(soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) - Good morning, Church family.
Happy Lord's Day. We will now begin our service. (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) ♪ I was blinded by myself ♪ ♪ I noticed you'd hear your voice ♪ ♪ Did not know your love would fail ♪ ♪ I noticed forever its truth ♪ ♪ And your spirit gave me life ♪ ♪ Opened up your word to me ♪ ♪ And the gospel of your song ♪ ♪ Gave me endless hope and grace ♪ (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) - Good morning, welcome to Boone Community Church.
Let me get a few announcements in. First of all, if you purchased a Korean fundraiser, a Korean Missions fundraiser sweatshirt, as you were coming in, you probably saw a table out there with great shirts, or if you didn't see it, they're right by the cafe entrance and to the right, so you can go and pick that up.
They do have about 10 left, so if you want to still buy it, the cost of it is $50, but they will be there after service to make sure you go and pick that up. This coming Saturday at 10 a.m., we have a Q&A on autism spectrum disorder, and so it is to kind of give resources to the families or people who are interested in this and want to learn about it.
There will be people there, again, older families who've kind of wrestled with this for a while, and then there's some people who are working in that field, and so they'll be taking some questions from people who are interested in this, so please sign up for that. It's coming Saturday at 10 a.m.
And then child safety training. Next coming Sunday, if you are working with children at our church, it is a requirement that you have safety training, and so if you are in need of that, that safety training is happening at 1:30 p.m. next Sunday in the sanctuary, so please mark that on your calendar and please come right on time for that.
And then newcomers lunch. If you are new to the church and you have questions and you want to learn about the church, meet some of the leaders, this lunch is for you, and this is happening on March 2nd at 1 p.m. in the youth chapel, so March 2nd at 1 p.m., so please sign up for that so they can have a lunch ready for that.
FAM 245 men's hike and seminar. So if you're part of the ministry where you've been married three years or less, I think that's the criteria. On March 15th, there will be a hike and a seminar that will follow after that in biblical manhood, and so please sign up for that, and there will be lunch provided, so just keep that on your calendar.
This is on March 15th. And then on that same day at 2 p.m., so you can actually go to both even though it may not be relevant for you, there's going to be a dating seminar. So it was a dating seminar. It is open to everybody. It started out with a ban, but then it will be open for college and even for high school.
Married people have asked if they can come, right? And it's not to reevaluate their husband or wife. The people that they're counseling, they want to make sure that we're kind of on the same page as they're assisting young couples who are dating. And so if you are interested in coming to that, it is open to the whole church.
All three of the pastors will be involved with this. And so the topics will be what to look for-- sorry, biblical view of dating versus the world's practice, okay, what's happening today and how the culture practices dating and what part of that is biblical, what part is not biblical, what's wise, what's not wise.
So the first session will be that. Second will be what to look for in choosing a partner, a godly partner, whether it's your wife or your husband. So second session is for that. And then third session we'll be taking Q&A. So all three pastors will be directly engaged in this.
So please sign up for that. That's happening on March 15th at 2 p.m. through 5 p.m. in the main sanctuary. So that's a Saturday, okay? All right, so I'm going to pray for the offering. And after our time of worship, our sister Jocelyn is going to come up, and she's going to give her testimony and be baptized this morning.
Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this morning. We ask, Lord God, that you would help us as we are prone to be entangled with things of this world. Help us, Lord God, to see the eternal things that you have promised, that all that we have, all our hopes and our joys, Lord, rest upon the promises of God.
Help us, Lord God, as we have come to worship you, to truly do it in a manner that is worthy of the calling that you've given, in spirit and in truth. I pray that even in this giving, I pray that you would help us to give it as an act of worship, and may it be multiplied for the sake of your kingdom.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to greet the neighbors around us before we continue. Let's sing, "O Lord." O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the works thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder that bowed throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings, then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, how great Thou art, how great Thou art. Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, how great Thou art, how great Thou art. How great Thou art. And when I think, and when I think that God is Son not spirit, sentenced to die, I scarce can take it that on that cross my burden gladly bearing He bled and died to take away my sin.
Then sings, then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, how great Thou art, how great Thou art. Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, how great Thou art, how great Thou art. Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, how great Thou art, how great Thou art.
When Christ shall come, when Christ shall come, what joy shall fill my heart, then I shall bow with humble adoration and there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art. Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, how great Thou art, how great Thou art. Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, how great Thou art, how great Thou art, how great, how great Thou art, how great Thou art.
Let's sing Rock of Ages. Rock of Ages, clap for me. Let me hide myself in Thee. Let the water and the blood from Thy wounded side which flow, be of sin and double joy. Save from wrath and make me pure. Not the limbs of my hands can fulfill Thy lost demands.
