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

Happy Lord's Day. I just wanna encourage us as we, I was reflecting on this this morning for first service, the idea many of us come, have gone to church for years and years and have grown up. And oftentimes it can be easily done where we just put in our time coming here and it's what we do on Sundays.

I just wanna encourage us as we prepare our hearts, as we think about who our God is, as he looks into our heart and examines what we're providing and what we're doing here, that he sees genuine appreciation, a desire for his name to be glorified. So as we sing these songs, I pray that that may be our heart as well.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) ♪ My Jesus, I love thee ♪ ♪ I know thou art mine ♪ ♪ For thee all the bothers of sin ♪ ♪ I raise now ♪ ♪ My gracious redeemer ♪ ♪ My savior art thou ♪ ♪ If ever I love thee ♪ ♪ My Jesus 'tis now ♪ Sing it out, I love thee.

♪ I love thee because thou hast first loved me ♪ ♪ And purchased my heart on Calvary's tree ♪ ♪ I love thee for wearing those thorns on thy brow ♪ ♪ If ever I love thee ♪ ♪ My Jesus 'tis now ♪ ♪ I love thee in life ♪ ♪ I love thee in death ♪ ♪ And praise thee as long as thou lendest me breath ♪ ♪ And say when the death do ♪ ♪ His whole hold on my brow ♪ ♪ If ever I love thee ♪ ♪ My Jesus 'tis now ♪ Sing one more time, in mansions of glory.

♪ In mansions of glory ♪ ♪ In heav'n's delight ♪ ♪ I'll ever adore thee ♪ ♪ In heaven's upright ♪ ♪ I'll sing with the glittering ♪ ♪ Crown on my brow ♪ ♪ If ever I love thee ♪ ♪ My Jesus 'tis now ♪ - All right, good morning, and welcome to Bering Community Church.

Let me get to a few announcements before we get started. First of all, men's fellowship meeting, our quarterly meeting is happening this coming Saturday at 9 a.m. And again, lunch will be served, again, the cost of it is gonna be $10. The subject that we're gonna be covering is the biblical manhood, like what does that mean, and how it should be applied in our lives and our homes.

So if you haven't signed up for that, please sign up for it. Again, it's happening this coming Saturday at 9 a.m. All church prayer and praise, not this week, but next Friday, just mark that on the calendar. And then there is a golf tournament for mission fundraiser happening on June 3rd.

I'm told that you can still sign up, but the registration is $150, okay? And see Mitchell Kim and Brian Chisaki, okay? Again, this information will be on the website or on the app. And then the signups for the VBS is still happening for July 10th and the 14th. And so there is a table outside as you go.

And then you'll also see that there are T-shirts that are also being sold for the fundraiser. And I wanna give a little push for the abortion seminar that's happening in May 28th, 1:45 p.m. Pastor Mark is going to be giving a seminar on this subject and how to think biblically and how to apply, again, biblical mindedness in what's going on in our culture right now.

There's a lot of confusion. And sad to say, it's starting to penetrate even into churches. And so Pastor Mark will be covering this subject and also having a Q&A time if you have any questions about that and how to think and apply these things biblically in what's going on on this subject.

So highly recommend, I wanna strongly recommend to come to this seminar. Again, it's happening at 1:45 p.m. And you can sign up for that. I think that's it for today. Okay, all right. So let me pray for the offering. Again, if you have a physical offering, there is a physical box in the back for the rest of us.

We'll give you a minute for you to give electronically. And then afterwards, our brother Victor is gonna be coming up giving his testimony and we'll be baptized, all right? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your goodness. We thank you, Father, that you've blessed us, that we are in a free country where we can worship you without concern of physical harm.

And I know there's a lot of brothers and sisters around the world, Lord God, who are courageous in gathering, Lord God, and being a witness and being a light in their places that you've placed them. We pray, Father, that you would help us to see the blessing that we have, that it would not become a source of curse and ease in our lives, but that we would maximize every good thing that you've given us, that we may return it to you in glory.

We pray, Father, that you would bless our worship, bless this offering. May it be multiplied for your use in your kingdom. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. (gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) Church family, let's all rise together as we sing.

