(soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) - Good morning, church family, and happy Lord's Day.

I'm gonna go ahead and start our service this morning with a praise. (soft piano music) ♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ ♪ Praise him all creatures here below ♪ ♪ Praise him above ye heavenly hosts ♪ ♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ (soft piano music) ♪ Let earth ♪ ♪ Let earth and heaven's saints proclaim ♪ ♪ The power and might of his great name ♪ ♪ Let us exalt his undaunted name ♪ ♪ Praise God the holy Trinity ♪ (soft piano music) ♪ Praise God ♪ ♪ Praise God ♪ ♪ Praise God who saves my soul ♪ ♪ Praise God ♪ ♪ Praise God ♪ ♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ (soft piano music) ♪ Praise to the king whose throne transcends ♪ ♪ His crown and kingdom never end ♪ ♪ Now and throughout eternity ♪ I'll praise the one who died for me.

Praise God, praise God, praise God who saved my soul. Praise God, praise God, praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise God, praise God, praise God, praise God who saved my soul. Praise God, praise God, praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Good morning everybody. If you are new to Bruin, we want to extend a warm welcome to you. Please, please join us at the table. There's a welcome booth right at the front of the parking lot. You'll see the blue canopy. We have some of our members there. We'd love to meet you and also provide you some more information about the church.

I would like to highlight some important announcements for us today. The first is that for all the men, we have a men's ministry fellowship that will take place on November 9th. And that's going to take place from 9 a.m. through lunch. It's just $10 to participate. It's a great time to come together, fellowship, praise, and learn.

So please make sure you mark that on your calendar and sign up. Today is a particularly busy day. We have our members meeting at 2 p.m. So please make sure for all the members that you show up here in the sanctuary by 2. And right before that, we're going to be having our youth group fundraiser.

So we're preparing for a retreat come early in the year, in 2025. So the students put together a really delicious Mediterranean bowl. We will be serving lunch after this service and also the third service. For those of you guys who are serving, please make sure to make your way to support and also to have lunch.

There is a child safety training day on Sunday, October 20th, which takes place from 1.30 p.m. If you'd like to -- first, there is a membership requirement. But if you'd like to volunteer with students at any extended period of time, we do require that you be safety trained. So there's an opportunity here on October 20th.

Please make sure you sign up for that. There is a reformation night taking place October 31st, Thursday night. So the registration for all the student participants are open. So please make sure to put that in your to-do to sign them up. And it's going to be a great time.

You'll have a teaching about the reformation, a carnival games, and more. The last thing I want to mention is the regional Thanksgiving dinner. So as you know, we've been announcing it a little bit here and there that we're going to come together in various people's homes. Thank you to those who signed up as hosts.

And then we need to put people in these groups. So please make sure you sign up early because that's going to be quite a task getting all these people into various homes. It's going to be Sunday on November 24th at 5 p.m. So please make sure you sign up to participate.

Okay. Today, after our worship set, we're going to be having the privilege of hearing Kaylee Jung come up and give her testimony and be baptized. At this time, we're going to be having a time of offering. So those of you who have checks, please know at the end of service you can visit the drop box right next to the entrance.

Otherwise, we'll give our offering digitally. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we're so grateful to you. You are the God who gives mercy every single day, and you sustain us. And, God, you lavish on us so much love through your son, Jesus Christ, and through your providence. And so we thank you, and we ask, God, that we would respond to you with so much gratitude in our hearts, seeing the privilege just to know you, to be known by you, to sing to you, and to be able to enter your house.

And I ask, God, that even in our offering and our giving, help us to see it just like that, that we are just simply responding in worship to all that you have granted to us. We do pray, God, for our church, that constantly our faith would be growing, our love for you would be growing, and in everything, Lord, we would be expressing our worshipful heart to you.

We thank you, it's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. Church family, would you please stand for worship and take a moment to greet those around you? Amen, please be seated. Hi, my name is Kaylee John, and this is my testimony. I was born into a Christian family and professed to be a Christian.

As time passed, attending church steadily became more of a burden, and I purely went out of obligation. I became more separated from my Christian identity as my desire to conform with the world grew. And with the secular influence of the world, I began to question God's existence as a whole.

I learned about sin and the resurrection of Jesus Christ many times in church, but these teachings just became routine to me. As I grew up, I began to experience the repercussions of my sin. I idolized myself and my identity in many ways, and I came to hate who I was.

In my ignorance, I did not recognize my suffering came from the result of sin, and I began to question if life even had a purpose. If I had a relationship with God, I was seeking the transactional benefits of following Christ. But because life wasn't going my way, I selfishly thought a good God couldn't exist, and I began to resent the idea of him.

By God's magnificent timing, I was sobered with the depth that comes with grief, and I was drawn back to reality from my state of dark and sinful thinking. One tragedy in particular caught me in a vulnerable time and made me reconsider my life. I found it a coincidence that among all the unbelievers in my family, these deaths were of the strong believers.

It was here that I was challenged to think about God's authority over life and death. I questioned the existence of a living God, as this couldn't have just been a pure coincidence. Through this season, I would constantly think about death and the possibilities of the so-called heaven, and through my confusion, I found more of a purpose to seek attendance in church.

