>> Let's all rise together. Thank you for joining us. It's been a while since we've had our praise and prayer. I'm gonna go ahead and pray and we'll get started. Let's pray together. Gracious God, we thank you for the time where we can gather together to spend worshiping and singing songs, listening to your word and really spending time praying for various things going on in our own lives as well as the world around us.
We thank you, Lord God, that we can come together and still gather freely without the fear of physical harm. From persecution or anything like that. But Lord, you've given us access to you, Lord, through the blood of Christ. We have a restored relationship with you because of your great mercy and grace upon our lives.
And Lord, we wanna take this evening, Lord God, to honor you with every breath that we breathe. I pray, Lord God, that as we sing these songs, as we reflect on the words that we sing, as we hear the word of God through Pastor Peter Chung's encouragement and challenge, I pray that you give us softened hearts.
As well, Lord God, help us to really focus on having softened hearts to pray. Lord, we know that is the work, we know, Lord God, that is the effective way of conducting ministry. So I pray, Lord God, that as we honor you through this time of at least worship, may it be a sweet sound unto your ear and may you be blessed.
It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. The lyrics are all in your app, so if you guys can open that. So, "Who has held?" Who has held the oceans in His hand? Who has numbered every grain of sand? Kings and nations tremble at His voice. All creation rises to rejoice.
And behold, behold our God. Seated on His throne, come let us adore Him. Behold our King. Nothing can compare. Come let us adore Him. Who has given counsel to the Lord? Who has given counsel to the Lord? Who can question any of His words? Who can teach the One who knows all things?
Who can fathom all His wondrous deeds? Behold our God. Seated on His throne, come let us adore Him. Behold our King. Nothing can compare. Come let us adore Him. Who has felt the nails upon His hands? Bearing all the guilt of sinful men. God eternal, humble to the grave.
Jesus Savior, risen now to reign. And behold, behold our God. Seated on His throne, come let us adore Him. Behold our King. Nothing can compare. Come let us adore Him. Behold our God. Seated on His throne, come let us adore Him. Behold our King. Nothing can compare. Come let us adore Him.
Amen. Light of the world, you step down into darkness. Open my eyes, let me see. The beauty that made this heart adore you. Hope of a life spent with you. So here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God.
You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy. Altogether wonderful to me. King of all days, oh so highly exalted. Glorious in heaven above. Humbly you came. Humbly you came to the earth you created. All for love's sake became whole. So here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God.
You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy. Altogether wonderful to me. I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross. And I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross. So here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God.
You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy. Altogether wonderful to me. One more time, here I am. Here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God. You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy. Altogether wonderful to me. You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy. Altogether wonderful to me.
Worthy of every song we could ever sing. Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring. Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe. We live for you. Jesus, the name above every other name. Jesus, the only one who could ever sing. He's worthy. Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe.
We live for you. Oh, we live for you. Holy, there is no one like you. There is none beside you. Open up my eyes in wonder. Show me who you are and fill me with your heart. And lead me in your love to those who are idle. Sing it out one more time, worthy.
Worthy of every song we could ever sing. Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring. Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe. We live for you. Sing it out, Jesus, the name. Jesus, the name above every other name. Jesus, the only one who could ever sing. He's worthy.
Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe. We live for you. Oh, we live for you. Holy, there is no one like you. There is none beside you. Open up my eyes in wonder. Show me who you are and fill me with your heart. And lead me in your love to those around me.
I will build. I will build my life upon your love. It is a firm foundation. I will put my trust in you alone. And I will not be shaken. I will build. I will build my life upon your love. It is a firm foundation. I will put my trust in you alone.
And I will not be shaken. Holy, there is no one like you. There is none beside you. Open up my eyes in wonder. Show me who you are and fill me with your heart. And lead me in your love to those around me. Amen. You may be seated. All right, good evening, everybody.
Why don't we go ahead and start with a word of prayer. Father, we are so thankful. That you allow us to gather. We pray that as we gather and as we pray and as we reflect on the truths that we see in scripture, Lord, that you would be honored.
That we would be changed. And that in our changed lives, Lord, that you would receive the glory that you are due. We thank you for tonight. Would you lead it? Would you guide it and help us to pray? Lord, we are here longing to draw intimately close to our Abba Father.
So we thank you for an opportunity this evening just to worship. We love you, Lord. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, welcome to the first praise and prayer we have had since March 6th. I led the prayer time that night and I gave the devotional. And so I remember briefly talking about COVID-19 and it's been a very crazy five months since.
