back to indexBerean Community Church Sunday Worship 4.18.2021
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♪ Who else commands all the hosts of heaven ♪ 00:12:10.000 |
♪ Who else can whisper in darkness' trebles ♪ 00:16:38.000 |
but first of all, if you notice that our parking area 00:16:44.000 |
we put a little ramp between the two parking lots, 00:16:54.000 |
when you're coming between the two parking lots. 00:17:09.000 |
so if you guys wanna go, you happen to come earlier, 00:17:16.000 |
you're welcome to go into that room on the outside. 00:17:18.000 |
In fact, the cafe, the people who run the cafe 00:17:20.000 |
told me that they're gonna be having a soft lunch 00:17:25.000 |
so if you wanna go there and grab a coffee or something, 00:17:27.000 |
you're welcome to go there before or after the service, okay? 00:17:38.000 |
we're gonna try to reserve that side of the parking 00:17:47.000 |
so, you know, every time we cross the street, 00:17:50.000 |
So if you have strong legs, you don't have children, 00:17:57.000 |
and you're more than able, please use the other side. 00:18:01.000 |
and you're, you know, you're wheeling them around 00:18:04.000 |
or small children that you need to kind of watch, 00:18:06.000 |
we're gonna try to reserve that side of the parking. 00:18:08.000 |
We did that for that side because when we didn't have it, 00:18:11.000 |
so try to reserve that for the families if possible, okay? 00:18:15.000 |
We have a couple announcements that we're gonna give, 00:18:24.000 |
and right after that, Grace Chu has an announcement 00:18:42.000 |
but our definition of newlywed is a little bit different 00:18:45.000 |
where the slide says like three years and under, 00:18:49.000 |
but basically if you got married on and/or after 00:18:53.000 |
January 1st, 2018, you can come to this thing. 00:18:56.000 |
What we're gonna do is we're gonna have a launch 00:19:00.000 |
The older family members are actually gonna cook you meat. 00:19:07.000 |
just come together with your spouse and sign up online, 00:19:13.000 |
and then you'll find out what FAM 245 is all about, 00:19:17.000 |
what the vision is and stuff like that, all right? 00:19:23.000 |
go ahead and check that out on the website, all right? 00:19:40.000 |
How many of you guys have been to our fellowship 00:19:47.000 |
We have our first ever women's event, and that's coming up, 00:19:52.000 |
since pretty much the quarantine and lockdown, 00:19:57.000 |
This is gonna be open from high school all the way up, 00:19:59.000 |
so all across the board, all affinity groups for women. 00:20:20.000 |
Well, I'll be honest, I actually hadn't heard about her 00:20:32.000 |
She's phenomenal, and a missionary in Papua New Guinea. 00:20:59.000 |
If you have any questions, please contact Carrie Chang, 00:21:02.000 |
and you can sign up via Facebook or through email. 00:21:11.000 |
First of all, we have a members' meeting next Sunday, 00:21:20.000 |
hoping that things will, you know, as it is right now, 00:21:37.000 |
It'll probably last about an hour, so that's next Sunday. 00:21:51.000 |
So let me pray for our offering, give you an opportunity to give, 00:21:54.000 |
and then again, if you have physical checks that you want to give, 00:22:01.000 |
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the privilege 00:22:08.000 |
and the brothers and sisters that we have to run this race together. 00:22:12.000 |
Help us never take for granted what it is that we have, 00:22:19.000 |
of abundant thanksgiving that you give us in our hearts. 00:22:22.000 |
I pray, Father God, that you would bless this time of worship, 00:22:29.000 |
that all of it, Lord, may be given to you in spirit and in truth. 00:22:34.000 |
may it be multiplied 30, 60, 100-fold for the sake of your glory. 00:22:45.000 |
Would you please stand with us as we continue our worship? 00:31:53.000 |
Hello church family, my name is Jennifer Lin and I'm a second year student at UC Irvine. 00:31:58.000 |
Today I have the privilege to share my testimony. 00:32:01.000 |
I was born and raised in Taiwan for 14 years and I did not hear about the story of Jesus, not until I was a second grader. 00:32:09.000 |
One time my mom's friend invited her and my family to her church and that was my first time being exposed to a Christian community. 00:32:17.000 |
I did not seem to like the community at first because I did not understand why people were so serious and were worshipping this God who they call Abba Father. 00:32:26.000 |
I would only go to church for Sunday schools to hear interesting Bible stories and enjoy yummy candies. 00:32:34.000 |
As I stayed with the church longer I saw something different among the people who are called Christians. 00:32:40.000 |
They were extremely kind and loving towards others, making me curious and wanting to know who this God is and what makes them this way. 00:32:49.000 |
When I was still in Taiwan I feel ashamed when people ask me if I went to church. 00:32:54.000 |
I think about moving to the United States where Christianity is the main religion excited me. 00:33:00.000 |
Moving to the US as a freshman in high school I had so much love for this Christ who I did not know really well but was excited to know. 00:33:10.000 |
And I was also excited to be a part of a church family. 00:33:14.000 |
I attended my own church and was convinced that I was a Christian with my shallow knowledge of God and was baptized in December 2015. 00:33:23.000 |
Right now looking back I do not believe that I was saved. 00:33:27.000 |
When people ask me I would tell them that I'm Christian but in real life I only attended church occasionally and lived life for myself like the rest of the world. 00:33:37.000 |
I did not know who this God really is and did not have a personal relationship with him. 00:33:43.000 |
All I knew about the gospel was only half true that God loves me and that's all. 00:33:48.000 |
And I continued to go after the world and put my hope in all temporary worldly desires. 00:33:54.000 |
In December 2018 during my senior year of high school I went into a three month period of depression without telling anyone. 00:34:02.000 |
I lost hope, cried to sleep every day and did not know how to ask for help. 00:34:07.000 |
One night while I was crying to sleep and at the lowest point thinking about death I hear the voice from above God say to me Jen I love you. 00:34:15.000 |
It was a heartwarming and touching experience. 00:34:18.000 |
That was my first time hearing the voice of God and I prayed to God and surrendered my life to him for help right after. 00:34:26.000 |
Immediately God opened my heart the next day and I finally shared my thoughts and what I was going through with one of my close friends who also happened to be a Christian. 00:34:39.000 |
This made me hungry and thirst to learn more about Christianity and the love of God. 00:34:44.000 |
Coming into UCI I was hoping to find a Christian community where I could grow spiritually and learn more about this God. 00:34:53.000 |
By the grace of God I was introduced to Berean Community Church during my second quarter at UCI. 00:34:59.000 |
I saw a group of genuine believers who lived their lives glorifying to God. 00:35:04.000 |
I was encouraged and rebuked at the same time after learning more about the biblical truth and getting to know this godly individuals 00:35:12.000 |
and seeing how humble they are recognizing their own weaknesses and sin and repent. 00:35:18.000 |
For the very first time I learned the complete version of the gospel. 00:35:22.000 |
In Romans 5, 8 but God demonstrated his own love towards us. 00:35:27.000 |
In that while we were yet sinners God Christ died for us. 00:35:31.000 |
This was also the first time I learned about the importance of devotion and prayer and had started to take these steps for my spiritual growth. 00:35:41.000 |
Going into quarantine was a challenge to my still growing faith. 00:35:45.000 |
