(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) (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) - Happy Lord's Day, church family.

At this time, we're gonna begin our service. (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) - Sing praise God. (soft music) ♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ ♪ Him all creatures here below ♪ ♪ Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts ♪ ♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ Better than any saints proclaimed ♪ ♪ The power and might of His great name ♪ ♪ Let us sing psalms unendingly ♪ ♪ Praise God the Holy Trinity ♪ - Sing praise God.

♪ Praise God, praise God ♪ ♪ Praise God who saved my soul ♪ ♪ Praise God, praise God ♪ ♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ ♪ Praise to the king whose throne transcends ♪ ♪ His crown and kingdom ever end ♪ ♪ Now and throughout eternity ♪ ♪ I'll praise the one who died for me ♪ ♪ Praise God, praise God ♪ ♪ Praise God who saved my soul ♪ ♪ Praise God, praise God ♪ ♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ ♪ Praise God, praise God ♪ ♪ Praise God, praise God ♪ ♪ Praise God who saved my soul ♪ ♪ Praise God, praise God ♪ ♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ ♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ ♪ Praise Him, all creatures here below ♪ ♪ Praise Him, above the heavenly host ♪ ♪ Praise God, whose Son and Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ Holy Ghost ♪ - Good morning, welcome to Breen Community Church.

Let me get to a few announcements. First of all, next Sunday is the all church members meeting that we have quarterly, so if you cannot make it for whatever reason, please let us know ahead of time. And there is a fundraiser lunch that's happening right before the meeting from the Korea Mission Team, so please stick around for that.

Family ministry picnic, if you're a part of the family ministry at all age level on May 18th from 11 to 3 p.m., so 11 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, there will be a casual gathering at Bill Barber Park in Irvine. So if you wish to come to that, you just bring your own lunch, it's a casual time.

Obviously, it's starting at 11, and then there's gonna be people there that you'll be able to meet and hang out and fellowship with. So that's happening on May 18th. Spiritual development classes. So as you know, our weekday Bible study is ending this week, right? This is our last session.

And then we have a break in the month of, most of month of May, and then we have, part of the reason why we're doing that is because we wanna address certain specific topics in the church. And so during the summertime, there's gonna be anywhere from four to six weeks, depending on which class that we're gonna be offering.

Again, this is not mandatory, but we are offering, hoping that many of you will take advantage of that. And there's three courses that are gonna be given. The dates and time are different for each class. So you're gonna have to look it up. It's not all at the same time.

Foundations of Marriage class, that's gonna be starting, I forget when, I think it's the last week of May or third week of May. Anyway, you could look that up. So please sign up for that, Foundations of Marriage. Explanations of it is gonna be more, more detailed explanation of when you try to sign up.

And then Fourfold Disciplines of Christian Life, where these are spiritual disciplines. It's gonna be more of a practice than just teaching. So just keep that in mind. And then lastly, Parenting class. I think that's happening in July, right? So that's happening in July. So those are the three classes that are gonna be offered during the summertime.

So please look it up and to see which one you can take advantage of. The Parenting class and Marriage class, there is childcare for that. So regular small group and regular home group will not be happening during the summertime. It was gonna be happening through these classes. So please keep that in mind, okay?

Also, Summer Seeker group. So this is for those of you who have family and friends and coworkers that you want to invite to take the Seeker class, where they'll be going over the gospel, going over answering questions. So Pastor Mark is gonna be leading this on starting from May 28th to four Wednesdays consecutively at 7 p.m.

in the Sprouts Room. So if you're interested in that and you know somebody that would benefit from this Seeker class, please sign up for that as well. And then lastly, are Men's, well, it's Men and Co-ed kinda softball tournament for mission fundraising is happening on May 24th. So I don't know when the practice supposedly start today.

So if you did sign up, you should have gotten an email. There is a possibility of one co-ed team. We're not 100% sure yet, depending on the other churches. So if your skill level is up to it for the sisters, for the brothers, it doesn't matter, okay? So whatever skill level you are, there will be a team that is appropriate for you.

So you can sign up for that. And that's taking place on May 24th at the Whittier Narrows, all day Saturday. And then for Women, again, this is for all skill level. Just like last year, there's going to be a Women's Softball Fellowship on June 8th. So please sign up for that.

And then, so if you participated last year, you kinda know what that looks like, okay? And I think that's everything for this morning. Let me pray for the offering. Again, if you have a physical offering, we have a box in the back on the way out. All right, let's pray.

Father, we thank you so much for today. Thank you for your guidance, your love. Thank you for your sacrifice, Lord God, toward us, sustaining us, orchestrating all things, Lord God, ultimately for our benefit. Help us to have our eyes open, sharpened, that we may see a greater glimpse of your glory, that as a result, that we may change and be sanctified according to your purpose and will.

