(soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) - All right, good morning church family, and happy Lord's Day.
As always, it is such a privilege and such a joy for us to gather together to worship our God, and to hear his word this morning, and praise God because of Christ, because of what he has done, that we can come and gather, we can have access to the living God.
And so as we come this morning to sing and to worship, let us come with reverence and with joy, as we remember, as we proclaim, as we make much of his greatness, his kindness and mercy towards us, and his amazing grace. So would you join us this morning as we begin with worship?
(soft music) (soft music) ♪ Jesus Lord of heaven ♪ ♪ I do not deserve ♪ ♪ The grace that you have given ♪ ♪ For the promise of your word ♪ ♪ Lord I stand and wonder ♪ ♪ At the sacrifice you made ♪ ♪ With mercy beyond measure ♪ ♪ My debt you freely pay ♪ ♪ Your love is deeper ♪ ♪ Than any ocean higher ♪ ♪ Than the heavens reaching ♪ ♪ Beyond the stars in the sky ♪ ♪ Jesus your love has no bound ♪ ♪ Jesus your love has no bound ♪ ♪ Jesus Lord of heaven ♪ ♪ Oh I do not deserve ♪ ♪ The grace that you have given ♪ ♪ For the promise of your word ♪ ♪ Lord I stand and wonder ♪ ♪ At the sacrifice you made ♪ ♪ With mercy beyond measure ♪ ♪ My debt you freely pay ♪ ♪ Your love is deeper ♪ ♪ Than any ocean higher ♪ ♪ Than the heavens reaching ♪ ♪ Beyond the stars in the sky ♪ ♪ Oh your love is deeper ♪ ♪ Than any ocean higher ♪ ♪ Than the heavens reaching ♪ ♪ Beyond the stars in the sky ♪ ♪ Jesus your love has no bound ♪ ♪ Jesus your love has no bound ♪ ♪ Jesus your love has no bound ♪ ♪ Jesus your love has no bound ♪ ♪ No bound ♪ - All right, good morning.
Welcome to Bryn Community Church. We have actually quite a few announcements before we get started. So let me get started by, there's going to be a change in parking. So right now we have designated across the street the Lyon parking as like family parking, but we're gonna be switching that to family parking to be behind us.
The Kimco parking, that's attached to our building behind us. And this is for families with small children. So if your children are already grown up and married, that doesn't count. So for families who have small children that you have to put them in strollers or you're kind of hard to kind of cross the street, again, we're doing this so that we try to minimize the traffic of young children crossing the street.
So it'll be here, so it'll be easier. For safety reasons, we're doing that. So if you are a young adult or you're married, but your children are grown up, or if you have bad knees, I mean, you'll be okay for that, okay? But otherwise, we're gonna be reserving that for young families with small children, and then the other parking will be open for everybody else.
So just keep that in mind, starting from next Sunday. So our parking volunteers are gonna be directing traffic over there. So if they ask you, if you're, again, family with young children, they'll probably direct you to that parking lot over there. This coming Saturday, we have Men's Ministry Fellowship.
That's happening at 9 a.m. Typically, a lot of times, a lot of the men kind of sign up last minute, maybe something's going on, and you don't know yet, but because we need to order food and meat, and we have our sisters are volunteering to cook the food for us, and so they need a solid number of how many people are coming.
So if you haven't signed up and you're planning to come or you're able to come, please sign up by today. We need to put you in groups, and we need to make sure that we order enough food for the people that are coming. So please sign up by today, if possible, so that we'll know to be able to have that number.
So this coming Saturday at 9 a.m. in the cafe, okay? Family Ministry Community Groups, that's gonna be starting next Sunday. So if you haven't signed up, it's an opportunity to just-- to fellowship with other family members, and you'll be teamed up with two or three other families, and you'll be assigned to kind of go out and fellowship with them.
It's happening September 10th, October 8th, November 5th. So if you haven't signed up, you want to sign up, please sign up for that. Jubilee Group--so if you are 50 or older, this ministry is for you, Jubilee, and Elder Phillip is in charge of that. On September 17th, 2020-- at 2023--12:45 p.m.
I'm just reading what's here. 12:45 p.m., so there's gonna be a lunch fellowship happening after service, so if you haven't signed up for that, please sign up for that. So if you're 50 and over, this ministry is for you. Next, membership class is happening on September 10th, and so if you are planning to take the membership class at church, it's an 8-week course that takes place at 9 o'clock on Sunday morning, and it goes over the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, ministry philosophy of our church.
You'll be able to interact with the leaders of our church 'cause they all take turns teaching different classes. So if you are planning to become a member, this is the class that you'll need to sign up. So I think today is the last day for the last session for the membership class, and then the new one is gonna be starting on October 1st, okay?
All right, I got just a few more. BBA--so Borean Basketball Association-- so that's starting up again, so if you are planning to play, the sign-ups are starting today. I think there is a table set up outside today and then all the way up to next Sunday and then Sunday after.
You have three Sundays to sign up, and the first day is gonna start on October 1st, okay? And that's happening--I forget what time it is, but it's happening on Sunday evenings, around 4 or 5 o'clock, and then those of you who have bad knees or you have bad back or you're just not good, there's a half-court tournament for you as well, so if you just want to come and fellowship, you don't have to be that good.
It's a great opportunity to kind of interact with other brothers and sisters. There is a separate league for the sisters. I got yelled at for not mentioning them, so I want to make sure. Ashley, I'm mentioning it, okay? So you can sign up, whether you're sisters or brothers, if you want to just come and just have fun, and even if you don't play, it's a great opportunity to come and interact with brothers and sisters, and it's a quick way to kind of get to know more people.
So that's happening on Sunday afternoons, and so the sign-ups are beginning today. I forgot to mention this for the first service, but our India trip medical missions is confirmed. The dates are confirmed that it's gonna be January 26th to February 3rd, okay? So we already have a lot of returning people who are coming, so it's just--we only have a few more spots open, so if you're interested, and you probably need to tell me as soon as possible, because we don't have that many spots.
