Who else could make every king bow down? Who else could whisper in darkness tremble? Only our holy God. What other beauty demands such praises? What other splendor outshines the sun? What other majesty rules with justice? Only our holy God. Come and behold the one and the only Cry out, sing holy, forever a holy God.

Come and worship the holy God. What other glory consumes like fire? What other power can raise the dead? What other name remains undefeated? Only our holy God. Come and behold the one and the only Cry out, sing holy, forever a holy God. Come and worship the holy God. Come and behold the one and the only Cry out, sing holy, forever a holy God.

Come and worship the holy God. Who else could rescue me from my failure? Who else would offer his only son? Who else invites me to call him father? Only our holy God. Only my holy God. Come and behold him, the one and the only Cry out, sing holy, forever a holy God.

Come and worship the holy God. Come and behold him, the one and the only Cry out, sing holy, forever a holy God. Come and worship the holy God. Come and worship the holy God. Come and behold him, the one and the only Cry out, sing holy, forever a holy God.

Come and worship the holy God. Worthy of every song you could ever sing. Worthy of all the praise you could ever give. Worthy of every breath you could ever breathe. Give that to you. Jesus, a name above every other name. Jesus, the only one you could ever save. Worthy of every breath you could ever breathe.

We live for you. Oh, we live for you. Holy. Holy, there is no one like you. There is none besides you. Open up my eyes in wonder. Show me who you are and fill me with your holy spirit. I'm forgiven 'cause you were forsaken. I'm accepted, you were condemned.

I'm alive and well, your spirit is within me. Because you died and rose again. Sing that again, I'm forgiven. I'm forgiven 'cause you were forsaken. I'm accepted, you were condemned. I'm alive and well, your spirit is within me. Because you died and rose again. Because you died and rose again.

Amazing love, how can it be? That you, my king, would die for me? Amazing love, I know it's true. It's my joy to honor you in all I do. I honor you. You are my king. You are my king. Jesus, you are my king. Jesus, you are my king.

Amazing love, how can it be? That you, my king, would die for me? Amazing love, I know it's true. It's my joy to honor you. Amazing love. Amazing love, how can it be? That you, my king, would die for me? Amazing love, I know it's true. It's my joy to honor you in all I do.

I honor you. In all I do. I honor you. All right, good morning. Welcome to Breen Community Church and those of you who are worshiping with us online. As crazy as things are here at home, if you, again, know any missionaries who are out in the field, whatever country you may be in, the craziness that's going on is multiplied outside.

And so I hope you guys are able to just continue to pray for our missionaries. This coming Friday, we have a praise and prayer that's going on, and instead of normal Bible study that we have, so whether it's home group or small group, we're taking a break this week and then this coming Friday, we're going to gather together for corporate prayer at 730.

And the layout is going to be very similar to what it is. We're going to have people who are able to come inside, be inside. When this is full, we're going to have the people go outside, and so we're able to worship together that way and take some time to pray.

Pastor Alex, who is our missionary out in China, he's going to come and give an update on what's going on so that we can take some time to pray for our missionaries. And so that's taking place this coming Friday at 730 p.m. So please mark that on your calendar, and we want as many of you guys who can come to come so that we can pray together.

Bring in membership class. That's taking place on November--sorry, not November, October, September 27th, okay, at 9 a.m. That's coming next Sunday at the cafe area. So those of you who are new to the church may not know where that is. If you go from the outside, as you come into the front of the building, there are stairs that go upstairs.

And up those stairs, there's a cafe area in that area. So if you sign up for that--again, this is a membership class, so if you're participating in that, please go up there. And if you have any questions, please contact Pastor Nate Kwok. His email is right there. It's right there for me, but not for you.

On the app or Facebook somewhere, and please email him, and he'll give you directions of what to do, okay? And it's going to be an eight-week class from 9 a.m. to about 10.30, okay? Newcomers Welcome Event, that's also taking place next Sunday at 2 p.m. It's going to be online, and this is for people who just have questions about the church, want to know more about the church.

Some of the leaders will be participating in that. And then so it'll--we'll give you more information of what we believe, how things are run, and so it's a good opportunity just to get to know the church. So if you're interested in that, please contact the Welcome Team after service, or you can go on the church app or Facebook page and it'll give you directions on how to get involved with that.

And they'll give you the entrance into the Zoom room if you do that. Intentional Sisters Fellowship, they're going to be reading the book "Hunger for God" by John Piper. So some of you guys may have read it because we read this book before in the church, but again, I want to highly recommend.

This is a great book if you want to learn about praying and fasting and general hunger for God. And so if you want to participate in that, let the sisters know. Again, Carrie Cheng is the one who's signing up or taking care of the sign-ups and stuff, so you can go to the app or the church Facebook page, and again, you'll be able to sign up for that.

And then finally, we're going to have some announcements that are coming for our education department, but we'll save that for next time. But in October, you know, normally we have Reformation Night. We have the room set up and the children can come, and instead of going out, you know, doing trick or cheating, they come here and we have some lessons on the Reformation.

Well, we didn't want to cancel it because of what's going on, so we are taking it outside, and Pastor Mark has named this "Trunk Formation." Okay, so let me explain the word "trunk formation." So basically, what's going to happen is there's going to be some volunteers who's going to decorate the trunk of their car, and that's where the games are going to be taking place, whether it's, you know, darts or whatever that kids are going to play, are going to do that, and then the prize will be handed out that way, and then there's going to be a brief teaching on the Reformation.