I was hopeless about the uncertainty and feel this content not being able to see people in person. 00:35:52.000 |
Through the bible study on the book of Philippians and first Corinthians I learned that the Lord is the only source of joy, hope and peace. 00:36:00.000 |
And everything else in this world is just material and will one day fade away. 00:36:05.000 |
Through the Holy Spirit my eyes were opened and led me to genuine surrender and repentance. 00:36:11.000 |
Ever since then my joy and contentment are only found in Christ and Christ alone. 00:36:16.000 |
And I'm able to recognize the godly wisdom versus the worthy wisdom. 00:36:20.000 |
Throughout my life there are so many ups and downs but I know that these are all God's grace. 00:36:26.000 |
I'm super thankful that God prunes me and reveals my sinfulness and pride through them all 00:36:31.000 |
to make me come to an understanding of what my life is truly about. 00:36:36.000 |
He always closes doors and opens even better ones for me. 00:36:42.000 |
I once was a slave to sin but it was only through the blood of Christ my sins are forgiven and an eternal life was given. 00:36:51.000 |
I will still sin in the future but I will not destined grow to be a hobbit. 00:36:55.000 |
Instead I will strive to kill sin and pursue a life of holiness. 00:37:00.000 |
It is no longer who I live but Christ who lives in me. 00:37:55.000 |
Alright, thank you Jennifer for your testimony. 00:37:58.000 |
If you can turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 11 verse 35. 00:38:03.000 |
And we're going to be reading all the way to verse 40. 00:38:05.000 |
Hebrews chapter 11 verse 35 all the way to verse 40. 00:38:19.000 |
It says, "Women received back their dead by resurrection and others were tortured not accepting their release 00:38:25.000 |
so that they might obtain a better resurrection. 00:38:28.000 |
And others experienced mockings and scourging, yes also chains and imprisonment. 00:38:32.000 |
They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, 00:38:39.000 |
They went about in sheepskins and goatskins being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated. 00:38:43.000 |
Men of whom the world was not worthy, wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. 00:38:49.000 |
And all these having gained approval through their faith did not receive what was promised 00:38:53.000 |
because God had provided something better for us so that apart from us they would not be made perfect." 00:39:01.000 |
Grace Father we pray that your word would speak to us, 00:39:06.000 |
allow our hearts Lord God to be molded according to your purpose and will. 00:39:10.000 |
Lord search us and know us and see if there's any hurtful ways in us. 00:39:16.000 |
And that our hearts Lord God and our mind, our will, will all be molded according to your purpose. 00:39:29.000 |
I think most people in my generation was trained how to evangelize through the four spiritual laws. 00:39:38.000 |
It was created by a man Bill Bright from CCC. 00:39:43.000 |
And I actually had an opportunity to meet him years ago at a conference. 00:39:46.000 |
And so there was a small number of us, maybe about a 30 of us, 00:39:50.000 |
were able to sit in a room and just pick his brain and it very Godly man. 00:39:54.000 |
And I didn't realize that CCC, Campus Crusade for Christ, was actually started at UCLA in 1951. 00:40:01.000 |
And so we were able to pick his brain and ask him questions. 00:40:04.000 |
And he was really into praying and fasting at that time. 00:40:09.000 |
Some of you guys who are maybe a little bit older may have been trained in the same way. 00:40:15.000 |
This four spiritual law basically begins by saying God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. 00:40:20.000 |
And then the second part is, but all have sinned and fall short of God's glory. 00:40:25.000 |
And third, Christ came and died for us to bridge that gap in order that we may have life again. 00:40:31.000 |
And then fourth, God requires all men and women to repent and receive this forgiveness. 00:40:38.000 |
And again, you know, paraphrased, but in a nutshell, those are the meaning. 00:40:44.000 |
Again, for many years, I would say for seven, eight years of early life as a Christian, 00:40:50.000 |
I would go through the four spiritual laws because that's how I was trained. 00:40:53.000 |
And I realized after time passing that the first part of that can easily be misunderstood. 00:41:01.000 |
And I don't think that was the intention of Bill Bright. 00:41:04.000 |
That his intention was to present the full gospel. 00:41:09.000 |
But that first part where it says God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life, 00:41:13.000 |
I started to see how some people were twisting that to think that God's ultimate plan for us is for us to prosper. 00:41:26.000 |
And so, again, I met the man, and I know that that was not his intention, 00:41:31.000 |
but I started to see how some people can easily twist how the gospel is presented and say, 00:41:42.000 |
The gospel is a way for me to achieve happiness, and I can't do that unless I repent and I receive Christ. 00:41:48.000 |
Now, the problem with that type of thinking, one, is completely unbiblical. 00:41:56.000 |
In fact, the Bible completely contradicts that. 00:41:58.000 |
The text that we're looking at, up to verse 35, he's been given examples of men and women of faith, 00:42:04.000 |
how sometimes, even in their great suffering and sacrifice, 00:42:08.000 |
God used that to lift them up and to glorify and to save Israel and to do many great things for God. 00:42:15.000 |
But then we get to the second part of chapter 30, verse 35, 00:42:20.000 |
and he just simply says, you know, "Women received back their dead by the resurrection, and others," 00:42:27.000 |
you know, no big hoopla, he doesn't even say "but," he just says, 00:42:30.000 |
"and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection." 00:42:35.000 |
And then he goes down a list of all these things that these people experienced, 00:42:40.000 |
and they never experienced this abundant life. 00:42:44.000 |
They were tortured, they lived homeless, they were mocked, they starved, 00:42:54.000 |
So it doesn't fit this narrative that God's ultimate purpose is so that we can have a wonderful life, 00:42:59.000 |
not in the way that many people experience or think that they are. 00:43:04.000 |
You've probably heard of the health and wealth gospel preachers. 00:43:08.000 |
Joel Osteen, probably in our generation, is on the top of that list. 00:43:12.000 |
And I don't know for whatever the reason that some churches are afraid to call false teachers out, 00:43:23.000 |
It's part of our job to recognize that when false teaching and false teachers 00:43:28.000 |
begin to propagate things that are unbiblical, it's not just difference of opinion. 00:43:33.000 |
They are actually going against what the Bible teaches. 00:43:37.000 |
And it prevents certain people from coming to Christ. 00:43:40.000 |
Joel Osteen, on the top of that list, wrote a book called "Best Life Now," and this is what he says. 00:43:45.000 |
"God didn't make you to be average. God created you to excel. 00:43:50.000 |
Therefore, if you will start acting like it, talking like it, seeing yourself as more than a conqueror, 00:43:56.000 |
you will live a prosperous and victorious life." 00:43:59.000 |
Obviously, what he means by prosperous is being very wealthy. 00:44:03.000 |
Benny Hinn is another man who is very well-known and had decades of ministry teaching the same false gospel. 00:44:14.000 |
"God will begin to prosper you, for money always follows righteousness." 00:44:19.000 |
Clearly, he never read the Bible. Clearly, he never read the Bible. 00:44:24.000 |
Jesus says, when people were coming to Him, "I want to follow you," He said, "birds of the fox have holes, 00:44:30.000 |
birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest His head." 00:44:33.000 |
In other words, I'm homeless. If you follow me, you're also going to be homeless. 00:44:37.000 |
So He warned them to make sure that you know what you're getting into. 00:44:41.000 |
All the disciples, they didn't live a better life, they didn't get a better job. 00:44:46.000 |
Most of them, with the exception of one, were martyred because they believed in Jesus Christ. 00:44:51.000 |
We have countless number of people, because of their faith, have ruined their lives. 00:44:58.000 |
Apostle Paul, a perfect example of one, who has pretty much achieved what every Jew would have wanted 00:45:07.000 |
in education and in wealth and position, and even religiously, and yet he ruined all of that because he met Christ. 00:45:14.000 |
I remember years ago, there was a man named Fred Price. 00:45:18.000 |
Most of you guys who are younger will probably not remember him, but he was a famous preacher in LA. 00:45:24.000 |
His church bought the Coliseum, some of you guys who remember the Coliseum, and it could fit probably about 50,000 to 60,000 people. 00:45:31.000 |
It was one of the largest churches in this area, probably in the United States. 00:45:35.000 |
Excellent preacher. Not knowing who he was, early Sunday morning, before I went to church, I wanted to hear a sermon, and I had him on. 00:45:43.000 |
One of the sermons he had, people stand up. He said, "Anybody who's on welfare, stand up." 00:45:49.000 |
So he had a bunch of people, not knowing what he was doing, just starting to stand up. 00:45:53.000 |
"Anybody who's not getting minimum wage, stand up. Anybody who doesn't get paid this much, stand up." 00:45:59.000 |
Then after they stood up, he began to rebuke them. 00:46:03.000 |
This is on national television. He said, "The reason why you're on welfare is because you don't have enough faith. 00:46:09.000 |
The reason why you don't have a house is because you don't have enough faith. 00:46:14.000 |
The reason why you don't drive a certain type of car is because you lack faith." 00:46:21.000 |
How he has so many Rolls Royces, and how he has so many houses, what kind of clothes he wears, and how much his shoes cost. 00:46:29.000 |
All of that on national television, and you can see the demeanor of these people who stood up, just kind of shriveling in shame. 00:46:37.000 |
I remember watching that, being so disgusted that this man was publicly shaming these people simply because they weren't making money. 00:46:46.000 |
Sad to say, even though we may be disgusted by what he says, this health and wealth gospel has so deeply been embedded into our psyche. 00:46:57.000 |
We practice it without even recognizing that that's what we're doing. 00:47:01.000 |
Even in biblical Bible teaching churches, even like ours. 00:47:08.000 |
I remember years ago at a conference, John Piper came to speak, and he was the keynote speaker. 00:47:13.000 |
He got up on the pulpit and he said, "You know, I had this message prepared, but I really felt convicted to preach a completely different sermon." 00:47:21.000 |
Then he began to preach about suffering as a Christian. 00:47:26.000 |
The whole sermon was based upon how God ordained suffering for the sake of His glory. 00:47:33.000 |
It was a great message. I always wondered why he decided to change the message. 00:47:37.000 |
I found out later on what the reason was, which I'm not going to get into this morning. 00:47:42.000 |
I remember at that conference, there were about 27 Russian pastors who used to pastor in the old communist regime. 00:47:49.000 |
They were coming in and out of prison, so they invited them to come pay for their airfare, got them to stay. 00:47:56.000 |
They happened to be in the room when he was preaching that. 00:48:00.000 |
After John Piper finished, they asked the leader of that group to come up and give his testimony. 00:48:05.000 |
I remember that Russian pastor stood up, and the first thing that he said was, 00:48:09.000 |
"I want to thank John Piper for preaching that sermon, because I never thought that I would hear a sermon in America to American pastors about suffering." 00:48:18.000 |
It was, in one sense, thanking him for the sermon, but at the same time, backslapping everybody else. 00:48:25.000 |
He said, "We never thought that this would ever be taught in an American church." 00:48:35.000 |
The author of the letter, remember why he's writing this letter. 00:48:41.000 |
He's writing this letter because the persecution in the church wouldn't let up. 00:48:48.000 |
Remember, in the beginning, they were rejoicing in their property being confiscated. 00:48:53.000 |
When their friends were being arrested, they went and visited them, and they were rejoicing. 00:48:57.000 |
"We're suffering for Christ," and they were willing to put up with that for a short period, but it wouldn't let up. 00:49:03.000 |
Ten years passed, 20 years passed, 30 years passed. 00:49:06.000 |
By the time this letter is written, they're in their second, possibly even third generation Christians, 00:49:11.000 |
and they're beginning to drift back into their old line. 00:49:15.000 |
Backsliding usually doesn't happen overnight. 00:49:19.000 |
You don't wake up one morning and say, "You know what? It's too hard following Christ, so I'm just going to go and make money." 00:49:24.000 |
You don't do that. Usually, backsliding happens because you compromise. 00:49:29.000 |
God calls you to do something, and you say, "What if I do this?" 00:49:32.000 |
God didn't call everybody. "What if I do this?" 00:49:36.000 |
You start to make small compromises, and you begin to see your heart starting to harden up. 00:49:41.000 |
In your mind, you've never abandoned your faith. 00:49:45.000 |
You've just made a series of compromises that cause you to drift further and further away from God. 00:49:50.000 |
Physically, you're still at church. You're still at Bible study. 00:49:54.000 |
But you know deep in your heart, you have a limit to how far you will go in following Christ. 00:50:00.000 |
So the Christianity that we've created is a Christianity that doesn't look like the Scripture. 00:50:06.000 |
The Christianity that we've created is a breaking of the second commandment of the Ten Commandments, 00:50:11.000 |
where he says, "Thou shalt not worship any other god," and the second commandment is, 00:50:15.000 |
"Thou shalt not make any grave images of me and worship me." 00:50:19.000 |
In other words, don't make up a god that is more palatable to you and worship that, and say, "You're worshiping me." 00:50:26.000 |
Backsliding typically happens gradually because we avoid suffering at every end. 00:50:33.000 |
"If I do this, I might lose my job. If I do this, my friends are going to be happy. 00:50:37.000 |
If I do this, I might not be able to get this. If I do this, I might not be able to get that house." 00:50:41.000 |
And so after a series of compromises, we have created a Jesus that doesn't look anything like the Scripture. 00:50:50.000 |
So he's writing this letter to challenge them that Christ is better than anything that you are backsliding into. 00:50:59.000 |
That Christ is better than that. Do you recognize who Jesus is? 00:51:02.000 |
He's better than the angel. He's better than Moses. He's better than the sacrifices. 00:51:06.000 |
He's better than the priests. He's better than the temple. He has a better covenant. 00:51:11.000 |
So the whole thing that we've been talking about in the whole book of Hebrews is, "He is better." 00:51:18.000 |
So if that is the priest, if he's writing this letter to a group of people who are having a hard time with suffering, 00:51:26.000 |
you would think that he would leave this out because this would be completely discouraging. 00:51:35.000 |
Women receive back their dead by resurrection. 00:51:38.000 |
All these great things happen because they believe God. 00:51:40.000 |