(gentle music) ♪ We stand and lift up our hands ♪ ♪ For the joy of the Lord is our strength ♪ ♪ We bow down and worship him now ♪ ♪ How great, how awesome is he ♪ ♪ And together we sing ♪ ♪ Holy is the Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ May earth be filled with his glory ♪ ♪ Holy is the Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ May earth be filled with his glory ♪ ♪ May earth be filled with his glory ♪ ♪ We stand and lift up our hands ♪ ♪ For the joy of the Lord is our strength ♪ ♪ We bow down ♪ ♪ We bow down and worship him now ♪ ♪ How great, how awesome is he ♪ ♪ And together we sing ♪ ♪ Everyone sing ♪ ♪ Holy is the Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ May earth be filled with his glory ♪ ♪ Holy is the Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ May earth be filled with his glory ♪ ♪ May earth be filled with his glory ♪ ♪ And we sing ♪ ♪ Everyone sing ♪ ♪ Holy is the Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ May earth be filled with his glory ♪ ♪ Holy is the Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ May earth be filled with his glory ♪ ♪ May earth be filled with his glory ♪ ♪ May earth be filled with his glory ♪ - Amen.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) ♪ Who created one ♪ ♪ The author of salvation ♪ ♪ Who wrote the laws of space and time ♪ ♪ And fashioned worlds to his design ♪ ♪ The one whom angels thus revealed ♪ ♪ Hung the stars like chandeliers ♪ ♪ Now burn every grain of sand ♪ ♪ On the heart of every man ♪ ♪ He is king forever ♪ ♪ He is king forever ♪ ♪ He is king forever ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Our fortress ♪ ♪ Fortress and our strength ♪ ♪ The rock on which we can depend ♪ ♪ His majesty ♪ ♪ His power and authority unshaken ♪ ♪ Unshaken by the schemes of man ♪ ♪ Never changing but I am ♪ ♪ Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall ♪ ♪ His faithful through it all ♪ ♪ Crown him king forever ♪ ♪ Crown him king forever ♪ ♪ Crown him king forevermore ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Mighty God immortal flesh ♪ ♪ Forsaken by a traitor's kiss ♪ ♪ The curse of sin centuries ♪ ♪ Did pierce the lowly prince of peace ♪ ♪ He's lifted high ♪ ♪ Lifted high the sinless man ♪ ♪ Crucified the spotless lamb ♪ ♪ Buried by the sons of man ♪ ♪ Rescued by love fathers hand ♪ ♪ Greatest king forever ♪ ♪ Greatest king forever ♪ ♪ Greatest king forevermore ♪ ♪ Eternal God of grace ♪ ♪ We crown you with our heart and praise ♪ ♪ And saints adore ♪ ♪ Your holy, holy, holy Lord God ♪ ♪ A joy in everlasting life ♪ ♪ All is love and goodness nigh ♪ ♪ Justice strong and grace bright ♪ ♪ At the name of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ King of kings forever ♪ ♪ King of kings forever ♪ ♪ King of kings forevermore ♪ ♪ Sing the king ♪ ♪ King of kings forever ♪ ♪ King of kings forever ♪ ♪ King of kings forevermore ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Forevermore ♪ (upbeat music) - Amen.

(speaking faintly) (speaking faintly) - Hi, everyone. Hi, everyone, happy Sunday. My testimony is about God's faithfulness and God's sovereignty in my life. My name is Victor Lei. I grew up in a conservative Chinese family. Although my parents didn't regularly attend church, every summer they sent me and my sister to a different Chinese summer school that was associated with some church.

I'm grateful for this upbringing because I was exposed to the basics of the foundations of Christianity. In late high school and my first two years of college, I was enslaved to pornography, experimented with marijuana and alcohol, gratifying the flesh with drugs, and giving in to lust became a regular secret thing.

There was an internal sense of guilt, but I quickly pushed it off thinking, I'll say sorry to God later. I'll find God when I'm older. Let me have fun now. When I finally transferred to UCSD, I ran quicker towards the things of this world. Hookup culture was widely acceptable, partying every weekend, getting drunk just because.

I didn't look for a church down in San Diego. I claimed to be Christian with my lips, but my actions looked like everyone else around me. That sense of guilt eventually became numb. My life became numb and empty. I went as far as to try and find meaning with psychedelics.

Nothing, just emptiness in my soul and deep disappointment because I couldn't find that something I was looking for. I remembered a quote when I was younger by C.S. Lewis from his book, Mere Christianity. If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.

I thought to myself, I get that. I understand that and I feel that. In 1 John 2.15-17 it reads, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. "If anyone loves the world, "the love of the Father is not in him. "For all that is in the world, "the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes "and pride of life is not from the Father, "but is from the world.

"And the world is passing away along with its desires, "but whoever does the will of God abides forever." Coming to the knowledge of God and what relationship with him truly means wasn't an overnight thing for me, but something did happen one night in June 2022. The weeks leading to that night, I was consistently intoxicated and numbed with marijuana for weeks straight.

My brain and body felt like mush. I felt deep sorrow for myself, purposeless, unmotivated to live. After experiencing this pit of sorrow, I felt a deep conviction from the Holy Spirit to just quit drugs altogether. So that night around 9 p.m., I yielded for the first time, and I threw away every possession related to marijuana in the apartment dumpster.

And in these small steps, yielding to the Spirit began a lifelong journey of sanctification, being led by the Spirit and not by the flesh. Fighting my flesh to choose God's will over what I want for my life. In the depths of my sin, God was faithful through it all, patient for my repentance, actively pursuing me for my surrender and never letting go of me.

In this experience, God revealed how wretched my sins were, how great the chasm between me and God, and just how undeserving I am. But in his grace, I am forgiven in Christ. I am saved in Christ. I was chosen in Christ. And God has held me fast all my life without me even realizing it.

I once was lost, living in sin, but now I'm found. I still struggle with sin, but actively running away from it and towards Christ. And to my delight, when I started yielding to God, letting go of my own control, surrendering to God's sovereign hand, and submitting to his great plans, which I will never understand with my puny human brain, that's exactly when I feel the most content and joyous in my life.

From John 6, 35, Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." Finding Green Community Church was a testament of God's faithfulness in my life. When I moved to Orange County, by no mistake did God lead me to this church to grow in the knowledge of and intimacy with him.

God is sovereign. God is good. In my most recent season of life, I've been applying my knowledge of attributing everything in my life to God's sovereignty, with this new church community, a new job, significant relationships, every blessing and every trial divinely orchestrated. From Romans 8, 28 it reads, "And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." I'm grateful for this newfound purpose to live for the glory of God and everlasting hope that I have in Christ.

I'm grateful for the peaceful contentment that there is nothing in this world that can satisfy my soul but Christ alone, and I am his and he is mine. From Romans 11, 36 it reads, "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.

