(soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) - All right, good morning, church family.

Happy Lord's Day. As always, it is a joy and a privilege for us to gather together to worship our God, who is worthy, and to hear and to receive his precious word. So as we gather this morning, may our God alone be exalted and honored in our worship and through our service.

Let us worship him together. (soft piano music) (soft piano music) ♪ Purify my heart ♪ ♪ Let me be as gold ♪ ♪ And precious silver ♪ ♪ Purify my heart ♪ ♪ Let me be as gold ♪ ♪ Pure gold ♪ ♪ Refiner's flower ♪ ♪ My heart's one desire ♪ ♪ Is to be holy ♪ ♪ Set apart for you, Lord ♪ ♪ I choose to be holy ♪ ♪ Set apart for you, my master ♪ ♪ Ready to turn your way ♪ (soft piano music) ♪ Purify my heart ♪ ♪ Purify my heart ♪ ♪ Cleanse me from within ♪ ♪ And make me holy ♪ ♪ Purify my heart ♪ ♪ Cleanse me from my sin ♪ ♪ Take away ♪ ♪ Refiner's fire ♪ ♪ My heart's one desire ♪ ♪ Is to be holy ♪ ♪ Set apart for you, Lord ♪ ♪ I choose to be holy ♪ ♪ Set apart for you, my master ♪ ♪ Ready to do your will ♪ (soft piano music) ♪ Refiner's fire ♪ ♪ My heart's one desire ♪ ♪ Is to be holy ♪ ♪ Set apart for you, Lord ♪ ♪ I choose to be holy ♪ ♪ Set apart for you, my master ♪ ♪ Ready to do your will ♪ ♪ I am ready to do your will ♪ ♪ Make me ready to do your will ♪ - Hi, good morning.

Welcome to Brain Community Church. We have a few announcements, very important announcements. First of all, our summer retreat that's happening from August 1st to the 3rd, this coming Saturday is the last day to sign up for early registration. So after this Saturday, it will be regular registration, meaning the cost of the retreat is going to be going up.

So if you are planning to sign up, I highly encourage you to do your best to come to this. We will be having one service, but no childcare during that weekend at church. And so please mark that. And again, the deadline for early registration is this coming Saturday. Family ministry prayer meeting, it's gonna be open to whoever desires to come and take some time to corporately pray for the needs of the church.

It's happening on June 7th, not this coming Saturday, but the Saturday afterwards at 915 at the Youth Chapel. So please let them know if you're able to come. And then there's a family workshop. This is not the same as the seminar that's happening later on, I think it's in July, led by Pastor Mark, but the family ministry workshop is on the subject of godly household and parenting, led by our pastor, Pastor Nate.

That's happening on June 7th, that's Saturday at 2 p.m. And so if you are able to come, we encourage you to do that. And again, obviously the subject is similar, but the teaching is gonna be very different, and it is a one-day seminar. So if you're able to come, especially if you're not able to come to the seminar, the four-week seminar that's happening, highly encourage you to take advantage of that, and that's happening on June 7th at 2 p.m.

And then we have a very important announcement. It's not good news. But La La Chi, those of you guys who parked over here, that was reserved for the family parking, but because they are trying to sublease it, they asked us to not park there anymore, so we're gonna be losing that parking lot starting from next Sunday.

It's okay, if you park, if you're parked there today, it's okay, but starting from next Sunday, that parking lot is gonna be closed. Okay, you know what I'm talking about, the Kimco parking lot, and that was reserved, so especially for, mostly for families who park there, and then you took stroller across, that will be closed.

The one to the right of us, this building is open only on Sunday. And then please be careful, there are certain spots that you cannot park because of the employees there, even on Sunday, so please don't park there. But that is, again, reserved for the family. So because we are losing that lot, whether it's this lot, our cafe area, or the Alliant, they will be strictly reserved for the families with small children, so that they can go there.

So please, starting from next Sunday, go to that. Don't go to this parking lot, but go to the Alliant. And then if you cannot go there for whatever reason, obviously there are other parking that's a little bit closer, but you're gonna have to walk. Another important announcement is, do you guys know where Lot G is?

Yeah, so some of you guys may know. Lot G is where the shuttle is going. They're making a round to pick you up at Lot G. For a few weeks, we're gonna be closing down that lot, and then Lot J, okay, this is not gonna mean anything to you without pictures, but Lot J, basically, you know Cowan, the new parking lot that our sister Susan was able to secure for us?

That's the parking lot that has like 200, 300 parking spots. It's huge. As soon as you come from McArthur-- is it McArthur or Maine? McArthur? Yeah, it's McArthur. As soon as you come from McArthur, you make a left turn into Cowan, and there's a huge parking area there. We're gonna be primarily using the shuttle to pick up people from that area.

So if you've been parking at Lot G, just for the next few weeks, we want you to park at the Lot J, and our primary pickup is going to be on that lot, okay? So please, if you've been parking at Lot G, go to Lot J. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, please go look at the maps.

That'll help you, okay? So that may become permanent. So we're looking at what's going on with the parking. There's a lot of moving pieces. Again, we don't have a lot of control over this because the owners of these buildings are basically telling us there's things going on in their businesses that they need to move some parking stuff around.

So please help us along with that. Again, this lot is closed starting from next Sunday, and at Lot G will be closed for a couple weeks, a minimum of a couple weeks, possibly permanently. But please go to Lot J, okay? I think that's it all for the announcements, okay?

