Sunday Service 3/23/25

In the sight of the world, we fly, hold me still, we hold you. Jesus, the Father, to the Lord, we're welcome as a Savior, hold me still. Jesus, the Father, to the Lord, we're welcome as a Savior, hold me still, we're welcome as a Savior, hold me still, we're welcome as a Savior, hold me still, we're welcome as a Savior, hold me still, we're welcome as a Savior, hold me still, we're welcome as a Savior, hold me still, we're welcome as a Savior, hold me still.

Amen. Amen. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We're a church family. Happy Lord's Day. We will now begin our service. We will now begin our service. Sing, teach me your way. Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth.

Show me your path, O Lord, for I am devoted to you. Purify my heart's desire, I long to be your servant. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Give me an undivided heart, no other God, no other love, no other God's before you. Teach me, teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth.

Show me your path, O Lord, and I will walk in your path. Show me your path, O Lord, and I will walk in your path, O Lord. Show me your path, O Lord, bright and divine to you. Purify my heart's desire, I long to be your servant. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Give me an undivided heart, no other God's, no other love, no other God's before you. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

All right, good morning. Welcome to Green Community Church. Let me get a few announcements started. First of all, as you guys know, this week we have our All Church Praise and Prayer. And so because of that, we won't be having our regular Bible study, whether home groups or small groups.

So please come to the church by 7:30 or a little bit earlier than that, so we can get started right on time. That's coming Friday. Women's Ministry Tea Time. It's scheduled for April 5th on Saturday, 9:30 to 12:00 p.m. So they're telling me that today is the last day that you can sign up.

So if you're planning to come, please sign up. And then spring membership class. So the last session of membership class was finished. The next session is starting on April 27th, 9:30. So if you are planning to become a member, please sign up for that. And it's an eight-week course at 9:30 at the Youth Chapel.

Passover meal. If you haven't participated in the Passover meal, or even if you had and you want to reinforce that to yourself or to your children, that's happening on April 17th, the Thursday of Passion Week at 6:30 at the Fellowship Hall. There's a small cost involved with that because dinner is provided.

So please sign up for that as soon as possible. The space is limited. It's going to be, I think, about 140, I forget. But please sign up for that as soon as possible. And lastly, on April 12th at 7:00 p.m., there's going to be a cafe gospel night. And so if you have friends, family, co-workers that you want to invite where you can meet with outreach team or one of the leaders to be able to share the gospel with them, that's what that night is for.

So please, if you are planning to, please sign up for that and let them know that you are planning to bring somebody for that. And that's happening on April 12th, okay? That's a Saturday before the Passion Week. All right, that's all we have. Let me pray for our offering.

Again, if you have a physical offering, there is an offering box in the back that you can give. Okay, let's pray. Father, we thank you for today. We thank you for your continued grace that you pour upon us, that many things that we are aware of and many things that we are not.

Help us, Lord God, to give you true worship. We pray, Father God, that whatever worries or concerns that we may have been entangled with, that your grace truly would be sufficient for us. Help us to lift our eyes to the throne of Christ, knowing that this is where we find our refuge and help.

I pray, Father God, that our giving would be a reflection of your tremendous love and grace that you've given us, that we would give cheerfully, we would give bountifully. And may it be multiplied for the sake of your kingdom. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you. Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to greet the neighbors around us before we continue.

Let us all rise and let's start a few moments. Let's sing, I stand amazed, I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene. And wonder how he could love me, a sinner condemned, a queen. How marvelous, how marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. How marvelous, how marvelous, how marvelous is my Savior's love for me.

He took my sins, He took my sins. He took my sins and my sorrows. He made them His very own. He bore the burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone. He took my sins. He took my sins and my sorrows. He took my sins and my sorrows. He made them His very own.

He bore the burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone. How marvelous, how marvelous, how marvelous, how marvelous. How marvelous, how marvelous, how wonderful that my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how marvelous, how marvelous, how marvelous is my Savior's love for me. But with the grants of death glory, His face I am last shall see.

To be my joy through the ages, To sing others' love for me. How marvelous, how wonderful, And my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is, My Savior's love for me. How marvelous, how marvelous, How wonderful is, My Savior's love for me. How marvelous, how marvelous, How marvelous, How wonderful is, My Savior's love for me.

How marvelous, how marvelous, How marvelous, How marvelous, How marvelous, How marvelous, How marvelous, How marvelous, How marvelous. How marvelous, How marvelous, How marvelous, How marvelous, How marvelous, How marvelous. How marvelous, how marvelous, How marvelous, How marvelous, How marvelous, How marvelous, How marvelous, How marvelous, How marvelous. Jesus, your mercy is all my truth.

I have no defense, my guilt runs too deep. The best of my works pierced your hands, I'm not free. Jesus, your mercy is all my truth. Jesus, your mercy is all my truth. I promise I claim the grounds of my hope. Whatever I lack, it's still where I live.