Although I continued to seek out church with a hardened heart, there was this one Sunday where a certain topic was discussed that changed my perspective. Through this sermon, I began to grow curious at the possibility that there could be a God who loves me and knows every part of me.

And through my questioning why I was created, I thought maybe the creation of my life was wanted all along. It was still clear that I was seeking God with a self-centered mind, but the possible truth of God's omnipotence sparked a spiritual hunger cue in my brain. By God's faithfulness, I was brought to a church rooted in the scripture.

Going through scripture word for word, I was amazed and realized that context changes everything. And in a way, the Bible no longer became a fable but a tangible source of God's inerrant word. With these teachings, my curiosity and knowledge began to grow, and I came to know bits and pieces of the gospel.

However, much of this knowledge remained in my head, and there was still no conviction within my heart. I would learn about sins and would immediately think of ways to rid of these sins through my flesh, but it was in this way of thinking that blinded me from the truth.

I finally sought personal prayer, surrendering the works of my flesh and patiently trusting in God's will that he would reveal the parts of the gospel that had not yet penetrated my heart. Through God's timing, he continued to show me more of his good character and the innate state of my sin.

In John 14.6, Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." I had heard this verse my whole life, but it was not until the point in which I was saved that I understood what it meant.

I recognized the weakness of my flesh and that no amount of perseverance in my works would be surmountable to make me righteous in front of God. It was in this helplessness that I recognized my need for a savior. That savior was Jesus Christ, and it was through Christ and Christ alone that I could be forgiven in front of a holy God.

Second Corinthians 5.21 says, "He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in him." It was the good news from God whom I once hated and rejected. God could have justly practiced his judgment and wrath upon me, but he showed me more of his goodness even in my sorrow and shame.

In God's supernatural love, a love that only a holy God could have, saw the entirety of my wickedness and yet still chose to save me by the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. By God's grace, I finally came to see the glory that was carried on that cross. Since professing my faith, I learned what it means to love others as myself, to rejoice in all things, the importance of evangelism, and to live for the purpose of expanding his kingdom.

Living my life in full worship of the Lord is the least I could do for what I received, so may I continue to pursue to live a life in a manner worthy of the gospel. Even now, where so many of my sins are unrealized, God allows me to live in his amazing grace.

All praise and honor and glory be to God that even in our fallen state, he continues to redeem those who believe and live in accordance with him. Colossians 3, 1 to 4 says, "Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is.

Seated at the right hand of God, set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory." Thank you.

Thank you for that testimony. As you go into the water, you understand that this represents the union with Christ in his death and to come out, union with Christ, resurrection time. I pass you now in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

OK, thank you again, Kaylee, for that testimony. It was such a privilege to fellowship in that way, thinking of this exact same story and experience for us where we're given light by the Lord to recognize our sin and to receive messages of salvation. This morning, I have a unique privilege to think about evangelism, missions, and the gospel as already the days have gone fast.

And next Saturday, our team, missions team to Taiwan is going to be leaving from the John Wayne Airport here. And we'll be leaving Saturday evening at 6. But at a previous members meeting, I introduced the team to you, Pastor Peter, Kim, and I. We'll be leading the team, meeting Pastor Alex there in Taiwan.

And we're going to be fellowshipping with this church out there called Hope Church, primarily working with college students. Pastor Alex has set up our schedule where during the daytime, we're going to be going to college campuses, presenting English lessons, doing English discussions, and connecting with the students. And in the evening, we'll be hosting English Corners where casually students can come.

We'll build relationships. And by the end of the week, we'll be ministering at the church, but also going on tours and hikes with the students that we've built relationship with. So please make sure to pray for us that it's a pretty brief opportunity, but that we would make the connection and we would have opportunities to share.

Just so that you guys can pray individually, previously I had very small little icons. I have full slides for each one. And we're just going to go through them really quickly. The first individual is Daniel. Daniel Hsu, the next individual is Joanne Chin. We also have Justin Wu. It's a nice photo.

We have Kim Ting. We also have Jay Lee. We have Tim Tang, Tiffany Chen, David Lee, Sam Wang, Daphne Su, Vanessa Yu. All right. So please, again, we do request that for the week that we're gone, there's a lot of travel time, et cetera. And we just really want to ask you to pray for us that the missions trip, we would be bold, we would God provide opportunities, and that he would provide providentially those times where we can really share.

Let's take a moment to pray together. Heavenly Father, God, we know you have ordained the preaching of your word to go forth. And we ask God that regardless of age, regardless of circumstance of life, that that would be at the top priority of the opportunities that we're looking for.

But we ask God that you would bless it. Oh Lord, we pray for your spirit to minister to us that we would be convinced, convicted, bold, courageous. God, we would be faithful, accurate to your word, and that we would represent you in the name of Christ well. We ask God that it would be a blessed time where we could honor you.

And also, Lord, we would share in the joy that if one person, if a lot of people, whatever fruit you will bear, God, that we would rejoice with the heavens and with the saints when one lost individual is found. We thank you, God, it's in Christ's name, amen. As a way to get us to think, I have a pop quiz question for you, not necessarily a pop quiz, but maybe just asking you to remember what was the sermon topic last week?

