As Easter is coming up, I wanted to take a few weeks to prepare us. Normally during the Easter, the Passion Week, we have Monday through Thursday, we have events that are going on. We kind of follow the outline of what Jesus went through during that week to prepare us for Good Friday.

And then from Good Friday, we have Sunday morning where we want to take advantage of this year in particular. I think, as I've been mentioning, and I've been talking to other churches and their pastor, and I think we're all in agreement that the last couple years, that God has created an environment that we haven't seen in for a long time.

Where there is, even in our church, there are people who are visiting a church who've never been to church before, never entered church, who are beginning to seek for answers of what's going on. Because I think because of the pandemic, people have been kind of distraught, asking questions about is this it?

Is there more to it? Or people who've fallen away in faith, went to church when they were young, wanting to get back right with God. And what's going on right now with the economic situation, with the war that's happening in Ukraine. And so more people are thinking about deeper things than just having fun.

And this is something that I think God has deliberately created for us. And so each Easter, we want to be deliberate and take that time to share the gospel, invite people to church that may normally not come to church. But especially this year, we want to take this opportunity to not only prepare our hearts, that God would really use this to revive us and renew us if we've been hardened in any way or if we've been drifting in any way.

To take this time to really, like I'm going to commit this period to really focus our attention to be anchored in Christ. But along with that, to take advantage of what is happening around us. That there are people who are asking that we don't just kind of spend the next month or so, you know, like the rest of the world, but be mindful of the non-Christians who are in our lives to be a deliberate witness to share the gospel with them.

So the next three weeks that I'm here and then Pastor Peter Chung is going to give the message on the Jerusalem entrance and then, you know, we have that Passion Week. And so I want to prepare you for that. So each week as we walk through the passages that we would prepare our hearts and that when we come to Good Friday, that we're not just celebrating a historical event, that we really are able to walk with him and have personal convictions and convicted by what he has done for us.

Okay? So I'm going to read the passage in Isaiah chapter 40, just first two verses as we go through this text today. "Comfort, comfort, O my people, says your God. Speak kindly to Jerusalem and call out to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we come before you asking for your guidance, for your Holy Spirit to speak to us through these words. As you are the Potter and we are the clay, mold us and make us, Lord God, into what you desire of us. Sanctify your church, Lord God, that your name may be glorified.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You know, last month or so I've been reading through this book. Okay? This is, this is actually my father's autobiography. He kind of made it into a, like a very easy to read autobiography of when, you know, his earliest memory all the way up to when he wrote this book.

And he made it into like a autobiography slash devotional. So he would tell some story and then he would kind of have some biblical, you know, truths. And so it's like an easy devotional read, right? The first time I read this, I was in my 20s. So when I read it, I mean, it was very interesting because it was by my father, but I was in my 20s.

So I didn't glean as much as I could have, but it was interesting. I didn't know, but I was reading it this time I found out that he was almost exactly the same age as I am now when he wrote this book. So as I'm reading it now, it has a different depth that I didn't see when I was in my 20s because now I can kind of understand the perspective that he's coming from because we're at the similar stage in life when he wrote this.

Now when I, one of the chapters was really interesting to me and I actually already mentioned to some of the pastors. One thing that he mentioned was that how much he didn't like uniforms. You know, and back in Korea in 1950s, you don't question leaders. And so, you know, and my dad does not have that kind of personality.

He just kind of go with the flow type of guy, but he said how he protested wearing uniforms. And the reasoning why he gave was how the uniforms don't give freedom for people to kind of express themselves and really grow. The uniformity is beneficial to the people who are in authority, but for the regular people to be able to really, you know, to grow the way that God had created them.

And the reason why I was interested in that is because that's always kind of been my own philosophy. Even the raising my own children, I didn't want them to become somebody that I made them to be, but I want them to kind of express, you know, even if they struggle, even if they stray, that it's their own faith that they're expressing.

And then, so I've always kind of been hands off in specifically what they do. And that's kind of how even the ministry philosophy, I don't like seeing just uniformity, just like you're supposed to do this because it's, I think true fruit always comes from what God is doing internally.