Jesus, your mercy is all my truth. Praise the King who bore my sin, took my place when I set contempt. Oh, how great you've always been to me. I will sing of your love. Sing. Jesus, your mercy is all my truth. Jesus, your mercy is all my truth. Praise the King who bore my sin, took my place when I stood contempt.

Oh, how great you've always been to me. Oh, how great you've always been to me. Oh, how great you've always been to me. Oh, how great you've always been to me. Oh, how great you've always been to me. Oh. in death, Jesus your mercy is all my name, great the King who bore my sin, took my place when I stood condemned, oh how could you always sin to me, I will see no grace, Jesus your mercy is all my joy, forever I'll lift my heart and my voice, to see our treasure no power can destroy, Jesus your mercy is all my joy, praise the King who bore my sin, took my place when I stood condemned, oh how could you always praise the King who bore my sin, took my place when I stood condemned, oh how could you always sin to me, I will sing of your mercy.

With me to Luke chapter 11, we're going to be reading from 1 through 4. Luke chapter 11, verses 1 through 4. Let's pray, Father we pray for your Holy Spirit to illuminate our minds and our heart, Lord God, to understand your will, help us Lord to be surrendered to you, that we would not simply be hearers of the word, but be doers, in Jesus name we pray, amen.

Again, as you know, amen. Maybe they're doing the truth, maybe they're doing the truth, maybe they're doing the truth, maybe they're doing the truth, maybe they're doing the right things, but if you are not devoted to prayer, we cannot say confidently that we are a healthy church, a healthy church at the center of it, we must have devoted prayer, whether it is as a church or individually.

When you evaluate revivals and certain movements that come in, we always have to caution, especially those of you who are young, because whenever there is a large crowd of people moving a certain direction, we naturally think that this is a movement maybe from God, especially if it has a certain tag attached to it.

But when you study church history, at the core of every revival, every movement of God, there is devoted prayer. Prayer is what leads to powerful preaching, powerful preaching leads to holy living, and holy living is what leads to genuine conversion. So just because we have the right thinking, that doesn't mean it's a movement of God.

Just because we have large groups of people that are coming to church doesn't mean that it's a movement of God. If you study 2,000 years of church history, where there was genuine revival, a powerful presence of God that brought his glory to the forefront, it was always, always, at the center of it was a group of people who were devoted to prayer.

And prayer would begin to spread. That would empower people to preach with boldness. And then the preaching of boldness would lead to holy living, conviction of sin. And then that would lead to evangelism and mission work. And it is always that way. You can't point to a single movement where those things were not in place.

And we can say confidently that that was a movement of God. Again, I can't emphasize enough how important this is because it is a weak spot in the Western church as a whole, which we are a part of. There are certain parts of the world where the prayer is emphasized and right doctrine is not.

So they are in dire need of right teaching in many parts of the world where if you ask them what is the greatest need, they would say we need more teaching. In the Western church, not to say that the teaching, we have too much of the teaching, but I would say the weakness of the Western church is lack of prayer.

It is imperative that any movement of God, if it is not coupled, and if we can't pinpoint and say it's because we prayed, it's just an answer to prayer. That whatever success or whatever fruit that you see may be the beginning of your ruin. Because whatever success that you think, if you think that the church is growing because you've applied certain methods, or you have the right teachers, or you figured out something that the other people did not know, automatically you think, if I can apply this method, if I can apply this knowledge, if I can just teach more people this, that revival will break out.

So prayer is when the people of God recognizes that we are desperate for Him, and that's why His house is called, not a house of teaching, not a house of gathering, not a house of discipleship, but it's called house of prayer, but it's called house of prayer, first and foremost.

That until the people of God recognize that we are desperate, until we ignite Him, until we come to Him, everything that we do may actually end up hurting us. All the theology that you are learning may actually end up hurting you. All the teaching, all the disciplines, all the hard work may end up hurting you, because it will fill you with pride, because you think that you did it without God.

Prayer is at the heart of who we are. So anything that we do, any success that we experience without prayer, will ultimately lead to the downfall of ourselves and the church. Again, I can't emphasize enough, and I am not speaking in hyperbole. Look at the scripture. God will oftentimes bring hardship in our life deliberately, so that we can pray.

Anything good or bad that comes into our life, God's ultimate purpose is single. It's single-minded. He wants us to come to Him. That's His primary thing. Not to make sure that everybody's behaving a certain way, which is important, that everybody is thinking a certain way or talking a certain way.

Everything He does is to bring us to Him. So a church that does not pray, no matter how it looks on the outside, is in danger. This is the reason why I believe that the disciples, of all the things that they could have asked Jesus, I mean, think about what Jesus did.

He raised people from the dead. He walked on water. He fed the 5,000 miraculously. You know, of all the things that are recorded in the scripture where the disciples ask, He says, teach us how to pray. We're told in this text that they were asking because they remember that John the Baptist did this.