Curd my zeal, no rest will know. Curd my tears, for I will flow. All for standard, not at all. Thou my Savior, Thou alone. Nothing in my hand. Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I kneel. Make a God to me for trust, helpless love to me for grace.
Thou light to the mountain dark, wash me, Savior, all my time. While I draw, while I draw this bleeding breath, when my life shall close in death, when I soar to worlds unknown, see beyond my judgment throne. Rock of Ages, clap for me. Let me hide myself in Thee.
Let's sing Rock of Ages. Rock of Ages, clap for me. Let me hide myself in Thee. Let the water and the blood from Thy wounded side which flowed be of sin the double cure. Save from wrath and make me pure. Amen. May it be seated. Hi everyone. My name is Jocelyn and this is my testimony.
When I was younger, I had many fears. I feared death. I feared being taken away from my family and I feared that my family would break apart. I, of course, had no reason to believe this, but this feeling caused me to attach myself to my parents wherever they went.
Though my parents thought that I wanted to tag along or that it was a cute act their six-year-old did, I knew it was because I thought that if I didn't accompany them, something terrible would happen, like getting into a car accident. Again, nothing occurred to make me think this way.
I thought I was protecting them. This fear intensified one day when I accompanied my dad to an Albertsons and I had an experience that prompted me to even greater fears. It started with a simple question. "Everything is okay, right?" This simple question turned into one that I would repeat multiple times a day, seeking assurance.
Seeing how this question became tiresome to answer, I quickly changed my compulsion. Instead, I would wash my hands, close the faucet, and turn my head towards the mirror five times. If I touched anything on the way back to my room, I would feel dirty and have to do the same thing all over again.
I now feared that if I didn't do certain actions, that it would be my fault if something happened to my loved ones. After completing these actions, I would feel a sense of peace and calmness, though it was clearly temporary. I spent 15 years feeling as if I carried the responsibility over my family's safety.
I grew up in a Catholic family, wearing a mask pretty much every Sunday. I thought I knew who God was, and I thought I loved Him. But ultimately, I realized I was living in tradition. On the nights where my thoughts were too much to handle, I would pray and cry, asking God for His help.
There was a moment where I felt His calmness and peace envelop me after I prayed one day, relieving me of my anxiety and drawing me to a restful sleep. Yet I did not fully comprehend the depth and value of His death on the cross for me. On March 13, 2020, I went to a church retreat.
This was when lockdown first started. At retreat, I was able to fully spend time in the Lord's presence, beginning to desire a more intimate and personal relationship with Him. When I went back home on March 16, 2020, I wanted to read the Bible and ask my mom to buy me one.
Here, I began to comprehend what it meant for Jesus to have died on the cross. I realized that Jesus Christ emptied Himself by taking the form of a bondservant and being born in the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man. He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on the cross.
Philippians 2, 7 to 8. During those 15 years, I knew that Jesus was Lord and Savior, but seeing how I had lived my life in fear and anxiety, I knew that it wasn't my truth. I didn't live my life trusting Him or acknowledging His Lordship over my life. I thought I could save myself and my family if I satisfied my compulsions.
I thought I could dictate what would happen to my family and me. The Lord, in His truth, led me to the freedom found only through and in Him. Romans 8, 15 to 16 says, "For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoptions as sons and daughters by which we cry out, 'Abba, Father.'" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.
After accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior and repenting over my sins, I felt an extreme amount of peace. I realized that all the times I felt uneasy after sinning was because I was sinning against a holy God. He had broken my chains of bondage to sin and fear and transferred me into the kingdom of His beloved Son.
He died for me even though, as Colossians 1, 21 and 22 says, "You were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has not reconciled you in His fleshly body through death in order to present you before Him as blameless and beyond reproach." Death truly lost its grip on me.
My sister asked me if I was going to get therapy for the anxiety and compulsions I had at that point lived with my entire life. But I knew that Jesus' peace was all I needed, no longer believing I had a say over my family's lives, no longer feeling like I needed to control everything, but trusting that my life is in the palm of His hands and He could do with me whatever He wills, for I am His.
Jesus had taken my past, present, and future sins upon the cross with Him, resurrecting on the third day and defeating death. He washed me clean more than any hand-washing I had previously done could ever do. Instead, He was and is my peace, my strength, and my comforter. By His grace, He saved me from my fearful life, and now the only fear my heart craves is the fear of the Lord.