(speaking in foreign language) All glory to God. Amen." (applause) - So Victor, do you understand when you go into the water, you're being united to Christ's death, and then when you come out, you're being united to his resurrected life? - I do. - And I baptize you in the name of the Father, and the Holy Spirit.

(water splashing) (applause) - All right, thank you, Victor. If you can turn your Bibles with me to Luke chapter 6, we're gonna be looking at verses 1 through 11. Luke chapter 6, verses 1 through 11, and I will be reading out of the NASB. Okay, Luke chapter 6, verses 1 through 11.

"Now it happened that he was passing through some grain fields on the Sabbath, and his disciples were picking the heads of the grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating the grain. But some of the Pharisees said, 'Why do you do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?' And Jesus answering them said, 'Have you not even read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him?

How he entered the house of God and took and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for any to eat, except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions. And he was saying to them, 'The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.' On another Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.

The scribes and the Pharisees were watching him closely to see if he healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse him. But he knew what they were thinking, and he said to the man with the withered hand, 'Get up and come forward.' And he got up and came forward.

And Jesus said to them, 'I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?' After looking around at them all, he said to him, 'Stretch out your hand.' And he did so. And his hand was restored, but they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus." Let's pray.

Father, we pray for understanding. We pray for your Spirit. Help us, Lord God, to have open ears, softened hearts, and a ready will to surrender to what you teach us. May Christ's glory and his glory alone be magnified. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Last week's text, we ended with Christ correcting and rebuking the Pharisees by saying that new cloth needs to be on, new cloth cannot go on the old cloth, or it's going to tear the cloth.

And also the new wine has to be in new wine skin, or else the old wine sin is going to burst. And basically what he is saying is, the old things have to go, the new things have to come. And that's true of anything that we do. If you're going to remodel your house, and some of you guys may be in the middle of something like that, in order for you to remodel your house, you have to tear down what's there now.

So if you're going to remodel your kitchen, you have to tear the old thing out in order for the new thing to come in. This is true even spiritually. When we say we want revival to come, God's Spirit doesn't come and revive whatever is there, and add to whatever it is that we have built up.

Typically when there is an outpouring of the presence of God upon, and revival breaks out, usually he will challenge what's there. Whatever is there that wasn't built, that doesn't stand the test of the Spirit and the Word of God, will have to be torn down. And so that's exactly what he was saying with these illustrations, that the old religion has to go, because what Christ is bringing is not going to be accepted in the old religious system.

And there is nothing more that represents the old religious system, than the way that they practice Sabbath. So in order for Christ to come and bring what he was trying to do in the Spirit, in the new covenant, the old religion had to be challenged. And so if you look at the text, Jesus deliberately, he deliberately chose the Sabbath to do what he did.

And then in fact, when he heals the man with the withered hand, he made sure that they were watching, everybody was watching, and then because he knew they were watching, he made him stand up in their presence and healed them. Almost kind of like, "You need to see this.

I know you're going to be triggered by this, and I'm going to deliberately trigger you." In fact, this is not the only text this happens. If you read the Gospels, you'll remember over and over and over again, the Pharisees were triggered by the fact that he kept on doing things on the Sabbath.

In Mark chapter 1, 29, Simon Peter's mother, mother-in-law, was healed on the Sabbath. Mark chapter 3, 1, a man with a withered hand was healed on the Sabbath. John chapter 9, 1 through 16, a man born blind in Jerusalem was healed on the Sabbath. Luke chapter 13, 10 through 17, a crippled woman in a synagogue was healed on the Sabbath.

Luke chapter 14, a man with dropsy was healed on the Sabbath. Mark chapter 21, a demon-possessed man was healed on the Sabbath. A lame man at the pull of Bethsaida was healed on the Sabbath. And John chapter 5, 1 through 18. So it's almost kind of like Jesus knew that they were going to get triggered, and he deliberately challenges them because, just as he said, until the old religion is challenged, the new religion, the new covenant is not going to be accepted.

The issue with the Sabbath was so important to the Jews, to the Pharisees. You can see this in John chapter 9, verse 16. It says, "After he heals a man who is blind, he puts clay in his eyes, and his eyes get opened. And after seeing this great miracle," instead of saying, "Wow, a great miracle has happened," you would think that that would be the natural reaction.

Instead, in verse 16, it says, "Therefore," some of the Pharisees were saying, "this man is not from God because he does not keep the Sabbath." Even as he performed miracles, they couldn't see who he was because he wasn't following their rules. In fact, John 5, 18, it says, "For this reason, therefore, the Jews are seeking all the more to kill him because he not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God." How can a mere man say he's God?

And then, not even obey the Sabbath. So everything that Jesus did, walking on water, healing people, opening the eyes that are blind, even raising a dead person from the grave, they could not get over the fact that it's like, well, he's doing all these miraculous things, and it seems like he has all the evidence of being the Messiah, but he's not keeping the Sabbath.

He's not keeping the things that are so important to us, so therefore, he cannot be a man from God, and we need to get rid of this guy. As people who are 2,000 years removed from this, we can look at that and say, "The Pharisees were so foolish. How can they be so blind?

How can they have been so entangled with the Sabbath that they couldn't recognize their own Messiah that the Bible makes it so clear with so much evidence?" Obviously, everything in the Bible has clear application for us, because if we read the Scripture and say, "Well, these foolish Pharisees, thank God we're not like them.

Thank God we have the Word of God," there is a tendency for all of us to measure righteousness and what it means to be a follower of Christ, where the Scripture clearly says, "Do not add to it. Do not take away from it." Usually, when we add to it or take away from it, it's always in the name of righteousness.