Any volunteers? I'm just kidding, I'm not gonna make you raise your hand in this large group. Last week, Pastor Peter really, really sets the stage for the sermon today. And because he established and set the problem, okay? And the problem was, in his preaching through the gospel in Luke, he said God was very, very clear and explicit that we Christians are going to suffer for his name.

By identifying with Jesus Christ, we're going to be hated. When we try to live righteously, people will, the darkness will try to overtake us, deceive us, if at all possible. And so what we have is a massive wall of resistance, rejection, persecution, and hardship anytime we try to be a faithful Christian.

But the problem is, we live with a lot of fear. Every single one of us, we have different personalities and gradients of what we're accustomed to, but we struggle with fear. And so in the face of a great expectation that we would be so bold to name the name of Jesus, we actually have a lot of anxiety that things will get awkward.

We have a lot of fear that we'll get rejected. Sometimes we're very apprehensive because we think that we won't know what to say. And sometimes people kind of give up because I've heard people say, ooh, that kind of thing doesn't work. Cold turkey evangelism where you go out, say, hi, my name is, have you heard the name of Jesus?

Like, when does that ever work, right? And so people have discounted just straight evangelism in that way, but here we are thinking about going across the seas to do just that, straight cold turkey evangelism. Hi, my name is Mark. Have you ever thought about eternity? Have you ever heard the name of Jesus?

So we're wrought with fear. What do we do? Now, Pastor Peter, really, again, it was such a convicting message. I took copious notes, but sometimes I forget, so I'm gonna do a review with you. He made that problem or presented the problem even worse because of what the scripture says.

The scripture said, as a review, in Luke 9, that he was saying to all of them, the disciples, if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. All of a sudden, we have a criteria requirement for just to be a disciple.

You have to deny yourself. Verse 24, whoever wishes to save his life will lose it. Whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will save it. So any element of self-preservation is going to cause us to not experience the joys in the Lord. Verse 25, for what is a man profited if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. In other words, yes, you have my sympathy because I feel fear when you walk up to somebody.

I feel more fear when I walk up to somebody I know, when I try to evangelize to friends and family, et cetera. But if I am so ashamed of the name of Christ that I don't speak, the admonition here is then Christ will not represent you. That's what he said.

He posed a problem, that is a massive problem, that when Christ comes in his glory and he comes not as a merciful servant of all, but rather he comes righteously, the judge of all, with authority on the righteous scepter, for him not to represent you is a massive problem, the greatest problem.

What are we supposed to do? And so he posed a question to us last week, how will you gain the boldness that you need? Where does boldness for the disciples come from? And as a review for you, he said, number one, it comes from full conviction of faith, that by faith, if you see the difference between the path that leads to life and the path to destruction, you will move.

And if you see with your eyes that another person is on that road, ready to be hit by a dump truck, you're going to move because you're moved by what you see in conviction, amen? And then he mentioned that boldness comes from the assurance that Christ's very presence is with us.

It was him who said that all the authority was given to him, and lo, I am with you to the end of the age. How empowering is that? And then he spoke about the love of God, the love of Christ that absolutely compels us. That sermon was so good, I'm just giving it to you again.

But without implying that it was in any way incomplete, I would like to add letter D, point four, as my sermon. That for the boldness we need, we also need to develop a true heart of a servant to the Lord Almighty. We have to have the mind, the heart, the desire, and the perspective of a servant.

In this whole endeavor to see the situation and scenario accurately, you also have to have the posture and the view of yourself. In God, he has his vision, he has his desire, he has his will, he has his truth. But he also has a big plan of salvation. In that plan of salvation, do you have a servant's heart?

And so I move to the first point, point one. A true servant sees the big picture. A true servant sees the big picture. You need the servant's heart for boldness because this boldness comes from a servant's perspective on the master's big plan. God has various things he is working on, but you know that God is so powerful, such a master of the universe, he has written the beginning, the middle, and the end.

He has a metanarrative to his redemptive plan. And it is not an unfolding plan by which we, somehow, not as servants, but rather as his consultants, get to change his plan. Let me make this point by another way. Let me pose you a question, okay? What would you say to me if I came to you and said, "Well, I've got a big plan.

"I've got such a plan, it's huge." You ready to hear? We're gonna reach a billion people for Jesus. We're gonna convert a billion people. You and me, brother, let's go. You and me, sister, let's go. I'm gonna create a conference, a team, a association of churches. It's gonna be called the Billion Converts Conference.

See what I did there, BCC? All right. And you're sitting there like, you kind of wouldn't know what to say. I like your enthusiasm. Take a moment to think, what would God think about that? Little Mark saying, "We're gonna reach a billion people." Do you think he'd pat me on the back and say, "I get your heart, that's good." Take a moment to think.

I pondered, what would God say? I would imagine our Lord and Master being very annoyed. I would imagine him being incredibly annoyed. I think he'd be annoyed because he's sitting, God would sit there and say, "You know, my plan of salvation and how the history, "not just in the past, but the forward-looking history "of events are going to go, I was not silent.

"Were you listening? "I have said repeatedly, wide is the gate, "broad is the way to destruction, "narrow is the gate, few, were you listening? "Throughout all of history, I've been saying, "I will preserve a remnant, were you listening "when I said remnant, remnant, remnant, remnant, "were you listening? "When I told you that the darkness is so vast, "the sinfulness of man is so stubborn, "but to that stubborn and dark place, "I'm gonna shine my light, but the people were rejected "as a testimony against them, did you listen to me?" I want you to think about it another way.

