walking in the Spirit. 01:04:43.420 |
And the reason why we're not walking in the Spirit is because we're not praying. 01:04:48.420 |
So what we are engaged in requires us to pray, to open our eyes, to be convicted. 01:04:54.420 |
And this conviction leads to boldness, and this conviction also leads to compassion. 01:05:00.420 |
Because if we're really convicted that this boat is going to fall off the edge, 01:05:07.420 |
we don't look at them as, "Oh, we're so disgusted by these people because they don't listen. 01:05:15.420 |
Even though they oppose us, even though they hate us, 01:05:19.420 |
we're headed to eternal life, and they're headed to eternal judgment. 01:05:28.420 |
And it is our compassion that causes us to pray for the lost souls. 01:05:34.420 |
And this is the circular life of a Christian. 01:05:39.420 |
That we come before the Lord, devoting ourselves to pray, 01:05:46.420 |
He gives us conviction and boldness and compassion, 01:05:49.420 |
which leads us to deeper prayer, more urgent prayer. 01:05:55.420 |
I'm going to conclude today's message of how the prayer was unfolding in Paul's life. 01:06:08.420 |
As he was asking, "Devote yourself to prayer, Lord, for the word to be opened, 01:06:12.420 |
so that I may make the mystery of Christ, to make it clear." 01:06:18.420 |
Well, those of you who were with us in the study of the Book of Romans, 01:06:25.420 |
Romans, Book of Romans, at the end in chapter 15, ends with Paul's plea for prayer. 01:06:33.420 |
"Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the love of the Spirit, 01:06:37.420 |
to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me." 01:06:41.420 |
So he asked for prayer. He ends almost every letter with petition for prayer. 01:06:45.420 |
But I want you to pay attention to specifically what he prays for. 01:06:48.420 |
Now understand that Romans was written while Paul was in Corinth. 01:06:52.420 |
He's never been to Rome. He's hoping to go to Rome. 01:06:55.420 |
So he's at the tail end of his third missionary journey, 01:06:59.420 |
and he's writing to the Roman Christians because that's the epicenter of the world at that time. 01:07:06.420 |
And if you wanted to be anybody, you needed to be able to go to Rome. 01:07:10.420 |
But the problem was the persecution was so heavy 01:07:15.420 |
that in Jerusalem there are people waiting to kill him. 01:07:18.420 |
And it's almost impossible to go to Rome because of what's happening with the Romans. 01:07:23.420 |
But he says, "I'm praying." There's a reason why he was avoiding this trip, 01:07:27.420 |
but he said, "Pray for me so that the door may be open so that I may come to you." 01:07:32.420 |
"That I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, 01:07:35.420 |
and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints." 01:07:40.420 |
Pray that I can go to Jerusalem, and these people who hate me, 01:07:45.420 |
they're waiting for me to show up so they can kill me for protection. 01:07:48.420 |
But not only protection so that I don't get hurt, 01:07:51.420 |
but that I may preach the gospel and minister to the saints. 01:07:55.420 |
In this very hostile--I mean, that's where it started, remember? 01:08:05.420 |
And that's where the persecution was so intense. 01:08:08.420 |
And Apostle Paul was the one who was in the middle of all of that. 01:08:11.420 |
And he said he wants to go back to Jerusalem knowing that they want to kill him. 01:08:14.420 |
So pray for me so that I can go there and be protected, but still be able to minister. 01:08:18.420 |
And then he says, "So that I may come to you." 01:08:21.420 |
"So that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company." 01:08:26.420 |
I want to ultimately do ministry in Jerusalem and then end up in Rome 01:08:31.420 |
so that I can continue to minister and preach the gospel there. 01:08:38.420 |
Pray that I may go into North Korea and not only be protected and not get arrested, 01:08:42.420 |
but that I may have fruitful ministry out in North Korea knowing everybody is coming to get me. 01:08:47.420 |