I just wanted to open it up to you, let you know that they're taking it. You do not have to be a doctor in the medical field. They do need assistance in other things. If you happen to be an eye doctor, eye doctor in particular, I think there is-- we would need more of that, but outside of that, you're welcome to sign up, and again, if you do sign up and you've already signed up, you'll probably be getting an email from me sometime this week to set up our first meeting, so I'm just giving you a heads-up for that, okay?
One last thing. As I mentioned last week, we have the Korean orphaned children. Technically, they're not orphaned, but we're gonna, for the sake of clarity, identify them. That group is coming in this Thursday, and then our college department is kind of heading that up, and they're gonna be taking care of them and assisting them while they're here, and then they're gonna be leaving on Saturday.
So we won't be able to physically meet them, but as I mentioned before, this is a group of kids, about 50, 55 of them, who are supported by the government out in Korea, and it barely pays for the workers, just room and board, and that's about it, and as I mentioned last week, when we asked them, you know, in what way can we help out, and basically the director said, you know, "These kids have never eaten out before, "so just taking them out to eat or getting a hamburger "would be a huge treat for them." So that kind of gives you an idea that the limitations that they have because of funds.
So we are collecting offering for them so that they can use for after-school programs or even if it's just to do something extracurricular outside of just going to school. So if you have a heart to give, make sure when you're giving that you designate that specifically for the orphan that's coming, and then we'll make sure that that goes to them when they show up, okay?
So let me pray for us and give you a minute to give your offering, and then, again, those of you who brought physical offering, there's a box in the back on the way out, all right? Let me pray for us. Father, we thank you so much for your patience, your love, your sacrifice.
Lord, it truly is beyond comprehension how much patience, Lord God, that you have toward us. Help us, Lord God, to recognize the gift that we have in you so that our worship would be an overflow of gratitude in our hearts. Help us, Lord, whether it's in giving, singing, worshiping, whatever it is that we're doing, that it would be an expression of all the things that you've already done, a recognition of who you are, and our great desire, Lord God, to meet you face to face.
So we pray that you would multiply this giving, multiply these funds, Lord God. May it be used to maximize the spreading of your gospel and your glory. We thank you, Father, in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. (piano music) (piano music) (piano music) (piano music) (piano music) (piano music) (piano music) (piano music) (piano music) - Psalm 100, shout joyfully to the Lord all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord himself is God. It is he who has made us and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name.
For the Lord is good. His loving kindness is everlasting and his faithfulness to all generations. Church family, would you please stand as we continue our worship and to give thanks. (piano music) (piano music) (piano music) (piano music) (piano music) - Your glorious cause. ♪ Your glorious cause, oh God ♪ ♪ Engages our hearts ♪ ♪ May Jesus Christ be known ♪ ♪ Wherever we are ♪ ♪ We ask not for ourselves ♪ ♪ But for your renown ♪ ♪ The cross has saved us so we pray ♪ ♪ Your kingdom come ♪ ♪ Let your kingdom come ♪ ♪ Let your will be done ♪ ♪ So that everyone might know your name ♪ ♪ Let your song be heard ♪ ♪ Everywhere on earth ♪ ♪ Tell your song and work on earth is done ♪ ♪ Let your kingdom come ♪ - Give us your strength.
♪ Give us your strength, oh God ♪ ♪ Your courage to speak ♪ ♪ Perform your wondrous deeds ♪ ♪ Through those who are weak ♪ ♪ Lord use us as you want ♪ ♪ Whatever the test ♪ ♪ Our grace will preach your gospel to ♪ ♪ Our dying brethren ♪ ♪ Let your kingdom come ♪ ♪ Let your will be done ♪ ♪ So that everyone might know your name ♪ ♪ Let your song be heard ♪ ♪ Everywhere on earth ♪ ♪ Tell your song and work on earth is done ♪ ♪ Let your kingdom come ♪ ♪ Let your kingdom come ♪ ♪ Let your will be done ♪ ♪ So that everyone might know your name ♪ ♪ Let your song be heard ♪ ♪ Everywhere on earth ♪ ♪ Tell your song and work on earth is done ♪ ♪ Let your kingdom come ♪ ♪ Let your kingdom come ♪ ♪ Let your will be done ♪ ♪ So that everyone might know your name ♪ ♪ Let your song be heard ♪ ♪ Everywhere on earth ♪ ♪ Tell your song and work on earth is done ♪ ♪ Let your kingdom come ♪ ♪ Let your kingdom come ♪ (gentle music) (gentle music) ♪ Christ the sure and steady anchor ♪ ♪ In the fury of the storm ♪ ♪ When the winds of doubt blow through me ♪ ♪ And my sins have all been torn ♪ ♪ In the suffering and the sorrow ♪ ♪ When my sinking hopes are few ♪ ♪ I will hold fast to the anchor ♪ ♪ It shall never be removed ♪ ♪ Christ the sure and steady anchor ♪ ♪ While the tempest rages on ♪ ♪ When temptation claims the battle ♪ ♪ And it seems the night has won ♪ ♪ It bursts still and holds the anchor ♪ ♪ Though I justly stand accused ♪ ♪ I will hold fast to the anchor ♪ ♪ It shall never be removed ♪ (gentle music) ♪ Christ the sure and steady anchor ♪ ♪ Through the floods of unbelief ♪ ♪ Help us somehow, oh my soul now ♪ ♪ Lift your eyes to Calvary ♪ ♪ It's my baddest of assurance ♪ ♪ See His love forever through ♪ ♪ I will hold fast to the anchor ♪ ♪ It shall never be removed ♪ ♪ It shall never be removed ♪ (gentle music) ♪ Christ the sure ♪ ♪ Christ the sure and steady anchor ♪ ♪ As we face the wave of death ♪ ♪ When these trials give way to glory ♪ ♪ As we draw our final breath ♪ ♪ We will cross that great horizon ♪ ♪ Arms behind and life secure ♪ ♪ And our power be the banner ♪ ♪ For the storms that we endure ♪ ♪ Christ the sure of our salvation ♪ ♪ Ever faithful, ever true ♪ ♪ We will hold fast to the anchor ♪ ♪ It shall never be removed ♪ ♪ Christ the sure of our salvation ♪ ♪ Ever faithful, ever true ♪ ♪ We will hold fast to the anchor ♪ ♪ It shall never be removed ♪ - Amen, you may be seated.
