All right, good morning. You can turn your Bibles to Exodus chapter 3, 13 to 15. We're going to take a break in our Hebrews. I've been teasing you that we're going to be back in Hebrews for a while. But knowing that our children are going to be joining us and that this is probably going to be temporary, I thought it'd be a great time for us, as we said that our theme for this year is knowing Christ and making him known.

We're going to be spending probably the next month, depending on how long we're together, the I Am Statements of Christ. And we're going to start today with the I Am Statement where it started in Exodus chapter 3, 13 to 15. So as you guys are going there, I'll just give you a minute.

I think it's already on your thing. But as a pastor, there's two dreams that pastors have, negative dreams. And one is that you show up to church and you forgot your notes and you have to stand in front of people and you got to preach and you just kind of have to wing it.

And then that's kind of a -- obviously you wake up in a cold sweat. The other one is that everybody is -- that you came thoroughly prepared and you show up to church and nobody's there. You know, that's the other dream. And today my dream has come true. Okay.

So I'm preaching to -- except for you guys here. Okay. All right. I'm going to read it. But anyway, let me read the passage and then we'll jump right in. "Then Moses said to God, 'Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel and I will say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you.

Now they may say to me, what is his name? What shall I say to them?' God said to Moses, 'I am who I am.' And he said, 'Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I am has sent me to you.' God furthermore said to Moses, 'Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you.

This is my name forever and this is my memorial name to all generations.'" Let me pray. Father, we pray for your blessing over this time. We pray that your word would truly go forth. Open our ears that we may understand. Help us, Lord God, to know who you are.

That all that we think, all that we feel, all that we do may stem from who you are. So we pray for your guidance and your blessing. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. You know, this whole thing has been a blessing in disguise. And I know a lot of people that I talk to often say how little time that they have, especially if you're working full time and you're taking care of children and by the time you put the children to bed, you're tired, you wake up early to go to work and this pattern goes on and on and on and on.

And so we speak to many people who are always saying, "It would be great to take a break, spend more time with our children." Well, now you have that time. You know, so I want to encourage all of you out there to make the best of the situation that we have, that we don't become like people who are always looking at the grass greener on the other side.

So when we're working, we want to be home. When we're home, we want to be at work. That God has given us a blessing in disguise. What the virus meant for evil, God means it for good. When I think about something that happened in my life with Esther, that at the moment was very difficult but turned out to be the greatest blessing, I have to say it was Isaiah, the birth of our fourth son, Isaiah.

And I remember Esther and I, we were all prepared to move on to our next stage. All the children were going to be at school. Finally Esther was going to be able to get a job. And then we were able to just kind of, you know, be okay financially.

And then when we found out that Esther was pregnant with our fourth child, Isaiah, obviously we were surprised is an understatement, right? Maybe shocked, stared into the space for a while. And I remember breaking the news to the church slowly and not one congratulations. Not one. It was, you know, and I don't want to repeat the things that I heard during that time, but it was not encouraging.

But I can honestly say, and I think we, our whole family would agree, that having Isaiah in our home has been a tremendous blessing. And I can't imagine what life would be like without Isaiah. Hi Isaiah. Hi Addy. If I was Pastor Nate, I would say hi to Addy.

But you know what's really funny? Was when we had Isaiah, and obviously my parents, my father who was alive at that time, named Isaiah's name, his Korean name, and it basically means in Korean, the end. Or that's enough. And I think, you know, the grandparents were saying like four is enough.

But you know what's funny was Serenity, Jennifer and Tommy's, their fourth child, and I think their birthdays are off by maybe a month or something like that. Very close. And it was also their fourth child. And I didn't know this until years later that her grandfather named her in Chinese, the end.

So basically it means the same thing in Chinese and Korean. You know, I think both grandparents were telling us that's enough. We obeyed and they did not. And so they had their fifth. What's interesting is that the names that are given, at least in the previous generation, was very significant.

That's why when we do baby dedications or presentations, we always ask the meaning of the name. So I don't know, you children who are watching out there, if you know what your name means. If you don't, you can ask your parents later what the name means. But again, in the previous generations, names were given with specific purpose.

