Berean Community Church Sunday Service

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00:04:45.140 | - All right, good morning, church family.

00:05:01.340 | Happy Lord's Day.

00:05:02.180 | I hope you had a good week in the Lord.

00:05:03.540 | We're gonna go ahead and start our service this morning.

00:05:09.140 | (gentle music)

00:05:11.720 | ♪ Christ the sure and steady anchor ♪

00:05:33.140 | ♪ In the fury of the storm ♪

00:05:38.140 | ♪ When the winds of doubt blow through me ♪

00:05:43.140 | ♪ And my sails have all been torn ♪

00:05:48.140 | ♪ In the suffering, in the sorrow ♪

00:05:53.140 | ♪ When my sinking hopes are few ♪

00:05:58.140 | ♪ I will hold fast to the anchor ♪

00:06:04.140 | ♪ It shall never be removed ♪

00:06:09.140 | (gentle music)

00:06:11.720 | ♪ Christ the sure and steady anchor ♪

00:06:22.140 | ♪ While the tempest rages on ♪

00:06:27.140 | ♪ When temptation claims the battle ♪

00:06:32.140 | ♪ And it seems the night has won ♪

00:06:37.140 | ♪ Deeper still than goes the anchor ♪

00:06:42.140 | ♪ Though I justly stand accused ♪

00:06:47.140 | ♪ I will hold fast to the anchor ♪

00:06:52.140 | ♪ It shall never be removed ♪

00:06:57.140 | (gentle music)

00:06:59.720 | ♪ Christ the sure and steady anchor ♪

00:07:04.720 | ♪ Through the floods of unbelief ♪

00:07:09.720 | ♪ Hopeless somehow, oh my soul now ♪

00:07:14.720 | ♪ Lift your eyes to Calvary ♪

00:07:19.720 | ♪ This my ballast of hope ♪

00:07:24.720 | ♪ This my ballast of assurance ♪

00:07:29.720 | ♪ See his love forever prove ♪

00:07:34.720 | ♪ I will hold fast to the anchor ♪

00:07:39.720 | ♪ It shall never be removed ♪

00:07:44.720 | (gentle music)

00:07:47.720 | ♪ It shall never be removed ♪

00:07:52.720 | ♪ Oh, never be removed ♪

00:07:57.720 | (gentle music)

00:08:00.300 | ♪ Christ the sure and steady anchor ♪

00:08:09.720 | ♪ As we face the wave of death ♪

00:08:14.720 | ♪ When these trials give way to glory ♪

00:08:19.720 | ♪ As we draw our final breath ♪

00:08:24.720 | ♪ We will cross that great horizon ♪

00:08:29.720 | ♪ Clouds behind and life secure ♪

00:08:34.720 | ♪ And the calm will be the better ♪

00:08:39.720 | ♪ For the storms that we endure ♪

00:08:44.720 | ♪ Christ the sure of our salvation ♪

00:08:50.720 | ♪ Ever faithful, ever true ♪

00:08:55.720 | ♪ We will hold fast to the anchor ♪

00:09:01.720 | ♪ It shall never be removed ♪

00:09:07.720 | (gentle music)

00:09:10.720 | - Good morning, everybody.

00:09:12.720 | I wanna welcome you all to this morning's service,

00:09:14.720 | and particularly if you're brand new to the church,

00:09:17.720 | we wanna welcome you and ask that after the service,

00:09:20.720 | please visit us over at our welcome booth

00:09:22.720 | in the parking lot.

00:09:23.720 | We'd love to meet you, answer any questions you may have,

00:09:26.720 | and give you more information about the church.

00:09:29.720 | I wanna highlight a few of our announcements

00:09:32.720 | for the upcoming weeks.

00:09:34.720 | Importantly for all of the members,

00:09:36.720 | please make sure you note that Sunday, the 21st,

00:09:39.720 | is a full Sunday with a fundraiser lunch

00:09:44.720 | that's going to be supporting our summer admissions team,

00:09:47.720 | and then after the lunch at 2 p.m.,

00:09:49.720 | we'll be having our members meeting.

00:09:51.720 | If you cannot make it, please go either to the web or the app.

00:09:55.720 | There's a quick absence form,

00:09:56.720 | and just let us know what's happening.

00:09:59.720 | Please also note that after the members meeting,

00:10:01.720 | there's gonna be a service fair,

00:10:03.720 | and we want everybody to stick around for that,

00:10:05.720 | find out what's happening in different teams,

00:10:08.720 | and also sign up for volunteer opportunities.

00:10:11.720 | With that said, I wanna highlight that on Saturday, the 20th,

00:10:15.720 | for the FAM245, that's the group of more recently marrieds,

00:10:20.720 | there is a workshop taking place at 10.30 in the Sprouts Room,

00:10:24.720 | so please make sure to participate in that.

00:10:27.720 | The other thing is for the whole church,

00:10:29.720 | on Friday, April the 26th, will be praise and prayer.

00:10:33.720 | There will be no Bible study that week,

00:10:35.720 | for those of you who are newer.

00:10:36.720 | That service starts at 7.30,

00:10:38.720 | and we hope that all of you will be there,

00:10:40.720 | participating in that time of praise and prayer.

00:10:44.720 | The last thing I'm gonna mention is that,

00:10:47.720 | please save the date.

00:10:48.720 | In the summer, August 16th through the 18th,

00:10:52.720 | there is a family ministry summer retreat.

00:10:55.720 | We're excited to have Dr. John Street back with us

00:10:59.720 | for that summertime, where he'll be preaching

00:11:01.720 | on the subject of God's design for our marriages.

00:11:04.720 | So please make sure to save the date,

00:11:06.720 | mark your calendar so that when the registration comes out,

00:11:09.720 | you can participate.

00:11:10.720 | Today, after our worship time,

00:11:13.720 | we're gonna be having our brother Jeremiah be baptized,

00:11:16.720 | and we'll be able to hear his testimony

00:11:18.720 | and fellowship that way.

00:11:19.720 | At this time, we'll do our time of offering.

00:11:21.720 | If you have a physical check,

00:11:22.720 | the box is right by the entrance.

00:11:24.720 | Otherwise, we can submit our offering digitally.

00:11:27.720 | Let's take a moment to pray together.

00:11:30.720 | Heavenly Father, we thank you so much

00:11:32.720 | for your incredible grace.

00:11:34.720 | What a privilege it is for us to come together,

00:11:36.720 | God, in fellowship and in worship,

00:11:39.720 | lifting up our songs of praise to you.

00:11:42.720 | We pray, Father God, that you would bless us thoroughly.

00:11:45.720 | What's more, God, we ask that by the joining of our faith,

00:11:49.720 | we will grow, we will continue to mature,

00:11:53.720 | and in so doing, we would love and honor you.

00:11:55.720 | We pray, Father God, that in our offering,

00:11:57.720 | it would be an expression of our desire

00:11:59.720 | to really lift you up and devote ourselves to you.

00:12:02.720 | We ask, God, that you would continue to bless the ministry,

00:12:05.720 | that it would be about your kingdom,

00:12:07.720 | that it would be about you, Lord.

00:12:09.720 | We thank you for this time.

00:12:10.720 | It's in Christ's name, amen.

00:12:12.720 | [music]

00:12:41.720 | [music]

00:12:59.720 | At this time, would you please rise

00:13:01.720 | and take a moment to say hello to your neighbor,

00:13:03.720 | and we will continue our worship.

00:13:23.720 | [music]

00:13:37.720 | A praise.

00:13:38.720 | A praise and glorify our God,

00:13:42.720 | the Father of our Lord.

00:13:46.720 | In Christ he has in heavenly realms

00:13:50.720 | his blessings on us all.

00:13:54.720 | For pure and blameless in his sight,

00:13:58.720 | he destined us to be.

00:14:02.720 | And now we've been adopted through his Son eternally.

00:14:12.720 | To the praise of your glory,

00:14:16.720 | to the praise of your mercy and grace.

00:14:20.720 | To the praise of your glory,

00:14:24.720 | you are the God we sing.

00:14:33.720 | A praise.

00:14:34.720 | A praise and glorify our God,

00:14:38.720 | who gives his grace in Christ.

00:14:42.720 | In him our sins are washed away,

00:14:46.720 | redeemed through sacrifice.

00:14:50.720 | In him God has known to us

00:14:54.720 | the mystery of his will.

00:14:58.720 | That Christ should be the head of all,

00:15:02.720 | his purpose to be.

00:15:07.720 | To the praise.

00:15:08.720 | To the praise of your glory,

00:15:12.720 | to the praise of your mercy and grace.

00:15:16.720 | To the praise of your glory,

00:15:20.720 | you are the God we sing.

00:15:45.720 | A praise and glorify.

00:15:48.720 | A praise and glorify our God,

00:15:52.720 | for we believe the word.

00:15:56.720 | And through our faith we have a seal,

00:16:00.720 | the Spirit of the Lord.

00:16:04.720 | The Spirit guarantees our hope

00:16:08.720 | until redemption's done.

00:16:12.720 | Until we join in endless praise

00:16:16.720 | to God the free.

00:16:22.720 | To the praise of your glory,

00:16:26.720 | to the praise of your mercy and grace.

00:16:30.720 | To the praise of your glory,

00:16:34.720 | you are the God we sing.

00:16:38.720 | To the praise of your glory,

00:16:42.720 | to the praise of your mercy and grace.

00:16:46.720 | To the praise of your glory,

00:16:50.720 | you are the God we sing.

00:16:56.720 | ♪

00:17:16.720 | Through the nation's rage,

00:17:20.720 | kingdoms rise and fall,

00:17:24.720 | there is still one King

00:17:29.720 | reigning over all.

00:17:34.720 | So I will not fear,

00:17:38.720 | for this truth remains,

00:17:43.720 | that my God is the Ancient of Days.

00:17:52.720 | None above Him,

00:17:55.720 | none before Him,

00:17:57.720 | all of time in His hands.

00:18:02.720 | For His throne it shall remain

00:18:06.720 | and ever stand.

00:18:11.720 | All the power,

00:18:13.720 | all the glory,

00:18:16.720 | I will trust in His name.

00:18:20.720 | For my God is

00:18:23.720 | the Ancient of Days.

00:18:30.720 | Though the dread of night

00:18:34.720 | overwhelms my soul,

00:18:39.720 | He is here with me.

00:18:44.720 | I am not alone,

00:18:48.720 | for His love is sure

00:18:53.720 | and He knows my name.

00:18:58.720 | For my God is

00:19:00.720 | the Ancient of Days.

00:19:07.720 | None above Him,

00:19:09.720 | none before Him,

00:19:11.720 | all of time in His hands.

00:19:16.720 | For His throne it shall remain

00:19:20.720 | and ever stand.

00:19:25.720 | All the power,

00:19:27.720 | all the glory,

00:19:30.720 | I will trust in His name.

00:19:34.720 | For my God is

00:19:37.720 | the Ancient of Days.