Imagine you are the CEO of Chick-fil-A, okay? And you already have enough money, you don't need any more money. You have plenty of money, okay? But your whole thing was, I wanna bring value by adding to the fast food industry, a personal touch. It's gotta have great service, it's gotta have a sense of community.

We will never serve frozen chicken, why? Because I wanted to add more value. But here comes consultant Mark. "You know what, we're gonna sell a billion "chicken sandwiches, you know? "Trust me, we're gonna like fast freeze this thing, "we're gonna put it in Costco, "once you get into Costco, you're gonna make bank.

"Trust me, we're gonna reach a billion people "with chicken sandwiches." You're gonna look at me so annoyed. "Hello, I don't need your consultation, "you don't have the same vision, "you're not gonna make a billion dollars, go away." Right, why? That is not a servant's heart. You have your own vision, you have your own agenda, you have your own picture.

You don't have God's picture, right? Take a look at Matthew chapter 24, verse eight through 14. In Matthew 24, verse eight through 14, it is a picture that Christ himself said multiple times. Not just once here, multiple times. In Matthew 24, the scripture says, "But all these things are merely "the beginnings of birth pains, "when they will deliver you to tribulation "and will kill you.

"And you will be hated by all nations because of my name." Take a moment to think. The vision of God for the moving of the gospel includes the suffering of his children. Do you think God has not thought through that? What right does any child or any consultant have to look at this and be like, "Nah, we don't need to do it like that.

"Trust me, we don't need to do it like that." We can make that gate a lot bigger. That is where Christendom actually starts to fail and go astray because they don't get the big picture. Verse 10, "At that time, many will fall away "and will betray one another and hate one another.

"Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many "because lawlessness is increased. "Most people's love will grow cold." Doesn't this already describe the coming end of age, the stuff we experience and the stuff that we see? I can understand someone saying, "Man, this is tragic. "Man, this is heartbreaking.

"The people are going to go from bad to worse "and then even worse and more wicked." Such is the coming age. And then it says, "But the one who endures to the end will be saved. "This gospel of the kingdom "shall be preached in the whole world "as a testimony to all the nations "and then the end will come." God has given us this strange, perhaps to some people unacceptable, but actually glorious picture.

I believe because the scriptures has said so, that every single person will bow their knee to the Lord Jesus Christ, amen? But why? Do you know why? Because they are deathly afraid. Sadly to say, people will not bend the knee and bow themselves to Jesus because they have fully accepted him as king over his heart because when Christ comes next, he is so powerful, so authoritative, even the rebellious ones will not be able to help themselves.

They'll either go face flat or they'll die in his presence. How dare we, to God Almighty and to Christ, say, "Is that loving? "Do we have to do it like that? "If we package this thing a little differently, "can we just get more in?" That is how you ruin the church.

That is how you ruin the gospel. The most glorious thing is not to always have people and converts just come in, so here I now ask you this question, even thinking about missions. If you have a proper perspective of the big picture, you will be able to answer the question on the specific.

Is a missions trip or your evangelistic outing only successful when people repent and are converted? I think you know the answer. The answer is no, no. Why? Because God will be glorified when he gives the testimony of his grace, extending his gracious arm to an obstinate people. God has already painted the big picture.

Many, even in the face of the sacrifice of Jesus, even in the beauty of his glory, will reject him. But God be glorified, amen? His word has gone forth, amen? And we have represented him accurately as a God of holiness, the God of mercy. In this way, even when we think about our missions trip, yes, I am not saying that we have no interest in the salvation of people.

You know that, right? But Apostle Paul says I have become all things to all people because in the hope to save some. Apostle Paul is not doing the John Baptist thing, going into the desert and just preaching and people coming to him. He's going to the centers, he's going to the marketplace, and namely the synagogues, right?

Why, because he wants to preach, he wants to save. But the heart of the servant doesn't all of a sudden have his own agenda. He says no, Lord, even when people reject me, and yes, your plan has my suffering, your plan has so much risk for me, I'll serve, I'll preach.

This is the way the heart of the servant is. Turn over to Acts chapter 20, verse 22. Acts chapter 20, verse 22. It says 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 affliction await me.

But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course in the ministry which I receive from the Lord Jesus to testify solely of the gospel of the grace of God. This is the heart of the servant. You see, you and I, we naturally are bent on judging by flesh, judging by sight, and so when things don't work, when we get hurt, when there's danger and threat, we automatically think something's wrong with the plan.

But the servant who sees the big picture says, this is what God has ordained. The only thing I'm sure of is not Apostle Paul saying, it's gonna be like what Apostle Peter did. It's like 3,000 people converting and coming to the Lord in one day. All he knew was when I go in there, I'm gonna get beat.

The only thing he was sure of was affliction. The question to us is, do we see that big picture and are we able to say I will serve when there's that kind of risk to my life? That's the heart of the servant, amen? So I move now to point two, that the heart of the servant has this understanding of the master's scheme, meaning his plan, meaning the way things are gonna unfold, even when it goes completely contrary to his natural mind, because the way of God is so much greater, and even the foolishness of God is so much wiser.

