(gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) - Good morning, church family.

We're gonna go ahead and start our worship. (gentle music) ♪ You spread out the skies ♪ ♪ Over empty space ♪ ♪ Said let there be light ♪ ♪ To a darkened world ♪ ♪ Was born ♪ ♪ You spread out ♪ ♪ You spread out your arms ♪ ♪ Over empty hearts ♪ ♪ Said let there be light ♪ ♪ To a darkened hopeless world ♪ ♪ Your son was born ♪ ♪ You made the world and saw that it was good ♪ ♪ You sent your only son for you are good ♪ ♪ What a wonderful maker ♪ ♪ What a wonderful savior ♪ ♪ How majestic your whisper ♪ ♪ And how humble your lie ♪ ♪ With a strength like no other ♪ ♪ And the heart of a father ♪ ♪ How majestic your whisper ♪ ♪ What a wonderful God ♪ ♪ Now I have fully seen ♪ ♪ How beautiful the cross ♪ ♪ And we have only heard ♪ ♪ The faintest whispers of how great you are ♪ ♪ One more time, let's face it ♪ ♪ Now I have fully seen ♪ ♪ How beautiful the cross ♪ ♪ And we have only heard ♪ ♪ The faintest whispers of how great you are ♪ ♪ You made the world ♪ ♪ You made the world and saw that it was good ♪ ♪ You sent your only son for you are good ♪ ♪ What a wonderful maker ♪ ♪ What a wonderful savior ♪ ♪ How majestic your whisper ♪ ♪ And how humble your lie ♪ ♪ With a strength like no other ♪ ♪ And the heart of a father ♪ ♪ How majestic your whisper ♪ ♪ What a wonderful God ♪ ♪ You made the world ♪ ♪ You made the world and saw that it was good ♪ ♪ You sent your only son for you are good ♪ ♪ What a wonderful maker ♪ ♪ What a wonderful savior ♪ ♪ How majestic your whisper ♪ ♪ And how humble your lie ♪ ♪ With a strength like no other ♪ ♪ And the heart of a father ♪ ♪ How majestic your whisper ♪ ♪ What a wonderful God ♪ ♪ With a strength ♪ ♪ With a strength like no other ♪ ♪ And the heart of a father ♪ ♪ How majestic your whisper ♪ ♪ What a wonderful God ♪ (piano music) - All right, good morning.

Welcome to Breen Community Church. I'm gonna get started with a few announcements this morning. But before we get started, as you can see, as you came in, we still have those communion cups that are on your seat. I told you last week that we were gonna go back to our old style, but we forgot that we have baptism, and so we couldn't set up.

And so starting from next time, we're gonna have to work around that. And so this will be the last time, just in case those of you guys who are upset with us that we're not gonna do this, is to appease your wrath. We're gonna do it one more time this way, this week.

And then starting from next time, we'll go back to our traditional, okay? This morning, we have an announcement from our brother, June Im, for our prayer and fasting chain for outreach event. Yeah. - Good morning, everyone. My name is June Im from the Family Ministry. So as you know, our church's theme this year is hope and pray.

And one of the purposes of the outreach team is to encourage the church in evangelism. So in light of these two things, we're organizing a fasting chain to help us pray as we pray for unsaved people in our lives that we're reaching out to. The fasting chain's gonna start October 17th, which is the Monday after our next members meeting, which is Sunday, October 16th.

And it'll run until Sunday, November 6th. But you don't have to be a member to participate. If you've never fasted, fasting is a spiritual discipline which has many purposes. But one is, as we pray, and in our case, pray for unsaved people in our lives, I think fasting can be a very powerful reminder to us to pray and to pray fervently and just really crying out to God, especially as we're praying for the eternity of people in our lives.

So you can sign up to fast one day. You can sign up to fast multiple days. Or you can sign up to fast just one meal the day that you sign up. And a prayer request form is also being sent around where people can submit prayer requests for unsaved family and friends that we're praying for.

And those who sign up for the fasting chain will be asked to pray for those requests while we're fasting and praying. So on the last day of the fasting chain, which is Sunday, November 6th, we're gonna have what we're gonna call a Christianity Q&A panel. And it's gonna be after Second Service that Sunday.

And I think this would be an opportunity for us, as we're fasting and praying for those people in our lives, to invite them to an opportunity where they can submit questions about Christianity to a panel that we're gonna have that day. So sign ups for the fasting chain and for prayer requests, they're gonna be on the church Facebook page and other social media platforms.

So thank you very much. (audience applauding) - All right, thank you for that. So the sign ups are already, is gonna be happening right away. So you can go to Facebook or social media or a church app, and you'll be able to sign up for that. For men's ministry, on October 15th, from nine to 12 o'clock, we have men's ministry fellowship that happens quarterly.

We have a special speaker that's coming in, Pastor Paul Pack. And so please sign up for that. So as you go outside, and right in front of the entrance of the cafe, there's a sign up table, so you can go and sign up there. And the cost is $10, and that will provide a light snack for the breakfast, and lunch will be provided after the meeting.

Members meeting coming up on October 16th at 2 p.m., so please mark that on your calendar. On that day, we have a service team fair, for those of you who are interested in getting involved more officially in the church, or just wanna find out about what kind of ministries are taking place in the church, that service team fair will be able to give you information for that.

So you can stick around, and on that day, it'll be a very informative meeting that's gonna be taking place. College welcome lunch is scheduled for October 23rd at 12.45 p.m., so if you wanna find out about that, if you're new to the church, and you have some questions, or just wanna find out more about the church, it's taking place on October 23rd at 12.45.