00:19:58.720 | Though I may not see

00:20:02.720 | what the future brings,

00:20:07.720 | I will watch and wait

00:20:11.720 | for the Savior King.

00:20:16.720 | And my joy completes

00:20:20.720 | standing face to face

00:20:25.720 | in the presence of the Ancients

00:20:30.720 | of the Days.

00:20:34.720 | None above Him,

00:20:37.720 | none before Him,

00:20:39.720 | all of time in His hands.

00:20:44.720 | For His throne it shall remain

00:20:47.720 | and ever stand.

00:20:53.720 | All the power,

00:20:55.720 | all the glory,

00:20:57.720 | I will trust in His name.

00:21:02.720 | For my God is

00:21:04.720 | the Ancient of Days.

00:21:11.720 | For my God is

00:21:14.720 | the Ancient of Days.

00:21:32.720 | Amen, you may be seated.

00:21:45.720 | Hello, my name is Jeremiah Yong,

00:21:47.720 | and this is my testimony.

00:21:51.720 | For my entire life,

00:21:52.720 | I have grown up surrounded

00:21:53.720 | by an amazing,

00:21:54.720 | slightly chaotic,

00:21:55.720 | God-fearing family,

00:21:57.720 | memorizing verses,

00:21:58.720 | reading the Bible,

00:21:59.720 | attending church,

00:22:00.720 | and giving testimonies

00:22:01.720 | like this one.

00:22:02.720 | I remember the first time

00:22:03.720 | I claimed to trust in Christ

00:22:04.720 | as my Savior when I was 11.

00:22:06.720 | This, however,

00:22:07.720 | wasn't a sincere confession

00:22:08.720 | to die to the old self

00:22:09.720 | and put on the new.

00:22:11.720 | I only desired to follow

00:22:12.720 | in my friends' footsteps

00:22:13.720 | of announcing their faith

00:22:14.720 | in Jesus.

00:22:16.720 | My dad is a pastor,

00:22:18.720 | which led to a lot of church moving

00:22:19.720 | and few Christian friends.

00:22:21.720 | As I grew older,

00:22:22.720 | this began to stir up resentment.

00:22:24.720 | My siblings all had friends

00:22:25.720 | their age,

00:22:26.720 | and my parents seemed to have

00:22:27.720 | all the grown-ups,

00:22:28.720 | so why didn't I get to hang out

00:22:29.720 | with anyone?

00:22:30.720 | Why wasn't there anybody

00:22:31.720 | for me to talk to

00:22:32.720 | or confide in?

00:22:34.720 | More often than not,

00:22:35.720 | I felt left out,

00:22:36.720 | angry at my parents,

00:22:37.720 | and more importantly,

00:22:38.720 | at God.

00:22:39.720 | Instead of going to church

00:22:40.720 | in order to glorify and honor

00:22:41.720 | and praise the God

00:22:42.720 | of the universe,

00:22:43.720 | my Creator,

00:22:44.720 | I saw church and Christianity

00:22:46.720 | as a way to satisfy

00:22:47.720 | my earthly needs.

00:22:50.720 | When we made the switch

00:22:51.720 | to another church,

00:22:52.720 | this led to even further resentment

00:22:54.720 | on my part,

00:22:55.720 | and I did everything I could

00:22:56.720 | to drag my feet

00:22:57.720 | by being silent

00:22:58.720 | when asked to speak

00:22:59.720 | and participating in things

00:23:00.720 | with a bad attitude.

00:23:02.720 | I viewed Sunday school

00:23:03.720 | as boring and trivial,

00:23:04.720 | talking about things

00:23:05.720 | that I had already heard

00:23:06.720 | a hundred times over.

00:23:07.720 | Bitter,

00:23:08.720 | I stopped reading the Bible

00:23:10.720 | and began obsessing

00:23:11.720 | over the legality of my actions,

00:23:12.720 | seeing how close

00:23:13.720 | I could get to sinning

00:23:14.720 | without technically breaking the law

00:23:16.720 | in my words,

00:23:17.720 | relationships,

00:23:18.720 | and actions.

00:23:20.720 | In hindsight,

00:23:21.720 | it was clear that I was drowning

00:23:22.720 | in selfishness,

00:23:23.720 | refusing God.

00:23:25.720 | I was trying to justify myself

00:23:26.720 | on my own

00:23:27.720 | with my actions and deeds

00:23:29.720 | rather than genuine faith.

00:23:31.720 | I was seeking to answer

00:23:32.720 | the question,

00:23:33.720 | "How can God serve me?"

00:23:34.720 | rather than,

00:23:35.720 | "How can I glorify God?"

00:23:37.720 | Eventually,

00:23:38.720 | one of the youth leaders

00:23:39.720 | must have noticed

00:23:40.720 | my pity parties,

00:23:41.720 | and he invited me out

00:23:42.720 | to lunch to talk.

00:23:43.720 | There, he asked me the question,

00:23:45.720 | "If you were to die tonight,

00:23:46.720 | how certain would you be

00:23:47.720 | that you would go to heaven?"

00:23:49.720 | I answered, "Eighty percent,

00:23:51.720 | but I know that

00:23:52.720 | it is all because of God.

00:23:53.720 | The other twenty percent

00:23:54.720 | is just me being indecisive."

00:23:57.720 | Looking back,

00:23:58.720 | it was at this moment

00:23:59.720 | that I began to question

00:24:00.720 | the intent behind my actions

00:24:01.720 | and my salvation as a whole.

00:24:03.720 | My answer to that question

00:24:04.720 | revealed that I had not

00:24:05.720 | put my faith in God.

00:24:06.720 | Despite giving

00:24:07.720 | the pastor's kid answer

00:24:08.720 | that I could contribute

00:24:09.720 | nothing to my salvation,

00:24:10.720 | I never truly believed that.

00:24:13.720 | This experience began

00:24:14.720 | to lead me on the slow

00:24:15.720 | and steady path of conviction,

00:24:16.720 | but it wasn't until

00:24:17.720 | early in my senior year

00:24:18.720 | of high school

00:24:19.720 | that I truly gave my life

00:24:20.720 | to Christ.

00:24:22.720 | Along with the culmination

00:24:23.720 | of stress,

00:24:24.720 | failing friendships,

00:24:25.720 | and self-reflection,

00:24:26.720 | it dawned on me

00:24:27.720 | that I couldn't answer

00:24:28.720 | the question,

00:24:29.720 | "Why do you go to church?"

00:24:30.720 | Were these actions

00:24:31.720 | I called faith really genuine?

00:24:32.720 | Or were they merely a shell,

00:24:33.720 | displaying morality

00:24:34.720 | on the outside,

00:24:35.720 | yet hollow inside?

00:24:37.720 | As the realization

00:24:38.720 | of my own selfishness

00:24:39.720 | and hypocrisy

00:24:40.720 | began boiling up,

00:24:41.720 | I remember calling

00:24:42.720 | a youth leader in tears,

00:24:43.720 | asking for help.

00:24:45.720 | On that day,

00:24:46.720 | I realized that none of my works,

00:24:47.720 | no matter how great or good,

00:24:48.720 | could contribute to my salvation.

00:24:51.720 | Even where I tried my best

00:24:52.720 | to succeed,

00:24:53.720 | I had ended up failing.

00:24:54.720 | God truly was,

00:24:55.720 | and is,

00:24:56.720 | the only one

00:24:57.720 | who can save me

00:24:58.720 | from my wretched state.

00:25:00.720 | There was nothing else

00:25:01.720 | I could turn to,

00:25:02.720 | no people,

00:25:03.720 | no course of action

00:25:04.720 | to cleanse me from my sin.

00:25:06.720 | Sitting on the side

00:25:07.720 | of the road there,

00:25:08.720 | I turned to Him

00:25:09.720 | and truly placed

00:25:10.720 | my faith in Christ.

00:25:12.720 | Fast forward to now,

00:25:13.720 | I have only barely begun

00:25:14.720 | to scratch the surface

00:25:15.720 | of who God is.

00:25:16.720 | Yet I have been

00:25:17.720 | so incredibly encouraged,

00:25:18.720 | as prayers have been answered,

00:25:19.720 | and I find more and more

00:25:20.720 | in the richness

00:25:21.720 | of His word and character.

00:25:23.720 | Now I understand

00:25:24.720 | that I go to church,

00:25:25.720 | and furthermore,

00:25:26.720 | do everything

00:25:27.720 | in order to glorify Him.

00:25:28.720 | While I still struggle

00:25:29.720 | with my inability

00:25:30.720 | to follow the law,

00:25:31.720 | as well as my depraved,

00:25:32.720 | sinful nature,

00:25:33.720 | instead of living

00:25:34.720 | a Pharisaic life,

00:25:35.720 | I find myself back

00:25:36.720 | before the cross

00:25:37.720 | each and every day,

00:25:38.720 | for I cannot live without Him.

00:25:40.720 | I have been crucified

00:25:41.720 | with Christ.

00:25:42.720 | It is no longer I who live,

00:25:43.720 | but Christ who lives in me.

00:25:44.720 | And the life

00:25:45.720 | I now live in the flesh,

00:25:46.720 | I live by faith

00:25:47.720 | in the Son of God,

00:25:48.720 | who loved me

00:25:49.720 | and gave Himself for me.

00:25:50.720 | Thank you.

00:25:51.720 | (applause)

00:25:53.720 | Thank you, Jeremiah,

00:26:09.720 | for that encouraging testimony.

00:26:11.720 | Jeremiah, do you understand

00:26:12.720 | that by this baptism,

00:26:14.720 | as you enter into the water,

00:26:15.720 | you express your union

00:26:16.720 | with Christ in His death,

00:26:18.720 | and when you come out of the water,

00:26:19.720 | you express your union

00:26:20.720 | with Christ in His resurrected life?

00:26:22.720 | I baptize you now

00:26:23.720 | in the name of the Father,

00:26:25.720 | of the Son,

00:26:26.720 | and of the Holy Spirit.

00:26:28.720 | (applause)

00:26:48.720 | Amen.

00:26:49.720 | Well, we are encouraged

00:26:51.720 | by your testimony.

00:26:52.720 | Thank you for sharing it.

00:26:53.720 | If you would now all

00:26:54.720 | take your Bible

00:26:55.720 | over to James 1:26.

00:26:59.720 | James 1:26.

00:27:02.720 | We are taking a break

00:27:03.720 | from Luke and jumping

00:27:05.720 | into this topic

00:27:06.720 | that I've entitled the sermon

00:27:08.720 | A Glorious Impartiality,

00:27:10.720 | something that we may not

00:27:12.720 | think about frequently,

00:27:14.720 | but something that is

00:27:15.720 | a glorious character trait

00:27:16.720 | of our God.

00:27:18.720 | So let's take a look

00:27:19.720 | at James 1:26.

