back to indexBerean Community Church Sunday Service 10/17/2021
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Good morning church family, happy Lord's Day. We will now begin our service. 00:08:23.000 |
Good morning, welcome to Berean Community Church. Let me get to a few announcements before we get started here. 00:08:29.000 |
First of all, for Trunk Formation, that's coming up in a few weeks on Sunday, on October 31st. 00:08:35.000 |
Just a quick note that our time for that has changed from 5 to 7 to 4 to 6 because of the parents who are waiting around and also the light is getting darker. 00:08:49.000 |
Okay, so anyway, the sun, whatever. Okay, so we want to try to finish everything before it gets dark. 00:08:58.000 |
So we're going to do it from 4 to 6 o'clock. They're still asking for volunteers for the Trunk Formation, so if you want to decorate, you want to team up with some people and then decorate the trunk, they're still taking volunteers for that. 00:09:12.000 |
Bible Study Lab, how to do inductive Bible study, that's being led by Pastor Mark. That's starting also on November 7th and it'll be three weeks. 00:09:22.000 |
So if you want to learn how to do inductive Bible study to kind of better help you for what we're doing on Wednesday in the home groups, please sign up for that and that's a three or four week course. 00:09:30.000 |
Anyway, Pastor Mark is leading that, so please sign up for that. 00:09:33.000 |
And then one last thing, on November 7th, and I'm going to keep announcing this until we get there, it's National Orphan Sunday and we're using that as kind of a platform to encourage and to teach our church about what's going on as far as the adoption things are going on. 00:09:51.000 |
So we have different booths, different organizations that are going to come here and set up booths for us. 00:09:55.000 |
Compassion is going to come, Holt International is going to come, I think there's a couple others that are going to be coming here that you're going to be able to go to the booth and ask questions. 00:10:03.000 |
And so the push really is to kind of get involved with the ministry, the Orphan Care Ministry and various ministries that will come that Sunday. 00:10:13.000 |
We have a lot of families who have adopted, are in the process of adopting or given application. 00:10:19.000 |
We have some families who are doing foster care. 00:10:22.000 |
Embryo adoption is a new thing that's going on, so there will be some information that's going to be given to that. 00:10:27.000 |
We have a family who's in the process of doing that as well. 00:10:30.000 |
And so we have a special guest speaker that's going to be coming to speak on that subject that Sunday. 00:10:37.000 |
So along with that, I know some of you may not be close to thinking about or praying about adoption anytime soon. 00:10:46.000 |
So one of the ways that we can get involved is to encourage other families to do so. 00:10:50.000 |
And so we are going to be taking an offering that's going to be specifically used for scholarship for members in our church who are in the process of adopting. 00:11:00.000 |
Once they're done and because there's quite a bit of cost involved with adoption so that we can come alongside and help with some of the costs. 00:11:07.000 |
So we're going to be offering scholarship for that. 00:11:10.000 |
Encourage other younger families to get involved with that. 00:11:16.000 |
We're going to keep announcing and to remind you, but on the 7th of that Sunday, we are going to be taking a special offering that's going to be used specifically for that. 00:11:26.000 |
And anybody who has questions, that Sunday will be the day where you can talk to some of the families who have already gone through it and are in the process of doing that. 00:11:34.000 |
So if you want any information, that information will be given on that Sunday. 00:11:38.000 |
All right, so let me pray for us and give you an opportunity to give your offering. 00:11:42.000 |
And again, if you're new to the church, we have a physical offering basket in the back. 00:11:54.000 |
Father, we thank you for your continued graciousness and love that you pour upon us. 00:11:58.000 |
Things that we are aware of and things that we may not be aware of. 00:12:01.000 |
Help us, Lord God, to be sober-minded that in all that we do, that we may do it purposefully. 00:12:07.000 |
That even in this giving, Lord God, help us to give it to you as an act of worship. 00:12:11.000 |
Cheerfully, joyfully, Lord, that it may be multiplied for your use. 00:12:15.000 |
So we ask for your blessing. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 00:13:12.000 |
For those inside the sanctuary, let us rise as we sing these praises. 00:14:02.460 |
The molecules and planets reveal your great design. 00:14:21.700 |
You are the glorious Christ, greatest of all delights. 00:14:34.640 |
Your power is unequal, your love beyond all lies. 00:14:40.620 |
No greater sacrifice than when you lay down your life. 00:14:50.100 |
We join the song of angels who praise day and night, 00:15:10.020 |
You left the air of heaven to breathe the dust of it. 00:15:41.460 |