And then Thanksgiving regional dinner sign up on November, it's a little bit away, but they're asking for hosts, meaning that if you're willing to open up your home, and you don't have to live right near the church, because we have people from all over, from Diamond Bar all the way to Cerritos, and even further out, so if you have a home that you're willing to open up to invite guests to come in and share a meal together for Thanksgiving, they're asking people to sign up for the host.

And one last thing is, from trunk formation, for when the world celebrates Halloween, on that day where we bring our children to church and we allow them to experience carnivals and vary games and stuff like that, and so the people who are running that are asking for people to volunteer, so if you have a trunk, which is all of you, and you wanna volunteer to set up a game for the children to play and then pass out candy, or if you are, you're creatively challenged, and you're not able to do that, we actually have games that are stored.

So all you need to do is be willing to run the game. So you just volunteer your car, open up your car, and then just, if you can't set it up, we'll help you set it up. And then all you have to do is volunteer, just bring your car early on that day, and just park it with your trunk open, and then the kids will come and play games.

So they said that we need more people to volunteer for that, so if you haven't done so and you're willing to do that, please contact Facebook, okay? So contact, go on Facebook or go to our app, and there'll be some sort of connection there, and they'll be able to let you know, okay?

All right, so let me pray for the offering again. Our offering baskets is in the back, and if you have a physical offering, you can put it there. And then those of you who are giving electronically, which is most of you, we're asking that if it's possible to use Zelle and not Venmo or PayPal because they're starting to give us issues with-- we have to pay a percentage for that.

So if you can go directly to Zelle. But if you don't have that, the other things are also open, okay? We'll give you a minute to do that after I pray, and then afterwards, our sister Bonnie is going to come up, and she's going to give her testimony and be baptized this morning.

All right, let's pray. Gracious Father, we thank you so much for your continued grace, the love that we are aware of, the love that continues to sustain us that we may not be aware of. Help us, Lord God, to open our eyes to know the depth, the height, the width and length of the love of Christ, that together, Lord God, as the body of Christ, that we may know you, worship you, honor you.

We pray that even as we give, help us to give purposefully, intentionally. May it not be given out of compulsion but out of joy. May it be multiplied for your use, your kingdom, and your glory only. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Church family, let's all stand together. Amen.

You may be seated. Hi, my name is Bonnie Wong, and I have the privilege of sharing my testimony today. Church is supposed to be a loving and welcoming place, but for 20 years I sat alone on Sundays. I felt judged and misunderstood, which made me feel like I wasn't good enough.

Not having any close friends, being compared to other students by my parents, and having bouts of anxiety reinforced those feelings that I wasn't a good person. To prove my worth, I threw myself into my journalism career, in relationships for validation, and in developing a funny personality for acceptance. Over time, my anger turned into hate.

I spent hours scrolling on my phone, judging people's Instagram pictures. I served in college, but it was out of social pressure. In my heart, I wanted to retaliate against others because I felt I wasn't meeting their standards. I sought help for my anxiety, but therapists told me I just needed to accept the broken parts of myself, or shifted the blame elsewhere, like the way I was raised by my strict parents, or traumas outside of my control.

After graduating college, I still called myself a Christian because I believed God existed, but I didn't know Jesus personally. I started attending Berean last December and began membership classes this past spring. As part of the class, I met with Pastor Mark for an informal interview. He read my testimony and asked me to clarify when my conversion was.

I said that it happened in college, but I wasn't really sure. He mentioned one of the indications of faith was bearing fruit, and suggested I be baptized before my induction as a new member. I left the meeting feeling insecure, questioning what those years of church-going amounted to, but through Pastor Mark not letting me off the hook, I began to reevaluate why I wasn't bearing fruit, and that led me to think about my sin.

In Matthew 22, 34, the Pharisees asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was, and he replied that the law can be summed up by two. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the great and foremost commandment.

The second is like it. "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Because of my anger, I was unable to fulfill the second commandment to love others. I felt justified in my behavior until I realized my hatred of others was a direct offense against God's command. In service last month, Pastor Peter Kim preached a sermon on the baptism of repentance, where he said that it wasn't enough to just feel bad about our sin, but that we needed to turn away from it.

He then quoted 1 John 1, 9, which promises, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." All along, I've been trying to fix myself by just doing better, but I never confessed my sin to God or repented.

I only saw myself as the victim, but did not take responsibility for my hatred of people, self-sufficiency, and pride. It was at that moment that the Holy Spirit revealed to me that I was a sinner, not just against others, but ultimately against a holy God. Christ suffered on the cross for me, taking it upon himself to bear my sin to the point of public mockery and physical torture.

Yet he continued to do so for my sake. Through Christ's sacrifice, I am able to better understand his love for me, which gives me the power to love others. After praying for forgiveness and asking Jesus Christ into my heart, I felt a sense of overwhelming peace. By his grace, the Lord delivered me from my bitterness and freed me from the darkness that was so deeply rooted in my heart.

Because I have experienced God's love for me through his sacrifice of his Son on the cross for my sins, I genuinely love him and have the power to love others now, too. It is through this saving faith that I can have relational peace with others because I now have relational peace with God.

I'd like to close with Galatians 2.20, which says, "I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me." Thank you.

All right, thank you, Bonnie, for that great testimony. If you can turn your Bibles with me to Luke 3. I will be reading from verse 18 through 22. Luke 3, verse 18 to 22. Reading out of the NASB. "So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to people, but when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done, Herod also added this to them all.