00:27:22.720 | The scripture says this,

00:27:24.720 | "If anyone thinks himself

00:27:25.720 | to be religious,

00:27:27.720 | and yet does not bridle

00:27:28.720 | his tongue,

00:27:29.720 | but deceives his own heart,

00:27:30.720 | this man's religion

00:27:31.720 | is worthless.

00:27:33.720 | Pure and undisfiled religion

00:27:35.720 | in the sight of our God

00:27:36.720 | and Father is this,

00:27:38.720 | to visit orphans and widows

00:27:39.720 | in their distress

00:27:40.720 | and to keep oneself

00:27:41.720 | unstained by the world."

00:27:44.720 | Chapter 2, verse 1,

00:27:45.720 | "My brethren,

00:27:47.720 | do not hold your faith

00:27:48.720 | in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ

00:27:50.720 | with an attitude

00:27:51.720 | of personal favoritism."

00:27:53.720 | Let's take a moment to pray.

00:27:56.720 | Heavenly Father,

00:27:57.720 | we ask now for your blessing,

00:27:59.720 | a spiritual blessing, God,

00:28:01.720 | of conviction,

00:28:03.720 | understanding of your instruction,

00:28:05.720 | but also a kind of belief

00:28:08.720 | that moves us,

00:28:09.720 | changes our attitude,

00:28:11.720 | changes also the way we see.

00:28:13.720 | So we ask, God,

00:28:14.720 | that you would lead us

00:28:15.720 | in Christ's name.

00:28:16.720 | Amen.

00:28:17.720 | I want to ask you

00:28:19.720 | quite an interesting

00:28:20.720 | and a little bit

00:28:21.720 | uncomfortable question,

00:28:22.720 | which is,

00:28:23.720 | in the Bible,

00:28:24.720 | who does Jesus hate most?

00:28:28.720 | It's a weird question to ask,

00:28:29.720 | I know.

00:28:30.720 | Take a moment to think about it.

00:28:33.720 | When you think about

00:28:34.720 | the biblical passages,

00:28:35.720 | the person that Jesus,

00:28:36.720 | or the people that Jesus

00:28:38.720 | gives his most scathing rebuke

00:28:40.720 | are typically false leaders, right?

00:28:44.720 | But then when you think about

00:28:45.720 | what he says to them,

00:28:47.720 | what he reprimands

00:28:49.720 | is their hypocrisy,

00:28:51.720 | that they would have

00:28:52.720 | the outer shell

00:28:53.720 | of being this well-washed,

00:28:56.720 | white, you know, presentation,

00:28:58.720 | but inside you're just decaying.

00:29:00.720 | There's emptiness,

00:29:01.720 | there's worthlessness,

00:29:02.720 | and as a matter of fact,

00:29:03.720 | it's filled with all kinds

00:29:04.720 | of greed, ungodliness,

00:29:06.720 | selfishness, and pride.

00:29:08.720 | And then he points at them

00:29:09.720 | and says, "Woe to you

00:29:10.720 | "because you're gonna be judged

00:29:11.720 | "very, very severely

00:29:12.720 | "for your fakeness,"

00:29:13.720 | 'cause you're phonies, right?

00:29:15.720 | He doesn't hold back his words,

00:29:17.720 | and he's so sharp with them.

00:29:19.720 | Now, I bring this up

00:29:20.720 | because in this passage

00:29:21.720 | in the book of James,

00:29:23.720 | James tries to tell us

00:29:25.720 | there is a kind of religion

00:29:26.720 | that is so fake.

00:29:29.720 | You say that you love people,

00:29:31.720 | and then you won't even

00:29:32.720 | love the orphan,

00:29:33.720 | you won't even love the widow.

00:29:35.720 | You say that you worship

00:29:36.720 | a holy God,

00:29:37.720 | but you have no restraint

00:29:38.720 | over your tongue.

00:29:39.720 | You say whatever you want,

00:29:41.720 | and you're vile.

00:29:43.720 | This is worthless.

00:29:44.720 | You're fake.

00:29:45.720 | But then on top of this,

00:29:47.720 | a primary thing

00:29:48.720 | that he highlights is,

00:29:50.720 | and you practice favoritism,

00:29:52.720 | which I thought,

00:29:53.720 | wow, that's really interesting.

00:29:55.720 | So today we're gonna take

00:29:56.720 | a moment to look and examine

00:29:58.720 | in our own hearts

00:29:59.720 | and our own lives,

00:30:00.720 | is there a pattern

00:30:01.720 | of partiality

00:30:03.720 | where we favor certain people,

00:30:05.720 | we look at certain people,

00:30:06.720 | and we give them honor

00:30:07.720 | and respect

00:30:09.720 | that we won't give people

00:30:10.720 | that we think are beneath us.

00:30:12.720 | And I do think the scripture

00:30:13.720 | will tell us many, many times

00:30:15.720 | that we as people of this world

00:30:17.720 | are so prone

00:30:19.720 | to judge by first appearances, right?

00:30:22.720 | God said it himself,

00:30:24.720 | that you judge from the external,

00:30:26.720 | I judge the heart.

00:30:28.720 | Now we tend to judge

00:30:29.720 | based on community judgments,

00:30:31.720 | like I may not even know,

00:30:32.720 | but so long as the group

00:30:33.720 | thinks so, it is.

00:30:34.720 | And so in that way,

00:30:36.720 | scripture is gonna tell us,

00:30:37.720 | I don't want you to speak

00:30:40.720 | and judge like the world does,

00:30:42.720 | where it's so external

00:30:44.720 | and fleshly and superficial.

00:30:47.720 | But at the same time,

00:30:48.720 | if I look deeper into my own heart,

00:30:50.720 | not only is there a pressure

00:30:51.720 | from the outside,

00:30:52.720 | I guess the way the world

00:30:53.720 | does things,

00:30:54.720 | but there is a pressure

00:30:55.720 | from the inside.

00:30:56.720 | Because ultimately,

00:30:57.720 | there is a desire

00:30:58.720 | and ambition in my heart.

00:31:00.720 | I want to actually excel

00:31:02.720 | in those superficial games.

00:31:05.720 | I want to be better looking.

00:31:07.720 | I want to be taller.

00:31:09.720 | Honest to God,

00:31:10.720 | I want to be a little bit taller.

00:31:12.720 | I want to be more educated.

00:31:13.720 | I want to be better,

00:31:14.720 | more skilled, more respected,

00:31:16.720 | have X, Y, and Z.

00:31:18.720 | And in that way,

00:31:20.720 | my own internal ambitions

00:31:21.720 | feed the superficial,

00:31:24.720 | partial, very, very evil thing.

00:31:28.720 | And what the word of God

00:31:29.720 | is gonna tell us,

00:31:30.720 | is that this fleshly attitude

00:31:32.720 | must not be in our faith.

00:31:36.720 | And so, James chapter 2, verse 1,

00:31:38.720 | gives us this point in exhortation.

00:31:40.720 | My brethren,

00:31:41.720 | do not hold your faith

00:31:42.720 | in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ

00:31:44.720 | with an attitude

00:31:45.720 | of personal favoritism.

00:31:46.720 | And to be clear,

00:31:47.720 | it is always because

00:31:49.720 | our Heavenly Father

00:31:51.720 | is so different from the world.

00:31:53.720 | Amen?

00:31:54.720 | Our God, His character is holy.

00:31:57.720 | It's consistent.

00:31:58.720 | And it's gloriously impartial.

00:32:00.720 | And that's what we're gonna be looking at today.

00:32:03.720 | As a first point,

00:32:04.720 | we do have to take time

00:32:06.720 | to make sure we understand this sin.

00:32:09.720 | Yes, it's pretty straightforward,

00:32:11.720 | but the Scripture reveals to us

00:32:12.720 | both the external,

00:32:14.720 | the pattern,

00:32:15.720 | the behavior,

00:32:16.720 | and the internal desire.

00:32:18.720 | So take a moment with me

00:32:19.720 | to look at James chapter 2, verse 1,

00:32:21.720 | down to verse 3,

00:32:22.720 | and this is what it says.

00:32:25.720 | My brethren,

00:32:26.720 | do not hold your faith

00:32:27.720 | in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ

00:32:28.720 | with an attitude

00:32:29.720 | of personal favoritism.

00:32:31.720 | For if a man comes

00:32:33.720 | into your assembly

00:32:34.720 | with a gold ring

00:32:35.720 | and dressed in fine clothes,

00:32:37.720 | and there also comes

00:32:38.720 | in a poor man

00:32:39.720 | in dirty clothes,

00:32:41.720 | and you,

00:32:42.720 | you pay special attention

00:32:43.720 | to the one

00:32:44.720 | who is wearing the fine clothes

00:32:45.720 | and say,

00:32:46.720 | "You sit here in a good place,"

00:32:48.720 | and you say to the poor man,

00:32:49.720 | "You stand there

00:32:50.720 | or sit down by my footstool,"

00:32:52.720 | have you not made distinctions

00:32:54.720 | among yourselves

00:32:55.720 | and become judges

00:32:56.720 | with evil motives?

00:32:58.720 | So as a first point,

00:32:59.720 | we're going to identify

00:33:00.720 | the elements of our partiality,

00:33:03.720 | but if you think about it,

00:33:04.720 | he wants you to actually imagine.

00:33:05.720 | I love it

00:33:06.720 | when the Scriptures gives us

00:33:07.720 | like this hypothetical example,

00:33:09.720 | and he says,

00:33:10.720 | "I want you to imagine

00:33:11.720 | "here at church at Berean,

00:33:12.720 | "you have somebody

00:33:13.720 | "who is very clearly wealthy."

00:33:15.720 | You know, back then,

00:33:16.720 | people would wear rings

00:33:17.720 | on every single finger

00:33:19.720 | in order to show like,

00:33:20.720 | "I am the boss," right?

00:33:23.720 | Their show of wealth

00:33:24.720 | was incredible,

00:33:25.720 | and what's more,

00:33:26.720 | it says he was dressed

00:33:27.720 | in this fine clothes,

00:33:28.720 | and today, essentially,

00:33:29.720 | it would be like

00:33:30.720 | somebody walking in

00:33:31.720 | with like a $15,000 suit.

00:33:33.720 | He's got a huge Rolex,

00:33:34.720 | maybe a big chain,

00:33:36.720 | drives up in a Porsche,

00:33:37.720 | whatever you want to imagine.

00:33:38.720 | He's here, okay?

00:33:40.720 | He's here at church,

00:33:42.720 | but then there's this other man

00:33:43.720 | who you can immediately tell,

00:33:45.720 | "This man is in poverty.

00:33:47.720 | "His clothes are raggedy."

00:33:49.720 | Now, what's really interesting

00:33:50.720 | is today I want to highlight

00:33:52.720 | this idea what we're getting at

00:33:54.720 | is the judgment of how we categorize

00:33:57.720 | and assess people.

00:33:59.720 | Who is the sinner here, right?