so you could be our joy forevermore, forevermore. 00:15:55.940 |
You are the glorious Christ, greatest of all delights. 00:16:06.420 |
Your power is unequal, your love beyond all lies. 00:16:11.900 |
No greater sacrifice than when you lay down your life. 00:16:21.900 |
We join the song of angels who praise day and night, 00:16:34.380 |
You're seated now in heaven and thrown at God's right hand. 00:16:39.380 |
You shattered death and freed us from our fears. 00:16:44.860 |
And though we cannot see you, you're coming back again. 00:17:02.300 |
You are the glorious Christ, greatest of all delights. 00:17:16.300 |
Your power is unequal, your love beyond all lies. 00:17:22.300 |
You are the glorious Christ, greatest of all delights. 00:17:31.780 |
Your power is unequal, your love beyond all lies. 00:17:37.780 |
No greater sacrifice than when you lay down your life. 00:17:48.260 |
We join the song of angels who praise day and night, 00:18:29.140 |
I will trust my Savior Jesus when my darkest doubts befall. 00:19:06.080 |
For I know the shield of Jesus is the safest place of all. 00:19:19.060 |
Jesus, only Jesus, help me trust you more and more. 00:19:29.040 |
Jesus, only Jesus, may my heart be ever yours. 00:19:50.500 |
And I know the path He's chosen leads to everlasting rest. 00:20:01.000 |
Jesus, only Jesus, help me trust you more and more. 00:20:10.980 |
Jesus, only Jesus, may my heart be ever yours. 00:20:20.960 |
Jesus, only Jesus, help me trust you more and more. 00:20:30.940 |
Jesus, only Jesus, may my heart be ever yours. 00:21:11.860 |
I can go now ever trusting in the one who died for me. 00:21:51.240 |
I can go now ever trusting in the one who died for me. 00:22:24.140 |
Jesus, only Jesus, help me trust you more and more. 00:22:34.120 |
Jesus, only Jesus, may my heart be ever yours. 00:22:44.100 |
Jesus, only Jesus, help me trust you more and more. 00:22:54.000 |
Jesus, only Jesus, may my heart be ever yours. 00:23:11.520 |
If you can turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 13. 00:23:14.060 |
And we're going to be looking at verse 5 and 6 this morning. 00:23:30.800 |
Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, 00:23:36.160 |
For he himself has said, I will never desert you, 00:23:40.840 |
So that we confidently say, the Lord is my helper. 00:23:53.400 |
We ask, Lord God, that what you have ordained your word to be, 00:24:02.920 |
Search us and know us and see if there's any hurtful ways in us 00:24:12.360 |
That we may live lives truly worthy of the gospel 00:24:18.980 |
Some of you who may have been following the news this week, 00:24:24.960 |
there was a lot of controversy around Facebook. 00:24:27.340 |
Some of you guys may have heard of it or read it. 00:24:31.920 |
came out and basically said that she has evidence that Facebook 00:24:38.380 |
that the material that they are exposing the people to 00:24:45.760 |
And yet for profit, because they want more people 00:24:47.800 |
to be on there, that they're deliberately allowing 00:24:51.880 |
And so there's been a huge controversy, a lot of talk 00:24:55.120 |
in Congress talking about splitting up Facebook 00:25:00.520 |
And my response when I heard all of this was, no duh. 00:25:06.500 |
Why is anybody even surprised that a company who's 00:25:14.500 |
know would be harmful for people for their own profit? 00:25:17.220 |
And to think that Facebook is the only one guilty of this, 00:25:24.500 |
Researchers say that an average American, by the time 00:25:27.420 |
he's 20 years old, have watched over 1 million commercials. 00:25:34.860 |
Every one of those commercials, billions of dollars of research 00:25:38.060 |
goes into it to get you to buy something that you may not 00:25:42.980 |
To go places and want things that you don't really need. 00:25:47.060 |
People spending money that they don't really have 00:25:54.300 |
got caught trying to make a profit doing something 00:26:00.500 |
Do you think that doesn't happen in every TV show 00:26:08.900 |
Every Disney movie you watch, if you've been watching it 00:26:11.940 |
and you haven't filtered what you've been watching, 00:26:14.620 |
have been planting seeds in your head that we're all aerials. 00:26:21.020 |
That my life is no good, but something good is out there, 00:26:23.900 |
and I've got to run away from my parents to get there. 00:26:26.140 |
That's kind of like the theme of every Disney movie. 00:26:43.740 |
You think the media, you think the news outlets don't 00:26:50.100 |
trying to get you to train and to think a certain way, 00:26:56.500 |
that is convenient, bent toward one way or the other? 00:27:08.700 |
are some things so that they can paint history a certain way. 00:27:34.020 |
To think that they're the only ones is naive. 00:27:36.100 |
The Bible clearly says the god of this age is Satan. 00:27:50.820 |
Age, meaning what the philosophies and the values 00:28:01.460 |
is like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. 00:28:03.820 |
His primary avenue in the way that he devours 00:28:07.740 |
is to infiltrate our thoughts and our hearts away from God. 00:28:16.460 |
kind of existing in this world without any specific agendas 00:28:20.800 |
