>> All right, good morning church family. Happy Lord's Day. >> In Revelation 4, the apostle John shares this vision of the endless worship that is happening before the throne of God. And I like to read verses 2 to 11. He writes, "Immediately I was in the spirit, and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and one sitting on the throne.

And he who was sitting was like a jasper stone, and a stardust in appearance. And there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Around the throne were 24 thrones, and upon the thrones I saw 24 elders sitting, clothed in white garments and golden crowns on their heads.

Out from the throne came flashes of lightning, and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. And before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind.

The first creature was like a lion, the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had the face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within, and day and night they do not cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come." And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne, to him who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders will fall down before him who sits on the throne and will worship him who lives forever and ever and will cast their crowns before the throne saying, "Worthy are you, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power.

For you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created." So, church family, as we begin our worship, let us also join in this endless song of worship before our God who is worthy. Sing, "Holy, holy, holy." Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.

Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty. God in three persons, blessed Trinity. Holy, holy, holy, all the saints adore thee. Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea. Cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee. Who was and is and evermore shall be. Holy, holy, holy, though the darkness hide thee.

While the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see. Only thou art holy, there is none beside thee. Perfect in power, in love and purity. Holy, holy. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea. Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty.

God in three persons, blessed Trinity. Amen. All right, good morning. Welcome to Bryn Community Church. As you can see, I'm limping because we had a softball tournament yesterday. And to our surprise, we didn't lose. We went then thinking that we're going to play a few games and then come home and have dinner and relax.

And then we, for whatever the reason, we kept on winning. And then we ended up winning the whole thing. Yeah. Yeah, we're just as surprised and shocked as you are. And so because of that, we ended up playing seven games almost back to back to back. And we were out there nine hours.

So if you see people walking around with burned foreheads and limping, they were the guys who played yesterday. So, okay, so that's why we're limping. I have a few announcements before we get started. First of all, we require anyone who is working at church with children, we require there would be a child safety training.

So those of you guys who are volunteering, whether it's babysitting or any capacity around children, we're asking if you haven't taken the safety training, there's a safety training that's happening on May 28th from 1 to 140 p.m. And so after service next Sunday, so please sign up for that.

And, again, it is a mandatory training for volunteers. So if you haven't taken it, please take it for next Sunday. And then, again, VBS registration is still happening. So if you haven't registered for that, that's happening July 10th to the 14th from 5 to 8 p.m. So just keep that in mind and please sign up for that.

And I want to make a push for one more push for the abortion seminar that's happening on Sunday, May 28th at 145 p.m. So those of you who are doing the training, it'll be done at 140 and then at 145, the abortion seminar is going to be happening. Pastor Mark Lim is going to be leading that seminar.

And I highly encourage you to take that, considering what is happening in our culture right now. And this fight against abortion has existed for a long time. But recently, there has been confusion that's coming into the church, and even some of the church leaders are muddying the water, making this an in-house debate.

It is not an in-house debate. And I want to make that very clear that this is not an open debate. It's like, well, some Christians believe that you can and some Christians believe that you cannot. You cannot, you cannot confess to be a Christian and hold that view. That is, again, this is an abomination before God.

And so not only do we want you to be informed about what the Scripture says on this subject, but maybe even practically how to get involved and to be able to articulate. And if you hear this argument from somebody, that you're able to defend this biblically, what the Bible clearly says about this.

And so we are, there is a concern because there are even some, even in some circles where the church leaders are muddying the water on this subject, and a lot of our Christian brothers and sisters are being confused about this issue. So we want to make sure that this is not the case in our church.

And so Pastor Mark will be giving the seminar, a biblical view of what it says, and we'll take some time to Q&A and maybe even give some practical advice on how we may be able to get involved in this fight. So please mark that. If you haven't signed up for it, please sign up for it.

That's taking place at 1:45 p.m. next Sunday. Let me pray for us for the offering. Again, if you have a physical offering, we have a box in the back as you're going out. And then afterwards, Catherine's going to come up and she's going to give her testimony and be baptized this morning.

All right, let's pray. Gracious Father, we thank you so much for the privilege that we have to be able to come and worship you. We pray for your blessing. We pray for your Holy Spirit to guide us. May our worship, our singing, all that we have, Lord God, may be given to you in spirit and in truth.

I pray that your presence would be known, Father God, through your word, through our singing, through the fellowship of the people, and that whatever it is that we have brought into this room, that you would lift our eyes to Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith. I pray that you would bless this offering.

May it be multiplied for your use. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right, would you please stand with us as we continue our worship? Let all things, let all things their creator bless and worship Him in humbleness. Oh, praise Him, Alleluia. Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, and praise the Spirit three in one.

Oh, praise Him, oh, praise Him, Alleluia. Alleluia, Alleluia. All the redeemed washed by His blood come and rejoice in His great love. Oh, praise Him, Alleluia. Christ has defeated every sin. Yes, He has cast all your burdens now on Him. Oh, praise Him, oh, praise Him, Alleluia. Alleluia, Alleluia.

He shall return in power to reign. Heaven and earth will join to sing. Oh, praise Him, Alleluia. Then who shall fall on bended knee? All creatures of our God and King. Oh, praise Him, oh, praise Him, Alleluia. Alleluia, oh, praise Him, oh, praise Him, Alleluia. Alleluia, Alleluia. Oh, God, before the mountains were brought forth or days of spring and summer filled the earth, from everlasting, You are God.

