I first believed My chains are gone I've been set free My God, my Savior Has ransomed me And like a flood His mercy reigns Unending love Amazing grace The Lord has promised good to me He will my hope secure He will my shield and watch me As long as life endures My chains are gone I've been set free My God, my Savior Has ransomed me And like a flood His mercy reigns Unending love Amazing grace My chains are gone I've been set free My God, my Savior Has ransomed me And like a flood His mercy reigns Unending love Amazing grace The earth shall soon dissolve like snow The sun forbear to shine But God who called me here alone Will be forever mine Will be forever mine You are forever mine Though the nations rage Kingdoms rise and fall There is still one King Reigning over all So I will not fear For this truth remains That my God is the Ancient of Days None above Him, none before Him All of time in His hands For His throne it shall remain And ever stand All the power, all the glory I will trust in His name For my God is the Ancient of Days Though the dread of night overwhelms my soul He is here with me I am not alone For His love is sure And He knows my name For my God is the Ancient of Days None above Him, none before Him All of time in His hands For His throne it shall remain And ever stand All the power, all the glory I will trust in His name For my God is the Ancient of Days Though I may not see What the future brings I will walk As we gather may your spirit work within us As we gather may we glorify your name Knowing well that as our hearts begin to worship We'll be blessed because we came We'll be blessed because we came As we gather As we gather may your spirit work within us As we gather may we glorify your name Knowing well that as our hearts begin to worship We'll be blessed because we came We'll be blessed because we came The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases His mercies never come to an end We are new every morning, new every morning Great is Thy faithfulness, O Lord Great is Thy faithfulness Great is Thy faithfulness, O Lord Great is Thy faithfulness All right, good morning.

Let me get the fog out of here. I got too excited in worship. All right, good morning. Welcome to Breen Community Church. Again, those of you who are online as well. I want to make a few announcements before we get started on this. First of all, obviously, that you're probably aware that the numbers and the COVID is rising and if you didn't read the instructions that we gave on Facebook and the church page, if you haven't read that yet, we strongly encourage you to read that because that's the policy that we're going to be following, how we're going to be communicating, and what we're asking you to do to let us know what's going on so that we can practice all the guidelines that are given to us so we're going to do the best of our ability.

Our Sunday gathering, obviously, nothing is going to change. We're going to do our best to keep people as safe as possible. We're going to do everything we need in order for us to gather together safely. So for that reason, right now, the SEEDS department, the children, I think it's age three and four year olds that was gathering, we temporarily shut that down for the next three weeks because a lot of the teachers had to kind of go into quarantine and were exposed.

So we want to make sure that we're keeping everybody safe. But we are planning that in early January that we'll come back online as soon as the teachers are able to do that. Our elementary group, we're going to stay the same. So we're running that still the same way.

So there's certain things I just want you to be careful about because it's one thing for us to practice our faith and obviously we consider this an essential. So there's no plans for us to shut down our Sunday worship. But at the same time, this is one of those situations that require a lot of wisdom and sacrifice that we consider others better than ourselves.

So yes, we do have the freedom to practice our conscience, but the wisdom that the scripture teaches us is that if it causes other people to stumble, right, that we make sure that our behavior is not just for us, but make sure that our community, it doesn't bother their conscience either.

So we want to caution you to be sensitive to other people because people's different opinions are very extreme, one end to the other. And so be mindful of that. There are people who are coming to church who are very, very concerned, yet because they consider the Sunday worship to be essential, that they are, despite their fears, they are coming and we don't want to force our freedom upon them where we're just going out and saying I have the right to do this and that.

So just be careful. And again, especially now in our community, we need to be more conscious than ever just for the community that we belong to. So use biblical principles to follow what it means to be free, but what it also means to love so that we can gather together and make sure that everybody is able to gather with a clear conscience.

Along with that, a few other announcements. Berean membership class is starting again. The new session is January 17th. It's happening from 9 to 10 a.m. in Upper Room Cafe. So if you want to be a member in the church, the email is natequackbereancc.com. You can sign up and there should be some sort of a lead to that in our church website, your app, or the Facebook page.

New Year's Eve schedule. On December 31st, I think originally we said 11.30, but we're going to have it at 11 p.m. in order for us to finish everything by 12. So we're going to say, get all that, you know, watch the year-end video, take some time to pray, a short devotion, and then say Happy New Year so that at 12 o'clock it will be done, and then people can go sleep, whatever you're going to do, okay?

So it's going to be not 11.30, but 11. And so there are no activities, it's going to be taking place at church, so just keep that in mind. And also finally, for the Christmas service outreach, today is the last day to sign up, so if you haven't signed up and you're planning to, please do so as soon as you can.

So go online and look at the links and then you can sign up for that, right? Today is the last day, right? Confirmation, yes, today is the last day. No? Did I get this wrong? Is today the last day to sign up for the Christmas? Okay. If I'm not right, next week is the last day.

Next week is the last day, okay, okay. All right, so I got to correct the first service people. I said today. All right, next week is the last day. But move as if today is the last day, okay? So sign up as soon as you can so that they can prepare ahead of time.

All right, so we're going to take some time to pray for our offering, and again, a physical offering box is in the back if you need to do so. So we're going to pray. Heavenly Father, we pray for your Holy Spirit to lead and guide us, help us to give you worship that is truly in spirit and in truth.

Pray that you would search our hearts, Lord God, and show us if there's any hurtful ways in us. I pray that your word would judge the thoughts and intentions of our heart, that we would see a greater glimpse, greater glory of who you are, that we may reflect your grace and your love and your holiness Lord God, as you desire.