that are trying to deliberately attack your thoughts. 00:28:35.260 |
So when we become a Christian, our whole process 00:28:41.540 |
that you and I have been taught with God's word. 00:28:47.460 |
Because if you don't test it with the word of God, 00:28:57.660 |
What you think is good and what you think is bad, 00:29:02.700 |
to implant thoughts and desires in our heart that is 00:29:14.740 |
So that's why if you're not actively in the word of God 00:29:23.060 |
have been influenced and not understanding, not knowing, 00:29:26.340 |
or maybe not aware that satanic thoughts have 00:29:36.780 |
He says, "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, 00:29:39.540 |
the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life 00:29:41.780 |
is not from the Father, but is from the world." 00:29:45.420 |
He basically, in this text, it summarizes the way 00:29:48.320 |
that Satan works to implant seeds, to draw us away from God. 00:29:54.220 |
If you look at this pattern, lust of the flesh, 00:29:56.540 |
lust of the eyes, the boastful pride of life, 00:29:58.780 |
you see that exact same pattern when Satan takes-- 00:30:04.800 |
and he is tested before he starts his public ministry. 00:30:16.140 |
And so he couldn't get Jesus to stumble that way. 00:30:19.220 |
And then he shows him all of his kingdom, Satan's kingdom. 00:30:28.260 |
And then that didn't work, so he takes him up to the temple. 00:30:34.140 |
if you really are the Son of God, prove yourself 00:30:52.300 |
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, 00:30:57.740 |
lust of the flesh, and that it was delight to the eyes, 00:31:01.100 |
lust of the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one 00:31:07.620 |
she took from its fruit and ate, and she gave also 00:31:15.140 |
So satanic attack, the desire, instilling this desire in us 00:31:25.900 |
and then to pursue that so that we can get ahead of everybody 00:31:33.820 |
This is satanic attack on all of us, constantly. 00:31:41.740 |
The text that we're looking at when it says do not covet, 00:31:46.860 |
be free from the character, free from the love of money. 00:31:50.260 |
Of all the commandments that are listed here in Hebrews, 00:31:53.720 |
this is one of those commandments where it's like, 00:31:58.460 |
I don't drive fancy cars, and I don't look at million dollar 00:32:08.100 |
I want to show you just how prevalent this is 00:32:13.700 |
So the first point I want to take you through 00:32:29.300 |
He's not just talking about looking at something 00:32:39.040 |
it says, keep your life free from the love of money. 00:32:42.060 |
He's talking about an individual who is continually 00:32:45.260 |
pursuing after things that have been planted in their heads. 00:32:53.120 |
Maybe it's just to compete with your neighbors 00:32:59.640 |
not realizing there's a deliberate satanic attack 00:33:21.140 |
There's nothing specifically to point out and say, 00:33:25.780 |
But your general pursuit are the covetous things 00:33:39.140 |
but those who want to get rich, that those who pursue riches 00:33:46.060 |
fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful 00:33:49.340 |
desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 00:33:53.900 |
If your life is patterned by pursuit of getting riches, 00:33:59.700 |
he said, that is the root cause of all these other things. 00:34:03.580 |
For the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil. 00:34:07.180 |
And some, by longing for it, and have wandered away 00:34:09.460 |
from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 00:34:14.620 |
Again, let me emphasize, when he says love of money, 00:34:19.220 |
coveting of money is the root behind many other sins. 00:34:39.420 |
Because Adam and Eve coveted God's knowledge. 00:34:58.700 |
spent the rest of his life coveting what David had. 00:35:06.180 |
who get killed because of their sin, what was their sin? 00:35:15.420 |
And so they coveted the reputation of godliness. 00:35:25.820 |
the root cause that leads to murder is coveting. 00:35:32.420 |
James 4, 1 through 4, what is the source of quarrels 00:35:34.700 |
and conflicts among you is not the source of your pleasures 00:35:43.540 |
of dissensions in your family, in the church, 00:35:46.220 |
with relationship, he says, because you have these desires 00:35:49.860 |
Now, the desires that is not met doesn't just 00:36:14.300 |
You lust, and you do not have, so you commit murder. 00:36:17.860 |
Majority of people may not make that leap in committing murder. 00:36:23.220 |
The root cause of murder is bitterness and hatred. 00:36:26.540 |
And root cause of bitterness and hatred, he says, is coveting. 00:36:44.500 |
He also says, the reason behind false teaching 00:36:50.660 |
And in their greed, they will exploit you with false words. 00:37:02.100 |
these men were going around teaching false doctrines, 00:37:16.500 |
When somebody is pursuing, preaching the false gospel 00:37:26.500 |
It's their way of getting what the world has to offer, 00:37:35.080 |
False teaching comes out because there's some benefit. 00:37:37.880 |
You tickle people's ears because by tickling people's ears, 00:37:41.720 |