We dwell beneath the stars in ancient skies. A thousand years are nothing in Your sight. From everlasting, You are God. And all our days are held within Your hands. Your perfect love and favor have no end. We rest within the wisdom of Your plan, everlasting God. Oh, God, when joy and tragedy collide and loss reminds us life is but a sigh, from everlasting, You are God.

And all our days are held within Your hands. Your perfect love and favor have no end. We rest within the wisdom of Your plan, everlasting God. We rest within Your plan. Oh, God of light, our ways are known to You, but by Your grace You're making all things new.

So satisfy us in our numbered days. Establish a free effort while we wait. From everlasting, You are God. And all our days are held within Your hands. Your perfect love and favor have no end. We rest within the wisdom of Your plan, everlasting. And all our days are held within Your hands.

Your perfect love and favor have no end. We rest within the wisdom of Your plan, everlasting God. And you may be seated. Good morning. My name is Catherine Wong. I'm a first year at UCI, and this is my testimony. I was born and raised in a Christian household and grew up in the church.

My parents were very devout Christians, being on the leadership board at church, and as they often led worship, I would join them. Eventually, I joined a youth worship team in middle to high school. However, I never had a sincere heart to serve my God. I put up a display to others of being that good Christian kid, professing to be a Christian, but my faith was not my own.

My prayer became habitual. I said the words I heard everyone around me saying, but never genuinely meant any of it. By the time high school came, going to church became a chore, and I switched my priorities. Instead, I prioritized my academics, my relationships, both romantic and friendships, and my sport, color guard.

I put my entire identity in these three things, drifting from church and God. As a captain in color guard, I put a lot of pressure on myself to create the perfect team. My patience often ran thin, and I was short-tempered. When my coach started telling me that everything that went wrong with my team was my fault, I thought that I had failed as a captain.

Then I strived to please my friends at school, who were seen as the geniuses and the top of the class, and I thought if I couldn't match their grades and image, I would not have a place to fit in. When my friends showed disapproval of my grades, something I had worked hard to maintain, I realized I would never be good enough for them.

My fear of man grew, and I became a people pleaser, always doing things for others for my own selfish desire to look better in their eyes. However, by the time senior year came, my friendship started falling apart. I sought stability in a boyfriend, but it could never last because God was not the center of that relationship.

I held him on a pedestal, idolizing him and changing myself to please him. I became the kind of person I hated, one who was self-centered, cussing when I knew it was wrong, but doing so anyway because I received praise for it, and going as far as breaking off my connection to God completely, only going to church to please my parents.

However, by the end of senior year, my boyfriend at the time and my friend of eight years had told me I was worthless to them. I lost everything I had put my identity in, and I thought of myself as three things-- failure, worthless, and unlovable. My pride took over, wanting to maintain an image of a studious and easygoing person.

I masked my brokenness with a smile and a laugh, never allowing others to see my vulnerability. On the inside, I was depressed, hopeless, lost, and I indulged in my sin, giving into every temptation that was thrown my way. But God was gracious to me, and in his power, he used my non-believing friend to bring me back to him.

When my friend had one day asked me, "Do you really think you're going to heaven?" I suddenly realized just how far I had drifted from God. On Easter Sunday of 2022, I recognized my desperation for God. I wanted to draw close to him, but did not know how to.

Jeremiah 31.3 says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued my faithfulness to you." And indeed, God was faithful and led me to be free and slowly changing me. God showed me that he is a loving God, and even if I don't deserve it, God sent his son to die on the cross for my sins, displaying unconditional love.

Understanding that I do not deserve God's love, God used my brokenness. Now I find my identity in God alone, for John 1.12 says, "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." Knowing this, I long to serve him and live my life in a way that will glorify him.

Although being a believer does not remove the darkness and trials in my life, I know that God is with me to guide, support, and give me strength until I can be with him. He is a perfect God, and I will submit to him so he can use my life for his purpose.

Thank you. >> Do you understand when you go into the water, you're being united with Christ's death, and when you come out, you're being united with resurrected life? I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. >> Thank you, Catherine, for that testimony.

You can turn your Bible with me to Luke chapter 6, verses 12 through 16. Luke chapter 6, verses 12 through 16. We're going to be in this text for a few weeks, just to kind of give you a heads up. Luke chapter 6, verses 12 through 16. I'm reading out of the NASB.

"It was at this time that he went off to the mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples to him and chose 12 of them, whom he also named as apostles. Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip and Bartholomew, and Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor." Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we pray for your continued grace. I pray that what you have ordained in these words, that we would hear, understand, and apply in our lives. Lord, you are the powder and we are the clay. We pray that you would mold our hearts, our thoughts, our very lives, according to your living word, that we may not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind.

Bless this time, and we ask for the Holy Spirit to guide us and empower us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right, so I'm just going to give you a heads up. We're going to be in this text for about three to four, possibly even five weeks, because I want to take our time coming through who these people are, who these 12 people are.

Not just generally. Today I'm going to be talking, generally speaking, about the choice of these 12 men, but I cannot overemphasize just how important these 12 men are. Right now, we have a lot of aging men who have made a huge impact in our culture, and so there's a lot of conversations going on as to what the success is going to look like.

