We're looking at today, we're jumping back into Romans chapter 15, verse 19 to 21. For the sake of time, I'm not going to read it because Elder Joe read it already, but let me pray first and we'll jump in. Gracious and loving Father, we thank you so much for this morning.

You truly are a God who is patient, that even at times, Lord God, when you discipline the church, we know that you do it to get our attention, that we may continue to live a life truly worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We pray that the word that you have invested your very breath, your very spirit, Lord God, would go forth and not return until it has accomplished its purpose.

As it is a hammer, as it is a fire, mold us and make us. If we've come into this room with hardened hearts, we pray that your word would soften it. Many of our ears, Lord God, have been blocked and we have become hard of hearing. I pray that your spirit would open it, Lord God, mold us and guide us, that the hammer of your word would come and make us, Lord God, into the clay, into the pot that you desire.

So we offer this time to you, asking you to speak. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. As you know, I spent the last two and a half to three weeks out in Asia, out in Japan and out in China, and it's always an encouragement to me when I go, even though it's physically tiring, it helps me to see a larger picture of why our church needs to be doing what we're doing, why we need to be healthy.

So everything that we're doing in church, it kind of puts it in proper perspective. World missions, there's things going on in Japan, and Japan has the reputation of being a very hardened place where people are not receptive to the gospel, but going there and meeting people and spending time with the local Christians and some of the non-Christians, there is a stirring taking place in Japan, that the younger generation seems to be a bit more open to the gospel.

They are looking outside of themselves and the Japanese culture and their economy and looking for answers. So it seems like, at least from the surface, and the missionaries agree, that there is something stirring in Japan, and possibly that may be the opening to the gospel coming into that country.

The area that we went with Harry is another area where you can sense that there's a movement in that area, that there's heavy persecution that took place, there's one of the largest unregistered churches in that area that got shut down not too long ago, and as a result of that, there's a lot of Christians who are underground looking for places to go, and it just seems like a perfect place to set up base for Harry and Linda to continue to do ministry.

All of these things were great experiences, and I come back just encouraged to see new doors being opened up for our church to get engaged in, but the bigger picture of why we exist as a church and what we are supposed to do as Christians. Every once in a while, Christian or non-Christian, we will stick our heads up from our work and from our families and the busyness of life, and we ask the question, "Why am I doing this?

Why am I going to church? Why do I go to Bible study? Why do I sacrifice? What am I doing? What is my purpose?" Because every once in a while, we'll recognize that we've been running without really thinking, and our life has a way of keeping us busy that every once in a while, whether something triggers it, maybe a new stage in life, you just had kids, you just got married, got a new job, and as a result of that, you're thinking about, "What is the purpose?

Where am I headed?" Or maybe something didn't turn out the way you wanted. You've been really working hard for a promotion. Maybe you started a new company. Whatever it may be, it's just not working out the way you wanted, and as a result of that, it's causing you to think, "What is the reason?

What's the purpose? Where am I headed?" Sometimes even success. You're doing a great job, and you got your promotion. Your bills are paid. You live in a nice house and living very comfortably, and as a result of that, you're taking a step back and, "Is this it? Is this all there is to life, and I'm pretty successful, and the majority of the world would be happy where I am, but is this really it?" It's understandable that the world continues to ask this question because there is no good answer to that, and the world is trying to make sense of what they're doing, like waking up early in the morning, getting a job, coming home, eating dinner, and it's just a routine over and over again.

You do that for a few months, for years, maybe a decade, and your conclusion is vanity, vanity, all is vanity. There's nothing new under the sun, but it doesn't make sense for Christians to live day-to-day asking, "What is my purpose? What is my aim? What is my goal? Where am I headed?" Because the Scripture has made that very clear.

It is not ambiguous for a Christian what our goal is, what our aim ought to be. Sometimes we can lose track of what that aim is because we get entangled with things maybe that we shouldn't be entangled with or just we forget, but what we ought to be living for is absolutely crystal clear.

So if a Christian continues to ask and continues to seek, "What is my purpose?" either that person does not know what the Scripture says or he has not made up his mind to be a follower of Jesus Christ. To be a follower of Jesus Christ, the answer is pretty clear.