Okay. All right, so let me pray for the offing, and after our main worship session, our sister Jessie Sha is going to come up and give her testimony, and then she'll be baptized this morning. All right, let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for your continued blessing and your grace that sustains us.

Help us, Lord God, not to simply put in our time on Sunday, but that you would truly search our hearts, know if there's any hurtful ways in us, that your word, your spirit would continue to guide us, encourage us, lift us up, that our gaze would be upon Christ and Christ alone.

I pray that even in this giving may it be a reflection of our worship to you. It may it be multiplied for the sake of your kingdom. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Church family, let's stand together and take a moment to greet those around you before we continue our worship.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Hi.

This is quite intimidating. Here goes my testimony. My name is Jessie. When I was a kid, my Sunday school teacher told me to write down who Jesus was to me. A week later, I was told to stand in front of the congregation and read it out loud. When I finished my three sentences about Jesus being my personal Band-Aid, someone handed me a bouquet of flowers and led me offstage.

I was confused because I knew that flowers were a congratulatory gesture, but I didn't know why I was being congratulated. I was later told that I had just been confirmed. I had no clue what that meant. And that pretty much sums up my relationship with Christ as a child.

I was confused and coasted through life completely unaware of God's presence. It didn't help that I grew up in an environment that was completely hostile toward believers. On the first day of 7th grade biology, my teacher handed out copies of the first page of Genesis and told us that he was going to debunk Christianity in the next year.

I denied my faith and was timid in admitting how I spent my Sundays. No one else around me seemed to be a churchgoer. I was ashamed and considered myself a closeted Christian. I eventually started doubting God's existence and went through a major existential life crisis at the age of 13.

I desperately searched for proof that he was real. I wanted him to leave me obvious and literal signs like Morgan Freeman did for Jim Carrey in the movie Bruce Almighty. It didn't happen. Being the morbid kid that I was, this existential crisis resulted in me sitting in front of the fireplace at home, inching closer and closer to the fire to try to give myself a preview of what it would be like when I went to hell, because I was pretty sure that's where I was headed.

I feared God's judgment and wrath, and that fear motivated me to seek him. Toward the end of high school, I found a glimmer of hope in Romans 1.20, which says, "His invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made, so they are without excuse." This verse helped me understand that everything around me was a testament to his divine presence, and there was no room for me to be ignorant of his glory.

But I still struggled to fully accept God as my Lord and Savior. I lived all my life without depending on him, so I felt as if I had no reason to lay my life down at his feet. Once I moved out of my small-town bubble, I found myself lost in unfamiliar territory.

The tight grip that I once had over my thoughts and emotions began to loosen, and I no longer had the control that I always thought that I had. Desperate to regain some semblance of that control, I stifled my feelings and became a vacant version of myself. I thought I was freeing myself, but in reality I was suffocating.

During my junior year of college, I knelt before God and surrounded my life to him. And relinquishing control didn't make me feel helpless like I thought it would. Rather, it made me feel secure and like I could finally breathe again. The gospel that I'd heard over and over again growing up in church finally felt real.

I had thought that I was essentially sinless, but God revealed to me my pride and my ignorance. My misguided fear of God's wrath that only drove me away from him as a child finally turned into a type of fear that revered and delighted in him, drawing me nearer to him.

My understanding of the gospel now continues to grow and change as I get older, and now that I have two kids of my own, the thought of God sending his one and only son to die on the cross for our sins leaves me awestruck and trembling in a way that I never had before.

This is annoying because I can't see. Through Christ, I am constantly being refined, and I have peace, knowing that I don't need to fear his wrath any longer. The end. >> All right, Jesse, thank you for that wonderful testimony. I was surprised that she said she has children of their own.

I was going to ask what college she's in. Luke chapter 11, we're going to be reading from verse 29 to verse 32. Luke chapter 11, verse 29 to 32. Reading out of the NASB. As the crowds were increasing, he began to say, "This generation is a wicked generation. It seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah.

For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. The Ocean of the South will rise up with the men, the Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here." Let's pray. Father, we pray for understanding. We pray that the power of your Word that you've invested your very breath in would cause us to hear from you and you alone.

We entrust this time to you, asking for your Spirit's leading through these words. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Years ago, when our church was much smaller, and we just started to grow, there's a handful of people who are here at church who experienced that. I think our church was maybe about 45, and then we doubled in size in like a period of about a year.

And all of a sudden, for whatever the reason, Esther and I were being called out probably sometimes two, three times a week about how somebody's going to ask somebody and how they're going to start dating. And again, sometimes even in the same week, Esther would go out, talk to the girls, and I would go out, talk to the guys, and we'd come back.

And I think maybe about eight or nine couples got together right at that time. And some of you guys remember, you know, we had a, like a, I forgot what it was, an aim or something, or was it some thread, and then I put, "It must be hunting season." And the response that I got from all these people, and everybody knew exactly what I was talking about because of what was going on.

And I remember somebody asked me at that time, "Are you happy that, you know, that all these people are getting together, we're moving on to a different stage of life?" And I remember responding to them, says, "Of course I'm happy because people are happy. They're getting together." But also, I am tempered in this happiness because I know what comes after.

You know, I've been in ministry long enough to know that some of these couples will get together, and that's great. And then there's going to be some heartaches that's going to come from because of this union. And then we're going to have to deal with that. And then some people are going to break up, and then we're going to have to deal with that, and the drama and the heartache that comes from all of that.