And then after that, when I'm done, pray that I can go and talk to Kim Jong-un himself. 01:08:53.420 |
That's what that prayer would have sounded like. 01:08:58.420 |
Well, when you look at the book of Acts, it tells us how this unfolds. 01:09:05.420 |
Paul, after he writes his letter, about a year later, he is planning to go to Jerusalem. 01:09:11.420 |
And the prophet Agabus comes and says, "You can't go to Jerusalem because God has revealed to me 01:09:16.420 |
when you go there, you're going to be bound. They're going to put you in prison." 01:09:20.420 |
Paul responds to them, "Not only am I willing to be put into prison, I'm ready to die for this." 01:09:26.420 |
So they spent all night praying for him, weeping because they were afraid that they're never going to see him. 01:09:33.420 |
Sure enough, in chapter 21, 27, he shows up in Jerusalem and he enters into the temple. 01:09:38.420 |
And they recognize him. As soon as they recognize him, a mob forms. 01:09:41.420 |
That's the guy we've been made. He's the guy who's been disturbing our faith. 01:09:45.420 |
And so a mob comes and attacks him and beats him and ready to kill him. 01:09:50.420 |
But then the Roman guards hear about this and the high officials say, "We've got to stop this or we're going to have a riot among us." 01:09:57.420 |
They go down with soldiers and they protect him. 01:10:03.420 |
So they can't touch him anymore because the Roman guards have come. 01:10:06.420 |
And instead of walking out of that safely, Apostle Paul says, "Give me an opportunity to defend myself." 01:10:14.420 |
So he turns around and the mob that wants to kill him, he preaches the gospel. 01:10:19.420 |
But they can't touch him because the Roman guards are protecting him. 01:10:24.420 |
So he preaches the gospel and they're infuriated. They're angry. 01:10:27.420 |
So they demand of the Roman guards saying, "This is not right. 01:10:33.420 |
We need to crucify this man just like his Lord was crucified." 01:10:40.420 |
So by the protection of the Roman guards, they take him and place him in front of Ananias, the leaders of Israel. 01:10:47.420 |
And he says, "Okay, what do you have to say for yourself?" 01:10:52.420 |
And they can't touch him because the Roman guards are protecting him. 01:11:00.420 |
People are so angry with him. It says that 40 Jews took a vow of starvation until this man is killed. 01:11:10.420 |
And so they were scheming and said, "You know, when he gets moved from there to go to Felix, 01:11:15.420 |
we're going to find the road that he's going to take and the 40 of us are going to jump in and he's going to kill. 01:11:23.420 |
And then a family member of Paul hears about this and then he goes and tells. 01:11:35.420 |
"Get 200 soldiers ready by the third hour of the night to proceed to Caesarea. 01:11:40.420 |
With 70 horsemen and 200 spearmen, they were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to Felix, the governor." 01:11:50.420 |
470 soldiers. 470 soldiers are ignited to protect him so that he can get. 01:11:59.420 |
So all the while he's in Jerusalem in the area ministering to God. 01:12:03.420 |
And I always wonder whatever happened to those 40 people. 01:12:08.420 |
I figured like, you know, maybe some of them starve to death. 01:12:12.420 |
My guess is at some point they had, you know, maybe it was kind of rash. 01:12:24.420 |
Paul, under the protection of the Roman guards, put into house arrest. 01:12:29.420 |
And Felix, not because he had some sympathy toward Christians, but because of his greed, 01:12:36.420 |
protects him, puts him under house arrest, and this is what it says. 01:12:45.420 |
"Then he gave orders to the centurion for him to be kept in custody and yet have some freedom 01:12:51.420 |
and not to prevent any of his friends from ministering to him." 01:12:58.420 |
Under the protection of these Roman guards, he said because he wanted a kickback, 01:13:03.420 |
he was hoping that Paul, this man seems like he's connected and maybe he'll give us some money. 01:13:08.420 |
So he kept him there for two years, protecting him. 01:13:12.420 |