What is the distinction between a follower of Jesus Christ and somebody who does not follow Jesus Christ? And the answer is you have to be following Jesus Christ. That's the simple answer. You can't say you're a follower of Jesus Christ and not go where He goes and not do what He does.

To be a follower simply means that you follow Jesus Christ. Our culture, our post-Christian culture has made it normal to confess without living, to profess a set of doctrines without having it affect any other part of our lives other than our Sunday worship. But yet they are not followers of Jesus Christ.

Apostle Paul at the conclusion of the letter in the text that we're looking at basically tells us that this is the reason why he wrote this letter. He wrote this letter because he was about to visit Rome and the purpose of visiting Rome is that he may prepare to go to Spain.

Paul knew from the day that he met Christ until the day he died why he lived and why he was doing what he was doing and then he died doing the exact thing that God called him to do. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9, 26 and 27, "I do not run in such a way as not without aim.

I box in such a way as not beating the air. But I discipline my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others I may not be disqualified." If you are living a life that you experience the wildest success, it may be a business, it may be a company, it may be friendship, whatever it may be, that you're consumed with that and for whatever the reason you did a great job and you've succeeded in that and at the end of that as a Christian it ends with so what?

So what? So you have some money. So you're able to buy a big house. So you're able to drive a nice car. But so what? See to the world if this world is it, that's all there is to live for, then you want to make the most of it but as Christians who profess that this life, this world is under the judgment of God and the book of Revelation is real, that Christ is going to come and redeem what was lost and that he is preparing us for eternity.

So all that we are doing here is for the purpose of preparing for what is to come. That's what we profess, that's what the gospel is, and that's what the scripture teaches us. To profess that on Sunday and to live the rest of our lives like the rest of the world to milk as much life from this world before we go to the next is inconsistent with the doctrines that we profess.

We make ourselves to be hypocrites, to love the world and profess the gospel at the same time. And it is not unique to Berean Community Church. It is not because of a certain personality is preaching. It is inconsistent with the doctrines that we profess. Every evangelical church believes that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and because of that, judgment is coming.

The wrath of God is being revealed against all unrighteousness and as a result of that, the book of Revelation is going to come. This is not a guess, this is not a suggestion, this is not a foretelling and looking into the future and saying maybe this might happen. It is ordained by God that the world is going to be under the judgment because of sin.

And as a result of that, he saves us to glorify him, to enjoy this life. But while we're on this world, while we're living in this world, our whole life ought to be consumed with telling others about this message that you and I have come to know and believe.

Anything else is hypocrisy. Anything else is hypocrisy because you can't profess to say that your loved ones, your co-workers, the strangers that you see in this world are going to come under condemnation and that there's a second death waiting for them until they are forgiven of their sins and to profess this, to sing this, to memorize this and then to live and try to milk as much life from this world, this condemned world, before we leave is inconsistent, is hypocritical and it is ultimately unbelief.

If you believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, our calling is not to milk life from this world but to input as much life as we can before we leave because life is not found in this world. We believe that life is found in Christ. So our goal in life is to bring as much life into this world, not to milk as much life out of this world because milking much life out of this world is what the world is doing.

What the church is called to do is before you leave to input as much life into it before we leave. And that's why Paul says, "I do not run aimlessly without purpose, without goal." If you're living a self-centered life, you will be constantly asking yourself, "What is my goal?

What is my purpose?" Because it's about you. If you have established Christ as Lord over your life, your aim and goal is already established. It is clear. It is to exalt Christ and to make Him known so that all the rest of the world will come to know this Savior, this Jesus Christ.

That's what Paul means in the second part of verse 19 when he says, "In the power of the Spirit so that from Jerusalem and roundabout as far as Ilikrium, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ." Paul's ministry lasted around 10 to 12 years. At least it's the ministry that is recorded in the book of Acts.

In those 12 years, he traveled on foot the distance about a thousand miles from Jerusalem to Ilikrium. That's about maybe from the distance between here and maybe the border of Oregon maybe. He did this on foot. He didn't have the fastest car. I know they had horses, but I don't think he rode around in the fastest horses.