So I've been in ministry long enough at that time to know that this, at some point, the honeymoon period is going to end. And then you're going to have to deal with the reality of what it's like for, you know, for dating couples and things when it doesn't work out.

And even when it does work out, the struggle that they go through. I say all of this because Jesus' ministry is at a point where the honeymoon period is starting to come to an end. Where this euphoria of excitement of Jesus must be the Messiah and all the miracles that He's performed.

And it begins by telling us in verse 29 that crowds were increasing. And then in chapter 12, verse 1, it says, "So many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another." So this excitement of Jesus that He must be the Messiah in everything that He has done.

And then thousands of people were coming who ate the miraculous bread and the fish. But this honeymoon period of His ministry is starting to come to an end. Jesus is headed toward the cross and the people are becoming more and more hostile. Not because of what Jesus has done, but because His preaching has become increasingly more confrontational.

Jesus called out the superficial repentance from the get-go. He told the Pharisees, "Bear fruit in according to your repentance." You keep saying you're repenting, but you're not repenting because there's no follow-up. Feeling bad isn't repentance. Turning away from your sins is repentance. So right off the bat, He calls out the superficial repentance of the Pharisees, religious leaders.

He calls them out and He says, "You know, you are so committed to obeying all the intricate details of the law, but when it comes to the weightier law of having compassion and being merciful," He said, "Why do you ignore all of that?" And then you tithe every little, you know, every little mint and little things and all those things you should have done without ignoring the other.

And He begins to confront them and He generally tells them about their hypocrisy, that all the religious things that they're learning and they're trying to apply. And He said, "The prostitutes and tax collectors are going to get into the kingdom before you." So they loved what He was doing, but they hated what He was saying.

And as a result of that, more and more people began to walk away from Him. So people who just walked away, "You know what? You know, there's something going on about this guy, but I don't like what he's saying." So a lot of people began to walk away. Some of them, in order to justify themselves, began to say, "He must be casting out demons with demons.

Clearly, he's doing something supernatural, so we can't deny that. But we've made up our mind he can't be from God, because a man of God would not be saying the things that he's saying. I mean, they're going to the temple, making sacrifices, they're trying to obey the Sabbath, and they're praying, they're giving.

So why would a man of God constantly make us feel bad? He must not be from God, because they expected the Messiah to come and have compassion on them, to deliver them, to feed them, to bring them out, deliver them from the bondage of the pagans. So that's what they thought the Messiah was going to do, but the more and more they began to realize, instead of confronting the Romans and the pagans, they started confronting them.

"You're the ones that need to repent. You're the ones that need to come to faith." So as a result, they had to justify that this man must not be from God. So if he's not from God, and he's performing all these miracles, he must be from the devil. Which made absolutely no sense.

Why would the devil cast out the devil? A kingdom that is divided cannot stand. Even just logically, it doesn't make any sense. But that was their only way to justify themselves. When an individual is under conviction, because of whatever condition that they're in, either it will lead to repentance, which Paul calls godly sorrow.

"There's something in me. It's me." Just like the tax collector beating his chest. "Forgive me." Or you end up changing your circumstance. "This guilt is coming because of you. Because of circumstance. I am the way I am because I lack this, or because I don't have the right leaders, because I don't have the right sermons, I don't have the right this or that." So you end up changing your circumstance or your philosophy or your theology to accommodate whatever that guilt is.

But no one stays under that guilt permanently. Either it will lead you to repent and become a genuine follower of Christ, or you have to condemn him. Because he's the source of this condemnation. And that's exactly what Jesus was doing. He was disturbing their peace. He was disturbing their peace.

He didn't walk through and say, "He fed them great. Everybody felt so happy." And then he went back to his father. What he was doing was awesome, but what he was saying, calling us out. So he only gave them two options. Either you believe him, surrender your life, drop everything and follow him, or you got to get rid of him.

Because clearly he has power. Clearly he has influence. So if you allow this to continue, then our life is going to become difficult. And that's exactly what led him to the cross. The existing human power at that time had to get rid of him because he was constantly saying things that disturbed their peace.

Now it is in that context that people are coming to him in large numbers and Jesus calls them out. Instead of saying, "Wow, there's a large crowd coming. Look, revival is breaking out." But he sees the superficial faith that's bringing them and he says, "A wicked and evil generation is seeking for a sign, but only one will be given the sign of Jonah." So this morning we want to wrestle with what is the sign of Jonah?

What is the sign of Jonah? First of all, the sign of Jonah is an authentication of Jesus' identity and authority. It clearly proved who he is. It doesn't say it in this text because Luke has a different emphasis in his text. But the parallel passage in Matthew 12, 40 says, "For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." There was clear evidence that Jonah was a man of God.

And that even as he was swallowed up by the whale, God had a very specific thing he needed to do. So he saves him from that as evidence that this is, even though he was a man running from God, it was because God's hand was upon him that he was delivered from that.

And Jesus' whole ministry was geared toward that. Who do men say that I am? And it is no different today. We can come to church because my parents went to church, my friends invited me, I got involved with campus ministry, and I like this or that. But the fundamental question is, who do you say Jesus is?

Now there's a huge difference of giving a theological answer. Son of God, he's the creator of the universe. But he wasn't asking simply a theological question. The question that we need to ask beyond that is, who do you say he is? So he's the Son of God, but what is that to you?