Point two, though, is that a true servant seeks to please. A true servant has at the tip of his tongue, what can I do for you? A true servant has the tip of his heart. I want to make you happy. I want to please you, Lord. Now, I wanna ask you this interesting question, because that's not something that is novel and new.

You've probably heard it so many times in your Christian life. But within the Christian jargon and within some of the cliches, I do think there has been some confusion, specifically when it comes to you going out and let's say doing the, what we call, cold turkey evangelism. You just take a pamphlet with you, go to the mall, hello, I'm Mark, can I talk to you for a minute?

It's like, no, oh man, and then, you know? And then, naturally, I think a lot of people, sometimes I've heard people say this, because they get rejected so quickly, they're like, I don't think I was called for this. Missions, have you thought about missions? And perhaps some of you are already, like, immediately discounting yourself from the service to God in the mission field, because you have thought, that's for people who are called.

I've never heard the calling. So question, are you waiting for a call from God to take steps to serve him? Are you waiting for a memo, a post-it note, maybe a divine, like, do it? What are you waiting for? And the reason why I ask this, because there are two separate individuals, and one individual, yes, although it is better than nothing, if he calls me, I will go.

It is shy of the true servant's heart, right? Because one person is waiting for, is he gonna tell me to go? I guess I'm willing. The other person is like, what would you like me to do? I'm ready to go. Do you want me to go? I'll go, right?

Like, another person is looking for the opportunities, not waiting for a sign, a call, or a specific word, but this individual is looking to please. So in 1 Thessalonians chapter four, verse one, here's an important passage for us on this topic. The servant is looking to please. It says, finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you receive from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God, just as you actually do walk, so they're already doing it.

He says, I want you to excel still more. Wow. It is on you to look for those opportunities to do that which you're already convinced pleases the heart of the Father. You're not waiting for, can you do this now? Because you're already looking. That's the heart of the servant.

Now, we ask this question, we know we should be in a heart posture where it's like, Lord, I want to do your will. I want to serve your kingdom. And yes, you have this masterful plan of salvation. Yes, it's difficult, but I'm willing. What prevents us from being there as true servants?

And here I want to bring up an interesting question to you. Do you currently feel like you have way too much going on in your life? Do you currently feel like there are so many to-dos on your list of tasks that you're just kind of praying, like, Lord, help me?

Are you one of those people where sometimes you've prayed, like, God, please just help me get through the day? Now, to that, if you're feeling like that today and you're here, my sympathies to you. Some days I feel like, you know, you're aghast. You're just saying, God, give me strength to finish off the week.

There's just been so much going on. So tired, okay? So as a sympathetic word to you, be careful. If you allow yourself to continue to pray nothing but, Lord, help me survive. God, help me get through the week. Please give me strength to do this and that, and I've got, oh my gosh, I got, like, oil change to do on the car and kids to take to soccer practice, and I gotta meet up with these people, and I gotta prepare for this plan, and then next thing you know, I'm like, school's gonna start, and this job is moving, and da-da-da-da-da is happening.

All of a sudden, what you will find is that you are starting to treat God like an executive assistant. You're the executive, he's your assistant, and most of your prayers have to do with, help me get the stuff in my life done. I find that this is a danger of modern-day life as a Christian.

We are so busy, amen? Again, this is not to just put guilt, because sometimes the good things, where we have both opportunity, time, and we're trying to fill our lives with good things, but all of a sudden, majority of our prayers sound like, God, here are the tasks, I need this, this, this, and this, and this.

Help me. Who's assisting who? Who is assisting who? But the heart of the servant has said, God, I've got, like, what bond servant, what slave says, God, Master, Lord, Father, I've got all this stuff going on. Please don't add stuff to my plate right now, I can't do it, right?

What slave says, Master, can you help me get all this stuff done? The slave is saying, God, I'm willing to clear, I am willing to clear my schedule for you. I've been watching you work over there, can I do that, knowing still, you have an endless amount of things to do.

You know why? Because the role of the slave is permanent. Listen to this, 2 Corinthians chapter four, verse five, Apostle Paul gives a perspective of himself, and he says, for we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord. And then he says, and ourselves as your bond servants for Jesus' sake.

Notice what he did there. Because he is a bond servant to Christ, he is also a servant to the church, to the people of God, amen? But the idea of bond servant, here is the official book definition of the word bond servant, doulos. It is a permanent relationship of servitude.

That is not a, once I get my stuff done, once this season is good. It says, in this discretionary definition, the will of the slave is altogether consumed in the will of the master. The servant is bound to serve. The synonym for a bond servant is just slave. When was the last time the slave was like, I'm just so busy.

I'll get to your priorities when this season of life is better. The servant's heart is looking to please God today. The servant of God is looking to please at all times, watching the Father and saying, do you need this? How can I serve you? Who do you want me to serve?

He is on the ready, looking. Furthermore, in 1 Corinthians chapter four, verse one through two, Apostle Paul says, let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ, stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.

Trustworthy. I gotta be honest, my memory stinks. I apologize to all of you who have ever messaged me and I have not replied. I also apologize if you've ever asked me to do something and I have not been found trustworthy because I am too absent-minded or preoccupied. Why do I say that?