He was a tent maker. It wasn't like he was traveling around in business class or first class. He was walking around and he made his trip about three separate times in the matter of 10 to 12 years. I can't imagine in 10 years. Our church has been around 21 years just even walking up to San Francisco.

This guy did this three times around. He truly, when he says, "I poured myself out, I have fully preached the gospel." Paul says in Romans 15, 20, 21, "I have fully preached the gospel in two ways." He was faithful in the breadth of preaching the gospel. He was also faithful in the depth of preaching the gospel.

That's the outline for today's message. He was faithful in the breadth of preaching the gospel, in the distance, in the area, in the time that he preached. In Romans 15, 20, it says, "And thus I aspire to preach the gospel." The word aspired, in some of your translations it says, "I was ambitious to preach the gospel." Some of your translations says, "It was my aim or I strive to preach the gospel." The Greek word that's translated aspired is philo to meo mai.

You already recognize the first part of it, philo, the word love. The second part of the word, to meo mai, means to honor. Apostle Paul loved the honor of preaching the gospel. It was an honor for him. He recognized it. And for every Christian, it is not simply a burden, just like prayer.

Prayer has become a burden to the church to check off our spiritual discipline box. But when you understand it in proper perspective, prayer is the ability to communicate with our creator, which we could not do because of our sins. So the greatest privilege that you and I have as a Christian is to be able to pray and to be able to preach the gospel.

The reason why you're in a position to preach the gospel instead of hearing the gospel is because God has already been gracious to you. And we have been given the honor and the privilege to be able to share with the world that there is an answer to all their problems, their sins, in the name of Jesus Christ.

And so that's what Paul means when he says, "I aspired, I loved the honor to be able to preach the gospel." He fully preached the gospel in breath, not where Christ was already named so that I would not build on another man's foundation. But as it is written, "They who had no news of him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand." Paul preached the gospel and his aim, his honor was to take it to places that was hard to reach.

Even in the way that we practice Christianity, even in the way we practice Christianity, we want to make sure if all our needs are taken care of. We want to make sure that our children are taken care of. We want to make sure that our bills are going to be paid.

We want to make sure that we're going to be safe. We want to be made sure that we're not going to be persecuted. We want to make sure that the room is going to be air conditioned. We want to make sure that there's other people who are my age, that people we can fellowship with.

And when all of that has been taken care of, then I will pick up my cross and preach the gospel. Apostle Paul says, "No, it is his ambition, it is his honor to take it to hard places. It is his honor and it is his love to take it to places where people have not already heard." The reason why it is so hard in our generation to get the gospel to the remote part of the world, even after 2,000 years, because we don't want to be the first.

Paul says later on in Romans chapter 15, 22, "For this reason, I have often been prevented from coming to you, but now with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you." Paul says the reason why he was prevented wasn't because he lacked transportation, wasn't because it was unsafe.

He said, "The reason why I couldn't come is because somebody already came and you don't need me to come." According to church tradition, Apostle Peter was the one who first came to Rome and he preached the gospel there. He said he was preaching everywhere else he could possibly preach.

So now that I've kind of run out, it doesn't mean that he preached to every single individual between Jerusalem and Lycraeum. He's saying that he made it his ambition to get the gospel to remotest places where no one has heard the gospel. As far as I know, I've targeted all these places and I've already been there.

Some of these places he was stoned. Some of these places he was whipped. Some of these places he was chased out. Some of these places he was put into prison. But it's as far as I know, I made it my ambition to get the gospel out and now I'm about to come to you so to prepare to go even further out, all the way out to Spain.

And until then I couldn't come to you because my work was not finished. He was a man who was committed to the gospel. In our generation, we look at what Paul says and he said, "Well, he's an apostle. He's a special man. God had anointed him." He doesn't possibly expect an average Christian to live like Apostle Paul.

Does he? Whenever we hear challenging messages, we say, "Well, he didn't call everybody. Where do we draw the line? Does he want us to go?" He doesn't clearly want all of us to go and I have a simple answer for that. Yes, he does. Yes, he does. He didn't separate a few Christians and gave him the responsibility of preaching the gospel and then the rest of you take care of your family and clean the church every once in a while.