- If you can turn your Bible with me to Luke chapter six. I was thinking that we're gonna be finishing up today, but I think I didn't finish for the first service, so most likely not today either. But next week for sure, we'll be wrapping up our series in the 12 disciples.
Let me read from verse 12 to 16. It was at this time that he went off to the mountain to pray and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples to him and chose 12 of them whom he also named as apostles.
Simon whom he also named Peter and Andrew, his brother, and James and John and Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Aphaeus, Simon who was called the zealot, Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor. Let's pray. Father, give us insight, not only of your mind, but your heart.
Help us, Lord God, to glean all that you have intended in these words. Help us to learn, help us to be challenged, rebuked, to be sobered and encouraged. That we may continue to worship you in spirit and in truth. Guide us and lead us by your word and by your spirit.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen. I think within the last few years, I think, without mentioning names, I think many of us, if you've been paying attention, there's a lot of people who have been huge figures in the Christian faith. And some of their faith have fallen out because of backsliding, adultery, sexual sin, and some just kind of walked away from their faith.
If you're a new Christian, the thought of somebody who had such influence and to just fall from their faith, it may be shocking to you. Those of you who've been around for a while, you've been a Christian for 10, 15, 20, 30 years, you probably have many stories, like I do, people that you've known, maybe some people that you've looked up to.
Maybe it was a former pastor, a small group leader, who's no longer walking with God, and you may have asked, how could that happen to him? What happened? Why did this happen? Were they true believers to begin with? You know, one of the most shocking statements that Jesus made during his ministry, at least to me, in Matthew 7, 21 to 23, he warned, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' "will enter the kingdom of heaven, "but he who does the will of my Father, "Father who is in heaven, will enter." And then in verse 22, he says, "Many will say to me on that day." Not just a few, he said, "Many will say to me on that day, "'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy?'" These aren't just Christians who are sitting in the back, who kind of, you know, when the judgment day comes, like, I knew it, I knew he was going to church, and he did this and that, but there was clear evidence that they weren't believers, and they were just going through the motions.
That's not who he's referring to. He's referring to people calling him, "Lord, Lord." They prophesied in his name, and in your name, cast out demons. So these were not just average Christians. These were probably leaders. Cast out demons, and in your name, perform many miracles. I mean, today, if you saw somebody perform a miracle, casting out demons, preaching the gospel, you would automatically think, "Clearly, that's anointed man of God, "and God's doing great work through him." And yet, he says, in verse 23, "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you.'" Despite all of that, he says, "I never knew you.
"Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness." I remember the first time I came across this text, and I read this over and over and over again, because I couldn't understand, how can somebody who was prophesying, performing, casting out demons, performing miracles, preaching the gospel, and yet, he never knew him?
None of that had anything to do with me. What a scary thought to be in this position. And obviously, this would include missionaries. This would include pastors and leaders. If it includes them, obviously, it would include all of you. Like, after all of that, he says, "I never knew you." The greatest example of this passage is Judas.
Of the 12 that were handpicked by Christ, Judas ended up selling Christ for 30 pieces of silver. We don't know a whole lot about Judas, his family background. Anytime somebody does something horrific, you want to study what their background, what did they believe before. There's not a whole lot that is stated about his background.
The only thing that we know is that he was the only one that didn't come from the Galilee region. So he was the only one who was an outsider out of the 12. Other than that, there's nothing that you could have seen coming. There's some clear evidence that this guy was going to betray Christ.
Judas, after the effect, after looking at it, every time you see a list of the disciples, Peter is always number one, and Judas is always the last one. And whenever Judas is mentioned, it always qualifies, "This is the one who betrayed Christ." To clearly identify what happened to him.
And it serves as a warning to anyone who studies the Gospels, that even an apostle of Christ that was handpicked by Christ, at the end of his life, he ended up betraying him, and then selling him out for 30 pieces of silver. In fact, the very last thing that the Bible says about Judas in Acts 1.18, that after he betrays him, sees his master crucified, he feels guilty.
And as a result of that, it says, "He hung himself, and then after he hung himself, he fell to the ground, and his entrails gushed out." That's the last statement of him. It doesn't tell us that he felt bad, and went, and wept, and repented, and Jesus restored him.
The very last statement of Judas is, "He hung himself, and his intestines just gushed out." The end. And we never hear from him again. So the natural question is, what caused him to betray Christ? Why did he do this? Why was he chosen? Why was he among them? Why did Jesus tolerate this?
I mean, I think the reason why this is so important to us, because I don't know about you, but when I read this, the reason why it disturbed me, is how am I going to know for sure? How do I know? If somebody that was hand-picked by Christ, how would I know that this isn't me?
Some of the things that I'm going to say, I'm already giving you a heads-up. So far, we've been talking about the 12 disciples, and for the most part, they were regular men. In fact, many of them are sinners. They made huge mistakes. These are not people you can say, "Oh, these are the reasons why they picked him." In fact, exactly the opposite.
Their weaknesses, God touches them, Jesus touches them, and then uses them in a mighty way. And so it's very encouraging that God can use somebody like Matthew, or Simon the Zealot, or regular fishermen, and say, "Oh, if God can use them, God can use us." I'm giving you a heads-up today that this is going to be a heavy message, because Judas is given to us as a warning.