Help us, Lord God, to give joyfully, that it may be multiplied, that it may be used wisely, Father, for the sake of your kingdom. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. (gentle music) (gentle music continues) Let's take a moment just to greet those around us. (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) ♪ So will be done, my God and Father ♪ ♪ As in heaven, so on earth ♪ ♪ My heart is drawn to self-exalting ♪ ♪ Help me seek your kingdom first ♪ ♪ As Jesus walked, so I shall walk ♪ ♪ Held by your same unchanging love ♪ ♪ Be still, my soul, I'll lift your voice and pray ♪ ♪ Father, not my will, but yours alone ♪ ♪ How in that garden he persisted ♪ ♪ I may never fully know ♪ ♪ The fearful weight of true obedience ♪ ♪ It was held by him alone ♪ ♪ What wondrous faith to bear that cross ♪ ♪ To bear my sin, what wondrous love ♪ ♪ My hope was sure when there my Savior prayed ♪ ♪ Father, not my will, but yours alone ♪ ♪ When I am lost, when I am broken ♪ ♪ In the night of fear and doubt ♪ ♪ Still I will trust in my good Father ♪ ♪ Yes, to one great King I bow ♪ ♪ As Jesus knows, so I shall rise ♪ ♪ And rest in glory at the throne ♪ ♪ My heart restored with all your saints asleep ♪ ♪ Father, not my will, but yours alone ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ As we go forth, our God and Father ♪ ♪ Lead us daily in the fight ♪ ♪ That all the world might see your glory ♪ ♪ And your name be lifted high ♪ ♪ And in this day we've overcome ♪ ♪ For you shall see us safely gone ♪ ♪ Now as your church, we lift our voice in praise ♪ ♪ Father, not my will, but yours alone ♪ ♪ And in this day we've overcome ♪ ♪ For you shall see us safely gone ♪ ♪ Now as your church, we lift our voice in praise ♪ ♪ Father, not my will, but yours alone ♪ ♪ Father, not my will, but yours alone ♪ ♪ Father, not my will, but yours alone ♪ ♪ Grace and peace, oh, how can this be ♪ ♪ The lawbreakers and thieves ♪ ♪ For the worthless, the least ♪ ♪ You have said that our judgment is death ♪ ♪ For all eternity, without hope, without rest ♪ ♪ Oh, what amazing mystery ♪ ♪ What amazing mystery ♪ ♪ That your grace has come to me ♪ - Grace and peace.

♪ Grace and peace, oh, how can this be ♪ ♪ Matchless King of all, be the blood that's for me ♪ ♪ Slaughtered land, what atonement you bring ♪ ♪ And the final sinner's heart can be cleansed, can be healed ♪ ♪ Oh, what amazing mystery ♪ ♪ What amazing mystery ♪ ♪ That your grace has come to me ♪ - Praise Him.

♪ Grace and peace, oh, how can this be ♪ ♪ That songs of gratefulness ever rise, never cease ♪ ♪ Loved by God and called as a saint ♪ ♪ My heart is satisfied in the riches of Christ ♪ ♪ Oh, what amazing mystery ♪ ♪ What amazing mystery ♪ ♪ That your grace has come to me ♪ - Oh, what amazing love I see.

♪ Oh, what amazing love I see ♪ ♪ What an amazing love I see ♪ ♪ That your grace has come to me ♪ ♪ Oh, what amazing love I see ♪ ♪ What amazing love I see ♪ ♪ That your grace has come to me ♪ ♪ Oh, what amazing love I see ♪ ♪ What amazing love I see ♪ ♪ That your grace has come to me ♪ ♪ Oh, what amazing love I see ♪ ♪ What amazing love I see ♪ ♪ That your grace has come to me ♪ ♪ Oh, what amazing love I see ♪ ♪ What amazing love I see ♪ ♪ That your grace has come to me ♪ ♪ Oh, what amazing love I see ♪ ♪ That your grace has come to me ♪ - You may be seated.

If you can turn your Bibles to Luke chapter 23, sorry, Luke chapter 11, and I'll be reading from verse 14 all the way to verse 23. Okay. Luke chapter 11, verse 14 through 23. Again, reading out of the NASB. And he was casting out a demon and it was mute.

When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed. But some of them said he casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of demons. Others to test him were demanding of him a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself, laid waste.

"And a house divided against itself, false. "If Satan also is divided against himself, "how will his kingdom stand? "For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. "And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, "by whom do your sons cast them out? "So they will be your judges.

"But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, "then the kingdom of God has come upon you. "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, "his possessions are undisturbed. "But when someone stronger than he attacks him "and overpowers him, "he takes away from him all his armor "on which he had relied and distributes his plunder.

"He who is not with me is against me. "And he who does not gather with me scatters." Let's pray. Father, we pray for understanding. We pray for the power that you have ordained through these words, Lord God. Would guide us, lead us, and open our eyes that we may have a deeper understanding of you.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen. If I can ask to put up the first, where is it? Oh, there it is, okay. So you guys know what this is. What is it? This is your, this is a UCI mascot, right? So I don't know about you, but it's one of the weirdest mascots I've ever seen.