00:34:01.720 | What's interesting is

00:34:02.720 | we live in a generation

00:34:03.720 | where automatically

00:34:04.720 | the masses will say,

00:34:05.720 | "I know who's the sinner,

00:34:06.720 | "the guy who drove up in a Porsche.

00:34:08.720 | "How dare he show up at church

00:34:09.720 | "all blinged out like that."

00:34:11.720 | Why?

00:34:12.720 | Because obviously,

00:34:13.720 | wealthy people are their oppressors.

00:34:15.720 | No, that's not what

00:34:17.720 | this passage is saying.

00:34:19.720 | Now, is it fair that somebody

00:34:21.720 | is making like 400, 500 times

00:34:23.720 | more than the other person?

00:34:25.720 | That's for another discussion.

00:34:28.720 | But the sin lies not in the heart

00:34:30.720 | of the rich man,

00:34:32.720 | nor even of the poor man,

00:34:34.720 | but the sin lies in the church member

00:34:37.720 | who came in and said,

00:34:38.720 | "Whoa, look at that.

00:34:39.720 | "Look at him."

00:34:41.720 | And said, "Whoa, come over here.

00:34:43.720 | "We've got a special seat

00:34:44.720 | "right up in the front for you."

00:34:46.720 | Right?

00:34:47.720 | The sin is in the heart

00:34:48.720 | of the individual

00:34:49.720 | who made distinction.

00:34:51.720 | Now, by way of just pure definition,

00:34:54.720 | in verse 1 where it says,

00:34:56.720 | "Do not have this attitude

00:34:57.720 | "of personal favoritism,"

00:34:59.720 | that word is just one long word

00:35:01.720 | that literally means

00:35:02.720 | receiving faces,

00:35:04.720 | meaning you are judging

00:35:06.720 | purely on the face of a man.

00:35:08.720 | Right?

00:35:09.720 | In another way, in our idiom,

00:35:10.720 | the way we would say it is

00:35:11.720 | we're respecters of people.

00:35:13.720 | Why?

00:35:14.720 | Because we see beauty,

00:35:15.720 | we see title,

00:35:16.720 | we see wealth,

00:35:18.720 | and then we say,

00:35:19.720 | "You deserve my respect."

00:35:21.720 | Right?

00:35:23.720 | "You're worthy in my eyes."

00:35:25.720 | And that's at the heart of the sin.

00:35:27.720 | And in this illustration,

00:35:29.720 | what we're seeing is

00:35:30.720 | the person who is the church member

00:35:33.720 | is impressed with all that.

00:35:36.720 | "I'm impressed with your wings.

00:35:38.720 | "I'm impressed with your car."

00:35:40.720 | And so I want to ask you this question.

00:35:42.720 | Do you have any element

00:35:45.720 | of this kind of immediate superficial respect

00:35:48.720 | for the things on the outside?

00:35:51.720 | Now, just as a caveat,

00:35:52.720 | please know that, again,

00:35:54.720 | I believe this generation,

00:35:56.720 | every generation, actually,

00:35:57.720 | has a lot of perverse thinking.

00:35:59.720 | One of the ways that sounds good

00:36:01.720 | but is not true

00:36:02.720 | is that you have to treat

00:36:03.720 | every single person equally

00:36:05.720 | and that each person

00:36:06.720 | actually should be equal

00:36:08.720 | in respect to how they're treated

00:36:09.720 | at all times.

00:36:11.720 | Now, it sounds good

00:36:12.720 | because it's a general principle,

00:36:15.720 | but no, I respect my elders

00:36:17.720 | and you should too.

00:36:18.720 | It's biblical.

00:36:19.720 | It's not just a culture thing.

00:36:21.720 | Scripture says, "Stand up for the aged."

00:36:23.720 | Right?

00:36:24.720 | You should show respect for the elders.

00:36:26.720 | What's more,

00:36:27.720 | people are in positions and titles

00:36:28.720 | like of authority.

00:36:29.720 | Romans chapter 13,

00:36:30.720 | if somebody is an official,

00:36:32.720 | if somebody is a governor,

00:36:34.720 | you give them the respect.

00:36:35.720 | You give them due submission.

00:36:38.720 | What's more, Scripture even says,

00:36:39.720 | if there are people in your lives

00:36:40.720 | who are laboring over you,

00:36:42.720 | preaching, teaching, guiding,

00:36:44.720 | and shepherding your heart,

00:36:45.720 | they're worthy of double honor.

00:36:48.720 | Right?

00:36:49.720 | So, is it the case

00:36:50.720 | that you have to do

00:36:51.720 | exact same thing

00:36:52.720 | to every single person

00:36:53.720 | in every single way?

00:36:54.720 | No, that's not what he's getting at.

00:36:55.720 | The idea is,

00:36:57.720 | what are you actually impressed by?

00:37:01.720 | Do you honor what God honors?

00:37:04.720 | Or, we're talking today

00:37:05.720 | about a kind of judgment or eyes

00:37:07.720 | that's stained by the world.

00:37:08.720 | Do you honor and impress

00:37:09.720 | by the things

00:37:10.720 | that the world honors?

00:37:12.720 | Does it look just like the world?

00:37:14.720 | And so, I ask you

00:37:15.720 | this applicational question.

00:37:16.720 | Do you see any pattern

00:37:18.720 | of partiality in your heart?

00:37:21.720 | And maybe another, again,

00:37:23.720 | kind of uncomfortable question is,

00:37:25.720 | do we see any pattern

00:37:26.720 | of partiality in the church?

00:37:30.720 | Well, we have a pattern

00:37:31.720 | of honoring the professionals,

00:37:34.720 | honoring the people who are,

00:37:35.720 | you know, the experts in fields

00:37:38.720 | and people who are highly educated,

00:37:40.720 | you know.

00:37:42.720 | Now, as I ask that question,

00:37:43.720 | I want to just answer and say,

00:37:45.720 | we don't want to be judgmental.

00:37:47.720 | If you're like, oh, shoot,

00:37:48.720 | like the other day,

00:37:49.720 | I did, you know,

00:37:50.720 | call somebody Dr. So-and-so.

00:37:53.720 | You know what?

00:37:54.720 | Don't feel bad about that.

00:37:55.720 | I'm not judging you.

00:37:56.720 | Why?

00:37:57.720 | Because you know this passage

00:37:58.720 | is primarily getting at the heart.

00:38:00.720 | That in the heart, he says,

00:38:02.720 | didn't you become a judge

00:38:05.720 | with what?

00:38:06.720 | Evil motives.

00:38:09.720 | It's right there in your ideology.

00:38:11.720 | It's in your eye,

00:38:12.720 | and it's in your heart.

00:38:14.720 | Now, what he says is,

00:38:15.720 | first and foremost,

00:38:16.720 | that the sin of this

00:38:18.720 | is one of arrogance

00:38:20.720 | because what he points out

00:38:22.720 | is that you've put yourself

00:38:23.720 | in a place of judgment.

00:38:26.720 | You are making distinction

00:38:27.720 | amongst people,

00:38:28.720 | judging people as worthy

00:38:29.720 | and unworthy.

00:38:30.720 | Who made you judge?

00:38:33.720 | Who gave you the authority

00:38:34.720 | to categorize people like that?

00:38:36.720 | That's where part of the sin is.

00:38:38.720 | When you practice a favoritism

00:38:40.720 | or partiality amongst people,

00:38:42.720 | whatever category you're using,

00:38:44.720 | it ends up judging you,

00:38:46.720 | and therefore, immediately,

00:38:47.720 | you're guilty of a lot of things.

00:38:51.720 | You're guilty of not only

00:38:53.720 | the favoritism,

00:38:54.720 | but of arrogance,

00:38:55.720 | snobbery, right,

00:38:57.720 | and often injustice.

00:39:00.720 | And what's more,

00:39:01.720 | what he gets at is,

00:39:02.720 | he asks the question,

00:39:03.720 | what is in your heart

00:39:04.720 | and what is your motive

00:39:05.720 | that you would show

00:39:06.720 | these individuals

00:39:07.720 | this kind of undue respect?

00:39:11.720 | That you would treat them with,

00:39:12.720 | "Hey, come over here,"

00:39:13.720 | and then you would treat

00:39:14.720 | the other guy with like,

00:39:15.720 | "You know what?

00:39:16.720 | "Just say whatever.

00:39:17.720 | "On my feet, on the ground,

00:39:18.720 | "whatever, I don't care."

00:39:21.720 | What is in your heart

00:39:22.720 | that does that?

00:39:23.720 | And then sometimes I ask myself

00:39:24.720 | literally the question,

00:39:25.720 | what is in my heart

00:39:26.720 | that I find in myself?

00:39:28.720 | There are some times

00:39:29.720 | when I'm in my own

00:39:30.720 | just kind of overestimation

00:39:31.720 | of my courage.

00:39:32.720 | Like, you know,

00:39:33.720 | I'm not a respecter of people,

00:39:34.720 | but if I meet somebody

00:39:36.720 | who is like a CEO

00:39:38.720 | of a big old company,

00:39:41.720 | I find in myself,

00:39:42.720 | in my heart, fear.

00:39:46.720 | Why do I give reverence

00:39:47.720 | and fear to somebody

00:39:48.720 | who has title,

00:39:49.720 | but to the person who doesn't?

00:39:51.720 | It's like, "Eh, what's up, man?"

00:39:53.720 | Right?

00:39:54.720 | Why?

00:39:56.720 | As we do this,

00:39:57.720 | the passage is telling us,

00:39:59.720 | God doesn't see this as,

00:40:01.720 | "Ah, every culture does it."

00:40:03.720 | God doesn't see this as,

00:40:04.720 | "This is just the way

00:40:05.720 | "that society is."

00:40:06.720 | Every time we have

00:40:07.720 | a bunch of people,

00:40:08.720 | you kind of get

00:40:09.720 | into a hierarchy.

00:40:10.720 | He sees it as evil.

00:40:12.720 | Right?

00:40:13.720 | He sees it as evil.

00:40:15.720 | And so I wanted to show

00:40:17.720 | that yes, there are elements

00:40:18.720 | by way in which we show

00:40:20.720 | this kind of desire,

00:40:22.720 | and we have various categories

00:40:24.720 | about career, education,

00:40:26.720 | just skill set,

00:40:27.720 | and then external beauty

00:40:29.720 | in which we show favoritism.

00:40:31.720 | God sees it as evil.

00:40:33.720 | Going to point number two,

00:40:34.720 | we have to ask the question,

00:40:36.720 | why does God see it

00:40:37.720 | as such evil?

00:40:39.720 | Right?

00:40:40.720 | When he says that there's

00:40:42.720 | this evil motive in your heart,

00:40:43.720 | did you know,

00:40:44.720 | you know the New Testament

00:40:46.720 | language is so robust.

00:40:48.720 | There are different terms

00:40:49.720 | for evil.

00:40:50.720 | Right?

00:40:51.720 | There's just bad, kakos.