you may get a bigger church, a bigger following, 00:37:59.600 |
The root cause of why people would break the 10 00:38:04.780 |
You ever wonder why the Israelites would ever even 00:38:14.480 |
what among their idols actually showed up, split the Red Sea, 00:38:23.880 |
And then he would destroy nations, whoever stood. 00:38:25.960 |
They saw miracles after miracles after miracles, 00:38:38.200 |
Literally, why would that even be a temptation? 00:38:42.520 |
If I showed up one day and saying, worship this right 00:38:48.640 |
If you bow down, you worship this right here. 00:39:00.720 |
They were going to land, and maybe their farm wasn't working 00:39:03.520 |
as well, or maybe families were having a hard time having 00:39:10.760 |
that they coveted in their heart that they didn't have, 00:39:16.520 |
and then they look at the Canaanites and they have it. 00:39:19.720 |
And so the reason why they ended up worshiping Asherah and Baal 00:39:23.120 |
and all the other idols is because through that, 00:39:29.760 |
So it wasn't that they were attracted to this pole 00:39:37.600 |
So the reason why they kept on going after idols 00:39:40.400 |
was the coveting that they had in their hearts that 00:39:43.960 |
was not being fulfilled at the time that they desired. 00:39:54.720 |
They would make an image and say, this is Yahweh, 00:40:02.080 |
So they were creating an image of God that they wanted, 00:40:08.280 |
So much of the Jesus that is being worshiped in the church 00:40:20.340 |
So they create a new Jesus that will give them what they want. 00:40:27.160 |
You should not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 00:40:30.000 |
Today, when we think of that, when we look at that passage, 00:40:36.000 |
and then as a curse word, which is obviously part of it. 00:40:40.040 |
But the true application of this is using the Lord's name 00:40:47.100 |
The root cause of breaking the third commandment is coveting. 00:41:06.140 |
Now, I'm not saying that this is true of every instance. 00:41:10.340 |
rebel against their parents is because the parents are not 00:41:15.500 |
So the root cause for many who rebel is coveting. 00:41:25.140 |
that leads to bitterness and conflict that leads to murder. 00:41:28.540 |
So the root cause of murder, he says, is coveting. 00:41:40.780 |
You should not bear witness against your neighbor. 00:41:43.540 |
And part of the reason why there's bearing witness, 00:41:46.300 |
false witnesses in conflict, again, in the Book of James, 00:41:48.900 |
it says it's because unmet desires, coveting. 00:41:56.300 |
If we don't understand the deadliness of this sin, 00:42:01.780 |
we can kind of read all of this, don't murder, 00:42:12.180 |
You look at advertisement, it's like, oh, I want that. 00:42:15.420 |
You pick up a habit, and it's like, oh, I want more of that. 00:42:23.940 |
Coveting seems to be the most innocuous, the least dangerous. 00:42:52.620 |
You know, we're saying, well, some people may fall away 00:43:03.860 |
seen, when persecution comes, church gets strengthened. 00:43:08.900 |
and then true Christians end up strengthening their faith. 00:43:11.380 |
So persecution has never been bad for the church. 00:43:15.340 |
Majority of people who walk away from their faith 00:43:17.740 |
simply drift away because they have unmet desires that's 00:43:24.380 |
So they're willing to compromise and go after things 00:43:40.420 |
are choked with worries and riches and pleasures 00:43:43.140 |
of this life and bring no fruit to maturity." 00:43:48.500 |
like they have genuine faith, but because they've 00:43:50.900 |
embraced coveting in their life, and they just kind of-- 00:44:07.660 |
I don't want to be materialistic, but what's wrong? 00:44:14.980 |
and next thing we know, that's what we pursue. 00:44:17.820 |
And I believe that that's probably the greatest danger. 00:44:20.120 |
What is hurting the church more than anything else 00:44:23.340 |
is allowing coveting to creep into our hearts. 00:44:31.460 |
can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one 00:44:34.740 |
and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one 00:44:57.940 |
You cannot covet and pursue the things of this world 00:45:08.980 |
Millions and millions of people who have gone before us 00:45:11.700 |
have tested this and have proven to be wrong. 00:45:16.260 |
And yet, every generation, there rises a new group 00:45:18.740 |
of people who are testing God and say, maybe I'll try it. 00:45:23.420 |
And then we create a new kind of Christianity 00:45:28.220 |
The whole book of Hebrews is a warning against this, 00:45:41.300 |
like there's division in the-- they were simply drifting, 00:45:43.720 |
because they just looked at the world that they left, 00:45:52.780 |
Pursue a little bit of this and a little bit of that. 00:45:59.500 |
Turmoil and anxiety come from not having what you want 00:46:12.380 |
us to pursue things that have nothing to do with God. 00:46:17.020 |
Yesterday at the conference, one of the speakers, 00:46:20.700 |
he mentioned that we ask these two questions. 00:46:24.620 |
What is it that you want that you do not have? 00:46:28.700 |
And what is it that you have that you do not want? 00:46:32.260 |