And again, it was interesting to me because, you know, if I didn't read it, I would have never known that those were his thoughts. And I said, "Oh, okay. He thought the same way." Obviously, I got it from him, you know. I don't ever remember having this conversation, but, you know, it was just interesting to me as I was reading that, "Oh, he felt the same way." So it made me more curious about what else he has to say that I didn't remember in my 20s.

Now, I share all of this because sometimes we can read the Bible as just historical facts, theological things, and we get excited about theology without getting excited about God himself. You can study the Word of God all your life and not really come to a deeper affection for the God of the Word.

The point of our study, the point of everything that we do is to draw us closer to God. And so when our extensive studies leads to greater knowledge without greater humility, greater intimacy with Christ, it does more damage than good. People are not impressed with our knowledge. What people want is Christ.

And so as we study the Word of God, we want to make sure that we're not only understanding his words but his own heart. And so that's my intention for the next few weeks. Even though we're going to be studying the Word of God, I'm hoping that we can understand the heart of God, of what's going to lead to the cross.

If you've studied the book of Isaiah before, you know that the book of Isaiah is really interesting because it has 66 chapters, just like the Bible. We have 66 books. And it's divided into two parts where you have 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament.

And the division in the book of Isaiah is exactly like that. We have 66 books and we have 39 chapters of God indicting the nation of Israel, kind of like the Bible says that the law was given so that sin will become utterly sinful. And so God reveals through 39 chapters of why judgment is coming.

And then starting from chapter 40 on to chapter 66, it's promise of God's new covenant that's coming. And obviously specifically chapter 53 is a clear presentation of Christ and what he was going to do. And so it's interesting that the book of Isaiah is divided this way. And so the text that we're looking at in chapter 40 is a transition from God's indictment into the promise that he's making to the nation of Israel.

But in order to understand what he is saying, I want you to see what's happening and why he leads to chapter 40. See, at the end of chapter 39, as he concludes the indictment against Israel, the historical background behind that is the Northern Kingdom has already fallen. And so they've gone to the Assyrians.

And so the Southern Kingdom has been kind of moving along, but they were also in danger because the Assyrians have become so powerful and they're surrounded by superpowers. And so King Hezekiah, who was a good king, had an idea that if he aligned himself with the superpower that they would be protected.

So he started to become chummy with the Babylonians. And when, as he started building this relationship, he basically opened up the temple and showed all of his inner courts and everything that they had, hoping that somehow if they aligned themselves with them, that if the other superpowers come and attack them, that they would be safe.

Now obviously this very much displeased God because God wanted them, the whole point of Israel's history is so that God can use them to glorify himself. But by this time, even a good king, even Hezekiah, started to drift thinking that if they had political power, that they would become safe.

So it's in that context that Isaiah is given this message to Israel. In chapter 39, verse 6 through 8, it says, "Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon.

Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your sons who will issue from you whom you will beget will be taken away and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon." So clearly this is an indictment against Israel. Everything that you have shown, they're going to be taken away.

And then your children are also going to be forced to go to Babylon and they will become officials. But this is how dense Israel has become. And you can see that in Hezekiah's response. Verse 8, "Hezekiah said to Isaiah, 'The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.' For he thought, 'For there will be peace and truth in my days.'" Now the reason why he heard it as good is because that's exactly what Hezekiah wanted.

Because if our officials go and they take and we become one, we'll be safe. That's what Hezekiah was thinking. That's how far Israel has drifted away from God. And it wasn't because they were worshiping idols. It wasn't because they weren't sacrificing at the temple. It's just that they forgot who God is.

And it's as a result of that, because you relied on Babylon more than me, now the Babylonians are going to come exactly what you have pursued. You're going to get what you want. But they didn't understand that what they wanted was ultimately going to lead to the judgment. And so this transition takes place from chapter 39, indictment against them.

But he reminds them what he said from the very beginning, that God's heart to them is not for the judgment. The judgment was coming in order to properly restore them to God. And that's where he says in chapter 40, verse 1, "Comfort, O comfort my people," says your God.