If somebody who was in the position of Judas could end up doing what he did, and to be in judgment for eternity, how can we be sure that that's not us? How can we be sure? Well, there's five things that I want to point out here, and I'm probably not going to get to all of them today, and I want to take some time, instead of just rushing through these points, I think each one of these points are important enough, and I'm going to tell you that at the end of the sermon, some of you are going to say, "Man, this guy, I'm not sure if I want to come to this church.
It's too heavy. This guy makes us feel bad every time." Some of you are going to be disturbed, and you're going to be disturbed because the truth, in my opinion, is going to disturb you. There's five things that I want to point out, why he betrayed Christ. Number one, it's clear that he was not a believer.
He was not a believer. I mean, we know that very clearly. We see how his life ends. He was in the church. He was there when Jesus turned the water into wine. You know, how many of us think that if Jesus would just reveal himself, if he would speak to me, or if he opened up the heaven and said, "I'm for real," or if he saw a genuine miracle that happened right in front of us, you know, maybe some of us are thinking that, "Then I could really believe.
Maybe my faith would get to the next level if I can experience some of this." Judas had front row seats to every miracle that Jesus performed. Changing of the water, he saw Jesus calming the storm. He was right there, and he distributed the bread and the fish for $5,000 and then to $4,000.
He saw Jesus walking on the water, catching loads of fish. In fact, right before, a few days before Judas betrays Jesus, he was an eyewitness of the resuscitation or raising of Lazarus. He saw somebody that he knew who died, and Jesus raised him from the dead. He was an eyewitness of that.
You would think that that would be enough for him to surrender his life and believe and follow Christ like the rest of the disciples. But even the raising of Lazarus was not enough. Isn't that a scary thought? In fact, the question that we have, how can somebody who saw everything that he saw, how can somebody who was that close to all of his miracles end up doing what he did?
That's hard to believe because you and I would naturally think that if we were part of that, I mean, what other option did you have than to believe and surrender and to follow him? But Judas did not. In fact, in Luke 9, 1-2, when Jesus sends out the disciples, this is what he says, "And he called the twelve together and gave them the power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing." Not only did he witness that, the scripture says that Jesus gave him authority.
He actually experienced healing himself. He healed people. He cast out demons while he was preaching the gospel. Not only did he see it, he actually practiced it. And yet he denied Christ and did what he did. Isn't that a scary thought? And you automatically think, well, if somebody became a pastor and you went to seminary and spent all that time to preach the gospel, like clearly he must be a man of God.
I mean, compared to Judas, I mean, we didn't experience anything. How can a man who has experienced all of that have front row seats to the Son of God walking on earth, giving all the evidence that he gave, and then to willfully choose to sell him out for 30 pieces of silver?
Again, some of you who are new to the faith may look at that and say, "Ah, that just sounds like a fairy tale. I don't see that happening." Those of you who have been a Christian for a while, you've seen it yourself. You've seen people who were influential and big names and thousands of people who followed them and then find out that behind the scene, like they were nothing that we thought they were.
He was an unbeliever, and it is very clear that despite all that he had experienced, he never believed. The Scripture makes it very clear. He said he left us because he was never really of us. That's what John says in 1 John. Him leaving proved that he was never really with us, even though every evidence, at least that they thought that he was one of them, but him leaving, him doing what he did and then dying the way he did proved that he was never really of us.
In Luke 16, 27-31, Jesus gives a parable about this rich man and this poor brother, Lazarus, and how they die and how Lazarus is in Abraham's bosom, and this rich man is looking up and regretting how he lived his life. And so he's begging Abraham, basically, if you would just send somebody so that this wouldn't happen to my brothers.
In 1 John, 27, he said, "Then I beg you, Father, that you send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, in order that he may warn them so that they will not also come to this place of torment." But Abraham said, "They have Moses and the prophets." And Moses and the prophets, he's talking about the Scripture.
They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. He didn't say let them see them, let them experience them, let them touch them. He said, "Let them hear them." But he said, "No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent." But he said to him, "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead." Even if somebody rises from the dead.
And that's exactly what happened with Lazarus. He was an eyewitness of the resurrection of Lazarus, but that didn't make him a believer. Just like Jesus said of the parable. What Christ has ordained, what God has ordained to bring a sinner to Christ is the preaching of the gospel. That's why he says, "Whether it's season or out of season, preach the word." He says, "Faith comes from hearing, and the hearing of the word of God." He says, "The only thing that God has ordained to get a sinner to repent of his sin and come to Christ is the word." He said, "Even if somebody comes from the dead, even if you see miracles, even if you perform all these miracles yourself, if the word of God has gone out and they have not repented, there's nothing else coming." You have everything that you need to come to Christ in the word of God.
Some of us have a tendency to think that if only God would change this circumstance, only if I had this, only if I experienced it, only if God would answer my prayers, then my faith would be stronger, and then I would give my life to Christ. Jesus says, "No." He says, "You have the word." You have the word, and if the word of God, by the conviction of the Holy Spirit, is not enough for you to come to Christ, there's nothing else coming.
There's nothing else coming. There's nothing that you're waiting for that's going to change your circumstance. And every time you hear the word of God and continue to refuse Him, your heart becomes hardened and hardened and hardened to the point where the word of God is no longer penetrating into you.
It has no effect. So you come to church, and you can have the greatest revival speaker to come to church, but you've already committed that this is who you are. And so you willfully close your eyes because you do not want the word of God to disturb you. If you meet the resurrected Christ, the first response that you will have in meeting the resurrected Christ is not jubilee.
The first response that you will have meeting the resurrected Christ, He will disturb you. His presence in your life will expose the hypocrisy. His presence strong near to us automatically will shed light in darkness that we're holding on to. So our first response is not jubilee. It's a "Yes, I thank you." Our first response will be, "Woe is me.
Woe is me. I'm a man of unclean lips from a people of unclean lips." And there's a reason why the first response that God calls everybody to come to Him is to repent, to recognize our sins. We live in a culture today where assurance of salvation was passed out like Halloween candy.