Get together in home groups and enjoy each other's company and then they're going to pluck some of you out of here and to go preach the gospel. The rest of you just take care of your family and just be a good Christian. He called all of us to go.

He didn't call all of us to go to China. He didn't call all of us to go to Japan. He didn't call all of us to go to the remote part of the world, but he told all of us to go, which means that if you don't go there, you need to go here.

And we need to live the life that we live here, sacrificing as much, giving as much, needed as much as the Tongs and the Hans and the different people that we know packed up their bags and gave up everything to go to preach the gospel. That that's the calling of every Christian, not just for missionaries, not for some people, not just to do it every once in a while.

And this is not unique to Beroean community church. You can't go into the scripture and read it and allow and meditate on it and study it and memorize it without every page in the Bible screaming out to you, "Missions!" Because every part of scripture from Genesis to Revelation is a holy God pursuing sinners and calling the sinners who have been called to go to get more sinners into the kingdom.

The whole scripture from Genesis to Revelation is about God's mission to the lost. So when he told his disciples to come and follow me, which is also me and you, is to follow his mission. So a Christian who is not given his whole life for the purpose of preaching the gospel has either neglected his walk with God or has never surrendered his life to Christ.

You checked off a box and say, "You know what? Do you believe that Jesus loves you and died for you and that if you believe in him, you'll forgive your sins, you're going to go to heaven? Do you believe that?" And you checked off that box. But you've never surrendered your life to Christ.

When Jesus said that if you find your life, you will lose it, if you lose your life for my sake, you will truly find it. And because you've never surrendered your life to Christ, you neither know the life in Christ either. You see it in other people, you hear it in testimonies, but you don't know it.

Not by personal testimony. You can regurgitate what somebody else said. You can quote little quotes out of books. You can go to conferences and hear good sermons and then say how encouraging it was, but it's never your personal testimony because you've never surrendered your life to Christ. And as a result of that, you don't know the joy, you don't know the worship, you don't know the life in Christ either.

This is not unique to Berean Community Church. Every part of scripture screams out the missions. And that's why Paul says, "I do not run in such a way as not without aim, without purpose." So what if your children are healthy? They don't know Christ. So what if your business becomes successful?

At the end of the day, you just have more money in the bank. So what if you live in a big house? At the end of the day, all of that is rubbish. The central message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

And because of that, the wrath of God is being revealed. And we believe that and embrace that. Now we live the rest of our lives proclaiming that truth. That's what Apostle Paul meant. In Acts chapter 21, 11 through 14, he was about to go to Rome and Agabus comes and he shares the vision with Paul at the Church of Ephesus, telling him that if you go here, trouble is waiting.

And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, "This is what the Holy Spirit says. In this way, the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles." When we had heard this, we, as well as the local residents, began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem because they really loved Paul.

He's already sacrificed enough. He's been beaten, put in prison. He was in Lystra, stone, thinking that he was dead. And then he just walks back in. Paul, you know, I know all of that stuff happened. Maybe you just didn't know better. But now God is revealing this is going to happen if you go to Rome.

Paul responds in verse 13, answered, "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." Paul already knew. It wasn't because Paul didn't plan well. It was because he wasn't savvy and he didn't know how to avoid these people.

He says, "No, I'm ready." In fact, Jesus said, even from the first day that he called, "I'm going to show this man how much he's going to suffer for my name's sake." In fact, Paul says in Philippians that he wants to fellowship in the suffering of Christ, that he may also know what it means to have fellowship with the resurrected Christ.

He embraced it for the purpose of the gospel. And then look what he says in verse 14, "And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, asking, 'The will of the Lord be done.'" The paradigm of this world, we say, "God has blessed us when our children are well-fed.

God has blessed us when our bills are paid. God has blessed us when we live a long and peaceful life, when our retirement fund grows and we have a lot of money in the bank." That's what the world says. They recognize that they were using the worldly paradigm to stop Paul from going to Rome.

When Paul rebukes them and saying, "Why are you doing this? I'm ready not only to be bound but to die," they realize that the will of the Lord be done. We automatically think that the Lord's will is our safety, is our health, is our success, is that we make something of our lives.