Always in the name of righteousness. We can be blinded by our own effort for righteousness, what we think is right, what we think is wrong, that is extra-biblical, that causes us to be blind to the truth. This danger of Pharisees, I mean, the way that they approach the Sabbath, there is a danger in every single one of us if we're not careful.

In order to fully understand what's going on here, we need to understand why they took this so seriously. First of all, the Sabbath is very serious in the Old Testament. In fact, it was so serious, the Bible says, that if a man does not keep the Sabbath, what was the penalty?

They were taken out of the gate and stoned. That's how serious this was. This was not just a peripheral. In fact, it's one of the Ten Commandments. Do not worship any other god, don't make any graven images, and then do not use the Lord's name in vain. And then the fourth commandment is, "Thou shalt keep the Sabbath holy, and then honor your father and mother.

Thou shalt not kill, shalt not commit adultery." And so, of the Ten Commandments, you have the Sabbath sandwiched right in the middle, and verse 3 is clear to understand that you will not worship any other god. Number 5, 6 to 10 is about our relationship with one another, but Sabbath is sandwiched right in the middle, and we don't know where this exactly fits.

Because it seems like a ceremonial law. It seems like something that belongs to, maybe at the Temple, maybe just to the nation of Israel, but it's given in the Ten Commandments. And so, if you examine it carefully, you'll see that the Sabbath is what connects the relationship with God and man.

It's sandwiched right in the middle. So they took this very seriously, because the Bible takes it seriously. In fact, it's introduced to us in the very creation. God worked for six days, and on the seventh day, God rested. He went into Sabbath, and we all went into Sabbath with Him.

In fact, this was so important that in the Scriptures it says there are two things that the nation of Israel was to practice regularly as a symbol of the covenant relationship with Yahweh. The first was circumcision. So any individual, any man who wanted to become a Jew might be circumcised, whether you were born into it, whether you converted into it, because you needed to have that physical symbol.

And then the second was the Sabbath. In Exodus 31, 13 to 16, 13 says, "But I ask for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'You shall surely observe my Sabbath, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations.'" So again, all of this so that you and I can understand why this was taken so seriously.

And then in verse 16 it says, "This is a sign of a perpetual covenant, not only for a short period, but as long as you are my people, the Sabbath will be a symbol of our covenant relationship." But there's something a lot more practical than this. I mean, that in and of itself is practical.

In the book of Leviticus, in chapter 25, it gives us how the Sabbath was to be practiced. And there's three different levels of Sabbath that is supposed to be practiced. First of all is the personal one, where the nation of Israel was to practice it every Sabbath, like weekly.

And then the land was supposed to experience Sabbath every seventh year. That you're not to work it, you give it the rest every seventh year. And then there was the year of Jubilee, every 50th year. Every 50th year the land was supposed to experience the Sabbath. Well, it says in Leviticus 26, 34-35, it was a warning that if you do not keep the Sabbath, this is the consequence.

And it says, "The land will enjoy its Sabbath all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies." In other words, because you did not keep the Sabbath, the land will experience our force of Sabbath upon the land, because you would not. And it says, "Then the land will rest and enjoy its Sabbath all the days of the desolation.

It will observe the rest which it did not observe on your Sabbath while you were living on it." So if you don't keep the Sabbath, God's going to force the Sabbath on the land. That's what he says. And that's exactly what happens. Because they would not obey his commands, what happens?

At 589 BC, Babylonians come, they take them to captivity, and for how long are they in captivity? For 70 years. So 70 years represents all the years that they would not practice the Sabbath. So it was supposed to happen every seventh year, right? So for 7 times 70 is what?

490. For 490 years, they lived in disobedience, and so God is forcing a Sabbath upon the nation of Israel. So automatically, some of you guys already, like your brain is already clicking. Where did you hear that before? 7 times 70? Remember when Peter asked, like, "How many times should I forgive?" "Seven times," and remember Jesus said, "Seven times 70." That number is not a random number.

That number appears not only there, but in the book of Daniel. So 490 is a very significant number. So Jesus was basically telling Peter, "Be as patient as I have been patient with you. Be as gracious and forgiving as I have been gracious and forgiving with you." So because of their sin, for 70 years, this is forced upon them because they would not bring Sabbath upon their land.

So the Jews wanted to take this seriously. Once they got restored back into the land, they said, "We're not going to ever let this happen again." So they began to keep the Sabbath. I mean, everything that you and I know of Pharisees, right? I mean, they were meticulous, right?

All the OCDs gathered together, and they made these rules, and they were keeping this so intensely that during the Maccabean, during the period of the Maccabeans, the Greeks began to come in, and they started conquering. And so they came to attack to conquer the Maccabeans, and because it was on the Sabbath, they would not fight back.

So on their history record, it says a thousand Jews in the caves got slaughtered, men, women, and children, because they refused to fight back. As a result of that, the Hasmoneans created an assembly saying, "You know, maybe God will let us fight, because if we let this happen, we're going to be destroyed." So they actually had a council, and after that, saying, "God's making a provision that at least we can fight." But you can understand where this came from, and even the Pharisees themselves.

Like, where did they get created? The word "Pharisee" basically means to be set apart. And the reason why they were formed is because the Greeks were coming in and bringing all kinds of immorality into all these cultures. By the time Jesus come, the Romans conquered all these known nations, but the immorality came through the Greeks.

Now, I can list for you all the different things that came in, and usually when we talk about the Greeks, we talk about their culture, their language, their philosophers, and their building, and the art, and all the great things. But when you study the ancient culture of the Greeks and what they brought in, there was no such thing as sexual immorality, because it was practiced by their gods.