Like this is what is desired of you. This is what we're praying that God would do in your life. Well, in scripture, the significance of the name is very, very important. In fact, when God was doing something really great, he would often change the name of the person that he's working through.

So if you look in the Old Testament, Abraham's name, which means father, is changed to Abraham because God makes a covenant with him that he was going to be a father of many nations. And Abraham basically means father of multitudes. Jacob, his name means the one who is slippery or the one who holds the heel because that was kind of like his character.

He was always kind of maneuvering to get what he wants. And then he wrestles with God later on in life where his faith really grows and becomes a man of God. And God names his name Israel, where we get the name Israel from. And the name Israel basically means the one who contends or wrestles with God.

And I'm not going to go through all the names, but Simon, the disciple, his name is changed to Rock, Peter. And Apostle Paul, he already had both names, but Saul was his Hebrew name. But when God calls him to be an apostle to the Gentiles, he predominantly uses his Gentile name Paul.

And so in the Old Testament and the New Testament, the significance of the name is tremendous because just by reading that person's name, you can tell what God is doing in their life and what God is doing at that particular time in history. And it is no exception with our God.

When we want to know who God is, the first place that we need to start is how did he introduce himself? What is the significance of his name? The way we use it now in our culture, we generally just generically use the word God. And as a result of that, I think what has happened is many people, even inside the church, has become confused that whether you call God of the Bible or God of Buddhism or God of the Islam, that maybe it's the same God because we're calling him God, as God is the God who is above.

But that is not how the Bible introduces God to us. You know what's interesting in Korean Christian history? When Christianity first began to come into Korea, the generic word for God is "Haneunim." So for a few of you who speak Korean, you know what I'm talking about. Haneunim is how they used to call him or non-Christians call him.

It basically means a being that is above. Haneunim. Koreans changed it. Korean Christians changed it to distinguish him from the God of the shamans, the shamanistic Buddhist background, and changed that name to Haneunim. So if you know what that means, Haneunim means one. So the Christians call God Haneunim.

The generic word in Korean means Haneunim, means the one that is above. But in English, we just have a generic word, God. And if you don't know what the Bible says and you don't know your faith that well, we can mistakenly think that God is God no matter how you call him, no matter what your background.

But that is not how the Bible introduces him. The text that we read in Exodus chapter 3, 13 to 15 is where God is answering Moses' question. God is about to deliver Israel from bondage from Egypt. They were in bondage for hundreds of years, and finally God hears their groaning and answers their prayer, and he calls Moses to speak on his behalf and to go to Israel and say, God is going to deliver you.

And he asked a question, when they come and ask me who it is that is giving us this promise, God says, tell them this. And this is where we get his name Yahweh, or at least it is explained to us. So first thing that we need to understand is God is not introducing himself to the nation of Israel for the first time.

God is not all of a sudden, like Israel didn't know who he was, and then all of a sudden he's saying, well, I'm Yahweh. In fact, if you look at the text in Genesis 2, 4 through 9, I gave you a short example. And I highlighted every time the word Lord is used.

And if you notice that it should be in your Bibles capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D. It should be. If it is not, it's not done correctly. The reason why that's highlighted is because every time the word Yahweh appears in the Bible, because the Jews didn't want to use the Lord's name in vain, breaking one of the commandments of God, they would not pronounce it.

Instead, they would use the word Adonai, the word Lord. But in the original Hebrew, it has the word Yahweh. The reason why I gave you this example is because the word Yahweh, his name Yahweh was used from the very get-go, from Genesis. And I only gave you this example, but all throughout the Bible, when the word Yahweh, his specific name Yahweh is used, it is much more frequent than the generic word God.

And the generic word for God is either El or Elohim. The word Yahweh, his specific name Yahweh is used 6,828 times, where the word God generically is used 2,800 times, singular or in plural. The reason why this is significant is because if we're not careful, we can also reflect this generic relationship with God.

Because we don't know who he is. It's just like calling me Asian man, or guy, hey guy. You know, we may do that if we don't know, when we meet each other for the first time, or calling my name in a crowd to distinguish me from everybody else. But if we have a personal relationship, you would not call me, hey dude, hey guy, you know my name.