And we think this is a warning that even an apostle of Christ could be this hardened after seeing everything, experiencing everything, still walk in His flesh. We have churches filled with people in our generation who are absolutely certain about their assurance of salvation because they heard something from somebody at some point in their life that one saved always saved.
You can't lose yours. There's nothing you can do to change His love for you. They're not walking with God. Their life doesn't look any different than a non-Christian. Their life has never changed. The trajectory of their life has never changed when they met Christ. And yet they are absolutely certain that they are saved.
I mean, if Judas wasn't a believer, how can you be so sure? If I ended my sermon here, you know, I'd be in trouble, right? But I need you to let the Word of God judge you first. I need you to examine carefully because that's what the Word of God does.
That's what the Word of God does. He did what He did because He was not a believer. The Word of God was taught. And yet He hardened His heart. In Hebrews 6, 4-8, it describes exactly what happened to Judas. "For in the case of those who have once been enlightened" and "enlightened" is not referring to somebody who became a genuine believer, somebody who has been taught the Word of God.
So if you ask this individual to explain the Gospel, they will be able to articulate the Gospel to you. That's what He means by "enlightened." You've been given the truth. "For in the case of those who have once been enlightened, they have tasted the heavenly gift." And He's not talking about salvation.
The heavenly gift He's referring to is the church and the gift and the people that were around, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, of worship. So everything that a genuine Christian would be exposed to, this person has been exposed to, like Judas. Partakers of the Holy Spirit. Not the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, that happens to a Christian.
Partakers, meaning that the Holy Spirit, just like when Judas went out and he was preaching the Gospel and casting out demons, he didn't do that by his own flesh. The Holy Spirit was using him to do miracles. He's referring to somebody like Judas. Partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the age to come.
In other words, in every other way, he had the same privilege that everybody else had. And then have fallen away. It is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucified to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. After you've experienced all of that, you're able to articulate the Gospel, you're part of the church, you became a member, you're serving, maybe you're even leading in some capacity.
Now, is he saying that then, after you've been privileged to all of this, you heard the Gospel, you're able to articulate the Gospel, and then fall in a way that there's no, it's impossible to bring it to repentance. Does he mean that if you backslide, that you can never, that He'll never forgive you?
No, that's not what he's referring to. He's saying that you've had every privilege to come to Christ. The only way that you can have genuine salvation is by forgiveness, by the blood of Christ. And you've been taught that. You've seen the power that comes with that. And yet, you chose to chase after the world.
What he's saying is, he's not like backsliding that if you repent, He's not going to, of course He's going to forgive you. If there's true repentance. He told Peter and the disciples, "How many times should I forgive?" He said, "Seven times seventy." As long as he repents, forgives him, forgive him.
He's talking about if you know the right way, and if you've seen, if you've been privileged in every way, and you choose, you choose to live a life like anybody else, as an unbeliever, there's no other way of salvation. Church is not going to save you. Small groups are not going to save you.
Quoting right doctrines is not going to save you. Giving is not going to save you. Christ said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." He says in verse 7, "For the ground that drinks the rain, which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation, are useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God.
But if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and its end ending up being burned." In other words, he said, "You receive the same blessing, same rain, same cultivation, but one produces fruit, the other one there's none." And he says, "As a result of that, there will be condemnation." Now, Judas on the external, no one could tell the difference.
And that's the scary thing. You can look at that and say, "Well, you know, one of you is going to betray me." And it's like, we knew it. Judas was acting funny. He was always in the background. He was always griping and complaining. He said, "None of that. Nobody knew.
They all asked, 'Is it me? Is it me?' Nobody knew." My guess is some of them might have said, "Oh, maybe Matthew. I knew it. That guy. Should have never brought that guy on." You know what I mean? Simon the Zealot, that guy's always willing to kill people. That guy.
You know what I mean? He says he's going to give his life. He's like, "Oh, that's it." He's not going to do what he wants, what we want. Maybe Andrew, because he was like, "How come I'm not on one of the three?" Maybe somebody disgruntled, but there was nothing about Judas.
Because Judas did everything that everybody else did. None of them were able to distinguish that it was Judas. The only distinction between the Judas and the other 11 was that his faith wasn't real. He went through the motion. He did everything everybody else did. He received everything that everybody else did, except he did not believe.
He wasn't a believer. And him, the way his life ended, was evidence. He left us because he was never really of us. Isn't that a scary thought? Our assurance of salvation doesn't come from our works. Our assurance of salvation doesn't come from our position. Our assurance of salvation doesn't come from our fruit.
Because if that was, Judas should have been saved. There's only one thing that has been given where you can have assurance of salvation, and that's your faith. Your faith. And I'm going to get to that at the end. Second thing, and we'll end up leaving with this. He was clearly tempted by money.
He was an unbeliever, and the only evidence that we have that there was something askew with him was the way he handled money. John 3, 18-20, it says, "This is the judgment that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil." And then in Romans 1-21, it says, "For even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened." What does it mean for the heart to be darkened?
It means they're closing their eyes. They don't want to see. Whatever it is that you're showing, they don't want to see. Have you ever watched a movie or something, or something's coming on, and you don't want to see? Maybe it's the violence, right? Whatever it may be, you really don't.
You don't want that image in your head. It's disturbing you. Maybe you're not going to be able to go to sleep. Maybe when you're a young child, you remember doing that. Maybe a scene that is horrifying. Whatever it is, you close your eyes. "I don't want to see this." Well, this is the exact reverse of that.
We don't want to see because we don't want that image in our head because we don't want to be bothered. But the scripture says, when somebody is committed and tempted, like, "I have to have this," they don't want the light turned on. They enjoy what they're experiencing in the darkness.
They like it when it's hazy because once the light gets turned on, you can see all the filth. I mean, maybe your room is filthy, and it's better to keep it dim, right? I never understood why you go to a steakhouse and they always keep the light dim. So it makes me question, what are they trying to hide?
