Jesus, Lord of Heaven, I do not deserve The grace that You have given Or the promise of Your Word Lord, I stand in wonder At the sacrifice You've made With mercy beyond measure My high debt You freely pay And Your love is deeper Than any ocean higher Than the heavens reaching Beyond the stars in the sky Jesus, Your love has no bounds Jesus, Your love has no bounds Jesus, Lord of Heaven, I do not deserve The grace that You have given Or the promise of Your Word Lord, I stand in wonder At the sacrifice You've made With mercy beyond measure My high debt You freely pay And Your love is deeper Than any ocean higher Than the heavens reaching Beyond the stars in the sky Your love is deeper Than any ocean higher Than the heavens reaching Beyond the stars in the sky Jesus, Your love has no bounds Jesus, Your love has no bounds Hi, good morning.

Welcome to Breen Community Church. We're going to get started. We have an announcement from our family ministry about our Christmas events that are going on. So Dean's going to come up and he's going to give the announcements. Hi, good morning, everyone. I'm Dean Shin. I'm part of the family ministry logistics team.

So this year for the family ministry for Christmas, rather than having a large gathering, what we will do, you know, with the church getting bigger and whatnot, is have smaller, cozier, more intimate gatherings. So it will be at individual people's homes. Okay, so this is kind of going to be ongoing.

So as you sign up, you'll be asked if you are willing to open up your home both to host and to facilitate. So we are asking if you live in Irvine or Tustin or kind of closer to church, if you would pray about it and see if you are willing to open up your home.

That way people can sort of come in and maybe don't have to travel as far of a distance. If you do have to travel a little bit, hopefully you'll be okay with that. But, you know, people are often asking, like, how can I serve? How can I be involved?

So this is really a great way for you to serve the church and show hospitality. And in Exodus 36, there's a time when Moses is gathering things for the tabernacle, and he has to actually stop the people. He has to refrain--he has to restrain them because they're giving so much, right?

So my prayer and hope is that so many of you will be moved to open up your homes, that we'll have too many homes, and we'll say, "Thank you for your heart. God sees it, but we don't need your home this time around." If you have any questions about it, please let me know.

My email is in the announcement, right? It's my name, D-E-A-N-S-Y-N@gmail.com. You can find me on Facebook. I'm one of maybe two people with that name on Facebook, so really easy to find. And Family Ministry Logistics will help you, you know, with suggestions and guidance and whatnot if you want to host, okay, so you're not going to be left totally on your own.

But at the same time, we do ask you to sort of take the ball and run with it. Think of it as if you would prepare a gathering for your own, you know, biological family, but this is for your spiritual family, okay? So again, if you have any questions, please let me know.

Okay, thank you. Okay, just a reminder again, if you signed up for the evangelism outing that's taking place this coming Saturday from 1 to 2, and if you still desire to participate, please let the proper people know. Again, sign up and all this stuff will be on the Facebook and our church app.

And also the Bible Study Lab starting next Sunday, Pastor Mark is leading a Bible Study Lab that will kind of help you through how to do inductive Bible study, which is what's going on during Wednesday in the home groups. And so if you want to sign up for that, the first session is starting next Sunday at 2 p.m.

And then again, the holiday outreaches that are taking place that our Sisters Ministry is leading, again, if you go outside, you'll see all the booths there. So if you haven't visited there, you want to find out what's going on, they'll give you all the information. And if you want to participate in that, you can sign up at those tables after the service.

And then next Sunday we have Orphan Sunday. We're going to have a guest speaker that's going to come, and he has, again, personal knowledge of foster caring and then adoption through that and all the ups and downs. And obviously it is Orphan Sunday all throughout the country, and so we wanted to take that opportunity to kind of inform the church, inspire the church, encourage the church to consider adopting going forward.

And then there's various other ministries that will be coming to set up booths outside during the first and the second service. So if you're at the first service, the booths will also be there, and so we have various things that are planned to do that. But as I mentioned, we are going to be taking special offering for that, and so this is for families who are planning to adopt in the future, and this will be a scholarship for them.

So after they adopt, we will assist some to be able to assist some of the people. And again, this is to encourage the families to consider that if that's something that the Lord lays on your heart. So again, next week when we do have offering, we ask you to just prepare and make sure that in your offering that you designate separately from your regular offering so that our accounting people who are doing accounting will be able to separate that and then lay that aside for future adoption purposes.

Today, as you guys know, we have trunk formation. Today is Reformation Sunday for us as Christians, and so after service, I don't think anybody usually parks on this side, but if you do happen to have a car out here, we need to get that moved, and then all the stuff are going to be set up out here.

And then if you do happen to come to church for whatever reason, please do not park in this area. And then they're going to try to start sharply at 4 o'clock, so try to come maybe a little bit before that so that you'll be ready to go when 4 o'clock starts, and then it'll be done by 6 o'clock.

So if you're setting up your car, the trunk formation, and all this stuff, the church will be open after the second service, and as soon as the people are gone from this, you can just start setting up your trunk formation. All right, let me pray for us for the offering, and then for those of you who are new to the church, we have a physical offering box in the back, and it looks like a little birdhouse, and it'll say "Offering Box." So after the service, you can go there and drop off your physical offering, and for the rest of us, we'll give you a minute to give the electronic offering.