He's the Savior of the world, but what is that to you? Jesus' death and resurrection clearly proved who he was and what he said. Now the comparison to Jonah, some are pretty obvious and some are exactly the opposite. Jonah was three days in the whale, Jesus was three days in the grave, and he was delivered from that.

Jonah preached repentance, but he preached it reluctantly. Jesus, God had to twist his arm and almost died, and then he had to repent from that. But he preached repentance, and Jesus did the same. He repented, voluntarily. In fact, the Scripture tells us that he came deliberately to seek and to save the lost.

But they both preached repentance. Jonah grumbled that God relented over repentance. When Nineveh repented, Jonah didn't celebrate the repentance. He grumbled before God. Jesus actually tells us he rejoices over repentance. All heavens rejoice over repentance. Jonah's ministry ended with Nineveh, and we don't hear from him again after chapter 4 of Jonah.

Jesus' ministry continues to this day. He chose the apostles to continue, established the churches, sent missionaries, and to this day, he said he will return when the gospel has gone to the remotest part of the world. Jonah was proven to be a prophet of God. Jonah's sign of Jonah was a proof that Jesus was the Son of God.

In Romans 1-4, it says, "Jesus was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. According to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord." Now, the first sign of Jonah, typically when we talk about sign of Jonah, that's what we refer to. Jesus' identity and what he said is declared to be clear.

Now, the reason why this is so important is because ultimately, where we come to truth is based upon the authority of the Son of God and what he has said. We don't come to truth based upon how it makes me feel. I hear these sermons and these Bible study, and I don't like it because it makes me feel that way.

That's a very dangerous way to come to a conclusion. I say this and that because of the response that I get from it. That's a very dangerous way to pick and choose what I preach. The fundamental question is, "Is it from God?" And if it is from God, we are to change.

We don't come before and say, "You know what? I don't like that. I want to go to a church that does this or that." We can't come to a conclusion of what is right and wrong based upon the response from the people because that's very dangerous. The question that we need to ask is, "Is it biblical?" Does it come with the authority of God?

That's why every letter that Apostle Paul and the Apostles write begins with the introduction, or at least most of it introduces itself by saying, "Apostle of God, a servant of God, a bondservant of God." Because anyone who's reading that letter needs to know that this is not their words, that it was God's.

And that's why Jesus' identity needed to be authenticated in order to authenticate what he was saying. That what he was saying was not simply his opinion, this was God. God was examining them and saying, "This is where you are." "You say you're here, they say you're here, but this is where God says you are." And that's why he calls them to repentance.

"If you want to come to God," he said, "repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." That was the first sign. But there's a second part of this sign that we typically don't talk about. And if you read this passage, you probably may have asked the same question.

It wasn't simply to prove his identity. The second sign of Jonah was a justification against the judgment of this generation. Look at what it says, verse 30. "For just as Jonah became a sign to the Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be the sign of this generation." "The Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them." "Because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon," "and behold, something greater than Solomon is here." "And then the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it," "because they repented at the preaching of Jonah," "and behold, something greater than Jonah is here." So the first sign we talk about often, the sign of Jonah, his death and resurrection.

But he says the sign of Nineveh will serve as a sign against this wicked generation. Meaning that this wicked nation with a reluctant prophet repented, and yet you have the Son of God standing before you who's greater than Jonah, greater than the Queen of South, and you refuse to believe.

He begins, what he says here is that you wicked generation, wicked. But he doesn't explain why they're wicked. Is it because of adultery? Is it because they were given to idolatry? They're breaking all the laws? They're prostitutes running rampant? Was there transgenderism going on? Was there sex change of our children going on?

It's like all kinds of crazy things that are going on in our culture. They had that in the pagan, but he's not talking to the pagans right now. He's talking to the Jews. Now you have to understand that that particular time the Jews were not known for wickedness. They were very faithful Jews according to their eyes.

They memorized scripture, they prayed two, three times a day, they made a pilgrimage to the temple, they were actively involved in the synagogue. They were, by human tradition, very upright people, very righteous people. But he doesn't explain what their wickedness is. The only thing that he gives is this wicked generation asks for a sign.

Looking for a sign. Now, what does that have to do with wickedness? I hope that I can show you why asking for a sign, why God and Jesus is looking at this as wickedness. Jesus' whole ministry, he was laying out signs. In John 2.11, turning the water into wine, it says this, "This beginning of his signs, Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him." This is the first sign.

First miracle that Jesus performs in John chapter 2, it says, "It was the beginning of his signs." So for three years, his whole ministry, every miracle that he performed, feeding of the 5,000, the 4,000, walking on the water, calming the storm, even raising Lazarus from the dead, all of it was a sign.

So when they said this wicked evil generation is asking for a sign, it's not because Jesus was hiding. It was clearly given to them. In Acts chapter 2.22, it says, "Men of Israel, listen to these words. Jesus, Nazarene, amen, attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs, which God performed through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know." Peter is preaching to the very people, some of them, who crucified Jesus.

And he doesn't say, "He was attested to you. Let me show you all the pictures and video evidences and all the people who we've gathered together as an evidence against you." He doesn't say that. He said, "You know he performed signs." Because he's talking to people who saw him.

He's talking to people who are eyewitnesses of his miracles. Many of them saw the resurrected Lazarus walking around. So when Peter says this as an indictment against them, you know. You know there was plenty of evidence. And yet you crucified him. In fact, not only does Peter present him this way, the Bible tells us that all the apostles came with signs and wonders.