The root cause of what penetrates into our lives 00:46:36.020 |
and then leads us to all these other kinds of sin 00:46:38.620 |
are the small compromise that we make and we allow. 00:46:41.380 |
And the next thing you know, that's exactly who we are. 00:46:59.020 |
then automatically we start drifting toward the things 00:47:06.380 |
comes from valuing God above everything else. 00:47:08.620 |
He says, but being content with what you have. 00:47:18.620 |
the way to combat that coveting is to be content with what you 00:47:25.300 |
Do you just sit there and say, be content, be content? 00:47:59.340 |
in a world filled with things that are easily accessible, 00:48:03.820 |
I mean, you show that to certain parts of the world. 00:48:16.060 |
and plan well, buy Bitcoin early, you know what I mean? 00:48:23.180 |
So how do you and I live in a world filled with temptation 00:48:28.260 |
and not allow coveting to penetrate into our hearts? 00:48:32.100 |
Well, one, we need to recognize coveting when it's there 00:48:44.540 |
to allow this coveting to creep into our hearts, 00:48:53.620 |
If you were to go back in time, what period of your life 00:49:11.580 |
experienced bitterness of life because they're 00:49:16.780 |
And then they say, man, you had it so good in college. 00:49:20.860 |
They're already grizzled after a year and a half of working. 00:49:25.980 |
Most people will point back to a certain period of life. 00:49:29.500 |
Most people my age will say somewhere around 30. 00:49:36.740 |
So at 30, when the kids were young, they're in the house. 00:49:40.300 |
Even though it was a difficult period of life, 00:49:43.580 |
financially, that's the period of life when I fantasized. 00:49:47.740 |
When the children were young, we're in the house. 00:49:55.740 |
I mean, we'd have to save up money to go to Korean barbecue. 00:50:02.580 |
that's the period that I have the fond memory of. 00:50:04.780 |
It's like, oh, when the children were young in the house, 00:50:14.780 |
and really, money doesn't have a lot to do with it. 00:50:17.580 |
Most of us, the older we get, the more money we have. 00:50:27.940 |
Most of us, the older we get, the more assets, 00:50:31.300 |
And yet, when you ask, what period of your life 00:50:33.340 |
do you want to go back to, it's a period that 00:50:38.460 |
And yet, if we talk about going for the future, 00:50:44.860 |
Majority of our fantasies has to do with money. 00:50:50.060 |
If we had a little bit more when the kids are a little bit older, 00:50:52.460 |
and we didn't have this, and I can buy this house, 00:50:54.500 |
and I can save up a little money, and I can retire and go here. 00:50:58.180 |
For whatever the reason, when we fantasize about the future, 00:51:02.660 |
But when we look back at the past, it has nothing to do with money. 00:51:10.100 |
I'm sure somebody after service is going to come up to me and prove me wrong. 00:51:24.780 |
Because he is attacking us, because he causes us to covet in our hearts, 00:51:29.300 |
thinking that our happiness is going to come if we have this. 00:51:31.900 |
And that's what causes us to pursue the things that, 00:51:34.300 |
when we look at the totality of life, doesn't even matter. 00:51:38.860 |
Contentment isn't having what we want, but recognizing exactly what it 00:51:47.340 |
To fight coveting, he says, "For he himself has said, 00:51:51.060 |
'I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.'" 00:51:56.300 |
In the English, the dynamic of this passage really doesn't flesh out. 00:52:00.220 |
Because in the English, when we took grammar, right, they tell us, 00:52:12.020 |
You're not supposed to do that in grammar, in English. 00:52:14.780 |
In the Greek, there's five negatives just in that short sentence. 00:52:19.780 |
In the Greek, it says, "No, never, not even, never, ever." 00:52:33.220 |
In fact, Charles Spurgeon has a sermon on this specific text, and the title 00:52:37.900 |
of his sermon is, "Never, Never, Never, Never, Never." 00:52:50.660 |
It's not that the person who was writing this is really bad at grammar. 00:52:58.580 |
Of all the things that you covet and you desire in your heart, there's only one 00:53:06.700 |
There's only one person that will never let you down. 00:53:10.180 |
There's only one promise that will always be fulfilled, and that's the point that 00:53:14.660 |
he's trying to make, that do not give in to your character or life where you're 00:53:19.980 |
pursuing and coveting, and I want this, and I want that. 00:53:23.260 |
He says, "Be content with what you have because what you have, if you're a 00:53:26.500 |
Christian, is a promise of God that says, 'I will never, ever, ever, never, 00:53:39.220 |
He's trying to instill in us that that's what Christian contentment looks like. 00:53:45.860 |
In Romans 8, 31 to 35, "What then shall we say to these things if God is for us, 00:53:52.580 |
He who did not spare his own son but delivered him for us all, how will he not 00:54:02.780 |
Some of you probably have memorized this text. 00:54:05.940 |
But a Christian who lives his life coveting the things of this world, 00:54:10.460 |
discontent, it's not just it doesn't make sense. 00:54:15.220 |