I remember when I first heard about it, it's like, of all the things that you could have chosen, you chose an anteater. And so I did some research on this and why anteater was chosen. Maybe some of you guys may know this already. But this was, it actually even has a name.

It's Peter the Anteater. I never knew that. All these years that I've been in Irvine, it actually, it has a name, Peter. It was voted for in 1965. The other contestants for that was an eagle, a unicorn, a sea hawk, and road runner. And so of all the things that they could have chosen, they chose anteater.

And they said they won barely by 51%. It was a comic strip, based on a comic strip from BC Comics that was very popular at that time. And that's where they got it. So the actual, the natural question is why? Why is this chosen? What is, how many of you know the why behind this?

Really? Okay, let me see if this is correct, 'cause I found a bunch of 'em, but I think this makes the most sense. They said the reason why they voted for this is because back then in the 1960s, they said that UCI was boonies. I visited UCI in 1985 to see some of my friends here, and even back then, it was the boonies.

It was like, you get off the freeway, and there's nothing there, and you have to go through cow land and a bunch of trees to get there. And I was thinking, who lives out here? And this is 1985, so I can imagine what it was like in 1960s. So UCI was kind of, you say, "Oh, I go to University of Irvine." And they say, "Irvine, where is that?" Right, and that was the typical response.

And so they were a pretty unknown school. It was kind of out in the boonies. It was a place where people went. It was probably their fourth or fifth choice before they choose to land here. But the reason why they went over the anteater is because typically anteaters are very, right, very innocuous, harmless.

It seems like. But they say that anteaters are very ferocious when they're cornered. So if you notice that on the bottom, this one doesn't have it, but they have pretty sharp claws. And then those sharp claws are very dangerous. And typically, they're very mild, except when they feel cornered.

When they feel cornered, he said, they could be very deadly. And the reason why they wanted to choose that is because UCI was kind of known as a farmland. Nobody thinks much of it. But if you mess with us, we're gonna get you. And that's where the thing is zot, zot, zot, zot, right?

You know, you do that at the sports arena. Zot, zot, zot is because that's the noise that they make when they attack, right? I don't know if you knew that or not. Still a weird choice, but that's the story behind it. And the reason why I share that with you is because some of the most dangerous things that have happened in church history are from false prophets.

It's not from what's going on outside the church, but is within the church, right? False prophets are described to us in the scripture as angels of light. They come, oftentimes, representing God, and they are part of the church, sometimes, many times, leaders in the church, where they begin to introduce heresy into the church.

And what has harmed the witness of Christ in the church, oftentimes, are the false prophets. And when they are cornered, they become very ferocious. The text that we're looking at in the narrative, I know we haven't been here for a while, but in the narrative, Jesus is heading toward the cross.

And as we can see, that as he gets closer and closer to the cross, he makes his intentions more and more clear. His message has never changed, but he's coming out stronger because he's headed toward the cross. So the opposition is also growing. And so you can see that Jesus' rhetoric is becoming stronger.

He doesn't simply say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." He begins to say, "Woe to you, Pharisees. "Woe to you, scribes, you hypocrites." In John 16, two to three, Jesus warns us. "They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, "but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you "think that he is offering service to God.

"These things they will do "because they have not known the Father or me." So today's encounter is, as Jesus is heading toward the cross, he performs another very spectacular miracle and the response that Jesus gets. And what it is that we are to glean from this. So the first thing that we wanna see, the miracle itself, right?

The man who was mute, as a result of being demon-possessed, probably had, just like we talked about the other demon possessions, they didn't know what to do with him. And then all of a sudden, Jesus comes and casts out the demon and he begins to talk. And it says, basically just, there's not a lot of explanation.

It just tells us that it happened. The power encounter with the demonic world was very common in Jesus' ministry. There's over nine different instances where Jesus casts out demons. Probably of all the miracles that he performed, the most common miracle was the casting out of demons. Nine, possibly up to 12, depending on how you count it.

If you send the disciples out and they cast out demons and they come out, if you record all of that, there's almost 12 of them. Again, it is the most tangible evidence of what Jesus was doing. Because the whole thing that Jesus said was he came to set the captives free.

Colossians 1.3, he rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved son. So the most tangible evidence of that is when he cast out demons. Because it was a direct encounter with them. The demonic world basically had monopoly over the sinners. Jesus comes into the scene and they have no power over him and there's no struggle.

He just says, "Get out," and they get out. Now that's the miracle, simple. Not much written about that. It just, that's what happens. It's the response. That's highlighted here. Not simply the miracle. The first response that we look at, it says they were amazed, just like we would be.

The early church is described to us in Acts 2.43 that everyone was feeling a sense of awe and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And so, as much as we always look at the early church and say, "Hey, we need to be like the early church.

"We need to be like the early church." Well, the early church was early church because they had a sense of awe. You don't just create that from activity. You don't just create that, that if we just study harder and if we organize better, that somehow we're gonna be like the early church.