But then he says, "But others, they're tortured." 00:51:45.000 |
Some of them died, experienced mocking, scourging, chains, imprisonment, sawn in two, tempted, experienced death, 00:51:52.000 |
sheepskins, goatskin, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated, wandering deserts, mountains and caves and holes in the ground. 00:51:59.000 |
And it doesn't end with, "They did all of that, but God lifted them up, and so therefore they experienced greatness and then they died." 00:52:10.000 |
I mean, if your goal is to write this letter to encourage people who are suffering to continue and persevere, 00:52:19.000 |
you would think that he would say, "Relief is coming." 00:52:24.000 |
For a short time you're experiencing this, but after that you're going to experience glory. 00:52:39.000 |
The heroes of the faith that he talks about, some experience their children being resurrected, 00:52:47.000 |
And he says the reason why is because they wanted a better resurrection. 00:52:53.000 |
Because they believed that the payoff wasn't here. 00:52:57.000 |
They were willing to even give their life, because they knew that the hope that they had wasn't here. 00:53:05.000 |
It was after, and that's why they were able to persevere. 00:53:11.000 |
You know, I was at a conference not that long ago, and when our church was struggling and we were small, 00:53:24.000 |
We did a podcast describing our church in the beginning, because it wasn't a normal church plan. 00:53:30.000 |
We just got thrown out, and we just tried to survive. 00:53:33.000 |
And I just had a kid, and another kid, and another kid, eventually another kid. 00:53:40.000 |
And in the midst of what we were doing in ministry, we were just trying to survive. 00:53:46.000 |
And no one asked me about ministry advice back then. 00:53:50.000 |
In fact, everybody was giving me ministry advice. 00:53:53.000 |
They said, "Oh, you should go to that church. You should go to this conference. 00:53:56.000 |
Oh, if you talk to that pastor. Oh, if you were discipled by this pastor, maybe your church would do better." 00:54:01.000 |
But as soon as our church started growing to a certain number, you know, 300, 400, 00:54:05.000 |
and then they said, "Oh, what are you doing over there? 00:54:08.000 |
How do you do your Bible study? What is your teaching like?" 00:54:13.000 |
So I remember I was at a conference, and I was asked that question. 00:54:19.000 |
There's like three or four other churches that are larger in size, 00:54:22.000 |
and so they asked us to give a presentation about our church, our ministry philosophy, what we're doing. 00:54:26.000 |
And each one of them were going around, and smart guys, articulate, you know, talented, gifted. 00:54:36.000 |
I don't even understand some of the words that they're using, you know. 00:54:43.000 |
And I told them the story that we told you in the podcast. 00:54:47.000 |
I just felt bad for the kids, and I just held on for dear life. 00:55:03.000 |
And I remember after I said that, the pastor was presiding to kind of wrap things up, and he said, 00:55:10.000 |
"Who knows? If you did what Peter did, maybe your church would be the next Berean." 00:55:15.000 |
And I remember I ended up by saying, "Or not." 00:55:27.000 |
Because the point that I was trying to make was that it wasn't ingenuity. 00:55:32.000 |
Because we're not doing anything different than we did the first seven years, 00:55:35.000 |
and the next seven years that caused it to grow. 00:55:39.000 |
But our natural tendency is to think that if we do certain things right, good things are going to come. 00:55:47.000 |
And good things is like bigger church, better finances, better homes, healthier, wealthier, and long life. 00:55:56.000 |
And then when that doesn't happen, we deconstruct. 00:56:05.000 |
And then we're constantly deconstructing and reconstructing because of what? 00:56:14.000 |
Better life, healthier life, longer life, better bank account, right? 00:56:19.000 |
Our children are safe, better taken care of, better education. 00:56:22.000 |
And so we have the same standard that the world has, we just brought it into our Christian life. 00:56:31.000 |
We just kind of, you know, because it has that Christian name on it, we don't recognize that as the health and well. 00:56:39.000 |
This passage completely obliterates those thoughts. 00:56:50.000 |
None of this has any names because prior to that it was mentioning Abraham and Moses and Joseph and Jacob 00:56:56.000 |
and all these great men and women who by faith did these great things. 00:57:00.000 |
But then he says, but the others who were tortured and killed and, you know, 00:57:05.000 |
and they were imprisoned and chained, wandering in deserts, none of their names are mentioned. 00:57:12.000 |
I think the reason why none of the names are mentioned is because there's too many. 00:57:16.000 |
Because we have a tendency, like when you read missionary books, 00:57:19.000 |
you usually read a book about an individual who went and bore ridiculous fruit. 00:57:26.000 |
Whether it's in China or India, wherever it is, and then we put them on a pedestal and we read about them. 00:57:49.000 |
Majority of the people that have gone before us, for every one person that's been highlighted, 00:57:56.000 |
there's probably hundreds of thousands of people who just labored, couldn't pay their bills, 00:58:03.000 |
just barely surviving, constantly tempted to quit, and just making it. 00:58:10.000 |
And it is God using those people to continue to establish his kingdom. 00:58:15.000 |
We didn't get here by the Billy Grahams of the world. 00:58:27.000 |
But majority of the people that is described in verse 35 to 38 are never mentioned. 00:58:34.000 |
In fact, for every one Moses, you're going to see hundreds of other people that God used, 00:58:40.000 |
that you never heard of, but they're in Scripture. 00:58:44.000 |
Hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of people that have walked out into desert and never bore fruit. 00:58:50.000 |
Church planters who suffered for years and just closed up. 00:58:55.000 |
Missionaries who've gone to places and never saw a single convert. 00:59:00.000 |
I don't know how many pastors that I know dedicated their lives and in retirement didn't have a single penny in their name. 00:59:10.000 |
And they were dependent on other people just to make the end part. 00:59:16.000 |
I have missionary friends who've been out in the field for 20, 25 years, come back, 00:59:20.000 |
and they say they feel like beggars because they have nothing in their name. 00:59:26.000 |
I know countless number of missionaries who've lost their children in their faith. 00:59:32.000 |
They've dedicated everything to follow Christ and went out to foreign land, 00:59:36.000 |
and their children got caught up in something, and they walked away from their faith. 00:59:42.000 |
For every one Moses' and William Careys' and Amy Carmichael's, 00:59:49.000 |
these people that we write about and put on pedestals, many of them experienced verse 35 to 38. 00:59:59.000 |
We don't know. When you think of Isaiah, Isaiah is probably the most quoted Old Testament prophet in the New Testament. 01:00:05.000 |
Isaiah, according to Jewish tradition, was martyred for his faith. 01:00:10.000 |
Manasseh, King Manasseh was one of the worst kings that Israel had, 01:00:15.000 |
and he just got sick and tired of Israel, of Isaiah, constantly telling them, 01:00:20.000 |
"You need to turn from your sins, or judgment is coming." 01:00:24.000 |
He got so sick and tired of him, according to Jewish tradition, he was sawn in two. 01:00:30.000 |
The true prophets who were speaking and trying to turn Israel from their sins, 01:00:37.000 |
The false prophets kept on coming and saying, "Peace, peace," when there is no peace. 01:00:42.000 |
The reason why the false prophets were popular is because that's what everybody was looking for, peace. 01:00:48.000 |