I think this year they're going to cover John Calvin, and then there's going to be crafts that's going to be taking place inside here, but kind of spread out. So we didn't want to take that day away from our children, so we are going to be having that on October 31st from 4 to 7 p.m.

So there is no cost involved. Obviously, we do want to limit the number. We don't want it to be too full. From what I'm hearing, this, you know, the trick-or-treating or that kind of stuff is just canceled in most areas, and so if you are planning to come, if you wish to come and bring it, you know, the kids with you, please let--let's see.

Well, I don't know who's in charge, but let Pastor Mark know, and he'll be able to give you more information on that. So we are having it on Saturday from 4 to 7 p.m., okay? All right, so before I pray, Nick is going to be being baptized after the worship set, so we'll welcome him right after the second.

So let me pray for us, and those of you who are outside, our physical offering basket is in the back of the sanctuary, so after the service is over, if you have a check you want to drop off, you can come into the sanctuary and drop it off into the box that's near the AV room.

So right at the entrance of the AV room, there's a box you can drop it off. Same thing with people here. If you want to--if you have a physical check you want to drop it off, you can put it in that box, okay? All right, let's pray. Gracious and loving Father, we thank you for the privilege that we have to be able to worship you together.

We know that we are living in difficult times, and many churches are wrestling with how to be wise during this period, and so we pray for continued wisdom, continued unity, Lord God, in the body of Christ, that we may honor and glorify you in all things. We pray that the worship that we give you may truly be in spirit and in truth.

If there's any self-righteousness in us, if there's anything in us, Lord God, that is unworthy of you, we pray, Father God, that those things may be revealed. Help us, Lord, to give to you what you deserve, our heart, our mind, our thoughts, our very lives, and that this worship may simply be a reflection of all that you've given us.

I pray for the offering that we give, may it be multiplied for your glory. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Okay, good morning, church family. Happy Lord's Day. Let's all stand together to sing this praise. And just as a quick reminder, especially for those outside in the back, if you can't see the screen or the lyrics, the lyrics are in the BCC app.

Good morning, church family. My name is Nicholas Nguyen, and this is my testimony. So, coming from a loving, non-Christian family, religion was a very small aspect of my life from an early age. The first time I attended church was when I was 13 years old. At that point, I was curious about the faith, but I was far from being saved.

I did not understand how Christ dying on the cross was an act of love, but I knew that he was the way to heaven. And since I just wanted to fit into the church setting, I would pray thanking God for saving us from something I could not understand—sin. However, seeing how some of my peers who called themselves Christians performed questionable actions, I thought that as long as I was a good person, I would go to heaven.

With this shallow understanding and a hardened heart, it did not take much for me to stop going to church. Entering college, I had no thought of joining a college ministry on campus or attending a church again. Through my experiences, I never understood the importance of attending church if people were just going to act the same as good people in the world.

In a sense, I thought of myself as flawless and self-righteous. I would constantly judge others to boost my own confidence, and I thought that I was heaven-bound because I was not a particularly bad person. With my ignorance towards sin and my earthly ambitions, I never thought much about my spiritual well-being.

However, even through my arrogance, God still brought me to a college ministry with my cousin. When I went to the meeting, I was met by a group of very welcoming people. That night, the thing that surprised me was how everyone pointed everything back to God. Seeing such a faithful community, it made me question why they were so intentional.

Through my curiosity, I started attending Berean Community Church. The first sermon I heard was about the parable of the wheat and the tares in Matthew 13, 24 to 30. This parable challenged me to think about the life of a Christian and the difference between a believer and a non-believer.

After hearing more messages, one message about compassion and selflessness caused me to examine myself. Before, I thought of myself as a pretty selfless person. I always wanted to help others when they were in a bad spot and would always make time whenever someone needed me. But in the realization that I was just doing all this to gain recognition and self-glorification, I understood my own sin and saw my own brokenness.

Before, through my own standards, I thought that I could judge if a person was good or bad, which was why there was a contradiction between God's love and justice in my head. But when I realized that even myself, whom I thought was righteous and was broken like the rest of the world, I was able to understand the need for a Savior, the need for Jesus Christ.

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Ephesians 2, 4 to 6, which says, "God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved, and raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Jesus Christ.

Even though each and every one of us deserves eternal death, God's love pardoned us. Through God's grace, I was able to receive Christ into my life. I felt a deep joy knowing that my debt from sin was paid. After being saved, I continue to see my own need for a Savior.

My struggle with my own pride and lust continues to be present. However, knowing that God has released me from the bonds of sin, and loves me, a sinful and broken person, I am able to find comfort and peace in Christ." Thank you. Alright, Nicholas, you understand when you go into the water, you're being united with Christ in his death, and when you come out, you're being united in his resurrected life?

I do. The Son, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Alright, thank you, Nicholas, for your testimony. If you can turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 10, we're going to be finishing up our sermon I started last week, verse 32, sorry. To 39. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 32 to 39.

Reading out of the NASB, "But remember the former days when after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of suffering, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession of a lasting one.

Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.

But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. We are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the persevering of the soul." Let's pray. Christian loving Father, we thank you. Thank you for the privilege that we have to come and worship you, to enter the throne of grace with confidence.