Though He continues to sanctify me and will do so until Jesus returns, purely by His strength I continue to surrender my sins and my life to Him, for I am a new creation in Him, striving to be His free prince. Thank you. All right, thank you, Jocelyn, for that great testimony.
If you can turn your Bibles with me to Luke, chapter 10, we're going to be reading from verse 21 through 24. Luke, chapter 10, verse 21 through 24. Just as a reminder, this is in continuation of Jesus speaking to the disciples, 70, that has come back. And then He tells them that they come back rejoicing over the fact that even the demons were subject to them in the name of Jesus.
And then He tells them, "If you're going to rejoice over anything, "rejoice over the fact that your name "is written in the book of life, of your salvation." And then this text turns around and says, "This is the cause of my rejoicing." Okay, so that's the context. "At that very time He rejoiced greatly "in the Holy Spirit and said, "'I praise you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, "'that you have hidden these things "'from the wise and intelligent "'and to infants.
"'Yes, Father, for this way "'was well-pleasing in your sight. "'All things have been handed over to me "'by my Father, and no one knows "'who the Son except the Father, "'and who the Father is except the Son, "'and anyone whom the Son wills to reveal Him.' "Turning to the disciples, He said privately, "'Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see.
"'For I say to you that many prophets and kings "'wish to see these things which you see, "'and did not see them, "'and to hear the things which you hear, "'and did not hear them.'" Let's pray. Father, help us to understand not only your words but your very heart.
Help us, Lord God, to hear from you that your sheep, your children, will hear your voice and follow you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let me ask you a question. I want you to think just for a few seconds. What makes you the most happy? Rhetorical question. Just think about it for a second.
What brings the most joy in your life? However you answer that question, whatever brings the most happiness or joy in your life, you will sacrifice, pay, plan to have it because our human nature is to pursue happiness, whatever that happiness may be. If you like to travel, you make your whole year's calendar around traveling, that we're going to go here.
You're saving up money, and you're saving up all your vacation time, and whatever it may be. Maybe you're a foodie, and you find some food delicious out somewhere, and you risk your life to go to someplace gang-infested because they have some $2 tacos that you want. Whatever it is, if that brings you pleasure, you're willing to do whatever it takes.
Maybe it's like watching sports. Because it brings you pleasure, you memorize who's on what team and their stats, and you even know their shoe size and what color brand is coming out. Because it brings you pleasure. Maybe it's watching movies. You know that some movie is coming out that you've been waiting for for the last six months, and you're waiting on the calendar, and you're willing to stand in line for hours and hours so you can get a better seat.
Whatever brings you the greatest pleasure, you're more than willing to sacrifice, to put money down, do whatever it is. As you guys know, last Sunday was Super Bowl, and Super Bowl is the biggest watched sports event, at least in the U.S., and that's why the advertisement on there is ridiculous.
Millions of dollars for a minute of commercial time. They said that last week's Super Bowl, 127.7 million people watched it. That's more than a third of the country that watched it. The cheapest ticket to watch this game was $2,800. $2,800. Average cost of the Super Bowl ticket was $7,000.
That's the average. The most expensive ticket, at least that they have record of, and they might have been some privately sold things that may have cost more than that, but at least that they have a record of, is $25,000 somebody paid to watch this game. Now, why are people willing to pay thousands of dollars to watch grown men hit each other?
Right? So if you don't like football, if you don't understand sports, you're just like, "What? They paid $25,000 for that?" But if that sport brings you pleasure, you're probably thinking, "I wish I had that money. "I'd be willing. I would save that money." And people travel from all over the country to just go and spend thousands of dollars, whether they can afford it or not, to watch this game.
And the simple reason is because it brings them pleasure. But the question is, why does watching this sport, why does watching anything bring pleasure? I think the answer is pretty simple because the Bible says that we have been created to be image-bearers of God. Image-bearers basically means that we are to reflect his glory of who he is.
Let me put it another way. God has created us to be worshipers, that we find the greatest pleasure when we are worshiping something greater than us. And I think whether it is sports or whatever it is that we're attracted to, that where we are in the presence of something greater than us, for whatever the reason, it brings us great pleasure.
But the problem is, the rebellion of mankind, instead of living in the way to bring glory to God, to be worshipers, that we have pursued to be worshipped rather than to worship. And as a result of that, we live our lives wanting to be recognized, wanting to be a little bit better, constantly comparing and competing.
And as a result of comparing and competing, we go out collecting. And we feel perfectly fine with our car until we see another person with a better car. We buy a decent house and we feel perfectly fine until we visit our neighbor's house, and then all of a sudden we don't have enough.
