(soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) - All right, good morning, church family.
Happy Lord's Day. Hope you had a good week in the Lord. As always, it's a privilege and a joy for us to gather together for worship. If I may, I'd like to begin by reading a few verses from Psalms. Psalm 63, verses one to three. Oh God, you are my God.
I shall seek you earnestly. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh yearns for you. In a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have seen you in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory. Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips will praise you.
So this morning, let us seek him and praise him for his loving kindness together. (soft piano music) (soft piano music) ♪ As the dead panteth forth ♪ ♪ Water so my soul longeth after thee ♪ ♪ You alone are my heart's desire ♪ ♪ And I long to worship thee ♪ ♪ You alone are my strength, my shield ♪ ♪ To you alone may my spirit lead ♪ ♪ To you alone may my spirit lead ♪ ♪ You alone are my heart's desire ♪ ♪ And I long to worship thee ♪ (soft piano music) ♪ You're my friend and you are my brother ♪ ♪ Though you are a king ♪ ♪ I love you more than any other ♪ ♪ So much more than any other ♪ ♪ You alone are my strength, my shield ♪ ♪ To you alone may my spirit lead ♪ ♪ To you alone may my spirit lead ♪ ♪ You alone are my heart's desire ♪ ♪ And I long to worship thee ♪ ♪ You alone are my strength, my shield ♪ ♪ To you alone may my spirit lead ♪ ♪ You alone are my heart's desire ♪ ♪ And I long to worship thee ♪ ♪ Oh, and I long to worship thee ♪ - All right, good morning.
Welcome to Breen Community Church. Let me get to a few announcements before we get started. First of all, next Sunday, as you guys know, it's Father's Day. And so our children's department and the children, they have snacks and milk tea and various things that are prepared for the fathers next Sunday.
So after each of the service, there will be booths set up outside. So whether you are here or you're gonna bring a father to the service, make sure you visit that again after the service next Sunday. Breen membership class. So this is an eight-week course starting from about 9.30 to about 9.30 to 11.
And so the eight-week course covers the fundamental doctrines of our church, ministry philosophies, and so to get to know some of our leaders. And so if you wanna become a member of the church, please sign up for that. And the beginning of that is going to be on July 7th.
So we have about a few more weeks before. So if you're planning to take it, please do that. And then at 9.30, at across the way, not on the cafe side, but the other side where the youth group meets, that's where the membership class takes place. So please sign up for that.
And that's what that, it'll begin on July 7th. And lastly, jubilee picnic. So if you are 50 and over in the church, and I know if you're new to the church and you say, "Well, do anybody over 50 in this church?" When we actually gather, there's actually quite a few of us.
So we have a fellowship going on that takes place quarterly, but on July 14th at 1 p.m. after the third service, there'll be a jubilee picnic that's gonna be taking place at a local park. So please sign up for that. I think lunch will be provided and it can be a casual time to meet other people of similar age if you're 50 and over.
Please come join us for that on July 14th, okay? All right, let me pray for us. Then after we pray and our praise, Joshua Yu is gonna come up and he's going to give his testimony and be baptized this morning. If you are, again, new to the church and you have physical offering, there is a box in the back that you can visit on the way out, all right?
Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your love and kindness that you pour upon us. Lord, we genuinely desire to worship you in spirit and in truth. Guide us, lead us, that we may focus our full attention on Christ, our singing, our listening, that we would apply all that you have to teach us.
May this morning be filled with your blessing and your presence. And even in this giving, help us, Lord God, to give in a manner worthy of the gospel that you've given. May it be multiplied for the sake of your kingdom. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) - All right, would you please stand together and take a moment to say hello to those around you, and we'll begin and continue our worship.
(congregation chattering) (congregation chattering) (upbeat rock music) (upbeat rock music continues) ♪ Who breaks the power of sin and darkness ♪ ♪ Whose love is mighty and so much stronger ♪ ♪ The King of glory, the King above all kings ♪ ♪ Who shakes the whole earth with holy thunder ♪ ♪ Who leaves us breathless and all in wonder ♪ ♪ The King of glory, the King above all kings ♪ ♪ This is amazing grace ♪ ♪ This is a new life ♪ ♪ That you will take my place ♪ ♪ That you will fill my heart ♪ ♪ You move me down the line ♪ ♪ That I will be set free ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, I thank you Lord ♪ ♪ All that you've done for me ♪ ♪ Who brings the chaos ♪ ♪ Who brings the chaos back into order ♪ ♪ Who brings the orphan, a son and daughter ♪ ♪ The King of glory, the King of glory ♪ ♪ Who rules the nations with truth and justice ♪ ♪ Shines like the sun in all of its brilliance ♪ ♪ The King of glory, the King above all kings ♪ ♪ This is amazing grace ♪ ♪ This is a new life ♪ ♪ That you will take my place ♪ ♪ That you will fill my heart ♪ ♪ You move me down the line ♪ ♪ That I will be set free ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, I thank you Lord ♪ ♪ All that you've done for me ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain ♪ ♪ Worthy is the King who conquered the grave ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain ♪ ♪ Worthy is the King who conquered the grave ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain ♪ ♪ Worthy is the King who conquered the grave ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain ♪ ♪ Worthy, worthy, worthy Lord ♪ ♪ This is amazing grace ♪ ♪ This is a new life ♪ ♪ That you will take my place ♪ ♪ That you will fill my heart ♪ ♪ You move me down the line ♪ ♪ That I will be set free ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, I thank you Lord ♪ ♪ All that you've done for me ♪ ♪ All that you've done for me ♪ ♪ All that you've done for me ♪ (gentle music) ♪ You move me down by God and power ♪ ♪ As in heaven so alone ♪ ♪ My heart is drawn to selfless wanton ♪ ♪ Help me seek your kingdom peace ♪ ♪ As Jesus taught ♪ ♪ So that shall I know ♪ ♪ Come by your Savior and change it all ♪ ♪ You stole my soul ♪ ♪ Left your husband and father ♪ ♪ Now my will for you is done ♪ ♪ He persists ♪ ♪ I may never forget ♪ ♪ The faith of Jesus ♪ ♪ True obedience ♪ ♪ It was down by you ♪ ♪ When wondrous faith ♪ ♪ To bear the cross ♪ ♪ To bear my sin ♪ ♪ What a wondrous love ♪ ♪ My hope was shown ♪ ♪ You were my Savior ♪ ♪ Faith of your life ♪ ♪ Now my will for you is done ♪ (gentle music) ♪ I am lost ♪ ♪ I am bored ♪ ♪ In the valley of fear and doubt ♪ ♪ Still I will chase ♪ ♪ God with power ♪ ♪ Yes, still I'm afraid ♪ ♪ In the valley of fear and doubt ♪ ♪ As Jesus taught ♪ ♪ The flesh shall rise ♪ ♪ In the midst of glory ♪ ♪ I will go ♪ ♪ My work is done ♪ ♪ On your Savior's hand ♪ ♪ Father, now my will for you is done ♪ (gentle music) (gentle music) ♪ Let's pick up the Lord ♪ ♪ God and Father ♪ ♪ Let us lay in the end of life ♪ ♪ Let all the world now ♪ ♪ See your glory ♪ ♪ And your name be lifted high ♪ ♪ And your name be lifted high ♪ ♪ And your name be overpowered ♪ ♪ For you shall see your Savior ♪ ♪ Now at your church ♪ ♪ Let your voice be heard ♪ ♪ Father, now my will for you is done ♪ ♪ And your name be lifted high ♪ ♪ And your name be overpowered ♪ ♪ For you shall see your Savior ♪ ♪ Now at your church ♪ ♪ Let your voice be heard ♪ ♪ Father, now my will for you is done ♪ ♪ Father, now my will for you is done ♪ ♪ Father, now my will for you is done ♪ (gentle music) (gentle music) - Amen, praise the Lord.
- Hello, my name is Joshua Yoo, and this is my testimony. I grew up attending church my whole life, but I was only a part-time Christian. In other words, I was not a Christian at all. I only pretended to be a stereotypical nice Christian boy when I was inside church, but every single second I got outside of church, I spent all my time constantly lying, bullying, stealing, and just judging everyone else.
I did not care about how others felt. I just wanted to do what I wanted to do. I only helped others when it benefited me. I only claimed, I constantly claimed to be a Christian, but I was not. I was just a hypocrite. I craved attention, power, and control.
I wanted money, status, and fame. And I wanted others to think that I was cool and strong. And I wanted other people to look up to me, and I want them to desire me. And worst of all, I got exactly what I wanted. Straight out of high school, I got the fortunate opportunity to work with one of the top entertainment agencies, where I regularly got to meet with celebrities and other members of social media.
And I finally felt like I had it all. You know, my friends would come up to me, and they would give me praise, and a lot of other people would come up to me and tell me that they wanted what I had. And I finally felt like I was successful, and I felt powerful, and I even benefited from having a somewhat social status.
But all of this, it never fulfilled me at all. I was still extremely empty and broken inside. It was never enough. And every time I got what I wanted, I just wanted more, and I realized I was just chasing empty pursuits. My career eventually collapsed, and I felt even more empty, more broken, and more alone than I ever had in my whole life.
I lost everything that I felt that I earned. I lost everything that I believed was rightfully mine. During this low point of my life, I heard about Berean Community Church through some old friends of mine. I only decided to attend because I really had nothing else to do with my life.
My whole life fell apart anyway, so how worse can it really get? And as soon as I arrived, everyone was so accepting of who I am as a person, and it really confused me. I was so confused. Like, who are these people? Like, why are they so nice to me?
Why do they even care about a terrible person such as myself? And I found all these people to be very intriguing, so I showed up the following week, and then again, and again. Now, the only reason why I kept coming out to church was not because I wanted to follow Christ or not because I wanted to better myself, but because I just happened to like the people that I met here.
But God had very different intentions and very different reasons for me coming to church. I realized these people treated me with love because they loved God. The more time I spent at church, the more I realized my own brokenness and emptiness. God opened my eyes to all of my own destructive habits and other bad habits.
I became disgusted by my own actions, my own sinful actions that I committed every single day. I realized I was truly broken inside, and I needed a Savior. But I still had so much doubt. I mean, sermon after sermon, I kept hearing about this Almighty God and how marvelous and great the Bible is.
But how do I know this God is real? And why should I even trust the Bible at all? Why do I even need to follow a thing the Bible says? So for the first time in my life, I decided to study the Bible. Reading this book was so challenging and brutal.