Early church was early church is because they were constantly encountering God. And it was their encounter with God that caused the awe and it was the awe that caused them to be discipled and to be generous and to be bold. We cannot manufacture worship. Worship doesn't happen just 'cause you showed up to church early.

Worship doesn't happen just because you put more effort into it. Worship is a response. And the Bible constantly records this in the Scripture. When people are encountered, encountering God, they just break out into worship. We see it in Moses after the deliverance from Pharaoh. There's a record of, in Exodus 15, just him breaking out in worship.

We see it with Deborah. When a nation of Israel, during the time of Judges, God delivers, she just breaks out into worship. Hannah, when God answers her prayer and she gets pregnant and was able to deliver a healthy child, breaks out in worship. When David is delivered from his enemies, breaks out in worship.

Ezra, he comes back to restore Israel, breaks out into worship. Mary, when she finds out that she's pregnant with the Son of God, breaks out into worship. Zechariah, when he realizes his prayers are answered, breaks out into worship, over and over and over again. The Bible records people breaking out into worship because they're encountering God.

Worship is not something that happens because we get organized and we study it. And if we disciple people better, that there will be greater worship. Worship is something that happens when you encounter God. It tells us that the first response that people gave was they were amazed. Everywhere Jesus went, when they found him, when they heard him speak, it says they were amazed and they were constantly in a sense of awe.

C.S. Lewis says in his book, The Weight of Glory, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition. When infinite joy is offered to us, we are far too easily pleased. I think the reason why worship is weak is because we are so easily satisfied and tempted and distracted with the things of this world.

And then so, we don't have a hungering to encounter God. Now, we want God, we desire God, but the passion is not there. It's just something that happened. This is my responsibility. But when you lose a sense of awe and amazement for who God is, it affects everything that we do.

Worship becomes just singing. Bible study just becomes a study. Fellowship becomes a burden. Evangelism is just awkward. In the early church, it was the encountering with God that caused the church to be the church. So how do we, 2,000 years later, when we don't have miracles taking place every single Sunday, how do we have a sense of awe?

How are we to come if awe and amazement is what produces genuine worship? How do we get that? Oftentimes, it comes in answer prayers. If you had something that you've been praying for, very specifically, diligently, persevering, and God answers prayer, the sense of awe, like, wow, God answered my prayer.

Or you may, God may have used you to bring somebody to Christ. And seeing somebody radically change. You know, the Bible says, like, can a leper change his skin or his spots? Or can a sinner just change himself? Of course not. So the miracle of God is when you were able to share the gospel when somebody comes to Christ.

Or even if you weren't you, you hear somebody sharing their testimony, as we will see people being baptized. And there's a sense of awe. Wow, God can really change. But the power of God, it demonstrated through the power of the gospel. But the primary place where we encounter God is His Word.

It's His Word, right? Because the Bible says that He has put His breath, right? It is His very breath that's in the Word of God. In other words, His Spirit itself, these aren't just empty words, this is not just a record of history. His very breath has been put into the Word of God.

So you cannot regularly encounter God outside of the scripture. You may answer prayer, you may hear other people's testimony, but our daily encountering with God is done in the Word of God. Now, I'm not saying because you find something so spectacular, because God has invested Himself in His Word.

You remember in the Old Testament, when God created Eve, Adam and Eve, what did He do? He says He put His very breath in them. It was His breath that gave them life. And it is that breath that died because we sinned. We come to the New Testament, and God wants to put His breath back into us to give us life, right?

That's why He came. How did He say He was going to give us this life? He who hears my words and believes Him who sent me has eternal life. So the way that we encounter God, where we see a sense of awe and amazement, is the more you understand who He is, the more you encounter God through the Word of God, it creates a man and woman of worship.

All does not come to say, oh, I never saw a demon-possessed man, and I didn't see somebody come back from the dead. But when you encounter God through the Word of God, you really begin to see, like, man, who else could have written this but God? You begin to see different aspects of who God is and His love and His grace and His mercy and His power, and that is what produces the awe.

But without that, we're trying to imitate. We're trying to worship by singing beautifully. We try to worship by singing loud. We try to be sanctified by just by studying and knowing the Bible. But it doesn't produce genuine worship. Now, I'm kind of sidetracking here because that's the first response, and there's not much recorded about that other than the fact that they were amazed.

But it's the next two response that I want to spend most of the time this morning. It's the accusation and the skeptics. The accusation. I mean, think about how mind-blowing this is. This is the Son of God who's emptied Himself, who's walking among us in order to save sinners while we are still blaspheming His name, and they accuse Him of being a demon.

Think about how offensive that is. The text doesn't tell us, at least not in Luke, who they are, but in the parallel passage in Matthew 12, 20 to 24, tells us it was the Pharisees. As you guys know, the Pharisees were the spiritual leaders of that time. If you asked any Jew at that time who is the closest to God, they would have automatically said it's the Pharisees.