Because at the root of who we are, in our rebellion against God, we have desire or pursuing to be the center of attention. And you don't have to be an outgoing person or introvert at the core of who we are. That's why we go to school. That's why we save money.
That's why we plan. Because we find pleasure in satisfying ourselves. The Bible tells us that God created us to be worshipers. And after six days of creation, He went into the Sabbath rest. And He brought us in with Him. And in His presence, we found peace and joy. In fact, Psalm 1611 says this, "You will make known to me the path of life.
"In Your presence is fullness of joy, "and in Your right hand there is pleasure forever." So He says, "In His presence, there is path to life. "In His presence, there is joy. "In His presence, there is true pleasure." But because the Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of God's glory, instead of worshiping God, we have rebelled and desire to be the ones worshiped.
That's why Satan, we talked about it last week, in his attempt to exalt himself, found himself exactly the opposite. Instead of ascending, he ended up descending to Sheol. And his temptation to Adam and Eve is, "If you eat of this," what did he say? "You will be like God." The very thing that caused him to rebel and to be thrown out of heaven, he tempts with Eve.
And Eve gives it to Adam, and they fall out, and they get separated from God. So the Sabbath is broken. And when the number of men began-- sinful men in rebellion began to multiply, what is the first thing that they do? They begin to build this tower, Babel. And in this tower, they said they wanted to reach God.
So at the core of man's rebellion is his desire to exalt himself, whether in a big way or in a small way. And as a result of his own desire to exalt himself, he has been separated from the author of life. The path of life, the fullness of joy, the pleasure forever has been disconnected because we have been disconnected with the author of life.
That's why when Jesus comes and he talks about life, he's not simply talking about existence. When he says, "I have come to give life and give this life abundantly," he's not saying that somebody who dies is just going to disappear. "I have given them so that they can exist forever." Every soul exists forever, whether that soul exists forever here or in judgment.
So when he says he has come to give life, he's not simply saying somebody who didn't exist, that he's going to exist forever. The word that is used for life here is "zoe." There's two Greek words that's translated for life. And one is "bios," where we get the word "biology," and that is the chronology of life.
I am 10 years old, 50 years old, 100 years old, and we use the term "bios." But in every instance the Bible uses the word "life," the word is "zoe." "Zoe" is not simply existence. "Zoe" is abundant life. So another way to understand the word "zoe" is pleasure, life, and joy.
So when Jesus says God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall have eternal "zoe." When he says he's going to give life, give this life abundantly, he says I'm going to give you "zoe," what you lost. Because of the Sabbath being broken, he came back to restore.
All our pursuits of wanting to find joy and pleasure is a replacement of what we have lost because of our rebellion against God. So when Christ came to give us life, his primary reason why he came was to restore us. And so last week we saw that he says above all the things, all these things that this power over demons and ability to heal, he said that's great.
But if you're going to rejoice over anything, rejoice over the real gift, that your name is written in the book of life, of your salvation, that no one can take away. And then he turns it around and he says, "Let me tell you what I am joyful for." So this text, we're going to look at the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and what role they play in bringing this new life to us, to this joy.
He begins the text by saying in verse 21, "At that very time he rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit." Now what does he mean by rejoicing in the Holy Spirit? He just has an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit? He's just saying that he notices something about the Holy Spirit and he says, "Man, the Holy Spirit makes me so happy." No, in the context what he is saying is the same thing that he told the 70 disciples who returned.
If you're going to rejoice over anything, rejoice over your salvation, that your name is written in the book of life. And when he says he rejoices over the Holy Spirit, he's talking about the role of the Holy Spirit in giving you eternal life. The Bible says in John 14.26, "The Holy Spirit will remind us of the things of God." So everything that Jesus said, the Holy Spirit is the agent in which he begins to remind people, begins to tell people.
John 16.7-8, it says the Holy Spirit, when he disseminates the Word of God, the Holy Spirit is the one who's going to convict people of sin. So you can sit here and hear the Word of God, and if there's any part of you that understands what's being said, it's because the Holy Spirit is working.
If the Holy Spirit is not working, this is just some pudgy Asian guy just talking. That's all it is. You come in to put in your religious time, and you're thinking of lunch that's coming, and you have plans, and get this over with. But if there's any part of you where the Word of God is going forth and is molding your heart and you're hearing the voice of God, he says that's the work of the Holy Spirit.
And then in Acts 1.8, it says the Holy Spirit is the one who empowers people. What causes these words become powerful enough that somebody hears it, repents, turns their life around, and gives it to Christ and begins to follow him and his destiny of eternity is changed forever? That's not because I'm a good salesman.