He locked John up in prison. Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while he was praying, heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, 'You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased.'" Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for guiding us, leading us, and the privilege that we have to come and worship you. Help us, Lord God, never take for granted the gift that you've given us, that we may come before you to celebrate, to give you the praise and awe and adoration that you deserve.

I pray that your word would speak to us, that only your word would speak to us. May it go forth and not return until it has accomplished its purpose. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. So as you guys know, if you've been following with us in the teaching of the gospel of Luke, that we spent about a month talking about John's ministry and his message.

And so we've been transitioning, starting from last week, this was John's words about how Jesus was going to come, and he's going to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire, and then he has a winnowing fork, who's going to separate between the wheat and the chaff. And so this week we look at verse 18 to 20, and you would think that after presenting John the Baptist, the greatest prophet of the Old Covenant, the greatest man who was born of a woman in the Old Covenant, and after presenting Christ and preparing ministry for Christ, such great ministry, that you would think that his life would end with some sort of recognition and honor.

Instead, Luke just, matter of fact, tells us in verse 18 and 20 that after his exhortation, because he called out Herodias for his sins, that he got angered and they just put him in prison. And we're going to get more into this later when we get to chapter 7 through 9, the story is kind of more fleshed out later on over there.

But the way Luke ends his ministry here is that after he's done all that, right, he prepared for Jesus' ministry, the Son of God's going to come, and then he said some stuff to Herod, and then he's in prison. And then he just moves on, you know. It's almost kind of like, that's a strange way to present John the Baptist, right?

After he's done all of that, he just, "I went to prison," and then Jesus showed up in baptism. And that's how the transition takes place here. If we want to know the heart of John, as this transition was taking place, we find that in the Gospel of John, John chapter 3, verse 26 through 30, where his disciples are beginning to see that all that work that John and his disciples put in to gather people to baptize them were beginning to shift toward Christ.

It doesn't spell it out here, but you can kind of hear from the tone and the context that John's disciples are concerned. "Hey, we're losing our people. They're all going to Jesus. Is this okay?" And this is how it is fleshed out. John chapter 3, verse 26, "And they came to John and said to him, 'Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan to whom you have testified, behold, he is baptizing, and all are coming to him.' John answered and said, 'A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.'" Let me stop right there.

So first thing that John says is, you're concerned about people going and that Jesus is taking all our disciples, and John's first response is, "That's not up to us. I didn't draw them to myself. God did. And now that it's time that God is drawing them to them, that's God's doing." I mean, it's such a humble way to put this.

Instead of saying, "They're all going to--they're not recognizing me." Instead, he's calming his disciples down that this is not my ministry or your ministry. This is God's ministry. And I remember this week we had lunch with Pastor Lee from Baby Box, and one of the questions that we asked him was, you know, like, "Do you sometimes get frustrated when you meet these mega church pastors and, you know, maybe a lot of them are kind of like--are not supporting?" And that was kind of like the question that was asked, and he said, "No, I feel compassion for them." And he said, "Every pastor that I meet, they're so tired, and they're so burnt out, and the reason why they're so burnt out is because they have these mega churches and mega visions and all these things that they want to accomplish for Jesus, and they're running so hard to get these things done, and in the context, they're burnt out and tired, bitter, angry." And so he said he actually feels compassion for them.

And then he describes how his ministry, how everything was just kind of happening, and said, "Jesus opens the door, and I go in, and then God provides, and when we need the funds, he gives it to us. He answers our prayer." And the way he describes it, it's like, "Man, it's just--everything that's happening in his life, it's just happening to him, because God has anointed him, and he just, like, he was just saying, 'Yeah, this is--that's not how ministry should be.'" And when I was reading that, I kind of thought of his statement, what he said, and he said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him." How much of our frustration is because we have decided that that's what I want, and I'm trying so hard to get it, and then when that's not happening, it leads to frustration and anger and bitterness.

I want my family to be this way. I want my relationship--I want the church to be this way. And you're trying so hard to accomplish your--what you think that God wants. He says, "No, you can't. You can only have what God gives you." And so John corrects his disciples, and he's like, "Stop trying so hard.

You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but I have been sent ahead of him.'" I told you all along, I'm not gathering people for myself. I'm preparing them for Christ. So now that people are going there, you shouldn't be surprised. Verse 29, "He who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.

So this joy of mine has been made full." Not only, he says, "Can I not control that?" And every person going there--and that's the reason why I came into ministry in the first place. He says, "I'm not the groom." He said, "He's the groom." And so it wouldn't make any sense for the groomsman who's standing there to support the groom to be bitter and angry that the groom is getting all the attention.

The ridiculousness of somebody who is in ministry trying to glorify God and frustrated that they're not being honored in the process. So he says, "In fact, the fact that more people are going to him, it was creating great joy for him as a result of that." And then he says, "He must increase, I must decrease." And that pretty much summarizes John the Baptist's ministry.

"He must increase, but I must decrease." Such a simple statement, not just for John the Baptist, for every single one of us. This is the theme of every Christian. This is the theme of everyone who has been saved on the process of being sanctified and ultimately being glorified. "He must increase, but I must decrease." If people know more about you than the Christ that you love, then you must decrease and he must increase.

If you speak more of what you do, then he must increase and you must decrease. Our primary goal is every person that we meet, that they recognize him and what he's done, what he's doing, how he's affecting us, how he is worthy. That should be our ultimate goal. And that's what John the Baptist says.