You know who I am. Well God, God has a name. And his name is Yahweh. And it is not to say that every time we call him, that if we don't use his name Yahweh, that we're not calling the right God. But again, if we're not careful, our generic understanding of God may be a reflection of a generic relationship that we have with him.

And it's important for us that God was not introducing himself for the first time. He was actually describing himself. He wasn't saying, he wasn't saying, what is your name? Who do I tell, what do I say to the nation of Israel who is telling me that he's going to do this powerful thing?

Well he said, tell them, I am who I am is sending you. He says tell them, again in verse 14, tell them that I am has sent you. And then the third time he says, tell them that Yahweh has sent me to you. This is my name forever. So in other words, the word Yahweh, or his name Yahweh, is being described.

And that's why the theologians believe that the statement I am is the description, is the meaning behind the name Yahweh. So how significant is this? Extremely significant. Because our understanding of who he is, our personal relationship with him, is directly tied to our understanding of who he is. Because a lot of people imagine God to be one way or the other.

Some people think of God as a holy bell hop that if I need something I pray to him, he answers my prayer. Or he's a grandfather who always has candy in his pocket. If I go to him, he always loves me, there is no judgment, and he's always caring no matter what you do.

Bits and pieces of that is true, but we need to make sure that we understand how the Bible describes who he is. So what does he mean when he says I am? What does that mean? Because Jesus uses that exact same term to describe himself as God of the New Testament.

He says if you have seen me, you have seen the Father. Because he is I am, and then starting from next week we're going to go to the book of John and we're going to be studying through when he says I am. I am the bread of life. I am the good shepherd.

I am the light of the world. What does he mean by that and how is that tied to this, what he's saying here? First of all, there's three things that I want to mention. First of all, first and foremost meaning of the word I am is that God is.

Now if you're paying attention, you should be asking what does that mean? Because that's what the word literally means. I am means God is. In fact, there's two very well-read books, one from Francis Schaeffer and another from D.A. Carson, and the title, both of the books' title is God Who Is There.

So I remember the first time picking up this book from Francis Schaeffer, reading the title God Who Is There. This guy's some philosopher. He's going to be talking about some weird philosophy that I don't understand. But one of the most profound things that I learned about the identity of God, that God is.

And I could probably spend weeks and weeks and weeks just diving into this because there's so much content, it's just in that phrase, God is. But for today's sake, and the purpose of this is really to kind of use that as a springboard to get to Christ. Look what it says in Acts 17, 24 through 18, how God is described.

The God who made the world and all things in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all people life and breath and all things.

He made from one man every nation of mankind to live in all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that you would seek God. If perhaps they might grope for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us, for in him we live and move and exist.

In the NIV it says we live and move and have our being. So our being is directly connected to his being. It's because he is that we are able to call ourselves human being. So our being is not independent of his being, because our being comes from his being.

So the Bible says the reason why death came to mankind is because we were disconnected from his being, because only his being is self-sustaining. Only his being who is independent of anything else. So in order for us to have our being, we need to be connected to his being.

Does that make sense? I can't tell, because I don't see your face expressions. But the core of our understanding of our salvation is connected to this. You and I cannot have our being independent from him, because our being has a cause and effect. We are here because our parents had us, our parents had us because their grandparents had us, and we all came from this chain, because ultimately our life, spiritually and physically, is tied to something else that has happened.

When God says that he is, there is nothing beyond him. He is independent. And so when Moses is asking the question, who is going to deliver us from Israel, God is reminding them there is nothing above him. He is of himself. From Shakespeare's play, The Hamlet, probably the most famous question is to be or not to be.

Some of you may be familiar with that, because you did homework when you were in high school or took AP English or something. To be or not to be. Basically the question to be or not to be is really a question about life. And if you remember reading that or studying that, basically Hamlet is giving a speech or in his speech he basically is going over, should I live or not live?