All right, let me pray for us. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the blessing that we have to be able to call you our Abba Father. Lord, no matter what distractions that we may have brought into this room, I pray that our singing, your word, even in our giving, Lord God, may it be an act of worship in spirit and in truth.

We ask, Lord, that you would bless this time. Help us, Lord God, to lift up our eyes, to know where our hope and help truly comes from. May the offering that we give you this time be multiplied, 30, 60, 100-fold for the sake of your glory. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

All right, as we continue our worship, just a quick reminder for those sitting outside in the courtyard, would you please just remain seated during worship, as it's helpful for everyone to see the screen. And as for those in here, would you please stand for worship? ♪ Great is your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Great is your faithfulness ♪ ♪ You never change ♪ ♪ You never fail, O God ♪ ♪ True are your promises ♪ ♪ True are your promises ♪ ♪ True are your promises ♪ ♪ You never change ♪ ♪ You never fail, O God ♪ ♪ So we raise up holy hands ♪ ♪ To praise the Holy One ♪ ♪ Who was and is and is to come ♪ ♪ What is your love and grace ♪ ♪ What is your love and grace ♪ ♪ You never change ♪ ♪ You never fail, O God ♪ ♪ What is your love ♪ ♪ What is your love and grace ♪ ♪ What is your love and grace ♪ ♪ You never change ♪ ♪ You never fail, O God ♪ ♪ So we raise up holy hands ♪ ♪ To praise the Holy One ♪ ♪ Who was and is and is to come ♪ ♪ Yeah, we raise up holy hands ♪ ♪ To praise the Holy One ♪ ♪ Who was and is and is to come ♪ ♪ You were, you are, you will always be ♪ ♪ You were, you are, you will always be ♪ ♪ You were, you were, you are, you will always be ♪ ♪ You were, you are, you will always be ♪ ♪ So we raise up holy hands ♪ ♪ To praise the Holy One ♪ ♪ Who was and is and is to come ♪ ♪ Yeah, we raise up holy hands ♪ ♪ To praise the Holy One ♪ ♪ Who was and is and is to come ♪ ♪ Who was and is and is to come ♪ ♪ Who has held the oceans in His hands?

♪ ♪ Who has numbered every grain of sand? ♪ ♪ Kings and nations tremble at His voice ♪ ♪ All creation rises to rejoin ♪ ♪ Who has given counsel to the low? ♪ ♪ Who can question any of His words? ♪ ♪ Who can teach the one who knows all things?

♪ ♪ Who can fathom all His wondrous deeds? ♪ ♪ Behold our God seated on His throne ♪ ♪ Come let us adore Him ♪ ♪ Behold our King ♪ ♪ Nothing can compare ♪ ♪ Come let us adore Him ♪ ♪ Who has felt ♪ ♪ Who has felt the nails upon His hands?

♪ ♪ Bearing all the guilt of sinful man ♪ ♪ God eternal humble to the grave ♪ ♪ Jesus Savior risen now to reign ♪ ♪ God eternal humble to the grave ♪ ♪ Jesus Savior risen now to reign ♪ ♪ Behold our God seated on His throne ♪ ♪ Come let us adore Him ♪ ♪ Behold our King ♪ ♪ Nothing can compare ♪ ♪ Come let us adore Him ♪ ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever ś Let your glory fill the Earth ś You will reign forever - Reading out of the NASB.

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you, and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we lift up this time to you, asking you to anoint it, Lord God, by your word and your spirit. Cause us, Lord, to have a greater vision of who you are, that your glory, Lord, would shine, that we would be sanctified the more we understand who you are and who your son is, and by your spirit, that you would grip our hearts, our lives, our thoughts, our emotions, our will.

May it all be surrendered to you for the sake of your name. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. Today is, again, the last day of October. We're getting into November, and around this time of the year, we do a lot of evaluations of what's going on and what are some things that need to be improved and changed next year.

And so even, not just in church, but I'm sure every one of us, when the year kind of starts to wrap down or wind down and then next year comes around, what are some things that we want to change? All right, so maybe we want to be in better health.

So this is the time of the year where you start to make plans, and possibly at the beginning of next year, you get gym membership, and then you say, "We're gonna do this," at least for a few weeks, right? At least we're determined we're gonna do this. Or maybe you're considering a job change, and you want improvement in that.

Maybe certain relationships that you're trying to work on. Obviously, with the pandemic and with the various things that's been going on, we're hoping that next year things will, whatever normal is, that we would be able to go back to some semblance of what we were able to do. We're eagerly waiting for India to open up so that we can go and visit them, 'cause we have stuff that we want to take, and we haven't seen our pastors there in a couple years, so we're hoping that things will change and that the country will be able to open to do that.

So as much as we look forward to some changes, there are some things that we really hope doesn't change. And some of the things that we don't want change are things that probably that we value the most, right? Maybe our families, right? Certain things that we value, and we're hoping that it will continue from the past to present and the future.

But the reality is there's nothing that doesn't change from human experience. Relationships change. We change, right? I think we're playing the basketball and BBA and the legends, and a lot of us, our favorite word is used to. I used to do this, I used to do that. Not that it was just me.