You know what peace, the modern day translation for peace is? 01:00:56.000 |
And that's what the false teachers were propagating, "Peace, peace," when there is no peace. 01:01:02.000 |
Jeremiah, here's a man who lived a miserable life. 01:01:11.000 |
He wrote a book called Lamentations, because the whole book is about lamenting. 01:01:18.000 |
In verse 37b, it says, "They went about in sheepskins, goatskins, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated, 01:01:24.000 |
men whom the world was not worthy, wandering in deserts, mountains, and caves, holes in the ground." 01:01:30.000 |
Now, any prophet probably can recognize that maybe this is their life as well, 01:01:39.000 |
I mean, he lived such a miserable life, because God was using him to warn the nation of Israel. 01:01:45.000 |
And everywhere he went to speak, they hated his guts. 01:01:49.000 |
God had him do such weird things, just wandering in the desert and walking around, you know, 01:01:56.000 |
in places where he's going to be harmed all his life, just weeping. 01:02:01.000 |
Not simply because of what was happening to him externally, but internally, 01:02:05.000 |
he was saddened by what was coming, pleading with Israel to turn, and they would not turn. 01:02:13.000 |
You know, when I think about my life, there are four periods that, you know, like watershed moments 01:02:21.000 |
that I can pinpoint and say that completely changed my life. 01:02:26.000 |
First is coming to America, obviously, and I didn't choose that, right? 01:02:30.000 |
That happened to me, because my parents chose to come to the United States, 01:02:33.000 |
and that's the reason why I don't speak Korean here, I'm speaking English, right? 01:02:38.000 |
The culture where we grew up, all that changed because my parents decided to come to the United States. 01:02:42.000 |
So that was a watershed moment for me at that time. 01:02:45.000 |
Secondly, which is probably the most important out of all of them, was when I became a Christian. 01:02:55.000 |
And it was almost like being there for your birth, right? 01:02:59.000 |
Physical birth, that would be gross, but that's what it felt like. 01:03:02.000 |
And spiritually, I knew when it happened, like, my life would never be the same. 01:03:06.000 |
So that happened. So that was the second, and that changed everything for me. 01:03:10.000 |
The third thing that happened was when I decided to go into ministry, full-time ministry. 01:03:15.000 |
The reason why that was a watershed moment, it wasn't because I was choosing between, 01:03:21.000 |
I don't know how any Christian chooses, "I'm not going to serve God," right? 01:03:25.000 |
"I'm a Christian, but I'm just going to do whatever I want," right? 01:03:30.000 |
How can somebody who believes what we confess to be, 01:03:34.000 |
whether you are an attorney or a business or whatever it is that you're doing, 01:03:37.000 |
live your life saying, "You know what? I'm just going to live my life, 01:03:39.000 |
and some people are going to go to hell, some people are going to go to heaven. 01:03:42.000 |
I'm just going to live my life." That makes no sense to me. 01:03:45.000 |
So it wasn't a decision between, "Am I going to serve God or not serve God?" 01:03:48.000 |
But specifically, I'm going to full-time ministry. 01:03:51.000 |
And the reason why that was a difficult decision is because I'm a third-generation pastor. 01:03:56.000 |
I saw the misery that my parents went through. 01:04:06.000 |
and the misery that he experienced as a result of that. 01:04:09.000 |
I remember during the war, the Korean War, because my grandfather was a pastor, 01:04:13.000 |
he had to hide because the communists were coming, so he was basically gone. 01:04:18.000 |
And my dad had to take care of his family when he was 16 years old, selling medicine, 01:04:25.000 |
And when I was wrestling with this idea, I don't want to-- 01:04:29.000 |
I'll do anything. I'll be a businessman. I'll go to missions. I'll do anything. 01:04:32.000 |
Anything but a pastor. I don't want to do what my dad did. 01:04:40.000 |
What else am I going to-- I want to preach the gospel, 01:04:43.000 |
but if I make a lot of money, I'm concerned that I'm going to be tempted, 01:04:51.000 |
I don't know what else is coming ahead, but the fourth and final thing was 01:04:59.000 |
After five, six, seven years of struggling in the church 01:05:03.000 |
and not wanting to-- I was literally just dragging my feet, 01:05:06.000 |
and the only reason why I did what I did is because I felt like the kids that were there-- 01:05:10.000 |
they're not kids anymore, obviously, but kids weren't going to make it. 01:05:14.000 |
So out of guilt. It wasn't out of great faith or this vision. 01:05:23.000 |
I'm just being honest. I had no vision for this church. 01:05:28.000 |
I can't leave them because if I leave them, I'm going to abandon my kids. 01:05:41.000 |
I came into ministry thinking, "Okay, I'm going to do great things for God. 01:05:45.000 |
I'm going to preach the gospel. I'm going to plant churches. 01:05:47.000 |
I'm going to go out to missions. And even if I die early, that's a good way to live and die." 01:05:52.000 |
And I remember thinking, reading about Jim Elliot, 01:05:54.000 |
how he prayed that he doesn't have a long life but a meaningful life, 01:05:58.000 |
even if it's short, and that's exactly how he went out. 01:06:01.000 |
And I remember thinking that. It's like, "Yeah, that's what I want to do." 01:06:04.000 |
I want to do hard things for God, and if I die early, that's a good way to live your life. 01:06:10.000 |
But then the last part of it, I had to wrestle with, 01:06:19.000 |
Because Jeremiah just lived a long life, just miserable, 01:06:33.000 |
Everybody that he cared about, that he was preaching to, hated him. 01:06:42.000 |
And as I was digging through Scripture, and I was like, 01:06:44.000 |
"Wow, there's more Jeremias in the Bible than there are Pauls." 01:06:49.000 |
Who am I to come before God and say, "I'm going to hear my Lord, send me there." 01:06:53.000 |
And then God said, "Well, go to the Israelites who are stiff-necked, 01:06:56.000 |
and they're not going to listen to you. How long until you die? 01:07:00.000 |
Because they're not going to turn. Will you still go?" 01:07:12.000 |
And I remember during that period, I wanted to do the craziest things 01:07:16.000 |
because there was some sense of glory in that. 01:07:22.000 |
Go out on the streets, and I would see the end of the parade, 01:07:24.000 |
and I would be the last person at the parade, and I would preach the gospel. 01:07:29.000 |
And I remember this one thing. In Cal State LA, they were having the anti-war rally 01:07:37.000 |
And there were hundreds of people over there who probably didn't want to go to class. 01:07:41.000 |
And they were out there as anti-war chants, and they had a mic set up. 01:07:45.000 |
And we just happened to be witnessing there in LA, and I thought, "Maybe this is a good place." 01:07:50.000 |
So I just kind of took about 40 minutes to gear up enough courage. 01:07:55.000 |
And at the end, when we were about to leave, I said, "Give me a minute." 01:08:01.000 |
So I stood up, and I got the mic, and I started preaching. 01:08:06.000 |
And they didn't know what I was preaching, obviously, until I said the name Jesus. 01:08:12.000 |
And if you ever want to know what it feels like to have 300 people flip them off all at once, 01:08:23.000 |
And it was not fun, but afterwards, there was a sense of glory in that, 01:08:35.000 |
even if it meant living in poverty, even if it meant having homeless people in my house. 01:08:42.000 |
But I did not want to live the life that my dad lived, 01:08:47.000 |
struggling in a small church, taking care, having a hard time paying his bills, 01:08:51.000 |
always worried about what the church people are going to think if he did this, 01:08:54.000 |