As an evidence that they were speaking for God. So then why were they asking for signs? When the whole ministry was about laying out signs, why were they asking for signs? I think John chapter 6 gives us a clear picture of what's going on in their mind, in their spirit.

If you remember, if you can turn your Bibles to John chapter 6. I know we have the verses up here, but I think it would be helpful if you just opened up your Bible or your phones to John chapter 6. And I'm going to just read a bunch of verses.

It will be up here also if you don't have a Bible. But I think it will be helpful, especially if you have the written Bible. If you look at John chapter 6, that's where Jesus feeds the 5,000. And this is how it's described. A large crowd followed him because they saw the signs which he was performing on those who were sick.

He said the reason why the crowds were gathering and they forgot about bringing food for themselves and for their children is because they were so excited about the signs that Jesus was performing. He must be that man. At the end of feeding them, it says they wanted to forcefully make him king because he just fed them.

Everybody was full with this miraculous bread and fish. So Jesus, knowing their intention, there wasn't time yet, he packs up his bags with his disciples. They go to the other side of the sea. And then when they realize that Jesus is there, they pack up all their bags and they continue to follow him to the other side.

When Jesus meets them, this is what he says in John 6, 26. "Jesus answered and said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.'" Notice that? They were coming to him because they saw many signs.

And then they eat the food. And then Jesus says, instead of saying to them, "Wow, fantastic that you're willing to pack up your bags and go wherever I go." He doesn't say that. He sees the superficialness of their faith. In other words, you're not coming to me for me.

You're coming to me because what you think you'll get if you come to me. That's basically what he is saying. You're not coming to me because you saw signs and I am the Messiah. I am the one from God. He said, "You're coming to me because you saw what I can do for you and you want more of it." And then he tells them, "Don't work for the temporary things because if you eat of this bread, you're going to go hungry again.

But I am the bread of life. You eat of what I give you." He said, "You will never be hungry again." And then look at their response, John 6:30-31. "So they said to him, 'What then do you do for a sign?'" They couldn't let this go. "If you are the Messiah and you're rebuking us for coming to you for what we can get from you and not you, then give us some more signs." So it wasn't because they didn't see signs.

It was because of what Jesus said. "So that we may see and believe you, what work do you perform?" Let me stop right there. And these are the same people. In John 6, verse 2, they saw signs. They came to him. They ate the bread. Jesus says, "You're coming to me for the wrong reason.

You're not coming to me. You're coming to what you can get from me." And they said, "Then give me some sign." Well, what sign do they want? "Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness as it is written. He gave them bread out of heaven to eat." Did you notice that?

Did you catch that? Jesus rebukes them for coming to him for the wrong reason. He said, "You don't know who I am. You just want what I can give you." And then they said, "Well, then give me some bread." That's what they're saying. They just couldn't let it go.

Like they want the benefit of following Jesus. But it wasn't Jesus that they wanted. So the sign that they wanted from Jesus is basically back to what they wanted from the beginning. They just couldn't let it go. Now, as comical as that may be, as comical as that may be, how many people's faith go up and down, and their trust in God goes up and down based upon how God makes me happy or not happy, what I want and he doesn't give me.

Who God is changes based upon what I get from him. That is it Christ that makes us happy? Is it Christ that we worship? Or is it what he can give? It says in John 12, 24, "But though he had performed so many signs before them, yet they would not believe in him." Why were they asking for signs?

Because it was evidence of their unbelief. It was evidence of their unbelief. And that's why he calls it Wiccan. Romans chapter 1, 18-19, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness, unrighteous of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them." God is not playing hide and seek.

He's not saying, "I'm not going to give you any sign because I'm just tired." He said, "I've given you everything that you know." Even before you've ever heard the gospel, he said, "Evidence was given." Even before you've ever met a Christian, even before you've ever opened up the Bible, even one time he says, "God left his imprint on creation." That if you were genuinely seeking, if you genuinely wanted to know, even without a preacher coming to you, you would have known that there must be a God because he imprinted.

And therefore, he says, "You are without excuse." But in John 3, 19-20, he makes that even clearer. He says, "This is the judgment that the light has come into the world, and men love darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." They weren't asking for a sign because they wanted to believe.

They were asking for a sign to prove that he must not be from God. He can't be from God. If he's from God, he would know me. If he was from God, he would answer my prayers. If he was from God, he wouldn't call me out, make me feel uncomfortable.

Why does he keep saying that we need to repent? If he was from God, he would have known that the pagans are the ones that need to be judged. Look at what the Romans are doing. Look at what these tax collectors are doing. If he was from God, he would have rebuked them, and he would have encouraged us.

So he can't be from God. If you're actually from God, show me something, because what you've shown me is not enough. Clearly, you're not from God. This must be demonic. So with everything that they have, they were protecting themselves because they were unwilling to repent. How much of the Word of God penetrates into a heart of a man when he has fully determined in his own heart what is right and what is wrong?

We harden our hearts and harden our hearts because we want to remain the center of our life. And if we're honest with ourselves, sometimes we don't want revival to break up because revival means that God's going to draw near, and when God draws near, he exposes everything, not simply the things that we're presenting in the church, the greed, the slander, the lust, our self-righteousness, all these things that we keep hidden in our own hearts.

If revival breaks out, and God draws near, and the light begins to shine, and everything is exposed, because some of us are so good at presenting righteousness on the outside, but we know ourselves. And so we want to be just close enough to Jesus to shine the light on some of the dark areas that we can walk through so that we don't feel in danger, but we don't want him so close where he's going to shed light on the inner things that we keep so hidden.