It's ludicrous to believe that God loved us enough to send his only begotten son, 00:54:25.500 |
his son, allowed him to suffer, absorb our sins. 00:54:29.980 |
He was forsaken so that we wouldn't be forsaken to confess that, to sing that, 00:54:34.500 |
to memorize that, to study that, and then to leave the room thinking, 00:54:43.900 |
What if I give myself to him and he forgets me? 00:54:54.940 |
He says, "How will he not, if he gave his only begotten son, 00:54:58.300 |
how will he not along with him give us all things? 00:55:01.100 |
If he loved us enough to sacrifice his own son, would he sacrifice his own son 00:55:05.900 |
and say, 'Okay, now good, go, try to make it on your own.'" 00:55:12.060 |
He says, "No, how will he not along with him give us all things? 00:55:34.140 |
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? 00:55:36.260 |
Will tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?" 00:55:42.700 |
In other words, never, ever, ever, ever, never, never will he forsake you. 00:55:55.380 |
If you look at the Great Commission, the disciples failed miserably. 00:56:00.260 |
Just a few days before Jesus commissions them. 00:56:04.620 |
The commission is gathering his disciples to go take the gospel to the remotest part 00:56:11.820 |
What he did, what God has been preparing since the beginning of the fall of man, that he 00:56:17.340 |
promised that the seed of the woman is going to crush the head of the serpent, that he 00:56:22.700 |
So all of history from Genesis to Malachi to the showing up of Jesus was to prepare 00:56:31.180 |
So right before they go out, they fail miserably. 00:56:35.380 |
In fact, the leader, Peter, fails the most miserably. 00:56:44.080 |
Just a few days later, he commissions his disciples, "Go therefore make disciples of 00:56:49.260 |
Now, in any other part of the world, if you want to be a CPA and you fail the test, you 00:56:57.020 |
If you're going into law and you don't pass the bar, you don't get to be a lawyer. 00:57:03.300 |
If you're in the medical field and you don't pass your test, you don't get to practice. 00:57:10.940 |
These disciples, before the Great Commission, failed miserably. 00:57:21.500 |
Yeah, you wasted three years, but get somebody else who's not going to deny you. 00:57:29.340 |
All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. 00:57:31.100 |
Go make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy 00:57:45.940 |
That's exactly what it says in Acts chapter 1.8. 00:57:55.140 |
If you go on your own strength, that's going to happen again. 00:57:59.720 |
When he comes, you will receive power and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, 00:58:11.180 |
And the promise to give them strength was, I will be with you. 00:58:16.980 |
Again, I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever forsake you. 00:58:23.420 |
That was the same message all throughout Genesis. 00:58:26.500 |
Your success is not because you were great, it was because a greater number, that you're 00:58:32.020 |
better trained or you have better leaders, or you have better history, or you have more 00:58:38.900 |
The only promise that he gave them is that you will be successful. 00:58:42.380 |
Do not turn from my word to the left or to the right. 00:58:50.460 |
Their whole success all throughout redemptive history was, I will be with you. 00:59:00.580 |
Christian contentment isn't simply pursuing this world and getting certain things. 00:59:04.780 |
It's like, oh, I have money in the bank account. 00:59:06.180 |
He says, no, to believe with all our heart the promise that God made. 00:59:15.020 |
That's why we memorize scripture, to be reminded again and again and again and again that our 00:59:24.260 |
Jim Elliot, as you guys know, is famous for saying, "He is no fool who gives up what he 00:59:33.420 |
And I know many of you have heard this many times. 00:59:36.480 |
He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to have what he cannot lose. 00:59:42.260 |
Reasonably speaking, I mean, Jim Elliot was a tall, handsome dude. 00:59:47.820 |
If you read his story, he said he was popular with the ladies. 00:59:54.100 |
I mean, he could have literally been used powerfully. 00:59:58.900 |
What a waste, this young man who's so gifted and talented, even in the eyes of the world, 01:00:05.220 |
Couldn't he have lived a bit longer and preached the gospel to more people instead of going 01:00:10.700 |
into the weird part of the world and Ecuador and then dying early? 01:00:16.740 |
See, humanly speaking, we could look at that and say, "What a waste. 01:00:24.440 |
He could have been so useful for God with all the things that God had given him." 01:00:34.520 |
He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to have what he cannot lose. 01:00:43.140 |
God used his death because it was in his hands, because God never left him. 01:00:47.020 |
Whether he lived a long life or a short life, God never left him as he promised. 01:00:51.440 |
This Psalm 23, this is a passage that we quote all the time. 01:00:55.340 |
Some of you guys may have it as a plaque in your home. 01:01:06.500 |