He says it's the power of the Holy Spirit that's working in you. In fact, Romans 8.16-17, it says the Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God. Our own assurance of salvation is the work of the Holy Spirit. And if children, heirs also, heirs of God, and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
It is the Holy Spirit that reminds us, convicts us, empowers us, and testifies about our salvation. So when Jesus says, as you rejoice over your salvation, I rejoice over the work of the Holy Spirit in you. And then he says the Father is the one who initiates this joy, this life.
Verse 21, "At the very time, he rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit and said, 'I praise you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was pleasing in your sight.'" It pleased him.
It brought him joy. What brought him joy? To hide these truths of salvation to the wise and the intelligent. And he revealed it to infants. So the natural question is why? Why does this bring him joy, and why does he do it this way? Well, he tells us, 1 Corinthians 1, 27-29.
Why does he hide these things to the wise and intelligent, and why does he give it to infants? He says, "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, deliberately shame the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things that are strong, that the world thinks that is strong.
And the base things of the world, and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not," and listen to this, and he explains why he's doing this, "so that he may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God." He said everything that he has done, the reason why he brings in pleasure, the reason why he brings salvation this way is to nullify this world.
Because the main rebellion of mankind is to elevate himself, to be somebody. We work harder, we get our degrees, we save up money, buy a bigger house, move to a better neighborhood, we raise our children so that we can be better, so that we can be better than our neighbors, smarter than our neighbors, wiser than our neighbors.
And it is at the core of human rebellion to elevate himself. So Christ comes, emptied himself. If anybody had a right to come before mankind and said, "Worship me," he said in every way he was equal to God, but did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but he emptied himself and became a man, a servant.
He comes in humble, he lives humble, and he leaves this earth humiliated, and then he tells his followers, "You do the same." If you want to live, if you want to live, deny yourself, and you pick up your cross, and you follow me. He didn't say, "You know what, I've given you these things, and make something of yourself." That's not what he said.
"I've given you these talents, make something of yourself." That's not what he said. If you want to find life, do what Jesus did. Deny yourself and follow him, because at the core of human rebellion is our pride. In fact, Ephesians 2, 8 through 9, it says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves." This is a passage that we know very well.
If you grew up in the church, we sang this in Sunday school. "It is not of yourself, it is a gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." He's so concerned. He's so concerned that even after we are saved, that we're going to cling to our pride, that somehow we had some part in this.
He says, "No," he said, "the reason why he saved you this way is to nullify the things that you are pursuing. You had nothing to do with this, so stay humble, so that you may not be proud," he says. Because he knows at the core of the rat race that you and I are in is our constant comparing.
It's our constant competing. And it's our constant collecting because of our pride. Remember the confession that Peter makes? Who do men say that I am? Some say, "You are Elijah." Some say, "You are John the Baptist." Some say, "You're one of the prophets." And he says, "Who do you say that I am?" And Peter makes the right confession and says, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And in response to that confession, he says, "Upon this rock I will build my church." Before he says that, this is what he says.
"Jesus said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.'" Now why does he say that? Same reason, Ephesians 2.8 and 9. "So that no one may boast." Peter, you didn't make this confession because you're better than these other people.
You don't know me because somehow you're more moral and righteous and more disciplined and wiser than the others. You were given this to you. Remember that. I was gracious to you. I chose you because you are an infant. I bypassed these spiritual elites. And the reason why they don't get it and the reason why you get it is not because you are more righteous than them.
It's because the Father has chosen to nullify the system of this world and you are a child, an infant. You had nothing to offer me, and I revealed this to you so that you would not be proud. "Flesh and blood did not give this to you. My Father gave this to you as a gift." Even as he's talking to Apostle Paul, the apostle that was going to bring the gospel to the Gentile world, he deliberately makes it hard for him.
Puts a thorn on his side. He said, "Lord, take this away." It was so agonizing. And he says, "My grace is sufficient for you." He said, "I'm going to leave it there to humble you so that all the revelation that's coming through you, that you do not think that it's because of you." Because as soon as pride gets in, you are ruined.
You are ruined. In Matthew 21:16, Jesus says, "Do you hear what these children are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes, have you never read out of the mouth of infants, nursing babies you have prepared, praised for yourself?" In other words, it was prophesied. Have you read? I have already told you this is the way I'm going to work.
That I'm going to raise up infants to glorify me. Not the wise, not the clever, not the most disciplined, not the most righteous. Infants who have nothing to give me, and they're the ones that I'm going to ordain to praise my name. And he's referring to Psalm 82, "For the mouth of infants and nursing babes, you have established strength because of your adversaries." And who's his adversary?