It gave me answers to my questions, but it also offended me. I felt like the Bible attacked my way of life, and it told me that what I wanted was inherently wrong. But through this painful process and helpful guidance from everyone around me, I came to the realization that God is indeed real, and I believed Him.
Then I had to ask myself a series of very important questions. If I truly believe in a God that is all-powerful, and I have faith in Him, does His commands need to change to fit my lifestyle, or do I need to change my lifestyle to fit His commands? Who is more right, God's way or my own desires?
I had to come and accept the fact that just because I did not like the truth gave me no right. Just because I did not like the truth, it does not give me the right to reject the truth. So I stand here today as a sinner. I'm not perfect.
I'm not a genius. I'm not better than anybody. I believe the Bible is true. I believe God is real. I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I submit myself to God. I accept God as the highest level of authority in my life. I am saved. I stand here today because I placed my faith in God.
Thank you. Joshua, do you understand when you're going to the water, you're being united to Christ's death, and then when you're coming out, you're being united to His resurrected life? I do. And I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All right.
Thank you, Joshua. If you can turn your Bible with me to Luke chapter 8, verses 19 to 21. Okay. Luke chapter 8, verse 19 to 21. "And his mother and brothers came to him, and they were unable to get to him because of the crowd. And it was reported to him, 'Your mother and your brothers are standing outside wishing to see you.' But he answered and said to them, 'My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.'" Let's pray.
Father, we pray for understanding. We pray to know your heart. Help us, Lord God, to be more than just mere hearers, but be doers of your word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. How many of you have heard of the name Katelyn Clark recently? Okay. I'm assuming if you will, when any kind of social media, I mean, she's been the probably number one news that's been going on.
And recently she broke the attendance record that matched the NBA Finals, over 20,000 people in the arena. And so she's been followed. And obviously she's been on the news about how she's breaking all the records. And so large crowds are following her. But along with that, there's a lot of criticism, a lot of jealousy, and a lot of hatred that's going toward her.
So that's also become a big part of the media. So if you've been watching, you know the discussion that's going on. And the reason why I'm bringing up her name is because the crowd that is following Jesus is growing. And what's interesting is it was hard for me not to kind of relate to what's going on.
Not that Katelyn Clark is any kind of messiah, right, but she is changing the WNBA. Because there's been so much talk about how people are not watching, and they're not getting paid enough. And all of a sudden this one girl shows up and she's breaking all the records, and the attendance is going through the roof.
But along with that, the same people who've been complaining about how they're not being paid enough, and people are not watching, a lot of them are the ones who are criticizing and making it difficult for her, right? Again, my point is not talking about Katelyn Clark this morning, right?
But the text that we're looking at says the crowd around Jesus is growing so large that they're having a hard time containing them, and it's still in the process of growing. And people have been waiting for the messiah for hundreds of years, telling each other that no matter how difficult it is, when the messiah comes, he's going to fix everything.
But now that the messiah has shown up and he's giving all the evidence of a genuine messiah, the same people who've been teaching them that the messiah is coming is slowly beginning to turn against him. Jealousy. And eventually their jealousy is going to grow to the point where they're going to turn him in, and then they're going to crucify him.
Well, the text tells us that this crowd was so large that his own family members couldn't get to him. And what he says in this text, on the surface, looks very insensitive. Can you imagine if Caitlin Clark is playing, and you have 20,000 people coming, and the officials or the attendants are coming, and they say, "Hey, Caitlin, your mom and your brothers are outside, and they can't get to you because the crowd is too large." And then Caitlin turns around and says, "These are my brothers.
That's my mother from this point on." So if you read that from the surface, and you don't really ask the question, or you may look at that and say, "Oh, Jesus really doesn't care about his mom, right? He doesn't really care about his sisters." It sounds very insensitive if you don't understand the context of what he is saying and why he's saying this.
There's two points that I want to make from this text to help us to understand what's going on and why he's saying what he is saying. And under the second, there's two points. Okay, so actually there's four points, actually three points, okay? So the first thing that we need to understand is Jesus is declaring to us absolute allegiance to God first.
Absolute allegiance to God first. On the surface, again, it may sound very insensitive. In fact, if you understand the context in Jesus' speaking, I think it will help us, and initially it would make it even worse, right? You know what's really interesting about the Bible is the Bible is written in two very distinct cultures.
You have the Old Testament, the Hebrew culture, by tradition was an Asian culture. It's very honorific where you honor your grandparents and great-grandparents. In fact, the typical Jewish home had three generations. You had grandparents, the parents, and the children. That was very typical. And so that unit, when they said family, like today when you say family, we're talking about mom, dad, and the kids.
But in the Jewish home, it was mom, dad, grandparents, grandmother, and their children, and they stayed together as long as possible. In fact, even in the United States, it was probably that structure until not that long ago, maybe 50, 60 years ago. So family, in this tradition, meant everything.
In fact, if you read the Old Testament, whenever a character is introduced, they would not only tell them who they are, they would tell them who their parents are. In Zephaniah 1.1, it said, "The word of the Lord came to Zephaniah, son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amoriah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah, son of Ammon, king of Judah." Imagine today, if we're introducing something and say, "I'm the son of Charles, the son of Jack, the son of John, the son of this," right?
And they say, "Well, why are you saying all of that?" But this reveals to us their culture, right? And it's a very Asian culture. Even the language itself is very Asian. So if you look at the Asian culture, their language isn't very precise. It's more poetic. And so if you read poetry or you read narratives, you get the sense of how they felt, right?