He does all this great work and so many people, even the leaders of Israel, are coming to him and as soon as Jesus Christ appears, he just disappears. He doesn't ride off into the sunset. There's no honor and glory. His disciples just start to go to him. He ends up in prison.

Eventually he gets beheaded and the end. That's it. That's all we hear about John the Baptist. The only part we hear about him was the work that he did during that short period to say, "He's coming, he's coming, he's coming, he's coming." And then he comes, boom, he's gone.

We'll get more into why John got beheaded later on because it's brought up later on in the Gospel of Luke. But here, Luke just ends his ministry that way and then he moves on to Jesus' ministry in chapter 321. Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized.

Now you notice here how Jesus' baptism was not very spectacular. He says, "All these people, hundreds, thousands of people are coming to Jesus being baptized and I'm not sure if they stood in a line or not. I'm not sure what the culture was at that time." You go to some countries and they get in straight lines and you go to some countries there's a mob.

My guess is this is a mob kind of crowd. That they're not really. So hundreds of people are just rushing John and it says Jesus was just one of them. So he's like son of God who's going to be baptizing with the Holy Spirit. He's just in the mob and then everybody else getting baptized, he also got baptized.

And then he says, "Heaven was opened after he was baptized and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove and a voice came out of heaven, 'You are my beloved son and you I am well pleased.'" Until this point, Jesus lived in obscurity. In fact, even the town that he grew up in, the only reason why I even know the name Nazareth was because it's mentioned in the Bible where Jesus was raised.

Outside of that, there's no mention of Nazareth. You wouldn't even know that this city existed. In fact, outside of his very birth where Angel Gabriel says that he's going to come and he's going to save the world. Outside of his very birth. And then the only other time we hear about Jesus is when he's 12 years old at the temple.

But outside of that, we know nothing. He just disappears. In fact, he lived in such obscurity when Jesus appears, even John the Baptist didn't recognize him. In John chapter 1, verse 33, it says, "I did not recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.'" Even though they were related, they lived in separate towns and they didn't know each other.

And so when Jesus comes on the scene, even John, who spent all his life, the whole reason why he was born was to prepare for Jesus, he didn't even recognize him when he showed up. But from that, now all of a sudden he gets baptized and the voice of God the Father says, "This is the one.

This is the one that you've been waiting for. This is the one that John has been preparing for." But the fundamental question that we need to ask ourselves is, why did he need to get baptized? Baptism is mentioned in all four of the Gospels. So if you've ever studied the Gospel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you know that the Gospel of John is distinct because the first three Gospels have so many stories that are kind of repeated in each other.

They call it the Synoptic Gospel, similar gospel. But when it comes to the Gospel of John, almost half of it is about the last week of his life. 80% or more of John's content is unique to John. Only about 20% to 15% you see it repeated in the three Gospels.

So when you hear a story that is repeated in all four Gospels, including John, you know that that story is particularly important because John only chose things that fit into his narrative of the point of Jesus' deity, of identifying and to making sure that people understood who Jesus was.

So this particular story of John's or Jesus' baptism is mentioned in all four Gospels. But again, the question is, it's so important, but why is it so important? Why did Jesus have to be baptized? Now, when we say John the Baptist's baptism, what kind of baptism was it? We know it was water baptism, right?

But what was John's baptism for? Baptism of repentance. I gave you a chance. Repentance. He was calling people out to come and repent. That was his main message. So when the Pharisees and the scribes were coming, I said, "Why are you coming and going through the Moshe and not really repenting?" Bear fruits with repentance.

So if John the Baptist's baptism was a baptism of repentance, why did Jesus have to be baptized? Why did he have some sins that he needed to be cleansed by? Was there something that he did as a child that he needed to be cleansed by so that he can get into sinless ministry?

That would be blasphemy. It would be contradicting everything that we know in Scripture. 2 Corinthians 5:21, it says, "He made him who knew no sin, had no personal knowledge of sin, to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in him." If Jesus had any sin, if he was tainted in any way, he would not have been the atoning sacrifice for sinners.

It would have nullified him because he would not be complete. Hebrews 4:15, it says, "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin." No sin. So if Jesus had no sin, has no knowledge of sin, never experienced sin in a personal level, then what did his baptism mean?

Well, if this is perplexing for us, it was also perplexing for John. Because when Jesus stood in the crowd wanting to be baptized, John looked at him and he says this in Matthew 3:14, "But John tried to prevent him, saying, 'I have need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?

I'm the one who needs the cleansing. I'm the one who needs to repent. I baptize you.'" And here's the answer. Jesus says, answering, he said to him, "Permitted at this time, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." So if you've ever wondered why Jesus needed to be baptized or why he was being baptized, there's your answer.

That's the sermon for this morning. You have the answer. Somebody asked you that question. Jesus said, "To fulfill all righteousness." But if you are an inductive Bible study studier, you would ask further than that. And that question is, "What righteousness is he trying to fulfill?" Clearly, that's what he says, "To fulfill all righteousness." The word for fulfill is the same word used in the book of Ephesians where he says, "To be filled with the Holy Spirit." And the word fill basically means to have complete, to the brim.

Meaning that to fill with righteousness means that in every way that he could be righteous, every way that he could be obedient, Jesus fulfilled it. He filled himself with righteousness, to be made complete in righteousness. So this morning, we want to try to look at that text and say, look at the Bible and say, "What is it fulfilling?" If he is trying to be made complete in righteousness, what righteousness is he fulfilling that Jesus will be baptized by John's baptism?