That's basically the question. To be or not to be. And he goes over the benefits of living. But he also goes over the benefits, the sufferings of living. The trials of living. And then he'll switch over back and forth to what it means to not to be. And the benefit of not to be is the cessation of suffering.

But then also the difficulty of not to be means to be separated from your loved ones. To go somewhere where you have no idea what is there. And that's what he contemplates, to be or not to be. But at the fundamental thing that that question gets wrong is that you and I do not have the ability by ourselves to be or not to be.

Because you and I do not have power of life. Our life is dependent on a life source. So only God could actually answer that question, to be or not to be. Because only he carried out. Now we say, well, we can physically take our life, right? So that means that we are able to be or not to be.

You can physically take your life, but the true life that is inside of us, the Bible says is eternal. You cannot annihilate yourself. There is a physical life and there's a spiritual life. And only God has the ultimate power for that. And so when he says, when they ask, when they were faced with this tremendous task, who is going to deliver us from the superpower?

Egypt was America at that time. They were the superpower. This tiny little group of people who's worshiping this God, he's going to challenge Pharaoh and deliver us? So he's not introducing, hey, my name is Yahweh. He's telling them who Yahweh is. And the very first thing that he is, he's saying is, I am.

Tell them, I am has sent you. I am has sent you. Doesn't matter how great Pharaoh is, no matter how powerful he is, no matter how small Israel is, tell them the God that you serve is I am. You know, right now with all the coronavirus thing going on, people are freaking out.

How many people are going to die? How many people are going to get affected? Be careful that we do not react like the rest of the world. Because the God that we serve is I am. Hebrews chapter 11, 6, he says, and without faith, it is impossible to please him.

For he who comes to God must believe that he is. This is one of the reasons why I switched to NASB. One of the reasons. In your other translation, they may say that God exists. But I think Hebrew really captures, the NASB really captures the meaning behind that. Because it connects us to God of Exodus chapter 3.

It says, before you come to God, you must believe that he is I am. Because if you don't believe he is I am, you can make him into something that you want him to be. But no matter what you make him out to be, he will always be a lesser God of the Bible.

No matter how great your imagination, he will always be a lesser God than the God that we see in the Bible. There is nothing above I am. So whatever you imagine God to be, it is lesser if we do not first and foremost recognize that he is. Because if you do not recognize he is, the second part, that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.

If you don't believe that he is, he is not the one you're going to seek. You're going to be seeking comfort, you're going to be seeking other authorities, you're going to be seeking a fatter bank account, you're going to be seeking a better marriage, you're going to be seeking everything else because you do not truly believe that he is.

Because he's the only one who has the power of life and death. In fact, in the Lord's Prayer, when the disciples asked, "How should we pray?" The first thing that he says in the Lord's Prayer is, "Acknowledge God. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name." Recognizing what?

That he is. In Psalm chapter 90 verse 2, "Before the mountains were born, or you gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God." Now to theists, or to Christians in particular, we don't need to reemphasize this because we already confessed that we believe this.

But there is a huge difference between saying it, confessing it, signing a doctrinal statement, and believing it. There is a huge difference between the two. Sometimes God allows certain things to happen in our lives to refocus our attention. You guys who are watching me from the internet, you won't know, but our sanctuary looks very different.

Normally, I like the lights turned all on. The reason why I like it turned on is because I can see your faces. I know who's falling asleep. I know who's tired. I know who's alert, who's taking notes, who's going to the bathroom four times. I can see all of that.

But today we deliberately turned off the lights. And the reason why we did that is so that the film, what do you call it, internet, whatever you're seeing on your screen, would have a better effect, to highlight what's going on here. Sometimes God will turn off the lights in our lives in order to highlight what is most important.

And I think we will all admit that that's what's going on with us. All the clutter, all the busyness, and even though our heart is anxious, that God has taken away all the fluff and right now to focus on what's most important. That God is. In Revelations 1.8, "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." So in the midst of all of this turmoil, first and foremost, let's recognize who it is that we serve.

God is not a God who serves mankind. God does not worship us. We worship him. No matter what country, no matter what authority, no matter how great the army, he is and no one else is. Secondly, the second meaning or the ramification of his name, "I am," is that God is the ultimate cause.