The Lord's will is clear in the scripture. The Lord's will is his glory because when he is glorified, we live. When he is not glorified, we die. And so whether we live or whether we die, Paul says, "I pray that I may glorify him." So Paul was committed to the fullness of the gospel being preached in everywhere.

Acts chapter 20, 21-24, "I solemnly testify to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me." Paul already knew.

God was already telling him personally, not just through Agabus. Paul was revealing to him, "Hardships waiting for you," but verse 24, "but I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I receive from the Lord Jesus to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God." This is not a calling simply for the apostle.

This is not like, "Oh, thank God he didn't call me to do this." I want to be a Christian, but I want to be one of those Christians that kind of is cool, you know, and the world is going to look at me and say, "Man, if that's what it means to be a Christian, I want to be a Christian too.

I want to be that kind of a Christian. I've got plenty of money in the bank and everybody loves me, who's charismatic. They walk into a room and they just light up." It's like, "What? I want to be like him. What is he?" "Well, I'm a Christian." "I want to be a Christian too.

I want to be that guy. Thank God he didn't call me to do what Paul was doing. Did he?" Read the scriptures. Apostle Paul is simply expressing and magnifying the calling of every Christian. And if, even if it wasn't, it would only make sense. Even if there wasn't a clear calling in scripture, it would only make sense.

Everyone who professed to believe this, to live their lives, to telling other people about it, it would only make sense. We've created a Christianity, it's just utter nonsense to the world. To profess it in a room and then they stay quiet outside. It's absolutely ridiculous. To Sunday after Sunday, gathering together, talking about the judgment of God and the grace of God and heaven that is coming, and then stay quiet and silent about all the other people who are not under this grace.

And to not to live the rest of our lives to make sure that as many people can hear this truth before we die. And to have our primary concern to make sure that the Lakers make it into the playoff this year. That our fantasy football team wins. That we have enough money for lunch.

That we save up enough vacation time to take this trip that we've been saving up for. Whatever brings you the greatest joy is probably what you're living for. Whatever you're sitting down thinking about more than meditating the most is probably what you're living for. But Apostle Paul says, "I have fully preached the gospel." And the whole reason why he's writing this letter now is because he's run out of places to go.

Now he's about to go to Spain and he's writing them saying, "Hey, can you help me out?" Secondly, Paul was faithful in the depth of preaching the gospel. Not only was he committed to where he was going, but even the message itself he didn't compromise. Acts chapter 20, 20 to 21, "How I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you publicly from house to house, solemnly testifying both to Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." Again in Acts 20, 26, "Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God." Sometimes we are more concerned about offending the world that has offended God than the God who has been offended.

And even the way that we preach the gospel, we're so concerned about how they will receive it not realizing that we were the one who offended God. And it is offensive for Christians to represent and to be an ambassador of God, begging the world to give God a chance.

There's nothing in the scripture, there's no other time where I see in the Bible where any prophet or an apostle or an evangelist stands before a crowd of sinners and says, "Give Jesus a chance, please." God is the one who was offended. God is the one that we blasphemed against.

And as a result of that, the world is under condemnation. So the clear preaching of the gospel is a calling to sinners to repent and receive forgiveness of sins. That this God who had every right to crush us because of our sins has decided to show mercy for the time being.

For the time being, because we know the end is coming. We know that at the end of Revelation it is finished. But we live in a period of grace where God is giving sinners an opportunity to repent. And during that period, our whole aim, our whole purpose, our whole ambition ought to be to bring people to Christ.

And any other endeavor, good or bad, is a distraction, maybe even sinful. First Thessalonians 2, 3 to 4, "For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts." Even in the way that we preach the gospel, we need to preach the whole counsel of God from the beginning to the end.

If men come to Christ, if women come to Christ not being convicted, not understanding the weightiness of their own sins, all we make God out to be is a Santa Claus, a grandfather who loves you unconditionally. No matter what you do, there is nothing you can do for God to be angry with you and it doesn't matter.

And so when you created a God who is not holy, you created a God who accepts you no matter what you do. And so we make light of sin. All we need to do is say, "God forgive," and then we just move on. Why the scripture tells us to live holy lives and why the church needs to be healthy is because the church has been called to be the light.