All the sexual immorality that was brought into their culture was part of their worship. In fact, I can go on and on and explain to you the kind of things that they did, but a good representation of why these Jews were so concerned about the Greek culture penetrating, is that sexual promiscuity, if you want to call that, was so rampant that they wanted to make it easy to have sexual relations with children.

So by the culture, they would not teach children their sexual identity. You're neither male or female. And the reason why they did that was that they wanted to groom them, just in case a homosexual would want to take advantage of that, so that you would have a bunch of children who are confused, that they can go either way.

So again, as disturbing as that may be to us, in the Greek culture, there was no sexual immorality. There were no boundaries. So if pleasure is their greatest pursuit, the greatest avenue for that pursuit is their greatest pursuit. So the immorality that we see in the Corinth was not introduced by the Romans.

It was introduced by the Greeks. I don't have to connect the dots of what's happening in our culture today, where sexual identity is deliberately being perverted, and it's, "Oh, you know, we're trying to free them. We're trying to make them free, not to be oppressed." But look what it's leading to.

At the end, it is connected. I mean, there is immorality. What Satan is doing, there's nothing new under the sun. What Satan has been doing in the past is true today, and it will be true tomorrow. And it is against this that the Pharisees were formed 150 B.C., saying, "We can't allow this to happen." So they formed a group, and again, the name means to be set apart.

Set apart from what? They don't want the Hellenistic culture to come in and penetrate. So we're going to be about the law. We're going to keep this, and we're going to make sure that we don't turn from it to the left or to the right. And in this particular one, the Sabbath, because of the trouble they got into-- we're going to make sure that this doesn't happen again-- so they dedicated 24 chapters of the Talmud to how to practice this Sabbath.

24 chapters. The Talmud basically is the interpretation of the law, how to apply the law. Let me give you an example. In their 24 chapters, it says-- obviously, the main thing is you can't work, right? So they said that if you travel 3,000 feet out of your home, and 3,001 feet from that point on, you broke the Sabbath.

So what they would do is they would put little shacks at that point, and then from that point on, you can go another 3,000 feet. So if they didn't have money to build a little shack, all they had to do is take a rope and connect their house to another house across the street, and then the 3,000 measure would start from that house.

And then if that wasn't far enough, they would just connect that with another rope. So you can imagine all the houses were probably connected with ropes. So whatever was the furthest outpost, they can just move freely without breaking the Sabbath. That was part of their law. You can throw something in the air with one arm.

If you catch it with the same arm, it's considered not breaking the Sabbath. But if you catch it with the other arm, that's considered work. Then you've broken the Sabbath. You can only carry something as a weight of a dried fig. If you carry anything heavier than that, it's breaking the Sabbath.

It's considered work. But if you cut it in half and then you carry that twice, then it's not breaking the Sabbath. This is how ridiculous, this is how meticulous their Sabbath was. So a tailor could not carry a needle, a scribe could not carry a pen, a pupil could not carry his books, because whatever it is that you were doing, if you carry that, that would be considered work to you.

Women could not wear jewelry because it was heavier than a dried fig. If you lit a candle and you forget to turn it off before the Sabbath takes you, then you're not allowed to turn it off. Because that would be considered work. If you turn it off and the Sabbath takes you, you cannot light it.

There was 24 chapters of this. I had about 15 more and I had to erase it because I didn't want to sit here and tell you all of these things. I mean, that's a very small percentage of what they had. So imagine how burdensome this was. I mean, think about that.

The word Sabbath basically means rest. Do you feel rested? Hearing this makes you tired. They had 24 chapters of this. And what they considered a path of righteousness, when Christ comes, he says in Matthew 23, 23, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law, justice and mercy and faithfulness.

But these are the things you should have done without neglecting the other." And then he says in verse 27, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.

So you too outwardly appear righteous to myth, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." You're so focused on the external part of who you are, inwardly you're burning in passion, you're burning with hate, you're burning with bitterness, judgmentalism, whatever it is that you're burning with. And he says, "Those things you neglect, you kind of sweep it under the rug.

But when it comes to external righteousness, you are experts." I don't know if you've ever heard this illustration before, but I think it's one of the most powerful illustrations I've ever read. Like an egg, right? An egg, when it is, it is almost meant to be broken, right? But if it is broken from the outside, it's to be eaten, right?

Whatever is in the--maybe there's a potential chick that's to come out of there, but if it's broken from the outside, if we break it, it's going to die. But when the egg gets broken from the inside, it's the beginning of life, because a chick is growing in there and it's ready to live.

See, righteousness that covers the outside, changes who we are externally, without a transformation taking place inside, it brings death. All it brings is transformation. Like we need to do this. We need to change our behavior. They're doing this, and then now you can't do this, and you've got to do this.

And think about what that adds. How many of you had a hard week this week? How many of you have parents who are sick? How many of you are having a hard time paying bills? How many of you have a hard time raising your children? You're so tired, you don't know, is this it?

And you're struggling, you're wrestling, you're having marriage problems, and then you come to church, and it's like, do more! Give more! Sacrifice more! You can throw with your left hand, but you can't catch with your right hand. You can walk this distance, but you can't walk more than that.

If you do this with your children, it's okay. If you do that with your children, it's not okay. And if righteousness is simply changing our external behavior, all it does is get people who are tired, living in this fallen world, and adding more. You're having a hard time paying your bills, and you've got to give more.