The one who's trying to usurp his glory to make the enemy and revengeful cease. In other words, you're chosen because you have nothing to offer me. I used you because you couldn't take any praise for yourself. What does this tell us about man's biggest problem? What is the greatest hindrance to the work of God?
It is our own pride. Above all, it is our own pride. Whatever it is that you're good at, that's your Achilles heel. That's your Achilles heel because through that will come pride. And as soon as pride comes in, you're ruined. You're ruined. You're baking a cake and you find something dirty in there.
The whole cake is ruined. You can't eat that. Whatever it is that you think you're good at, and as soon as a little bit of pride comes and touches, you're ruined. If you're good with numbers, it's through that lens you judge everybody else. If you're good at athletics, through that lens you judge everybody else.
And so as soon as we begin to think like I got something to offer God, if only God would give me a platform, and all of a sudden you become nullified. That's why he's told us to empty ourselves. He didn't say become somebody, train and get ready. He says no, empty yourself.
In a large house, there are articles of noble purposes and ignoble purposes. If you want to be used for noble purposes, he says empty yourself of ignoble things. When Paul says, "I buffet my body and make it my slave, and after I have preached to others that I may be disqualified," what is he primarily buffeting himself of?
The primary thing is his own pride. That somehow, somehow in his education, in his knowledge, in his great experience, he's got something to offer God, and he is nullified. In Proverbs 6, 16-19, it says, "There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to him." And obviously, the authors use this as for the purpose of emphasis.
So the first time you read this, "Is that six or is that seven?" Because that's not the way we normally talk. The Bible uses this for the purpose of emphasis. This is something that you really need to pay attention. Six things, seven things that God detests, and guess what's on the top of that list?
Haughty eyes. I've already mentioned to you multiple times, when you see lists in the Bible, it's very purposeful. It's not thinking about seven random things and just put it in order and you figure it out. It says, "When whatever is on the front, whatever is in the back, it's for one purpose." So when he starts by seven things that he detests, and the first thing that is on there is haughty eyes, is pride.
It is his desire to elevate himself. It is his desire to be noticed, to be somebody that ruins everything else. Lying tongue. Hands that shed innocent blood. Heart that devises wicked plans. Feet that run rapidly to evil. A false witness who uttered lies. And one who spreads strife among brothers.
And at the core of that is pride. At the core of that is pride. Why it bothers us so much when somebody speaks ill of us. Because we try so hard to work on our reputation and how people view us. And then when somebody pokes a hole at that, we can't stand it.
And so as a result of that, we say, "Well, then you deserve this or you deserve that." And all the strife that comes in to human history is because our pride is hurt. And this is the reason why he says in Mark 10:15, "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all until we are first empty." That's why he requires repentance.
Repentance means that all that I had, all that I was pursuing, all that made me happy, all that I have hoped for, I was going the wrong direction. I was seeking pleasure in the wrong place. I was seeking life in the wrong place. These are things that have nothing to do with God.
It's all artificial things that I've been pursuing because I have been alienated from the presence of God. So salvation is to restore that presence. And that's where Jesus comes in. Jesus is the mediator of this joy. In Luke 10:22, he says, "All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal him." Because of our sins, we could not go to him.
We could not go to him. So he came to us. You know, when people ask, especially if you're young, "What field should I get into for work?" I know this is not Asian, right? And some of you parents aren't going to like me after this, okay? I tend to--consider going into a trade school.
Consider going to a trade school because in the Asian culture, if you don't go to Ivy League, if you don't go to a top school, something--we have failed as parents, you know? Like, our job is to get them into the best schools possible. Right now, people are not going into trade schools.
So you have electricians and plumbers, and, you know, I know it's a lot of hard work, but you're running your own business, and you can pretty much make whatever you want to make, and, you know, you have freedom. You're not bound to a 9-to-5 job. So if you think about the practical ramification of that, a trade school is a good option.
You can stone me later, you parents, right? But it's very practical. But of all the things that I suggest, electrician is like, oh, yeah, yeah. You know, that's one of the fields that every four people retire, only one is coming in, they said. So basically, you're going to have a monopoly in the next 10, 20 years.
Electrician, electrical, I don't know. I can do plumbing. I can do construction. I can do everything else, but not electrical. And the reason why is because of fear, because of fear. Because we don't know, like, what if it pops, and I don't know what if I cut the wrong thing.
And so out of fear, right? And that's a healthy fear, because you understand the power of electricity. People have less fear of God than electricity. They think about, they're going to just walk toward, you know, the presence of God. No, the whole purpose of the Old Testament is to teach us that we've been separated from God, just how sinful this sin is, this rebellion, this desire to be somebody, to be recognized, to be the center of attention, to be worshiped.