The Sadducees were the liberals. They didn't believe in miracles. They were the ones who were trying to get ahead by making money and connecting with the Roman government. But the Pharisees, even the word Pharisee, basically means to be set apart. They want to take the law serious. They want to honor God.

So Pharisees were the ones that everybody thought, if anybody knows God, it must be the Pharisees. But the Pharisees had already gone astray. They no longer represented God in the Scripture. And we're going to see what leads to this. He says, you see, some people are amazed, and then these Pharisees look at what Jesus is doing and say, you are casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub.

Beelzebub, in the Old Testament, literally just means Lord of the Flies. And by the time of Christ, it was just another word for Satan. So you're casting out demons by the power of Satan. And this was not, it's not only in the book of Luke. It's recorded multiple times in the book of John.

John 7.20, 8.48, 10.20. Every time that they see something to be amazed by, they say, well, it can't be from God. Clearly there, he has some kind of power. Since it is not from God, it must be from Satan. Why did they say this about Jesus? I mean, that's the question we should naturally ask.

Like, what caused them to be this blind? Why is this question so important? Because we're not exempt. We're not exempt. The Pharisees were not a special group of evil people that existed on earth. You know, as much as, in our society, if somebody is very, very evil and powerful, who do we say they are?

They're Nazis, right? Oh, that's a Nazi, or he's a Hitler, because in our generation, that's the epitome. And when we say that, we're basically saying, oh, nothing like us. It's like them, those people. We have to answer this question. Why did the Pharisees, why were they so blind? What caused the spiritual leaders of Israel standing in front of the God that created them, and not only did they not see them, see him, as he is, but he's from Satan.

I mean, that's as far as you can go. That's like saying of Michael Jordan, he's not just a goat. He's the worst player that basketball has ever seen. You know what I mean? It's one thing to say he's not a goat, but the worst basketball player you have ever seen.

He ruined basketball. That's how far the distinction is of who Jesus is and what they're saying he is. Why, why did it get that far? Well, we don't have to guess, because their own words are recorded for us. In John chapter 11, 47 to 50, it says, "Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees "convened the council, and were saying, "What are we doing?

"For this man is performing many signs," referring to Jesus. If we listen to this, okay? And this is where I hope that you will be able to recognize how dangerous this is. If we let him go on like this, all men will believe in him. So their concern is that he's getting too popular.

And the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. But one of them, Caiaphas, who was a high priest at this year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, "nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you "that one man die for the people "and that the whole nation not perish." They're concerned that his popularity is growing, and his growth of popularity is going to ruin them.

It's very personal. His popularity means that they're gonna lose their place in society. And they tied that to the well-being of the nation, because they convinced themselves that what's best for the nation is them rising and staying in power. It sounds a lot like politics today. Sounds a lot like what's going on today.

But the reason why they were so blind wasn't because they studied the doctrine and they didn't fit. It was much more personal than that. If Jesus is who he says he is, and he says, "Repent, "for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." You whitewash tombs. You constantly decorate your outside, but your inner person is still filled with dead men's bones.

And he kept on calling them out. He says, "The tax collectors and prostitutes "are gonna get into the kingdom before you." So if Jesus becomes popular, either they will have to repent and acknowledge that and come under his teaching and accept what he is saying, or they have to get rid of him.

Now, does that happen today? Of course. Of course it happens today. You know, it's interesting, in all the years that I've been out witnessing to people in UC Irvine and different campuses, you know the greatest opposition to public evangelism was not from atheists. It's not from other religions. It's from nominal Christians.

Nominal Christians. 'Cause they don't want to be represented that way. I went to speak at a joint evangelism or gospel night with all the different campus ministry at UCI. This is years ago. It might have even been before we started this church. So they asked me to preach the gospel, and I preached the gospel.

And at that time, I was on campus at least two, sometimes even three times a week. And so I shared that, because this was an evangelistic night, and they brought non-Christians. So I shared the gospel, and I shared what I was doing. And one of the campus leaders came to me, and he said, "You go out on the street, "and you talk to strangers?" And I said, "Yes." He said, "Don't people get offended by that?" I said, "Yeah, some people." He said, "You shouldn't be doing that." I said, "What do you mean?" He said, "We shouldn't be offending people like that.

"That's not a good way to share the gospel. "They're gonna think we're weird." And I said, "Who are you again?" And he was one of the campus leaders. And I was so dumbfounded that they asked me to come and speak and preach the gospel to the non-Christians, and one of the campus leaders were offended that I was out street evangelizing.

Now, as ridiculous as that sounds, the greatest opposition to the gospel and truth preaching are nominal Christians, who have created a bubble that they don't want the extremists to pop. The Pharisees, in fact, were so hardened in their own heart for self-preservation. In John 12, 10, it says this, "But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death." Lazarus to death also, because on account of him, many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.

They couldn't refute Lazarus' resurrection. But they were so hardened in their position that they have to survive. And they convinced themselves that this is what's best for the nation, that even Lazarus, who came back from the dead, that they decided they must kill him to survive. Our desire for self-preservation is what causes us to be blind.