If I'm trying to eat my food, I want the light to be on. I want to know what I'm eating. But there's a reason in other places where you keep the things dim, or you want to turn off the light because you don't want to see clearly what's going on.
Scripture tells us that the light is coming to the world, and because they love the darkness and they don't want the light, they deliberately close their eyes to the truth. It wasn't that they weren't exposed to the truth. It wasn't that they didn't hear. They don't want to hear.
That's why when you see somebody drifting into sin, one of the first things that they do is they begin to ignore the Bible. All these years that I've been counseling people, I've never seen somebody who is deliberately embracing sin, who is regularly studying the Bible. Because the Bible says that it judges the thoughts and intentions of a heart.
So you can be at Bible study. You can come to church and hear things. But I've never seen somebody who is deliberately embracing sin, unrepentant, who is actively dividing the Word of God. Because the Word of God is exposing light to your sin. So that's usually how it starts.
And then what happens is if that isn't enough, you'll end up moving away from other people who are shedding light. And then eventually, you end up drifting out and leaving the church as a whole. And you'll blame the church. You'll be like, "Ah, these people didn't do this, didn't do that." But at the core of it, you didn't want to be around the light.
Because the light makes you feel uncomfortable. Judas was a man who was tempted. And in John 12, 2-6, the only thing outside of him betraying Jesus, the only thing that was mentioned about Judas that pointed to the fact that he was an unbeliever, it says in John 12, 2-6, Mary breaks an expensive perfume that's worth a whole year's pay.
And Judas steps in with his fake righteousness. And he says, "Oh, what a waste. We could have used that to feed the homeless." And then it says, almost as an addendum at the end, it says, "He's not saying this because he really cared for the homeless. It's because he was tapping into the money.
He was stealing money from Jesus and the disciples." My guess is none of the disciples, if they knew this, obviously when Jesus said, "One of you is going to betray me," it's like, "Yeah, yeah, that guy. He's always taking money from our money bag. I didn't want to say anything, but now that you bring it up." They didn't know.
None of them knew. My guess is after he betrays Jesus and Jesus is resurrected, and they're at that campfire eating fish, they say, "Jesus, where's Judas? What happened to him? I heard he hung himself and he died. Is he going to be in heaven?" My guess is they probably asked Jesus, and that's when Jesus said he was never a believer.
And the evidence of that is I already knew what he was doing with the money. He kind of let it take its toll, let it have its fruit. In fact, my guess is that Judas followed Christ because he thought there was going to be benefit coming from it, just like a lot of the other disciples did.
But the difference between Judas and the other disciples is even though they were tempted, they believed who Jesus was. And then Jesus made it very clear. "I'm going to go to the cross. I'm going to die, and I'm going to resurrect." And the other disciples are arguing, "Who's the greatest in the midst of this?" I look at this and say, "Well, Judas seems like to be the only one who was paying attention." Because Jesus kept on saying, "If you want to follow me, you need to deny yourself and pick up the cross." My guess is Judas is shrewd.
He's like, "What? I thought if I followed him, I'm going to get rich. I mean, this is going to be the next king of Israel." And he's saying that he's going to give himself up. He's going to die, be crucified. He said, "If you want to find your life, lose it.
If you want to-- He who seeks his life will lose it. He who loses his life for my sake will find it." And if you add up what Jesus is saying, he said, "The end of this road is not going to be beneficial for me." So my guess is Judas was calculating, weighing, and then when he actually started going to the cross, he's like, "Wait a second.
I left everything to follow you too because I thought I was going to become rich and famous." But he's actually going to the cross. So my guess is I'm going to have to salvage something from here. So he goes there and he sells Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, which was the price of a slave in the Old Testament.
And so he sold him out like a slave. And so my guess is Judas was weighing, he's like, "At least I salvaged something." These dummies, they don't seem like they know who's the greatest. Like, did you hear what he said? He said he's going to die and you're fighting over who's going to be the greatest?
As strange as that may sound, as strange as that may sound, how much of our hope in Christ, how much of what we do at the core of our heart is no different than Judas. That if we suffer now, then maybe next year. If we sacrifice now, maybe it's coming.
So it's almost kind of a trade-off. I'll forsake everything and follow you if I become rich at the end. If you take care of me, my kids are taken care of and everything is good. But when that doesn't come, it's like, "Well, why did I follow Christ?" The love of money blinded this man.
Even as he was exposed to everything that he was exposed to, he never got over the fact of his own flesh. In 1 Timothy 6, verse 10, it says, "For the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil." Money is not evil. It's the love of money.
Where you think that having more money is going to solve your problems. And so you come to Christ, you come to church to meet certain needs. Make sure that you have insurance that when you die you're going to go to heaven. But if you examine your life and your spending habits, what you buy, what you don't buy, how much of that reflects the kingdom in eternity?
He says, "The love of money is the root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." Judas betrayed Christ because he never really fully understood the value of what he had in Christ. If you are a non-believer, coming to church is a huge benefit because people love you, care for you, you're part of a community, there's a sense of purpose, good morals are taught to your children.
But you don't understand the value of Christ. The scripture says, Jesus says, "The kingdom of heaven is like a farmer who went out and found treasure, and he realized and recognized the value of this treasure, so he went back and sold everything that he had in order to have this treasure." Or you're like another person who goes out and finds a pearl, and you see the value of this pearl, and so you sell everything to make sure that you have this pearl.
And he said that's what the kingdom of heaven is like. When you recognize the value of Christ, when you recognize the greatest treasure in your life is Christ, that everything else becomes rubbish in light of this treasure. See, Judas never knew this treasure. His treasure was still money, his treasure was still fame, his treasure was no different than the rest of the world.
So he was using Christ to get to what he wants. But when it looked like he wasn't going to get it, let me salvage at least 30 pieces of coin. How much of our pursuit, if we're not careful, looks like Judas? How much of what we value, like if I do this, if I do that, there's something coming, I'm going to do that, even in the context of preaching the gospel.