00:40:53.720 | There are terms

00:40:54.720 | of transgression.

00:40:55.720 | There's terms that call

00:40:56.720 | for basically lawlessness,

00:40:57.720 | and sometimes even

00:40:58.720 | straight mistake.

00:40:59.720 | Sometimes you're just

00:41:00.720 | missing the mark.

00:41:01.720 | Right?

00:41:02.720 | But this word is a word

00:41:03.720 | that is translated

00:41:04.720 | more so perversion

00:41:05.720 | or even pornography.

00:41:07.720 | Why?

00:41:08.720 | Well, we know it's because

00:41:10.720 | it is incongruent.

00:41:12.720 | It is in opposition

00:41:13.720 | with the holy character

00:41:14.720 | of our God.

00:41:15.720 | Point number two is

00:41:16.720 | we need to take a long look

00:41:17.720 | at God's glorious,

00:41:19.720 | impartial character.

00:41:20.720 | Okay?

00:41:21.720 | And we want to give glory

00:41:22.720 | for that.

00:41:23.720 | We want to understand

00:41:24.720 | how God works,

00:41:25.720 | how God operates,

00:41:26.720 | and how that is to

00:41:27.720 | his great excellence.

00:41:29.720 | Turn your Bible over

00:41:30.720 | to Deuteronomy 10, verse 17.

00:41:32.720 | For this point,

00:41:33.720 | we're going to walk through

00:41:34.720 | some really important passages,

00:41:36.720 | and this is what

00:41:37.720 | the scripture says.

00:41:39.720 | Deuteronomy 10, 17.

00:41:42.720 | "For the Lord your God

00:41:44.720 | is the God of gods

00:41:45.720 | and the Lord of lords,

00:41:47.720 | the great, the mighty,

00:41:48.720 | the awesome God,

00:41:50.720 | who does not show partiality

00:41:52.720 | nor take a bribe."

00:41:54.720 | Now, pause there.

00:41:55.720 | I was really shocked by this

00:41:57.720 | because when you think of

00:41:58.720 | the mighty God,

00:42:00.720 | the one who has power,

00:42:02.720 | maybe even when you think

00:42:03.720 | of Jesus Christ,

00:42:04.720 | who's going to come to judge

00:42:05.720 | with a mighty sword

00:42:06.720 | coming out of his mouth,

00:42:07.720 | he has eyes blazing fire,

00:42:09.720 | he's riding on a horse,

00:42:11.720 | and he has a scepter

00:42:12.720 | in his right hand,

00:42:13.720 | he's going to crush the nations.

00:42:15.720 | You're not thinking,

00:42:16.720 | "Yeah, and you know what?

00:42:17.720 | He's impartial."

00:42:18.720 | Right?

00:42:19.720 | "He's pretty fair."

00:42:20.720 | Right?

00:42:21.720 | Like, that's not

00:42:22.720 | what you're thinking.

00:42:23.720 | Notice how the fact

00:42:24.720 | that he doesn't take a bribe

00:42:25.720 | from anybody

00:42:26.720 | is to his glory.

00:42:28.720 | And what's more,

00:42:30.720 | he essentially says

00:42:31.720 | that in this passage

00:42:32.720 | of Deuteronomy,

00:42:33.720 | verse 18,

00:42:34.720 | "He executes justice

00:42:35.720 | for the orphan,

00:42:36.720 | the widow,

00:42:37.720 | and shows his love

00:42:38.720 | even for the alien

00:42:39.720 | by giving him food

00:42:40.720 | and clothing."

00:42:41.720 | So show your love

00:42:42.720 | for the alien

00:42:43.720 | for you are aliens

00:42:44.720 | in the land of Egypt.

00:42:47.720 | You know what I've been seeing

00:42:48.720 | a lot on the internet recently?

00:42:50.720 | And maybe it's just because

00:42:51.720 | all the sports

00:42:52.720 | are starting to get,

00:42:53.720 | you know,

00:42:54.720 | either ready

00:42:55.720 | or in full force.

00:42:56.720 | So I've been seeing

00:42:57.720 | a lot of videos

00:42:58.720 | of botched calls

00:42:59.720 | in the NBA

00:43:00.720 | where the referee is like,

00:43:01.720 | "Technical on you.

00:43:02.720 | Technical on you."

00:43:03.720 | You know?

00:43:04.720 | Because they're arrogant

00:43:05.720 | and sometimes they get mad.

00:43:06.720 | Or they call a foul

00:43:07.720 | and you're like,

00:43:08.720 | "Oh my goodness.

00:43:09.720 | You just ruined the game."

00:43:10.720 | Right?

00:43:11.720 | Because recently

00:43:12.720 | in March Madness,

00:43:13.720 | all that kind of stuff happened.

00:43:14.720 | Or you know what's even worse?

00:43:15.720 | In baseball,

00:43:16.720 | you have people

00:43:17.720 | getting in people's faces

00:43:18.720 | and screaming and yelling.

00:43:19.720 | You know what's

00:43:20.720 | the worst kind of referee?

00:43:23.720 | Right?

00:43:24.720 | Obviously they're human.

00:43:25.720 | They miss calls.

00:43:27.720 | One of the worst kinds

00:43:28.720 | are people who are

00:43:29.720 | easily manipulated.

00:43:31.720 | You know?

00:43:32.720 | A superstar,

00:43:33.720 | a basketball player

00:43:34.720 | comes up in a referee's face

00:43:35.720 | and just starts screaming,

00:43:36.720 | crying,

00:43:37.720 | complaining,

00:43:38.720 | and the referee's like,

00:43:39.720 | "Yeah, we need to change that up."

00:43:40.720 | Can you imagine

00:43:41.720 | how angry you would be

00:43:43.720 | if a referee

00:43:44.720 | was so easily manipulated

00:43:46.720 | by complaints and whiners?

00:43:49.720 | Or he was a respecter of persons like,

00:43:51.720 | "Oh, LeBron said so."

00:43:52.720 | Right?

00:43:53.720 | Like it would be

00:43:54.720 | just completely flabbergasting.

00:43:56.720 | Like, "Are you serious?

00:43:58.720 | You don't, what,

00:43:59.720 | deserve to be there.

00:44:01.720 | Should be fired today."

00:44:03.720 | That's how we would feel.

00:44:05.720 | Praise God He is not

00:44:06.720 | a respecter of people

00:44:07.720 | scared or manipulated.

00:44:09.720 | Another passage,

00:44:10.720 | Romans chapter 2

00:44:11.720 | verse 9 through 11.

00:44:13.720 | Romans chapter 2

00:44:14.720 | verse 9 through 11

00:44:15.720 | it says,

00:44:16.720 | "There will be tribulation

00:44:17.720 | and distress

00:44:18.720 | for every soul of man

00:44:20.720 | who does evil,

00:44:21.720 | of the Jew first

00:44:22.720 | and also of the Greek.

00:44:24.720 | But glory, honor, peace

00:44:26.720 | to everyone who does good,

00:44:27.720 | to the Jew first

00:44:28.720 | and also to the Greek.

00:44:30.720 | For there is no partiality

00:44:32.720 | with God."

00:44:34.720 | You see that?

00:44:35.720 | He's talking about His justice

00:44:37.720 | and His mercy,

00:44:38.720 | His rewarding,

00:44:39.720 | and He says at the end of that,

00:44:41.720 | "God is impartial."

00:44:43.720 | Right?

00:44:44.720 | And we know that

00:44:45.720 | that is the foundation

00:44:46.720 | by which we're supposed

00:44:47.720 | to do everything,

00:44:48.720 | just like you know

00:44:49.720 | you're supposed to love,

00:44:50.720 | just like you know

00:44:51.720 | you're supposed to forgive.

00:44:52.720 | Likewise, God expects

00:44:53.720 | in the same way

00:44:55.720 | that you express impartiality.

00:44:58.720 | Now, what's really interesting

00:45:00.720 | about this is He talks about

00:45:01.720 | both Jew and Greek,

00:45:03.720 | and someone might say,

00:45:04.720 | "Hey, wait a minute.

00:45:05.720 | Not show favoritism.

00:45:08.720 | God chose the nation of Israel,

00:45:10.720 | the Jews.

00:45:11.720 | A precious apple of His eye.

00:45:13.720 | What do you mean

00:45:14.720 | He shows no favoritism?"

00:45:16.720 | But understand this.

00:45:18.720 | God's show of mercy

00:45:19.720 | is His choice,

00:45:21.720 | but He never, ever once,

00:45:23.720 | and He never will,

00:45:24.720 | be like, "Since you're

00:45:25.720 | the apple of my eye,

00:45:26.720 | that's okay.

00:45:28.720 | You're not going to get judged.

00:45:30.720 | I know you did a bad thing,

00:45:32.720 | but no insult."

00:45:33.720 | Right?

00:45:34.720 | Like He's not going to be

00:45:35.720 | that kind of parent.

00:45:37.720 | But instead, think about this.

00:45:39.720 | Because they are

00:45:40.720 | the apple of His eye,

00:45:42.720 | who gets judged first?

00:45:45.720 | Who gets examined first?

00:45:50.720 | Who is forced to come

00:45:51.720 | to a reckoning?

00:45:53.720 | And so you think about this,

00:45:54.720 | and God still is just and holy.

00:45:57.720 | Here's another passage,

00:45:58.720 | Ephesians chapter 6,

00:45:59.720 | verse 5 through 9,

00:46:01.720 | and I want to highlight this

00:46:02.720 | because as I say that,

00:46:04.720 | God is so impartial,

00:46:05.720 | He does not give you a pass

00:46:07.720 | just because you suffered a lot.

00:46:10.720 | He doesn't give you a pass

00:46:11.720 | just because, you know,

00:46:12.720 | we got to understand context,

00:46:13.720 | and we got to understand history.

00:46:14.720 | No.

00:46:16.720 | His judgment is firm,

00:46:18.720 | it's exacting,

00:46:19.720 | and it's always impartial.

00:46:22.720 | In Ephesians chapter 6,

00:46:24.720 | He speaks to slaves.

00:46:27.720 | He speaks to slaves and masters.

00:46:30.720 | And this is what He says,

00:46:31.720 | "Slaves, be obedient to those

00:46:32.720 | who are your masters

00:46:33.720 | according to the flesh,

00:46:34.720 | with fear and trembling,

00:46:36.720 | in the sincerity of your heart

00:46:38.720 | as to Christ,

00:46:39.720 | not by way of eye service,

00:46:40.720 | as men-pleasers,

00:46:41.720 | but as slaves of Christ,

00:46:42.720 | doing the will of God

00:46:43.720 | from the heart.

00:46:44.720 | With good will,

00:46:45.720 | render service as to the Lord

00:46:47.720 | and not to men,

00:46:48.720 | knowing that whatever good thing

00:46:50.720 | each one does,

00:46:51.720 | this he will receive back

00:46:52.720 | from the Lord

00:46:53.720 | whether slave or free."