I mean, we got a room full of people used to people, right? So things have changed. Things are continuing to change. But things that really matter, we hope and desire that it would not change. Because when we anchor ourselves to things that are important to us, we're anchoring to things that we're hoping won't change.

I mean, the whole book of Hebrews, the theme is to be anchored in Christ so that we do not drift. No matter what happens, no matter what trials, no matter what relationship, no matter what hardship may come, no matter what government, no matter what leadership, that our anchoring is not in the circumstance or the people that are around us, but in Christ.

And that's why he says today, to not to drift and to be anchored in Christ who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Last week, we talked about in verse seven, how he says, "In order for us not to this, "remember those who led you, "who spoke the word of God to you "and considering the result of their conduct, "imitate their faith.

"These are people who have gone before them "who may have been persecuted and possibly put to death. "And as a result of that, they were afraid, "they were concerned." And so he's reminding them, but consider carefully, these people who spoke the word of God to you, the end result of their life, how it brought glory to God and strengthened the church and spread the gospel, imitate their faith.

And then how seven and eight is connected is the motivation behind why they were able to persevere to the end is because they were anchored to Christ who was the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. And so he's telling them to not to drift. In fact, that's the main point that he was trying to make in Hebrews chapter 10, 32 to 36, describing how they were in the past.

Remember the former days when after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of suffering, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulation, and partly by becoming the sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners, accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.

Now, if they were anchored and they stayed there, this would have been a model church. But the reason why the whole book of, whole letter of Hebrews is written is because they didn't stay there. They started drifting back into their old way of life. They started trying to compromise with old Judaism, with the new faith in Christ.

And so they started drifting. So he's reminding them, remember, remember how you used to, remember when you first accepted Christ and you were willing to suffer for Christ. You fellowship with those who were in prison. You joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property in the midst of intense persecution.

Remember that. And the reason why he's telling them to remember that is so that they can remember and continue. And that's exactly what he says in Revelation 2, verse five, when the letter is written to the church of Ephesus. He says, you've drifted from your first love, right? And he says, you need to restore that 'cause if you don't restore that, Jesus says he's gonna take away the lamp stand.

And the remedy for that, he says, remember from where you have fallen and repent and do the deeds you did at first. Remember. So the whole text that we're looking at here, as the author is summarizing and concluding the whole purpose of this text, he's trying to, again, wrap it up in a nice package to not to drift.

Look at the people who've gone ahead of us. And the reason why they were able to persevere in their faith is because they anchored themselves in Christ. So the whole point that he's trying to make is you ought to also anchor yourself in Christ. In fact, that's exactly what he says in Hebrews chapter one, 10 through 12.

From the very get-go, this was his point. You, Lord, in the beginning, lay the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the works of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain. You see, all of creation, everything that tempts us, everything that entangles us, you created, but all of that eventually will perish, but you will remain.

They all will become old like a garment and like a mantle, you will roll them up like a garment. They will also be changed, but you are the same and your years will not come to an end. So he started with this. He started by reminding us the reason why we need to anchor ourselves in Christ is because everything that we pursue, everything that we're tempted by, all of it is going to pass away, but only Christ will remain the same.

And now as he is concluding this letter, he's reminding us everything I told you, why we need to anchor with him, and now the only thing that's gonna sustain you past, present, and future is the one who remains the same past, present, and future. This statement here in verse eight is not just a casual statement.

Only God can make this statement. In fact, all throughout the Old Testament, God is described as having an immutable character, that every part of who he is is immutable. Only God can claim this. Only God himself can claim to never change. So this morning what I wanna do is I wanna describe four things that are connected to immutability.

In order for this to be true of an individual, there needs to be four other characters that exist in that being in order for them to be immutable. And then at the conclusion, I wanna connect the dots for us at the end, why this is so important, why he's saying what he is saying.

'Cause he's talking to a bunch of people who are fatigued, who are tired, maybe some of them compromised, ready to quit, and then he says, "But God is the same yesterday, today, and forever." If you see that in isolation and context, how does that give you strength to persevere?

God's the same. Man, I'm struggling, I'm tempted, I'm about to quit. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If you don't understand the context and the application of that, it just sounds like theology. So what I wanna do is I wanna present to you why this is important, why this is a description of only God, and then how that directly applies to our perseverance.

Okay, so one, Jesus is immutable. In order for Jesus to be immutable, he needs to be completely independent. There's what the theologians called the doctrine of aseity, where in John 8, 55, Jesus says of himself, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." And that is a direct quote that he's making, saying that that same God who introduced himself to Moses and Israel in Exodus chapter three, Jesus is claiming that title for himself.

I am. In Exodus 3, 13 or 14, it says, "Then Moses said to God, 'Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you. Now they may say to me, 'What is his name? What shall I say to them?' God said to Moses, 'I am who I am.' And he says, 'Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I am has sent me to you.'" I am.

What does that even mean, I am? Right? So I don't know how many of you grew up watching Popeye the Sailor Man, that's what he used to say. I am who I am, and that is all that I am. I didn't realize how blasphemous that was. (congregation laughing) Because that's a title that God used for himself.