He is the ultimate sovereign. John 5.26, "For just as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son, also he has life in himself." Not only does he have life, remember, John 5.26, Jesus basically is saying that he is I am because nobody else has life within themselves.

Only God can say that and Jesus says, "As the Father has life in himself," he says, "I am." The Son has it. But not only does the Son have it, he can give it to other people. He's the ultimate cause. Only God can create something out of nothing. There are a lot of really great magicians who are really good, especially some of these street magicians.

Some of the things that they do, it's mesmerizing. People pay a lot of money to go and see. But we all know that it's trickery. They just happen to be really good at it. They can go out in the street and levitate in front of people or turn a $1 bill into a $50 bill.

I mean, they do some crazy stuff. But we all know all of that is a movement of the hand and tricking you and diverting attention to get you to see over here and then just to wow you with that. But only God has the ability to create something out of nothing.

And no matter how much you study science, science will never be able to answer that question because our reality, something has to come from something. No matter whether you believe in the Big Bang or something beyond that, there will always be a question. Well what caused that? What was there before that?

What was there before that? Well if he is, if he's the only being that is independent and sustains by himself, that means all things are coming from him. That all questions ultimately stem from him. Romans 4.17. He, God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.

Only God can do that. Only he can create something that is not there and say it's going to be there. Or it is there. Everybody else can trick. Other people may look to the future. Maybe they can prophesy and they can look at the picture and describe what they're seeing.

But only God could create something from nothing. Colossians 1.16-18. For by him all things were created, both in heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things and in him all things hold together.

So in other words, our God is the ultimate cause. So let me break that down and how that applies to us. Just as God created all things from nothing in the beginning, only he can create a man into a new man from being a dead man. Only he can recreate a man.

Romans 8.29-30. For those whom he foreknew. Basically when he says foreknew, he's talking about people he loves. He also predestined to become conformed to the image of his son. If you notice the whole order of salvation, it's all him from the beginning to the end. There is no breaking in and saying, "Well, if you do this, I'll calculate this." He says, "No." Whom he loved, whom he chose, he predestined to be conformed to the image of his son so that he would be the firstborn among many brethren.

And these whom he predestined, he also called. Whom he called, he also justified. And these whom he justified, he also glorified. In every stage of our salvation, he said, "God did it." The reason why you and I do not have power of our own salvation is because you and I cannot exist by will.

A dead person does not just one day say, "I'm going to live." It doesn't happen that way. Only God who created and only God can recreate. What does this mean? Obviously, you and I are here not because we're smart, not because we made some wise decisions. It's because God loved us.

And so he predestined us. He opened our eyes so that we may see his glory. And then now he is sanctifying us. And then he will preserve us until the day of glory. If you're sitting out there and maybe you haven't confessed Christ as your Lord and Savior, maybe the fact that you are even watching this is because God is calling you, that God is beginning to open your eyes and your heart is becoming softened.

And the whole reason why you may be doing that is because God is drawing near to you. Only God can recreate man into the image that God intended. He is the ultimate cause. Because remember, when God calls Moses, remember Moses' response? Moses' response was just like any one of us would respond.

You want me to go to Pharaoh? Pharaoh! I know he lived 40 years in his house, not, you know, they didn't know his true identity, that he was a Hebrew, but he spent the next 40 years cleaning up and taking care of sheep, which at that time would have been the lowliest of jobs.

So maybe for the first couple years, maybe he was humbled, but 40 years, he forgot about Egypt's, you know, Egypt's palace a long time ago. His identity now, after 40 years, is he's a shepherd. You're calling a shepherd to go talk to Pharaoh and demand that Israel be released?

So his response was like anybody else. I'm not a good speaker. In fact, my older brother Aaron, he's the one who speaks, he's always the one who's putting me down. He has words, not me. I stutter. And you would think that God would say, well, you know, stop being humble.

You're better than you think you are. You would think that God would say that from our perspective. No, but he gets rebuked. And the reason why he gets rebuked is because he didn't know who God was. I didn't call you because I needed your help. I didn't ask you to do this because I created a universe, but Pharaoh, I can't handle without your words.