And so, as John did, Lord, teach us how to pray. And I think the reason why, one of the reasons why they asked is because the emphasis of Christ on prayer. You look at Jesus' life and how often He would break away in deep prayer before His Father. So the disciples were not unaware of this.

So where is He getting this power? He looks like us. He talks like us. He eats like us. But where is His power coming from? So I believe that in observation, they're looking at Jesus and saying, teach us how to pray. Not only that, there's an intimacy between Jesus and the Father that they did not understand.

So another reason why I believe that they were asking Jesus how to pray, they were basically asking Jesus, teach us how to get to the Father. Because prior to Christ, we had people who prayed, but they all had to pray in distance. Because in the old covenant, a sinner could not confidently come to His presence.

There was a natural fear that was in the midst of the community. So they saw this intimacy with Jesus that they probably didn't see with any other prophet or anything that they've read or anything that they've heard of. And looking at all the evidence of who He is, they probably asked Him, Lord, teach us how to pray.

So praying is this significant. No matter where you are in your walk with God, if the hardship that comes into your life doesn't lead to praying, something is wrong with your theology. If whatever you are passionate about, this needs to get out, this needs to change. But that doesn't lead you to first and foremost to get on your knees and cry out to God.

There's something wrong with your theology. If you want a movement of God, if you want to see revival happening, and that doesn't cause you to gather together, to be devoted to praying and fasting, there's something that is missing in your theology. It could easily be the work of our enemy to get you to get you to be distracted, thinking that somehow if you put your know-how, if you put your knowledge, if you put your effort, that something can happen.

That God was waiting for you to wake up. So first and foremost, we have to be a house of prayer. Before anything else, we have to be praying people. And because we recognize that this is a weakness of ours, we keep emphasizing this. Because this is not something that, oh, I hope we can get better.

We have to. There should be a sense of urgency. If I'm coming up here in every single week, I don't even open up the Bible, I think the complaints are going to come. You know, the word of God is not preparing. There's no word of God being taught, or it's not accurate.

There's going to be grumbling and complaining. Because you already know in your paradigm that the word of God has to be the center of the church. But there should also be equal concern and urgency when we are not praying in our lives and in the church. So we need to pray.

And we need to come before the Lord and ask Him the same question. Lord, how do you pray? Help me to become a better prayer warrior. I'm going to be looking at this text this morning. And a more fuller version, or complete version of this, is found in Matthew chapter 6.

But we're going to be focused on Luke's text. I believe that the Holy Spirit is the author, so it's not like, oh, this is not complete, so we need to find a complete version. There's a reason why the Holy Spirit chose to give us this version of it in the Gospel of Luke, so we're going to be focused on that.

One thing that we need to caution, before we even jump in, is that this is not, what Jesus is teaching here is not a prayer. Meaning that if you just say the right words, and if you just follow this, like what He says, that God's going to answer our prayers.

No, He's teaching us, He's not teaching us a prayer, right? He's teaching us a pattern of prayer. So what He is telling us is, these are the principles, these are the things that you need to know before you come to God in prayer. So this prayer can be divided into two parts.

There's a horizontal relationship with God, and then the second part of it is the, is a vertical relationship. Sorry, vertical, I got this wrong. Okay, vertical relationship with God, and then horizontal with other people, myself and with other people. We're going to be focused today on the vertical relationship, and then this Friday, when we have our praise and prayer, I'm going to be doing the part two of this in the horizontal relationship.

First and foremost, He begins by saying, pray, when you pray, say, Father, hallowed be your name. Now, right off the bat, if you know the Lord's Prayer, we know, everybody knows, Father, we address Him as Father. This is not a common way that a Jew would address God. So right off the bat, when Jesus says, pray to Him as Father, it would have stopped.

Wait, wait, wait, wait. You want us to call Him our Father? And it's not because the term Father was not used. In the Old Testament, God is addressed as Father, but always, 100% of the time, it was referred to as a nation, that He is the Father of Israel.

However, is it a personal, relational, personal reference to God? Only when you come to the New Testament, where we see a more personal reference to Him. The word Father, reference to God, in the Matthew, Mark, and Luke, is used 65 times, and in the Gospel of John, it is used 100 times.

In fact, Jesus exclusively uses the term Father when He addresses God. The only time that He does not use the reference Father to address God is when He's hanging on the cross, when He says, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Outside of that, 60 other times when He's referring to God, He always addresses Him as Father.

Now, why is this so important? Why is this so important? Because the way we talk to somebody is very different, depending on who they are in our lives. How a parent talks to the child is different than the way a child will talk to the parent. There are things that a parent can say to a child that a child cannot say to parents.

Somebody in authority, or maybe you're the boss. So, knowing who it is that we are speaking to, that we're not just imagining who we're talking to, that first and foremost, He's not just some beings, He's not some power that we're trying to tap into, that if we can somehow say the right words and do the right things, that we can get His power to come and to address our present situation.