Our desire for our reputation, our desire to be seen a certain way, our desire for our own glory blinds us. Even in the context of preaching the gospel, even in the context of doing mission work, it is our desire to be seen that blinds us. And when you're blind, you don't know you're blind.

Everybody else sees you're blind, but you don't know you're blind. If you're not constantly buffeting your body, making your slave and recognizing, there's a part of me that wants to be seen. There's a part of me that wants the glory, that wants to touch that glory. Our desire for self-preservation is what blinds us.

And that's why Jesus says, if you want to follow me, what does it say? Deny yourself, pick up your cross, and come after me. That is the first step. Because without that, even as we follow Christ, we're like the disciples. If I keep following you, what benefit do I get?

Do I get to sit on your left or to the right? Who's the greatest among us? The whole time they were following Jesus, they were in their mind, they were thinking that somehow, some of this glory is gonna fall to me. And because of that, they were completely blind to the cross.

These Pharisees were so committed to their self-preservation that they realized, as Jesus was coming closer and closer to the epicenter in Jerusalem, that they needed to get rid of him. And so, calling him, calling him a servant of Beelzebub was basically setting the theological foundation to get rid of him.

Or else they can't kill him. How are they gonna kill him? But by the time they crucify him, they didn't crucify a savior, they didn't crucify a messiah, they crucified a crazy man who was demon-possessed. In their mind. In Psalm 1:1, it says, "How blessed is the man who does not walk "in the counsel of the wicked, "nor stand in the path of sinners, "nor sit in the seat of scoffers." You see the progression there?

A man who's living by the pattern of this world, eventually will be counted among the sinners, and then eventually, you will be sitting in the seat of scoffers. There are people in the church, participating in the church, giving in the church, committed to the church, who is not committed to Christ.

Christ is their savior, at least by tongue, but he's not their Lord. Jesus does not have a final say in our lives. We look for him for counsel to see if we agree. But if we don't like it, just sweep it under the rug. That's a man and a woman who is walking in the counsel of the wicked, and then eventually, he stands with the sinners.

He becomes counted with the sinners. His life doesn't look any different than a sinner. And it is that person, eventually, will find fault in the church. Oh, they didn't reach out to me, they didn't do this, and the church was like this, the church was like that, and they leave the church to never come back, and then if you ask them 10, 15, 20 years later, they say the church is not real, it's a bunch of hypocrites, and so they become the greatest antagonists to the church, people at one point who said that they were committed, all because of self-preservation.

You know the irony of all of this is? Here's a nation of Israel, and their leaders are calling him demonic, and demons themselves recognize Jesus. Luke 4.41, demons also were coming out of many shouting, "You are the Son of God." But rebuking them, he would not allow them to speak, because they knew him to be the Christ.

They knew him to be the Christ. The demons recognize this. Luke 8.28, "Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before him, "and said to the loud voice, "What business do we have with each other, Jesus, "Son of the Most High God? "I beg you, do not torment me." Because they knew who he was.

They were trembling in fear, the demons were trembling in fear, but here's the leaders of Israel. Leaders of Israel. He is demonic. Just how far that Israel had fallen from their Lord. Just how blind they had become. The next group almost seems innocent if you don't pay attention carefully, the skeptics.

The skeptics didn't outright deny him. They wanted proof. Now, was it wrong to ask for proof? I mean, we see examples of that in the Old Testament with Gideon. Even Thomas, after Jesus resurrected, had a hard time. He's like, "Let me, let me see, let me see your scars." And the Bible tells us, "Seek, ask, knock." And he said he will answer.

So on the surface, it may look like they're asking, so why not give it to them? But the text tells us that they weren't simply asking, they were demanding, they were questioning. There's a big difference between somebody who is asking questions and somebody who's questioning. Questioning is, I've determined in my mind, I'm kind of in agreement with the Pharisees that maybe you're demonic.

And they're using their skepticism as justification for their unbelief, for their rejection. Jesus says in Luke 11, 29, "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.'" They were seeking signs, not because Jesus didn't give signs and the whole gospel is filled with signs.

The whole gospel is filled with signs, and yet they say, "We need signs." They were using their skepticism as an excuse for not following him. Now again, do we have this in the church? Yes. We have people who have determined that a casual walk with God is what they're committed to.

And if they study too hard, if they dig too much, if they ask too many questions, and they come convicted that this must be the truth, they don't want to move from where they are to the next place. Because a normal, reasonable response to somebody who is convicted that this is true, that everything that we are doing is temporary, it's gonna lead to damnation.

So a reasonable response was Apostle Paul. A reasonable response are the apostles who gave their life, knowing that there's an eternity waiting for them with reward. So there was a reasonable, the early church was a reasonable, logical response to the teachings of Scripture. If Jesus is who he says, really says he is, and the whole world is under the judgment of God, and death reigns over mankind, all these things, this bucket list that we have that I want to experience, I want to taste it, all of it is under the judgment of God.