I am who I am. And the meaning behind that, that he is self-sufficient. He's the only being who is completely independent of everything else. If you've taken any philosophy class, you know one of the main arguments is everything has cause and effect. When you see a certain effect, you say, "Well, what caused that?" If you see certain things happening in history, "Well, what caused that?

Why is this happening?" And you usually kind of try to connect the dots. What was the cause that created this effect? Well, Bible tells us that God is the ultimate cause. That he himself is independent of any change because he is not dependent on anything. I mean, think about who we are, right?

I mean, you meet friends that you met from 10 years ago, and they look similar. I mean, obviously, they get gray hair, and they look a little bit different. But you meet them, it's like there are certain things that are similar, but people go through change all the time.

We're never the same. 10 years ago, last year, we're constantly changing. I was thinking about my own life, how I shared with you. I was born in Korea, and I was thinking, my life now, who I am, is completely different than what I remember from my childhood because I was given a Korean name, and Korea was a third-world country at that time, and almost everybody went to the bathroom in the outhouse.

Every once in a while, we would travel and go to certain parts of the world where they use the outhouse. It's like, "Oh, we're so uncomfortable." But that's what our life was like when we were young. Didn't speak English till I was about seven or eight years old. Even our name was given to us by a pastor.

And I think they gave my older brother, Paul, because he's the leader, he's the oldest, and then he gave Philip his name because he's the youngest one, right? And I think he named me Peter because I look like a troublemaker, right? A lot of action. And so, even my name was given to me later on in life.

But every once in a while, I think, "What would I have been like "if I never came to the United States?" I would have been a completely different person. Every different stage of our life, something happens. Maybe something good happens, something bad happens. Kind of career you choose. Where you go to school.

Kind of friends you hang out with. What church you go to. All of these things affect the way we are, how we think and how we respond to things. So every single one of us, our circumstance, our experience, our relationships, all of it affects who we are. Every once in a while, somebody who hears me online and have never met me, they say, "Hey, you have an accent." I don't know if you hear it, but I've heard that enough.

And they said, "It's kind of fobby." Kind of fobby, but it's not quite fobby. I kind of hear a little bit of New Jersey. (audience laughing) A little bit of the South and Midwest. And they can't quite figure it out, but it's not normal, basically, that's what they mean.

That's because we lived in the East Coast at one point. And then my parents moved to the Midwest at one point. And then we lived in the South for a period. Then went back to Korea and came back, so our family was nomadic. So I think each one of those places, I picked up a little bit of accent.

So I don't even know what it is, but they said people who hear me online saying, "You have something, I just can't make it out." So even I don't know, but my circumstances had affected even my speech, right? Even the way maybe I say things. Every single one of us is affected by our circumstance.

And that's part of the reason why we are always changing. In order for a being to be immutable, he cannot be affected by his circumstance. God is the ultimate cause. He's completely independent. And that's what he means when he says, "I am who I am." Not I will be, not I was, but I am.

Secondly, Jesus is immutable because he is perfect. In order for something to remain the same, there needs to be continuation, right? He needs to be perfect. In Numbers 23, 19, he says, "God is not man, "that he should lie, nor the Son of Man, "that he should repent." In other words, to change.

"Has he said, and will he not do it? "Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good?" God is immutable because he never makes judgment that is wrong. He is perfect. James 1, 17, it says, "Every good thing given, "and every perfect gift is from above, "coming down from the Father of lights, "with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." God, in his very nature, in order for somebody to be immutable, there has to be perfection in him already.

Without that perfection, we may do things and then end up regretting it. Oh, maybe that was not the right thing. Or we may know what's right to do, and then not to do it. You know, one of the things that we talk about in marriage counseling is the key to having a good relationship, one of the keys to a good relationship, having good biblical communication, right?

Biblical communication isn't technique, right? When she says this, do this. Make sure you say this. Happy wife, happy life. How do you make her happy? It's not about technique. The reason why communication has broken down is because it always comes through a sinful filter. If I say this, what is she gonna think?

Well, I don't want her to know everything. So everything that we say comes through a some sort of sinful filter. You hurt me, so I'm gonna hurt you, right? I don't want you to know this. Or I want you to think of me in this way, so we exaggerate certain things and minimize other things.

Like Jesus said, what comes out of us, what comes out of our mouth is what's inside of us. It's not what we eat that corrupts us, it's what comes out of us that corrupts us. And so what comes out of us in our words and our communication comes through a sinful filter.

So basically what he is saying is we have a corrupt nature through which all communication comes out of. So part of the things that we study in marriage counseling is recognizing what they are and then try to be sanctified knowing that these things are coming up for these reasons.

So those of you who went through marriage counseling with me recently, talking about how make sure you're a good listener, you understand, make sure that you don't react, and make sure that what you say is not exaggerated when you say it, and then learn how to speak the truth in love, that you never compromise both.

But in the end, you can know all of that and then be in front of your wife and your husband knowing that you shouldn't say this, knowing that this is probably not the right thing to do, and then do it anyway. Like why, why do you know if this is going to, if this is not good, and this is gonna start, this is gonna hurt her, why would you do it anyway?