So there's three things I want to highlight here, hopefully that will help us understand what's taking place here. So number one, in what way did Jesus fulfill righteousness in baptism? One, Jesus fulfilled righteousness by submitting himself to the established path to righteousness through John's baptism. Now, we have to understand that up to this point, that the religious system was rejected by God.

If you study the prophets of the Old Testament, all the prophets come and say, "Because you did not honor me as God, because you went after idols, because your religiousness had nothing to do with me," he says, "I'm going to bring a famine to the land, that I'm going to reject your worship.

All your sacrifices are meaningless to me." At that time, Christ appears that the religious system of the Jews were already rejected. In fact, remember at the temple, when Jesus walked into the temple twice, in the beginning of his ministry and at the end of his ministry, he saw what was going on, he became angry, and the disciples said, "Remember, the zeal for his house would consume him." He saw that the religious leaders didn't even make room for women to come in.

If you happen to be a Gentile, there's nowhere to come into worship. Even if you were a man, you're coming into the temple, they ended up bartering and doing business where it was designated for worship. Temple worship was basically rejected by God by the time Christ came. That's why John the Baptist, instead of going into Jerusalem, goes out to the Jordan River to do his ministry.

The path of righteousness that God has established to come to him was taken from Jerusalem out to the Jordan River. So John the Baptist, his baptism, was the righteousness that God had established at that time for people to come and to meet God. So when Jesus says that I have come to fulfill all righteousness, he is acknowledging that John the Baptist is sent from God.

That before he comes into ministry, he acknowledges that God's anointing hand is upon John. Hebrews chapter 5, 8-9, he says, "Although he was a son, he learned obedience from the things which he suffered." He learned obedience. It wasn't because he was rebellious. It wasn't because he was disobedient. He said in every way he learned to submit himself to righteousness.

In every way. He says in verse 9, "And having been made perfect," not because he was imperfect and there was some imperfection in him that needed to be corrected, the word perfect, "telaios," basically means to make it complete. That what he came to do, that he would complete it.

And so what it means is that Christ came and he learned obedience by submitting himself to all that was required of every man. And he was made perfect. He took to completion that everything that was expected of sinful man. He became to all those who obey him the source of eternal salvation.

And that's why it says in Philippians 2, 5-8, when he calls all the church, "Have this attitude in yourself which was also in Christ Jesus, who although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a bond servant, and being made in likeness, meant being found in appearance as a man.

He humbled himself by becoming obedient, even to the point of death, even death on the cross. Christ, the Son of God, even to his own creation, John the Baptist, he humbled himself to that degree. So when he says it is to fulfill all righteousness, it means that he needed to humble himself before he is exalted.

That's what he means. If you've ever actively tried to humble yourself, you know how difficult that is. If you're sitting here thinking, "That's not that difficult." It's probably because you haven't tried it. It's probably because it's like, "I don't need to humble myself." But if you've ever actively tried to humble yourself, you know how difficult that is.

You know how painful that is. We live all our lives trying to be more honorable, get better jobs, buy certain cars, live in certain places. We raise our kids to do the same so they can get better grades. They can run faster. They can compete and they can win.

So our default nature is our own glory. That's why we get offended when people don't give us honor, or they slander us, because it hurts us when we are humbled or humiliated. So to actively humble ourselves, it goes against our flesh. But Jesus, God, He said, "emptied Himself, humbled Himself to the point where He was a servant, even death on a cross." You know, I have two very distinct memories of my father.

And I know many of you who had immigrant parents. Maybe your parents were raised, like full-grown in another culture, and then they came here. So you may have some memory of your parents when maybe you were younger and the struggles that your parents went through. I have two very distinct memories of my dad.

I have memories of my dad out in Korea. He was highly educated. The reason why he came to the United States was because he wanted to get his doctorate in ministry. And he planted a church and it grew. He was a seminary professor. And that small town that we lived in, it was the largest church in that area.

So I remember when I was at school, I would always be introduced as "so-and-so's son," because everybody knew who my dad was. So if I got into trouble, all my friends would get hit, and then I would be spared less. You know, I'd get hit less. Or I'd go to some store and say, "Oh, this is Pastor Kim's son." And then so they would, you know, not everywhere, but every once in a while, they would do this.

So my dad, because where we lived, and because he was a pastor of a large church in that area, that we kind of got special treatment. And then the other part of my memory is all the years that I remember him in the United States. And all of my memory of my dad in the United States was as a janitor, you know, fixing things and working in the dry cleaners, in the heat, and the struggles that he had, and working in small churches.

And so the humbled life that he led while he was in the United States, but I also remember what it was like for him when he was out in Korea. We actually had people come pick us up at our condo, take us to church. And so he had very distinct lives.

As a child, I didn't think much of it. You know, I just said, "Why did we move? It was better out in Korea." But I know, you know, like now as an adult looking back at it, and it's not just my dad, and I know many of your parents sacrificed, you know, and they did the same.

They were educated, and they were honored, and they had all the opportunities, and they came here, and they couldn't speak English. So the only jobs, even if you had a Ph.D., even if you were a professor of a large university, the only job that you were capable of doing here was a janitor, a physical laborer.

And so much of the immigrant history here are people who are very well educated, maybe even honored in some places, and came here and had to start all over from nothing. So when I think about that, the sacrifices that the immigrant parents made so that you and I can be living in this great country, it's humbling.

I share all of that, not to talk about my father, but imagine if it's that hard for us to even imagine doing what the previous generation did for us. This is the son of God who was worshipped by creation. He saw sinners, and instead of turning away, he decided to come.