So, it's not the external things in and of itself. But God didn't simply call us to change our external behavior. He transforms us from within. And that's why the Bible says, 2 Corinthians 5, 17, 18, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things have passed away; behold, the new things have come." When our inner life is transformed, when God transforms our heart, our desire, our joy, our hope, from within, and when that life begins to grow, it begins to break the shell that bound us before.

And we are able to be free to worship, to be free to live. But when that shell gets broken from the outside because of pressure, because of judgment, because of expectation, because of "You're supposed to do this, you're supposed to do that," all it brings is more pressure, more hardship.

See, Jesus says, "You are so concerned about how you appear, but inwardly all you are filled with is dead men's bones." And you can tell if that's happening or not when you carefully listen to your speech. Because Jesus says, "What is inside eventually comes out of our mouth." And if righteousness is only happening externally, you can tell what's coming out of your mouth.

If there's true transformation taking place, or it's just the outer shell being broken. Jesus came to challenge the old religion, and he tells us what the new covenant is, what he meant for the Sabbath. In Mark chapter 227, of this recording of the same event, when they challenged him, Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for Sabbath." The way he answers them, he said, "Have you not even read in Luke 634, when they said, 'How can you be breaking the Sabbath?'" I mean, Jesus, by taking the grain, by crushing it and putting it in their mouth on the Sabbath, broke at least three or four laws there.

Their tradition. Not God's laws, but their tradition. "How can you be a man of God and break the Sabbath?" And Jesus answers them, "Have you not even read what David did when he was hungry? He and those who were with him. Now he entered the house of God and took and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for any to eat except for the priest alone, and gave it to his companions." This is a very typical way that Jesus answers.

It would challenge him, like, "Should we give to Caesar or to the temple?" He'd say, "Give to God what is God, and give to Caesar what is Caesar." He's like, "Huh?" He just flips the table, and like, "Well, you answered this then." First of all, Jesus didn't break any laws.

He was breaking their tradition. But, if you're going to accuse me of breaking the law, if you're going to have a fit over eating this grain, what about David? He's referring to 1 Samuel 21, 4-6. I want you to listen carefully about what happens and the point that Jesus is trying to make.

Because if you're not careful, you may read this and say, "Well, Jesus does whatever he wants because he's Jesus. David does whatever he wants because he's king." They don't have to follow the law. Remember, Jesus said, "I've not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill the law." Not even an iota of the law of God would pass away until it is fulfilled.

So, Jesus himself said, "Everything must be obeyed." So, what does he mean? 1 Samuel 21, 4-6, "The priest answered David and said, 'David was on this mission that was sent by the king, and him and his men become famished, and they end up at the temple.' And he asked, 'Is there food?' And the priest said, 'There is no ordinary food on hand, but there is consecrated bread, if only the young men have kept themselves from the women.'" Let me stop right there.

First of all, what's happening? David is not the one who goes and grabs the bread. That bread was reserved for who? For the priests. So, that bread was given to the priests to eat. So, when David says, "Is there bread?" He says, "There is no common bread for you to eat, but there is bread that is consecrated for us to eat.

I can give that to you if your men are not defiled," meaning that you didn't have sexual relations with other women, and so therefore, because it's consecrated, we want to make sure that you're handling it with holiness. David did not just walk into the temple and got the consecrated bread.

Typically, what happens is they would leave it there for seven days, and the seventh day, it is released from the consecration for the priests to eat. So, by the time the priest has it, it's their food to eat. And he is offering that to David, because David says, "So, in both ways, David didn't grab it, and the priest didn't just grab anything.

He said, 'What is mine? If you handle this with care, then you can have it.'" So, David didn't break any laws. He was just given the bread that the priests were supposed to eat. But the point that Jesus is making, "You are accusing me of breaking the Sabbath, and there is no law being broken, but if you're going to accuse me of breaking the Sabbath, what are you going to do with this?" You should answer this before you accuse me of this, and obviously, they have no answer.

And the point that Jesus was making, "You don't understand the law." Yes, God is serious about keeping the law, but if you don't understand the heart of God, you cannot understand the mind of God. Now, why is this so important? Because Jesus accuses them, Matthew 15a, "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." They say the right things, but their heart's not in it.

"They worship me in vain. Their teachings are but rules taught by men." In other words, you're dissecting the letter of the law, but you do not know the heart of God. In Luke 15, when Jesus is hanging around with the tax collectors and the sinners, the Pharisees were offended.

"How can you, being a man of God, be hanging around with these sinners?" And Jesus turns the table on them, and teaches them about the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. And the point of each one of these parables is, "You don't know God." You're trying to keep the letter of the law, but you do not know the spirit of the law.

That the whole reason that the law came is to reveal your sins. Not to make you righteous. God came to seek and save the lost. So, the whole point is, you're trying to keep the law, but it's come out thinking that somehow that's going to make you righteous. But it's to reveal your unrighteousness, just like these people, so that you would recognize you're in the same boat.

So that you would also repent. So that you would also realize that this is why Jesus came. But because you do not understand God, you do not understand the law of God. And let me give you a perfect example of this. When we talk about church discipline, this is probably one of the most difficult things to practice at church, because however we practice it, there's going to be a segment of the church that does not understand.

In order to understand church discipline, you not only need to understand the letter of the law, you need to understand the spirit of the law. If you practice the letter of the law, when somebody breaks the law, when somebody lives immoral, and you say, "Oh, they broke this law." So the first step is, we talk to them, and they wouldn't listen.