Lord, whatever we have been distracted by, whatever we have brought into this room, whatever we have been entangled with throughout the week, we thank you for this time that we may be able to offer it up and give to you a worship that you truly deserve. May your word have its effect on us.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Alright, so as you guys know, this is the second part of the text that we're looking at, verse 32 to 39. And again, as you know, it is connected to the previous passage where he gives a warning. He basically had 10 chapters of calling people back to being anchored in Christ, the supremacy of Christ, how he is greater than everything else, and warning them in the previous text a couple weeks ago that there are serious consequences.

This is not just a suggestion. That if a Christian or someone professing to be Christian continue to slide to the point where we no longer recognize him as a follower of Christ, he says, "Whatever we said in the past really doesn't matter because there is a stark warning." In fact, the most severest warning was found again a couple weeks ago when he said, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." But again, the point of that was not simply to end with that.

The point of that is for the hearers to have a seriousness of what he's been saying all up to that point, and really to get the genuine Christians to recognize how serious this is and to encourage them to persevere. And so the exhortation that we were looking at this started last week was an exhortation to persevere by looking at the past.

It's an exhortation to persevere by looking to the future, and an exhortation to persevere by recognizing who we are in the present. So today we're going to be looking at the exhortation to persevere by remembering their future. But just so that we can connect this to the passage that we were looking at last week, it starts by telling them, "Remember in the beginning when you suffered many things and even your possessions were being taken, and that you had people around you that was being dragged into prison." So this was no ordinary just kind of, you know, pointing fingers and people snickering at them.

We're talking about their livelihood. Some of them, at least during the time that this was being written, if Nero was in charge, which most people believe, we're talking about a situation where Christians are being dragged into the Colosseum, being torn apart by animals. And he reminds them, "Do you remember that time in the beginning when you suffered?" You know, and we talked about that last week.

Why would he point that out? If he wants them to persevere, why would he remind them of the intense suffering that they came from in the midst of the intense suffering now? He said the difference between the beginning and what they were experiencing now is in the beginning, in the midst of this intense suffering, he said they had joy.

Now that they're in this intense suffering, they're experiencing fear. So the distinction between what they were experiencing then and what they were experiencing at the present time is the way that they were responding to this persecution. And so he doesn't tell them, "Remember the beginning, how courageous you were.

Remember how disciplined you were. Remember how organized you were." He doesn't tell them that. He points them back. The reason behind why you had joy in the midst of suffering is because you were anchored in Christ then. But since then, you've drifted. You have forgotten who Christ is. It's not fresh in your memory.

You're relying on your own strength. So now you're facing this persecution. Instead of causing joy, it was causing fear. And really, that's the whole point. That's the whole point of what he's been trying to say all through Hebrews. And he's going to continue this point all throughout. That if we're not remaining in Christ, it is not the circumstance.

Right now, we're in the middle of a pandemic. We have an election that's coming up. We had an earthquake, you know, just this Friday. We had all this crazy fire. We have civil unrest because of race relations. We have missionaries who are being kicked out of the countries that they've been in for decades.

I mean, all kinds of craziness is happening right now. The temptation that you and I can get into when things are stirred up is simply, wait. If we pray, if we're faithful, maybe all this will pass and we'll go back to normal. And maybe we can get back together, enjoy fellowship.

Maybe we can go to restaurants. And maybe the political situation will be better. Maybe the race relationship will be better. And if we pray enough, our circumstances will calm down and things will get better. So persevere, stay the course. But that's not what he says. He doesn't promise that things are going to get back to normal.

He doesn't promise and say, if you just continue down this path, just wait a little bit longer, that God's going to deliver you from this and things are going to be okay. He doesn't say that. There is no promise. Now, there are periods of life where we experience peace.

And there are periods of life where there is tremendous turmoil. But God doesn't promise that things will get better. He doesn't promise that we're going to live a life of peace. But what he says is, the distinction between joy and fear was not the circumstance. It was their anchoring in Christ.

And that's why he says, do not forget. And that's why even David, when he repents of his sins in the book of Psalms, he says, what does he say? Remember that song that we sing a lot? Restore unto me, what? The joy of my salvation. The greatest concern that he had as a result of his sins was he lost the joy of his salvation.

So, when an individual is not anchored in Christ, any little discomfort, any little thing that can go wrong, causes turmoil, a relational issue. Maybe you didn't get the job that you wanted. Maybe the circumstances isn't exactly what you wanted. Maybe you wanted to go to a vacation and the prices went up.

You can rock your boat. But when we are anchored in Christ, even in the midst of suffering, it's an opportunity to glorify God. And as crazy as things have been, and I think most of us who are old enough, I think most people will admit that as crazy as things have been in the past, this is pretty crazy.

2020 is pretty crazy. But along with the craziness, we also have to admit that there have been more opportunities to glorify God in this midst because of this. More opportunities to share the gospel, more people who are searching, more people who are looking. So when you're not sober, we may just look at this situation as we need to just persevere and get back to normal.

And not looking at it as an opportunity to glorify God. That's the difference between an eternal perspective and a temporary perspective. So last week he says, "Remember, because you drifted away from Christ, that you forgot even in the midst of suffering how you rejoice." But today we're going to be looking at the second part, it says, "Exhortation to persevere by remembering, remembering that this is not all.

There is a reward coming if you continue to persevere." Verse 34b, "Knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one." Not only is it better, but it is permanent. That whatever is being sacrificed now, whatever we need to endure now, he said, "Compare to what's coming." He says, "It is not worthy to be compared." Verse 35, "Do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

For you have need of endurance." He says it again, verse 36, "For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised." He says it over and over and over again in this text. That the motivation behind our perseverance is to look to the future.