May this worship be honoring to you and sanctifying to the church, and even the offering that we give, may we give it generously, cheerfully, joyfully, Lord God, and may it be multiplied for your use in your kingdom. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. (soft piano music) (soft piano music) - All right, as we continue our worship, let us stand together.

(soft piano music) ♪ Here is love, best as the ocean ♪ ♪ Love in kindness as the flood ♪ ♪ When the prince of life our ransom ♪ ♪ Shed for us his precious blood ♪ ♪ Who his love will not remember ♪ ♪ Who can cease to sing his praise ♪ ♪ He can never be forgotten ♪ ♪ Who out has eternal day ♪ (soft piano music) ♪ On the mount of crucifixion ♪ ♪ Fountains of been deep and wide ♪ ♪ Through the floodgates of God's mercy ♪ ♪ Flood of love and gracious tide ♪ ♪ Grace and love like mighty rivers ♪ ♪ Poured incessant from above ♪ ♪ Heaven's peace and perfect justice ♪ ♪ Just a guilty world in love ♪ (soft piano music) ♪ Here is love that conquered evil ♪ ♪ Christ the first born from the grave ♪ ♪ Death has failed to be found equal ♪ ♪ To the love of him who saved ♪ ♪ In the valley of our darkness ♪ ♪ Dawn is everlasting light ♪ ♪ Perfect love in flawless radiance ♪ ♪ Has prepared the covered sky ♪ (soft piano music) ♪ No love is higher, no love is wider ♪ ♪ No love is deeper, no love is truer ♪ ♪ No love is higher, no love is wider ♪ ♪ No love is like your love of old ♪ ♪ No love is higher, no love is wider ♪ ♪ No love is deeper, no love is truer ♪ ♪ No love is higher, no love is wider ♪ ♪ No love is like your love of old ♪ ♪ No love is higher, no love is wider ♪ ♪ No love is deeper, no love is truer ♪ ♪ No love is higher, no love is wider ♪ ♪ No love is like your love of old ♪ ♪ In his love we rest as the heavens ♪ ♪ Countless as the stars above ♪ ♪ Are the souls that he has ransomed ♪ ♪ Precious God, our treasured son ♪ ♪ We are called to feast forever ♪ ♪ On a love beyond our reach ♪ ♪ Forest, father, son and spirit ♪ ♪ Now with Beth our enter twine ♪ (upbeat music) (upbeat music) ♪ Races rising ♪ ♪ Eyes are turning to you ♪ ♪ We turn to you ♪ ♪ Will will be disturbing ♪ ♪ Hearts are yearning for you ♪ ♪ We long for you ♪ ♪ 'Cause when we see you ♪ ♪ We find strength to face the day ♪ ♪ In your presence all our fears are washed away ♪ ♪ Washed away ♪ ♪ Hosanna, hosanna ♪ ♪ You are the God who saves us ♪ ♪ Worthy of all our praises ♪ ♪ Hosanna, hosanna ♪ ♪ Come have your way among us ♪ ♪ We welcome you here, Lord Jesus ♪ ♪ Hear the sound ♪ ♪ Hear the sound of our dreams turning to you ♪ ♪ Turning to you ♪ ♪ We turn to you ♪ ♪ When your kingdom broken lies our hope in you ♪ ♪ We wait for you ♪ ♪ When we see you we find strength to face the day ♪ ♪ In your presence all our fears are washed away ♪ ♪ Washed away ♪ ♪ Hosanna, hosanna ♪ ♪ You are the God who saves us ♪ ♪ Worthy of all our praises ♪ ♪ Hosanna, hosanna ♪ ♪ Come have your way among us ♪ ♪ We welcome you here, Lord Jesus ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ When we see you we find strength to face the day ♪ ♪ In your presence all our fears are washed away ♪ ♪ When we see you ♪ ♪ When we see you we find strength to face the day ♪ ♪ In your presence all our fears are washed away ♪ ♪ Washed away ♪ ♪ Hosanna, hosanna ♪ ♪ You are the God who saves us ♪ ♪ Worthy of all our praises ♪ ♪ Hosanna, hosanna ♪ ♪ Come have your way among us ♪ ♪ We welcome you here, Lord Jesus ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ In Christ alone my hope is found ♪ ♪ In Christ alone my hope is found ♪ ♪ In Christ alone my hope is found ♪ ♪ In Christ alone my hope is found ♪ ♪ In Christ alone my hope is found ♪ ♪ In Christ alone my hope is found ♪ ♪ In Christ alone my hope is found ♪ ♪ In Christ alone my hope is found ♪ ♪ I all in all, here in the love of Christ I stand ♪ ♪ In Christ alone who took on flesh ♪ ♪ Fullness of God and helpless bare ♪ ♪ This gift of love and righteousness ♪ ♪ Scorned by the ones He came to slay ♪ ♪ 'Til all that cross has changed the style ♪ ♪ The wrath of God was satisfied ♪ ♪ For every sin on Him was laid ♪ ♪ Here in the death of Christ I live ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ In the ground His body lay ♪ ♪ Light of the world by darkness slain ♪ ♪ Thirsting for and for His name ♪ ♪ Love of the grave He rose again ♪ ♪ And as He stands in victory ♪ ♪ His curse has lost its grip on me ♪ ♪ For I am His and He is mine ♪ ♪ I with the precious blood of Christ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ No guilt in life, no fear in death ♪ ♪ This is the power of Christ in me ♪ ♪ From life's first cry to final breath ♪ ♪ Jesus commands my destiny ♪ ♪ No power or man, no scheme of man ♪ ♪ Can ever guide a proud listener ♪ ♪ 'Til He returns or calls me home ♪ ♪ Here in the power of Christ I stand ♪ ♪ No power or man, no scheme of man ♪ ♪ Can ever guide a proud listener ♪ ♪ 'Til He returns or calls me home ♪ ♪ Here in the power of Christ I stand ♪ ♪ ♪ - Amen, praise the Lord.