and if he bought this car, what are they going to think, that we spent too much money on this, 01:08:58.000 |
we can't buy this house, we can't take a vacation because we can't do this. 01:09:20.000 |
My wife experienced having homeless people in my house. 01:09:25.000 |
But I couldn't say yes to pastoring a church. 01:09:36.000 |
But the question that was brought to me was clear. 01:09:43.000 |
"Here, my Lord, send me over here to these people at this time so I can do this," 01:09:48.000 |
or are you just going to say, "Here, my Lord, send me," 01:09:58.000 |
More than the initial time when I decided to go into ministry. 01:10:03.000 |
More than when I became a Christian, because when I became a Christian, it was just good. 01:10:11.000 |
God created the universe, loves me, and He died for me? 01:10:18.000 |
Nothing that I had, nothing that I sacrificed at that time seemed worth holding on to. 01:10:24.000 |
But the fourth watershed in my life was what really broke me. 01:10:30.000 |
And I realized that even in the way that I wanted to do ministry, 01:10:43.000 |
What if God calls you to serve people who don't want to be served all your life? 01:10:52.000 |
Apostle Paul, when he was called, here's a guy who had everything, money, already famed, 01:11:00.000 |
religiously on the top of the ladder, meets Christ and his life is ruined. 01:11:10.000 |
When he meets Christ, Jesus says from the get-go, 01:11:14.000 |
"I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." 01:11:19.000 |
He didn't say he's going to glorify me and all that stuff. 01:11:22.000 |
He said, "No, I'm going to show him how much he must suffer for my name." 01:11:26.000 |
When he's writing 2 Corinthians, he's writing to a group of people who are questioning his apostleship. 01:11:35.000 |
Apollos was the great speaker. Peter was the great leader. 01:11:42.000 |
And they were questioning him because they didn't like what he was saying, 01:11:45.000 |
so they were kind of disqualifying him, saying he's not a true apostle. 01:11:49.000 |
But Apostle Paul, in defense, and he is defending himself because people are questioning him. 01:11:56.000 |
I think naturally he just was not the best speaker. 01:11:59.000 |
In fact, the book of Acts says that he was in the habit of preaching so long, people actually died. 01:12:06.000 |
He was in the habit of preaching on and on, and somebody fell off and died, and so he had to resurrect that guy. 01:12:16.000 |
But he, in defense, this is what he says in 2 Corinthians 11, 24. 01:12:20.000 |
"Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. 01:12:23.000 |
Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. 01:12:26.000 |
Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I spent in the deep. 01:12:30.000 |
I have been on frequent journeys and dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from countrymen, 01:12:34.000 |
dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers in the sea, dangers among the false brethren. 01:12:40.000 |
I have been in labor and hardship through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure." 01:12:50.000 |
His credential is not the many churches that he planted. 01:13:02.000 |
He said, "You question my apostasy, look at my suffering." 01:13:05.000 |
But along with that, verse 28, "Apart from such external things, 01:13:10.000 |
there is a daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches." 01:13:15.000 |
I mean, it's hard enough, the external things, the stoning and the hardship and persecution and the whipping that he got. 01:13:23.000 |
But he says on top of that, there's this internal pressure because he's concerned for the churches, for the people. 01:13:30.000 |
As he's sitting in prison, he's concerned for the Philippians. 01:13:35.000 |
As he's waiting to die in 2 Timothy, he's writing to his protege. 01:13:42.000 |
Because he's concerned that even as he is facing death, he sees this internal pressure. 01:13:50.000 |
Who is led into sin without my intense concern? 01:13:55.000 |
This is a man who understood that he was called to suffer, just like Jesus said. 01:14:04.000 |
He wasn't just called so that he can stand in a pulpit and hear the Savior, the Lord, and there's where Jesus is. 01:14:10.000 |
It's like, no, he did that in the midst of much suffering. 01:14:14.000 |
This flies in the face of all the people that I quoted in the beginning of the sermon. 01:14:19.000 |
We hear so many times about how Christianity is flourishing all over the world. 01:14:25.000 |
I've traveled enough and talked to enough people out in the field to know that the number of Christians have been so bloated. 01:14:33.000 |
I remember talking to a pastor in an underground church in China, and I've heard numbers as big as 350 million Christians. 01:14:42.000 |
And I asked him, "Is that true?" And he said, "Not even close." 01:14:46.000 |
He said, "Most of the numbers that you're hearing about are people who are coming to faith because of the health and wealth gospel." 01:14:52.000 |
Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, all false teachers, because they promise that if you believe in Jesus, that you can have the wealth that these missionaries have. 01:15:03.000 |
So they want to be like Americans, that if you believe Jesus, and Jesus is their ticket to get wealth, 01:15:11.000 |
a lot of the people who are coming to faith are coming for that reason. 01:15:16.000 |
It's not the true gospel, it's the health and wealth gospel that's spreading all over the world. 01:15:21.000 |
Jesus clearly said that the path to life is narrow, and it is difficult, and few will be found in it. 01:15:32.000 |
He says all of this and reminds us again in 1 Peter 4.12, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you." 01:15:40.000 |
You shouldn't be surprised because Jesus told us, the Bible made it very plain to us. 01:15:44.000 |
There are examples that are given to us in the scripture, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange things were happening to you. 01:15:53.000 |
You notice how whenever hardship comes, we think, "What did we do wrong?" 01:15:59.000 |
If a church is planted and it doesn't bear fruit, it doesn't grow, what did we do wrong? 01:16:06.000 |
If people begin to leave because you're preaching the gospel, what did we do wrong? 01:16:11.000 |
If we started having relational issues and sinners don't appreciate what you're doing, what did we do wrong? 01:16:18.000 |
We planted a church and we're trying to share the gospel and nobody's interested, and what did we do wrong? 01:16:24.000 |
We have a tendency to kind of deconstruct everything that we think isn't meeting our standard, 01:16:29.000 |
and so we need to reconstruct constantly, deconstructing, reconstructing, deconstructing, reconstructing, 01:16:34.000 |
in order to get what? What the world has taught us, what success is. 01:16:39.000 |
When all He told us to do is to be faithful, do not turn from the word to the left or to the right. 01:16:47.000 |
In season and out of season, whether they listen or don't listen, whether you bear fruit or don't bear fruit, 01:16:54.000 |
whether the church grows or doesn't grow, in season and out of season, I only give you one thing. 01:17:04.000 |
Sometimes the children are resurrected, sometimes they are not. 01:17:09.000 |
Sometimes you will experience well, sometimes you will not. 01:17:13.000 |
Sometimes people will thank you and praise you, and sometimes you will not. 01:17:24.000 |
If following Christ meant you can't get into the school that you want, 01:17:29.000 |
if you have to forfeit your career, would you still follow Christ? 01:17:34.000 |
If you can't get the house that you want, would you still follow Christ? 01:17:38.000 |
If your children are not safe, and given the best that you want to give them, would you still follow Christ? 01:17:49.000 |