I created your mouth. I created Aaron's mouth. So I am calling you not because I need you, because I choose to use you. And he was again reminding him, I am. Not only was he telling Israel, but he was telling Moses, go speak on my behalf because tell them I am ascending you.

He wasn't just telling Israel. He wasn't just telling Moses. But ultimately, the way he delivers Israel, he was going to declare his glory to Egypt and to Pharaoh. He was going to show him who I am is. They were sitting on the top of the world thinking everybody else is going to have to be subject to him.

He's going to use this tiny little nation who was serving as slaves at the time, and he was going to declare I am. Tell him I am has sent you. You know, when all of this happened, our vice president, Pence, took the people who were overseeing the coronavirus and making decisions, and they had a prayer meeting, and the media went nuts.

How can we get this superstitious guy who's going to be praying to some unknown God, how can we allow him to make decisions? We need somebody smart, not somebody religious. That is exactly what we need now. No matter how smart we are, no matter how many smart people are putting their attention on this, you and I do not have the power.

This pestilence didn't happen because we didn't have enough smart people in the world. It's not spreading because we don't have enough money in the world. It's not happening because we're not organized enough that maybe people are thinking that if we made the right decision at the right time with the right people, with the right money, with the right organization, this wouldn't have happened.

That is nonsense. Do not forget that when God chose to deliver Israel and to show his glory, he used pestilence. And every one of those 10 plagues was an idol that they were worshiping. And one of the things or many of the things that God used to demonstrate his power was pestilence to show them that you do not have power.

That he is the only I am. Third and fourth, third, finally, the third meaning of his name is that God is the ultimate goal of our existence. Not only is he self-existing, not only is he the cause, he's our ultimate goal. Our purpose in life is ultimately to get to him.

Because that was the biggest problem in our life. All the problems that we have, maybe you're having struggling with your children, maybe because of what's going on now, there's going to be many, many people who's going to lose their jobs. We feel for you. A lot of you health workers who are literally risking your health and possibly even your lives to be in the front line, you're doing something very, very noble.

But our greatest problem is not financial. Our greatest problem is not physical. Our greatest problem is not governmental. Our greatest problem is spiritual. The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Meaning that we've all been separated from I am. From this being.

So we're trying to have this being independent from God. But just like any other household products, when you disconnect it from the source of power, what happens? Either it will die immediately or maybe you have one of those rechargeable batteries. It'll last for a while but eventually it will wind down and it will also die.

It's just a matter of time when you are disconnected from the source of life. The Bible says that all of mankind, because of our sins, we've fallen short of that glory and we are slowly winding down. That's why a one-year-old versus a 90-year-old is closer to the finish line.

We don't grow and we don't become more alive as we get older. We become less alive as we get older. Because we are all winding down. And the Bible says that inasmuch as it's appointed for all men to die once, after this comes judgment. The second death, our spiritual death.

So our greatest goal in mankind before anything else is to be reconnected with this being, with this I am. You know the problem with the health and wealth gospel is that they see God as an avenue to pursue their idols. That God is not the ultimate source. God is not their ultimate goal.

God is somebody that they go through to get what they want, health and wealth. And that's why that's so destructive. Because even though they may be preaching the same gospel, they are not worshiping the same God. God is the ultimate goal of our salvation. John 17. 3. This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

This is eternal life. This is not how you get eternal life. It says this is eternal life, that they may know you. Knowing God is eternal life. Our being is connected to his being. And that's what he means. Christ came and he suffered for our sins, for the penalty of our sins that you and I deserve in order that he may restore us back into a relationship with this being.

That's why Jesus says in John chapter 14 verse 6, I am the way. I am the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. It's not that we have Christ and health. It's not that we have Christ and a job, and a good family, and friends, and even church.

In the end, God will allow certain things to happen in our life for us to recognize that all I have is Christ and all I ultimately need is Christ. Right now, all of us, there are certain things that we value and like, certain habits that we've had. Certain things are very important.