- All right, before we get started, there's two things I forgot to mention to you before we start. First of all, next Sunday is our Christmas service, and so you receive this card. Obviously, most people that you're gonna invite may come online, so there is an online version. You can just cut and paste and invite your friends.

But again, this is given to you as just a bookmark for you to be reminded that, again, people who normally don't attend church are willing to come to special events, especially Christmas service, and so we want to redeem the opportunity that God has given us to do that. So next Sunday, when we have a Christmas service and we talk about the meaning of Christmas and why Christ had to come, and so it'd be a good opportunity to invite your non-Christian friends or family and friends to come to that, so that's what this is for.

The other part of it is, last year we took a missions offering, the Lottie Moon missions offering for our IMB, International Mission Branch of our denomination, and so we're gonna be taking mission offerings, so we want you to be prayerful about that, and then next Sunday, we will be collecting the mission offering, our brother's, Pastor Alex and his family, Harry and Linda, they're being supported by the IMB, and so we're gonna be using that to, again, give the offering to the IMB, and they'll use that to support the missionaries.

So that's going on next Sunday, so please be prayerful, mindful, we'll post that up on our Facebook and website, just to remind you next Sunday that we'll be collecting for that, okay? Okay, if you can turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 11, we're gonna be reading from verse 17 to 19.

Hebrews chapter 11, verse 17 to 19. Okay, reading out of the NASB. "By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises, was offering up his only begotten son. It was he to whom it was said, 'In Isaac, your descendants shall be called.' He considered that God is able to raise people from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type." Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we pray that you would anoint this time, and may your word be lifted up, Lord God, that your voice and only your voice may be heard. Help us, Lord, not only to be hearers, but not to turn from it to the left or to the right, that we may be anchored in Christ, especially now with all that's going on.

So we pray that you would bless this time, in Jesus' name we pray, amen. You know, because of what's been going on around us with the pandemic, there's been a lot of question about what is essential and non-essential. And so I think everybody, to a certain degree, and for sure as leaders, we've been having constant conversations as what is essential, what is not essential, and obviously the gathering of the believers on Sunday is not something that we are willing to compromise.

You know, we want to do our best to keep, you know, to keep the church safe. We want to submit to the authorities, as the Bible says, but at the same time, we do not want to compromise our essentials. Now along with that, whether you are a leader in the church or not, every single family probably has been asking that question, right?

I hear that the toilet paper is starting to disappear, you know, just like in the beginning of what was going on in March, people are going, "Just in case, we don't know what's going to happen." So people are stocking up again. So what are the things that are essential that you need to have, right?

For whatever the reason, toilet paper, maybe water, some canned goods, right? What if the apocalypse happens? What happens? Are you going to, you know, do you have a car that you're going to be able to use? What are the essentials that you would gather? I remember years ago, you know, when the Northridge earthquake hit, I had a friend who was in college and this condemned, the building that he was in, he was a Northridge college student, and the building was shaking and it was actually condemned.

But right after the shaking stopped, he ran out and to the dismay of his friends, he ran back in because he said he needed to go get his essential stuff and he went back in and grabbed his Bible and his MacArthur commentaries. And that's when we knew that this guy was a MacArthur freak, you know?

He literally risked his life to go back and get his commentaries. And then, sure enough, a day later, the whole building just collapsed, you know? So he literally, like, we know what was in his heart. He wanted his Bible and his commentaries. But for every single Christian, what is essential?

What are some things, obviously there's some physical things that you'll get. If you have small children, obviously that's the first thing that you'll run in and get. But aside from the physical things, what is absolutely essential? The answer is pretty clear. Our faith is absolutely essential. And that's why, again, that we're gathering together despite what's going on, because worship of our God and our faith is absolutely essential.

Faith is what connects us to this eternal life, the father of, the author of life. Without faith, it says, at the beginning of this chapter, it is impossible to please him. And when he says that, he's not simply talking about, you know, God being pleased or displeased. Without faith, there is no relationship with God.

So one of the most crucial, essential things that we need to make sure that is genuine is our faith. So Abraham, he says he's the father of faith. He's the father of faith because God initiated a covenant relationship with the nation of Israel through this man. That God was going to establish a nation where through them, he's going to bless the world.

And obviously the son of God was going to come through that line. But along with that, Abraham is the perfect example of what God desires of his people to walk by faith. And so in order to establish that and to give us an example for us to follow, the cloud of witnesses that we are to follow as an example, he tested his faith.

And that's what it says. The first thing that it says in verse 17, by faith, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. So Abraham's faith had to be tested. Now, again, if you're a Calvinist, you may look at that and say, well, if God is sovereign, why does he have to know?

Didn't he already know? Why did he have to test him? Look at it this way. Whenever we go out to purchase a car, we test the car, right? Now, the buyer is the one testing the car, not the owner. The owner already knows what the car is. And it's already out on display.

So the one who purchased it for himself is the one who is actually testing it to make sure that that is something that he wants and to embrace. So in the same way, when the scripture says that God tested him, it was really to prove for Abraham, to make sure that he knew where he stood, to purify his faith.

In 1 Peter 1, 6-7, he says, "In this you greatly rejoice." And he's talking about the persecution and suffering that's coming. "Even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith being more precious than gold, which is perishable." In other words, sometimes God will take what is perishable in order to give us what is imperishable, a greater faith.

"Even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory, honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Because faith is the most valuable thing that we possess, because that's what connects us to God, our process of sanctification is to purify this faith, that we live by faith and not by sight.