Because she hurt me. That you know the right thing to do and you won't do it anyway because it hurts your pride, because you're somehow weighing the scale and she said, well, she did it to me, so I'm gonna do this to her. So even though we would have all the knowledge, we choose to do what's wrong because there's something corrupt in us.

See, if in order for God to be, Jesus to be immutable and perfect, he himself needs to be perfect, that he can't do something and then just, ah, forget it, I don't wanna do it. If I make a promise to you, I may have all intention today that I'm gonna fulfill this promise and then tomorrow I change my mind.

You know, maybe you said something, maybe you did something, maybe I'm just not in the mood, you know, maybe I'm tempted by something. So one of the most arrogant things that a human being can say is I will, right? There's a reason why Jesus says, don't say I'm going to go to this city or that city, is that if the Lord wills.

And basically what he's telling us, you don't have control over yourself. You don't have control over the circumstance. You don't have control over your own will. You may be perfectly willed today, but tomorrow say forget it. In order for him to be immutable, he himself needs to be perfect.

First John 1.5, this is the message we have heard from him and announced to you that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. So in order for him to be immutable, he needs to be completely independent from any circumstance and he needs to remain the same no matter what situation, no matter when, and he himself needs to be without corruption.

Third, Jesus is immutable because he is omnipotent, all powerful. Isaiah 40.28, do you not know, have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. We don't have the power to fulfill what we desire.

We may be successful in some things, but there's a reason why he said not to make oaths. I mean, let alone years and years of history of this, but for man to be able to say I will do this, you have to have the ability to carry that out.

I can tell you that next year, next week, I was gonna be here and that's my, you can look at the probability, right, of all the years of what we experienced, but is it guaranteed 100%? Nothing is guaranteed. I may get in a car accident, there's something might happen, or the streets may get shut down, we don't know.

I don't have that power. So the best that I can do is say I'm gonna do my best. I'm gonna do my best. But I don't have the power to guarantee that. See, when God says he's gonna do something, he's not simply predicting. He's not looking down at history, he's like, I wish this will happen.

That's not what he's doing. If God is not all powerful, if he's not omnipotent, all he can say is I hope this happens. I hope this happens. And I hope that my son will come one day and do what I hope he will do. I hope he doesn't change his mind.

I hope the circumstances work out. But the reason why he says it definitively is because the one who makes the promise is powerful enough to fulfill it, and he's the only one who can do that. So in order for him to be immutable, he needs to also be all powerful.

He needs to be above politics. He needs to be above the weather. He needs to be above whatever challenges may come that he is powerful enough to fulfill his purpose. Isaiah 43, 13 says, "Even from eternity I am he. "There is none who can deliver out of my hand.

"I act, and who can reverse it?" He said, "I act, and who can reverse it?" What he desired, what he has planned, what he has promised, only he can fulfill 100%. That's why we can bank on him. That's why we anchor in him that whatever promises that he has made, he will fulfill if you believe it.

Colossians 1, 16 through 17, "For by him all things were created, "both in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, "whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authority. "All things have been created through him, for him. "He is before all things, "and in him all things hold together." The same power that created the universe by his word is the same power that sustains us today.

He didn't get tired. He said, "Well, he created the universe in six days, "and then he rested on the seventh day." So he must have gotten tired. He needed to recover. Even God needed to rest. It's blasphemy. That Sabbath that he's talking about, isn't he resting so he should recuperate because like us, we get tired and we need to take a nap.

We need to re-energize so he can start over on Monday. That's not what Sabbath means. Sabbath means that he is spiritually, in every way, he's resting. It doesn't mean he's not working. It doesn't mean that he needs to recuperate. It means that there is peace. Peace, that's what he created.

That's what he brought us into, and that's what was broken, peace. Now where this immutability is so important, or immutability and his omnipotence is so important, you know, when you desire something so much, and you can't fulfill it by your own power, that's when we become desperate for Christ, right?

Somebody is sick, and you're crying out to God because you have no power. If you've raised children, you know, I remember when our children were younger, and they would come back from school and say, "Hey, somebody picked on me." And again, being from an immigrant family, moving at a new school every single year, and having to defend myself, and so hyper-sensitive to that.

And I remember like, what can I do to help? You know, I wanted to teach them how to box. If MMA was popular, then I would teach them some MMA moves, that this is what I would do. But at the core of who we are, like, I wish I could take your place.

I wish I could take away your pain. I wish I could change your circumstance. There's stuff that even now, that some of you guys are going through, some of the struggles that you have. And as we pray, and as we wrestle, I wish I could somehow just click a button, and do something, and take away some of that pain, and have no power.

As much as I care, as much as I desire, I don't have that power. And the longer I live, the more I'm aware of that. See, in order for God to be able to fulfill his promise, he has to be omnipotent, and only God is omnipotent. And in order for him to be immutable, he needs to be omnipotent as well.

But fourth and finally, Jesus is immutable because he is all-knowing, he is omniscient. He knows all things. Psalm 147, verse five said, "Great is our Lord, and abundant in strength. His understanding is infinite." Everything that he has done was based upon all knowledge. There's nothing that surprises him because he is omniscient.