What are the qualities that they would look for if a man who has made a huge impact in that person's church? Who are they looking for? How are they going to fill his shoes? What are the qualities that are important? So obviously no man is perfect, but what are the things that they would look for in order to continue on that ministry?

So their choice is going to be based upon what they value. What's important to them? What are some things that aren't as important? What are some things that are essential that they can't compromise on? So all of these things kind of reveal to us what is valued in that ministry.

Well, these 12 men are going to be walking with Jesus for three years, and after three years, Jesus is going to give them the baton of his ministry to continue what Jesus has done. And so, again, I can't emphasize how important this ministry is because everything that Jesus did in those three years, when he leaves, he said, "I ordain you now as my apostles." In fact, the word "apostle" literally translates just means "sent one." So I know that in some circles they use that term just kind of generically, like we're the sent ones, or missionaries are apostles, but that's not how the Bible uses this term, at least not with his disciples.

The apostles here are specifically ordained, 12 specific men. Not anybody who is going to become a missionary, but 12 specific men who are going to take the baton and have an impact. The apostles were called to be the first missionaries, that everything that Jesus did and everything that Jesus taught and revealed, these 12 men are going to be ordained to go out and first ones to go out and preach the gospel.

So imagine if they get it wrong. If after everything that Jesus said, it's like, "Ah, I don't remember. I think Jesus said this." Imagine if the 12 men went out and started telling different stories. Now, I don't know if you've ever studied Buddhism, but when I was very confused and I wanted to find out which faith is the right faith, and I did a paper on the subject of Buddhism, and I found out that this man named Gautama, who was the last Buddha, and his disciples, after he died, went out and began to teach what they said Buddha taught, and all 12 men contradicted each other.

And so every continent you go, they have the form Buddhism, but then everywhere you go, they have different forms of Buddhism. It wasn't because years later it just kind of got watered down. That started from the get-go. Depending on which disciple of Gautama went out and where they took it.

Imagine what would have happened to Christianity if the 12 disciples kind of spread out, and they began to just say whatever they wanted to say, and all of them sounded very different. That's how important these men were, that they had a consistent message, and they accurately conveyed what Jesus had to say.

On top of that, in Luke chapter 9, verse 1, it said Jesus gave them power and authority over demons. Now I know that in some circles, that they apply this and say, "We've all been given powers over demons." It's like, no, the Bible never says that. We can pray, and God can answer our prayers.

God can work miracles through our prayers. But not every person has been given this kind of authority. The apostles specifically were given this authority over demons. Ephesians 4.11 says, "The church that you and I belong to." It says, "The founders of the church were the apostles." So imagine if these apostles failed.

You and I would not be here, because it was built upon the foundation of their preaching, and of their ministry, the churches that they planted, and that's how we got here. And some of these apostles were chosen to give us the Word of God. So again, imagine if these men failed, and they started to go off on their own way, and began to preach a different gospel, what would we have today?

On top of that, in Luke chapter 22, 29-30, they said, "They will sit on the throne, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." These twelve men, in the millennial kingdom, the thousand-year reign of Christ, that they are going to be rulers of Israel. Now this is kind of a side point.

If God is done with Israel, why even have these twelve apostles? And why even say that they're going to be ruling? If we're in a new covenant, and none of this matters, it's the church, why not just move on from that and talk about the church? Again, this is a side point, so if you didn't get that, don't worry about it.

But if you did get that, you know what I'm saying. These twelve apostles have their place in the millennial kingdom, and then in the final kingdom, Revelation chapter 21, 12-14, read what it says. "It is a great and high wall, with twelve gates, at the gates twelve angels, and the names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel.

There were three gates on the east, and three gates on the north, and three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." So that, I mean, not only were they the first ones, first missionaries to grow up, not only were they given power that other people did not have, not only were they the foundation of the church that you and I belong to, they have a place in the millennial kingdom, and then they have a place, their names are written in eternity.

So you would think with something this important, with this kind of impact, that somehow there's this big revelation, and, you know, it's like, "These are the twelve men I'm giving to you." But on the surface, it looks very ordinary. Jesus goes up to pray, and then he comes out and says, "You follow me, you follow me, you follow me." And twelve men are gathered together, and then only as time goes by, we realize who these twelve men are.

These guys have eternal impact, not just during that short period, and they were going to be trained for three years. For three years. That's why when they were about to leave, they understood the weightiness of what was coming to them. So what we're going to do if you leave, remember what Jesus says?

"Don't worry. It's better for you if I leave, because if I leave, the counselor is going to come, and he's going to help you, and he's going to cause you to remember everything that I have said." So he didn't leave it up to them. He didn't just say, "Hey, you got enough training, you saw everything, now go and repeat it." He says, "No.

The Holy Spirit is going to come, and all you need to do is submit. Be filled with the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit will empower you, and the Holy Spirit will cause you to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the remotest part of the world." That's how important these twelve men are.

They're chosen, and no wonder Jesus took all night to pray. The fact that he went up to the mountain to pray. I mean, Jesus was all over his ministry. We see every time he would break away to be alone and to pray. But in this particular instance, he's up in the mountain.