And that's why Abraham is being tested. Even though he walked out and followed God's command, every year of his life, every activity, every suffering that Abraham had to suffer through, it was to purify his faith. And it's no different with us. If your faith in God hasn't grown from the first time you met God until now, then you are not a mature Christian.

A mature Christian is not somebody who just knows the Bible, has much experience doing this and that and gone overseas and made disciples. That's not what makes you a mature Christian. A mature Christian, according to Scripture, is somebody who is increasing in his faith. Because power that you and I have is not within us.

It's our connection to God. So the greater the faith, the greater the connection that we have with God. And that's what makes an individual mature. Not what we accumulate from our experience and our learning, but God. As you guys know, if you want to buy a used car, which car is more expensive?

Toyotas and Camrys are usually more expensive. And the reason why they're more expensive is because there's a record, a proven track record, that they can possibly go up to 200,000, 300,000 miles, which is unheard of. When I was younger, if a car passed 100,000 miles or 150,000 miles, we considered that a very good car.

So I remember years ago, my brother Phillip, he drove his Camry over 200,000 miles. And I said, "Wow, Camry went 200,000 miles." I don't know if you've ever tried to look for a used car now. Now they have people who are selling their cars for thousands of dollars that have gone over 250,000 miles.

Or 300,000 miles. And they're usually Toyotas and Camrys. And that's why they pay a premium, because they know if you're 200,000, there's a possibility you can go over another 100,000 miles. Our faith, when it is not tested, it doesn't matter how passionate we are, it doesn't matter how much we know, it doesn't matter how much experience that we have, when it is not tested, we may be building our faith, building our Christian life, on a foundation that's shaky.

Anyone that God is going to use for his glory, that faith is first and foremost tested, proven. To make sure, because the strength of who we are is directly linked to the strength of the faith that we have in God. So that's what it says. It starts off by saying that Abraham's faith was tested.

How was he tested? Obviously, God asked him to offer up his son. His only begotten son. There's two things that I want to highlight here about what God commands of Abraham that demonstrates this faith. First of all, the test was to make sure that Abraham trusted in the giver and not the gift.

That his faith was founded upon the promises of God. That he recognized the fulfillment of the promise was faithfulness God himself, and not the gift that he received. Hebrews chapter 11, 7-18, it says, "By faith Abraham, when he was tested, "offered up Isaac, and he had received the promises, "was offering up his only begotten son." Where'd you hear that term before?

Of Jesus, right? Only begotten. Now, a lot of people get confused because of the English word begotten, and saying, "Well, doesn't begotten mean "that God gave birth to Jesus? "So doesn't that mean that he was created by God?" Well, that word begotten does not mean that at all. In the Greek, it means mono, genus.

The word mono genus, well, you get the word mono obviously one, only. Genus basically means from those people. The literal meaning of that is he's the only one, unique. In fact, in Genesis chapter 22, it kind of explains, maybe in better English term, now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham and said to him, and he said, "Here I am." He said, "Take now your son, your only son." Your only son.

That's what that word mono genus means. There's nobody like him. He's unique. It doesn't mean that he was created by God. Now, why is this important? When he said that Isaac was his son, his only son, was that Abraham's only son? Was Isaac Abraham's only son? No. He had Ishmael from his servant girl, Hagar.

But what does he mean here when he says, "Isaac, your son, your only son?" He's talking about his unique, begotten, only son, unique, because that's the line in which God was going to fulfill his covenant. And so that's why he says in verse 18, "It was he to whom it was said, 'In Isaac your descendants shall be called.'" Isaac is only begotten, the one and only, because that's the line in which God was going to fulfill all the promises that he made to Abraham and Sarah.

Now, isn't that a strange thing to say? I want you to offer up your covenant child, your only covenant child, that everything that you have abandoned to follow me, where I am going to fulfill all your descendants, everything that I said to you in Genesis chapter 12, 1-3, he's the guy that I'm going to fulfill.

All your descendants are going to come through this guy. Offer him up. I mean, that makes absolutely no sense. Well, if he said, "You know what? Offer him up, because I have another child coming." You know, they made the mistake the first time, because God wasn't acting fast enough, so by their own will, they had Hagar, and they gave birth to Ishmael, and they said, "No, that's not the one," and God gives Isaac, and so maybe God has another child.

But that's not what he said. No, he's that child. He's your only begotten son. Your descendant, everything I promised you, is going to come through that line, and it's that child I'm commanding you to sacrifice. What was God doing? God was testing Abraham, again, to prove his faith, that is your confidence on the gift or the giver?

Is the hope that you have, the covenant that God made with you, is that covenant based upon the promise of God, or your child Isaac, your only begotten son? Now, on the surface, it doesn't make any sense that God would command to offer up what he said he's going to use to fulfill a promise, and yet, what God was doing was testing.

Where is your confidence? You know, there are things that God places in our lives to help us to grow in our faith. Just like if you go to a hospital, and you sprained your ankle, or you broke your leg, and they'll put a cast on, and they have you walk on a crutch.

And that crutch is good. In fact, it's even necessary to help you to walk. But imagine if you went in and said, "You know, I like this crutch. Can I keep it on?" So, well, it's been three months, your leg is fine. It's like, "No, no, no, it's not fine.

I'd rather have the crutch." Imagine if you kept the crutch for six months to a year, two years, five years. For the rest of your life, you said, "I can't walk without this crutch." So that very crutch that God gave you to help you now has become a hindrance.

Because the purpose of the crutch was to get you to be healed and to be whole. There's a lot of things that we do in our life where we thank God for the gift, and then the gift becomes the problem. We make it a crutch that is necessary. And we make the gift the idol.

I run into a lot of college students. While they were in college, they had a leader, a follower, and they had certain kind of freshmen, and older brother, younger sister, and discipleship, and they experienced this Christian life in this bubble. And then when they graduate, they can't function. Because they need that again.