So everything that he has promised in the past, everything he is doing now, and everything he will fulfill in the future, is based upon all knowledge because he is omniscient. If it was not based on his omniscience, the more he finds out about the future, the more understanding that he has, he'll change his mind, just like we do, right?

How many of us, if we were to turn the clock back 10 years, would do things differently? Every single one of us. There's a reason why we have New Year's resolution, because based upon the knowledge that I have now, I would do things differently. And usually the people who have the biggest opinions, the seniors in college, right, have so much to say to the freshmen, because you've experienced four years of college, and it's like, "Don't do that.

Don't take 20 units, right? Don't get classes at 8 a.m. You're not gonna make it." (audience laughing) And so, because they have four years, so if they were to reverse the clock back, they would probably live their freshman year a little bit differently. Those of you who graduated and who are working, now that you know what work life is like, hold on to college for dear life.

Don't be so eager to get out. It was so good then, right? Every stage of life, we look back, because you have gained more knowledge, right? You get married, and then you tell the singles, "Hey, don't be so eager." Not that marriage is bad. But singleness is good, too, right?

They say, "Oh, we wanna have kids." It's like, "Hey, don't rush it. Enjoy what you have." So every stage of life, we have things that, because we've gained more knowledge, more experience, we look back and it says, "That knowledge caused us to look at that circumstance, and I would do things differently." Even in our deathbed, every single person will look back at their life and say, "Now that I've accumulated this knowledge, I would live my life differently." Because we didn't have that knowledge at that time.

In order for an individual to be immutable, he needs to have all knowledge. That he doesn't have more knowledge a thousand years later, 10,000 years later, because everything that he does is based upon perfect knowledge. He is omniscient. And that's why it says, 1 John 3:20, "In whatever heart condemns us, our God is greater than our hearts and knows all things." He knows all things.

Psalm 139, verse four, "Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it all." He does not change. Now, all of these four qualities are necessary for God to be immutable. He needs to be independent, he needs to be perfect. He needs to be omnipotent, and he needs to be omniscient.

So that's why that statement in verse eight can only be applied to God himself, 'cause only God himself is immutable. So what does this have to do with what he's trying to say here, not to drift? Everything that we know of Christ and his sacrifice for us means it's immutable.

His love for us is immutable. His love for us is based upon his perfection. In Malachi 3, 6, it says, "For I, the Lord, do not change. Therefore, you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed." Because he didn't change his mind, he didn't make a decision, and then something inside of him is like, "I don't love these people anymore.

I'm so tired of this." So his love for us, his choosing of us, is immutable. That's why even though you can misapply it and people abuse this term, but the statement in itself is true. One saved, always saved. Because our salvation justification is based upon his perfection. And he doesn't change, he doesn't change his mind 10 years later, 15 years later.

So his love for us is immutable because he is perfect. God's love for us does not change because of circumstance. When Jesus says, "I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it." If you think about church history, if it was based upon our will, our purpose, I mean, God would have changed his mind a long time ago.

I don't think we would have ever made it out of the first century. We would have never made it out. But think about how in the 2,000 years of church history, the kind of chaos that we've seen. Church actually killed people who wanted to translate the Bible for us, burned them at the stake.

And if anybody questioned them, they brought in the Inquisition. And if you go against us, we'll torture you. And then because they were greedy for gain, they started selling indulgences so that they can become rich. All kinds of stuff came inside the church. And even today, there's all kinds of chaos in the church.

If it was based upon us, that promise would have been broken. It would have never made it out the first century. But God's purpose does not change based on circumstance. And we anchor with his promise because he is immutable, because he is independent, because he is I am. And what he says, he fulfills because he does not change.

God's love for us is sustained by his power. Isaiah 46, 9 through 11 says, "Remember the former things long past, "for I am God and there is no other. "I am God and there is no one like me, "declaring the end from the beginning "and from ancient times things which have not been done, "saying my purpose will be established "and I will accomplish my good pleasure.

"Calling a bird, pray from the east, "a man of my purpose from far country. "Truly I have spoken, truly I will bring to pass. "I have planned it, surely I will do it." No being can ever say this. I can say, I hope this happens. I'm gonna do my best that this will happen.

But only God says, I will do it. You can bank on this, you can anchor yourself on this, because God is all powerful. Only he can promise it and fulfill it all the time. That's why when he speaks, whether it is in Genesis and whether it is in the last chapter of Revelation, it's fulfilled.

You can bank on it, because he's the only being who has that kind of power. So when he says, "If you confess your sins and your faithful "and just forgive you of all wrongs," he has the power. He has the power, only he has the power. First Peter one through to five, he says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, "who according to his great mercy "has caused us to be born again, "to a living hope, "through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, "to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, "undefiled, and will not fade, "reserved in heaven for you." The reason why the hope that we have, the salvation that we have is imperishable, undefiled, and does not fade, is because God is the one who sustains it.

He does not change. He doesn't drift because of circumstance. He doesn't get tired. He says, "Who are protected by the power of God "through faith for salvation, "ready to be revealed in the last time." Only God is all powerful and is able to fulfill what he desires. Fourth and finally, God's love for us is based on all knowledge, past, present, and future.

I want you to think about that. When God justified us, he justified us based upon all that he knew of you and me, past, present, and future. He didn't look at us and say, "Well, he's worth investing in. "Let's see what happens." Let me justify him now, and then hopefully he's not gonna screw up.