And he said, "Give him some freedom and let his friends come back and forth and minister to him." 01:13:19.420 |
Under the protection of the Roman guards, he's ministering to people there, preaching the gospel. 01:13:28.420 |
Who could have imagined, like, what could he have orchestrated? 01:13:31.420 |
What planning, what training would have provided that? 01:13:34.420 |
It was supernatural. Only a sovereign God could have done that. 01:13:38.420 |
After two years, Felix realizes he's not going to get any kickback. 01:13:43.420 |
The next governor comes, Festus. He stands before Festus and begins to preach the gospel. 01:13:51.420 |
He hears the case and he says, "This man has done nothing wrong. 01:13:59.420 |
He said, "I'm a Roman citizen. I demand, I demand an audience with Kim Jong-un, Caesar." 01:14:08.420 |
They said, "Because this man has done nothing wrong, but because he appealed to Caesar, 01:14:17.420 |
This is awesome! I'm preaching the gospel with Roman guards protecting me at the epicenter! 01:14:25.420 |
So they put him on a boat, and on this boat with Roman guards, 01:14:29.420 |
they run into all kinds of trouble, and they think they're going to die. 01:14:33.420 |
And they're worshiping their idols, and then Paul stands up in the middle of this, 01:14:37.420 |
and the God that I serve has told me this, and you do this, and this, and this. 01:14:44.420 |
So they begin to say, "Oh my gosh, your God is the true God." 01:14:48.420 |
And so all of a sudden he wins the whole guard over, and then they end up in Malta to recoup. 01:14:55.420 |
And while they're at Malta, a vandal comes and bites Paul. 01:15:00.420 |
So all the people in Malta say, "He must have done something wrong. 01:15:03.420 |
He survived the shipwreck, but clearly the gods are against him because he was bitten. 01:15:07.420 |
They're waiting for him to die, but he doesn't die." 01:15:11.420 |
And because he doesn't die, all of a sudden their opinion completely changes. 01:15:15.420 |
This guy was saved from a shipwreck, and he survives the venom! 01:15:22.420 |
And so not only does he win over the guards, he wins over Malta, 01:15:26.420 |
and then he gets on his boat, and they finally end up in Rome under the protection of these guards. 01:15:37.420 |
There's something supernatural about this man. 01:15:39.420 |
So even before he goes, he comes to Rome, and they're not hostile. 01:15:48.420 |
"When they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers." 01:15:56.420 |
So they're coming, they're intrigued, so they're coming to him. 01:15:59.420 |
"And he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God 01:16:03.420 |
and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus from both the law of Moses and from the prophets 01:16:10.420 |
Some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe." 01:16:14.420 |
Paul was making clear the mystery of the gospel of Jesus Christ 01:16:18.420 |
under the protection of the guards as a celebrity, 01:16:22.420 |
and they're coming. He's not going out looking for them. 01:16:24.420 |
He's not church planting. He's just in his prison, whatever that is, right, at that moment. 01:16:29.420 |
They're coming to him asking questions, and then some people are persuaded 01:16:32.420 |
and some people are not, and those who are not persuaded 01:16:35.420 |
usually were angry and want to kill him, but they can't touch him 01:16:45.420 |
"And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters 01:16:52.420 |
preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ 01:17:07.420 |
If we didn't study the Bible, we wouldn't have known 01:17:10.420 |
that this was a specific answer to the prayer at the end of the Book of Romans. 01:17:15.420 |
I remember the first time coming through the Book of Acts after, 01:17:20.420 |
and it's like, "Oh my gosh, it's like a puzzle coming together." 01:17:23.420 |
I've never read this in any commentary. I've never heard anybody preach on it, 01:17:26.420 |
but clearly it's spelled out here, and I remember the chills that I got. 01:17:30.420 |
It's almost kind of like God opening up the curtain. 01:17:34.420 |