In order for me to have God, "Where's my leader? Who's my follower? Who's my this? And how come the organization is this way and that way?" And they made this crutch a necessity for their walk with God. The purpose of it is to bring us to God. The purpose of why He gave the church is to bring us to God.

Think how often we make the gift that God has given us into a burden because we make that the idol. Sometimes we do that even with the church. It's great to have the church, great to have the fellowship, but I can't grow without it. I can't meet God without it.

And then it becomes a crutch. Remember in John 5, 39-40, you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. How often does the Word of God become a burden because this is something that every good Christian should do? We need to exposit, we need to memorize, and we need to know systematic theology.

If you're a good Christian, you need to pray 15 minutes, an hour, you need to do it in the morning, you need to memorize, and then you make this the idol. So when you have this, you think, "Oh, that's a good Christian because he's read the Bible so many times and knows his systematic theology, he knows how to exegete, he knows how to teach other people." But Jesus is saying you're looking through scriptures thinking that somehow if you look at it and obey it, that's where eternal life is.

It's a no, but purpose of this is to bring you to Christ. So you can spend all your life maturing in knowledge and experience and never have greater and increasing faith in Christ. Look what he says. You look to scripture because you think that in them you have eternal life.

It is these that testify about me. And you are unwilling to come to me so that you may have life. He wanted to make sure that Isaac was not his hope. He wanted to make sure that he wasn't hanging all his hopes upon his health. Imagine if Isaac was everything hinged upon Isaac.

I mean, imagine. It's like he had to have the best seats. You know, I mean, you'd freak out every time he gets sick. If any of his brothers somehow, you know, incringes upon anything, it's like, "Oh, you're not just protecting your son. You're protecting your hope." He wanted to make sure that he didn't make Isaac his idol.

Look at the way that the Pharisees approached the Sabbath. God told them to keep the Sabbath holy, but they wanted to keep it so holy that they created additional laws on top of what God said. So they kept on accusing Jesus of breaking the Sabbath. He never broke the Sabbath.

He broke their application of the Sabbath. The tradition that they created saying, "You know what? Keeping the Sabbath means that you can go this far, but if you go beyond that, you're breaking the Sabbath." So they were judging people based upon what they thought breaking the Sabbath meant. Not what the Bible said, but what they thought breaking the Sabbath meant.

So they kept on saying, "Why are you breaking the Sabbath? Why are you breaking the Sabbath?" Jesus answered them in Mark 2, 27. Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for Sabbath. So the man is Lord even of the Sabbath." The very name Sabbath means to rest.

And you made it a to-do list. And instead of finding rest and making Christ Lord of the Sabbath, it becomes an additional burden for you to carry out. Instead of bringing you to Christ, it's keeping you away from Christ. And that's what he was saying. He was reversing that.

He said, "You missed the whole point of the Sabbath. Sabbath was made for you so that you can recuperate, so you can rest, so you can worship God, so your faith would increase in who He is." But because you made it into rules, now Sabbath is destroying you. That's exactly what John was trying to say in the book of John.

What Jesus was saying with the seven "I am" statements. People were coming to Him and said, "You're eating bread and you want more bread." He says, "I am the bread." You're looking for the Messiah to come. And just like God used the clouds and the light, the pillar of light to lead people, you're looking for the Messiah to come and shed light.

He says, "I am the light." You're looking for, like, you know, which, where do we go? Do we want to be part of the synagogue? Do we want to be accepted in a community? And Jesus says, "I am the door." They were begging Him, "Won't You come and make sure that our brother Lazarus lives a little bit longer?

Make him healthy so that he doesn't die." And Jesus allows him to die so that He can make it point. "I am the resurrection and the life." These are the people who are looking for leaders to guide them and lead them. Who should we follow? The Pharisees or the Sadducees?

And Jesus says, "I am the Good Shepherd." Where do we go? If you leave us, where are we going to go? He says, "I am the way and the truth and the life." Well, if you leave us, how are we going to bear fruit? How are we going to know what to do?

Jesus says, "I am the vine." Every one of these "I am" statements is to shatter through the idols that they were hanging their hats on and then saying, "I am." That's exactly what He was trying to teach Abraham. Even though Isaac is the promised child, the only begotten child, the promise isn't based upon Isaac and his health and how long he's going to live, how many children he's going to have, because there's going to come times when that's not going to make sense.

He may come to the verge of death, but you should not be shaken. He might even die, but your faith should not be shaken. Because the promise is not based upon him, but God. Abraham, by this time, knew this. That was not the faith that he had. He believed in God enough to walk out, but that's not the faith that he had early on.

Remember early on, he was like, "How come it's taking so long?" He was going to fulfill it himself because he couldn't see what God was going to do. It was hard in the beginning, but after 25 years, when he turned 100, his wife was 90 years old, now it's impossible.

But by this time, what does he say? Genesis 22.3, when God told him, he just said, "Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and just left." Now, I'm not sure if Abraham said anything because it's not recorded, but all it says was he believed God and he just did it.

Because he believed that even if he dies, he can raise him. In other words, I trust him. He's proven himself to me. When times I didn't believe him and I questioned him, and I self-willed myself to fulfill this promise, he broke into all of that and he showed me to trust him.

And that's what he was trying to fulfill here. And that's why in Psalm 20.7, the psalmist says, "Some trust in chariots, some trust in horses, but we trust the name of the Lord." So that's a lesson that every person of faith not only needs to have, but continue to increase and grow.

That the stability and foundation of the refuge does not base upon who's around us, promises of the economy, who's going to be the leader, how much money did you save for retirement, do you have enough friends around you, what community do you belong to, but in the end, all that God promises hinges upon his faithfulness despite all that happens around us.