If all we're going to do is enjoy life, the sooner we die, the better. And excuse my language, the most beautiful place in the world that you want to visit sucks compared to where we're going to go. Because even the most beautiful place in the world is tainted by sin.

Remember in the book of Genesis, when sin came in, so did the earth got defiled. There's weeds, there's bugs, there's rats, you know, everywhere you go. So even the most beautiful place in comparison to where we're going is rubbish. But if all we're going to do in this life is to enjoy it, the sooner we leave it, the better.

So if somebody dies early, we should say, "Thank God they left. They don't have to deal with this. Now they're in a better place." So we should celebrate that because they're better off than we are if our only purpose in life is to enjoy it. But our calling and our aim, our ambition is to make sure that other people come with us.

And the only reason why Jesus Christ did not come yet, even after 2,000 years, in Matthew 24, he says, "When the gospel has reached the remotest part of the world, then he has come." It's been 2,000 years and it hasn't happened yet. But when that happens, when the church wakes up and begins to preach the gospel to the remotest part of the world.

You know, you and I live in a generation where it is possible. It hasn't happened where it is possible. Because of technology, because of politics, because of money. Some of you guys remember 30 years ago, you just didn't have a thought like, "Oh, I'm going to go to Europe," and hopped on a plane and just went.

It just didn't happen like that. It costs too much money. When you get there, you don't speak the language. There's no app for you. Nobody over there waiting for you to speak English and show you around. There's no tour guides over there. 30 years ago, if you wanted to go somewhere, you got in a car and you drove somewhere.

If you were like famous or you're like multi-billionaire or something, you were able to travel and do all this. An average person just didn't get up and say, "Oh, I'm going to save my points and I'm going to go travel the world." That just didn't happen. It's happening now because of technology, because of money, because of freedom.

And instead of using that to indulge ourselves, those are vehicles that God has given us to go. We're able to reach the remotest part of the world through the internet. And the only reason why that hasn't happened is not because of opportunity, it's because of us. Paul in his preaching did not adulterate the gospel, the whole counsel of God.

In 2 Corinthians 4, 2, "But we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience." And then verse 3, "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing." In other words, Apostle Paul refused to compromise the gospel, every part of it.

2 Timothy 3, 16, "All scriptures inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof," in some of your translations it says, "rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness so that the man of God may be adequately equipped for every good work." People ask us, "Why are you studying Leviticus?

It's so difficult." And studying Revelation, you call it, "Why are you doing that? It's so complicated." There's a simple answer to that, because it's there. Because it's there. It's in the Bible. There's nothing that he put in there, "You know what? Study Romans and everything else will take care of itself." It's in there for a reason.

God's a sovereign God. You don't have a conversation with somebody for an hour and then you just zoned out for 20 minutes, and then you come back and it's like, "Okay, now I understand everything." Those 20 minutes could be crucial. You might be right in the middle of a DTR, and they confessed their love for you, and for 20 minutes you zoned out.

You had ADD for 20 minutes, and they're waiting for your answer. It's like, "Hey, see you later." Those 20 minutes, you don't know what's in those 20 minutes. It may change your life. You don't go and read like four chapters and then you skip the fifth chapter and you go to the sixth chapter and then ...

Everything in the scripture is there for a reason. That's why all scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. If the Word of God discourages you, it's there to discourage you. If the correct understanding of the Word of God causes fear in you, it's there for a reason.

He meant for you to be fearful. When it describes hell, when it describes judgment, when it describes warnings, you can't just block that. "Oh, when we do that, people are fearful." They say, "God casts out fear, and they use another part of the scripture to nullify this part of the scripture, and so we kind of create this God that is going to be palatable to as many people as possible, and the next thing you know, it's not the gospel at all." The scripture says anything that you add, anything you take away, anathema.

It's exactly what it says in Galatians 1, 7 through 10, right? Paul says it twice. Anybody come to you, preach another gospel, and all these Judaizers were doing, they were adding to the gospel. They weren't rejecting Jesus' resurrection. They weren't rejecting His blood sacrifice and atonement. All they were saying was, "You can have that, but you need to be circumcised first, and you need to keep the Sabbath first." And Paul, "But if you do that, you are perverting the gospel.