I was thinking about the servant's serving attitude. If I can't serve you, I'm probably doing the same thing with God. And I don't want to. In my heart, I have a deep desire to be trustworthy. You know, when I was saved as a young high school student, as a junior, I gotta be honest, my older brother took me to church and I was kind of dumbfounded and scared by the people.

I was saved as a young student in the midst of a revival generation where every Saturday was massive revival, but I loved it. And the reason why was because at first, I heard the people pray and they were praying with passion. God, I surrender everything, whatever you ask, I'll do it.

I'll give up my life, I'll sell my possession, whatever you ask, I'll do it. And they were praying. And they were praying, just use me, God, use me for whatever you want. First, as a non-Christian, all of that sounded crazy and cultish, right? People saying, just use me, take me.

It's just complete surrender and you're like, I'm outta here. But then I remember once I heard the gospel and the pastor took interest in me to ask me about my own sin, my regrets, and I received the weight of grace, I was saying the same thing. And I remember just saying to God, I surrender everything.

And I remember the very first song that I learned on the little guitar, it was three chords, actually, not four, three chords, D, B minor, and G, he just repeated over. But the song was so simple, I actually tried to find it for the sermon and I actually couldn't find who wrote it.

It's just simply called Here I Am. Super short chorus, and that's it, the whole song is just a little chorus. Here I am, nothing much to give to you. But here I am, asking for the privilege to be used. To be used by you. Use me, dear Lord, make my life a living sacrifice.

Use me, dear Lord, to be a light in the darkest night. Lord, for your glory. And as good charismatics, we're just saying that over and over and over again. But to this day, that to me has been my mantra. And I wanna ask you, amongst all the things you're praying, have you recently prayed, God, use me?

To whatever degree, doesn't have to be A, B, or C. Use me to your good pleasure. I wanna see you happy. I wanna refresh the saints and make them happy. Just use me for your glory, for the glory of your kingdom, your church, your son, just use me. I pray that that would be our heart because that would make us bold.

That would make our eyes open to see what he's doing. And even if what he's doing doesn't make sense to everybody else, we'd be on the ready. Moving to my third point then, the true servant is satisfied when he is used, amen? The true servant who has the right posture and attitude, when he is used by God, he's filled with joy.

When he knows in his mind that this is the will of God and he's doing exactly the will of God, he's both content, secure, and he's sure of himself. There is a level of confidence you can't give, but only comes from someone knowing I'm doing the will of God.

And that's boldness. I will be honest with you, life has been incredibly busy for years for me. For years, it's just been incredibly busy. But I've been so blessed because I get to do as much ministry as my heart wants. I have so much freedom here and now, I'm so happy.

If I ever complain to you about my job, you have permission to rebuke me. But kindly, okay? But let me give you some words on how I want you to rebuke me. If you ever hear me say, "Ugh, I'm meeting too many people. "Ugh, I don't wanna go to the mall." Or, "Ugh, why do I have to go on this mission trip?" If I ever do that in front of you, I want you to look at me, shake your head, and go, "I thought you were a player." And walk away.

And I would know right away what you mean, I'll bow my head and confess, I'll repent, and I'll be good. What do I mean by that? I thought you were a player. Imagine with me a child who is learning basketball, and he joins a basketball league, and he joins a team.

But then upon the coach giving him minutes, all of a sudden, the student, the child is complaining, "I wanted to start off the bench. "Why'd you make me start?" And the coach is like, "Hey, hey, I need you." And he's like, "Oh my goodness, all I have "is like three minutes in me.

"I can't play 10 minutes." The coach is like, "Dude, the game is like 40 minutes. "What's wrong with you?" And the student's like, "Why are you giving me the ball? "Giving me like 20 shots? "What the heck is this?" Okay, no student ever said that. No player in the game is complaining that he's getting minutes.

His complaint is, "Why aren't you giving me more minutes, "coach, I'm ready. "Give me the ball, give me that rock. "I'll take the first shot, the last shot, every shot." Why, because he's a player. If I'm complaining, that must mean that I'm like one of those kids where his parents forced him.

Like his mama was saying, "You need to do a sport "'cause you're fat and lazy. "Do a sport." And he's like, "Oh, Mom, I don't wanna be that kid." You know what I'm saying? If I ever complain, no longer do I have the heart of a servant. I have a heart of a grumbling child who's being forced to do something I know is good for me.

And those are two incredibly different heart attitudes, amen? Well, there are a lot of Christians. Sometimes, admittedly so, where we're just doing things 'cause I know it's good for me, but there's no heart in it. And you know what it's like. Have you ever taught a child? You know they don't wanna do it, so at every step, you have to give another instruction.

Do your homework, write your name, do the first question, show your work, stop writing so nasty like you're writing with your toes. And every step of the way, you have to give them instruction because they're doing it because they know it's good and they have to. There's no heart behind that.

Brothers and sisters, is that the way our heart is? If so, that is not God's design for you. God's design for you is to be satisfied in the work, amen? God's design for you is to have your heart filled because you're doing something valuable, worthy, and that which is glorious to God Almighty.