Secondly, the test is to prove something even deeper than that. The test was to see whom Abraham loved. It says in Genesis 22, 1-2, "Now it came about after these things that God tested Abraham and said to him, 'Abraham,' and he said, 'Here I am.' And he said, 'Take now your son, your only son,'" and then he has "whom you love," and "offer him." I mean, can you imagine how much this child was loved?

They left everything, risked everything, and they waited for so long. Every once in a while, you'll--and maybe some of you are in that category where you wanted a child for so long, and you prayed and prayed, and you thought maybe you weren't going to have a child, and you saw all the other people having children, and the pain that kind of comes with that, like, "Why isn't God blessing me?" And then when you lost all hope, and then you have a child, right?

I've walked with some people who went through that. I had a friend who actually was a pastor of a church nearby, and he prayed for over 10, 11 years, and didn't have a child. And they were almost kind of getting ready to, like, "Okay, maybe that's just going to be our lot in life," and he was ready to move on, and for 10 years, that's what he was praying for, and then on the 11th year, he had kids.

And I don't even have to describe to you the kind of joy that fell on this family. Can you imagine how much joy was brought to this family? Sarai was barren before she trusted God, and waited years, and when they tried to fulfill it, it caused all kinds of problems with Ishmael.

"No, trust me." And they actually named the son Isaac because it was so hard to believe. They laughed. They giggled. I think the name Isaac laughed is given for two reasons. One, because in unbelief, they turned around, they laughed. But the second reason, Sarai means princess. Sarah means joy and delight.

Isaac was the fulfillment of that joy and delight. That's why he's named Isaac, because of the way they reacted and because of what God intended to bring into that home. So I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that he was very, very, very loved. In fact, I don't think, again, it's an exaggeration.

I think we would all agree he was probably the most precious thing that they had. And God not only said he's the fulfillment of your promise, he's something that you love more than anything else. Offer him up. I mean, put yourself in that situation. Not only is sacrificing Isaac means the future and everything else that God said, but even if that wasn't the case, even if he wasn't the fulfillment of all of that, just offering up your son that you love so much, that you enjoyed so much, brought so much delight into your lives, and for God said to offer him up.

God was not only testing to see his faith, he was testing to see his affection. Who do you love? What do you love more than anything else? I mean, the Bible clearly says the greatest command that God desires from us is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

That's what he desires more than anything else. That's why in the book of Revelation, when he talks to the church of Ephesus, he says you have right doctrine, you persevere, you have a lot of good works. On the surface, they have everything that a good church should have. And he says, yet I have this one thing against you.

You have forsaken your first love. The word for first here is protos. Protos is not the word that they would use to describe first, second, third, or fourth. Protos basically means in priority. The most. So when he says proto agapen, he's basically saying you're doing all the externally, you're doing all of these things, but I'm not your greatest love.

I'm not your greatest love. God is not simply saying you should love me. I think most Christians will say that we love God to a certain degree. Whether it's small love or big love, we say we love God. We sing about him. Is he our greatest love? Protos agapen.

Remember when Peter denies Christ and then after the resurrection, he sees them at the shore and he restores Peter. John chapter 21, 15-17. So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon son of John, do you love me more than these? He said to him, yes Lord, you know that I love you.

He said, tend my lambs then. He said to him again a second time, Simon son of John, do you love me? He said to him, yes Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, shepherd my sheep. He said to him a third time, Simon son of John, do you love me?

Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you. Jesus said to him, tend my sheep. Some people have taken this tax and said, you know what, the reason why he asked him three times is because Peter answered wrong.

So in the Greek, Jesus asked, do you agape me? And the first time he says, yes Lord, you know I phileo you. And then the second time Jesus says, do you agape me? And he says, yes Lord, you know I phileo you. Third time Jesus says, do you really phileo me?

And Jesus said, you know all things, Lord. You know I phileo you. So some people have looked at that and said, you know, God was asking for agape and he said phileo, so he got it wrong. So the third time Jesus gave in. Clearly you're not going to agape me, so do you phileo me?

I'm going to accept a lesser love, phileo, so he said yes. That's how some people look at that, and I don't think that's what's going on. Because in the Greek, the word agape and phileo is often used interchangeably, and this is a perfect example of that. Because when Jesus asked you agape me, Peter doesn't say, no, I phileo you.

He says, yes, I phileo you. Do you agape me? Yes, Lord. Of course I phileo you. Jesus said, do you really phileo me? And he got hurt. If he was answering wrong, right, he said, why would he get hurt? Clearly you're failing the exam. Clearly I'm asking you agape, you're saying phileo, and Jesus gave in.

He said, no, it was being used interchangeably. Then why does he ask him three times? Because the number three is the number of completion. So if you read in the Bible, it says where two or three are gathered together. Do not entertain an accusation against it unless there's two or three.

The number three Jesus was crucified was resurrected on the third day to make sure that he actually was dead so that the resurrection was actually a resurrection. So the number three is the number of completion, of completeness. So when Peter denied Jesus, he said he denied him how many times?

Three times. Now why did he deny him three times? Maybe if he denied once, he'd say, oh, that was a slip of his tongue. He was just under pressure. He said, no, he denied him three times, meaning that it was a very willful rejection. So in order to restore him, he restores him three times.

Do you love me? Just as it was confirmed that he denied Christ, it is confirmed his love for him. But you know what's interesting here? If he failed that exam to be loyal to Christ, you would think that that's what he would say. Especially if he's going to be established to feed the sheep.

Now I'm going to go. When I was going to the cross, it was a test. It wasn't the final test. It was kind of like a quarter test. It only counts for 10%. Now this one's going to count for all your grade. So you failed that time, so don't fail this time.