And the damage that that has done, that death has rained on mankind. And he said he gave the law in the Old Testament, the prophets, all to remind us the necessity of Christ. So that when Christ came, that they would recognize a need for a Savior. And that's why Jesus comes.
He says, John 17, 25, 26, "O righteous Father, although the world has not known you, yet I have known you, and these have known that you sent me, and I have made your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which you love me may be in them, and I in them." So the whole reason why he came is to bring us to God.
Bring us to God. A lot of people think their salvation is simply that they've got to get out of jail cart from hell. I don't know if you've ever watched the movie Shawshank Redemption. And in that movie, basically, you have people who lived their whole life in prison, and then you have this older man, I forgot his name, and he gets released.
And he just doesn't know how to live. Because all he knew was prison life. When the doors were open, he came back, and he didn't want to go. Because there was no other life waiting for him outside. He only knew one life. And a lot of people who confess to know Christ experience Christ in the same way.
We've been delivered from judgment, but they have no understanding to what we have been delivered for. The Bible says that we have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of his beloved Son. New life in Christ. If there is no new life in Christ outside of prison, all that has happened was the prison that you're in, the doors have become wider.
The rooms have become bigger. The courtyard has become larger. That's all that has happened. But the reason why Christ came is to restore us back to God. It is in his presence we find life. In his presence we find pleasure. It is in his presence we find joy. That's why Jesus says, "I have come to give life." Give life.
Give joy. Abundantly. The natural question is, why does he do this? In fact, Hebrews chapter 12 says, "Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfect of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despite the shame, has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." He said the reason why he endured the cross, despite the shame, was he was pursuing joy.
Isn't that crazy? He picked up the cross. He lived in humiliation. He was crucified on the cross. And he endured all of that, he says, to pursue joy. I remember the first time I was doing quiet time through this years ago, and I just couldn't get over it. For the joy he set before him.
He did all that for joy. What is the joy? That he was willing to be crucified. To be despised by his father. To be separated. The only thing I can think of is me and you. Me and you. For the joy set before him. It brought him pleasure. To sacrifice.
To see our salvation. And so the natural question is, why does this bring joy to him? Why does this bring joy to him? Well, there's anything that you've worked on, and the more you've worked on it, and then you see the fruit. It brings greater pleasure. So if you pray for anything, maybe for a week and God answers prayer, joy.
If you pray for something for decades and God answers it, exponential joy. In anything that we do. Whatever you're building. Maybe you've been working in a med school and you had to go to school for, what, 50 years? To finally graduate? Joy. The Bible tells us from the moment Adam and Eve fell, he said, the seed of the woman is going to crush the head of the serpent.
The serpent is going to come and bruise the heel of the seed. And then from Genesis chapter 3, he's been following his promise. And that's why he has genealogy after genealogy. It's not random. Because he's keeping a record of his promise. And he comes and he keeps a record.
And again, if you don't understand the context, you don't understand why these genealogies are there. But this is a record of his faithfulness. That's why when the New Testament started, it starts out with Jesus' genealogy. To connect Jesus with his promise. So for thousands of years, he's been laboring.
Establishing the nation of Israel. Sending the prophets. Giving the law. Enduring. Despite all their failures. All so that Christ's sacrifice would open the door to restore us back to God. So we understand why he would be rejoicing. Because he says, "At the fullness of time." All that he has done.
All that he has endured. All that he had prepared was coming to fruition in Christ on the cross. But the real question goes deeper than that. We understand that he labored. But why did he choose to labor to begin with? Why did he choose to do that? Why did he choose to save us?
And why does this bring him so much joy? The answer is given to us. We know what the answer is, but it remains a mystery. He says, "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son." He did it because he loved us. That's why the gospel is a mystery.
We don't understand. But why? Why would he love us? And the psalmist asked the question, "What is man that you are so mindful of him?" God demonstrates his own love toward us and that while we were yet sinners, he died for us. Why? Why does he love us? In a fallen world, it's like, "I don't understand hell." Hell makes sense.
If you blaspheme an almighty God, what do you think is going to happen? What do you think is going to happen? A God who can flip a switch and judge you for every wrongful thought and rebellion against him and blaspheming his name. And then he says, "You're going to be punished." You don't understand that?
You don't understand hell? No, hell makes sense. That a rebellious people rebelled and cursed his name. That God brings judgment. What doesn't make sense is why would he love us? That's the mystery of the cross. It says in Isaiah 26.5, "For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you.