Your health and finances, they are important. But in the end, where are you with Christ? God has turned off the light, not just locally, but globally. A lot of people don't like getting on Facebook because many people have shared with me how they covet and sometimes they feel left out.

They don't like what looking at Facebook does because they see what everybody else does in the world, which is, to be honest, it's not fake, but they're highlighting the best part of their life. They don't record themselves getting angry at their children. They don't record themselves when the food that they cook burned or they get fired from a job.

They don't post things like that. I mean, who would? I wouldn't. So we get to see the highlights, the good things that we want to present, and then when we look at that, we covet and we get jealous. It's like, "Oh, why are other people's lives like this?" But when you actually talk to people, we're all going through the same thing.

But now I invite you to come onto Facebook because it's easier for me to communicate with you and there's nothing to covet. Everybody's home. Nobody is traveling. Nobody is eating great food. All the restaurants are closing. There's no great things. Nobody's outside playing basketball, or they shouldn't be. We're all experiencing the same thing.

God has turned the lights off. Why has he done that? Why did he put us in a place where we are sitting hours upon hours of, "How are we going to fill this day?" Maybe some of that is so that the light can shine on the I am. Let me conclude with this.

I saw this on the internet and I thought it was really interesting. It was a woman who was stuck at home with her teenage girl and was having a conversation and she was so encouraged by what her daughter said that she put it online. And so let me read this.

It says, again, this woman describing her conversation with her 15-year-old daughter said, "I had a very interesting conversation with my 15-year-old yesterday. She said, 'You know, mom, God has allowed us to be at a point in this country where so many of our gods are being taken away. Sports, the arts, entertainment, education, money, travel, and even church and traditions.

I am thinking maybe he wants us to get our eyes on him and be like the early church in small groups learning and growing in him. We are blaming the big government for this chaos and confusion. Have we ever stopped to think that God in his wonderful loving kindness is giving us this opportunity to experience him fresh and anew?

He is sovereign. He is good. I, for one, was very convicted by her words." You know, all of you out there, you have the print of that and I was so encouraged, challenged, and rebuked at the same time. I pray that what God is doing all over the world would not be wasted on us.

That at the end of this, that we would come out more focused, more loving, more challenged, more sober than ever. Let's pray. Sorry before I pray, if I can have the priest come up. I wanted to sing this song. So the way we are going to end this is we are going to sing this song, "All I Have is Christ" because it correlates with what I just spoke.

I am going to ask you guys instead of taking time to pray, I mean you can pray as we are singing this, but after we pray we are going to sing this song and we are going to finish it and then we are going to finish our service for today.

But starting from tomorrow, again, our church is going to be more present online through our Facebook, through various media. You are going to see more devotions and possibly video content. Our soul ministry, our sprouts and seeds and vines ministry, they have already made a bunch of videos for the children to see and I am very thankful because we didn't ask them to do that, they just did that on their own.

So very thankful for so many people. And also, many generous people have donated masks and I do have different masks still at home so if you are in the health work system and not only for you but you want to get some for your friends, I still have some so please text me or email me and I will be able to get that out to you.

But again, let me read this song. All I have is Christ and I want to review it over with you so that when you sing it that this would really be your confession. I once was lost in darkest night, yet thought I knew the way. The sin that promised joy in life had led me to the grave.

I had no hope that you would own a rebel to your will and if you had not loved me first, I would refuse you still. But as I ran my hellbound race, indifferent to the cost, you looked upon my helpless state and led me to the cross. And I beheld God's love displayed, you suffered in my place, you bore the wrath reserved for me, now all I know is grace.

Hallelujah, all I have is Christ, hallelujah, Jesus is my life. Now Lord, I would be yours alone and live so all might see. The strength to follow your commands could never come from me. Oh Father, use my ransom life in any way you choose and let my song forever be, my only boast is you.

All I have is Christ, Jesus is my life. Let's pray. Father, I pray that the words of this song would be our honest confession. Whether we have been sober entering into this or whether we have been drifting, we pray Father God that your word and your spirit would cause us to have a fresh look at the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That we would be able to confess that you are I am and we are because of you. So we ask Lord God that you would bless this time, amen.