So when I leave, you better not deny me. You would think that that's what Jesus would be asking. Are you going to stay loyal? Yes, Lord. You sure you're going to stay loyal? Yes, Lord. You better not fail. You sure you're going to stay loyal? Because after I leave and you fall, James and John's going to fall.

Matthew for sure is going to fall. Peter the zealot for sure is going to fall. They're all going to fall, so you better get this right. That's not what he says. In order to establish him, to use him, the only thing that he checks is, "Do you love me?

Do you love me?" Not, "Are you going to fail me? Are you sure you're going to be pure? Are you going to get your doctrines right? Are you sure you're going to be disciplined? Are you sure you know how to make disciples? Are you sure you're going to be holy?" No, "Do you love me?" But not only does he ask him, "Do you love me?" He said, "Do you love me more than these?" So there's a debate as to what the "these" he's talking about.

Obviously, he was fishing, so some people say he's pointing to the fish. Right? "Do you love me more than sushi? Do you love me?" So some people say maybe that's one of the interpretations. That because Jesus was referring to Peter's statement before he went to the cross, he said, "You know, all of them are going to fail you, but I will not." So it could be that Jesus is pointing to the disciples.

"Do you love me more than these guys here? They may fail me again. Are you?" I thought that that was a better interpretation. But I think there's a reason why that's left ambiguous. Because I don't think he was necessarily referring to one particular thing. When he says "these," he's talking about everything else, which includes sushi, which includes the other companions.

"Do you love me more than these?" More than anything else. And even your own life. I believe that that's what Jesus was asking him. Because that's what God is pursuing with us. He's not simply saving us so that we don't go to hell. That in and of itself, we should be praising God.

The fact that he knows our name alone should cause us to be all in worshiping God. But he made us his son, so that we can come into the inner chamber of God and call him our Abba Father, to enter the throne of grace with confidence. We become co-heirs with Christ.

He's not pursuing a proper legal standing in eternity. He adopted us. He loved us. So we love him back. Isn't that the greatest reward? Isn't that the greatest reward if you, you know, like people in our church are adopting children, and we're very encouraged by that? The greatest reward of adopting a child is not he become an Olympic champion, and one day I'm going to be famous because of this child.

Imagine the pressure that that child is under. That he's going to be a famous baseball star. That he's going to found another Facebook, and he's going to become a millionaire. Imagine if somebody actually adopted a child with that intent. How that would ruin that child. It would have been better for him to be orphaned.

No, the greatest reward that a child can give to parents who adopted him is what? To embrace his parents as his own. To love them as much as they loved that child. It's clear that that's what God is pursuing with us. That's why even when Paul told Timothy to teach certain men not to teach false doctrines, he makes sure he qualifies that because he's sending him to battle, and he says, "But the goal of this instruction is love." Love.

Not simple purity, not simple doctrinal correctness. It's love. To make sure that when you enter into this battle, that you examine yourself. You make sure that this goal, the end product of it, isn't simply we got the right doctrine, we're doing the right thing, we're organized a certain way, but that what comes out of that is greater love.

You know, I'm starting to get at that age where one by one, my close friends that I have, they have had children a little bit before me, are starting to have kids who are getting married, and then some of them, a few of them, are starting to have grandkids.

You know? So it's surreal. It's not like when we first got married, we'd say, you know, we were young, and say, "Who's going to get married first?" And, "Well, that person got married, this person got married." So I have roommates and I have friends that we've known for a long time, and now, you know, their kids are a little bit older, they're in their mid to late 20s, and so now they're having kids, and so I asked them, "So what is it like being a grandparent?" You know?

And they said, "Most of the time, it's awesome." Right? I said, "So what's different?" They said, "Man, when we were parents, we were so busy raising the kids that we didn't enjoy them. Now we just enjoy them." We said, "We love them just as much. We love our grandkids as much as we love our own children, but we didn't enjoy our kids like we enjoy the grandkids." So much of what we do as Christians, we get so wrapped up in trying to be good Christians, and we miss the whole point of why God saved us.

We get caught up in trying to fix the church, not realizing the church is a gift to us to enjoy. We get so caught up preaching the gospel that we don't celebrate the gospel. We get so caught up in trying to make godly marriages that we don't actually enjoy the marriage.

We work so hard to be obedient and follow God that we don't actually enjoy God and worship God. He came to give life and to give life abundantly. The best way to thank God is to enjoy the life that He has given us and to love Him in response.

And so church is an avenue for us to do that. Fellowship is to remind us to do that. We study the Word of God so that would take us so that we could love God. But if we're not careful, we can make all that God has given us, just like the Pharisees made the Sabbath.

Be burdened by the church, burdened by the fellowship, burdened by commands. And if the central thing that you and I have fallen short of is the glory of God, shouldn't the primary thing that God restores is His glory? To be in all of His glory. I mean, that guy really loves God.

That lady really loves God. What happened? What is it about God that He would love God that much? But if we're not careful, we make idols of the gift that God has given us, and we give so much of our energy, hope, into the crutch that God may have given so that we can walk better.

And then now that has become a burden. See, Isaac, he loved more than anything else. But remember the covenant that God made with Abraham was not to be burdensome because God gave it to him unilaterally. It was a gift. You know, when two people get married, the Christian answer that we give, "For the glory of God, two are better than one." We work better.

It's kind of like, you know, you put two horses together, they work harder. Right? So we're yoked for God's work. And that's the answer that we give because we're programmed to give theologically correct answers. But if you ask people, like, "Why do you get married?" They say, "She's pretty." Right?

"Don't act godly." Give you a real answer. Like the way she looked, the way she tied her ponytail, like the way she smells. And she happened to love Jesus. You get married because you want to get married. You were never burdened to get married. You get married because you want to get married.