So we sent two people, and they didn't listen. So therefore, the third is, we're going to take it to the church and shame them, and we're going to kick them out of the church and say, "The letter of the law was followed." If we only follow the letter of the law, we can shame pretty much everybody.

Almost everybody who breaks the law and does not immediately repent and lead to sanctification. Then, "Oh, we sent one, then we had two, and then everybody, you get out. You get out. You get out. You get out." Or, because that's hard to understand, like, "Why would we want to be gracious?" And so, we sweep every sin under the rug, because we're trying to be gracious.

If you do not understand the letter of the law and the spirit of the law, the church discipline cannot be practiced. Church discipline was meant in the context of a loving family that cares for the soul so much, that we cannot allow somebody that we love to head down this path.

It's going to lead to destruction. So, love compels us to act, but it is also love that tempers the judgment. That discipline comes, but also in temperament, desiring with all our heart that a sinner would repent. See, but if you do not see it as the letter of the law and the spirit of the law, then either we don't practice it or we bring the hammer every time.

Let me give you another example. The Bible says, "Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless there's two or three witnesses." If the church had ten people, two or three witnesses is 30%, and that's a pretty decent number of people. A church of a thousand, I'm almost certain that our church, we're like hovering around there, that I'm pretty sure you can find three people who love this church.

They love the people, they love the small groups, they love the missions, they love all that. Only if we can get this short stocky guy, he keeps yelling up on the pulpit and he says things I don't like. Only if we can change the pastor. I'm pretty sure they can find three people.

I'm pretty sure they can find more than three people at the church right now who's unhappy with me for some reason. And thinking the answer to the next level of this church is to switch the pastor. So if you follow the letter of the law, get those three people together and you will fulfill the letter of the law.

But is that what that means? Anyway, even if we have 10,000 or 50,000, just find three people. If those three people are in agreement, you can remove him by the letter of the law. But what he means by that is, is there a consensus? Is there an agreement in the church?

Is this what a lot of people think? And if that's the case, then he said, then maybe that pastor needs to be removed. If we follow the letter of the law, anything that we find, "Oh, we did this, we did this, and we're being righteous because we're following what it says to the letter." But if you do not understand the spirit of the law, of why he gave the law, and for what purpose, then we can take the letter of the law and become destructive.

That's why Jesus says people who are under this heavy obligation, he says in Matthew 9, 12, 13, "But when Jesus heard this, he said, 'It is not those who are healthy who need the physician, but those who are sick, but go and learn what this means. I desire compassion and not sacrifice, for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'" Jesus is quoting Hosea 6, verse 6, when he's telling the nation of Israel, in the midst of a lot of religiousness, he says, "For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offering." In other words, you cannot understand the letter of the law unless you have the heart of God.

Unless you understand why the letter was given, and why these things were to be practiced. So, if in the church you have a lot of people who know the Bible, but do not love Christ, it becomes a very dangerous thing, the word of God becomes a very dangerous thing, with people who will use it to hurt other people, if you do not understand the spirit of the law.

He's not nullifying the law at all, but he wants us to understand why it was given to us in the first place. In Matthew 23, verse 4, it says, "They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger." So focused on external righteousness, so focused on trying to break the outer shell, when there's no transformation taking place from within.

And here's a crazy thing. He said the Sabbath was made for man, not man for Sabbath. Not for us to serve the law, but the law to serve us. But then the second thing he says in Luke 6, 5, and he was saying to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." Not only does he say that, but after he gives the illustration of David, he says, Matthew 12, 6, "But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here." Now think about what that is.

The temple is a place where even the high priest couldn't enter into certain parts. They have to be consecrated. And he said, "Well, if you're going to accuse me of breaking the law, David went into the temple and he did these things, but he said, if you're going to accuse me, and you're okay with that, I'm telling you something greater than the temple." Do you know what that means?

What is greater than the temple? There's only one thing greater than the temple. God himself. Think about how meticulously they were holding on to the Sabbath. And Jesus says, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." Either you believed him and you knew exactly what he was saying, you bowed down and said, "You are God.

How can God be among us?" Or you would have picked up stones to stone him right there. How can you, a mere man, say that you're greater? You are the Lord of the Sabbath, greater than the temple. And that's exactly what he was saying. And that's what Paul tells us in Colossians 2, 16 and 17.

"Therefore, no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink, in respect to festival or new moons or Sabbath day, things which are mere shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ." In other words, that Sabbath you are trying so hard to obey, was given to you simply as a shadow, so that you would recognize when the substance came.

But because you used the Sabbath for self-righteousness, you used the Sabbath as a measuring stick. So when the substance came, you didn't recognize it. So the old religion had to go in order for the new wine, the Holy Spirit, to come. When the Pharisees, when the disciples asked him, "What's the greatest law?" You know, remember what Jesus said.

The reason why they asked this question is because this was a constant debate. What's the greatest law? Many of the Pharisees would have said, "It's the Sabbath." It's the Sabbath. But you, sir, you, master, you seem like you're an expert. What's the greatest law? Remember what Jesus says? "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength." Soul, mind, and strength.

And second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. Why does he say that? Because he's challenging their view of the law. He's correcting their old religion. He's basically telling them that you are so concerned about which law. Did we do this right? Did we not do it right?

But he said, "Do you realize that all of that was given to you so that you can love God?" So the greatest thing that we need to be asking ourselves is not did we follow meticulously the letter of the law. Now, it's important. Jesus said that not an iota will pass away.

It's not saying that it's not important. But he said the greatest purpose of the law is to bring you to himself, to love God. Love God. Now, before we evaluate in our lives and other people's lives, are they doing this? Are they not doing this? Am I doing this?