And so for our praise and prayers, we were supposed to go through like one point each month of the Lord's Prayer, but we only got to the first one. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. And that night we prayed over being kingdom-centered individuals, kingdom-centered affinity groups, kingdom-centered church.
And if you recall, our theme was, for the year, was to know him and to make him known. And so we prayed for that too. We prayed for our gospel night, which has since been postponed. We prayed for our missionaries who have since been relocated or have returned. And we prayed for the children of our church, most of whom we haven't seen in person in over five months.
So since then, everything around us kind of fell out of sorts. And needless to say, 2020 hasn't necessarily gone the way we thought it would go. And here we are in the middle of August in the new normal. And all over our media feeds, there's so much more noise concerning the upcoming elections, COVID-19, racial issues, debates over the importance of masks, concerns over opening schools, concerns over church services.
And church people are all over the place on all of these things. And it's not just for us here in California, but all over the states. And I actually have a bunch of Christian friends in the Philippines currently arguing over John MacArthur and the Grace Community Church. I find it hilarious because they're not even around and they're fighting over if this is wise or unwise.
And I don't know about you, but I'm regularly finding myself disheartened when I scroll through Facebook or read the news. On one particular day, I felt very burdened and my heart was very heavy. And there was a prayer that I prayed, "Lord, I know you are sovereign. I trust you.
But what is going on?" I'm growing weary, I'm sad, and I'm discouraged. And he brought to my attention John chapter 14. And I want to share a few reflections on John 14 tonight before we spend some time praying together. And because we don't have the projection screens out here as we normally would, you're going to have to keep your Bibles open to John 14 and kind of follow along with me, okay?
So I'm going to start with John 14, 1 through 6. It reads, "Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father's house are many dwelling places, and if it were not so, I would have told you. For I go to prepare a place for you.
If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How do we know the way?" And Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father but through me." So Jesus says, "Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me." And then he says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." And you guys know John 14 6, right?
It's on a lot of, like, gospel tracts. It's used to, like, show the exclusivity of Christ. But more than being a soteriological, like, salvation-based, like, a text statement, John 14 6 is primarily a word of comfort to his troubled disciples, as you will see in the overall context of John 14.
So just, if you're just scanning with your eye, chapter 13 ends with Jesus telling his disciples that he's going away. And the chapter also ends with the apostle Peter, the leader of the disciples, being told that he would deny Jesus three times. And all of this behind the backdrop of Judas the betrayer having been sent away.
So if you and I were there at that time, I believe that we would be troubled too. We would be a bit perplexed, a bit sad, a bit confused. We know Christ is king. We know God is sovereign. And yet, our sovereign king foretells that strange things are going to happen and that it's actually better for him, amidst all of these strange things, that he is physically going away.
And so you would agree that currently you and I are living in kind of unsettling times, and we too aren't quite sure what our sovereign king is doing in the world. We too have been told through his word that things are going to go from bad to worse before the king returns.
So in light of the disheartening things we may see in the world around us, how is it that we press on, comfort ourselves, encourage ourselves, and pray? How do we discern how to honor the Lord? What is the Christian thing to do in these strange times? What is the Christian supposed to be passionate about and endorse in these strange times?
And thinking about everything that has been going on can be very overwhelming. And we will see through Christ's very words in John 14 how to make sense of everything and maintain our joy. So I'm going to lay out John 14, the exhortations up for you in the front. First, remember where we're going.
Remember where we're going. Two, remember why we're here. And three, remember who's with us. So if you're tracking along mentally, remember where we're going, remember why we're here, and remember who's with us. And I'm going to walk you through John 14 to briefly look at how to pray with joy in the midst of our current circumstances.
So verse 2, "In my Father's house are many dwellings. If it were not so, I would have told you, for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also." So point one, remember where we're going.
Heaven is where Christ's disciples are all headed. So we are sojourners on earth. Our home is in heaven with the Lord, and our hearts' affections should be heavenward. And so our primary aim is not to make this world a better place. This place is cursed. Our citizenship is in heaven, and we do not belong here.
So that's why in a place like 1 John 2.15, it says, "Do not love the world or anything in the world." Now, that doesn't mean we're apathetic to those around us. Of course not. But we are called to not have our affections placed here. And you guys know James 1.27, "What is pure and undefiled religion?" While we are sojourning through this world, we are to be compassionate to those who are oppressed and struggling, the orphans and the widows, but we are also to be unstained by this cursed world.