He says, first and foremost, that it is our Father that we are addressing. Does that change anything? Of course it does. It changes radically. How my children address me and how just random people that I meet on the street address me is very different. There's things that they can ask that other people cannot ask.

If a random person comes, I don't know them, they say, can I borrow your car? Right? It's like, who are you? Are you going to get it back to me? You wouldn't ask that. A normal person wouldn't just ask a random person to do them a favor. My children can ask me that.

It's like, can I use the office? I have soda in my office. It's like, can I grab one? Of course you can grab one. First and foremost, He says, our salvation wasn't simply to prevent us from judgment. Although, that is a huge benefit, obviously. He says, He did it so that He can bring us and to become His children.

In John 1, 12 to 13, but as many as received, and to them He gave the right to become children of God. Not to simply be preserved from damnation, but to be children of God. Romans 8, 15. For you have not received the spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons and daughters, by which we cry, Abba, Father.

He's not just any father. He's Abba, Father. And I think many of you know that Abba is the Aramaic term for the word father, and it is an intimate word. Not just a father, but the father, my father. Abba, right? In many languages, the word Abba is used to refer to father.

I think it's because that's maybe the first sound, maybe that comes out of the mouth. You know what the Aramaic word for mother is? Uma. Yeah. So those of you who know Korean, right? It's Abba, Uma. It's the Aramaic term for father and mother. And it is a very intimate term.

So not only, He says, when you come to address Him, to recognize that this is a loving father. That you're addressing. Now, if you understand what He's trying to say here, first and foremost, right off the bat, when you come to Him, know that this is your father that you're coming to.

He's no longer way up in the distance. He's not just a being who's powerful, who can answer your prayers. But this is a father that gave His only begotten son to adopt you as His child. In Romans 8, 16, 17, the Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.

And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. That everything that belonged to Christ, He says, we become fellow heirs with Christ. Isn't that mind-blowing? He said, when Jesus Christ was crucified and was resurrected, He was the first fruit. Meaning that He paved the way that the path that He went, we're going to be following.

And as He was exalted, we will be exalted with Him. As He is the heir of God, He says, we will be co-heirs with Christ. And it is this Father, this Abba Father, that you are coming to address. Does that change the way that we speak to Him? Of course it does.

And that's why we can come to Him in confidence, because we're not just coming to a being. We're not just coming to a holy mountain. We're coming to our Father's house. He desires to listen to us. He wants to give us good things. He's not a schoolmaster who's saying that if you do all these right things, and if you get an A, then I'll give you what you want.

His default setting, because He is our Father, He desires what's good for you. Those of you who are parents know exactly what I'm talking about. And I don't think you need to be a parent to know this. What makes us that? The moment that you become a father or a mother, you know, what's the happiest thing that a newly parent experiences?

Like an infant getting up and, you know, cooking you something. Does that make you happy? You think that'll make you happy? Like one day if I invest in him, he's going to grow up, make a lot of money, and he's going to buy me a new car. Is that what's making you happy?

All the child does is say, ha, ha, ha, ha. It may just be gas, but whatever it is, just the fact that they're laughing, just the fact that they're happy makes you happy. Right? Yeah, it's just, you're just related. Because someone that you love is experiencing joy. Every mother, every father experiences that when a child comes.

That's a blessing of experiencing parenthood. So that's our Abba Father. That when you come to address Him, He, who did not spare His own son, but gave Him up for us all. How will He not along with Him? Give Him everything. If He loved you that much to make you His adopted children, and He's our Abba Father.

He tells us to call Him Abba Father. What does He mean by that, call Him Abba Father? Is it just, from now on, I want you to address me this way? Is that what He's saying? When He's saying, come, call me Abba Father. That's an invitation to come to me.

It's an expression of His love. I'm your Abba Father. I want to give what is best to you. That's what that means. That's why it says in Matthew 6, 26, He says, Look at the birds of the sky that do not sow, nor weep, nor gather crops into barns, and yet our Heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not much more important than they? In Matthew 7, 11, So if you, despite being evil, know how to give gifts to your children, how much more will your Father, who is in heaven, give good things to those who ask Him? He is desiring. And the only reason why He may not give you something is because it may be harmful to you.

He does not withhold anything good if it is actually good. It's just that sometimes we don't, we're not able to discern that it's good. And so He gives us good things. Before I became a Christian, somebody would ask me, like, do you believe in God? I would say, yes, I believe in God.

Because I grew up in the church. My dad was a pastor. My grandfather was a pastor. All my childhood memory was in the context of the church. But before I met Christ, if you asked me, do you believe in God? I would say, yes. But He was not my Abba Father.

There was no intimacy. There was no desire to go to Him. I just believed that something existed, that maybe when I die, I'm going to meet Him. That's about the extent of what I believed. But when I met Him, the first thing I remember is how dirty that I felt in His presence.

How dirty I was. And nobody told me. I knew I was a sinner. I just felt dirty. And then the second, that what overwhelmed me is His love. That despite this filthiness, that He is willing to cover over my sins, and that now this God, this being that I've always known existed, He loves me.