When you and I travel, we make sure that we book hotels in nice areas. When we travel, we want to make sure that we're going to nice places, we eat good food. But if you find out that you're going to the slums, first thing you would do is change your itinerary.

That's not where we go. Now, every once in a while, we may do that for ministry. We're going into the slums because we want to experience, we want to know, we want to help. But even then, we go there for short term. We go there on experience, we come back, we feel bad, so we donate some money, and hopefully we can do some good.

But we don't buy a house there. We don't camp out there. In fact, even in the church, there are certain people who say weird things and bother us and make us feel uncomfortable. Our natural tendency is to find people that we're comfortable with. These are people that I'm going to run with.

These are people that I like. And then that awkward person who says certain things and kind of keep them at a distance. Because that's our natural tendency. If we look at something that is bothering us or smelly or different, our natural tendency is to get as far away from that as possible.

Jesus looked at our sins, the filth that you and I live in, and instead of pinching his nose and walking the other way, he decided to come and humble himself and took on a form of a servant. So when Jesus says to fulfill all righteousness, he jumped in full blown.

He didn't just dip his feet. He didn't just look at that and say, "Oh, I know what it's like." But he pitched a tent among us. He lived among us. He walked among us. He drank what we drank. He lived what we lived. He experienced the pain that all sinful people living in a sinful world experiences.

That's what he means when he says he fulfilled to fulfill all righteousness. Number two, Jesus fulfilled all righteousness by identifying with fallen men in every way. Hebrews 2, 14-15, "Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise shall also partook of the same, that through death he might render powerless him who had power of death, that is the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives." Instead of turning the other way, he came, and not only so that he can save us, he says so that he can be sympathetic to us.

It would be enough if he saw our rebellion and said, "Enough! I'm going to be merciful to them, and I'm not going to judge them." That would be enough for us to be justified. For him to die, go to the cross, get back to his glory, and experience worship.

Instead, he didn't just justify us. He said he took on and experienced everything that a sinful man would experience so that he may become a sympathetic high priest. Hebrews 2, 17-18, "Therefore, he had to be made like his brethren in all things so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest, not just a God who saves us, not just a king to be worshipped and honored and obeyed, but a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

For since he himself was tempted in that which he suffered, he is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted." He didn't just die and say, "You know what? Forgive them." Like we would consider a righteous judge or a good, merciful judge and say, "We're not going to carry out the sentence," and then just goes home and lives his life.

He said, "No, he pitched a tent among us, and he lived among us. He experienced everything that we experience so that he can be a sympathetic high priest." Our God isn't standing at a distance saying, "Now that I've done all the things, you better worship me." So many people worship him from a distance.

They honor him and admire him from a distance. But it is clear that what Jesus wants is for us to come to him, come to him. He's not just a God who died for us. He's not just a king to be honored. He's a sympathetic, sympathetic high priest who sympathizes with us, who hurts for us, who aches for us, who pleads for us, who intercedes for us.

So he experienced all that you and I could experience in order that when we look to Christ, that we're not just looking at an open door. We're looking at Christ who is inviting us, "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Can you imagine that?

The God of the universe looking at our sins. You are more aware of your sins than I will ever be. And I am more aware of my sins than you will ever be. I'm not going to tell you. I'll tell you if I have to tell you, but I'm not going to tell you every thought, every anger, every bitterness.

I'm not going to tell you all that. I know it. I know the sins that I struggle with, and you know the sins that you struggle with. And if you're honest with yourself, when God sees through all of that, even beyond what you're aware of, would you go to you?

Would you go to you? My guess is we wouldn't. We wouldn't. But he did. He came to us. He walked in our shoes. He lived where we lived. He experienced what we experienced, all so that we can come to him, and by going to him, bring us to the Father.

Isaiah 53, 12, "And he was numbered with the transgressors, and he himself bore the sins of many, and interceded for the transgressors." Number three, "Jesus fulfilled all righteousness through fulfilling the messianic promise." This statement that's made here, he said, "The Holy Spirit descended upon him bodily formed like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, 'You are my son, beloved son, in you I am well pleased.'" If you notice here that Jesus is coming from obscurity, and he's being highlighted, and God the Father is saying, "He's the one.

You are my son. You are my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased." And so the people can see that that's the one, and John needed to know he was the one. The people needed to know that he was the one. And if you notice here, the whole three persons of the Trinity is there testifying.

The Son being baptized, the Holy Spirit descending upon him like a dove, and God the Father verbally saying, "You are my son." This was a direct fulfillment of the messianic promise in Psalm chapter 2, verse 7. It says, "I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord." He said to me, "You are my son.

Today I have begotten you." You notice a difference here where he says, "I have begotten you," and in the statement in Luke, it says that, "I am pleased with you." Well, some people have said, "Oh, he's begotten. He must have been created. Maybe he's a son that God had." Well, the term "begotten" is the same term that is used to be pleased.

Just like when we say "firstborn" isn't talking about first, second, third, or fourth, it means the unique position of that person, firstborn. So when he says he's begotten, it's just another way of saying the preciousness of his son. And so that's expressed when the God the Father says in Luke when he comes out of the water, "You are my son, in whom I am well pleased." Paul repeats that, the messianic prophecy in Psalm chapter 2, when he is preaching his first sermon in Acts chapter 13.

"And we preach to you good news of the promise made of the Father, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children, and in that he raised up Jesus." And it is also written in the second Psalm, "You are my son. Today I have begotten you." So all of this was a fulfillment.