Not to the future next year, or after college, or after you set it down, or after you bought a house, or after your kids are raised. He said, "In the future, when Christ comes." And that's why he says, repeatedly, over and over again, "The key to our perseverance is constantly looking to Christ and comparing what's coming with Christ with what we have now." But if we're not anchored in Christ, we only see Christ as an avenue to make this situation better.

And if you're living by flesh and not by faith, all we see is, what is this going to produce for the next stage of life? So, I don't mind, just like we put money in the bank, we take it out of my pocket, put it in the bank. If I can earn interest, and then I can pull it out when I need it.

But what would cause an individual who has money in his hands, security in his hands, and to be willing to give that up simply because of a promise? That is not tangible. You cannot see, you cannot taste, you cannot touch. Why would an individual who has his security in his hands, and he desires right in front of you, to be willing to put that away simply because somebody said that there's a better investment if you persevere and endure?

And I'll give you the answer to that. It's pretty simple. It's because you believe. Only an individual who believes the promise of eternal reward would be willing to let this go. There's a reason why, you know, when we're suffering, we're having hard times, and we can't find a job, we cling to God because we have nothing to lose.

You know, we cling to Him. God, help me get a job. Help my children be healthy. Help our marriage. Help this. And we cling to God, but as soon as we have something tangible in our hands, we don't really need Him anymore because I have what I need in my hands.

In 2 Corinthians 4, 17-18, it says, "For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond comparison." You know what's interesting here? It says, one, this, whatever suffering that you're going through, it's momentary. Right? Compared to the eternal glory, it's momentary. And then he says, "Light affliction." Now, if you look at that and say, well, maybe it's light, you know, it's pretty relative, right?

They're snickering and pointing fingers and saying, "Oh, I don't want to be his friend." Is that what he means when he says light? I think you and I all know that the first century Christians, their persecution was very intense and physical. You remember in Corinth? Apostle Paul was very concerned about going in there because he was being beaten and chased out from every city.

And Jesus had to speak to him, not to be fearful because I have people here, but he was heavily persecuted even in Corinth. And when I say heavily persecuted, we're talking about beatings. We're talking about being thrown into jail. Many people, this was already happening during this period, but the way Paul describes it, it says, "Momentary light affliction." And the reason why he's able to call it momentary and light is because he's comparing with the eternal glory beyond what?

Comparison. He's comparing his suffering to the eternal glory that is coming in Christ, and in comparison, it's momentary and it is light. You see why? If we take our eyes off of Christ, I mean, how can you call that light? I mean, when you're suffering, it feels intense. And that's why his point is not to simply be courageous, not to simply be organized and to be better disciplined, but it says the Christ who saved you in the past is the Christ that we need to be able to see.

It's the Christ that we need to be anchored to that's coming. Again, in Romans 8.18, "For I consider that the suffering of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Again, in comparison. I mean, who wants to suffer?

If it's a safer neighborhood, I mean, Irvine is always voted as one of the top cities to live in because it's safe. Nobody chooses a house where it's dangerous. Apostle Paul says, "But in comparison, in comparison with the glory that is to be revealed." He said this momentary suffering is nothing.

And then in Philippians 3.8, he says, "More than that, I count all things to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." In comparison. Remember Apostle Paul? Remember who he was before he met Christ? Apostle Paul was already famous. He was one of the top scholars in the Jewish community.

People say that he may have already been a member of the Sanhedrin, one of the senators of Israel. He was already a rich man. He already had the Roman citizenship. He was already at the apex of what the Jewish community would have wanted. That's just a portion of what Apostle Paul had.

But he says, in all that he has had, all the respect, all the money, all the honor, all the fame that he had, all the political power that he had, he says, "In comparison to the surpassing knowledge of knowing Jesus Christ, it became," what? "Dung." So the moment we take our eyes off of Christ, how can we in our flesh look at what Apostle Paul had and say it was dung?

We don't look at winning the lottery as dung. We don't look at moving into a nice house as dung. We don't look at getting promotions in our work as dung. When these things happened, we say, "God was so good to me. What a blessing that my business is doing well.

What a blessing. My child was sick and now he is well." Nobody looks at that and says, "As dung." It is only in comparison to the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ. So therefore, once we begin to drift away from him, you cannot in your flesh win over the temptation, especially where you and I live.

I mean, you and I live in an area where if we dream it, we can actually do it. I mean, some of you guys may know, some of you guys may be shocking to you. Majority of the world does not get to look at a magazine in a beautiful place and say, "I'm going to go there one day." That's ridiculous.

Majority, 99% of the world does not have the opportunity. That's just a fantasy. That's just like me saying, "One day, I'm going to fly." Because they're struggling to feed their children. They're struggling to get a job. But where you and I live, we think about career. Am I satisfied in my career?

Even that idea of career, there's a bunch of things that you and I do that people in the world would not understand. Garage sales, the idea of having too much, so we got to sell it for cheap. Something that I bought, upgrading our phones. These are things that if you travel around the majority of the world, it's ridiculous.

But you and I live in this place where we are constantly bombarded. Everything that we see, if you eat it, that's on my bucket list. I'm going to go there. And we can actually go. It's just a matter of making time. You and I cannot, by our own flesh, win the temptation that you and I are surrounded by.