His justification, his choosing of us was based upon all knowledge, past, present, and future. So there is no shock. Some of us may be sitting here, it's like, "Yeah, but you don't know what I've done. "You don't know how far I've drifted." His love for us, his choosing of us, his justification of us was based upon all perfect knowledge, past, present, and future.

So there's nothing that you have done. There's nothing that you have done that he did not know. Psalm 139, one through 12. This is a passage that we look at, and typically we think this is the psalmist trying to hide from God. It sounds negative in the beginning. This is what he says.

"Oh Lord, you have searched me and known me. "You know when I sit down and when I rise up. "You understand my thoughts from afar. "You scrutinize my path and lying down." Scrutinize, like he examines, he knows all things. "Intimately acquainted with all my ways." Think about that. Every single one of us, we try to hide.

It doesn't matter if you're an introvert or an extrovert. Nobody is perfectly open, even with our wives, even with our husbands. There are things that you don't share perfectly with even your husband and wife. Sometimes we get into trouble because they find out whether you want to or not, but nobody is perfectly open because there are things that we want to hide.

But he said before God, there's nothing hidden. He scrutinizes everything. "Intimately acquainted with all my ways, "even before there's a word on my tongue. "Behold, oh Lord, you know it all. "You have enclosed me behind and before, "and laid your hand upon me. "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.

"It is too high, I cannot attain it." Imagine if we try so hard to hide, even from somebody that loves us, made a covenant relationship, and yet he says, "God knows." We try so hard to present ourselves a certain way. We want you to see what we're good at.

We try so hard to hide the things that we're not good at, and he said, "We stand before God, there's nothing hidden, "even the things that you do not know." Even your blind spots, God knows. Even before you open your mouth, God already knew. Does that make you nervous?

And this is an all-powerful, almighty, holy, holy, holy God that knows every part of who you are. So when we read this, our natural reaction isn't like, "Oh, that's good." No, it's like, "Does that make you nervous? "I can't hide from this God?" That's what he said, verse seven, "Where can I go from your spirit?

"Where can I flee from your presence? "If I ascend to heaven, you are there. "If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there. "If I take the wings of the dawn, "if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, "even there, your hand will lead me, "and your right hand will lay hold of me." Did you get that?

He says, "I can go everywhere, I can hide, "I can do all the things, but even there, you are there." Why is he there? He says, "Even after knowing everything that you know, "even after I try to hide from you "as to the darkest of seas," he says, what does he say?

"You hold me in your right hand." You know everything. You know everything. And you hold me with your right hand. "If I say, 'Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, "and the light from around me will be night,' "even the darkness is not dark to you, "and the night is not bright as the day, "darkness and light are like to you.

"Even though you know everything of me "from past, present, and future, "you hold me with your right hand." You would think that after, it's like, you know everything, even before I speak, even the things I try so hard to hide, even the things that I don't tell my wife or don't tell my husband, nobody knows this, and you know all things.

Where can I go from your spirit? What darkness is going to hide me? And yet you know all this, and you hold me with your right hand. His love for us, his justification, is based upon all knowledge, past, present, and future. A holy God cannot invite us to himself if it is not covered by his perfect love.

He cannot say, "Come to me, all who are weary "and heavy laden, and I will give you rest," if we are not covered by his perfect love. You know, one of the passages that I share a lot is because it sustained me for so many years. In Luke chapter 22, verse 31 and 34, before Jesus goes to the cross, he tells Peter, "Simon, Simon, "behold, Satan has demanded permission "to sift you like wheat, "but I have prayed for you that your faith will not fail." Jesus says, "Satan has to get permission "to attack you and sift you, basically destroy you." Peter said, "I prayed for you so your faith will not fail." But then right after that, he says, "When once you have turned again, "strengthen your brothers." Turned again, what is he referring to?

Turned again, I thought he just prayed that he wouldn't fail. And he says, "When you turn." Turn from what? Turn from his failure. And he tells him, and Peter says, "Lord, with you I am ready to go, "both to prison and to death." Peter understood what he meant. "You just told me that you prayed that I would not fail, "and then you just told me I'm gonna fail, which is it?" And Peter says, "Matthew, the tax collector, yeah, I can see that guy." Right?

Soon as he gets pressured, I mean, he's gonna go back collecting taxes. James and John, these guys can't control their temper. Right, they wanted to kill anyway. Soon as he gets pressured, yeah, I can see them going. Right? And he said, "All of these may go, but I will not." And I think Peter meant it.

And we see that the Garden of Gethsemane, when the soldiers of the temple come, and he took out his little knife, "Let's go." He meant it. But Jesus knew exactly what was gonna happen, because he knows all things. But he says to Peter, "Today, you will deny me three times." Not only would he fail, he will fail miserably.

And he will fail in a grander scale than all the other disciples. 'Cause he was there, and he said, "I don't know him," to his face. After everything that Jesus has done, after spending three years walking with him, talking with him, showing, seeing all the miracles that he saw firsthand, and when it came down to when Jesus needed his disciples the most, they failed him miserably.