So as Jesus' ministry began to progress, his omniscience was clear because he began to point out where it hurts, where people kind of hid. And that's why they put so much energy in condemning the tax collector, and so little energy in looking at themselves. They were asking for signs not because they were willing to follow him.

They were asking for signs because they were unwilling to accept him. It's why he says that the men of Nineveh are going to stand against you as a sign. Nineveh was an exceedingly evil place, and I've already mentioned this several times. Jonah went to preach before the fall of Jerusalem.

It was about 80 years before, but they already had a really bad reputation. They would castrate the soldiers and prominent men, and then they would put them on sticks. They would cut off all their limbs, and then they would put them on a stick, put them on fire, and then force their children and their mothers to walk around to watch.

So everywhere they went, the conquered soldiers, the conquered prominent men would be crucified and limbs cut off and embarrassed on purpose, and they were cruel, cruel people, and that's just one of many things that they did. So we can understand why Jonah didn't want to go. He would have been the first to line up to condemn the Ninevites, but why did God choose Jonah?

Because he was trying to make a point. He was trying to make a point to Jonah and to the rest of Israel. In Jonah chapter 3, 3 to 4, it says, "So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh "according to the word of the Lord. "Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, "a three days' walk.

"Then Jonah began to go through the city one day's walk, "and he cried out and said, "'Yet 40 days in Nineveh will be overthrown.'" Now you notice here, God says it was an exceedingly big city, three days' journey, but it goes out of its way to say that Jonah only walked one.

Why is that highlighted? Is this extra information? It's just big, but he only walked one day. Well, there's a reason behind that. Now, there could be two, and I'm going to give you both of them. One, that Jonah did the minimum necessary because he was reluctant. He wasn't going around and strategizing, saying, "How can I reach the most people here?" God forced him to go, so he probably walked around reluctantly saying, "Repent, repent.

"Everybody repent." Just do the minimum. I always say when somebody is in ministry, and this happens a lot in pastoral ministry, you come in with a vision, "I want to serve God and preach the gospel," and eventually it becomes a job. And when the ministry becomes a job, you do the absolute minimum necessary to do your job, and that's it.

You're no longer pursuing sinners. You're no longer looking to advance the cross. You're just doing the minimum. And that's true even at work. If you love your work, you end up looking at all the opportunities and how to make the company better, but you don't like your job. You're just going to clock in, 9 o'clock, and then as soon as 3 o'clock, 4 o'clock, 5 o'clock, boom, you're gone.

And you look at your calendar, and you did almost nothing. Well, that must have been Jonah. I mean, he literally had to be swallowed up by a whale to come to this city. But there's a point. I mean, he would have been the worst person to come and preach the gospel, right?

Can you imagine somebody who hates a particular race to call that person to go preach the gospel? They're like--they would celebrate the condemnation. That's with Jonah. But why did God choose Jonah? There was a reason behind that because he's trying to teach the nation of Israel something. But the second reason behind why it says one day is because that's how quickly they repented.

He didn't have to go do a thorough preaching. He just went, and as soon as they heard the message, it tells us in Jonah 3, 5 through 6, people of Nineveh believed in God, and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them.

When the word reached the king of the Ninevites, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered him with sackcloth, and sat on ashes. This was not some rinky-dink little town. This was a huge city. It required three days just to even walk through, and the king of that city repented because of this reluctant prophet.

So clearly it wasn't-- Man, Jonah must have been one dynamic preacher, right? He must have done such a great job, if that's what you think, right? No, it was the power of God. The power of God called him. The power of God used him. This reluctant, hesitant-- He probably still was thinking of fish, you know what I mean?

Walking around like, "Oh, my gosh." Repent. "Yes, I will repent." That's basically what Jonah says, right? Even this pagan, wicked, evil, when they heard a messenger of God, they repented. And it says even this queen of Sheba, who out of nowhere comes and hears about-- hears this Solomon, king, who's anointed by God, even though he was not a perfect man, and he himself was a sinful man, his reputation began to go all throughout.

And so she drops-- This queen of Sheba drops everything and comes to listen to him. And after hearing from him, this is what she says, 1 Kings 10:9, "Blessed be the Lord your God, who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel, because the Lord loved Israel forever.

Therefore he made you king to do justice and righteousness." This brief encounter with Solomon, who-- not because of Solomon, she said, "Clearly your God has blessed you." And through that encounter, she says, "Your God must be great." And so Jesus is saying these two pagans, the whole nation and this queen of Sheba, will stand against it.

They're going to be evidence that God's judgment is going to be righteous judgment. He said if you are living your life saying, "I am the way I am because I lack this or I lack that," he's saying the Ninevites are going to stand in judgment against you. Queen of Sheba is going to stand in judgment against you.

In every way you can look at that as they had far less than we did. And yet they repented. How much more? You know, I think about what you and I have in this generation. It's unimaginable. Just even 35 years ago, 35 years ago, I remember Esther and I moved closer to Biola because I needed the library to prepare my sermons.

You know, I didn't have money to go buy all these reference books, so I had to go to the library. So you remember the Dewey Decimal System? Okay, some of you guys, I know the Jubilee people know. If you go to the library and you want to look something up, you have to go and you have to go find all the numbers of the topic, and they give you the Dewey Decimal, and then it tells you where it is in the library.