But if you wanted to write a legal document, you need a precise language, the tense and what it relates to, and that's the Greek. So Hebrew is great at writing poetry and narratives, and Greek is much better and precise in writing documents. And it makes so much sense because when you go to the New Testament, they're writing very specific doctrinal statements that describe for us in detail God's holiness and his relationship and atonement and what that means to the church, the future coming of Christ, our relationship, how we got saved.
And so all of these things are written in very descriptive language to write a legal document. So that you and I can understand precisely. The Old Testament written in Hebrew where so much of it is poetry. When you read the narratives, when you read the poetry, you get the sense of how God feels, what the people are feeling.
So I would say generally speaking, that's probably the distinction that I felt. Being an Asian American, that there is a very strong distinction between the Asian culture and the Western culture. The Western culture prides itself of being independent. Especially in America, we're independent. But in the Asian culture, independence isn't considered mature.
In the Asian culture, until you acknowledge your parents and grandparents, until you're mature enough to be able to recognize your heritage, they say you're not mature, you're immature. So Jesus is speaking to a culture that is Asian by nature, but it's beginning to transition to the Western culture. So Jesus' time that the Jews were very Asian American, which many of us have the advantage of understanding.
They have two clashing cultures, where the Greeks and the Romans are beginning to influence the younger generation. And even the language is being changed to Aramaic, to Greek. But then the older tradition comes from a very Asian, honorific parent generation. Now, all of this I'm saying to you as a background, so you can understand.
And I think again, many of you may understand. Jesus himself was in a very unique situation, because we don't hear about Joseph after Jesus' childhood. So most scholars believe that Joseph probably died when Jesus was young, maybe as a teenager. And so as a result of that, being the firstborn, he was the breadwinner, he had to take care of the family.
So his position in this family wasn't just a child and a mother. He was probably the head of the household. Now, considering all of that, considering he's come from Asian culture, where he is expected to take care of his brothers and his mom, who's been widowed, to say what he says here is beyond insensitive.
It's irresponsible. And we're talking about this a week before Father's Day. So understand that that's the context in which it would have been. What Jesus is saying to a first-century Jew would have been very shocking. Even if it is shocking for us today, it would have been very shocking for the first generation, for that generation.
But this is what he says, Matthew 10, 34-39. "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth, but I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and man's enemies will be the members of his household.
He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and he who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Now, again, in a Western culture, you may look at that and say, "Well, I don't have a problem with this, right?
I don't like my mother-in-law anyway, right? I've had problems with my parents anyway, right?" In a Western culture, you're independent, you pay your own bills, you're an adult. You say this in an Asian culture, in that particular generation, say, "If you love your mother and father more than me, your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of me." This is a shocking statement that Jesus is saying.
And then he follows it up by saying, "He who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for my sake will find it." Now, we look at this text, and we know that passage well about lordship.
That's the go-to text. "He who does not deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me cannot be my disciple." But understand that that lordship text is stated after talking about the relationship with mother and father and to their children. So in the context, when he says, "You need to pick up your cross," in the Western culture, we think, "You know what?
I had this desire to become rich. I had this desire to have a big house. I had this desire. So I'm going to pick up my cross and deny myself." To a first-century Jew who was loyal to his heritage, his greatest temptation was to his parents and his own children.
And in the context in which Jesus is speaking, he's talking to an Asian good son, a daughter who has made their life plan, life goal, first and foremost, to be a good son, to be a good daughter. He says, "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for my sake will find it." So first thing that he's trying to teach his disciples and the crowds that are coming is the supremacy of Christ, supremacy of God over all things.
If you've ever traveled or if you've been actively trying to evangelize, one of the most common obstacles that you will face is loyalty to their family. In Japan, part of the reason why it's so hard to penetrate this country with the gospel is because their social ties to their family is so tight.
By culture, they're not allowed to break out of what's acceptable. You may have heard this, the common saying in Japan is, "The nail that sticks out gets hammered first." So they don't like to break out of tradition. And so what's the most common objection to following Christ is, "If I make this decision, I will be shunned by my family.
My father and my mother, my brothers and my sister, they will reject me. And if I do something to get rejected by them, they will be rejected by my grandparents." I've seen this over and over again, people who come from the Middle East, even in our culture. We have people who come and say, "I believe all of this, but I cannot make the final decision.
I can come to Christ, I can do this, but I can't be baptized. My parents will allow me to go to church, but they won't allow me to be baptized because baptism means that you're just becoming a new person and we will not allow that." And so oftentimes we have to talk to people what Christ says here.
Christ must be supreme. In India, so much of the opposition toward the gospel is that they will be shunned by their family, and then ultimately by the village, and then ultimately by the whole culture. And so Christ knew, not only his disciples, but the people who are following him in that culture, one of their biggest stumbling blocks is going to come from their own family.
And Jesus is preparing his disciples for what is inevitably going to come. When we think about peace and safety in our generation, we think that if I follow Christ, and if I'm obedient, if I'm active at church, that God's going to answer my prayers, he's going to bless my family, we're going to have good health, my children are going to be taken care of, we're going to live a long life if I'm a good Christian.
As long as I'm good, I'm a good father or a good mother, and I take care of my children, that all of these things are going to be good. But the text that we're looking at, Jesus says, he goes even further than that. In Luke chapter 14, he says, "He who does not hate his father and mother and wife more than me cannot be my disciple." The reason why Jesus is saying this is that the only way, one, that they're going to persevere is they recognize the supremacy of God.