It is only in comparison to the surpassing knowledge of knowing Jesus Christ. So the moment you take your eyes off of that, temptation will creep in. It is impossible to win over the temptation when we have drifted away from Christ. That's why he says, do not throw away your confidence.

Okay, so we're doing inductive Bible study. And in interpreting a text, what is one of the most important things that you need to do in understanding a text? It starts with a C. Context, right? You guys have your masks on, so I have no idea what you're saying. Context.

So context, context, context. So if I say, "The bomb," you don't really know what I mean. I could mean, there was a terrorist that planted a bomb to get out. Or I could mean, that was awesome. The bomb. So you have to know, is that part of my normal vocabulary?

Yeah. Just kidding. Right? I love using that term. So when you say, "The bomb," normally that's not how I talk. So you have to understand the context of who I am, how old I am, would I use that, have I used that before? So all of that. So when we're interpreting the scripture, you can't just take, this is what you think it means and just add it to that.

That's why the digging happens, right? That's why we're asking questions and you have to understand the context. How did he use that word? Confidence, the word confidence simply means to be bold. But boldness can mean a lot of things too, right? You can be bold, being courageous, not having fear.

But what is this confidence, this boldness that he's referring to? Well, the author uses it several times prior to using it here. And so let me look at this so that we can have a better understanding when he says, "Do not throw away your confidence." Hebrews 3.6. "But Christ was faithful as a son over his house, whose house we are.

If we hold fast our confidence and boast of our hope firm until the end." What does he mean here by confidence? Your courage? What does he mean by here, confidence? He's talking about the blood sacrifice of Christ. That our confidence to come to Christ isn't because you're bold, isn't because you're righteous, isn't because you've done these great things.

He says, "No, do not throw away the confidence in you, the blood sacrifice, so you are able to be bold." Again, he says it in Hebrews 4.16. "Therefore let us draw near with confidence the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." So what does he mean by confidence?

Because you're older, because you're more experienced, because you study the Bible better, because you have a position in the church. What does he mean by that? The blood sacrifice of Christ. He said we are able to enter the throne of grace with confidence because Christ covers us in our sins.

Because we have been atoned for, our sins have been atoned for. So he says we can draw near to the throne, the throne, the king, with confidence. He's not talking about us. He's not talking about our righteousness. He's talking about the imputed righteousness of Christ. Again, in Hebrews 10.19-20.

"Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he inaugurated for us through the veil that is his flesh." Just in case we didn't know, just in case after he said all of this that anybody was missing the point, he actually describes it here.

Confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus. The living way, a new way. So what does he mean here? He says do not throw away your confidence. Meaning, do not try to continue on this path by your own strength. You're not going to be able to make it.

If we drift from being anchored in Christ, the Christ who justified us, and the Christ who will glorify us, and if we try to add anything to that, you will end up throwing away your confidence. The only way that you can have confidence is to enter the throne of grace.

And that's what he means to be anchored. And there's a reason why Jesus, in his seven "I am" statements in the book of John, his last thing that he tells his disciples to do what? To remain. He doesn't say go. Before he goes, you have to remain. Before you preach the gospel, before you convert unbelievers to Christ, before you engage in this spiritual battle, he says to remain.

That's why a Christian who's studying the Bible, but is not praying, is completely impotent. Because it is not our knowledge. It is not our will. It is not our courage. It is by his might. It is by his strength. And that's why he says you have to remain. You cannot bear fruit.

You cannot engage in this spiritual battle unless we remain, continue in Christ. Unless we are absolutely dependent and anchored in the Christ who saved us and in the Christ who will glorify us. That's what he means by confidence. Do not forsake this confidence. You know, the problem is, when we first become Christians, you know, we are so enamored by our justification.

And we're humbled, usually. Because we've just recognized that every righteous deed that we did and we recognize all the sinful things that we've done. And so we come to church and we're humbled. We want to know what the Bible says. Every song, every word is impacting us because that's me.

That's what he did for me. But for whatever the reason, after two months, a year, ten years, thirty years, we add to our justification our works. That I've done this and I've done that. And we compare our righteousness. At least I'm not as bad as them. You know, I know I'm not perfect.

And whenever somebody states that, states anything with, "I know I'm not perfect," you know what's coming. Right? I know I'm not perfect, but I'm not as bad as them. So for whatever the reason, we start out with justification and then we add our own righteousness as we go along.

And the longer that we've been a Christian, the longer we compare our righteousness to other people. And we're no longer students. We're mighty warriors by our own strength. And we become absolutely impotent. That's what he means. There is not a single person in this room who is not in dire need to fight to remain in Christ.

You know when you really need to remain? Is when you're young. You know, when you're in high school, you just graduated high school, and you're college students. Man, you really need to remain in Christ. You are desperately in need of Christ. You don't have your parents looking over your shoulder, and all of a sudden you're able to stay out late, hang out with your friends.

And there is great temptation that comes with the freedom, with all the choices that are in front of you. So if you don't anchor yourself to Christ, you can easily drift. You know who else is in need of desperate hanging on to Christ? Those of you who just graduated.

You just graduated, you're in the workforce, you're working, and all of a sudden you don't have the accountability that you had before. The majority of the people that are surrounding you are not like you. In fact, you're kind of weird. And so you're being tempted to drift. So if you're not anchored in Christ during that period, you can easily drift.