"Speak kindly to Jerusalem and call out to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." Now he's not saying here in chapter 40, after making the indictment, he said, "You know, I'm just going to forget this and sweep this under the rug and pretend like it never happened." That's not what he's saying.

He's saying once everything that has been ordained because of your sins takes place, once you're taken into captivity, once you lose all the things that he says, and when you become pitiful, and you become nothing, and you realize where you are, and you plead to him, he's promising that he will give them mercy when you return.

This has always been God's heart. God will never compromise his righteousness and peace. He never compromises his love and his holiness. He will always represent himself where both of who he is, what he is, is never compromised. He will never look at our sins and say, "You know what?

For this one, I'm just going to sweep it under the rug because I love you so much, I'm going to let you out." He says, "No. Once the very thing that you think is going to bring safety and peace, you're going to pursue it, and you're going to have it, not realizing that that is an indictment against him." Paul says something very similar in the Corinthians.

One of the most harshest letters that Paul writes is to the Corinthians, where because of the divisions in the church, their communion wasn't true communion. Their fellowship was causing all kinds of divisions. In fact, they said they were tolerating sin in the church that even the unbelievers, even the pagans wouldn't tolerate because the church was so corrupt.

He was reminding them, "Do you not know that your body is the temple and the Spirit of God dwells in it, and he who destroys it, he will also be destroyed." He indicts them, and he cuts them. Because he writes such a harsh letter, many of the Corinthians begin to question, "Who's this guy?

I thought God is a God of love, but why is this guy coming to us saying that he's going to come with the whip if we don't change?" Some were questioning his apostleship. Some were very deeply cut and hurt, and those who didn't repent were basically questioning him. And so he writes in 2 Corinthians 7, he says, "For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it.

Though I did regret it, for I see that the letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while. I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance, for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God." He says God deliberately put pressure on them, cut them, because living with sin swept under the rug may seem to bring you peace for the moment, but until God is declared righteous and we are intimately in fellowship with him, no amount of money, no amount of political peace, no amount of economic stability is going to bring the true peace that only Christ can bring.

There is no parent who loves their child. We may have different philosophies of raising children, but there is no parent who loves their child, who does not discipline their child if they know that that child is headed the wrong direction. Now some of your friends may ignore it, even though they're convinced that you are headed down the wrong path.

They may ignore it because they like you, but they like themselves more than you. They don't want the wrath coming from you. They don't want you to say, "Oh, you're judging me." They don't want to hear that. So even though you're headed toward the wrong direction, they may not say anything to you.

But the ones who love you, they will say something. You will say something to your brother or your sister or your mom or somebody you really love, because no matter what you may think of me, I'm more concerned about the harm that you're doing to yourself. So living in this fake peace is not true peace.

We're just kind of sweeping it under the rug. And this is what God is trying to tell the nation of Israel. Even though harshness, even though God speaks harshly and you will experience suffering because of your sins, God's heart is always gentle. His desire always is to restore. So he says in Isaiah 42, verse 3, "A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not extinguish." He's speaking specific to the nation of Israel.

He said he's going to allow their sins to take its course. And when they become pathetic, like a bruised reed, when they become useless, like a burning wick, and when they get thrown to the ground to be trampled, when everybody walking by said they're not going to have pity on you, you don't throw away trash.

It's like, "Oh, let's have pity on that." A burning wick, a bruised reed. But God says that even when the nation of Israel becomes that pathetic, he said he will not turn away. Isaiah 49, 15-16, "Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion in the son of her womb?

Even these may forget, but I will not forget you." He's talking to the nation of Israel. He said even after all of that, even after rebelling, he said, "Because I made a covenant with you, I will not forget. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palm of my hands.

Your walls are continually before me." Do you remember when you were young, what you put on the palm? Some of you cheat notes, right? Before Christ's days, right? But let's say something positive. Why do you write things on your palm? So you won't forget. Let's say you woke up and your anniversary is next week, and you screwed up the last three years, and then you want to make sure, so you inscribe it on your palm to make sure so every time you do something that you're reminded, right?