So our goal is heaven and not here. And the only way to heaven is through Christ. The only hope is Christ, and we need to remember where we're going in order to be effective while we are here on earth. G.S. Lewis once said, "If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought much of the next." It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.
So remember where we're going. He will come again, and will he receive us to himself? In John 17.3, "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." Eternal life has already started, and right now we only know in part, we only see in part, but we will one day see God face to face, and it's going to be awesome.
So remember where we're going. It's infinitely much better than this. Remember where we're going. Secondly, remember then why we're here. So the disciples were left behind for a time to do spirit-empowered work and to glorify God by keeping his commandments. I'm going to say this again. The disciples were left behind for a season to do spirit-empowered work and to glorify God by keeping his commandments.
I'm going to skip down to John 14.12-15. It reads, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also, and greater works than these he will do, because I go to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, you will keep my commandments." So basically, the disciples were left behind to build Christ's church. They were left to carry out the Great Commission and to teach future disciples to do everything that is written in the word of God.
So the church's priority, remember why we're here, the church's priority has always been to preach the gospel and to ensure that Christ is honored through the proclamation of his word. So if you look at verse 15, verses 23-24, it makes clear that the keeping of God's word is primarily how we express our love for Christ, especially in these times.
Don't just know about the word, know it and practice it, because that is our expression of love to our Savior. And our primary aim in these strange times is to save souls. And our first priority is not to change people's circumstances, because we know that changed circumstances rarely change people, but changed people always change their circumstances.
And true change happens when God's word is correctly handled, accurately preached, and effectively applied. True change happens when God's word is correctly handled, accurately preached, and effectively applied. So our primary obsession while we're here has to be Christ crucified and risen again, to know him and to make him known.
So brothers and sisters, remember why we're here. Learn the word, love the word, live the word, lead others to the word, because the word of God is sufficient, it always has been, and it always will be. Learn the word, love the word, live the word, and lead others to the word, because it's sufficient.
So remember where we're headed, remember why we're still here, but while we are here, remember who is with us. John 14, 16 to 21 reads, "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper, that he may be with you forever. That is the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see him or know him, but you know him, because he abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. After a while, the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. And because I live, you will live also. And in that day, you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and I will disclose myself to him." Remember where we're headed, remember why we're here, and remember who is with us.
God is with us. God is not only with us, he's indwelling in us in the person of the Holy Spirit. Thrice holy, creator of the universe, sovereign God who is on his throne. And not only is he on his throne, but he is also with us and in us forever.
So we are not spiritual orphans. So for me, I take so much courage in knowing that God is near. So that I have nothing to be afraid of, I have nothing to be worried about, there is no need for anxiety. I can proceed in my life in faith because God is near.
What is the Holy Spirit who is with us forever according to verse 16, do for you and me in these harrowing times? Verse 26 of John 14, the Holy Spirit teaches us all things and will bring to remembrance all the words of Christ. Verse 27, he gives us all surpassing, "Erene," peace.
In other places in scripture, he is our seal, the guarantor of our inheritance. He is our intercessor. He will enable and empower the building up of his church. We don't need to try to figure out how to build his church. God will lead and God will guide us, especially during these times.
2 Timothy 2, 7, it says, "God will give us understanding in everything." Right now, the church is growing more and more in like the I don't know's. But the word of God says that God in his spirit will give us understanding in all things. So our theme is to know him and to make him known.
So the spirit helps us know God and helps us to make God known. And that is still our theme for 2020. So as spirit-filled people, what are we to do? Ask God for wisdom. Why? He is super eager to give it. God wants us to ask him for spiritual wisdom, insight, and understanding, and he is willing to lavish it upon us freely.
John 14, 14, "If you ask me anything in my name, according to my will, I will do it." And all over the scripture, we see God be more than eager to grant you and me eyes to see, spiritual wisdom. James 1, 5, "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all," you guys have memorized this, "generously and without reproach." And I will say in these times, a truly spirit-filled person spends more time fighting his battles on his knees and in front of the word of God than fighting his battles online.
You guys get that? A truly spirit-filled, godly wisdom, empowered man of God spends more time battling on his knees and in front of the word than online. Keyboard warriors are spiritually stupid. So don't be that. God gives us wisdom. The spiritual person understands that our struggle is not against flesh and blood.