He guides me in the path of righteousness for his namesake. 01:01:13.340 |
We quote that, we memorize that, we preach about that, but how many of us sitting here 01:01:29.740 |
The fundamental question for a Christian is not, "Is God good?" 01:01:35.540 |
That's not the fundamental question because even Satan knows that. 01:01:55.180 |
You can be in the church, be a Sunday school teacher. 01:01:57.940 |
You can be a preacher and say God is good, but that's not the question that he asks, 01:02:03.620 |
and that's not the question that we need to be asking. 01:02:10.420 |
If he is not enough, you don't have to want to covet, you just do. 01:02:27.860 |
Whether you die with a hundred million dollars in your pocket, whether you die with zero 01:02:35.860 |
Whether your children are well taken care of, whether they have hardship, you die. 01:02:44.380 |
I'm not saying anything that's uniquely Christian. 01:02:51.380 |
That's the reason why the psalmist says, "Help me to number my days. 01:02:56.700 |
Help me to know how short this life is so that I don't covet this period of my life 01:03:05.340 |
Help me to number my days so that I would know how short life is." 01:03:09.060 |
You know, one of the benefits of getting older is this become more and more of a reality. 01:03:20.660 |
Help me to live with that reality so that as a believer, that I would live with Christ 01:03:38.820 |
I had a friend who was making $250,000 a year, and he has to work overtime to meet his needs, 01:03:50.340 |
Now, most of us in this room who don't make that money, sounds ridiculous, right? 01:03:56.000 |
Most of us peasants in here, $250,000 is like, "What?" 01:04:03.220 |
But if you're making $500,000, you know exactly what he means. 01:04:07.320 |
You make $250,000 a year and you need to work overtime? 01:04:10.940 |
Because when we covet, we don't covet down, we usually covet up. 01:04:16.380 |
I don't make anywhere near this kind of money, so what I covet is in this room. 01:04:36.660 |
What I covet is what I see, because this is my socioeconomic status, so what I'm surrounded 01:04:42.600 |
If you start making $250,000, you're not coveting what you see in the parking lot, because that's 01:04:51.100 |
You end up taking your tiny little boat that you paid $100,000 for, and you're in the yacht 01:04:55.140 |
club, and the next guy shows up with a million dollar yacht. 01:05:00.740 |
That's why somebody making $250,000 thinks like he doesn't have enough, because that's 01:05:09.100 |
Satan will, no matter what place you are in life, there will always be somebody ahead 01:05:13.860 |
of you that you think that you need, because that's a deception. 01:05:19.820 |
Majority of the people in the world look at what you and I have, and it's a fantasy to 01:05:29.340 |
You know, the excess stuff that we have that got outdated, you know what I mean? 01:05:34.380 |
It was no longer popular today, so we're selling it, maybe sometimes giving it away. 01:05:44.140 |
Majority of the world, if you travel, they eat the same food, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, 01:05:56.340 |
And I've mentioned this enough on the pulpit where it's like, "Oh, let's go out to sushi." 01:06:03.260 |
So I got to have Mexican food, Thai food the next day, Pho the next day, Korean the other 01:06:08.660 |
day, and then I got to go Italian the other day, because we have access to all of it." 01:06:17.900 |
That's the temptation to where you and I are. 01:06:19.720 |
We live in a fantasy world compared to the rest of the world, but majority of us in this 01:06:25.060 |
room think that if I just had the next, I should have bought that Bitcoin early, that 01:06:33.180 |
Dogecoin, that Shiba Inu, whatever it is out there, and you're fantasizing like, "I could 01:06:40.960 |
If I did, maybe the next one, maybe the next big one comes in. 01:06:46.220 |
And your mind and heart is filled with these things because Satan uses that to draw us 01:06:52.980 |
away from him, and it leads to conflict, frustration, and compromise. 01:07:00.420 |
In John chapter 16, 33, after Jesus telling his disciples that he's going to leave and 01:07:04.940 |
you can't come with me, and then John chapter 15 he says, "But you need to continue to abide 01:07:11.120 |
He says it over and over again, 11 times in John chapter 15. 01:07:14.500 |
"Stay with me, remain with me, remain with me, remain with me. 01:07:18.180 |
Even as I go, if you want to bear fruit, you need to remain with me because I will never 01:07:25.540 |
And in conclusion of that text, in John 16, 33, it says, "These things I have spoken to 01:07:33.940 |
And then it says, "In the world you will have tribulation." 01:07:39.380 |
He said, "I'm praying so that you would have peace," and then he says, "But in this world 01:07:45.860 |
Am I going to have peace or am I going to have tribulation? 01:07:48.820 |
He says, "But take courage, I have overcome the world." 01:07:53.680 |
The peace that he's telling us has nothing to do with this material world. 01:08:06.220 |
Things that we don't have, that we've convinced ourselves, or Satan has convinced us that 01:08:13.460 |
And then we slowly, little by little bit, we covet and we go, next thing you know, you 01:08:18.420 |