So natural, reasonable response is we give our lives, pick up our cross, we spend the rest of our lives trying to tell as many people as possible before we die, so that when we die, we have a clear conscience before God that my life was poured out, and I followed you.

But we're afraid of that. So how much of our ignorance is willful? He said he was going to leave behind evidence of his resurrection. Is there proof of the resurrection? If you can be absolutely convinced that the resurrection happened, is a career that important? Is whether you get married or not have eternal consequences?

I'm not saying these things are not things that every human being desires, but in the light of what it is that we worship, it becomes trivial. Everything becomes trivial. Everything becomes rubbish, like Paul says, in light of the surpassing knowledge of knowing Jesus Christ. There's a man named Simon Greenlee, professor of law, and he was one of the founders of Harvard Law School.

He was challenged by one of his students, say, can you disprove the resurrection? He spent many years trying to gather up enough evidence to disprove the resurrection, and then he ended up becoming a Christian. Not only a Christian, he becomes an evangelist, and he writes a book called The Testimony of an Evangelist.

And in that book, this is what he says. If any unbiased jury in the world could examine carefully the evidence upon which the claims of Christianity rest, the result would be an undoubting conviction of their truth. How many Christians have made this their life journey? I need to know this is true.

I need to know if this is actually true, because if it is, I can no longer live this pattern of life. I need to give all that I have, not just some, not just the weekends, not when it's convenient, but my life. So how much of our weak Christian life is willful ignorance?

Are we guilty of this? I think many of us have to confess that our lukewarm life is willful, that I'm afraid if I'm truly convicted without a shadow of doubt that what he's going to demand of me. That word is skeptics. Jesus' answer, he says, "Satan is not going to attack Satan." That just makes no sense, Luke 11, 17, 19.

But he knew their thoughts and said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself, "laid waste, and a house divided against itself, falls. "If Satan also is divided against himself, "how will his kingdom stand? "For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. "If I, by Beelzebul, cast out demons, "by whom do your son cast them out?

"So they will be your judges." Basically, in other words, it's saying, does it make any sense that Satan would cast out Satan? Most common question that we get in the Western church is that how come we don't see persecution? How come we don't see demonic activity? What is the purpose of demonic activity?

What is the purpose of demonic activity? It's to devour us. That's what the Bible says. But what if the church is already devoured? What if the church is exactly where Satan wants it to be? How do you get a professing Christian to be exactly where Satan wants it? He's not gonna curse God.

He's not gonna shake his fist at God. He's not gonna cling to idols and demonic world. He's just gonna be lukewarm. He's gonna have just enough Jesus to feel like he's okay, and he's gonna stay right there, and no more than that. So why does Satan wanna disturb that?

Why would he wanna disturb a church that's not evangelizing? Why does he wanna disturb a church that you can't even tell the difference between the world and the church? Why do you wanna disturb a church that's actually helping his cause? How many people have you met saying, "I'm never gonna go to church "because of these hypocrites in the church." Now, I'm not saying that all of that is valid.

You know, we go out to Korea, and I mean, it's a given fact. Everybody acknowledges this. The reason why that country went from 33% to less than 2% in one generation is because the church is not because of Shincheonji. It wasn't because of the cults. It's not because of North Korea.

It's the church. You talk to people out on the street, that's the first thing they say. "I don't wanna hear it. "I don't like the hypocrite. "I don't wanna be like them." So why would Satan disturb them? Isn't that what Jesus is saying? It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense.

Why would Satan cast out Satan? He said, "But what's really happening "is that God is casting out demons. "God is casting out demons by the finger of God." Luke 11, 20 to 23. "If I cast out demons by the finger of God, "then the kingdom of God has come upon you." You've been spending all these years talking about the kingdom of God, kingdom of God, kingdom of God.

"But I stand before you and by the finger of God," finger of God, not the arm of God, not the power of God, finger of God, "is nothing for him. "What you struggle with, this demonic power, "by the finger of God, he's casting out demons. "If that's true, the kingdom of God has come upon you, "and you're calling him a demon.

"When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, "his possessions are undisturbed, "but when someone stronger than he attacks him "and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor "on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. "He who is not with me is against me, "and he who does not gather with me scatters." Imagine the restraint of Jesus.

If he can cast out demons, which a natural human being has no power over, just by saying, "Get out." And then you see a Pharisee and these people saying, "Prove yourself!" Just the arrogance of that. How much restraint it must have taken him not to flick them. I mean, can you imagine that?

Have you ever done something good for somebody and then they accuse you of evil? I mean, just being accused of evil is bad enough, but when you're sacrificing and giving, and then they, the people that you love, is accusing you. I mean, I could spend all morning this morning telling you about experiences.

I won't do that for the sake of time. But yeah, that's why I say when anybody says they wanna go into ministry, I tell them, "Are you sure?" I say, "Oh, you know, I have a heart for people." He's like, "Oh, you know, a heart for people fades quick.