When God said, "Thou shalt worship no other gods before me," that includes your mom and dad and your children. That includes your mom and dad and your children, your husband, your wife. And the reason why is the only way that a child or mom or dad can be saved is God.
The power is not in you, the power is not in me, it's in God. So unless Christ is supreme, he cannot demonstrate his power. Anybody who's been on a plane for any period of time, like even once, every single flight, even a 40-minute flight, that you're going somewhere nearby, they always will start by telling you, "We're going to give this presentation." And what's the first thing that they tell you?
If something happens, that oxygen mask falls down, and what do they tell you? They tell you something really strange. They said, "When that thing comes down, don't worry about your kids. Don't worry about if you have aging parents that they can't reach this. You put that on first." Now, how many of you, when you hear that, say, "That is not right.
I got a question. I got to honor my—I got to protect my kids. What do you mean put it on first?" You know exactly why. Why do they tell you to put it on first? Because if you don't put it on, and you might be the adult, you might be the healthy one, if you're not okay, you can't help them.
So they're telling you, "Put the mask on. Make sure you're good so that you can take care of the others." So when Jesus says, "My mother and father, my brothers, sisters," like, "These are my brothers and sisters," he knows the greatest temptation, in particular this culture, is our loyalty to the people that we care about and love, that we can come this much, but we can't go further than that, because I love my mom, I love my dad, I love my children.
Plenty of people who are genuine followers of Christ come all the way to the point and say, "I can sacrifice, but not my children. I can do this. Whatever you ask of me, I will do, but not my kids, not my wife." And as a result of that, we harden our hearts toward an area of our life.
"I will open every other door, but except this door," not realizing that that door closes all the other doors. And the Scripture says that you have become hard of hearing, and the reason why is because the Word of God no longer penetrates, because we've hardened our heart. This, "I will not give up." Or somehow we've convinced ourselves that obeying God means to be a good mother, and that's it.
Obeying God means to be a good father, and that's it. As long as I'm a good husband, as long as happy wife, happy life. Heresy. That's a description of the fall of man. If your wife is happy because you're living in compromise, you need to fight against that. Jesus knew that the greatest temptation for his disciples was not going to come from the Pharisees, was not going to come from materialism.
It was going to come from their own family. Luke 9, 59-62, and he said to Jesus, talking about discipleship, he says, "Follow me," but he said, "Lord, permit me to first go and bury my father." Again, that would be a great title for Father's Day sermon. Maybe I'll just save that for later.
Say, "Take care of your father first. Honor your father." Except, he says in verse 60, but he said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God." Did he actually say that? Yeah, that's what he said.
Another also said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first permit me to say goodbye to those at home." But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." Jesus, first and foremost, is teaching the supremacy of God above all things.
Of course, he's not saying that you can't honor them. He says we have to honor them. We have to obey them. But he's telling them this because he knows. He knows that this is going to be their downfall. That this is what is going to cause them to compromise.
This is what's going to cause them to have selective hearing. That their obedience to God is going to be pigeon-held into what I can and cannot obey. What I am willing and unwilling to do. I am willing to sacrifice my own life, but not my kids. Not my parents.
Not the ones that I love. And as a result of that, we stiff-arm God. We convince ourselves that's not what we're doing because I'm just trying to be a good dad. I'm just trying to be a good mother. I remember when my kids were younger, especially when I had my firstborn.
You know, I made a sacrifice. I said, "You know what? I'm not going to pursue money. I'm going to do homeless ministry." And I was prepared for whatever was coming down until I had my kid. And I remember driving around in a pickup truck with no air conditioning and having an infant in my car in the front seat.
No back seat, just the front seat. And I remember every time I had to put him in the car, he would end up with a rash on his back because of sweat coming down his back. For the first time after committing my life to be a pastor, I started being tempted for money.
And I wasn't trying to buy a big house. I wasn't trying to get rich. I just wanted enough money so I can buy a car with air conditioning so my son doesn't have to break out in rash every time I put him in the car. And I remember first time thinking, "Maybe I can do something else.
Maybe I can get a side job. Maybe I can go to a bigger church." And I remember when those thoughts begin to creep in that this is the beginning of the temptation. And it was for good reason. I just wanted to be a good dad. I just wanted to be a good dad.
Jesus knows that his disciples are going to be tempted with this. That the things that they are the most loyal to, the people that they love the most, is going to be the source of the greatest temptation for them. The second point in this, he says, the identifying mark of this.
If Christ has to have supremacy over all things, he says this new family, what is this new family? Luke 8.21 says, "He answered and said to them, 'My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.'" So it's clear that the new family that we have in Christ, we call the church, Ekklesia.
But the very meaning of the word Ekklesia, it means the gathering of called out ones. That's a literal meaning of the word Ekklesia. Gathering of called out ones. So what does that mean? It's not just a gathering. It's not just any gathering. Gathering of called out ones. Called out from what?
Called out from your old life. Called out from your old loyalties. Called out from the old rat race. Called out where he says, "Come to Christ who is outside the camp, that we may join him to go outside the camp." So the very definition of a church is a gathering of called out people.
Jesus says in John 3, 5-6, to Nicodemus, "Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.'" Now some people have debated that the water here he's referring to is baptism.