So I remember looking at this passage, and doing quiet time as a young Christian, I said, "I don't get this." He said, "I said, 'I will pray for you, "'for you won't fail,'" and then he said, "But you will fail miserably." And it dawned on me, when he said, "I pray you wouldn't fail," he's not talking about this failure.

He was telling him to get up. When you fail, get back up. When you're disappointed in yourself, and you feel like you've exhausted his love for you, get back up. Get back up. Jesus says, "If you confess your sins, "he is faithful and just to forgive you "of all your unrighteousness." He already knew, 'cause he has all knowledge, past, present, and future.

You know, all these years of doing ministry, you know, I have years and years of scars in my heart, memories of pain, of dealing with sinners, like you. Yeah, I'm talking about you. But with all the stuff that I can think of, my greatest struggle hasn't been you. My greatest struggle has always been me.

My own corruption. My own greed, my own coveting, my own lust. Trying to remain in Christ, trying to persevere, trying to practice the love that he gave me, and struggling to practice this. And there've been time and time again, not simply because I'm disappointed in the church, but this is too hard for me.

And yet I persevere because I know that it is not my righteousness that calls me up here. I persevere because of his righteousness. I stand here and tell you of his mercy, of his endurance, of his justification, of his sanctification, of his glorification. So his love for us is immutable, does not change.

Preserved with power, based upon all knowledge. That's why he says, "Fix your eyes upon Jesus, "the author, the beginner, and the finisher, "the perfecter of our faith." That's why the only way we can persevere if we're anchored to this God, amen? Anchored to this God. I don't know where you are in your faith.

I don't know what discouragement you brought into this room. I don't know what frustration, I don't know what bitterness that you may have brought into this room. But the only way that you and I will persevere is recognizing Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And we will persevere in him.

Let's pray. Gracious Father, we come before you needing your mercy and grace. Remembering, Lord God, when you called us. Knowing, Father, that it is only by your grace that we are able to be covered by your blood. I pray, Father God, if we've drifted from that, we have forgotten the preciousness of what Christ has done for us and who he is to us.

Help us to remember the height from which we have fallen, to repent and redo the things that you've given us that we may remain in him, continue with him, trust him, follow him, and to be anchored with him. That we may bear all fruit for the sake of your name.

Lord, we eagerly wait for the coming of Christ. Like despite all our weaknesses, Lord, that you challenge us to persevere. If we have fallen as you challenged, Peter, help us, Lord, to get up. Help us, Lord God, to ask for forgiveness, to be restored and persevere by the grace that you've given us, past, present, and future.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let's all stand up for the closing praise. (gentle piano music) - As we continue our worship, let us sing of his great faithfulness. (gentle piano music) ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ O God my Father ♪ ♪ There is no shadow ♪ ♪ Turning with thee ♪ ♪ Thou changest not ♪ ♪ Thy compassions they fail not ♪ ♪ As thou hast been ♪ ♪ Thou forever will be ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Morning by morning ♪ ♪ New mercies I see ♪ ♪ All I have needed ♪ ♪ Thy hand hath provided ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Lord unto me ♪ - Summer and winter.

♪ Summer and winter ♪ ♪ And springtime and harvest ♪ ♪ The moon and stars ♪ ♪ In their courses above ♪ ♪ Joined with all nature ♪ ♪ In manifold witness ♪ ♪ To thy great faithfulness ♪ ♪ Mercy and love ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Morning by morning ♪ ♪ New mercies I see ♪ ♪ All I have needed ♪ ♪ Thy hand hath provided ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Lord unto me ♪ - Pardon for sin.

♪ Pardon for sin ♪ ♪ Grace that endureth ♪ ♪ Thy own dear presence ♪ ♪ To cheer and to guide ♪ ♪ Strength for today ♪ ♪ And bright hope for tomorrow ♪ ♪ Blessings of mine ♪ ♪ With 10,000 beside ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Morning by morning ♪ ♪ New mercies I see ♪ ♪ All I have needed ♪ ♪ Thy hand hath provided ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Lord unto me ♪ - Let's pray.

Hebrews chapter 6, 17 to 20. In the same way God desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise, the unchangeableness of his purpose, interpose with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast, one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. Heavenly Father, help us Lord God to remain sober, to be anchored in Christ, knowing Father God that this world will pass away, that no matter how much we covet, no matter how much we desire, that at the end of the day, Father God, that only the things that are eternal that matters, help us Lord this week to fix our eyes upon Christ, to be anchored in him and not to drift, that not only us, but all that is around us, all the people Lord God that you have placed in our lives, that they too will know that there is hope in the name of Jesus Christ.

May your name be magnified wherever you send us this week. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. ♪ God sent his son ♪ ♪ They called him Jesus ♪ ♪ He came to love ♪ ♪ He lay in for fear ♪ ♪ He lived and died ♪ ♪ To buy my pardon ♪ ♪ An empty grave is there to prove ♪ ♪ My Savior lived ♪ ♪ Because he lived ♪ ♪ I can face tomorrow ♪ ♪ Because he lived ♪ ♪ All fear is gone ♪ ♪ Because I know ♪ ♪ He holds the future ♪ ♪ And life is worth the living ♪ ♪ Just because he lived ♪