wake up five, ten, fifteen years later, you're not the same person you were before. 01:08:22.860 |
So it's not just about an event, it's not just about just one thing, it's just our life, 01:08:28.460 |
our character begins to change because we've allowed coveting to creep into our hearts 01:08:35.740 |
and the decisions that we make, where we go to live, what we pursue, what we value, what 01:08:40.580 |
we're willing to compromise, all because we've allowed coveting to creep in. 01:09:04.420 |
Hebrews 13.6, it says, "So that we confidently say, emphatically say, 'The Lord is my helper, 01:09:18.940 |
That's our goal this morning, so that we can say confidently, we can emphatically say, 01:09:23.820 |
"The Lord is my helper, not my bank account, not the politicians, not my husband, not my 01:09:35.340 |
I'm not going to let the fear of, 'Well, if I do this, what if I can't get this? 01:09:38.740 |
What if my children are not going to have this?' 01:09:40.660 |
I'm not going to let the fear guide my decisions in what I do. 01:09:45.220 |
What could possibly man do when God has promised, 'I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever 01:09:54.060 |
In Philippians 4.12, Paul says, "I know how to get along with humble means, and I also 01:10:00.660 |
In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of being content, of being filled, 01:10:07.020 |
and going hungry, both having abundance and suffering in need. 01:10:10.180 |
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." 01:10:12.180 |
You notice here, Apostle Paul says, "I have learned it." 01:10:16.420 |
He didn't just attend a class and somebody didn't just show him a verse and he said, 01:10:24.180 |
There are some periods in his life when rich people were giving him finances, and so his 01:10:29.020 |
ministry was fully paid for and he didn't have to worry. 01:10:32.260 |
And then there are periods when he didn't have to work his tail off to make tents to 01:10:37.780 |
He experienced hunger as an apostle, handpicked apostle of God. 01:10:41.620 |
He experienced poverty and he experienced riches. 01:10:47.940 |
So whether you have a lot, whether you have a little, I have learned the contentment is 01:10:54.780 |
So this morning, as we wrap up before the disco light goes off again, this is where 01:11:03.980 |
You know, last week we talked about honoring marriage and sexuality and all these things 01:11:08.860 |
are practically entering and we're having all kinds of struggles. 01:11:12.900 |
We talk about persecution and the politicians and crazy things that they're doing and the 01:11:17.620 |
All of these things, I think as Christians, we need to be aware. 01:11:26.140 |
All of these things are freedoms that we have been given by the grace of God. 01:11:31.060 |
But what causes the greatest destruction in the church is this constant nibbling at the 01:11:37.020 |
table of the world that allows the coveting into our hearts with no filter. 01:11:45.660 |
Knowing that the God of this age is planting seeds in our mind and in our heart and we 01:11:52.020 |
give into it day after day after day after day. 01:11:56.740 |
So you don't see yourself slipping until years have gone by and you see where you've drifted 01:12:07.540 |
You didn't get here because you jumped off a cliff. 01:12:09.860 |
You got there because it was day after day after day after day of allowing this covetous 01:12:19.980 |
So this morning as we pray before God, let's come before the Lord and honestly pray. 01:12:31.180 |
Have I allowed these coveting, not just material things, desire for praise, desire for comfort, 01:12:41.020 |
for refuge, our hope, better place in life, along with the material things. 01:12:46.500 |
Have I allowed these things to rule over my heart? 01:12:53.700 |
So as our worship team comes, let's take some time to pray and to really come before the 01:12:59.500 |
Lord and allow the word of God to judge the thoughts and intentions of our heart. 01:19:27.300 |
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 01:19:33.300 |
then you also will be revealed with him in glory." 01:19:37.300 |
Lord, we pray that as you exhort us, admonish us, 01:19:48.300 |
I pray, Father God, that that would not simply be a theory 01:19:53.300 |
Help us, Lord God, that that would be the pattern of our life, 01:19:58.300 |
So while we are weakened, we come to you, Lord God, 01:20:01.300 |
asking for strength, that your word and your Holy Spirit 01:20:06.300 |
that we would learn to be content in every and all things. 01:20:17.300 |
We pray for those, Lord, who are struggling with finances, 01:20:21.300 |
that you would protect us from coveting, Lord, 01:20:23.300 |
to learn to be content with all that you've given. 01:20:31.300 |
that his death and resurrection would be the center thought, 01:20:35.300 |
centerpiece of all that we do for the sake of your name. 01:20:38.300 |
Help us, Lord God, to be mindful of the non-Christians 01:20:40.300 |
that are around us, that we may intercede for them 01:21:23.800 |
An empty grave is there to fill my Savior's list. 01:22:05.800 |
And life is worth the living just because he lives.