"As soon as they turn on you, "they don't look that lovable." And even the orphans, he's like, "Oh, orphans, "they're so cute." You go there and they cuss you out because you didn't bring enough candy. You know what I mean? See how benevolent you feel next time you go.

They're sinners too. That's why I said if you're gonna come into ministry, you must first be so convicted by this truth that despite the people that you wanna obey God, that God is worthy. And if you're not doing it for God, if you're doing it because you have heart for people, you won't last.

Can you imagine the restraint that despite what he was about to do, just by the finger of God, he flicks them. And he, let me conclude with this. He says, "He who is not with me is against me, "and he who does not gather with me scatters." You notice here, there is no third category.

There is no third category. Either you are with him, and because of you, the light of Christ is burning brightly, and other people are coming to Christ as a result of you following Christ, or because of your lukewarm, nonchalant, worldly attitude, people think the church is like you, and as a result of that, they don't wanna go to church either.

But there is no third category. Either we commit to follow Christ, or whether we like it or not, people are leaving because of us. We have to be careful that we're not so concerned of offending the world, and then not realizing how offensive our behavior is before God. He says, "Either you are with me, or you are against me." Let's take this morning's story to heart, that the accusers and the skeptics are not that far from us.

They're not that far from us. We're one selfish decision, living each day for my satisfaction, for my glory, for my life, and all our prayers is, "Lord, help me "so that I can have a better life." And then that causes us to be blind, and then our blindness causes us to see God, as an antagonist to our life.

Let's pray. Father, open our eyes that we may see the truth of your word. Lord, bring revival in our generation. Help us, Lord God, search us and know us, and see if there's any hurtful ways in us. Help us to recognize that our life is in Christ, in Christ alone, that we would not covet the praise of men, that we would not covet recognition during this life, that we would covet your love, that we would covet your presence in our life more than anything else, that we may be able to honestly confess, as Apostle Paul, that in light of knowing, surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ, that all things, all things have become rubbish, that we may be genuine followers of Christ.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let's all stand up for the closing praise. (soft music) ♪ It's our end ♪ ♪ In life and death ♪ ♪ Christ alone, Christ alone ♪ ♪ But it's our only conference ♪ ♪ Let our souls to Him belong ♪ ♪ Who holds our days within His hand ♪ ♪ What comes apart from His command ♪ ♪ And what will keep us to the end ♪ ♪ The love of Christ in which we stand ♪ ♪ Oh, sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ Our hope springs eternal ♪ ♪ Oh, sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ Now and ever, we confess ♪ ♪ Christ our hope and life ♪ ♪ For truth can calm a troubled soul ♪ ♪ God is good, God is good ♪ ♪ Where is His grace and word of soul ♪ ♪ In our great Redeemer's blood ♪ ♪ Who holds our faith when fears arise ♪ ♪ Who stands above the stormy trail ♪ ♪ Who sends the waves that bring us down ♪ ♪ Unto the shore, the rock of Christ ♪ ♪ Oh, sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ Our hope springs eternal ♪ ♪ Oh, sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ Now and ever, we confess ♪ ♪ Christ our hope and life ♪ ♪ And to the grave, what shall we see ♪ ♪ Christ, He lives, Christ, He lives ♪ ♪ And what reward will heaven bring ♪ ♪ An everlasting life within ♪ ♪ There we will rise to meet the Lord ♪ ♪ Then sin and death will be destroyed ♪ ♪ Then we will feast in endless joy ♪ ♪ When Christ is ours forevermore ♪ ♪ Oh, sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ Our hope springs eternal ♪ ♪ Oh, sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ Now and ever, we confess ♪ ♪ Christ our hope and life ♪ ♪ Oh, sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ Our hope springs eternal ♪ ♪ Oh, sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ Now and ever, we confess ♪ ♪ Christ our hope and life ♪ ♪ Now and ever, we confess ♪ ♪ Christ our hope and life ♪ - Let's pray.

Now the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, eternal love of God the Father, strengthen, restore, revive us that we may live lives according to the gospel that we proclaim to believe. May Christ be exalted wherever He sends us. Amen. ♪ God sent His Son ♪ ♪ They called Him Jesus ♪ ♪ He came to love ♪ ♪ Heal and forgive ♪ ♪ He lived and died ♪ ♪ To buy my pardon ♪ ♪ An empty grave is there to prove ♪ ♪ My Savior lives ♪ ♪ Because He lives ♪ ♪ I can face tomorrow ♪ ♪ Because He lives ♪ ♪ All fear is gone ♪ ♪ Because I know ♪ ♪ He holds the future ♪ ♪ And life is worth the living ♪ ♪ Just because He lives ♪ ♪ And one ♪ ♪ Father, Spirit, and Son ♪ ♪ The Lion and the Lamb ♪ ♪ The Lion and the Lamb ♪ ♪ Grace, I've got grace ♪