And that's exactly what he means by that. He's saying that I've inscribed you on the palm of my hands. I cannot forget you. Even if a woman forgets a nursing child, I cannot. He's talking to the nation of Israel. After all that they have done, even after crucifying their Savior, he says, "Because you're my nation, you're the apple of my eye," he said, "I will not forget you." In fact, we bring this all the way to the New Testament.

Apostle Paul is writing to the Jews who thought that they had a righteous standing before God because they were children of Abraham. The whole book of Romans is to bring indictment to the nation of Israel. Those who have the law will be judged by the law. Those who don't have the law will be judged without the law, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

And because he's making this argument, he knows what the Jews are thinking. If we're all under the judgment of God, what place do we have? Has God forsaken us? Have we fallen to the point where God is moving on from the covenant that he gave us? He answers this question in chapter 11, verse 1 and 2 in Romans.

He says, "I say then, God has not rejected his people, has he? May it never be. Don't even think of it. God said that I've written you in the palm of my hands. How can he forget you? For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew." Some people think that because they've broken God's covenant over and over again, that God decided to move his covenant to the Gentiles now, so they're done. No. God makes it very clear that the covenant that he made with Israel, despite their sins, at one point, when it is time, he's going to renew this covenant with them, because he has them written on the palm of his hand.

This is who God is. In Romans chapter 11, verse 11, he says, "I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be. But by their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make them jealous." Now, if God has done with the nation of Israel, what is he making them jealous for?

Just to rub it in? Just to rub it in? You can't have what they have? That's why he's making them jealous? No. He's making them jealous, because the time has come that this jealousy would cause them to bring revival, and that the nation of Israel, the covenant that he made with the nation of Israel, will be fulfilled.

Now, you may ask, "That's great for the nation of Israel, but what does that have to do with us?" It has everything to do with us, because the God who is faithful to his covenant to the nation of Israel is the same God who is faithful to the covenant he made with us.

So as much as we can trust God and his compassionate and loving heart to the nation of Israel, despite all that they have done, he says, "Comfort, comfort my people," says the Lord. Speak kindly to Jerusalem. This is our God. This is our God. Yes, he speaks harshly. Yes, he warns us about judgment.

But in the midst of all of that, he waits patiently for us. "Comfort, comfort my people," says the Lord. How often have we thought we have exhausted his grace? How often have we convinced ourselves that we're not worthy of the communion table? How often does somebody else tell us that you're not worthy?

How often has Satan indicted you because of your weakness? I pray that as this has comforted me over the years, that it would bring comfort to all of us, that this is why Jesus came. Isaiah 43 to 4 says, "A voice is calling, 'Clear the way for the Lord in wilderness.

Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up and every mountain and hill be made low. And let the rough ground become a plain and the rugged terrain a broad valley.'" The reason why Isaiah uses that imagery is because the nation of Israel, they established six cities of refuge, spread out all over Israel.

And it was the most visible. And all the best roads in Jerusalem and in Israel led to the cities of refuge. They spent so much time, energy, and money to make sure, literally, to cut down any hills or mountains or any valleys that got in the way. So that somebody who had to flee for refuge in this city could have the easiest and the quickest path.

All of that was established to ultimately point to Christ our refuge. That the Messiah was going to come and He's going to be the high priest over these cities of refuge to point to us to run to Him in times of trouble. And that the easiest and the best roads always leads to Christ.

That's why John the Baptist came in Matthew 3, 3, and 4. This is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord. Make His path straight.'" The reason why Isaiah is saying this is because Hezekiah thought that if he built a bridge to Babylon, that if he had allies on his side, that their country would be safe.

That if they give them the inner chambers and say, "Oh, this is what we have," maybe the Babylonians will come to their rescue. And this is the reason why he's reminding the nation of Israel that they are not your refuge. I mean, as I mentioned, we're living now with people in our generation who is looking for some sort of refuge.

Because we don't know what tomorrow is going to bring. Is pandemic going to be over soon? Every time we think it's going to be over, there's some other variant that's coming in. Is this going to be over soon? How about the stock market? Where is this headed? With the economy going the way it is, every time we turn around, the gas is going up.

I mean, for many of us, it's just inconvenient. But there's a lot of people with the gas prices going up, can't go to work. It's serious. Even though many of us, maybe we're financially well enough, it's just an annoyance. But it has serious consequences. And then you have the war that's happening in Ukraine.