You know, what's interesting is if you fly, whenever we go to India, we have a choice to go through the Middle East or we can go through Asia, because it's almost exactly at the other side of the globe, and there's no plane that goes directly. So we usually have to stop at Dubai or Doha and catch another plane to get into.
Or if you go the other way, you either stop in Japan or Singapore, and then we have to fly into Bangalore. That's usually our flight. And so out of the 13, 14 years I've been in and out of India, I've been about half a time through the Middle East and half a time through Asia.
And after a while, I noticed something very distinct about the traveling on both sides. Whenever you go through the Middle East, the plane is filled with children. I mean, the plane is packed. You have two adults and you have four kids. And usually it's pretty loud. The kids are, you know, they're usually a little bit more better behaved.
But you see a lot of children on that side. But whenever you travel through Asia, there's almost no children. And if you study what's going on, a lot of these Asian countries that have money to be able to travel, a lot of the poor countries that can't travel, they're not on the planes anyway.
They're all decreasing in population. And China's on the top of that. They're concerned that if China's depopulation continues to happen by the time 2050, they think that their whole country is going to crumble because they don't have enough infrastructure with younger people coming up to hold up the economy.
This is happening in Korea. It's happening in Taiwan. It's happening in Japan. And if you ask them why they're not having children, the answer is universal. We don't have the money. We don't have the money. And the reason why they say that is not because it's so expensive to raise children.
It's because what they think that they need to have. They need to have the strollers. They need to have the phone. They need to have the big car. They need to be able to travel. They need to be able to pay for their education. And so when you add all that up, what they made a necessity, not a luxury, but a necessity, they can't have children.
So what's happening is in China, most of the children are being raised by grandparents because the mother and the father basically leaves them and they go to far places, sometimes overseas, and they see their children during vacations, and the grandparents are raising them. So what's happening in the next generation is if it's this hard and we can't even see our kids, why even have kids?
So the next generation isn't even having kids. So before, the Chinese government basically said that you can't have more than one child, but now that they're concerned, they're starting to have more children, but the people aren't having children even though they're able to have children. While we were out in Korea, we're talking to-- initially we thought we were going to have a bunch of college students that we were going to interact with, but a lot of them were in their 30s and 40s, and it took me two, three days to realize none of them are married and almost no children at all, zero.
So I asked them, "How come you have no interest in getting married?" And they said, "Oh, we want to get married, but the problem is I don't have money." And what they mean by they don't have money is obviously you're able to eat out, you're traveling, you have an iPhone, all of that costs money, meaning like what they think they need to have.
But basically, the population is dying because they somehow convinced themselves that they don't have money. So we're going to use those resources to enjoy our life instead of pouring into the next generation. Now you and I don't have that problem, right? That's not where we live. Especially in our church, we have many children, right?
I think on the average, we have more children than other places that I go to. But the problem with us is that we have made our children and providing for them our idol. Whether we love money, which causes people to abandon their children and go and do whatever they want so that they can have a certain lifestyle, or we think that being a Christian, a good Christian means giving my children the best that they can have, and as a result of that, we end up forsaking the calling that God has given us.
Whether we love money, which causes people to abandon their children or making idols of our children, it is the same result. It causes money, and it boxes us in. Because of the fear of money, because of the lust of money, coveting of money, and usually it's not green, right?
Many of you don't even carry green anymore. It's what the green could do, what this money could do. What you can get, the comfort that you can have, the security that you can have. And if you have money, you're afraid to lose it. And if you don't have money, the decisions that you make will cause you maybe not to have it, your security and comfort.
So as a result of that, what I am able to do for God has been boxed in. God could not be calling me to do this, because if I do this, then I can't provide for my children. My children are not going to have this. So we've boxed him in, based upon the fear and the lust that we've given ourselves into, that we will function in this box.
God's love and his obedience will only function within this box that I have created, where all my financial needs for me and my children are met. Tell me that that's not what this passage is warning. The love of money is the root of all sorts of evil. Some, by longing for it, have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
You can love money and be a faithful member of the church. You can love money and be serving the church. You can love money and be very generous. You can love money and stand exactly where I am, saying exactly what I say. But your heart hasn't surrendered to God.
There's a reason why in the Old Testament, the very first thing that God tells the people to do is offer up their tithes. And the reason why they do that, it was an act of lordship. It was to recognize that this is not mine, this is yours. So it's not at the end, after you've paid all your bills, that at the end of it, if I see how much I have left, right?
Some of you guys were with me up to that, right up to that point, and then now you're uncomfortable, right? There's a reason why he says the first of your tithe, because to first recognize this is not mine, this is yours. And I offer it to you to establish your lordship.
And then, whatever you have, not to indulge yourself, not use it accordingly. Use it accordingly, because God knows. He was guarding our hearts. Because he knows how deceptive the love of money is. To guard our hearts, to make sure that Christ is first established in all that we do.
The only thing that we can see about him that was different is his love of money blinded him to all the truth. And he never overcame that. I'm not going to get to the other three points, but I'm going to give you a preview. The first one was he was not a believer.
Second, he was tempted by money. Third, he was possessed by the devil. We're going to be talking about that next week. What was the difference between him and Apostle Peter? And what does that mean for a believer or non-believer? We'll talk about that next week. It was to prove who Jesus was.
Makes that very clear that it was a fulfilled prophecy about Judas betraying Christ. And then, fifthly, it shows God's greatest work happens in the darkest of circumstances. Ultimately, it was to reveal his grace in the midst of allowing him to do what he did. We're going to get to that next week.
But this morning, I want to encourage and challenge you. Some of you. Some of you. Because it's so easy to follow Christ. You go to a place like India or there's parts of China or North Korea or the Middle East or, you know, where right at the get-go, the society and circumstance, your family, your closest friends are going to force you to examine, "Do you really believe this?" because you know the consequence of following Christ.