And, you know, when we think about mountain prayer, we immediately go to Moses, where he spends his time there praying and meeting with Yahweh to receive the covenant, the laws. Jesus spends all night in prayer. I don't know if you've ever prayed all night. It's not easy. When I first got saved, the ministry that I belonged to, I don't remember much about the Bible studies and activities, but all I knew is they were committed to pray.

And we would have Bible study from 10 to 3 in the morning. Every Friday night, they would have prayer meetings. And I remember so many times just falling asleep. And then the older guys who would go to work, and then they would come back, and after a full day's work, would be praying from 10 to 3.

And we were always kind of like seeing who's going to fall asleep first, right? And then somebody would snore. I mean, it's interesting how, you know, because they're wrestling and struggling, and then we hear somebody snoring, and then we've got to tap them and say, "Hey, you're making it hard for us to pray because you're snoring." And so I just remember just wrestling.

And that discipline of praying, I just remember that early on as a young Christian. The fact that Jesus was there overnight praying is because of something important. And I don't know exactly what he was praying for, but I can imagine, again, that Jesus was wrestling in prayer, knowing the impact of these 12 men.

And that's why knowing who these 12 people are is so important because it was not a random group of 12 people. I can imagine all night Jesus was wrestling, and God says, "Peter." It's like, "Peter? That guy's a loud mouth. You know, he doesn't have control over his temper.

Are you sure you want Peter?" It's like, "What about James and John?" "They would be mass murderers." You know what I mean? "Sons of Thunder." "Are you sure? They've got such a bad temper." "What about Levi? What about Matthew?" "They're going to kill each other. They're going to hate each other.

Are you sure?" I can imagine Jesus praying and wrestling. And so each one of them, yes, even Judas Iscariot, was not a random choice. There was a purpose behind that. And so that's why it's important for us to wrestle and look through each one of these names. I'm not going to be doing this today.

I'm going to be looking at the larger picture of how Jesus chooses them and what are the qualities that kind of point to God's nature, His purpose, and the way He works. These are the things that we need to be able to understand because as we are struggling to meet God, as we are struggling to be sanctified, these are the men that God has given us to model after.

As the Apostle Paul says, "Follow me as I follow Christ. Imitate me as I imitate Christ." So apostles were given to us so that we may imitate them as they imitated Christ. So we need to understand who these men were. Why were they chosen? Why were they given as apostles to be the foundation of the church?

The disciples, when Jesus comes down and chooses the twelve, they immediately respond. He said they left everything. According to Luke 5.11, they left everything to follow Him. There was no part-time apostle. There was nobody who was called by Jesus and said, "Let me do this. Let me do that." In fact, Jesus speaks against that.

And this is true to some degree to every Christian. Anybody who says, "You know, I don't want to follow Christ, but let me do this. Let me do that." Remember what Jesus said, "You're not worthy to be my disciple." But especially those who had committed their life to Christ to be a missionary, a full-time pastor in some capacity.

There is no such thing as a part-time. I remember early on in ministry when things got tough and we were literally living paycheck to paycheck, just barely able to buy food. And just struggling to take care of the three children at that time before we had Isaiah. Just wrestling with this and thinking, "I don't know how long I can do this." And I remember in a car ride asking my mom, thinking, "How am I going to survive here?

How am I going to take care of the kids?" You talk about stress, and I think all of you would agree if you have children. There is nothing more stressful for a man or a mother when you can't provide for your kids. And there was years and years in the early church where literally if I didn't get the check on time from church, I had to wait to go shopping for food.

And during that period of struggling, I asked my mom, and thinking, "Maybe I can just be a tent maker. Maybe I can just start a business or do some kind of a job and then just volunteer at church." And I asked my mom, "What do you think?" And I fully thought that she was going to say, "Okay, Peter, you've given your best, and you've got to take care of your family, why don't you do that?" Because when I first told my mom that I was headed toward ministry, she was really not that happy.

And I knew why, because they struggled so much, and it was so hard for them. And having one of your children volunteering and saying, "I want to go to that path too," what mother would be happy considering what they experienced? So I was thinking my mom would maybe not be happy, but at least be supportive.

But I remember very vividly, because it made such an impact on me, and to some degree, I'm not sure if I would be here if she accepted what I said. What she said was, after I said that, she said, "Peter, I've never seen anybody who hasn't fully committed who was successful or fruitful in ministry, because your heart's divided." I did not expect that from my mom, considering how hard her life was.

And she said to me, she said, "Peter, you're called by God. No matter how hard it is, you have to be single-minded. You have to commit." So I was pretty taken aback, because I knew-- initially, she didn't want me to go into the pastoral ministry. And then I asked my wife the same question, "What do you think?" And I knew how we were both struggling.

And imagine if I was stressed, how stressed she was. And I asked her the same question, "What if I just fully commit to doing business or working somewhere and just pay the bills, and I can volunteer at church?" And this is exactly what Esther said to me. She said, "You know what I think.

I would want you to do that. But I know you. If you do that now, you're never going to be happy. It's hard now, but you need to persevere." And so the two women in my life at that time who would have wanted me to compromise and to go down that path pushed me back into ministry.

And if they didn't do that, I don't know if I would have been here. And they were right. If I gave half of my heart to ministry and the other half to something else, I would not have ever--I would not have been able to persevere. I can't tell you how many times throughout the ministry if I had an alternative, I would have taken that.