I mean, we don't know. And there's more and more as things go along, the talk of, is he crazy enough to use the nuclear bomb? And if he does do that, what's going to happen? Is this going to trigger another World War III? Does that mean that the NATO is also going to retaliate with nuclear bomb?

And they said that we have enough nuclear bombs distributed in the countries that can blow up the world 20 times over. So no wonder people are shaken up. No wonder people are anxious, that everything that we've been trying to build can slap a finger because of one crazy guy, this one nation, it could all be over.

Now we think to ourselves, I mean, we've lived this long and we've seen crisis before, and so we'll be fine. We may tell ourselves that, but we know the reality is it can happen. And even if it doesn't happen, even if that is not the end, we know end is coming.

Where do we run to refuge? Whose words brings you the greatest comfort? What are you waiting for in the next stage that you think is somehow is going to bring peace? You may not call it Babylon. You may call it something else, but any bridge, any road that leads us anywhere outside from Christ is going to bring upon us more judgment than good.

And that's why he's reminded the nation of Israel. He said he was going to come in Isaiah chapter 118. He starts out by this promise, even though he's going to spend 39 chapters indicting the nation of Israel, the very beginning of chapter one, he says, come now, let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow.

Though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. He tells them that before he indicts them, before he spends 39 chapters detailing why judgment is coming, he says, no, but I will make you like wool. Now imagine if you're hearing that, and that's just only one verse, but in almost every prophet where there's an indictment, there's also a promise that he makes, just like he does here.

Come for my people. I will never forget them. There's going to come a time when the Messiah is going to come, that he's going to suffer for our sake, and he's going to bring about a new age where he's going to remember his covenant that he made with the nation of Israel, and he's going to wipe away sins.

And all this is going to happen through the Messiah. How is that going to happen? Because we've heard this, and we sing about this every single Sunday, so it's become so mundane. I would say the majority of you, if I asked you what the gospel is, it's like Jesus Christ loved me, you know, despite my sins, he died for our sins, he was crucified on the cross, and he died, and he was resurrected.

And so some of you can be a bit more articulate and fill in the details, but whatever the case is, we know the general outline of what Christ has done for us. See the Old Testament covenant, when the prophets started prophesying this, they couldn't believe it. How can this happen?

How can the Messiah die for us? What? What are you talking about? Even as they are prophesying, they couldn't believe it. So in 1 Peter 1, 10 through 12, it says, "As this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as he predicted the suffering of Christ and the glories to follow." Really this is going to happen?

Christ is going to come and he's going to suffer? And that's how we're going to be made white as snow? It goes on, "It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you in these things, which now have been announced to you through those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look." Even the angels as their prophecy is going out or looking into it, it's like, "What?

He's going to make us new by the blood of Christ? Who's going to do that? When is he going to do that? How is he going to do that?" Even as they are prophesying, this was unbelievable. But now we are on this side where we have seen clearly what he has done and majority of the response is, "That's nice.

That's good. We're going to sing about it. We're going to have nice Bible tattoos." In and of itself, none of that is bad, but the gospel message and the sacrifice has become so mundane because we sing it, we memorize it, we study it in VBS, but the reality, God who created the universe?

Think about that. If I told you that I'm going to give everybody in this room a Tesla, would you believe it? I said, "Well, I know you don't have money, so let's ... We're fantasizing, right? Let's say I do have the money. Would you believe it?" Some of you may, some of you may not, but I think most of you will be skeptical.

I'm going to give 75% of what I have. I'm just going to give it to you. Why? Just because I'm generous. Something as trivial as money, that all it is is like I just need to empty my bank account, give it to you. My lifestyle is not going to change.

If you decide to be generous, you'll be talking about me the rest of your life. Our pastor, he emptied his bank account. Let me guarantee you that's not going to happen, but I'm just like, we're fantasizing, right? Wow. So anybody who got that is going to be talking about that the rest of their life.