You see, the problem with the health and wealth gospel is, we don't break the first commandment. 01:17:54.000 |
The first commandment is thou shalt not worship any other god. 01:17:57.000 |
But the second commandment is thou shalt not make grave an image of me and worship it. 01:18:01.000 |
In other words, don't create an idol, and then attach my name on it, and then worship it, thinking that you're worshipping me. 01:18:10.000 |
When we deconstruct everything, that doesn't get us to a better life. 01:18:16.000 |
We've created a Jesus that's not in the scripture. 01:18:20.000 |
If the only Christian faith that we have embraced always leads to a better, comfortable life, 01:18:31.000 |
then that Jesus is not the Jesus of the Bible. 01:18:35.000 |
See, verses 35 through 38 completely blows that out of the water. 01:18:40.000 |
You know, the health and wealth gospel, people, verse Jeremiah 29, 11, is a verse that they love. 01:18:45.000 |
It says, "For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare, not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope." 01:18:53.000 |
The way that the health and wealth gospel people see this is, and sometimes we even use it to encourage other people, 01:18:59.000 |
that though it's hard now, if you endure a little bit, better things are coming tomorrow. 01:19:08.000 |
Put in your time and discipline and sacrifice now, then better things will come tomorrow. 01:19:14.000 |
Now, is that anything different than the world? 01:19:17.000 |
I go to the gym, I wake up 5 in the morning, and I outwork everybody else. 01:19:21.000 |
This is why I got a million dollars, because I put in the hard work early. 01:19:27.000 |
And I did what other people are not willing to do, and that's why I was successful. 01:19:31.000 |
And the health and wealth gospel people use this verse to basically perpetuate the same thing, 01:19:39.000 |
Put in your time now, sacrifice now, discipline now, then when you're 30, when you're 40, you're going to be wealthy, healthy. 01:19:48.000 |
When he says, "God has a wonderful plan for your life," clearly, the wonderful plan isn't health and wealth. 01:19:59.000 |
The wonderful plan he's talking about is that though some died and experienced resurrection, 01:20:04.000 |
the others voluntarily gave their life and were tortured for what purpose? 01:20:12.000 |
The wonderful plan that the Bible talks about is an eternity when Christ comes. 01:20:22.000 |
And if we miss that, you didn't just miss a part of Christianity. 01:20:29.000 |
If you miss that, you didn't miss, you know, you weren't a B+ student as a Christian, but you weren't A. 01:20:35.000 |
If you miss that, you missed Christianity, period. 01:20:41.000 |
The Christianity that we practice, the health and wealth gospel mentality, is no different than the Buddhists going to the temple. 01:20:48.000 |
You ever go to, you know, the Asian countries, and the ancient ruins are all Buddhist temples? 01:20:55.000 |
You wonder why they went through so much trouble to build statues of Buddha and temples in just weird places up in mountains? 01:21:03.000 |
You know, this is a thousand Buddha mountain. 01:21:14.000 |
I mean, I remember the first time visiting China, and we must have gone to about a hundred Buddha something. 01:21:22.000 |
I said, "Why was this so important?" Because that was their avenue to get health and wealth. 01:21:35.000 |
If we're not careful, Christians can do the same thing by becoming a member in the church, by being faithful and serving and giving. 01:21:45.000 |
That I'm going to trade in something because I'm expecting something bigger. 01:21:50.000 |
And then when that doesn't happen, God's not real. 01:22:00.000 |
The God that many of those people turn away from was never real because he never promised that. 01:22:11.000 |
The God of the Bible tells us in Hebrews 11, 39 to 40, "And all these having gained approval through their faith," 01:22:20.000 |
not through their hard work, not through their sacrifice, but sacrifices came because of their faith, 01:22:26.000 |
did not receive what was promised because God had provided something better for us so that apart from us, they would not be made perfect. 01:22:34.000 |
2 Corinthians 4, 17, "For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison." 01:22:47.000 |
Even in our suffering, it is producing in us a glory that you cannot possibly imagine that can be fulfilled here. 01:22:59.000 |
Why did some people experience this great deliverance and why did some people just die in their difficult state? 01:23:09.000 |
It may be difficult to understand, but the answer is simple because in Isaiah 42, verse 8, it says, 01:23:14.000 |
"I am the Lord, that is my name. I would not give my glory to another, nor my praise to given images." 01:23:20.000 |
God says over and over again, he says, "For my name's sake, for my glory," over and over again, "for my glory." 01:23:29.000 |
Why did Joseph go through that and then experience, why did he experience what he experienced? 01:23:38.000 |
Why did Isaiah live his life and then was sown in two? 01:23:44.000 |
Why was Moses lifted up and experienced all of that? 01:23:56.000 |
His glory in our comfort, his glory in our suffering, his glory in long life, his glory in life cut short, 01:24:03.000 |
his glory in living in peace, and it is for his glory that we live a life of turmoil. 01:24:08.000 |
It is his glory when we are financially wealthy, and it is his glory when we are struggling financially. 01:24:13.000 |
All things, good and bad, it says, ultimately for his glory. 01:24:19.000 |
I know what a non-believer will say when I say this. 01:24:32.000 |
So he's toying with us and letting some people suffer, and some people do this and that, and he's a jerk. 01:24:42.000 |
Some people will say that because they don't believe, because they do not see, because they only see this life. 01:24:50.000 |
And if this life is all that matters, they're absolutely right, because it didn't pay off. 01:24:59.000 |
Some people are suffering, and some people are doing fine. 01:25:07.000 |
But you have to understand, the Bible says that you and I have been created to be his image bearers. 01:25:12.000 |
That's our whole purpose of why we exist, is so that we may reflect his glory. 01:25:17.000 |
So salvation is for the purpose of restoring us so that we may live according to how he created us. 01:25:38.000 |
We live, we experience the greatest life when he is magnified the most. 01:25:45.000 |
Imagine if LeBron James, I know some of you guys are not a fan of LeBron James, Steph Curry, whoever you want to say. 01:25:52.000 |
If LeBron James came on the court and he started to interview everybody, "How can I make all of you happy?" 01:26:02.000 |
Just make a list, and then he started reading all of that. 01:26:04.000 |
Okay, so I'm going to design my game to make everybody happy. 01:26:10.000 |
Because 30,000 people are going to have different ideas, right? 01:26:18.000 |
And I remember the criticism of LeBron James, like, "Man, that guy, he doesn't, you know, he passes too much. 01:26:30.000 |
And when he takes the shot, he's like, "Dude, he doesn't pass. 01:26:36.000 |
There's nothing he can do to satisfy anybody, everybody to begin with. 01:26:41.000 |
But the best way to make the most number of people happy is to play the best game that he's able to play. 01:26:49.000 |
When he is glorified on the court, everybody, everybody experiences euphoria. 01:27:11.000 |
Remember when you were there when he did this? 01:27:38.000 |
So when God is glorified, we experience the best life. 01:27:44.000 |
So salvation is to restore us so that our eyes may be opened to see this glory. 01:27:49.000 |
And for eternity, we're going to be seeing his glory in a greater and more magnificent way. 01:27:59.000 |
So this momentary suffering, this momentary, this blip of a life, this mist of a life, 01:28:06.000 |