And I always think about it. A rich pastor, it's very difficult to persevere because he's never fully in, all in. It's like getting married. You don't make a covenant with your wife and then hold on to your old girlfriend's phone numbers. It's like, "I'm not going to call them.

I'm not going to call. Don't worry. I'm fully committed. But I'm just going to keep it. I'm going to keep it buried somewhere in the garage somewhere." Who knows how many are going to be okay with that? Nobody, because when you enter that covenant, you're supposed to burn that bridge.

You're done. Your old life needs to be gone. Again, this is not unique to some Christians. This is a calling for every Christian, but in particular, if you're going to be the example to the church, you have to burn the bridge. You have to leave behind your old life, your ambition.

You have to make Christ everything. Because if you do not, you will be tempted to go back. You will be tempted to go back. The apostles left everything to follow Christ. There was no alternative if this doesn't work out. If this doesn't work out, they are ruined. They're going to be hated.

Whatever they were working for is done. And that's exactly how they responded. They didn't know the weightiness of what it is that they were called for, but because they left everything, every single one of them, and Christ knowing this ordained them for what God has planned. So this morning, what I want to look at are the qualities of these men.

And I'm just going to give a general quality, and then next week we're going to go into each individual. The first thing that we see that's most obvious is who they are not. The first thing, who they are not. In Luke 6:11, it says, "But they themselves were filled with rage, the Pharisees and the scribes and the leaders of Israel, because Jesus was healing on the Sabbath." He wasn't breaking any law, but they were breaking their tradition.

So they got angry, because they tried so hard to establish these laws, and here's this guy gaining popularity, and he's challenging them. And he says, in the midst of them trying to-- What are we going to do with this guy? This guy's a troublemaker. And right after that, in the next passage, he says he chooses the twelve.

That's not by accident. That in the midst of a growing animosity toward Christ, the choosing of these twelve men would have infuriated the leaders. You can imagine why. And I think some of you may have experienced, to some degree, if you have a job, and you know that there's a position opening up that may be a higher position, and you're working your tail off.

You're coming in early, leaving late. You're working harder than anybody else. You sacrifice more than anybody else, and you think that who else is going to deserve that but me? Who else is going to be-- They would make perfect sense that I would be the one chosen, and then when they finally choose the guy to be the supervisor, it's this new guy who just came in.

Maybe he has some sort of connection with the leadership, or whatever the reason is, you're bypassed, and then that guy gets put into leadership. Imagine how you would feel. Some of you may have experienced that. It doesn't have to be a job. It could be at school. It could be at anything that you feel you work so hard, and they completely bypass you and go with some random guy who, in your mind, don't deserve it.

They didn't work as hard as you did. They didn't sacrifice their company like you did, and yet he's your boss now? Now that's a very small snippet compared to what the Pharisees did for hundreds of years. They committed themselves to sacrifice. Imagine how difficult it would have been to obey the Sabbath, the way that they created it.

They sacrificed everything. They tied to everything. They fasted. They prayed. They evangelized. They kept the law legalistically more than anybody else, so if the Messiah comes, who would be in line? If you ask 9 out of 10 people at that time, if the Messiah would come, who would be in line to be the Messiah's disciple?

Almost universities would say, "Well, who else but the Pharisees?" They're the ones who's working the heart. They're the ones sacrificing more than anybody else. They're the ones who are evangelizing, and they're the ones who are serving. They're the ones who know the Bible. Who else would have been? So Jesus comes in.

He breaks their tradition, and then the disciples that he chooses, not one Pharisee, not one scribe, not one leader, nobody of prominence, nobody well-connected, just average people. In fact, Matthew was considered scum of scums at that time. He's choosing him over the Pharisees. Now, we know exactly why he was doing that, because he needed to reset the foundation, not just a little bit of his, "Hey, you're not doing this correctly, and you're not interpreting this correctly, and maybe this order is not correct." The whole foundation of their religious righteousness was founded upon the wrong thing.

So they didn't just need a smoothing out of what was crooked. He needed to tear it all down. All of it needed to come down. And just like the Scripture says, "If the Lord does not build your house, you build in vain." All the work that you put in to raise children, it says, "If the Lord does not build your home, you build in vain." All the work that you put, all the sacrifice to your children, it says, "If the Lord does not build your house, you build in vain." That was the Pharisees.

That was the Sadducees. That was the scribes. They worked harder than anybody else, sacrificed more than anybody else, and yet when Christ came, he completely bypasses them and chooses these 12 no-names. In fact, out of the 12, everything we know about them is written in the Gospels, and then there's about six or seven of them.

We know nothing. Their names are mentioned in nowhere else except in the Scripture. So we know almost nothing about them, and yet they were the ones chosen to carry out this mission. So what does that tell us? What does that tell us of what is in God's mind and what is in Jesus' mind about the whole religious system?

Can you imagine today if all these mega-churches and these Christian leaders and they just disappeared overnight, and all of a sudden, it's the lay people, brand-new Christians. They're the ones who are in leadership, and all these people got PhDs and doctorates and mega-church pastors, and all of a sudden, none of them are chosen.

All of a sudden, what would you think? It's like, "Huh. "What was wrong with that system "that they were all bypassed? "What was it that they were doing "that was so wrong "that none of them was salvaged?" These are things that we need to think about because it challenges us to think.