And He became my Abba Father. Not simply because of deep theological learning or something, some powerful message. it's just being in His presence. I recognize this. That's what changed me. And I'm pretty sure that's what changed you. He says, when you first come to Him, recognize He is your Abba Father.

It is not a duty. It is not to come to Him with a check-off list. He desires us. Oftentimes we don't pray because we feel like there's nothing urgent to pray. We didn't make a list of things that I need to pray for. So we go there, and I don't have anything to say.

So therefore, I don't pray. Imagine if the only time that you get together with a friend is if you have a list of agenda to cover. And you have this agenda that I've got to go through. Say, hey, Jack, let's meet together. And here's, number one, right? I need your help with my car.

Number two, I need your, I'm hungry. Can you feed me? And then number three, you know, I have these problems. Can you help me with this? And imagine if the only time that you met with a friend was because you have an agenda that you need to cover. You know, the people that you feel the most loved, the most comfortable with are people that you don't need to say anything.

You can be in the car, just be quiet the whole time. And just being with them, you know what I mean? Makes you happy. So I'm not saying that you come to prayer and you don't have to say anything. But oftentimes what prevents us from praying is because we don't know what to pray for.

He said, first and foremost, he says, he's your father. You don't have to have an agenda to be with your father. You don't have to be in trouble to be with your father. You don't have to have a list of things that you need to come and petition to be with your father because that's your father.

Your father will rejoice simply because you want to be with him. Remember he's your father. And then he says, as you address him as father, he says, hallowed be your name. Hallowed be your name. Hallowed basically means holy, honored, reverence. You know, as I mentioned, Hebrew is an Asian culture, right?

And Greek is a Western culture. So if you're Asian American, you kind of have the best of both worlds, right? You're able to understand. Although majority of you were born and raised in the United States, right? So you may understand the Western culture a little bit better. But understand that Hebrew and much of two-thirds of the Bible was written in the context of an Asian mindset, which is very honorific, right?

So he says, yes, he's your father, but he's your father. Recognize that he is your father. He's the holy, holy, holy God. Now, if we do one without the other, you're not going to have a correct understanding or relationship with God. So either you are in terror of God and you're afraid to go to him because you're afraid you're going to say the wrong things or do the wrong things, so therefore you kind of keep a distance.

Or you have the other end where you said God is just, you know, like mundane, just like everybody else. And I remember my first memory in the United States and, you know, I had a friend that I went over to his house and this man came to the house and my friend, I remember because he was my first friend when I came to the United States, it was Robert Pankos.

And this man walked into the house and he said, hey, David. He said, what are we having for dinner? So I don't know who this man is and he walks in. I said, who's that guy? He said, oh, that's my dad. That's your dad? You just called him David?

He said, yeah, no. He said, he doesn't mind? He said, no. Now, I know that even in the Western culture, that's not natural. That's not necessarily normal, right? But if you say that in an Asian culture, I mean, forget dinner. Yeah, you're going to be punished, right? Because you don't address your dad like that.

Hey, dad. Or, hey, John. Right? Because in an Asian culture, it's more for the purpose of honor. Yes, it doesn't mean that you don't have a love relationship. It doesn't mean that there's no intimacy. It just means that in that culture, there is honor that is attached to the father.

So here it's saying, yes, he is your father, but recognize who he is. And if you have one or the other, one will cause you to have fear when you don't go to him. The other one is just too casual. You know, like, I remember, and I told you, and this is, again, outdated, but, you know, Fonzie on happy days, and whenever he would praise, hey, hey, God, me and him are like this.

You see some rappers coming up, and they win an award, and it's like, hey, you know, and their songs are filled with debauchery. There are all kinds of colorful words that are coming out of their mouth, but, yeah, me and God are like this. Sometimes the Western church doesn't recognize doesn't recognize who God is.

He's become, it's become so casual in the way we address him. We just want them to say, hey, you know, we're lying down, hey, God, what's up? I remember going to prayer chapel and seeing my friends praying like that, it's just kind of like, how do you pray like that, you know?

This is God of the universe that we are addressing. He said, hallowed be his name. Recognize who he is. In fact, if we don't recognize the honor and the weightiness of who it is that we have this relationship with, it will affect the way that we live. It will affect the way that we worship.

It affects the way that we even pray. In Leviticus chapter 10, verse 3, after giving instructions on how to come to, how does a sinful man have a relationship with this God, gave all these orders to do this, and then the very first sacrifice that is given by Nadab and Nebihu, they ignore the rules and they just put up strange fire, strange offering, and then as a result of that, they are consumed with fire, and this is what God says.

Leviticus 10, 3, then Moses said to Aaron, it is what the Lord spoke, saying, by those who came near me, I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored. So Aaron, therefore, kept silent. Now you look at that and say, oh, is he egotistical?