In fact, the statistics say more than 60-70% by the time they graduate before they become 30, they've already drifted and they're gone. So the key is to really cling on to Christ to those of you who are dating. Those of you who are dating, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

The temptation, the struggle, and even the miscommunication. Your world gets flipped over upside down every time you have a fight. And if you're not anchored in Christ, it's a very, very difficult period of life that you're not going to make it through. You have to anchor in Christ. You're desperate.

You know who else needs to really cling to Christ? Those of you who are not dating. You know, you're living in coveting and watching and saying, "Why isn't this happening to me?" And then your mind starts to drift away and after a while, say, "Why is God, why did God put me in this situation?" And your coveting causes you to drift away from Christ.

And if you're not careful and you're not anchored in Christ, this envying and desiring and all you are thinking about is the next stage of life. And if you're not anchored in Christ, you're not engaged. And you're looking to the next stage of life and then those of you who just got married and all of a sudden you feel like you've arrived and then you're no longer actively pursuing Christ anymore because you're relaxed.

You know? And you're just waiting to have kids and get to the next stage. You're enjoying the things that God has given you and the next thing you know, you've drifted together. And it's much harder to remain sober together. So during that period, if you're not really anchored in Christ, you can easily drift away.

You know who else really needs to be anchored in Christ? Brand new children, the parents who have kids. Oh my gosh, I don't even have to explain. Everybody who's like half falling asleep or the parents who didn't get enough sleep last night, they're free. What do you do in your free time?

And they get angry that you asked them that. Right? Free time, what is that? So if you're not anchored in Christ you're not even doing anything bad. You're just trying to feed them and take care of them and make sure they're not sick and not getting hurt. And you're literally giving your life to another human being and you're huffing and puffing just to make it to the next week.

And if you're not anchored in Christ, you do that for a year, two years, five years, ten years, next thing you know, you don't even remember what you were like before you had kids. And we're parents who have children who are beginning to grow up and move out. As we hit our 50s and 60s we kind of drift into this oblivion thinking like, oh, hard life is behind us and we can just kind of drift and just kind of coast along.

Waiting for retirement to happen because retirement is close. And if we're not careful we can just kind of coast along and drift. And if we're not really anchored in Christ we're just kind of waiting to drift along. But there is a period when you don't need to worry so much.

It's when we die. That is the only period in life where you don't have to be so worried about being anchored. The temptation that we have is we think, and I can tell you right now that every stage, no matter what stage you're in right now, that you probably agree with everything that I said.

You're probably thinking during that stage, yeah, it is tough. It is tough being married. It is tough having a kid. It is tough going to college. I didn't realize the temptation that's there. Man, it's tough graduating. And all of you, whatever stage in life that you're in, you agree that there is pressure to constantly drift.

But the temptation is to think that if we change this circumstance, if we change that, that maybe it will become easier. Every stage of life, there's a different challenge waiting for you. Every stage of your life until we meet Christ. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.

Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour." He is never at rest. The spiritual battle is not just when we're young, when we're single, it's not when we get married, it's not when we have kids. Until the day we die, we are in this spiritual battle.

And that's why the moment that we are not anchored in Christ, we will drift. That's why he says again, 35, "For you have need of endurance." And then he says again, verse 36, "For you have need of endurance." Now, whenever you see anything in repetition in the Bible, emphasis, right?

So if Jesus has something really important to say, what does he say? "Truly, truly, I say to you." If Peter is about to put his foot in his mouth or maybe after he put his foot in his mouth, Jesus say, "Simon, Simon!" In other words, pay attention, right? If I wanted people to pay attention, you'll hear my voice go up.

I don't do that deliberately, that's just the way I talk. I talk like that even off the pulpit. If I get excited, it tends to go up. If I really get excited, sometimes you'll see me banging on the pulpit. I don't do that deliberately, it's not on my notes, bang here.

It just happens, I get excited. Or if I plan it, I might put it up on the screen and say, "This is important, you need to pay attention to this." Well, obviously the authors of the Bible, the way they communicated is they did it by repetition. That's why we know that the holiness of Jesus is repeated three times, twice.

In Revelation, the book of Isaiah, he is holy, holy, holy. I say all of this because he says in repetition, "You have need of endurance." That's really how he's saying this, because he repeats it twice, back to back. It is not, "You should endure." "Try to endure." That's not what he's saying.

"You have to endure." One of the key elements of our assurance of salvation is perseverance. You must persevere, because one of the true evidences of our saving faith is perseverance of our faith. Now let me tell you why he says that. Because the Bible describes a non-Christian becoming a Christian of his eyes being opened to the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And you can never go blind again. Once you've seen it, once you've genuinely seen the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ, you can't ignore that anymore, even when you are struggling. Even if you've drifted for a period. You can't just close your eyes and say, "I'm going to pretend like I've never seen that." You can't re-close your eyes.

Just like if you've tasted something really good, you say, "Oh, I'm going to act like I never..." No. What you've tasted, what you've experienced, you can't reverse that. And that's what he means by perseverance of the saints. If there was genuine faith, you may drift, you may struggle, but you can never shut that door again.

And that's why he says, "You have to persevere." You have to persevere, because that's not who you are. God had made you a creature of light. And if you drift into darkness, you will sense that you do not belong. And that's why he says, "We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed." That's not us.

God fundamentally changed our nature. We feel alive in the light. We feel free in righteousness. God had changed the affections of our hearts. So that what we long for is Christ. And so we may be temporarily stumbled, we may be temporarily tempted, but a true child of Christ will endure.