There's a reason why he did that. There's a purpose behind that. Not only is it obvious about who they were not, secondly, they were just-- they were people who would have never gotten along outside of Christ. What bound them together was not their personality, not their background, because I already told you, and we're going to look at it more deeply, but Matthew and the four fishermen would have killed each other.

I'm not even exaggerating. That's how much they hated each other. They hated Matthew. A zealot? Zealot in the midst of-- I mean, this guy's ready to fight. This guy's ready to kill, and he's chosen? Every single one of these people were people who were just ordinary, just from all different backgrounds, and they got together, and ultimately, it's a reflection of the church.

The success of that group was not their personality, was not their training, it was not their language or a socioeconomic status. These are people who would have never rubbed shoulders if it wasn't for Christ. And in the same way, in the church, typically, if we're not careful, our pattern is we come to church, and first and foremost, it's like, "How many people "who look like me here?

"How many people that I can relate to? "How many people are like me?" And if the church is filled with people that don't look like me, it's like, "Oh, this is not for me." So first thing that people look for, if you're not careful, is like, "Are there people like me?" And then if you find a church that is filled with people just like you, then the second thing is, "Oh, then is God honored?

"Is the Bible being taught?" Because our natural tendency is to surround ourselves with people that we're familiar with. And anybody who makes us feel uncomfortable, maybe that's not the church. Maybe, you know, "How am I going to feel comfortable here?" It's one thing to have ministry outside, but to bring them into your home, which the church is.

But that's exactly how the church was. You had fishermen. You had tax collectors who became the leaders of the first church, and you had Pharisees and scribes sitting and learning from them. Do you know how difficult that would have been? These guys were the spiritual elites, and Jesus established the tax collectors to be their teachers, to disciple them.

All that work that they put in, he just flips it upside down. I told you we played softball yesterday, and I would say, you know, not simply because we won, but the way that the softball game was played, I think I enjoyed this more than any other. I mean, I am physically dying right now.

My legs are puffed up on both sides. My back is aching and hurting. And yesterday, I barely got out of the car, like crawled up the stairs, took a shower, and just conked out. And I know a lot of other guys who did the same thing. But not simply because we won, but our team is a very collective team.

In fact, a lot of guys never even knew each other before we started playing yesterday. And I was for sure, because we didn't get a lot of time to practice, I was for sure. It was like, we might win one or two games, but we're going to exit early.

We're setting it up. It's for mission funds, so God gets the glory no matter what. But the reason why we started winning, I have no idea. But we were just having fun because we weren't so fixated on winning. Because we already thought we're not going to win. So we're going to do our best.

But I was just surprised how well everybody played. But it wasn't just the fact that they played well. It's like everybody was so encouraging. We had guys making plays and maybe some errors here and there, but everybody was so encouraging. Some guys were just really fast. Their fielding is not the best.

They don't hit the best, but they're just really fast, and we needed them, especially me and Phillip. Because we were crawling to first base once we got there, and I was just surprised how fast some of these guys were. And because they ran for us, they were able to get to second, third base.

Some of these guys are just really good in infield. Some of these guys are outfield. I was so surprised by the outfielder. Some of these guys played baseball in high school. Some of these guys almost never played. In fact, my youngest son, Isaiah, played, and he was playing home base, and I was pitching to him.

So I had fun because I was able to play with my son. And he never played. That was his first softball game ever in his life. In his life. So he barely knew how to catch. We went to the batting cage just so that he can be familiar, and even as the game was going by, I could see him improving at the end of the day versus the beginning of the day.

So we're just having fun. And if he didn't do a good job, everybody was like, "Hey, it's okay. This is the first time. You're going to improve." And he was growing in confidence, and at the end of the day, he's like, "Did you see my throw? It got better." He's like, "Yeah, it was night and day from the beginning." The reason why was because everybody was so eclectically different.

We had different skill levels. But we were just enjoying each other's company, surprised that we made it to the next level. And the reason why I share all of this, imagine even if we won, if the whole day it was just filled with griping, "What's wrong with you? How come you didn't do that?

How come you didn't do this? How come you didn't--?" If the whole--because we're so fixated on winning, and then if it doesn't happen, we all get-- And even when we win, we may win and celebrate, but then we go home saying, "I don't know if I want to play with that team again.

I don't know if I want to run with them," because at the end of the day, the only prize is that you won, and that's it. But the whole day was miserable to get there. Now, I share all of this because that's the church. The church is filled with people who are brand-new Christians, Christians who have been walking for a long time.

Some of you are better at praying than others. Some of you are better at evangelism than others. Some of you are a lot more generous. Some of you are a lot more giving. Some of you are good at teaching. Some of you are smarter than others. Some of you are more educated, a lot more organized.

And so God puts us all together, that together we represent the body of Christ. And so when the church functions, we emphasize, "Oh, you're good at this, or because you're good at that, our whole church benefits." And you're weak at that, but you can benefit from other people, and so you're encouraging so that they can also grow and eventually become an encouragement to other people.

So when the church is filled with people, we're functioning together, knowing that God has made us eclectically, the various things that we're good at helps the other parts of the body that may not be good at that, but imagine if the church is filled with people pointing finger at each other, because you're not as good as what I do.