He said, I will be honored among my people. Is it egotistical for a father to demand his child to show some respect? Is that egotistical? Of course not. It would be weird if you see a child just slapping his dad, calling him whatever he wants him to call. He's like, what?

What's wrong with that kid? He said, in order to have a healthy relationship with God, we need to know that yes, he is our father. He loved us. Gave his only begotten son for us, and yet he is the God of gods and king of kings and lord of lords.

He's still that holy, holy, holy God. in Numbers 20, 12, as they are about to enter into the promised land, the Israelites are grumbling and complaining again, and Moses, in his anger, what should I do with them? And God is patient. He says, just give it to them. Instead of following what God said, he strikes the rock, water comes out, and then as a result of that, he gets punished and he's not, Moses is not allowed to get into the promised land.

So what happened there? What did he do wrong? Well, God explains in Numbers 20, 12. Lord said to Moses and Aaron, because you have not believed me to treat me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.

What was his sin? You did not present me as holy. It is a mistake for the church to make God the beggar. When we're present in the gospel, give Jesus a chance. We're the ones who offended him. He is a holy, holy, holy God. And so the way that we do church, the way that we understand the Bible study, the way that we even evangelize, it must be God-centered.

we are presenting the king. Yes, he is our father, but he is the king of kings and Lord of lords. Well, how do we reconcile these two things where we're able to see both? I think Hebrews chapter 4, 16 does a perfect job of that because after explaining to us how the throne of grace has been opened, he invites us in Hebrews 4, 16, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

The whole point of our salvation is to have an open door to God now that people could not go to him, but now he said not only is the door open, he invites us to come because the whole benefit of our salvation is now we have open access to our father's throne.

So if you celebrate, oh, I'm not going to be judged, you missed the whole point because that's just a benefit, but the real gift is God himself because he's the author of life. All peace, joy, safety, life, hope is in Christ. And now we were alienated from all of that because we have been adopted children and he is our Abba father, he says, come to the throne of grace with confidence when you have trouble.

But the key to understanding this text is that we are coming to the throne of grace. The throne of grace. Yes, it is a place of grace and mercy, but it is his throne that we're coming to. And if we ever forget one or the other, it will hinder us from having an intimate relationship with him.

hallowed be your name. And then he says, your kingdom come. Again, in the Matthew it says, your kingdom come. And he further says, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The central teaching of Christ was about his kingdom. It's about restoring his kingdom. John the Baptist says, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Jesus comes on the scene, says, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. majority of the parables that Jesus taught was about the kingdom of God. After he died, resurrects, before he ascended to the father's right hand, he spent 40 days, and it says in the book of Acts that he talked about his kingdom.

Right before he ascends, the disciples ask, is it now are you going to restore the kingdom? So the central message of the gospel is about the kingdom of God. So when we come to him in prayer, he says to pray for his kingdom. And so when we come to pray for his kingdom, we naturally understand that we surrender our kingdom.

And that's the problem of mankind is because we are living to establish our kingdom. And oftentimes even in the church, we're so consumed with our kingdom, our church, our name, that when revival breaks out somewhere else, we're not as interested because our name is not attached. I remember when we were doing homeless ministry and churches would hear that we're out there and they would ask me, can you help us to establish our homeless ministry?

And I would say, you know, what day do you want to come out? I said, can we come out on Tuesday? Well, Tuesday, there's two churches out there and they're already feeding. So it wouldn't make sense for you to set up your church and then compete with them. And they said, well, what about Saturday?

Well, Saturday morning this other church comes out and they establish and they even have service. How about Sunday morning? Well, this Sunday morning there's a big mega church that comes out and they have service and they have great food. So you can probably go and join them in their work.

But almost always the response I got from them is, no, we want our church. We want to do it in our church name. I said, you know, there's a church coming out and feeding almost every single day. So, you know, they're always struggling to find more people to help.

So instead of going out, you know, why don't you just join them, show up, and then just help with the service. Maybe whatever food you're going to bring, just add to the table that they're doing. But almost always the response was, no, we want our church. We want to say our church is doing that.

Now, I don't want to read more into that than necessary, but oftentimes even the way that we do God's work, we get so caught up in our kingdom. In Galatians 2.20 it says, I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

In the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. Paul wasn't simply stating a theological position. He was describing his life. And that's why here's this man who lost everything because of Christ.

Even as he's sitting in prison, he said, I'm ready to go. He wasn't begging to live longer. Lord, pray for me so that I can get out of this jail in Philippians. He's not praying for that. He's writing a letter, concerned, that maybe they'll forget because of his suffering that they may be concerned.

He said, no, don't worry about me. I'm ready to go. I've been crucified with Christ. If you're asking me, if I'm being selfish, I'm dead already, so my life is going to begin when I meet Christ. I'm ready to go. But for your sake, I'll stick around a little bit longer.

He wasn't describing a theological position. He was describing his life. Again, in Colossians 3, 3, 4, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. You know, we have so many biographies of great Christians in the last 2,000 years.