You want to because you're happy when you're with her. You'd rather be with her than your smelly friends. God gave Eve to Adam, right, as a gift. God gave the church to us as a gift. God gave our salvation as a gift. And instead of thanking him and loving him for the gift that he's given, we are so busy trying to get it right and completely forget the central reason why he saved us.

To enjoy him and to glorify him forever. That's why he's tested. To make sure that his faith is founded upon his word, that our greatest love is where we get the greatest joy. So as we open up the communion table, communion table is meant for celebration, right, for those who committed their life to Christ, and you know what I'm talking about, right?

So again, I want to remind you, the communion table is for the baptized believers. So if you have not been baptized, please come see one of the leaders, and we'll walk you through if you need to be baptized. For those of us who are celebrating, the purpose of this is to remind us to recalibrate.

If we've drifted from God in any way, if we've, again, made the walk with God a burden instead of a celebration of who he is, that we come to celebrate. It's not by our works. We don't participate in this because we're righteous. We don't participate in this because you were good this week.

We participate in this because of the gift that he has given us. So I'm going to pray for us, and then we're going to open up the communion table, and so we're going to do it together, okay? So what I would like you to do is to take a few minutes in preparation.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 11, "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread. And when he had given things, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way, he took the cup also after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.'" So what I would like you to do, we're going to have communion music in the back, and to take the time as the music is going to really pray and examine our hearts so that we don't put spinning on worthy men.

If you have sense to confess, take some time to confess. If you have a relationship that's been broken that you need to restore, take some time to really come before the Lord and say, "Lord, help me." I want to be obedient to you, I want to honor you, I want to celebrate what you've done for me.

So take some time to meditate and to pray, and afterwards, I will pray and we will all do it together. So don't do it now, at the end of that we'll do it together, and then the worship team will lead us to the end of the communion service. So let's take some time to pray.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Before you eat, before you drink ♪ ♪ Take a long look inside and tell me what you see ♪ ♪ He said, "Do this in remembrance of me" ♪ ♪ "Do this in remembrance of me" ♪ ♪ This is the bread of life broken for you ♪ ♪ This is the cup that holds the wine of a new covenant ♪ ♪ This is the love of Christ put out anew ♪ ♪ This is the Son of God who died for you ♪ ♪ Before you eat, before you drink ♪ ♪ Take a long look inside and tell me what you see ♪ ♪ Then do this in remembrance of me ♪ ♪ Oh, do this in remembrance of me ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ If you can pick up with me, if you take the first part of it.

You've got to pick up with me this before you know it. The first classic part of it, hold on. You want to take the leafer out and take the second part. ♪ I will remember the cross that you bore for me ♪ ♪ I will remember the crown that you wore for me ♪ ♪ I will remember the reason you suffered and died ♪ And you start crying.

♪ This is my body given for you ♪ ♪ This is the cup ♪ Because you loved us, that we would also practice this love. First and foremost with you, with those who are nearest to us, to the strangers around us, to our neighbors, but even to those, Lord God, that have hurt us.

Teach us to practice this love that you've given us in response to the love you've given us. May your sacrifice return to you 30, 60, 100 fold in greater love, in greater glory. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let's all stand up for the closing praise. ♪ ♪ Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away ♪ ♪ Slain for us ♪ ♪ And we remember the promise made ♪ ♪ That all who come in faith ♪ ♪ Find forgiveness at the cross ♪ ♪ So we share in the spread of life ♪ ♪ And we drink of his sacrifice ♪ ♪ As a sign of our bonds of peace ♪ ♪ Around the table of the King ♪ ♪ ♪ The body of our Savior Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ Torn for you ♪ ♪ Eat and remember those that heal the dead ♪ ♪ That brings us life, paid the price to make us one ♪ ♪ So we share in the spread of life ♪ ♪ And we drink of his sacrifice ♪ ♪ As a sign of our bonds of love ♪ ♪ Around the table of the King ♪ ♪ ♪ The blood that cleanses every stain of sin ♪ ♪ Shed for you ♪ ♪ Drink and remember ♪ ♪ He drained death's cup that all may enter in ♪ ♪ To receive the life of God ♪ ♪ So we share in the spread of life ♪ ♪ And we drink of his sacrifice ♪ ♪ As a sign of our bonds of grace ♪ ♪ Around the table of the King ♪ ♪ ♪ And so with thankfulness and faith we rise to respond ♪ ♪ And to remember our call to follow in the steps of Christ ♪ ♪ As his body here on earth ♪ ♪ As we share in his suffering ♪ ♪ We proclaim Christ will come again ♪ ♪ As we'll join in the feast of heaven ♪ ♪ Around the table of the King ♪ ♪ Around the table of the King ♪ ♪ Let's pray.

Father, you are worthy of our trust, our faith, our confidence. Lord, you are our refuge. Not the promises of man, not our bank account, not our politicians. You are our refuge. Lord, help us to be reminded of that. That we would build our lives, Lord, on solid foundation of who you are and your promises.

Lord, you truly are worthy of our adoration. Help us to love you above everything else. Help us, Lord God, to worship you because we adore you. Help us to come to your word that we may know you more. Help us to be disciples, Lord God, because we want to be like you.

Help us to be evangelists, Lord God, because we want others to know this and to love you as well. So we pray, Father God, that the word that you've implanted in us would bear fruit. Especially, Lord, as the world gets darker and there's increase in wickedness. Spare us, Lord God, from temptation, that our love would not grow cold, but rather be flamed stronger than ever.

Help us to be anchored in Christ this week as we continue to walk a life of faith for your glory. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. They called him Jesus, he lay to die. He lay for care, he lived and died. To buy my body, an empty grave is there to give a Savior's name.

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. Amen.