We emphasize, put on pedestal what we're good at, but whatever we're not good at, we kind of sweep under the rug, and imagine if everybody's walking around doing that to each other. How often have you heard people say, "I love Christ, I love the gospel, but I hate the church"?

How often have you said that to yourself? When we create an environment in the church of elites, professionals, talented, gifted, disciplined, and we're getting things done, and everything is done well, but the people in the church are miserable in the process. So the only thing that you have to show for it is the end product, but is that what God really wants?

Is that what He really wants? If that was His goal, and that was only His goal, man, He chose some weird people. He's told people. This was very deliberate. He was very deliberate. He deliberately chose humble people to dumbfound the wise. In 1 Corinthians 1:21 it says, "For since in the wisdom of God the world, through its wisdom, did not come to know God, with all the wisdom, all the technology, all the experience, all the disciplines," He said, "all a man's effort did not cause them to know God.

God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe." Because the message is going to be foolish, the man who is going to carry this message also needs to be foolish. Not foolish in the sense of being unwise. Foolish in the sense that the world sees them and says, "What can these people offer?

Why did God choose them?" And by just the choice of them, they know, "Oh, it can't be God. I mean, it can't be them." In fact, isn't that exactly what they say? When Apostle Peter stands up and he begins to preach the gospel, and they said they were wowed by his preaching, and then they said they examined them and realized that they were uneducated, unsophisticated men.

That's pretty offensive, right? They examined them carefully, and said, "These guys are dumb. They're just average fishermen. Why are they so bold?" And then they conclude by saying they realized that they were with Jesus. That's why Jesus chose them. So that they would not receive the glory. Because man's primary problem is himself.

The greatest stumbling block in our worship to God is not the system, is not the organization, is not the lack of knowledge, is ourselves. Imagine if you had a choir. I love our church choir. But imagine if you had a choir, and you had two or three people singing louder than anybody else.

You're singing the Lord's Prayer. "Lord, Father, which art in heaven?" It ruins the choir. Because the choir is meant to be sung together as one voice. So the less of an individual you hear, the more beautiful the choir is. But as soon as you have somebody singing louder than other people, in order so that other people can hear my voice, I know I'm singing in a choir, but they need to know that it's me.

That would ruin the choir. What ruins worship is our own desire for self-glory. God places us together because what's beautiful is not you, it's not me. It's Christ in me. So He chose people who are ordinary. In fact, they weren't even just ordinary. They were weak people. I mean, outside of rebuking the Pharisees, you know who He rebuked more than anybody else?

His own disciples. All throughout the Gospels. Luke 9, 40-41, "I begged your disciples to cast it out, and they could not. And Jesus answered and said, 'You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.'" Even as He was calming the storm, it's like, "How long do I have to be with you?

Do you still not believe?" After everything that He has done, when He's going to the cross, He tells His disciples, "I'm going to be shamed and beaten by the leaders, and I'm going to be crucified, raised on the third day." And then the very next thing they say is, "Who will sit on your left to the right?" Like, "What?

I just told you I'm going to be beaten and I'm going to die." And all they were thinking of is, "Well, but who's going to receive the glory?" Even as Jesus is headed toward the cross, Peter, the leader among the apostles, Jesus had to rebuke and say, "Get behind me, Satan." The leader among the apostles.

As He goes to the cross, all of them is fearful, and they run and they disappear. And at Jesus' hardest and most difficult point of His life, none of the disciples were there. And then, after He resurrects, the women go see and they come back and tell the disciples that Christ has risen from the dead.

Remember their response? No way. You've seen Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead. He was walking on water. All three years you see miraculous things happening, and then Jesus dies and you say, "Okay, maybe all that was a fluke." And then they couldn't believe Him. Even after He was resurrected.

And then Jesus--I mean Peter, even after the resurrection, he was afraid of the Judaizers, and he's a latecomer apostle Paul, had to rebuke Him publicly not to pervert the gospel. They weren't just leaders. They weren't just ordinary. They were weak men that God chose for what purpose? Because God's primary desire is His own glory.

Not your glory. Not my glory. God's primary desire is His own glory. Now some of you might make that, "Well, that's kind of egotistical. Why does He tell us not to seek our own glory? Seek His own glory." Because when we are glorified, we die. When He is glorified, we live.

It's as simple as that. My glory is for my own selfishness. His glory is for the salvation of the world. And so He seeks His own glory. And whatever gets in between that is the biggest hindrance. That's why some of you who are gifted, that gift, if you're not careful, becomes your greatest stumbling block.

Some of you who are well-educated, that education sometimes becomes your greatest stumbling block. And so we have to be careful. Education sometimes becomes your greatest stumbling block. Some of you have a lot of experience. Some of you who have done a lot for Christ. Some of you who are a little bit older, maybe prettier, have more money.

Everything that the world thinks is a plus to you can easily become your stumbling block if you do not recognize how weak we are without Christ. That's why these 12 men were chosen. Ordinary men. In some sense foolish men. Weak men. That when God chooses to work through them, that the world will look at us and say, "These guys aren't educated.

These people are weird. What's it about them?" The one unifying factor is Christ. Christ crucified. So the goal of any church, any discipleship, is not to be better at one or the other. In fact, all those things are important things. But it's to shine Christ. To love Christ. I think often about one of these days.