And he says, "Yet in a very little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay." Did you notice the repetition in that too? He says three times, "He who is coming will come and he will not delay." So again, what does it mean when he says it in repetition?

Let me read it the way that we should read it, okay? "For you need to endure, you need to endure, he is coming, he is coming, he is coming." That's how it was meant to be read. He said, "We need to endure because this is momentary." Whatever temptation, whatever struggles, whatever period of life that you are in, it is temporary, momentary, and it is light in comparison to the glory that is coming in Christ.

So if you've forgotten about that, if that's a distant memory, that's the reason why we're struggling. That's why our sanctification is so hard. Because we want something and then we come to church and the pastor keeps telling you, "You can't have it." That's what sanctification is, when you've taken your eyes off the prize.

Here's a bunch of nice things that you want, you can't have it. And then you try to forget about it during the week and then you come and you say, "You can't have it again." And all churches, a constant reminder of the things that you love, things that you want, and then me telling you, "You can't have it.

You can't have it." If that's what sanctification is, you're not going to make it. So he says to remember the God who justified us and remember the glory that's coming in this guy. In a little while. How can you even say a little while? It's been 2,000 years. That preaches well, but what does that mean after 2,000 years?

Well, time is really relative, right? If I say a year to a 50, 60 year old, the year is like, "Oh, that's just around the corner." You tell that to a five year old, "A year! That's 20% of my life." Let me illustrate it this way. Imagine if you're on a cruise.

I don't know if any of you have been on a cruise. You're on a cruise and they drop you off at a nice, beautiful island. You go on and you're supposed to enjoy yourselves and you're supposed to come back by 4 o'clock because the ship's going to take off.

And once they take off, they're not going to be able to come back. They're not going to be able to just drive and meet up with you. Once they're gone, they're gone. They told you to come at 4. You ventured out because you wanted to see the hills, but then you got a flat.

And you know they're going to leave at 4. And there's no other ride to get back. And so you put on the backpack, you put on your running shoes, and you try to run as fast as you could. You're looking at your time, and you're running and running and running.

And the ship's about to go. 4 o'clock hits and you're not there. And you're waiting and waiting. 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes go by. And they wait as long as they could. And at about 5 o'clock they say, "You know what? We've waited." And so they shut the thing and then they go.

And so for the people who are running to get to the boat, they've done everything that they could, but they left too early. They missed it. But the ones who are sitting in the boat, it's like, "Oh my gosh, what is wrong with this boat? "They said 4 o'clock, but now it's 5 o'clock "and they don't keep their promise." I told my friends that I was going to meet them at the other side, but they left at 5.

So to one group they didn't keep their promise, and they didn't leave on time. And then the other group, saying they left too early. See, 2 Peter 3.9, it says, "The Lord is not slow about His promise, "as some count slowness, "but is patient toward you, "not wishing for any to perish, "but for all to come to repentance." Do you know when this was written?

First century. About 30 years after the death and resurrection of Christ, the early church, early people say, "Where is He?" Do you know why He was probably saying that? If you know the context of the letter of 1 Peter, He's writing during a period of Nero's intense persecution. So they wanted relief.

So they're saying, "Why isn't He coming?" I mean, our friends are being dragged in the Colosseum, being torn apart by lions, why isn't He coming? He said, "He's going to come, "He's not going to delay." Where is He? They were saying that in the first century. It's been 2,000 years since.

But the reason why He hasn't come yet is because of me. It's because of you. Because He was holding up the boat until we got in. So when He says He's not going to delay, He's not going to delay. He's not going to delay any longer than He needs to until the full number of His elect come in.

And He will not delay any more than until everyone whose name is written in the Book of Life comes in to the boat. But let's see it from another perspective. No matter how long we've waited, there's nobody in human history that waited more than 100 years. Nobody. Unless you were born and you got saved at three months old and then you lived to 100.

Right? Even if we did wait eagerly, you know, I got saved, you know, 37 years ago and I've been waiting 37 years. I don't know how many more years to go. But at some point, I won't be here. My waiting will end. So no human being has really waited 2,000 years.

At best, maybe one, I don't know of any, possibly 100. But when He says He will not delay, this is not an exaggeration. But He says we are not of those who shrink back in our disorder. That's not who we are. If the Holy Spirit is in you, you will not feel joy outside of Christ.

Outside of Christ. If you are a Christian, even in the midst of pursuing the world, there will be an emptiness in your heart. Even if you don't recognize it. Like you, you, something is off. You may not be able to pinpoint it, but something is off. Even as you're pursuing, even as you make money, even as your business is thriving, something is off.

Because God created us to be creatures of light. You may stumble in the darkness. You may find a little bit of life in the darkness. But there is no true life. And that's why He doesn't say, "Hey, prove yourself to be in the light." He says, "No, we are not.

We are not of those who shrink back." So let me conclude with this. In 1 John 3, 1-3, He says, "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us." The word "see" is translated in other parts of the Bible as translations "behold." It wasn't just meant to be just kind of casually look.

He says, "Behold how great a love the Father has bestowed on us." In other words, think carefully, meditate carefully. If you do not see the great gift of salvation that we have in Christ, behold what love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called the children of God.

You know your sins. Even before you came in, we're all nicely dressed, our hair is combed nice, right? Most of us. And we're presenting our best, but you know your sins. You know the lust in your heart. You know the bitterness. You know the hatred. You know how you've drifted.