Our pastor is just so generous. It's unbelievable what he did for me. And yet when we talk about the son of God who created the universe, died for sinners and rebellion, was crucified, resurrected, all the while knowing our rebellion, past, present and future. And that knowledge doesn't change us.

We're reluctant to share it. We're still chasing after the world. Does that make sense? Does that make sense? See, that sounds like a mad person to declare that son of God purchased me with his own blood and then to have the rest of our lives look no different than anybody else.

That sounds like a mad person. You actually believe that? And if you do believe that, why do you not look any different than me? Why do the very things that scare me, scare you? Why are you tempted by the same thing that tempt me? Why are the things that the world holds for the same thing you hope for?

You see, what we sing and praise and memorize and teach has become so mundane and pedestrian that we forget what it was like when we first met Christ. That's why the Bible keeps saying, "Remember the height from which you had fallen. Remember how mind-blowing it is that the God of the universe loved you." See, we have become so comfortable, and what we are adopting to is a cultural Christianity, not the real Christianity of Scripture.

Scripture tells us that when Jesus comes in second time, he's described in Revelation chapter 114, his head and his hair were like white wool, like snow, and his eyes were like a flame of fire. Just like it was mentioned in Isaiah chapter 118, he's going to make us like white as snow.

He's described in his second coming as coming as white as snow. Zechariah chapter 3, 3-4 gives us the clearest picture of how he was going to make us white as snow. "Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, 'Remove the filthy garments from him.' Then he said to him, 'See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.'" He was going to make us righteous by giving us his garment, taking off our filthy rags that we may have his righteousness.

That's exactly what it says in 2 Corinthians 5-21, "He who knew no sin became sin so that you and I may become the righteousness of Christ." Again, step away from the numbness that we've allowed ourselves to step into, the lukewarmness that we've allowed to be a regular part of our lives.

Take a step away from that and hear that like you heard that for the first time in your life. Son of God, the very reason why you and I have breath, why the universe works the way that it does, instead of seeing us and being disgusted by our sins, he says, "Comfort, comfort my people.

Speak kindly to them." He drew near to us and he suffered on our behalf. Even now, it says, "It's his kindness that leads us to repentance." He says, "Come." When we see filth, our natural instinct is to move, put it in the trash. And if it's beyond us, we'll move to another neighborhood.

And if people act that way, we keep them at an arm's length. We don't go to neighborhoods. We don't ride buses. We don't go to parts of the world. So when we travel, we go to the best and the nicest places. You don't go to the slums. You don't go to dangerous places because our natural instinct is, if it's disgusting, keep it away.

God saw the filthiness of our sins. And he knew what it would mean for him to remove himself. It would be our own death. So he wants to reveal to us, because we didn't even recognize how filthy our sins were, he gave the law so that we could recognize.

Even Hezekiah didn't recognize the sin in his own heart. So once it has been revealed, once the judgment has come, he said, "Comfort, comfort my people." He says in Isaiah 46, verse 8, "The voice says, 'Call out,' then he answered, 'What shall we call out? All flesh is like grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.

The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord breathes upon it.'" You notice here, he says, "It's not just circumstance. God breathes on it. To test the quality of what you have." When he breathes on it, surely the people are like grass. Grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God stands forever.

Whatever that we naturally run to refuge, when God breathes his breath, will it stand the test? You know, what's happening in Ukraine, I mean, it is, the whole world is watching. It's gut-wrenching to see young children, wives, young families fleeing for their lives. But people in Ukraine, they're not any different than us.

Some of them had weddings planned. Some of them had schools to go to. The young families where moms pregnant. Hospitals, working, people working hard to save up enough money for retirement. Their lives didn't look any different than us, but all of a sudden, war broke out. Now the bombs are hitting and schools are being wiped out.

Hospitals being wiped out. Banks are being gone. Whole neighborhoods, whole cities are being wiped out through this war. Everything that they worked for, everything that they hoped for, everything that they built instantaneously is going up in flames. And as much as we are sorrowful for what we are seeing physically, the book of Revelation tells us that this is going to happen worldwide.

We all know this 100%. Maybe Russia may not come in. Maybe it may not be China. But whatever it is, the Bible says that it is going to happen. 100%. So if the Ukrainians knew that the Russians was going to come in and the hospitals and the things that they valued so much was going to be wiped out by one bomb, would that have changed their perspective?