00:46:54.720 | And so in other passages,

00:46:55.720 | like Colossians,

00:46:56.720 | He says,

00:46:57.720 | "Don't just show goodness

00:46:58.720 | to the good masters,

00:46:59.720 | even to the bad ones."

00:47:02.720 | And then in verse 9,

00:47:03.720 | He says, "Masters,

00:47:04.720 | do the same thing to them

00:47:05.720 | and give up threatening,

00:47:06.720 | knowing that both their master

00:47:08.720 | and yours is in heaven,

00:47:10.720 | and there is no partiality

00:47:12.720 | with him."

00:47:13.720 | It goes both ways.

00:47:16.720 | God doesn't show partiality

00:47:17.720 | to the rich

00:47:18.720 | because God needs nothing

00:47:20.720 | from the rich.

00:47:21.720 | They offer Him nothing.

00:47:23.720 | Everything they have

00:47:24.720 | is by the mercy of His hand,

00:47:26.720 | but also to the poor.

00:47:31.720 | God is not a respecter,

00:47:33.720 | and He doesn't even give

00:47:34.720 | partiality to the poor.

00:47:37.720 | Leviticus chapter 19,

00:47:38.720 | verse 5 through 18.

00:47:40.720 | Leviticus 19, 15 through 18.

00:47:43.720 | Chapter 19, verse 15 through 18.

00:47:46.720 | "You shall do no injustice

00:47:48.720 | in judgment.

00:47:49.720 | You shall not be partial

00:47:50.720 | to the poor

00:47:51.720 | nor defer to the great,

00:47:52.720 | but you are to judge

00:47:53.720 | your neighbor fairly."

00:47:55.720 | See that?

00:47:56.720 | It goes both directions.

00:47:57.720 | It's like,

00:47:58.720 | "Ah, you know, the poor

00:47:59.720 | and grew up..."

00:48:00.720 | Let's just turn a blind eye

00:48:01.720 | to the stuff He does.

00:48:02.720 | No.

00:48:03.720 | Verse 16,

00:48:04.720 | "You shall not go about

00:48:05.720 | as a slander among your people,

00:48:07.720 | and you are not to act

00:48:08.720 | against the life

00:48:09.720 | of your neighbor.

00:48:10.720 | I am the Lord.

00:48:11.720 | You shall not hate

00:48:12.720 | your fellow countrymen

00:48:13.720 | in your heart.

00:48:14.720 | You may surely reprove

00:48:16.720 | your neighbor,

00:48:17.720 | but shall not incur sin

00:48:18.720 | because of him.

00:48:19.720 | You shall not take vengeance

00:48:20.720 | nor bear any grudge

00:48:21.720 | against the sons

00:48:22.720 | of your people,

00:48:23.720 | but you shall love

00:48:24.720 | your neighbor as yourself.

00:48:26.720 | I am the Lord."

00:48:29.720 | Amen.

00:48:31.720 | I want us to think about,

00:48:32.720 | in the book of James,

00:48:33.720 | He was saying

00:48:34.720 | there's a huge contrast

00:48:35.720 | between you being stained

00:48:36.720 | by the ideology

00:48:37.720 | and the practice

00:48:38.720 | of the world

00:48:40.720 | versus how God operates.

00:48:42.720 | Praise God

00:48:43.720 | that He is not like

00:48:44.720 | any of them.

00:48:46.720 | He's not moved.

00:48:47.720 | He's not bribed.

00:48:48.720 | He's not manipulated.

00:48:49.720 | He's not coerced.

00:48:50.720 | He's not on a whim,

00:48:52.720 | but it's just and fair,

00:48:54.720 | and that's why

00:48:55.720 | we can have the confidence

00:48:56.720 | that even if you're

00:48:57.720 | a poor, poor orphan

00:48:58.720 | with no money

00:49:00.720 | or if you're a rich, rich man

00:49:02.720 | but you have committed

00:49:03.720 | great sin,

00:49:05.720 | all of His mercies,

00:49:07.720 | all of His grace

00:49:08.720 | is consistent.

00:49:10.720 | So that's what I'm saying

00:49:12.720 | is that this is the glorious

00:49:13.720 | attribute of God

00:49:15.720 | that maybe we don't think about

00:49:16.720 | quite often,

00:49:18.720 | but He is just not

00:49:20.720 | in an individual

00:49:21.720 | who judges us

00:49:22.720 | just by our face

00:49:24.720 | and appearance,

00:49:26.720 | but He sees all

00:49:28.720 | in His righteousness,

00:49:29.720 | and from that foundation

00:49:31.720 | He gives mercy,

00:49:33.720 | and so that moves us

00:49:34.720 | to our application

00:49:36.720 | where we know that our command

00:49:37.720 | is to be like God.

00:49:39.720 | Point number three,

00:49:40.720 | your judgment,

00:49:41.720 | the way that you view people

00:49:42.720 | must then be in keeping

00:49:44.720 | with God's law.

00:49:46.720 | Your judgment

00:49:47.720 | must be in keeping

00:49:48.720 | with God's law.

00:49:50.720 | Take a moment with me

00:49:52.720 | to look at James 2:8-11,

00:49:56.720 | and notice how it says,

00:49:58.720 | "However, you are fulfilling

00:49:59.720 | "the royal law

00:50:01.720 | "according to Scripture.

00:50:03.720 | "You shall love your neighbor

00:50:04.720 | "as yourself."

00:50:05.720 | Then you're doing well,

00:50:06.720 | but if you show partiality,

00:50:08.720 | you are committing sin

00:50:09.720 | and are convicted

00:50:10.720 | by the law

00:50:12.720 | as a transgressor,

00:50:14.720 | and I just summarized that

00:50:15.720 | in my first point, point A

00:50:17.720 | of our third point here,

00:50:19.720 | that basically when we practice

00:50:21.720 | any kind of favoritism,

00:50:23.720 | we're transgressing God's law.

00:50:25.720 | The law of God

00:50:27.720 | reveals His character

00:50:28.720 | and how He operates

00:50:29.720 | in the universe,

00:50:30.720 | and He says,

00:50:31.720 | "You're going against that."

00:50:32.720 | Verse 10,

00:50:33.720 | "For whoever keeps the whole law

00:50:34.720 | "and yet stumbles in one point,

00:50:36.720 | "he has become guilty of all.

00:50:38.720 | "For he who has said,

00:50:39.720 | "'Do not commit adultery,'

00:50:40.720 | "also said, 'Do not commit murder.'

00:50:43.720 | "But if you do not commit adultery,

00:50:45.720 | "but commit murder,

00:50:46.720 | "you have become

00:50:47.720 | "a transgressor of the law."

00:50:49.720 | So the point is very clear,

00:50:50.720 | and it's a point that we've read

00:50:52.720 | in the book of Galatians

00:50:53.720 | as we've been doing Bible study

00:50:54.720 | in the midweek,

00:50:56.720 | that when you transgress God's law,

00:50:58.720 | you've become a transgressor.

00:51:01.720 | It just highlights the idea

00:51:03.720 | that we in our culture

00:51:05.720 | and in our heart,

00:51:06.720 | we minimize our sin,

00:51:09.720 | that we are sometimes

00:51:10.720 | respective people.

00:51:14.720 | And in order to highlight this,

00:51:15.720 | I just want us to imagine, okay?

00:51:17.720 | Again, I don't want you guys

00:51:19.720 | to overdo it,

00:51:20.720 | that if you are nice

00:51:22.720 | to anyone in particular,

00:51:24.720 | that I'm sitting here judging you,

00:51:26.720 | especially you guys,

00:51:27.720 | if you treat somebody

00:51:28.720 | with some kind of chivalrous

00:51:31.720 | and gentleman nature,

00:51:32.720 | I'm sitting here like,

00:51:33.720 | "Ooh, you like her."

00:51:34.720 | That's not what I'm thinking, okay?

00:51:37.720 | But I want us to just imagine

00:51:38.720 | this point that this particular sin

00:51:40.720 | we don't think about a lot,

00:51:43.720 | but God sees it as evil.

00:51:45.720 | So imagine with me that scenario

00:51:46.720 | we saw earlier

00:51:47.720 | of somebody coming in

00:51:48.720 | who's like a major celebrity.

00:51:50.720 | I apologize for using this example,

00:51:52.720 | but the person I thought about first

00:51:53.720 | was Taylor Swift

00:51:55.720 | because she is like

00:51:56.720 | A-list of A-list people now, right?

00:51:59.720 | And what was funny was

00:52:00.720 | I just automatically assumed

00:52:02.720 | that her fan base

00:52:03.720 | was like 13-year-old girls.

00:52:05.720 | But then I was wrong.

00:52:06.720 | There are older men,

00:52:08.720 | there are older ladies.

00:52:09.720 | Sometimes when I see photos

00:52:10.720 | of concerts,

00:52:11.720 | I see like 50-year-old women

00:52:13.720 | and like just older people

00:52:15.720 | loving and eating up her songs.

00:52:17.720 | Cool?

00:52:18.720 | She's loved,

00:52:19.720 | like just beloved

00:52:20.720 | by a lot of people, okay?

00:52:22.720 | So I want you to imagine

00:52:24.720 | lo and behold,

00:52:25.720 | she catches wind

00:52:26.720 | that Berean Community Church

00:52:27.720 | is having a special event

00:52:28.720 | and she shows up.

00:52:30.720 | How would you respond?

00:52:32.720 | Like just prepare yourself

00:52:33.720 | to meet a celebrity here one day.

00:52:35.720 | How would you respond, right?

00:52:37.720 | Initially, you'd be like,

00:52:38.720 | "Oh my gosh!

00:52:39.720 | "Do you know who's here?"

00:52:40.720 | And you'd probably tell your friend

00:52:41.720 | and you'd do the

00:52:42.720 | look, look, look, you know?

00:52:43.720 | And then you would tell your friend,

00:52:44.720 | "Don't embarrass me, okay?"

00:52:46.720 | Like don't go all crazy now,

00:52:48.720 | but then you're getting all crazy.

00:52:49.720 | Maybe you go up and you say,

00:52:51.720 | "Hi, I'm so-and-so.

00:52:52.720 | "I'm Mark.

00:52:53.720 | "I'm so glad you're here."

00:52:54.720 | Okay, you're just being very welcoming,

00:52:57.720 | but then you go above and beyond.

00:52:58.720 | You're like, "Come on in."

00:53:00.720 | And then you're like,

00:53:01.720 | "We have a cafe."

00:53:02.720 | So you take her to the cafe

00:53:03.720 | and then you buy her, you know,

00:53:05.720 | a discounted cup of coffee

00:53:07.720 | and you're like,

00:53:08.720 | "Look, I'm serving you," you know?

00:53:10.720 | And then okay,

00:53:11.720 | you're like treating her really well,

00:53:12.720 | but then you come to the door

00:53:14.720 | and then the welcome team people

00:53:15.720 | are like, "Sorry, no coffee,"

00:53:17.720 | but they're like,

00:53:18.720 | "But she's Taylor," right?