that whether you live comfortably, whether you live uncomfortably, whether you are rich or whether you are poor, 01:28:11.000 |
all this is producing in us eternal glory that we may have in his presence. 01:28:20.000 |
That's why sometimes some people are called and they live in North Korea. 01:28:29.000 |
There's a kind of glory that God can receive only when rich people are giving. 01:28:37.000 |
There's a kind of glory that God gets when we are suffering. 01:28:41.000 |
There's a kind of glory that God gets when we live a long life living for Christ. 01:28:46.000 |
And there's a type of glory that God gets when our life is cut short. 01:28:51.000 |
Because when he is glorified, what happens? The world ceases. 01:29:00.000 |
Because what God is interested in is an eternity. 01:29:03.000 |
That more and more people may see his glory and come to him. 01:29:07.000 |
So sometimes God will use our suffering for that purpose. 01:29:14.000 |
Let me read the final passage, and I know it's a little bit long. 01:29:18.000 |
This is the verse that I know Elder James used to quote when he was younger all the time. 01:29:24.000 |
And I don't know his suffering inside, but this was one of his favorite verses. 01:29:29.000 |
Habakkuk is written during a period when Israel--it's kind of like Isaiah. 01:29:34.000 |
He's preaching to people who don't want to hear it. 01:29:36.000 |
He's wondering, "God, why are you allowing the unjust to punish the just?" 01:29:41.000 |
And at the end conclusion of his grumbling before God, he says this, 01:29:45.000 |
"Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, 01:29:49.000 |
though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, 01:29:55.000 |
though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, 01:30:00.000 |
yet I will exalt in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation." 01:30:08.000 |
In the end, it's not about the vines being plenty and revival and all that. 01:30:24.000 |
And for this part, as they're preparing, they're going to be showing a video with a worship song. 01:30:32.000 |
And so what I would like you to do--I think the lyrics on this song kind of summarizes 01:30:36.000 |
what God is trying to say and what this passage is teaching us. 01:30:43.000 |
And then afterwards, they'll lead us in our final closing praise. 01:31:34.000 |
We pray for your mighty hand to ease our suffering. 01:31:50.000 |
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things. 01:31:57.000 |
'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops? 01:32:06.000 |
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you're near? 01:32:16.000 |
What if trials of this life are your mercies in disguise? 01:32:40.000 |
We cry in anger when we cannot feel you near. 01:32:56.000 |
As if every promise from your word is not enough. 01:33:20.000 |
'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops? 01:33:28.000 |
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you're near? 01:33:38.000 |
What if trials of this life are your mercies in disguise? 01:33:50.000 |
When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win, 01:33:58.000 |
we know the pain reminds this heart that this is not, 01:34:26.000 |
'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops? 01:34:34.000 |
And what if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you're near? 01:34:43.000 |
What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life 01:34:51.000 |
is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy? 01:35:01.000 |
And what if trials of this life, the rain, the storms, the hardest nights, 01:35:27.000 |
Okay, we're gonna close our time with a praise song. 01:35:32.000 |
We're gonna sing the hymn "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." 01:35:36.000 |
And this is an old hymn penned by Martin Luther in the 1500s. 01:35:42.000 |
And it's a song that God's used to really serve the church and his people for 500 years now. 01:35:48.000 |
And it's been said that many people, many Christians who were persecuted, in exile, 01:35:54.000 |
or on their way to death, this was the song that they were singing. 01:35:59.000 |
So I just want to go through real quickly, let's do two verses. 01:36:03.000 |
Verse one, it says, "A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing. 01:36:07.000 |
Our helper, he admits the flood of mortal ills prevailing. 01:36:11.000 |
For still our ancient foe that seeth to work us woe. 01:36:14.000 |
His craft and power are great and armed with cruel fate. 01:36:20.000 |
Verse two, "Did we in our own strength confide our striving would be losing. 01:36:25.000 |
We're not the right man on our side, the man of God's own choosing. 01:36:30.000 |
Thus ask who that may be, Christ Jesus it is he. 01:36:33.000 |
The Lord upholds his name from age to age the same, and he must win the battle." 01:36:39.000 |
And there's a part of the song that goes to the bridge. 01:36:43.000 |
This is not the original lyrics by Martin Luther, 01:36:50.000 |
"A mighty fortress, a rock unfailing, the king of glory forever. 01:36:55.000 |
For endless ages enthroned in praises, the king of glory forever, amen." 01:37:05.000 |
And as we sing the song, I hope that you pay attention to the lyrics, 01:37:12.000 |
and it would provide much encouragement for us as well. 01:37:28.000 |
A mighty fortress is our God, the boulder and the hail. 01:37:37.000 |
Our helper he amates the flood of mortal hairs prevail. 01:37:45.000 |
For still our ancient foe, with sin to work us woe, 01:37:53.000 |
His craft and power are great, and God with good ordain. 01:38:12.000 |
Deadly and heartless, our striving will be raised. 01:38:22.000 |
We're not the right men on our side, the men of God's own choosing. 01:38:38.000 |
The Lord of hosts is name, from age to age the same. 01:38:57.000 |
And though this world with devil's fill should threaten to undo, 01:39:07.000 |
We will not fear, for God has brought his children triumph through. 01:39:16.000 |
In the face of darkness' strain, we tremble not for him. 01:39:23.000 |
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure. 01:39:39.000 |
A mighty fortress, a rock unfailing, the King of glory forever, amen. 01:39:54.000 |
For endless ages, in throngs and places, the King of glory forever, amen. 01:40:11.000 |
The Lord above all earthly powers, no thanks to them abide. 01:40:20.000 |
The Spirit and the gifts arise through him who weighed the side. 01:40:29.000 |
Kids and kindred go, peace for all life, all soul. 01:40:36.000 |
The body they may kill, brought truth about instead. 01:40:56.000 |
A mighty fortress, a rock unfailing, the King of glory forever, amen. 01:41:11.000 |
For endless ages, in throngs and places, the King of glory forever, amen. 01:41:24.000 |
A mighty fortress, a rock unfailing, the King of glory forever, amen. 01:41:41.000 |
For endless ages, in throngs and places, the King of glory forever, forever, amen. 01:42:09.000 |
Heavenly Father, we pray for continued guidance. 01:42:12.000 |
I pray that the Holy Spirit would speak to us and guide us, Lord God, that our eyes may be opened, 01:42:18.000 |
that we would not live for temporary things, that we would live, Lord God, for those that are eternal. 01:42:27.000 |
I pray that your word that you've implanted in us would bear fruit. 01:42:31.000 |
I pray, Father God, that your word, as you promised, would go forth, 01:42:35.000 |
would not return until it has accomplished the purpose that you have ordained it. 01:42:39.000 |
So whether we eat or drink, help us, Lord God, this week to truly do it for your glory. 01:42:58.000 |
He came to love, heal, and forgive, live and die. 01:43:12.000 |
To buy my heart and an empty grave, he's there to give his Savior live. 01:43:46.000 |
Because I know he holds the future, and life is worth the living just because he lives. 01:44:08.000 |
All right, again, if I can ask this side of the room to go this way, and then this side to go that way.