And that is for every single one of you. Now, do I believe every single one of you should be a missionary? The answer is no. If you heard a pastor say that, it's because he's just using it in the broadest sense possible. You are, by God's design, a vessel of truth, amen?

So every single one of you, yes, you actually signed off on it, if you remember. Point number nine, covenant, nine. I commit to sharing the gospel both locally and globally. And yes, you are the missionary in the broadest sense because you are a witness. If there was a trial going on, you are the person who is supposed to come on scene and say, I saw something, what did you see?

I was a crazy sinner living for myself, but God broke me and then he had mercy on me. He's so good. That's your testimony, amen? Every single one of you is supposed to carry that. There is no Christian who's supposed to be silent about that. But not every Christian is supposed to be an official missionary because there's qualifications for that, because there's gifting for that, because there's opportunity for that, because there are commissioning from the church for that.

There are various things. That's just like basketball, okay? Every single one of you is on the team. Not every single one of you needs to be center, right? Those of you guys who understand basketball, there's a huge guy in the middle whose main job is to rebound, whose main job is to get the easy buckets, and he's running the offense from the center.

Not every single one of you is supposed to be point guard, but every single one of you should know how to dribble and pass, right? That all makes sense. Why am I saying this? It's because whatever you're doing, you should be happy to play, happy to dribble, happy to pass.

But you have to be ready, and you have to have that eager servant's heart. If the coach asks you to play point, play point. If some of you in here have already discounted the opportunity for you to do more for the Lord, go out on an evangelistic event. Go out and try short term missions in the summer, and you just automatically said, "That's not for me," don't do that.

Have the servant's heart to be like, "Oh, shoot. "You want me to try? "It would make me so happy, "'cause I'm trying these different positions, "and I'm actually learning." This is the natural steady growth of a Christian. You're doing the daily disciplines, you're reading and growing in knowledge, and then you're growing in the disciplines, and you're seeing how God would use you in the church, and that the church affirms you, and the church sees your skill, the church sees your giftings, and then they give you more opportunity, and that God has said, "He who is faithful little, "more will be added unto you as a servant of God." Do not hold yourself as the consultant to God, and be like, "No, you can't use me." Don't do that.

Be willing in your heart. Why? The true servant is satisfied to whatever degree God uses them. Small or big. Official, non-official. Specific point, or just a member of the team. The true servant is satisfied to whatever degree God uses them. To make this point, I go to a strange passage, strange, I think you guys probably know it, but strange in the sense that I had such a hard time imagining it.

Acts chapter five, verse 40. Acts chapter five, verse 40. They, that's the Sanhedrin, they took the advice, and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them, and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. You guys know what flogging is? You guys have probably heard that because Jesus was whipped.

You guys have heard that there is a device, basically it's just a whip, but sometimes they call it the cat of nine tails, or they have different terms for it. They would have multiple strands of leather, and on it they would embed bone, sharp stones, rocks, and metal beads.

Why? Because they would beat the person. Did you know that in common flogging, they would beat the person front and back, and they would rip chunks of skin away from their bodies? You know that many people did not survive because of the amount of bleeding that would happen. People who were flogged were permanently scarred for life.

They were deformed. It's so crazy to think that, try to imagine it, and then read the next verse. So, they went on their way from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer the shame for his name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on preaching and teaching Jesus as the Christ.

Oh my gosh. How do you, how do you picture, like meditate, like the whole story? I mean, how scary would you be if you had the authorities, the whole council rebuking you? You better be quiet! And it wasn't just a verbal threat. It wasn't just time in the cell.

They beat you to death. And then all the disciples come together and say, "We got to serve him." Do you see that? They mocked us. They called us little Christians. And then they said, "Let's do it again." That is the heart of a servant that has joy, and the joy to the degree that they shared in the sufferings together.

It's really hard to picture, isn't it? But brothers today, brothers and sisters today, we're imagining we want to be that bold. We want to have that kind of servant's heart looking for the joy. We, you and I, look for this joy set before us when God, our Savior, Christ, our King, would look at us and say, "Well done.

"Well done, my faithful servant." We can start having those moments of joy today. By way of conclusion, there is another passage in Acts chapter 21 to circle our thoughts. I got to be just honest with you. Last week, Pastor Peter mentioned it, and I guess kind of meditation on the thought.

He said, "We are in a unusual, abnormal time." In previous generations, if they said, "I'm going across the seas to do missions," that means you're not coming back. But in our generation, one week, go, come back. No threats. We have it so good, right? And I got to say, I'm confessing that it's hard for me to imagine and put myself in these disciples' shoes when they are joyful that they suffer for the name of Jesus.

I'm going to be honest, it's hard, yes? But nevertheless, I am so challenged, and I am so moved. This is a moving verse. This is a radically challenging verse. Acts chapter 21, verse 12. He is with a prophet and some of the disciples. Apostle Paul says, "When," or this is actually the author saying, "When we heard this, "we as well as the local residents began begging him "not to go up to Jerusalem." Okay, just putting in context, Apostle Paul is traveling.

He leaves Ephesus and prays with the Ephesus elders. He's crying and he's going on his journey. Upon coming here, the leaders of the church and also a prophet essentially says, "Let me see your belt," takes off the belt, binds his leg, and says, "You're going to die like this.