We have biographies of Puritans. We have biographies of Jonathan Edwards, biographies of people in our generation, Amy Carmichael, Hudson Taylor. We know so much about their life. But you know whose biographies that we don't have? None of the apostles. We don't know anything about them outside of what they did in the New Testament.

There are no biographies written about Apostle Paul, Peter, John. These people gave their life. Crucified upside down, was beaten, torn apart. Nothing written about them. It just, they just did their job, pointed to Christ, and they just went home. So all we know about them is what they said about Jesus.

That's all we know. There's no biographies written about them. Because when Paul said, I have been crucified, that's what happened to him. Whatever he was pursuing, whatever reputation, whatever comfort and ease, whatever kingdom he was pursuing, was crucified. And now he was pursuing his kingdom. See, when we repent, we're not repenting of a deed, simply.

Oh, I used to lie, I used to steal. I said, yes, that's part of it. repentance is basically turning from abandoning your kingdom. I've been living my life to establish my kingdom, and now I surrender to you as my Lord. That's what justifies us. He covers us, not simply a deed.

Colossians 1.13, it says, for he rescued us from the domain of darkness, the kingdom of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. We have been transferred from one kingdom to another kingdom. He didn't deliver us so that we can build our kingdom.

You know, before when we were in the domain of darkness, we had an enemy who was trying to devour us, but now that we have been delivered from that, now you can go and live to establish your kingdom. That's not what he says. He delivered us from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of his beloved son.

That's why he says in Matthew 630, seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you. You know what a lot of people do with this text? That is, if you would just make God first, right? If you would just give first, then all these things will be added to you.

You know what that's called? That's the health and wealth gospel. When the health and wealth gospel people preach, they always demand sacrifice, give, because he's going to multiply 30, 60, 100 fold. If you sacrifice and give, and it may be hard now, but maybe five years from now, maybe ten years from maybe when you retire, he's going to add all these things.

So they have in mind that I'm going to labor and I'm going to work, I'm going to sacrifice, because the payoff is going to come at some point, because God can give me much more than I can possibly earn without him. And so our desire to pursue our own kingdom has never been surrendered.

It's just that how we get that, we think Jesus is a better way. That's a health and health gospel. That's not what he is saying here. He says seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things, all these things that you're concerned about, that you're going to be taking care of, your safety, your refuge, that all these things that causes you to covet all of that, that God will fulfill, God will provide.

At the end of the day, it is not if we're righteous and if we sacrifice, we're able to get what we covet in the world. It's when you come to realize that righteousness is the gift. That Christ is not simply an avenue, but he is the life. And that's why he says I am the way, I am the life, right?

I am the truth, I am the vine, I am the shepherd, I am the bread of life, I am the vine. In 1 Timothy 6, 5-7 it says, and through constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain, but godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.

what does he mean by that? He says, when you recognize that godliness is the gift, godliness is the gift, the joy and the peace that comes when God restores what he intended for us to be and we become the person that he created us to be, that that's where life, joy, peace, safety, and hope comes from.

It is not simply the open door. It is the open door and what it leads to. To him. Again, in James 4, 1, 2, 3, what is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? It's not the source of your pleasures that wage war in your members. You lust and do not have, so you commit murder.

You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and you quarrel. It's because you have set before your mind your own kingdom. And when your own kingdom is somehow hindered and you're not satisfied because you have a dream of one day having this, that, or the other thing and it is this frustration that you have that is not met which is what's causing the conflict with your brothers and sisters.

you do not have because you did not ask. You know, you know enough theology to not to ask for a Lamborghini. You know enough theology to not to ask for a mansion. So you do not pray because I can't pray for these things. This is what's in my heart.

So I can't pray. So he says, but when you do pray, you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives so that you spend it on your pleasure. In other words, he said, I can't answer you because if I answered your prayer, it would destroy you. These are the things that I was trying to save you from.

I'm not a better avenue so that you can have access to the things that I saved you from. It is when we come to recognize the treasure of Christ himself. Christ himself. That's why he allows suffering in your life. Because if suffering leads to affection for Christ, that suffering is good.

if hardship, if financial difficulty leads you to treasure, to be able to see the treasure in Christ, then what he did was good because the ultimate gift is Christ himself. So when we ask for his kingdom, we're not simply like, oh, I have all these desires and I got to give all, I got to make all these sacrifices in order to make him Lord.

and so when we are holding on to our kingdom and trying to establish him as Lord, we say it's sacrifice. It is tremendous sacrifice. It's tremendous sacrifice. But just as Jesus said in Hebrew, because of the joy set before him, he endured the cross. Because of the joy set before him, he endured the cross.

when we recognize the gift is his kingdom. The gift is his kingdom. The problem that we have is that we don't recognize the treasure we already have. In Matthew 13, 44-46, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field which a man found and hid again.