If we feel that way reading this, can you imagine how Paul felt 01:17:40.420 |
as he prayed, as doors being opened, protection of the guards, 01:17:45.420 |
they're coming to him, and you say God's not real? 01:18:02.420 |
That's why you can admire him, you can sing songs, 01:18:08.420 |
you can study, but you're unwilling to give everything to follow him 01:18:14.420 |
because it's a theory, because it's theology. 01:18:18.420 |
But when we pray according to his heart, his will, he said, "I will answer." 01:18:27.420 |
That's what causes us to evaluate everything with that lens. 01:18:33.420 |
If we don't understand the heart of God, you can spend all your life 01:18:37.420 |
raising godly children, paying your bills, saving up for retirement, 01:18:43.420 |
and look no different than any other religion. 01:18:47.420 |
You're just doing it in the name of Jesus, but it's about you, 01:18:52.420 |
your safety, your children, even the discipleship, all of it. 01:18:58.420 |
But when we see things through this lens, good and bad is evaluated 01:19:08.420 |
Persecution is good if the gospel is more powerful. 01:19:13.420 |
Sickness is good if that opens the door for the gospel to be preached. 01:19:18.420 |
Even early death is good in that perspective if the gospel is able to spread. 01:19:30.420 |
We have to interact and fellowship with the heart of God. 01:19:34.420 |
Because when he said that he came to give this life abundantly, 01:19:37.420 |
can you imagine the joy of Apostle Paul, even in the midst of being beaten 01:19:42.420 |
and early death, to be in the midst and in the middle of the will of God? 01:19:48.420 |
That knowing that he's fellowshipping with God, he's walking with God, 01:19:55.420 |
And then that's why we can understand, and only then can you understand 01:19:58.420 |
when Paul says, "If you ask me, do I want to depart or stay here? 01:20:03.420 |
Do I want to get out of this prison?" He says in Philippians 1. 01:20:06.420 |
"Do I want to get out of prison and live a long, prosperous life? 01:20:12.420 |
He said, "If you ask me, if I want to be selfish, I'm ready to go. 01:20:16.420 |
I want to meet this Lord face to face, the person I've been worshipping, 01:20:20.420 |
the one who saved me, the one who's so gracious to me, 01:20:27.420 |
But because it means more fruitful labor for you, 01:20:29.420 |
I know that I'm going to stay because God's not done with me here. 01:20:33.420 |
Can you imagine the joy? Can you imagine the worship? 01:20:38.420 |
Can you imagine the passion that Apostle Paul lived with? 01:20:42.420 |
That even as he is being beheaded, it was glory. 01:20:47.420 |
My prayer is that in some small way, that we would taste what that feels like, 01:20:56.420 |
that we would devote ourselves to pray, devote ourselves to what God is pursuing, 01:21:03.420 |
that somehow, someway this year, that we would become prayer warriors, 01:21:12.420 |
and that we would actively pursue what He is pursuing through us. 01:21:22.420 |
Let's take a few minutes to come before the Lord in prayer. 01:21:30.420 |
what does devoting yourself to prayer look like practically in your life, 01:21:33.420 |
not just wishful thinking, but how is that going to be applied in our lives? 01:21:38.420 |
What doors are open? Ask God to open my eyes to see. 01:21:41.420 |
What doors has He opened that I'm not being obedient to? 01:21:47.420 |
Let's really commit ourselves to be devoted to pray, to make the gospel clear. 01:21:52.420 |
Let's take some time to pray again as our worship team leads us. 01:25:29.420 |
As I follow You, I depend on You, I depend on You. 01:28:49.420 |
rest, encourage, rebuke, and strengthen the Church, Lord God, 01:28:56.420 |
wherever You send us, that we would be the sweet aroma of Christ. 01:29:00.420 |
May Christ's name be exalted in our private lives. 01:29:05.420 |
May Christ's name be adored and exalted in our public lives. 01:29:10.420 |
May You and You alone receive all the glory wherever You send us. 01:31:30.420 |
You pulled me from the ashes You have broken every curse 01:31:37.420 |
Blessed Redeemer You have set this character free