"They're going to bind you. "If you go to Jerusalem, you're a dead man." Paraphrase. And that's why the others are like, "Don't go. "Do not go there." Look what Apostle Paul says. "Then Paul 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.

"And since he would not be persuaded, "we fell silent, "remarking the will of the Lord be done." Wow. Take a moment to imagine that scene. The loving fellow brothers is like, "What are you, you can't go there? "Do you know what he just said? "Look at you, you're already beat.

"Look at you, you're like damaged. "What are you doing?" Probably had all of these rationales like, "You could do more over here "and you could do this over there." Apostle Paul believed in the absolute sovereignty of God. Right? And that is so challenging for us. Now, saints of old, and we've heard here of saints even today, people who will sacrifice everything, sell their business, people who are athletes and millionaires saying, "You know what, forget that.

"I'm gonna go serve the Lord." That is so challenging. Now, at the same time, we don't want to put them in a different class. When you read Apostle Paul's words, is he superhuman? Is he just a different breed? Is he just built different? No. He keeps telling us, "I'm just a servant." My guess is, God just kept showing him his word, showed him a vision of the gospel and kingdom ministry, and to this, Apostle Paul said, "Let the will of God be done.

"I trust him. "I trust the master. "He is king of the field. "If we sow the seed, he will make the growth." Amen? And that is the heart of the servant. Let the will of the Lord be done. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, sometimes, God, we do have a hard time sympathizing and relating to the apostles of the scripture, but God, they were men who were your bond servants, and we, likewise, we're the children of your kingdom.

We have the spirit of God, and we, too, want to grow in our heart of service to you. We want to grow, Lord God, in our heart and perspective of being about your kingdom and your work, so I pray that for every single one of us individually, we do ask, God, that you would use us, and then, as a church, Lord, use us mightily for your glory and kingdom.

It's in Christ's name, amen. - Let us stand for the closing praise. (upbeat music) ♪ God the uncreated one ♪ ♪ The author of salvation ♪ ♪ Wrote the laws of space and time ♪ ♪ And fashioned worlds to his design ♪ ♪ The one whom angel hosts revere ♪ ♪ Among the stars like chandeliers ♪ ♪ Numbered every grain of sand ♪ ♪ Knows the heart of every man ♪ ♪ He is king forever ♪ ♪ He is king forever ♪ ♪ He is king forevermore ♪ (upbeat music) - Guard our fortress.

♪ Guard our fortress and our strength ♪ ♪ The rock on which we can't defend ♪ ♪ Matchless in his majesty ♪ ♪ His power and authority ♪ ♪ Unshaken by the schemes of man ♪ ♪ Ever-changing, great I am ♪ ♪ Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall ♪ ♪ He is faithful through it all ♪ ♪ Crown him king forever ♪ ♪ Crown him king forever ♪ ♪ Crown him king forevermore ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Mighty God in mortal flesh ♪ ♪ Forsaken by a traitor's kiss ♪ ♪ The curse of sin and centuries ♪ ♪ Did pierce the lowly prince of peace ♪ ♪ Oh lifted high the sinless man ♪ ♪ And crucified the spotless lamb ♪ ♪ Buried by the sons of man ♪ ♪ He was justified, the father sent ♪ ♪ To reign as king forever ♪ ♪ Reign as king forever ♪ ♪ Reign as king forevermore ♪ ♪ Eternal God of grace ♪ ♪ We crown you with the highest praise ♪ ♪ All nations and saints adore ♪ ♪ Your holy, holy, holy Lord ♪ ♪ What joy in everlasting life ♪ ♪ When all is love and peace is sight ♪ ♪ Justice flows and praises rise ♪ ♪ At the king of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ King of peace forever ♪ ♪ King of peace forever ♪ ♪ King of peace forevermore ♪ ♪ You're the king of peace forever ♪ ♪ King of peace forever ♪ ♪ King of peace forevermore ♪ (upbeat music) - Amen, let's pray together.

Heavenly Father, we do acknowledge you as God of the universe, God of the entire field, God of this church. And Lord Jesus, you are king. And Father, we believe that there's nothing more noble, more worthwhile than to serve you, the great high king. And we pray, God, with deep conviction we would know that this is our privilege for all eternity, to serve you with everything we have, to serve you with purity in our hearts, and to serve you, Lord God, in holiness.

I ask now that you continue to build in our hearts this passion to be about your work and your kingdom out of a great, great love for you. We thank you in Christ's name, amen. ♪ God sent his son ♪ ♪ They called him Jesus ♪ ♪ He came to love ♪ ♪ Heal and forgive ♪ ♪ He lived and died ♪ ♪ To buy my pardon ♪ ♪ An empty grave is there to prove ♪ ♪ My Savior lives ♪ ♪ Because he lives ♪ ♪ I can face tomorrow ♪ ♪ Because he lives ♪ ♪ All fear is gone ♪ ♪ Because I know ♪ ♪ He holds the future ♪ ♪ And life is worth the living ♪ ♪ Just because he lives ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ I will offer up my life ♪ ♪ In spirit and truth ♪ ♪ Pouring out the oil of love ♪ ♪ As my worship to you ♪ ♪ In surrender I must give ♪ ♪ My every part ♪ ♪ Lord, receive the sacrifice of a broken heart ♪