And from joy over it, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Do you think that man was sacrificing? why he sacrificed everything for this treasure. And he struggled with this sacrifice. He struggled man, I got to sacrifice everything I have to have this treasure.

It's only a sacrifice if he doesn't recognize the treasure. What he's doing, if other people found out what he had, they would all do the same thing. He's keeping it quiet because he doesn't want other people to know the treasure because he wants to sell it, so he wants to have everything.

He said that's what kingdom of heaven is like. So at the core of everything that we do and why we pray is because we understand the treasure of the kingdom of God. Again, in verse 45, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls. And upon finding the pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought.

And he bought it. And that's what it says in Corinthians, the God of this age has blinded the eyes of the unbeliever so that he did not see the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ because he did not see the beauty of the gospel. He remains hidden and blind.

So a Christian is somebody where our eyes, the scales have been taken out and we see his glory. We see his beauty. We see the treasure of his righteousness. We see the treasure of his kingdom. And I want that more than anything else in this world. that's the basis of our prayer.

Not duty. Not a list of things that I need to get done. But it's a gift. It's a gift. Abba, Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The kingdom come means that Jesus, the king, is established. you know, I've been living my life worried so much that I'm going to be dethroned.

And I volunteer. I'm so tired. I'm so tired of competing. I'm so tired of being worried. I'm so tired that things aren't going to turn out the way it is. I'm just so tired. Lord, let your kingdom come. You take over. The kingdom come means all your enemies are driven out.

When the king of kings and Lord of lords comes in and he takes his authority, he takes his throne, that means there's no other kings, no other power, no other authority can bother you. That's what it means by the king. We live so anxiously being concerned about all our enemies, like what they're doing, how they're doing things, and the decisions that they're making.

He says, no, when his kingdom comes, all other enemies are driven out. Because there's no king, there's no authority that can stand up against him. So Lord, I'm so tired about being worried about our enemies. Lord, let your kingdom come. To ask for his kingdom come means that all that has gone wrong is made right.

Because that's why sin came in. Because Adam and Eve wanted to usurp the authority of God, and they wanted to touch his glory, and that's what caused everything to break apart. And sin and death began to reign over for all mankind. So to establish his kingdom is to restore us back.

Restore us back to what God intended under his kingdom to bring us back into Sabbath. So to ask for his kingdom to come is to restore all that has gone wrong. Lord, I'm so tired. I'm so tired of being anxious about what my life is going to turn out to be if I make the wrong decision.

I'm so tired that my job is not going to turn out to be a certain way. I'm so tired that I'm not going to have enough money for retirement. I'm so tired. I'm so concerned and anxious over so many things. Lord, let your kingdom come. Let your kingdom come.

Lord, you take over. You take over. our father, my Abba father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That's the beginning. That's the beginning. That's why we pray. Not because we need to get something done. Not because we need to conquer the world.

But because at the center, at the center of the will of God and in his presence is life. True life. Not through him, but him. So that's what prayer is. Come to the throne of grace with confidence. let's pray. Let's pray. Gracious and loving father, help us Lord God to not to leave this worship with more knowledge.

But I pray that this knowledge would lead to greater intimacy and communion with you. Knowing father God that you desire to have us, to commune with us, to express our love for you, to know that we are the safest, the most protected, the most hopeful when you are our king and you are our lord.

Open our eyes Lord God that we may see the beauty of what we already have in you, that we would desire you more than anything else in this world. in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Let's all stand up for the closing praise. Let's all stand up for the closing praise.

praise. sing, He who was He who was before there was love walked across the pages of time He who made every living beholden He who heard humanity's cry left his throne to wake as a drown He became like the least of us beholden Jesus Son of God Messiah The Lamb The Roaming Lion Though we still beholden He who died with sinners and saints Healed the blind the lost and the lame Even now He is in our ways Behold Him He who chose a criminal then Paid with blood to settle our debt Buried death as He rose to life Behold Him Jesus Son of God Messiah The Lamb the roaring fire Oh, be still, behold you Jesus, Alpha and Domain Our God, the risen Savior Oh, be still, behold you Holy, holy, holy Is the Lord God Almighty Worthy, worthy, worthy To receive all praise Holy, holy, holy Is the Lord God Almighty Worthy, worthy, worthy To receive all praise Holy, holy, holy Is the Lord God Almighty Worthy, worthy, worthy Worthy, worthy To receive all praise Jesus, Son of Bethlehem Jesus, Son of Bethlehem The Lamb, the Roman Lion Oh, be still, behold you Jesus, Alpha and Domain God, the risen Savior Oh, be still, behold you Let's pray Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling And to make you stand in the presence of His glory Blameless with great joy To the only God our Savior Through Jesus Christ our Lord Be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority Before all time and now and forever Amen Thank you.

To read by my heart An empty grave is there too I save your lives As He bears I can face to love Because He is All fear is gone Because I know He holds the future And life is worth the living Just because He feels All fear is worth the living

Sunday Service 3/23/25

Transcript