Let you be anathema. Go to hell," basically he says twice. You can't add, and you can't take away from that. If the Word of God is confusing, it is meant for you to slow down and take time to study. Not for you to flip through and say, "Oh, it's confusing, so therefore God doesn't want me to know." If you're having a conversation with somebody, somebody says something confusing, you don't just sit there like, "I didn't understand.

Next." You're going to ask, "What did you mean by that? I don't get it." And you're going to take extra time to find out what they meant. A lot of times, the things that you're confused by, there's a lot more meaning behind it than the things that are obvious.

That's why we study Leviticus, because all scripture is inspired by God and is profitable. So in preaching the gospel, we have to make sure that we understand the whole counsel of God, all of it. His wrath, His holiness, His judgment, because without understanding that, your understanding of God's grace and mercy and patience is going to be like a three-year-old.

He lets me do whatever I want. I love Jesus. That's about the extent of your understanding of grace when you don't understand the God of the Old Testament. That's why Paul says he fulfilled the gospel, the breadth and the depth of the gospel. But I want to conclude with this.

Paul was faithful even in the length in preaching the gospel. Second Timothy 4, 6, and 7, "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith." So many people start out their Christian life well, with a bang.

By the time their third, fourth, fifth year into their walk with God, they fizz it out already. And I see so many guys, you know, they're 33 years old, 34 years old, and they're already acting like old men. It's for the young kids. Let the college students evangelize. Let them go to missions.

I've done my part when I was their age. They're 33. But you already have a mindset of an old person just waiting to die. You know what I mean? Like I'm at the end. You know what I mean? There's more people older than you at 33 in this world than younger than you.

But what is the danger of that is you have that mentality, that time of activity and passion and sacrifice, that's for young people. I got too many responsibilities, you know. And I understand why they do that because you watch a lot of sports and, you know, LeBron James is 33 years old, and everybody says how old he is.

And you're 33. It's like, "Yeah, I am old." He's a professional basketball player that is competing at the peak. He's got about 50 years left of life, an average, maybe 60. And you know, I get it. You know, you kind of watch these guys at 33 talking about, "Oh, how old I am." It's like, "Oh, I'm so old too." And then you start living like an old person, like all of your days of commitment and sacrifice and evangelizing and mission, it's behind me.

Apostle Paul started, committed to the Lord, even sitting in prison. He was preaching the gospel. And until the day he died, he left this world preaching the gospel. That is our purpose. You don't need another book to tell you what your purpose is. You don't need to go to a conference.

You don't need to have small group seminars. You don't need to look for counselors because the Bible has made that very clear. Go make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and lo, I will be with you to the end of the age.

And any other activity that prevents us or distracts us from that activity is either not profitable or maybe even sinful. And let me conclude with this. I've been praying. I've been praying that, you know, our church is growing and I'm very thankful that we were able to add new pastors to our church.

And as a result of that, we're able to do things that we weren't able to do. So I've been praying, "Lord, where should I commit my time?" Now we feel like we're getting into a new stage of our church. Where do you want me to commit my time? Coming back from this trip, it's become more clear to me, again, not that it's changing, not that this is anything new to the church, but just kind of reminded me why this church was planted to begin with.

We're here to be a light in this dark world. Whether it is in Irvine, whether it is in India or Japan or in China or anywhere else that God calls us, the reason why we need to be healthy, why we need to be strong, why we need to be biblical, why we need to be Bereans is because He didn't call us home yet.

Where we're going to go is paradise. Where we're headed is where there's no more tears, no more suffering, no more pain, no more illness, no more sickness, no more poverty, no more illnesses, no more broken homes, no more child abuse, no more sexual predators, no more pornography, no more pain.

That's where we're headed. But until we get there, until we get there, we need to commit ourselves to get as many people to come with us as possible. And anything else is a waste of life. I pray that this next stage of our church life and your life, that we be able to use our common resources, our fellowship, our people, our finances for that purpose, that God may be glorified.

Let's pray. Again, let's take some time to pray before the Lord. And just asking for just one thing. To be honest with your faith. Is your faith consistent with your life? Are the songs that we sing just an acknowledgment of doctrine? Or is it a confession of our lives?

Let's take some time to pray as our worship team leads us.