00:53:19.720 | And you're like,

00:53:20.720 | "You can bring it in."

00:53:22.720 | Did you sin?

00:53:24.720 | Now let's say this analogy continues on

00:53:26.720 | and you're just coming over here

00:53:27.720 | and I love the fact that actually

00:53:29.720 | when I look out,

00:53:30.720 | the people who are sitting up in the front

00:53:32.720 | sometimes are like our college students,

00:53:34.720 | a lot of young people, et cetera,

00:53:35.720 | and Chase is right here,

00:53:36.720 | but then he's always in the front,

00:53:37.720 | but imagine if I come over,

00:53:39.720 | I'm like, "Chase, get lost," right?

00:53:41.720 | "Get out."

00:53:42.720 | Like Taylor needs to sit up here in the front.

00:53:43.720 | There's no room, okay?

00:53:45.720 | Did I sin?

00:53:48.720 | Did I?

00:53:49.720 | Now the thing about it is

00:53:50.720 | I think we would all be like,

00:53:52.720 | "I get it.

00:53:53.720 | "It's Taylor Swift," right?

00:53:54.720 | And for the guys,

00:53:56.720 | I realize obviously

00:53:57.720 | if you're not a fan of Taylor Swift,

00:53:59.720 | but for me, I'm a huge basketball fan,

00:54:01.720 | so if Michael Jordan came,

00:54:03.720 | you'd bet I'd buy him coffee, you know?

00:54:06.720 | I'd have him like,

00:54:07.720 | "Sign my shirt," you know?

00:54:10.720 | I mean, that's what I would probably do, right?

00:54:12.720 | And then we would all understand that and laugh

00:54:14.720 | because that's just what we do.

00:54:16.720 | And then God says,

00:54:18.720 | "That's contrary to my law."

00:54:22.720 | You see what I'm saying?

00:54:24.720 | To all of us, all of that would be acceptable

00:54:26.720 | because it's Michael Jordan,

00:54:29.720 | because it's Taylor Swift.

00:54:31.720 | And God says, "That's contrary to my law,"

00:54:33.720 | and you don't fully understand

00:54:35.720 | that goes against my royal law.

00:54:37.720 | And I am the one who told you not to murder

00:54:39.720 | or to commit adultery,

00:54:41.720 | and yet here you are

00:54:42.720 | being a respecter of persons,

00:54:44.720 | and I told you, "No, I don't operate like that."

00:54:47.720 | But as a second part,

00:54:48.720 | not only is it against my law,

00:54:50.720 | He says, "That's against my mercy."

00:54:54.720 | That's not how I show favor.

00:54:58.720 | Every single person who walks into this room

00:55:01.720 | is going to come into this room by mercy, amen?

00:55:04.720 | And it doesn't matter if they're Michael Jordan.

00:55:06.720 | They'll walk in here,

00:55:07.720 | not because they're Michael Jordan.

00:55:09.720 | They will not take a seat of honor

00:55:10.720 | because they're Michael Jordan,

00:55:12.720 | but because of mercy.

00:55:13.720 | And God says, "When you do that,

00:55:15.720 | "you mess up my picture of the gospel."

00:55:19.720 | And in that sense, I'm like,

00:55:20.720 | "Oh my gosh, God, I'm sorry."

00:55:24.720 | You're right.

00:55:25.720 | And as much as I think I'm not going to do that,

00:55:28.720 | if I saw Michael Jordan,

00:55:30.720 | I would probably act a little silly.

00:55:34.720 | Yes?

00:55:36.720 | But that is not the way God works,

00:55:39.720 | and what's more,

00:55:40.720 | He might look at us,

00:55:41.720 | you know, in this passage,

00:55:42.720 | He says, "Wait a minute.

00:55:43.720 | "Aren't these people that you're honoring

00:55:45.720 | "the people who oppress you,

00:55:47.720 | "who blaspheme God?"

00:55:50.720 | So God is going to look at us and say,

00:55:51.720 | "How can you be so impressed?

00:55:54.720 | "You think it's such a minor sin

00:55:56.720 | "to be impressed by money?

00:55:58.720 | "You think it's a minor sin

00:55:59.720 | "to be just impressed by this celebrity status?

00:56:02.720 | "But how can you be so impressed

00:56:03.720 | "with this pagan who just happens to dunk a ball,

00:56:07.720 | "who can jump a little higher than you?"

00:56:09.720 | It's like to me, to God,

00:56:10.720 | it would be like little grains of sand,

00:56:12.720 | but one grain of sand

00:56:13.720 | is just a little taller than the other.

00:56:15.720 | You honor stuff that I would judge.

00:56:18.720 | You know, just recently,

00:56:19.720 | it kind of wrecked my world

00:56:20.720 | about basketball and stuff like that.

00:56:22.720 | I read that the entourage

00:56:24.720 | that walks around with Michael Jordan

00:56:26.720 | calls him Yahweh.

00:56:29.720 | Yeah, I went, "What?"

00:56:34.720 | My favorite player is going to get judged by God.

00:56:38.720 | Why do I honor him?

00:56:41.720 | Now, if you're major sports fans

00:56:43.720 | or fans of musicians,

00:56:46.720 | I'm not dogging on you.

00:56:47.720 | You could have a favorite something or other,

00:56:51.720 | but it's an appropriate question to ask.

00:56:52.720 | What are you so impressed by,

00:56:54.720 | and what does that tell us?

00:56:57.720 | What are you giving honor and respect to?

00:57:00.720 | Are we giving our honor and respect to pagans

00:57:02.720 | because they can sing well?

00:57:05.720 | We dare not then allow that worldly fleshliness

00:57:08.720 | to come into our church

00:57:09.720 | that we would be respecters of men.

00:57:11.720 | Amen?

00:57:12.720 | That's the application.

00:57:14.720 | And so God says it's so different in his world.

00:57:17.720 | 1 Corinthians 1, verse 27.

00:57:21.720 | 1 Corinthians 1, verse 27.

00:57:23.720 | "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world

00:57:25.720 | "to shame the wise,

00:57:27.720 | "and God has chosen the weak things of the world

00:57:29.720 | "to shame the things which are strong.

00:57:31.720 | "And the base things of the world

00:57:33.720 | "and the despised God has chosen.

00:57:37.720 | "The things that are not,

00:57:38.720 | "so that he may nullify the things that are,

00:57:40.720 | "so that no man may boast before God."

00:57:45.720 | So in one section, we know,

00:57:47.720 | because God is impartial and glorious,

00:57:50.720 | then amen.

00:57:51.720 | I will not glorify and pride myself in the flesh

00:57:54.720 | even if that individual

00:57:57.720 | brings me some kind of pleasure

00:57:59.720 | about how good they are.

00:58:00.720 | But on the flip side, he says,

00:58:02.720 | obviously we're not gonna condemn any individual

00:58:04.720 | because God says if you mock a poor person,

00:58:07.720 | God has honored that person,

00:58:09.720 | favored that person,

00:58:10.720 | graced that person.

00:58:11.720 | How dare you dishonor somebody that God has graced?

00:58:15.720 | Amen?

00:58:17.720 | And in that way, our God is glorious.

00:58:20.720 | In that way, our God is merciful.

00:58:22.720 | It's so amazing.

00:58:24.720 | There's another passage I want you guys

00:58:26.720 | to turn your Bible over to.

00:58:27.720 | It's Exodus chapter 23, verses one through nine.

00:58:31.720 | Exodus chapter 23, verses one through nine.

00:58:34.720 | It says, "You shall not bear a false report.

00:58:39.720 | "Do not join your hand with a wicked man

00:58:41.720 | "to be a malicious witness.

00:58:43.720 | "You shall not follow the masses in doing evil,

00:58:46.720 | "nor shall you testify in a dispute

00:58:48.720 | "so as to turn aside after a multitude

00:58:50.720 | "in order to pervert justice.

00:58:52.720 | "Nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his dispute."

00:58:56.720 | I feel like, just to comment,

00:58:58.720 | that in our generation, there is temptation to do so.

00:59:01.720 | Because we live in a instantaneous media generation

00:59:05.720 | where news flies fast,

00:59:06.720 | we get the first glimpse of news,

00:59:08.720 | and we can join in a false accusation.

00:59:10.720 | We can have group thinking.

00:59:12.720 | We can have bias, and we can condemn people.

00:59:15.720 | Be very cautious, amen?

00:59:17.720 | God does not want that kind of judging us.

00:59:22.720 | He does not want us to have partiality.

00:59:25.720 | Verse four, "If you meet your enemy's ox

00:59:28.720 | "or his donkey wandering away,

00:59:30.720 | "you shall surely return it to him."

00:59:32.720 | I thought that was so funny,

00:59:34.720 | that God cares enough to imagine a scenario

00:59:38.720 | where you see a donkey in trouble.

00:59:41.720 | But take a look at this, verse five.

00:59:43.720 | "If you see the donkey of the one who hates you

00:59:46.720 | "lying helpless under its load,

00:59:48.720 | "you shall refrain from leaving it to him.

00:59:50.720 | "You shall surely release it to him."

00:59:52.720 | So there he's saying, even in a situation

00:59:54.720 | where you know this donkey belongs to a guy

00:59:56.720 | who hates your guts,

00:59:58.720 | you're not allowed to just be like,

01:00:00.720 | "Ha ha, sucka," and leave.

01:00:03.720 | But you're supposed to help.

01:00:05.720 | Verse six, "So then you shall not pervert the justice

01:00:08.720 | "due to your needy brother and his dispute.

01:00:10.720 | "Keep far from a false charge

01:00:12.720 | "and do not kill the innocent or the righteous,

01:00:14.720 | "for I will not quit the guilty.

01:00:16.720 | "You shall not take a bribe or a bribe blind,

01:00:19.720 | "for a bribe blinds a clear-sighted

01:00:21.720 | "and subverts the cause of the just.

01:00:23.720 | "You shall not oppress a stranger

01:00:25.720 | "since you yourselves know the feelings of a stranger,

01:00:28.720 | "for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt."

01:00:32.720 | So that point, again, being so impartial

01:00:39.720 | that you're treating every individual

01:00:43.720 | with the kind of humility, yes?

01:00:46.720 | With the kind of fairness of Christ.

01:00:49.720 | And what we're shooting at is, remember,

01:00:51.720 | the whole thing was our religion should be pure.

01:00:54.720 | Another way to say it is, let also our love be pure.

01:00:58.720 | One of the ways that Christ was very offended

01:01:01.720 | is Christ would regularly say, "You know the law.

01:01:04.720 | "You know you're supposed to love your neighbor."

01:01:06.720 | And what was the petty response of the people?

01:01:08.720 | "Well, who's my neighbor, though?"

01:01:10.720 | Right, like that was the response.

01:01:13.720 | And God says, "No, I want your love to be pure.