I don't think it's baptism. In my opinion, I think he's just talking about somebody who's born in the flesh versus somebody who's a Christian who's born in the Spirit. He says, "That which is born of water." Somebody who's born, the water breaks, and then he is born physically. So you may be physically born as a Jew, tribe of Benjamin.
He said, "But you're of the flesh." But the people in the kingdom of God are not only born of water, but they are also born of Spirit. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. So the family of God are people who have been called out and are born again.
So the family of God isn't just simply because you became a member or that you're at the church or you're serving the church. He says, "The identifying mark of a genuine believer, a new family in Christ, is the Holy Spirit, that we have been born again. We have been called out from our old loyalty to Christ, who is supreme over all things." Ephesians 2:19.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and are of God's household. Now we are in God's family. In fact, that's a language that's used in 1 Timothy 5, 1 and 2, referring to us and how we ought to relate to one another.
And he says, "Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, and to the younger men as brothers, to the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters in all purity." In other words, he uses that language of a family, that now this is our family.
This is a gathering of called-out people who have put aside their old loyalty and that now because of our loyalty to God, now you and I have become a family. Older men as fathers, older women as mothers, younger as our brothers and sisters, with all purity. He said this, born-again Christians in the Spirit, these are people not only who hear the Word, but he says those who obey the Word of God.
Obey the Word of God. So just because you're in Bible study, just because you attend service on every Sunday, doesn't mean that we're family of God. People, if you've come from a church that doesn't practice membership, that you know, there's a sometimes there's like a violent reaction like, "Membership?
You guys are exclusive. I thought the Kingdom of God is open to everybody. I thought we're gracious to everybody." If you read the Scriptures carefully, the criteria for membership of the church is much more stringent than anything that you will experience here. The entrance into the Kingdom of God, the criteria for the Kingdom of God, yes, it is by the grace of God, but he says it's not those who hear, it's those who obey the Word of God.
You need to obey. You know, we have tenfold covenant in our church that we're asking you to follow. It's basically basic Christianity what we have. But what the Bible requires for membership in the family of God is much more stringent. And so he says in John 8, 31, 32, listen to this carefully.
Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed him, right, who had believed him, "If you continue in my Word, then you are truly my disciples of mine, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." Now again, remember, he's talking to Jews who had believed, and he says, "If you continue," and the word "continue" here means to obey.
"If you obey my Word, then you are disciples," not simply somebody who raised their hand, not somebody who says, "You know what? I want to accept that for myself. I want to give him a try," but he says, "He who hears my words and obeys my Word are my disciples." Now I don't have the verses up here, but as soon as they hear that, they get offended.
Set free? They prided themselves of being free. "We're children of Abraham. We've never been slaves. How dare you call us and tell us that we need to be free?" They go back and forth, back and forth, and Jesus says in John 8, 44, "You do not understand what I'm saying because your father is the devil." And he's talking to people who John says believed, and then he says, "Your father's the devil." Ephesians 2, 8 through 10, isn't it salvation by grace?
Of course it's by grace. The Bible says it's by grace. It says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." Right? We all know that passage.
We memorize that passage. Some of you grew up in the church sang that passage. We're by grace, not by works. But we should also sing the second part, which says, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works." He says, "The reason why you're saved by grace is so that you may have good works, that he may restore us, that we may live the righteous life that he had called us to live, that we could not live because of our sins." So grace frees us from the penalty of sin, but the grace of God also frees us from the power of sin, so that we may live reflecting his glory.
It's just like somebody who's been trying to get on the tennis team all his life, and they're just not good at the backswing. And all of a sudden they go on the basketball court, and he jumps 55 inches. And he just cannot miss. And he wakes up and realizes, "Oh, this is much better fitting." This is what I was made for.
I was made to dunk over people. You know what I mean? I was made for highlights. The Bible tells us that you and I have been created for righteousness. So a professing Christian who is living in perpetual disobedience is a miserable individual, because his expectations and his life does not match.
Because he is miserable. He feels disconnected in the church. He doesn't have fellowship in the church, while he is living in disobedience. And he thinks that his disconnection with the church is because people are not nice to him, that people are not reaching out to him. That's why they feel disconnected.
But the fundamental disconnection is that you're in a place where you don't belong, where you have openly said, "I'm not going to follow Christ in my life." It's like somebody with a USC jersey goes into the UCLA locker room and says, "How come nobody cares about me here?" You're in the wrong locker room.
You need to go to USC. Or you need to change your loyalty. You're wanting to be accepted, loved, be a part of a community wearing the wrong jersey. Now, if you say that you're not a Christian, understandable. "I have a USC, but I'm kind of questioning my jersey. Their team hasn't been good for a while, and I want to experience this new life at UCLA." And so you're there kind of like taken off, and you're just kind of curious, and you're looking.
And UCLA is doing their best to kind of recruit you to that. But you're coming in there with a USC, and it's like, "How come nobody accepts me here? Why can't I be a part of this team? Why can't I wear this jersey and play football for UCLA?" You're in the wrong place.
The most miserable person in the church is somebody who claims to be a Christian and living perpetually in disobedience. See, your mother, your father, your son, your daughter are those who says who hear and who obey. John 8, Ephesians 2, 8, 9, it says, "Created for good works which God prepared beforehand so that you would walk in him." A genuine child of God only finds true rest and happiness when he is living righteously because that's what you were created to do.