I don't know when. One of these days. I will have to think about what's going to happen in the next generation. I think about what is the one quality. Obviously you need to have more than one quality. What is the one quality that I would want the next generation to have?

It is not hard. It's pretty clear. I'd want to see somebody who loves Jesus with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Everything else can be covered. Everything else can be covered by gifted men, other people in the church. But if they do not love Christ with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, they might be able to exposit the Scripture.

They might be able to be disciplined and well gifted, organized. Maybe attract a large crowd. But if they do not love Christ, they cannot get the church to love Christ. The greatest goal of this church, of my ministry, of preaching, is not so that your heads will be filled with more knowledge.

So you can say that I know the Bible. I know how to exposit. I know how to share. I know how to do this. The greatest goal of any discipleship is that you would fall in love with Christ too. Above everything else, that you would love Christ. And if you love Christ, you would want them, the object of your love, to also be loved.

Just like I love my wife, I love my children, I love my family, and I am filled with joy when they are praised. I am filled with joy when they are praised more than me. Because I love them. And what that calls us to do, more than anything else, is that the Christ that you love, the Christ that you love, that we love, may be praised and adored more than anything else.

That's why he chooses ordinary men and weak men. That Christ may be exalted. And again, I want to just kind of wrap up this message. I don't know about you, but it gives me strange encouragement to know that these disciples were just like us. It empowers me. Because I don't have to be the most gifted, I don't have to be the most organized, I don't have to be the best counselor, I don't have to be the best scholar.

Because the primary thing that he called me to do is be faithful and to love Christ. You don't need to go to school for that, you don't need training for that, you don't need to be at the right church for that, you don't need to have prime examples for that, you don't need to be discipled for that.

Just be faithful and love Christ, and you'll be able to be a good teacher for anybody that you love. And I want to thank you for that. I want to thank you for the fact that you're here and that you're here to walk in our lives and to be a good teacher for our children and for our families.

And I want to thank you for that. And I want to thank you for the fact that you're here and that you're here to walk in our lives and to be a good teacher for our children and for our families. And I want to thank you for the fact that you're here and that you're here to walk in our lives and to be a good teacher for our children and for our families.

And I want to thank you for the fact that you're here and that you're here to walk in our lives and to be a good teacher for our children and for our families. And I want to thank you for the fact that you're here and that you're here to walk in our lives and to be a good teacher for our children and for our families.

And I want to thank you for the fact that you're here and that you're here to walk in our lives and to be a good teacher for our children and for our families. ♪ Oh Lord, my rock and my Redeemer ♪ ♪ Greatest treasure of my longing soul ♪ ♪ My God, like You there is no other ♪ ♪ True delight is found in You alone ♪ ♪ Your grace, a will too deep to fathom ♪ ♪ Your love exceeds the heavens' reach ♪ ♪ Your truth, a fount of perfect wisdom ♪ ♪ My highest good and my unending need ♪ ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, my rock and my Redeemer ♪ ♪ Strong defender of my weary heart ♪ ♪ My sword to fight the cruel deceiver ♪ ♪ And my shield against his hateful dog ♪ ♪ My soul when enemies surround me ♪ ♪ My hope when tides of sorrow rise ♪ ♪ My joy when trials are abounding ♪ ♪ Your faithfulness, my refuge in the night ♪ ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, my rock and my Redeemer ♪ ♪ Gracious Savior of my ruined life ♪ ♪ My guilt and cross laid on Your shoulders ♪ ♪ In my place You suffered, bled and died ♪ ♪ You rose, the grave and death I conquered ♪ ♪ You broke my bonds of sin and shame ♪ ♪ You rose, You rose, the grave and death I conquered ♪ ♪ You broke my bonds of sin and shame ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, my rock and my Redeemer ♪ ♪ May all my days bring glory to Your name ♪ ♪ May all my days bring glory to Your name ♪ Let's pray.

Father, I pray that as You've given us Your Word, help us not simply to be hearers, but to be doers. You would mold our thoughts, our hope, our joy. Help us, Lord God, to know that we are just sojourners, just passing through. And all the things, Lord God, that we are anxious about, to know that it's temporary and it will pass.

All the concerns, Lord God, of tomorrow, that we would leave in Your hands, knowing that eternity is coming, that our true life is coming, that our current life is hidden in Christ, that we would not seek our own glory, knowing Father God, that when Christ comes in glory, that we will be glorified with Him.

Help us to fix our eyes upon Christ and what He will bring, that we may live lives truly worthy of the gospel that You've given us. Wherever You send us, help us to be the aroma of Christ. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. ♪ God sent His Son ♪ ♪ They called Him Jesus ♪ ♪ He came to love ♪ ♪ Heal and forgive ♪ ♪ He lived and died ♪ ♪ To buy my pardon ♪ ♪ An empty grave is there to prove ♪ ♪ My Savior lives ♪ ♪ Because He lives ♪ ♪ I can face tomorrow ♪ ♪ Because He lives ♪ ♪ All fear is gone ♪ ♪ Because I know ♪ ♪ He holds the future ♪ ♪ And life is worth the living ♪ ♪ Just because He lives ♪ Amen.

♪ Jesus, Your mercy is all my hope ♪ ♪ Praise the King who brought my peace ♪ I'll be seeing you later. ♪ My place where I sleep and die ♪ ♪ Oh, how good it is ♪