You take that piece of paper, walk around. Depending on how big the library is, you would go. And usually at Biola, all the reference books are in the dungeon. It's in the basement. So you've got to go down there, and then you have to go through all the system, and then you finally find the number, and you pick it out.

And oftentimes you go there, and it was checked out. So you've got to go back and get another Dewey Decimal System. So it took me probably a couple hours just to gather the reference books. Gather it together, and I've got to find a reference table because I can't do this in a small cubicle.

So I have to wait. I have to go early to the library to get one of the bigger tables and hog up half the table, spread it all out, and as I'm doing my inductive Bible study, Queen of Sheba, what is she a queen of? And I've got to go back and look it up, and then find it and read through all the stuff, and then I have to write it all down, write all the references, all the questions that I have, and put it all on the paper, and I go back and study, and I've got to fill in the gaps.

And if I have another thought, I've got to go back to the Dewey Decimal System. So it took me about two and a half, three days just to do the research. That's why we moved closer to Biola. So we lived on the other side of Biola, and sometimes walked to school.

Right when we moved, the internet came in. Yeah, I used it. I was doing that for maybe about five, six months, and then the internet came in, and then my friends got me a PC study Bible. I said, "What is this?" And I'm studying, and then, I wonder, Queen of Sheba, click.

Boom. Oh, what is the NIV? Boom. So I remember after I got this PC study, I just had no reason to go to the library. What took me two and a half days to do, it took me a couple hours. You know what I mean? You and I live in a generation today, it's like, "Oh, I wonder what Martin Lloyd-Jones "think of click." I heard John Cowell, I heard this somewhere in somebody's sermon, "Click." Like every thought that I have, everything that I desire, it's like I can just click, and it just shows up on my computer.

Now it's on my phone. So if I'm bored driving down to LA, I can download a sermon. Anything that you can possibly imagine is at a fingertip. Even the way we do missions. I don't have a heart for Korea, I have a heart for Taiwan. I have a heart for Japan.

I have a heart for India. I have a heart for this or that. Even the way we do missions. What we have today is unimaginable. You tell just 30, 40 years ago what Christianity was, the kind of access that you and I have, and yet, I've heard more discontent about our faith in this generation than I've ever heard when I was younger.

I don't have this, the leadership, the sermon, the organization, the church. And all of it is an excuse of why I am the way I am. I can't grow because I don't have older people reaching out to me. I can't grow because I don't have sisters my age. I can't grow because Bible study is this way.

It shouldn't have been that way. You know, our biggest concern, I mean, again, I'm not excluding myself because I'm an Orange County, Irvine Christian myself. I remember years ago when we first started going out to China, back in 1999, 2000, one of the Christians there took us to a three-self church just to see.

So we went there and we were looking from the outside because we're not allowed to go in. And there must have been about 300, 400 people packed into this tiny little room. It was probably no bigger than the size of our youth group room. Jampacked with wooden benches. There's nowhere to move.

If somebody wanted to go to the bathroom, I mean, basically you can't. You got to wait till it's over. And so this person was standing there, was teaching, probably went on for about two and a half, three hours. And I remember in the middle of that, the electricity went off.

So I thought, okay, they're not going to, they just sat there. And they just took notes and they're all taking notes. And I said, "How many people attend this church?" And they said, "About 1,200, 1,300." "Where did 1,300 people come?" They said, "Well, they do this "three, four times a day." "The same person?" I said, "Yes." People keep asking me, it's like, "Well, how are you handling "the three services?" Even if I'm tired, I can't say.

Because, you know, like, I mean, literally they were there for about eight, nine hours, just teaching. And I said, "Well, what's going on here?" And he said, "So many of the people "who come to that church "are underground church leaders, "and that's the only place "where they can get fed." So they sit there, so they take notes, every single one of them, take everything that's being said, because they have to take that to the underground church, because that's the only feeding that they have.

And I remember coming back from that, thinking, "Wow, we are so weak. "We're all pansies. "We're all snowflakes." Let's be honest. If the temperature, you find out, is 110 degrees, and the air conditioner broke, how many of you, would that be enough to say, "You know what? "One time I could just be at home.

"I don't want to break out in a rash." God understands. How many people would come to our church if our parking was a 20-minute walk? We couldn't find any parking, so now we've got to go park in John Wayne, and then you've got to walk over here. How many?

How thin would the church crowd be? What if we changed the seats into benches? What if you had to sit on the ground instead of sitting in these nice places? What if we got rid of the cry room? The children are running around everywhere. I think about all the things that we made it a necessary thing in order for me to worship God.

So much of what is good, we made it a necessity instead of a want. It's not bad to want it, but we made it a necessity, and then we say, "I can't grow because of this. "I can't do church. "I can't." When the Holy Spirit is on us, it's like all of those things are distractions.

They're all excuses, and that's exactly what Jesus is saying. The Ninevites, the Queen of Sheba, will stand against you, that despite all of what they didn't have, revival broke out in them. In Luke chapter 10, 13, "Woe to you, Chorazin! "Woe to you, Bethsaida! "For if the miracles had been performed "in Tyre and Sidon, "which occurred in you, "they would have repented long ago, "sitting in sackcloth and ashes." Hebrews chapter 6, 4-6, talking about same people.

"For in the case of those "who have once been enlightened, "they've heard the gospel "and have tasted the heavenly gift." Not talking about people who've genuinely converted, but been around all of this, have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, have tasted the good word of God, powers of the age to come, and then to fall away, and then it wasn't enough.