When we recognize who He is, and we look carefully of what He calls us, that's why He says, "Behold, behold how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called the children of God, and such we are." Anchor in Christ, and anchor in Christ to come.

For this reason the world does not know us because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. If you consider carefully, behold what manner of love and who we are in Christ, that what we are experiencing now is only temporary, and is only partial, and whatever we are beholding, the true ramification of this is coming in Christ.

We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is, and everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself just as He is pure. So as we are wrestling, and I know there's every single one of us, no matter what stage in life you are, we are all wrestling.

The temptation to drift is tremendous, and if we don't actively, purposefully, deliberately, willfully anchor ourselves in Christ, we will drift. So behold what manner of love that is given to us, that we are called the children of God, and those who fix their eyes upon Him will purify themselves, and will endure.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your continued blessing. I pray especially for my brothers and sisters who are drifting now, whether here, or whether online, or at home, and we caught ourselves, our hearts being hardened, and the things that are eternal just doesn't seem to matter as much as it used to.

Help us, Lord God, that your word would strengthen us. The Holy Spirit that you've deposited in us that is groaning on our behalf, that we may be united with you for eternity. Help us, Lord God, to groan along with the Holy Spirit. Help us, Lord God, to be desperate and to seek you with all our heart.

Help us, Lord, that our confidence is in what you have done and not in our own righteousness, that we would not forsake our confidence. Especially, especially now, Father, as the world becomes darker and more and more lost every single week, I pray, Father God, that your spirit would be mightier, that your word would be stronger, that your word would be more powerful, and that your church would do what you've called us to do, to be a light in this dark world.

So for that end, we pray for your blessing. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let's all stand together for a closing praise. (soft music) ♪ My gift of grace ♪ ♪ Is Jesus my Redeemer ♪ ♪ There is no more ♪ ♪ For heaven now to give ♪ ♪ He is my Redeemer ♪ ♪ He is my joy ♪ ♪ My righteousness and freedom ♪ ♪ My steadfast love ♪ ♪ My deep and boundless peace ♪ ♪ To this I hold ♪ ♪ My hope is only Jesus ♪ ♪ For my life ♪ ♪ Is wholly bound to His ♪ ♪ Oh how strange ♪ ♪ And divine ♪ ♪ I can see ♪ ♪ All is mine ♪ ♪ Yet not I ♪ ♪ But through Christ in me ♪ (soft music) ♪ The night is dark ♪ ♪ But I am not forsaken ♪ ♪ For by my side ♪ ♪ The Savior He will stay ♪ ♪ I labor on ♪ ♪ In weakness unrejoicing ♪ ♪ For in my need ♪ ♪ His power is displayed ♪ ♪ To this I hold ♪ ♪ My shepherd will defend me ♪ ♪ My hope is only Jesus ♪ ♪ For my life ♪ ♪ Is wholly bound to His ♪ ♪ Oh how strange ♪ ♪ And divine ♪ ♪ I can see ♪ ♪ Through the deepest valley ♪ ♪ He will lead ♪ ♪ Oh the night has been won ♪ ♪ And I shall overcome ♪ ♪ Yet not I ♪ ♪ But through Christ in me ♪ (soft music) ♪ No fate I dread ♪ ♪ I know I am forgiven ♪ ♪ The future's sure ♪ ♪ The price it has been paid ♪ ♪ For Jesus bled ♪ ♪ And suffered for my pardon ♪ ♪ And He was raised ♪ ♪ To overthrow the grave ♪ ♪ Oh the night has been won ♪ ♪ And He was raised ♪ ♪ To overthrow the grave ♪ ♪ To this I hold ♪ ♪ My sin has been defeated ♪ ♪ Jesus now ♪ ♪ Forever is my plea ♪ ♪ Oh the chains are relieved ♪ ♪ I can see I am free ♪ ♪ Yet not I ♪ ♪ But through Christ in me ♪ (soft music) ♪ With every breath ♪ ♪ I long to follow Jesus ♪ ♪ For He has said ♪ ♪ That He would bring me home ♪ ♪ And day by day ♪ ♪ I know He will renew ♪ ♪ Until I stand ♪ ♪ With joy before the throne ♪ ♪ To this I hold ♪ ♪ My hope is only Jesus ♪ ♪ All the glory evermore to Him ♪ ♪ When the race is complete ♪ ♪ Still my lips shall repeat ♪ ♪ Yet not I ♪ ♪ But through Christ in me ♪ ♪ To this I hold ♪ ♪ My hope is only Jesus ♪ ♪ All the glory evermore to Him ♪ ♪ When the race is complete ♪ ♪ Still my lips shall repeat ♪ ♪ Yet not I ♪ ♪ But through Christ in me ♪ ♪ Yet not I ♪ ♪ But through Christ in me ♪ ♪ Yet not I ♪ ♪ But through Christ in me ♪ - Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we ask for your continued anointing and grace as you send Jesus to us. As you send your church to the world that we may be a light. Help us, Lord, to be sober and anchored in Christ so that we do not run this race by our own strength, by our own might, by our own temperament.

Help us, Lord God, to always know that we are desperate when we are away from you. Teach us what it means, Lord God, to remain in you this week. To remain in your word, to remain in your spirit, to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, not to forsake our confidence that you've given us to be faithful and to remain in your will.

Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will.

Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will.

Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will.

Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will.

Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will.

Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will.

Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will.

Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will.

Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will. Help us, Lord, to be steadfast in our faith and to remain in your will.