What they pursued? What they invested in? What they built? Yeah, most likely. What about us? There's a reason why the Bible says not to build your house upon sand. Because as soon as the breath of God comes, it will all be wiped out. It doesn't matter how big your house is.

It doesn't matter how much you saved up. It doesn't matter what neighborhood. Once it comes, all will be gone. So as Christians who believe that He saved us, He saved us of an empty way of life, recognizing that everything, all human beings, everything that we value, like grass, like flowers, in the moment seems so tempting.

In the moment, it seems so attractive. But when the testing comes, will it stand the test of time? It is only reasonable, only reasonable thing that a believer in Christ would do is to invest in things that will last in eternity. That when the day comes and all that we value, all that we are tempted about ends, what will remain?

Or will we be looking back like Lot's wife? Everything that I've invested in is back there. So he says to call out, call out. And then he says in Isaiah 49-10, "Get yourself up on a mountain, O Zion, bear up good news. Lift up your voice, O mighty Jerusalem, bear up good news.

Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, 'Here is your God. Behold, the Lord God will come with might, with His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him and His recompense before Him.'" If you knew that Jesus was coming tomorrow, how will that change your perspective?

I know for a fact, if I knew that I only had one more day, the only thing that I would be concerned about are the people that I need to tell about Jesus. And I believe you will agree with me 100%, that if you knew that you only had a day to live, you're not going to be concerned about your neighborhood, you're not going to be concerned about your job.

The only thing that you're going to be concerned about are the people who do not know Christ. So therefore, he says, recognize, cry out, recognize who we are, recognize that only He has things that have eternal value. And if you recognize that, stand up on a mountaintop and proclaim to the other people the hope that is in Jesus Christ.

My prayer is, as we prepare for the resurrection, His suffering, that we don't just pass this by like just another holiday, that we would use this time to recalibrate our hearts, our mind, our thoughts, and prioritize what ought to be priority, to major on the major and minor on the minor.

If we've had that value flipped upside down, where we're majoring on the minor and minoring on the major, maybe this is a time for us to recalibrate, to consider deeply where we're standing before God. And as Isaiah says in chapter 40, 27, "Why do you say, 'O Jacob,' and assert, 'O Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God?'" Meaning where are you?

How come you're not answering? It seems like you could say all of this stuff, but where is he? God answers in 28, "Do you not know, have you not heard, the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.

He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might, he increases power. Though youth grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, those who wait for the Lord." To wait is not just to passively sit and to see what God's going to do. Wait, meaning that you recognize that our refuge is in him.

You recognize that our strength is in him. You recognize our hope is in him. And you recognize that our life is in him. That's what it means. Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired.

They will walk and not become weary. So as we are headed toward Easter and more and more people are searching, I pray that this would be for all of us to calibrate our hearts, to anchor ourselves with Christ, and to really cry out. As much as many of you are watching television and seeing the Ukrainians and some of you in tears because you see the suffering of these people, whatever your politics may be, that Ukrainians have incited compassion in your heart.

That's why we were able to collect $47,000, because you want to do something. As much as you have compassion for those who are physically suffering, I pray that God would open our eyes to see those who are in spiritual poverty, that they are just as bad in situation, that we would kneel before the Lord pleading on their behalf, that however life that he has given us, however long this life may be, that I would use that time to tell as many people as possible that Christ is a compassionate God.

He's a loving God. And invite them to know this Lord as well. As we ask our praise team to come up, let's take some time to pray. Again, if our hearts have strayed, to confess that before the Lord. If you've just accepted lukewarmness and whatever lukewarmness kind of leads to, and you just accepted that, just like Hezekiah, you have no idea where this is headed, the fruits that it will bear on you, on your children, to come before the Lord, to really come before the Lord and ask, "Lord, soften my heart.

You are the powder. I am the clay. Let your word convict me, guide me, renew me, that everything that I profess to believe is exactly the way that I respond to you, that I may worship you in spirit and in truth." So let's take some time to pray as our worship team leads us.