That everything that you have been given, and at the end it said it wasn't enough. "It is impossible to renew them again "to repentance, "since they again crucified to themselves "the Son of God "and put Him to open shake." He's not talking about a truly converted person who's reverting back.

He's talking about somebody who's been given every possible resource in the kingdom of God has been given to that person, and they said, "It is not enough." Basically what the author is saying is, "Everything necessary for your salvation "has been given to you, "and you say it's not enough.

"There is nothing more to give." That's what he's saying. There's nothing more to give. 2 Peter 1.3, "Seeing His divine power "has granted to us "everything pertaining to life "and godliness "through the true knowledge of Him "who called us by His own glory and excellence." Everything that we need for a life of godliness has been given to me.

How can we possibly stand before God and say, "I am the way I am because." I can't worship because. Our worship team sings too fast. We sing the same song over and over again. I can't worship God that way. People around me, they're not as enthusiastic, so that's why I can't worship.

The lighting's not good. His preaching's too long. He's not telling enough stories. He's not telling enough stories. We stand before God, "I am the way I am because." Because of this. How can any of us stand before the throne of God and possibly say, "I am the way I am because of this." What has happened?

What has happened to us that we live in a generation to access everything that you and I could possibly even dream of? While this dream, 30, 40 years ago, it has happened. We can access any sermon. We can access hundreds of Bible studies. We can access anything. I could click on my hand.

I could listen to sermons. I can go to one conference or another conference. I can go to a mission for two weeks, a year, 10 years. We have all the resources. We have all the freedom that is necessary to do what we need to do. And then to come before the Lord and say, "Lord, I need more." That's what He is addressing.

That's what He is addressing. Why hasn't His tremendous gift caused every single one of us to live every single day praising God. Thank you, Jesus, for saving a wretched soul like me. Thank you, Jesus, that no matter how difficult life gets, I have an eternity that is secure in Christ because of what He's given me.

Thank you, God, that I have friends that I can worship with. That I have the freedom to evangelize. That I can memorize different versions of Scripture if I wanted. That I can just click a button and see what the original language says. I can read Church Fathers from a thousand years ago by a click of a button just to see what they have to say.

I have all the freedom, all the opportunities that I can possibly imagine. All the resources that I can possibly imagine. And then at the conclusion of that I say, "It wasn't enough." You see why Jesus was saying they were wicked? After everything that they've been given, after every sign that has been given, the Son of God stands before them and they say, "Give me more signs." You and I are under grace.

When we're not under grace, you hear nothing. You hear nothing. The fact that Jesus is even warning them, it's His grace. Because when we are no longer under grace, there is no talking. There is no prophet. There is no warning. There are no letters. There is no guilt. There is no repentance.

It's just judgment. That's why the Scripture says, "Today, if you hear His voice." Because it is His grace. It is His kindness that leads us to repentance. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your mercies. We thank You for Your Holy Spirit. We thank You for Your church. Help us, Lord God, to see the things that sometimes we have a hard time seeing.

Soften our heart and hearts that we may be people who will worship You in spirit and in truth. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let's all stand up for the closing praise. Jesus, Your mercy is all I need. I have no defense. My guilt runs too deep. The best of my works is Your hands and Your feet.

Jesus, Your mercy is all I need. Jesus, Your mercy is all I need. The goodness I claim, the wounds I feel. The love of my life is still more than enough. Jesus, Your mercy is all I need. Praise the One who borne my sin. Turn my face. Turn my heart.

Turn my heart to You. Turn my heart to You. Turn my heart to You. Jesus, Your mercy is all I need. The fears will be done. The death is close. Comfort and answer with life and love. Jesus, Your mercy is all I need. The goodness I claim, the wounds I feel.

Turn my face. Turn my heart to You. Turn my heart to You. Turn my heart to You. Turn my heart to You. ♪ Jesus, Your mercy is all I dream. Forever I'll lift my heart and my voice. To save and treasure no more than before. Jesus, Your mercy is all I need.

Praise the One who borne my sin. Turn my face. Turn my heart to You. Turn my heart to You. Turn my heart to You. Turn my heart to You. Praise the One who borne my sin. Turn my face. Turn my heart to You. Turn my heart to You. Turn my heart to You.

♪ Let's pray. Now the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, eternal love of God the Father, rest, restore, strengthen, and encourage that Your church, Lord, would go and be the aroma and the light that You have called us to be. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

God sent His Son. They called Him Jesus. He came to love. He went forth again. He lived and died to buy my pardon. An empty grave is there to prove the Savior lives. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future.

And life is worth the living just because He lives. ♪ Before the throne of God above, I have a strong and perfect plea. A great high priest whose name is love, whoever lives and pleads for me. My name is graven on his hands. My name is written on his heart.

I know that when in heaven he stands, no tongue can bid me thence depart. No tongue can bid me thence depart. ♪ When Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within, upward I look and see him there who made an end to all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free. For God the just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me. To look on Him and pardon me. ♪ ♪ Behold Him there, the risen Lamb, my perfect, spotless righteousness. The great unchangeable I am, the King of glory and of grace.

One with Himself I cannot die. My soul is purged by His love. My life is here with Christ on high. With Christ my Savior and my God. One with Himself I cannot die. My soul is purged by His love. My life is here with Christ on high. With Christ my Savior and my God.

With Christ my Savior and my God. With Christ my Savior and my God. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