So when he says to fulfill all righteousness is to fulfill God's promise that he was going to come. But that specific promise of Jesus coming and being baptized and the Holy Spirit descending upon him is mentioned again in Isaiah 42 verses 1-3. And this is what it says, "Behold my servant whom I behold, and I uphold my chosen one in whom my soul delights.

I have put my spirit upon him. He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry out or raise his voice, nor make his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not extinguish." Do you notice here, do you notice here the paradox of how John said when Jesus comes that he is going to baptize with the Holy Spirit and of what?

Fire. And then he said his winnowing fork is in his hand in order to separate the wheat and the chaff. That he's going to reward and he's going to judge. He's going to bring fire by the Holy Spirit. But when the Holy Spirit descends upon him, how does the Holy Spirit descend upon him?

How does the Holy Spirit descend upon him? Fire? No. A dove. It comes in the form of a dove, like a dove, and lands on him and stays on him. I mean, if you were paying attention, you'd say, "Well, I thought the Holy Spirit was going to bring fire.

I thought he was going to bring judgment. I thought he was going to separate." But when the Holy Spirit actually comes, he comes in peace. The Bible tells us the reason why Christ has not come is because he is patient. That the full number of the elect would come in.

He's being patient because you and I right now are living in a time of grace. Revelation is coming. The judgment is coming. The winnowing fork is coming. But you and I right now are living in a time of grace where God is being patient, where the gospel is being preached, where Christ comes in the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove.

To invite us, invite the sinners to come to him. We see the same scene in the book of Revelation chapter 5, where all the seals of the books of life, no one could open. So everybody is crying and weeping. Nobody is worthy to open this up. Who will deliver us from this?

And they say, "Do not worry. The Lion of Judah has overcome. He is worthy. He will come and open up these seals." So it stirs them up into hope. The Lion of Judah is coming. And so when they turn to look for the Lion of Judah, what's there? The Lamb of God.

The Lamb of God slain for our sins. They turned around looking for the Lion of Judah, and it was the Lamb of God who came slain for our sins. Mark 10, 45, it says, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." Who has loved you like this?

Who has loved you like this? And you could say, "My mom, my dad, my wife, my husband." But like this? Who is capable of loving you like this? Who is willing to love you like this? The love of Christ compels us to worship Him. It's the love of Christ that compels us to follow Him.

It's the love of Christ that compels us to put away our sins. You know, there's a tendency when you're around proud people, you become proud. You become proud because they're one-upping you, so you feel the need to one-up them. "I did this." "Oh, me too. I did this." "Yeah, but I did this." "No, but I did that." We have a tendency when you're around humble people that we also become humble.

God has a tendency to humble us. When we're around Christ, when we're around the true Christ of the Bible, He humbles us because He humbled Himself. And if you ever see a man who is proud, who's eager to tell you their accomplishments, I don't care how articulate they are, I don't care how smart they sound, they're not near Christ.

A man who is near Christ is always humble. That's been my experience. You know, this week I got to spend some time with Pastor Lee from, not Dropbox, from Baby Box. I keep mixing that up. It's strange, but I've been praying. Esther knows. I've been praying, "Lord, I want to meet somebody that really seems to know Christ and love Christ." It's not that it doesn't exist.

I want somebody who's gone before me. I've been praying, and I've even asked people, "If I go here, is there somebody that I can meet?" Just this fellowship and just to be challenged and encouraged by. Well, to be honest, I was sitting in front of this man who suffered so much, and God has anointed this man.

Things were coming out of his mouth, and I remember just sitting there mesmerized. I was trying to be careful that I don't look like a weirdo, because he was talking, and I'm like, "What?" But I felt like everything that was coming out of my mouth was like, "This is what Jesus would say.

This is what Jesus would feel. This is what Jesus would do." The whole time I was just thinking, "Wow, this man." It didn't come from his learning. It didn't come from years of experience. It came from suffering in his life. Thirty-five years of taking care of a child that would have been abandoned without a second thought for the majority of the people, even Christians, because of the suffering that would come along with taking care of this child.

Fourteen years, had to quit living at the hospital, and it just, you know, because he was faithful and because he chose to love his son. And people started, "Wow, this man." Like, people, like even a chance of Down syndrome, they say, "Oh, you need to abort this child." But to have a child that can't even sit up and was bedridden and fourteen years dedicated, and then adopting other children who were like that to take care of him.

At one point, he had thirteen children that he had to take care of. This was before there was any funding, anybody else. Just him and his wife. And they asked him, like, "Wasn't that hard?" He says, "Of course it was hard." And he said, "But I saw Jesus in their face." And he said, "God showed me through them who he is." This love for these children didn't come from just anywhere.

He wasn't born with this love. It's because he walked in their shoes with his own son. It's because he was there suffering, because he loved his child, that that grew into love for the other children. Unimaginable. I mean, I think every single one of us. Unimaginable to take care of one child that way.

Thirteen children, volunteered, and now people in the neighborhood are just dropping them off at their feet. And so the whole Dropbox ministry happened because they were just dropping the kids off in his front, in the cold sometimes. And so in order to protect these children that they're dropping off, he made that box, "Please put them here so they don't freeze to death." That's why that Dropbox happened.

It wasn't because he was trying to start a ministry. It just happened to protect these kids. And then people heard about this, and you're going to see the movie, so I don't want to ruin all of this for you. People just heard about this, and people started coming, non-Christians started coming.