01:01:17.720 | "I know you're a people of sight, but walk by faith."

01:01:21.720 | And therefore, another way to say this is point number four,

01:01:24.720 | that you must speak and act as those

01:01:27.720 | who are judged by the law of liberty.

01:01:30.720 | In the charge for you to not show favoritism,

01:01:33.720 | another way to say this is,

01:01:35.720 | "I want you to speak and act as those

01:01:37.720 | "who are judged by the law of liberty."

01:01:39.720 | You know, the reason why I came to this passage

01:01:42.720 | is because so much of our weekday Bible study

01:01:44.720 | was pointing to this, pointing to this,

01:01:47.720 | saying, "You are free.

01:01:50.720 | "You're free in Christ."

01:01:52.720 | And what's more, the passage literally tells us

01:01:54.720 | that you're going to be assessed, evaluated,

01:01:58.720 | and Christ is going to come to a point

01:02:01.720 | where that reckoning and rewarding is gonna happen,

01:02:04.720 | but he's going to use the standard of your liberty,

01:02:07.720 | which is strange to think about, right?

01:02:10.720 | Now, another way I want you to have you think about this

01:02:13.720 | is in Galatians chapter five, verse 13, it says,

01:02:16.720 | "For you are called to freedom, brothers.

01:02:18.720 | "Only do not use your freedom

01:02:20.720 | "as an opportunity for the flesh,

01:02:22.720 | "but through love, serve one another."

01:02:25.720 | Through love, serve one another.

01:02:27.720 | I made point of this on Wednesday,

01:02:28.720 | but I want to reiterate to you.

01:02:30.720 | In God's eyes, you are so blessed.

01:02:35.720 | You're free.

01:02:37.720 | You have the spiritual blessings of Christ

01:02:39.720 | to say that you're free from the curse of the law,

01:02:43.720 | to say that you have the love of Christ.

01:02:46.720 | You're so thoroughly blessed,

01:02:49.720 | and so how will God assess you?

01:02:52.720 | What have you done with all this blessing?

01:02:55.720 | Have you been complaining like the world?

01:02:58.720 | "We don't have enough, and we need more power,

01:03:01.720 | "and we need more money."

01:03:03.720 | Have you been grumbling?

01:03:04.720 | "It's not fair."

01:03:07.720 | Have you been talking like the world,

01:03:09.720 | where you just are ambitious to be higher,

01:03:12.720 | greater, faster, more skilled, more honored?

01:03:17.720 | You're free from all of that.

01:03:20.720 | God sees you,

01:03:21.720 | and you should see yourself as free.

01:03:25.720 | Amen?

01:03:26.720 | Another way to think about this is,

01:03:29.720 | you know who you're not going to be judged by?

01:03:33.720 | Even though we're very afraid,

01:03:35.720 | every single one of us, because we're human,

01:03:37.720 | we have the fear of man.

01:03:40.720 | God says you're free from the judgment of man.

01:03:44.720 | God says you're free from the threats of man.

01:03:48.720 | You're free from the false promises of man,

01:03:51.720 | and you're free from the examination

01:03:54.720 | and the kind of cruel judgment of this world,

01:03:57.720 | the world that will constantly make you feel like less.

01:04:00.720 | "You don't have enough. You don't have this."

01:04:03.720 | And it's constantly producing in us the false expectation

01:04:06.720 | that we need to live up to its standards,

01:04:08.720 | or else we're going to incur its judgment and its curses.

01:04:13.720 | "Oh, no. If I don't go to this prestigious school,

01:04:16.720 | oh, no, if I'm not a part of this group,

01:04:18.720 | what's going to happen to me?"

01:04:21.720 | Brothers and sisters, we're free.

01:04:23.720 | Amen?

01:04:25.720 | We're free.

01:04:27.720 | Speak and live like those who have liberty.

01:04:32.720 | God sees you as ones who have been so blessed by Christ,

01:04:36.720 | it turns everything upside down.

01:04:39.720 | Yes, the world sees the poor man as the one who has no power,

01:04:44.720 | but what does the Scripture say?

01:04:46.720 | By way of conclusions, James 1:9-11.

01:04:50.720 | James 1:9-11, this is what the Scripture says.

01:04:54.720 | "But the brother of the humble circumstances

01:04:56.720 | is to glory in his high position,

01:04:59.720 | and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation,

01:05:02.720 | because like flowering grass, he will pass away.

01:05:06.720 | For the sun rises with a scorching wind,

01:05:09.720 | and it withers the grass, and its flower falls off,

01:05:13.720 | and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed.

01:05:15.720 | So, too, the rich man, in the midst of his pursuits,

01:05:18.720 | will fade away."

01:05:20.720 | I want to conclude by saying this.

01:05:22.720 | I know that the majority of us,

01:05:25.720 | I mean, we're not going to be so silly like the world

01:05:28.720 | and be like, "Oh my gosh, Michael Jordan, you're my idol."

01:05:32.720 | Right?

01:05:33.720 | "I wanted to be just like Mike," you know,

01:05:35.720 | and all that kind of stuff.

01:05:36.720 | And we're going to impress him by how much of a fan I am,

01:05:39.720 | which, you know, with my youth, that's what I would have done.

01:05:44.720 | But there is this question.

01:05:46.720 | Do we still buy into that system?

01:05:50.720 | And I would say, I don't know.

01:05:52.720 | I mean, I don't think so.

01:05:53.720 | I don't want--now that I'm, you know, older,

01:05:56.720 | I've lived my life as a Christian for 42 years--

01:05:59.720 | how old am I, 41 years?

01:06:01.720 | Now I'm 41 years, and I've lived my life as a Christian

01:06:04.720 | for the last half of it, right, 20-some years.

01:06:07.720 | I know better than to want to be like Mike.

01:06:10.720 | Right?

01:06:11.720 | So in that way, I've been fighting the stain of the world.

01:06:15.720 | No, I don't want to be the tallest, best basketball player,

01:06:18.720 | the most richest person in the church.

01:06:20.720 | I don't want any of that.

01:06:21.720 | But then, as I was praying over this, I asked,

01:06:24.720 | "Is there any of it within my heart, Lord?"

01:06:28.720 | And then I thought about my kids.

01:06:30.720 | I want them to ball it up so hard, they just break ankles.

01:06:33.720 | I want them to be taller, so I'm like, "Eat more, eat more."

01:06:36.720 | You know what I mean?

01:06:37.720 | I want them to be well-educated,

01:06:39.720 | so I'm thinking and researching the best way to educate them.

01:06:43.720 | And I realize the system of the world is so subtle.

01:06:47.720 | It's all around, right?

01:06:50.720 | I want it for my kids.

01:06:52.720 | And then I know in my heart whatever my kid experiences, I experience.

01:06:57.720 | Right?

01:06:58.720 | My pride now comes from their pride.

01:07:01.720 | Let it be that I am not impressed with wealth, height, or skill,

01:07:07.720 | but the man who loves Christ, the man who has faith.

01:07:12.720 | This to us is glorious.

01:07:13.720 | Amen?

01:07:14.720 | Let's pray.

01:07:20.720 | Heavenly Father, we thank you so much.

01:07:23.720 | God, from your vantage point, it must be so obnoxious and silly

01:07:30.720 | for people who are in a humble posture,

01:07:35.720 | a situation of desperate need for you,

01:07:38.720 | and then constantly they're playing this game of wanting to be more and better.

01:07:43.720 | But God, thank you, Lord, that in your mercy you have given us a solution.

01:07:48.720 | You could have just crushed us, but thank you for Christ,

01:07:52.720 | that you teach us a better way, a way of humility,

01:07:56.720 | a way of perfect contentment in our Lord Jesus.

01:08:00.720 | I ask, God, that in that way we would learn what it means

01:08:03.720 | to be unstained by this world.

01:08:05.720 | We thank you in Christ's name.

01:08:06.720 | Amen.

01:08:08.720 | Let us stand together for the closing praise.

01:08:26.720 | The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell.

01:08:39.720 | It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell.

01:08:52.720 | The guilty pair bow down with care.

01:08:59.720 | God gave his Son to win.

01:09:06.720 | His erring child he reconciled and parted from his sin.

01:09:26.720 | When years of time shall pass away and earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,

01:09:42.720 | when men who year refuse to pray on rocks and hills and mountains call,

01:09:55.720 | God's love so sure shall still endure all measureless and strong,

01:10:08.720 | redeeming grace to Adam's race, the saints' and angels' song.

01:10:20.720 | Oh, love of God, how rich and pure, how measureless and strong.

01:10:34.720 | It shall forevermore endure the saints' and angels' song.

01:10:57.720 | Oh, love of God, how rich and pure, how measureless and strong.

01:11:21.720 | Oh, love of God, how rich and pure, how measureless and strong.

01:11:50.720 | Oh, love of God, how rich and pure, how measureless and strong.

01:12:03.720 | It shall forevermore endure the saints' and angels'.

01:12:14.720 | Oh, love of God, how rich and pure, how measureless and strong.

01:12:29.720 | It shall forevermore endure the saints' and angels' song.

01:12:42.720 | It shall forevermore endure the saints' and angels' song.

01:12:59.720 | Amen. Let's pray together.

01:13:01.720 | Father God, as we sing that song, we just want to thank you.

01:13:06.720 | God, that your love is perfect and pure, and God is not tainted by any selfishness.

01:13:13.720 | As you are the sustainer and giver of all life, you needed nothing from us,

01:13:18.720 | and therefore you lavishly gave to us your grace and your mercy.

01:13:23.720 | Father God, what can we give to you in return?

01:13:26.720 | Lord, we just thank you.

01:13:28.720 | And I pray, Lord, that you would guide us and lead us,

01:13:30.720 | so then our eyes and our judgment would be righteous like yours.

01:13:34.720 | But also, Lord, that our hearts would then freely love,

01:13:39.720 | that without trying to play any games with people,

01:13:42.720 | trying to barter, trying to climb, trying to compete,

01:13:45.720 | but help us, Father God, to love as you do.

01:13:48.720 | We thank you, Lord, it's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.

01:13:51.720 | God sent his Son.

01:13:56.720 | They called him Jesus.

01:14:01.720 | He came to love, heal and forgive.

01:14:10.720 | He lived and died to buy my pardon.

01:14:20.720 | An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lived.

01:14:29.720 | Because He lived, I can face tomorrow.

01:14:38.720 | Because He lived, all fear is gone.

01:14:48.720 | Because I know He holds the future.

01:14:57.720 | And life is worth the living just because He lived.

01:15:07.720 | [music]

01:15:32.720 | My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.

01:15:41.720 | I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

01:15:50.720 | On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.

01:15:59.720 | All other ground is sinking sand.

01:16:04.720 | [music]

01:16:22.720 | When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace.

01:16:31.720 | In every high and stormy gale, my anger holds within.

Berean Community Church Sunday Service - 4.14.2024