Am I not doing this? The greatest question we should be asking is do I love Christ? Do I genuinely love Christ? Now, some of you say I love you very easily. Now, I'm not judging anybody. Some of you, "I love you. Love." And you write a letter. "Love. Love.

Love. Love." And you use it very loosely. Maybe you really are so filled with love you can't help contain it. Some of you, some of you, love is reserved when somebody dies. You know what I mean? Like, "I love you." It's so serious. Right? If you use that term love, it's just generically speaking, I think for most people.

If you say I love you to somebody that you don't genuinely love, it is as awkward as it can get. You see it on your face. "I love you." Right? "I don't buy it." Right? Because it's very awkward. You're saying something that's really not coming out, especially if somebody that you don't like, "I love you." Right?

It just doesn't come out right. It's awkward. But when you say that to somebody that you're compelled, right, when your wife on the honeymoon, your husband, you know what I mean, that you typically see at a wedding and the couple standing there and you're just oozing love, you know what I mean?

Or your children, you know? You know what it's like. You have a child and, you know, you go in there and I remember the, you know, when our children were younger coming home after, you know, like two, three weeks away and I come back and they're sound asleep and I want to wake them up.

Right? Just so that I can, you know, because I feel good. I miss them. When you're genuinely loving something, the natural expression is love. Your body language, your eyes, your heart, your words, right? But when that's not there, everything is show. I'm supposed to say it. I put it on cards.

I'm supposed to say it. So you say it, it's just awkward and that's where hypocrisy gets built. Right? Jesus says to the Samaritan woman, "God is not looking for people who's going to worship on this mountain. Are we supposed to worship in this mountain or that mountain? Are we supposed to worship here?

Are we supposed to keep the Sabbath this way or that way?" He said, "What God is looking for are people who will worship him in spirit and in truth." Not just the letter of the law, but the spirit of the law where people are inspired by what Christ has done for us.

And when we sing about his grace, that we're overwhelmed by what he has done. And so there is an inner changing that's happening in our hearts. And we're beginning to break out of the shell that bound us. And it says, "If you abide in my word, my word abide in you.

Ask whatever you wish, it shall be done for you." And it says, "When the son sets you free, you will be free indeed." The danger of the Sabbath is a danger that all of you, all of us, been a Christian for five years, ten years, thirty years, forty years, that we build up habits, thinking that that's what makes us righteous.

But what God is looking for is a transformation in our heart that causes us to be true worshipers. So this morning, if I can ask the Praise Team to come up. And as we sing this song, this song represents what I believe that we need to focus our attention on.

It comes from Ecclesiastes 5, 1 through 2. It says, "Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen, rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools. For they do not know they are doing evil." Isn't that crazy? That they're coming to worship God and make sacrifices.

God's the one who told them to sacrifice. God's the one who said, "Come into his gates with singing in our hearts." But he says, "They do not know that these sacrifices are sacrifices of fools, and their assembly is evil." Think about that. Our worship can be evil. Think about the damage hypocrisy has done in human history.

How many people will not come to church because you guys are the same? You're no different. You're doing this, you're doing that, and you guys are talking about righteousness, but I don't see you any different. Think about how false religion is the biggest hindrance to the gospel. Not the government, not the laws, the false religion is what keeps people away from God.

And that's why he says, "These sacrifices of fools, they're evil. Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore, let your word be few." Let the word of God dwell in you richly that we may respond to God in true worship.

So let me pray for us, and then we'll close with the closing song. Gracious Father, we pray that your word will continue to penetrate and mold our hearts, our thoughts, our lives, that it may bring the greatest glory to your name. Lord, search us and know us, see if there's any hurtful ways in us, that the worship that we give you may truly be in spirit and in truth.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let's all stand up for the closing praise. You are God in heaven, and here am I, honored. So I'll let my words be few. Jesus, I am so in love with you. And I'll stand in awe of you. Yes, I'll stand in awe of you.

And I'll let my words be few. Jesus, I am so in love with you. So this is the simplest of all love songs I want to bring to you. So I'll let my words be few. Jesus, I am so in love with you. And I'll stand in awe of you.

Yes, I'll stand in awe of you. And I'll let my words be few. Jesus, I am so in love with you. And I'll let my words be few. Jesus, I am so in love with you. And I'll stand in awe of you. And I'll let my words be few.

Jesus, I am so in love with you. Let's pray. Father, we pray that the words that you have anointed, and your very breath, Lord God, that you have placed in your words, would cause us, Lord, to be the aroma of Christ wherever we go. Help us, Lord God, to see the world that we live in, that we would not live in isolation, that you would challenge us to live outside of our bubble.

Know, Father God, that there are hurting people around us, inside the church, outside the church, who are in desperate need of hope in the name of Jesus Christ. Help us, Lord God, to be hidden in Christ, that we may eagerly look for the glory that will come in Christ, that we may be able to live as you live, go as you go, that we would have compassion for those who are lost, that we would recognize your word and your church and our fellowship, all in the context of you pursuing sinners like us.

Help us to join your work. Help us, Lord God, to be an extension of your heart. So bless us, Lord God, as you send us, that we may magnify Christ, that we may be a brighter and brighter light wherever it is that you send. In Christ's name we pray.

Amen. God sent his Son. They called him Jesus. He came to love. Heal and forgive. He lived and died. To buy my heart. An empty grave is there to hold my Savior's lips. 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. Worthy of every song we could ever sing. Nice harmony. Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring. Worthy of every breath we could ever take.