That's why you are saved by grace. That's why grace covered by the blood of Christ opened the door so that you may live what God intended you to live. So a Christian, professing Christian who's living in disobedience is a miserable individual. And you can blame the context, you can blame the people, you can blame the leadership, but at the core of it, you're walking in contradiction to your own confession.
Now, that doesn't mean a Christian doesn't struggle at times. That doesn't mean a Christian sometimes wrestles with sin. But there's a huge difference, according to 1 John 1 and 2, between somebody who is living in sin and somebody who is struggling in sin. God is patient with Christians who are struggling, wanting accountability, wanting to grow, but are struggling in an area versus an individual who has accepted his sin.
Don't judge me. Who are you to judge me? I'm going to keep this jersey on. I'm going to keep this jersey on. I have no intention of taking off this jersey. And you need to accept me as I am. Salvation is by grace alone, but saving grace is never alone.
That was a mantra of the Reformers. As they taught salvation is by grace alone, they were concerned that people are going to be confused. That it doesn't mean salvation by grace doesn't make—well, God saved you. Now you can do whatever you want. Since now you have the ticket to heaven, some of them are going to be obedient, some of them are going to be disobedient, some of them are going to follow Christ, some people aren't even going to attend church.
But now that I have a ticket, I just may not be in the front line, but I have a ticket to get in. They were concerned that people are going to think that, and that's why they said, "He who does not have the church as his mother cannot have God as his father." And they were saying the same thing.
Not simply those who hear, but those who obey the Word of God. James chapter 2, 1 John 2, 3 to 6. "By this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments." That's how we know, he says. The one who says, "I have come to know him," and does not keep his commandment, is a liar.
Right? And the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word in him, the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in him. The one who says he abides in him ought himself to walk in the same manner as he walked.
Now, if I just said this, and I didn't quote the verse, so many people would be offended. By this you know, if you obey his commandments. If you don't obey his commandments, and you say that you're a Christian, you are a liar. The truth is not in you. Now, if I said that, and I didn't actually tell you where it came from, I bet you many of you would be like, "What kind of a preacher is this?
He's so judgmental." But I just read you a text from the Bible. And this is not the only text. James chapter 2, 17-20. "Even so, faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, 'You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.'" He's not saying that you're going to be saved by works, but you're the proof of genuine faith.
It was proven by your works. You believe that God is one, you do well. The demons also believe that, and they shudder. You know who recognized the identity of Jesus first, before anybody else? The demons did. When they saw him, they said, "Son of God, have you come before your time to torture us?" And they fell on their knees, because they recognized who he was.
And he says, "Yet they believed, but they didn't obey, they didn't surrender, they didn't repent." And he says, "A professing Christian, who have never repented, is like the demons. They know the truth, but they have not been set free." He says, "If you believe that God is one, you do well.
The demons also believe and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?" Faith without works is useless. If you profess to know God, and you are clinging to everything that you knew before you met Christ, you've never repented. And if you've never repented, it means you've never been forgiven.
If you have your old life, and all you did was add Christ to your old life, you've never repented. So therefore, you've never been forgiven. I'm telling you what the Scripture says. As fundamental and as basic as this is, this message will keep away many, many professing Christians. And I'm just telling you what the Bible says.
"He who hears my words and obeys my word, they are my mother. They are my brothers." How do you get more clear than that? And that's why, if you see the preaching of the early church, you never hear the preaching and say, "You know, this is what Jesus has done for you.
He loves you. You don't have a purpose. He's going to give you a purpose. Would you receive the baptism of acceptance?" No. They didn't proclaim the baptism of acceptance. They proclaimed the baptism of repentance. Peter says in his first sermon, "Repent, each of you. Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ." Acts 3.19, "Therefore, repent and return.
You've gone astray. Now turn your life around and come to Christ, so that your sins may be wiped away." Paul says in Acts 17.30, "Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God has now declared to men that all people everywhere should repent." As he is going to Jerusalem, knowing that he's going to be captured, possibly die, and he's reiterating his message to the elders of the church of Ephesus, he says, "Solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." Receive the baptism of repentance, not baptism of acceptance.
I accept Jesus. I accept Jesus. Nowhere in the Bible does it say, "Can you please accept Jesus?" No, he says, "No. Sinners have offended a holy God." And God is gracious, not wanting us to perish, that He's been patient. And this is the only reason why He hasn't returned yet, because He's being patient with sinners, that in time, that others may also repent and come to Him.
It's a baptism of repentance, not baptism of acceptance. So why is he saying this? Let me reiterate, as we wrap up. One, supremacy of Christ above all things. If you want to save your mother, your father, your children, put Christ first. Put Christ first. Put Christ first. You do not have the power to convince your loved ones.
You do not have the power to convince even your own children. Only when Christ is sitting on the throne in your life, not a sub-throne, not an additional throne, but the only throne that only one person can sit in, only when Christ is sitting on that throne, will you be able to see His power at work.
So put Christ first. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you." But second, he's preparing his disciples. He says, "The greatest temptation in their life is going to come through people that they love." Remember James and John? They sacrificed everything to follow Christ.
And their mother was following with them, and she was there at the crucifixion. She was there at the resurrection. And as they were following, she was talking to their sons and saying, "Hey, you know, it's great that you're following Jesus, but make sure you're going to get something out of it.