The spiritual person understands that our enemy is not another human being or that person who contradicted or attacked my comment. The spiritual person understands that our enemy is not a political party or a national leader. The spiritual person understands that though we live in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
So what are you and I to do as we pray tonight? First, remember where we're going. And one of the problems in Orange County is we are deceived into thinking that this is our home, the American dream is it, and then we go to a better heaven when we get to heaven.
That's not it. This is not our home. The second thing we need to remember is that while we're here, we have a task, we have a mission. And it's not to make sure our kids get into the best schools. It's to proclaim his truth. And remember who's with us, that we're not spiritual orphans called to blindly navigate this life to try to figure out what God wants from us.
He has shown you, oh man, what is good. It's all over the scriptures. So remember where you're going, remember why you're here, and remember who's with us. So to sum up, basically, how do I encourage myself whenever I get frustrated? Remember who's on the throne. Remember who's on the throne.
2020 in our church and our mission, none of these things have been derailed by the coronavirus, by BLM, by politics. Our sovereign king has not been hampered by 2020. He has not lost control. These things may have caught us off guard, but God has not been caught off guard or taken by surprise.
His will will not be thwarted. Christ is still on his throne. Amen? Christ is still on his throne. So John 14, 1, do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God who is on his throne. Believe also in Christ who is seated at the right hand of God.
Do not let your heart be troubled. But what's interesting is we can have joy and peace and abundance and at the same time learn how to grieve the things that are going on around us. So it's okay to grieve. It's okay to lament because our Lord is familiar with grief.
You know, John 14, what's a little sad and amazing about this whole chapter, in the context of John's narrative, Jesus is giving his disciples comfort because they're so lost and confused. But D.A. Carson writes this. It is Jesus who is heading for agony on the cross. It is Jesus who is deeply troubled in heart, John 12, 27.
He's deeply troubled in spirit, John 13, 21. Yet on this night of nights when all -- of all times it would have been appropriate for Jesus' followers to lend him emotional and spiritual support, he is still the one who gives comforts and instructs. For they too are troubled, not because they are rushing toward pain, ignominy, shame, crucifixion, but because they are confused, uncertain of what Jesus means, and threatened by references to his imminent departure.
If you are grieved in your heart by the things that are going on around us, God is exponentially more grieved. So when we pray to our God, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done," he is super excited and eager to carry out his plan in his time. So it's okay to be frustrated, but remember where we're going, remember why we're here, and remember who's with us.
He is a God of all comfort. He is a God who is sovereign and never taken by surprise. So when we pray tonight, let's fix our closed eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, as we pray according to his word, according to his will, "Lord, let your kingdom come, let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," and let us seek his heart by praying in the spirit on all occasions and for all things, remembering that this is not our home, that while we're here we're on a mission, and that God is on his throne, that he is with us.
Amen? He's got this. What we're going to do is I'm going to just give you a little bit of time. We have five topics to pray for, and we're going to pray for these things. But before we do that, I would like to just invite you to take a minute just to just adore the Lord and say, "Thank you, God, for a reminder of your sovereignty.
Help my unbelief." We believe. Help our unbelief. So can we take a minute to pray, and then I will lead us in the first prayer topic. Lord, we trust you, and as we pray tonight, help us to pray in accordance with your purposes and your will. And as we pray, would you draw near to us and overflow and just fill our hearts with joy, with peace, with confidence and boldness.
Lord, we believe. And help our unbelief. We love you, Father. We pray this in Jesus' name. So we're going to take five minutes first to pray for, one, local leaders, national leaders, our upcoming elections. This is so touchy, but I feel like we do need to pray. It's commanded in Scripture.
Proverbs 21.1 says, "The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord. He directs it wherever he wants it to go." And Exodus 22.28 says, "Do not curse God or the rule over your people." So we're never called to blast or just blast our leader, but we're called to pray.
And 1 Timothy 2.4, what does it say? "Pray for their salvation." And I always feel kind of weird praying for the salvation of someone who I'm like, "Yeah, I don't think he's going to come to me." But we're called to pray. So let's pray for our local leadership, our national leadership, and wisdom, especially as things will get heated over the next few months prior to the election.