Like, "How? Why is this so important? Why are you taking care of these abandoned kids? Why are you sacrificing your life to do all of this?" And so they made the movie. They made the Dropbox movie. He didn't say, "Hey, we should tell the world about this." It just happened because they were so amazed by this man's sacrifice and suffering.

And as a result of that, this country, this South Korean country, whose abortion is like nothing for years, even among Christians. They don't think twice about it. But because they see the love for abandoned children, because of this one man and his wife, people started changing their paradigm. Why is it so precious to him?

And why are we so flippant about getting rid of these children? So non-Christians and Christians alike are starting to change their paradigm of their selfishness. And how they didn't value life. Not because he was in the street corner condemning everybody. Not because he was saying these things and saying, "Oh, why are you doing this?" Because of his love.

Because of his sacrifice. People are being drawn, non-Christians. And even, you know, you saw the film crew that was here? They weren't Christians. They just want to highlight his life. And the people who made the Dropbox movie, they're not Christians either. They just made it because they're just amazed by what he was doing.

Again, I'm not going to ruin it for you. You can go see it next week. He didn't just get that. It's because he obeyed. And he walked in their shoes. And God, because he was faithful to the little, God began to open up. And then open up. And open up.

You know what's really interesting was, this is a man who's traveled the world. You have dignitaries, governors, mayors, who are contacting him because they want to talk to him. They want to sit with him. But you could tell they have no idea what they're doing. They're like, "I don't know how to pass this check." You know, and he's like, "A hotel in Santa Ana, that's where the drug dealing happens." And he's like, "Oh, okay.

We'll just move over here." But the amazing thing about all of that is, this guy is like, they made a film about him. He's meeting dignitaries, celebrities are coming, wanting to talk to him. And he doesn't know how to cash this check. You know? Because he didn't plan this.

He didn't envision this. He didn't love his child and those other children. He didn't adopt them because he was thinking that this was going to lead to something. He simply obeyed. He simply submitted. And as a result of that, you see the hand of God on him. And God is moving him.

God is opening the doors. People are giving him money that he's not even asking for. Because they see the hand of God on this man. Man, it was humbling. That's what Jesus called us to do. That's what Jesus called us to do. Not to be smart, not to be clever, not to be well-read, not to be disciplined.

And all those things are important things. But be like a child. Listen to him. Follow him. And obey him. And let him take care of the rest. Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. I pray that you and I would understand. And all this religious--again, I'm the leader of this church.

So a lot of this religiousness is my fault. But Jesus is real. He's real. We're not playing a game. The word of God is his word. Jesus actually came. He walked this earth. He actually died for us. And he is interceding for us. And he is waiting for us.

And he is inviting us. Come alongside. Pick up your cross. Deny yourself. And follow him too. And know the joy. Know the joy that he promised to all those who find true life in him. Let's pray. Gracious and loving father, we believe. Help our unbelief. Open our eyes. Help us to know that you are real.

That you answer our prayers. That your promises are worth giving our life for. We pray, father God, that you would help us with all the saints to come to know more and more each day, each week, each year, the depth, the height, the width, and the length of the love of Christ, that our worship would not be under compulsion, but an overflow of joy that you've given us.

We love you, Lord. Help us, Lord God, to love you more. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. If you can all stand up with me, and the worship team is going to lead us in worship, and then we will lead -- I will lead you in the time of communion together afterwards, okay?

Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away, slain for us. And we remember the promise made that all who come in faith find forgiveness at the cross. So we share in this bread of life, and we drink of its sacrifice as a sign of our bond of peace around the table of the King.

The body of our Savior Jesus Christ, torn from all. Eat and remember the wounds that healed, the death that brings us life, paid the price to make us one. So we share in this bread of life, and we drink of its sacrifice as a sign of our bond of love around the table of the King.

If you now take the communion cup, again I want to remind you this is for the baptized believers in the church, and if you have not, and you have not confessed your sins, we ask that -- there's no secret power to this, it's a remembrance of what Christ has already done for us.

And so if you are here as a guest, we ask that you would not participate in that, but just be mindful and prayerful about what we're doing and the meaning behind all of this. But for those of you who are participating, if you can open it up and have both of them things out, and we will participate in it together.

And so let me read in 1 Corinthians 11, 23 and on it says, "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way he took the cup also after supper, saying, 'This cup is a new covenant in my blood; do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.'" Let's participate together. Sing it right here. I hear the Savior say, "Thy strength indeed is small. Child of weakness, watch and pray. Find in me thine all in all. Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe.

Sin had left a crimson stain, it washed it white as snow. Lord, now indeed I find thy power and thine alone. And change the leper's spots and melt the heart of Jesus. Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, it washed it white as snow.

When before the throne I stood in complaint, Jesus died my soul to save. My lips shall still receive Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, it washed it white as snow. Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, it washed it white as snow.

It washed it white as snow. It washed it white as snow. (instrumental) Oh, praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead. Oh, praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead. Oh, praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead.

Oh, praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead. Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, it washed it white as snow. (instrumental) - Now the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and the love of God that transcends all understanding compel us, remind us, rebuke us, encourage us, and strengthen us that we may be the aroma of Christ wherever God sends us.

Amen. (instrumental) God sent his Son. They called him Jesus. He came to love. He'll lend for you. He lived and died to buy my pardon. An empty grave is there to hold my Savior there. Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone. Because I know he holds the future and life is worth the living just because he lives.

Amen. Jesus, the name above every other name. Jesus, the only one who could ever save. Worthy of every prayer he could ever give. We live for you. Oh, we live for you. Holy, holy. There is no one like you. There is none besides you. Oh.