That if you believe Christ, you're going to be ousted from your family. You're not going to be able to get into the school. You may get fired from your job. You may actually get physical harm. So as a result of that, it forces everyone to examine, "Do I really believe this?" In our culture, we passed out the assurance of salvation like it was candy in Halloween.
Just raise your hand. Just give him a chance. Just come to church. You were on church. Now you're church. So we have a generation filled with people who are absolutely certain. And how dare you possibly question my salvation? Who are you? You come to church, it's like, "Wait, isn't the church a place to be like encouragement?
Life is hard enough as it is. Now we've got to come and hear this?" And you're going to leave the church kind of like with this heaviness and questioning? If God is not real, if all Christ is was a good example to teach good morals and to make sure that you're comfortable and encouraged so that you can have an easier life, then what I'm doing is very sinful.
Your life is hard enough as it is, and I'm making it harder by saying these things. But if Jesus was resurrected from the dead, and Christ says what he said was true, that he's going to separate the goat and the sheep, that there is judgment for those whose sins have not been covered by the blood of Christ, then the most important thing that happens at church is that you meet the true Christ.
That you meet the true Christ. That you may live the rest of your life in discomfort. You may live the rest of your life forsaken. You may live the rest of your life not being able to provide the best for your children. But if this is true, then the best thing that can happen to you at church is to meet the true Christ.
Not the Christ of the culture, not the Christ that you've created for yourself, but the true Christ of the Bible. And let me conclude with this to make sure that there's no misunderstanding. Assurance of salvation does not come from your works. It does not come from your fruit. It doesn't come from your title.
It doesn't come from what you do. It comes from faith and faith alone. Faith and faith alone. But some will take that and say, "Well, it's by faith, then why are you preaching? Why are you causing us to be fearful?" If it is by faith and faith alone, if everything, if eternity hinges upon this faith, don't you want to make sure that this faith is genuine?
If everything, if all of these things ultimately doesn't give you assurance, what gives you assurance is faith? We're saved by faith and faith alone. Shouldn't you examine yourself to see if this faith is true? What is the evidence of this faith being true? You know, when we were hanging these speakers, there's like four bolts that are holding these speakers together, right?
There are some things that we can do, paint the ground or put the stage up, but there's a lot of things that we do, like if it kind of, you know, doesn't work, the paint will chip off or, you know, maybe it'll be slippery, but there isn't like dire consequence, right?
I mean, the city of Irvine wanted to make sure that this is, like whatever we were hanging up there is like solid. And so engineers had to draw this in, the bolts, how thick the bolt needs to be, what kind of bolt needs it to be, and how it needs to be held up, where it's going to be.
And so our AV team, you know, they look at all the plans, engineers have to draw this out, and they have to go up there and drill holes and put it in. And I knew I was going to stand underneath it. So if this doesn't hold up, I'm in trouble, right?
But I guarantee you, right, I can't guarantee you that the seats that you're sitting on is going to hold, right? I don't know exactly who made it. I don't know the quality of the bolts. I don't know the quality of the floor, right? It was cheap. We bought it because it was cheap, right?
But we checked, double checked, triple checked, because we knew that this heavy thing is going to be holding onto these bolts. So we had guys that came and made sure that it was drilled a certain way, held up, and the bolts are the quality that was galvanized and the thickness of it.
And then the city had to come and make sure that we followed every little thing that they asked us to do, because the consequence of this falling is either I or you are going to get hurt. If we ended up using it like, "Oh, you know what? This bolt is a little bit cheaper." This actually had to be galvanized.
It had to be exactly what the engine is. I mean, you can hold it. It looks fine, right? And then the earthquake comes in and gets tested, and we realize, like, "Oh, shoot." Right? And this thing falls to the ground. If everything that you and I profess to believe, if our whole eternity hinges upon saving faith, shouldn't that be the greatest concern in our life?
Shouldn't that be the greatest thing that we need to make sure, instead of just like, "Oh, yeah, of course I believe that." Right? If it hinges upon this one thing, to make sure that we genuinely have saving faith, genuinely test yourself, to sear of the faith, unless you find out that that's not the case.
That you've committed to church, you've committed to friends, you've committed to the benefits, but you've never met Christ. You've never met Christ. If that's you, if that's you, I don't know what else is going on in your life, and I know that there's a lot of heartaches that's been happening recently in our church, but the most important thing that you need to answer, and answer it today, is do you have that faith?
If Judas, if Judas, an apostle of Christ, could have done what he had done, the only thing that assures us that will not happen is we have faith. We have faith. Let's pray. Again, as our worship team comes to lead us, if I can ask you to take a few minutes to come before the Lord and ask.
Maybe you just kind of hurried through your faith, you know, you just assume, "I grew up in the church, I heard this all, this isn't anything new to me," and you just kind of like assumed your faith, and as a result of just assuming, your life reflects a very shallow understanding, a shallow application.
But if this is true, if the Word of God is true, if anything that you've heard resonates with you, to come before the Lord in honest confession, "Father, I've been just assuming certain things. I've embraced a cultural Christianity that doesn't look anything like the Scriptures. I've been satisfied with just having good friends and being taught good morals, but I'm not sure if I've ever met you.
I'm not sure if my sins have truly been forgiven. I'm not sure if I really have repented." All that we are doing at church will not matter if at the end of your life, you meet Christ and He says, "I never knew you." Meet the true Christ. Follow the true Christ.
Worship the true Christ. That you may also experience what Jesus has promised. He said, "I have come to give life, and to give this life abundantly." Let's take some time to pray in honest confession before God, as our worship team leads us. Let's all stand up for the closing praise.
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. God sent his Son, they called him Jesus. He came to the healing for fear. He lived and died to buy my pardon. An empty grave is there to put my Savior there, because he lived. I can face tomorrow because he lives. All fear is gone because I know he holds the future.
And life is worth the living just because he lives. I will not fear the darkness