So whatever the current climate is that comes to mind and that troubles your heart, pray. And let's pray that God will give our national leaders wisdom. And first and foremost, that they will come to knowledge of Jesus Christ, like a true knowledge of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
So take five minutes to pray for our leaders in the nation and our local communities. Secondly, we're going to ask you to pray for our church leadership and that God would give us wisdom to know how to lead his church, not according to whatever is practical or easy for us, but according to his desires and his purpose.
And just to encourage you guys, our leaders, we talk a lot and we pray a lot and we discuss a lot, so there are no unilateral decisions ever made. You guys see this whole tenting? Like three days prior to us deciding to bring everything outdoors, we talked every night for like two, three hours.
We actually did like mini reflective Bible studies on 1 Corinthians, we did Romans 13, 1 Peter 2, 1 Peter 5, what does the word of God say in this situation, should we stay inside, should we bring it out? Pastor Peter even butt dialed us. He butt dialed us and he didn't know he had butt dialed us, but then there were five of us who picked up and he's like, "Oh, since I have you," and then our conversation went for two and a half hours.
So we were really seeking to know his will through his word. And we're all strongly opinionated men, but we all submit to the authority of the word of God. And can you pray that the leaders will maintain that stance before the Lord, that God will give us wisdom to know how to love our flock, lead our flock, and really to build his church the way he is pleased by.
So can you pray for that and pray for future leaders to come forth, that God would really raise up godly men and women from our church as well. So can you pray for that with me, next five minutes. Third, we're going to be praying for our brothers and sisters struggling in other parts of the world, in other parts of the states.
Some of you guys who've read Pastor Peter's update on the Indian pastors, praise God for their strength and their boldness and their courage. But let's pray for more. That not necessarily that the persecution will stop, that that persecution will not be in vain, that there will be much fruit born.
Pray for China. A whole bunch of missionaries all across the board, different organizations are all kind of being kicked out, and the Chinese church is being persecuted. Let's pray that during this persecution, that a generation of passionate believers of Christ will be raised up. We have, you guys know of churches that are being persecuted here, or that are being threatened here.
So whatever comes to mind, and if you feel like, "Oh, I don't have a heart for any of these places," but you have a compassionate child, you could pray for Ecuador that's been hit very hard by COVID. Pray that in those little communities that God would raise up little spiritual warriors.
And so just let's take some time to pray for his global cause, and that as persecution mounts and oppression mounts in our day and age, that God would raise up a next generation of people who will carry that baton. So let's pray for just believers that are going through different trials all over the world.
(Praying in Tongues) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) Our fourth topic of prayer, it really will be for, as you guys may know, our church has a lot of people working in healthcare, and we have at least half a dozen people in law enforcement, and we have first responders who are still at varying degrees of risk because of COVID-19.
So if you know of our cops and our nurses and our doctors, and we have some that are actually working with COVID patients, there's degrees of loneliness there, because they can't necessarily see their families up close. There are anxieties and fears and concerns and worries as well. And this overall climate in our country is just -- it's not friendly toward our law enforcement officers.
So for those who are Christians in the law enforcement, let's pray that God would really use them to shine light. So can you pray for the next few minutes for just the healthcare workers that you know, first responders, law enforcement officers, and whoever -- whomever to this applies. All right, let's pray.
(Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) And this is going to be our last prayer topic for the evening. Because of the obvious circumstances, we're not going to be able to break up and pray together.
So we will close with this prayer request, and then we're going to have the praise team come up and close for us. Our theme is still to know him and to make him known. And our gospel night, August 29th, not only are we asking you guys to actively, eagerly pray, but also to invite your non-Christian friends and family to join in and participate.
So we'll pray for the gospel night on August 29th. Our college ministry, please pray for our college students, as there's still a lot of different things that are up in the air. And pray for just wisdom for Pastor Nate and for the staff to know how to best shepherd a lot of our college students who are always, they're logging in.
So pray for wisdom there. Pray for our education department. We're not sure when we'll be able to meet again. So doing children's ministry online is tough. You can't do Zoom meetings with four-year-olds and five-year-olds. So pray for wisdom. And especially for the families who haven't been able to come to church because they have many small kids, pray that God would really draw near to them and send them people, really, to remind them of his love.
So just pray that our church, to know him and to make him known, that that really would apply to our various departments. And so let's take a few minutes to pray for that. And then just in about five minutes or so, we're going to ask the praise team to come back up and wrap up our time.
Alright, Church Family, let's all rise together as we sing this last song.