Make sure that you're going to sit on your left or to the right." You know, it sounds just like an Asian mom. That sounds like a tiger mom. "Go, go tell him. Forget it, let me go talk to him directly." It sounds exactly like a tiger mom. He was warning the disciples, "Your greatest stumbling, greatest temptation is going to come in the context of the people that you love dearly." Remember Peter?
As Jesus is headed toward the cross, he loved Jesus. And when he said, "Even if everybody abandons you, I will not abandon you. I will die for you, Jesus." And I think he fully meant it. Because when the soldiers came, he was the only one who took out the knife.
How come the other disciples didn't do that? They came with swords to capture one man, and Peter was the only one who took out the knife. He was ready to go. Jesus didn't look at Peter and say, "Peter, your loyalty is going to be rewarded. Well done, my good and faithful servant." Is that what he said?
He said, "No, get behind me, Satan." Because Satan is using your love for me to try to hinder me to go to the cross. Satan is using your loyalty to me to prevent me from going to the cross. He said, "Get behind me, Satan." The greatest stumbling block to most people.
And he knew it was going to go to his disciples. He knew. He was preparing his own family. Because he's about two years away from the cross. He was about two years away, and he knew. He's the head of the household, and they're depending on him. Initially, they rejected him.
"You're doing all of this stuff. Why don't you go?" And Jesus says, "A prophet is not welcomed in his own home." His own family rejected him, didn't understand him. But now that he's gaining fame, his family is starting to show up into the crowd. "Where is Jesus?" And he's not only warning his disciples to protect them, he's preparing his own family.
He's not going to be able to be that person for long. In two more years, he has to go to the Father. He's going to be crucified, and they're going to go through tremendous pain. And remember when Jesus was hanging on the cross, one of the last words that he says, he looks at Apostle John and says, "Take care of my mother.
Take care of my mother." Jesus was not being insensitive. Jesus knew exactly where their weak point was. If you're a mother or father, every mother and father's weak point is their children. Is their children. "I will follow Christ, and I will give my life. I will sacrifice. I will be home.
I can do it, but not my kids. Not my kids." And so we live all our lives protecting, providing. And we've given up finances for ourselves, but not for our kids. And all the fears and all the temptations that we gave up to follow Christ, all of a sudden, it resurfaces when we have children.
I want to sacrifice for them. I want to take the bullet. But for my kids, I want them to be taken care of, be safe, provided for. I don't want them to miss out. I don't want them to be weird at school. I want them to be taken care of.
I don't want them to pick up their cross. I'll pick up their cross. And if we're not married, our greatest temptation could be our own parents. I don't want to disappoint them. They lived a hard life. I want to provide for them. And it's coming from good intentions. But Jesus knows that very spot that you refuse to surrender to Christ is the very area where Satan will continue to attack.
We'll never let you go. When we disobey, we never say, "No." We say, "Not now." Once this is taken care of, once my children are well, once my parents are well, then I will follow you. So disobedience never looks like, "No. It's not now." At another time, when at a different stage, when I've saved up enough money, when I've done this and I've done that.
Not knowing that Satan is using that to keep you away from God. So when you understand the context of what Jesus is saying, He's not being insensitive to His family. He's establishing Christ the only answer. The only answer to all the problems of mankind. So seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these other things shall be added unto you.
Let's pray. Lord, we pray that Your Word, as difficult as it may be at times to apply, help us, Lord God, to trust in Your sovereign grace. That everything that You teach us, everything that You command of us, ultimately is for our life and the life of those that we love.
Help us, Lord God, to surrender all things for the sake of Your name. Help us, Lord God, to know the sweet fellowship of being a part of a church who have been called out according to Your purpose. That we may be unified in one spirit, one love, one mind, to pursue You together as one family for the sake of Your glory.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's all stand up for the closing praise. We were ruined in our sin, we were guilty and undone, when Your love reached out with sovereign hands and beckoned us to come. You sought out the poor to live, made the rotten foes come home.
With the lavish feast, You welcomed us, for You made us Your own. You have loved us like You loved Your Son. We are heirs with Christ, bought by His blood. Oh, how great the love that we've been shown, when Your children come, You made us Your own. We are strangers, we are strangers to You.
We are no strangers to You. We draw near You now with confidence, for all our fears are gone. With Christ the King, we too will be saints with You. And forever we will be Your things, for You made us Your own. You have loved us like You loved Your Son.
We are heirs with Christ, bought by His blood. Oh, how great the love that we've been shown, when Your children come, You made us Your own. You have loved us like You loved Your Son. We are heirs with Christ, bought by His blood. Oh, how great the love that we've been shown, when Your children come, when Your children come, when Your children come, You made us Your own.
Let's pray. Philippians 2, 1 and 2. Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if there is any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintain the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
Lord, help us to apply this in our lives, that our confession would be more than just words. I pray that You would build up this church in one mind, in one spirit, in one purpose, in one obedience, that Christ may be exalted, that this world that has been lost may see the light in Christ, that more and more and more people may come into the light, that they may also be our family, for the sake of Your glory and for the sake of the lost.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen. God sent His Son, a golden Jesus He came to love, heal and forgive He lived and died to buy my garden An empty grave is there to fill, a sacred land Because He lived, I can face tomorrow Because He lived, all fear is gone Because I know, He holds the future And life is worth the living, just because He lived Never seen what heart could fathom such boundless grace ♪ The God of ages, step down ♪