And as a bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you." Your God will rejoice over you. Isn't that mind-blowing? That our God rejoices over me and you? He's not just putting up with us. He said it brings him joy. He says, "Because of the joy set before him, he endured the cross." He rejoices over us because he loves us.
And then Luke 10.23-24, "The blessed are the eyes which see the things which you see. For I say to you that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, because they understood." What is this? "Behold, what manner of love is this that He would allow us to call Him our Abba Father, that we are the children of God, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them." It is this mystery of His love which produces worship.
It's what produces worship. Why? Why would you love me? Why would this bring joy to you? Romans 8.35, "Who was separated from the love of Christ? Would tribulation, distress, persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sore?" Romans 8.38-39, "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." The growing understanding of what it is that we have in Christ is what causes us to be worshipers, not just doers, not just doers.
Just discipline yourself. No. To worship. God is looking for people to worship Him in spirit and in truth, and He says it brings Him joy. And the only answer, you can ask all the questions, all the things that don't make any sense, and every one of your questions will lead to that question, "Why does He love us?" Why?
As you guys know, some of you guys know, my oldest son got married last year, right? And I've been at, you know, many, many weddings, right? I don't know, it's got to be several hundred. At the end of the wedding, not everybody, at the end of the wedding, there's some dancing going on, right?
And usually that's my cue to leave, my cue to leave. So as soon as the music gets, starts going, and the light starts flashing, and then people start wiggling, like, I'm out of there, and all the older people leave, right? In the beginning, it used to bother me because, you know, I come from a generation where, you know, the dancing is clubbing, and drinking, and debauchery.
And that's what I, in fact, when I first came to Biola, I actually had to sign a paper saying I will not dance, because it wasn't allowed, right? So in the beginning, I was like, "What is this?" You know, they're dancing, it's just like, okay. But years ago, I went to a synagogue, you know, it was required from our seminary class, just so you can have an idea of what the synagogue worship was like.
And at the synagogue, the rabbi would come, and he would read some passages, and I would say 70% of their worship is singing, they would sing the psalms, and then he would give a short exposition, right? And then, before the service is over, he gets everybody to stand up, and we would just go to the back of the sanctuary, and they would stand in a circle, and they have fellowship refreshments on the side, and they would just start dancing, and it was so weird, right?
There's the lights, you know, and we started dancing, and I realized that that was part of their worship, of celebration. Like King David, he entered the courts with singing and dancing, it says, and they were literally applying that. And so, I started to say, "Okay, it's a little bit more," it was because of my cultural, you know, what I was taught, and I said, "Okay, so there's a celebration going on, as long as you don't dance a weird way, you know what I mean?
And that you are selective of the music, you know, that, okay, I can see this as a celebration." But either way, it's not for me. Either way, it's not for me. So usually, when they're like, everybody knows, when the lights are down, PPK is gone, right? That's known, right?
But obviously, this is my son's wedding. So I was there, I'm trying to stick around, 'cause I'm trying to help clean up, and then, you know, the music comes on, and I found myself so happy. Not because of the music, you're right, not because of the DJ, because my son and his new bride was so happy.
And I was just watching, you know, taking a video of that, and he's like, "They're so happy today," you know? And they were dancing, and, you know, some of you guys said that I was dancing, I don't remember that part. But I videotaped that, and I have it on my phone, and I watch it from time to time, because they were so happy.
They were so happy. And I remember just sitting there until the music stopped, just soaking it all up, because my son has a new bride, and he's so happy, and you could see the joy on his face, you could see the joy, you know, on his bride's face, on the bride's, and the friends coming in, and then, just jumping up and down, and, you know, just sitting there, just so happy that day, seeing them so happy.
Our God rejoices over us. That's why He says, "Rejoice always." And I say again, "Rejoice," because that's what He came to bring. A new life, an abundant life, an eternal life in Christ. So it brings Him pleasure to see us enjoying our new life, celebrating who He is. It brings Him pleasure to see us worshiping Him, and rejoicing, and even dancing, because He loves us, because He loves us.
Who wouldn't want to worship this God? Who wouldn't want to worship this God? You know, people always ask me, like, "Isn't it hard, on Sunday, preaching three times?" Sunday's my favorite day, yeah, my favorite day, because, you know, all week, you know, I'm reading the Bible, and studying, and praying by myself, and then, I get to come and do it with everybody that I love.
You know, you can play basketball by yourself, but BBA is much more fun, because you get to do it with other people, right? That's why we have corporate prayer. You can pray by yourself, but it's much better when you're praying with other people. And that's what corporate worship is.
I get to do it three times, and it brings our Lord pleasure. It's mind-blowing. I pray that this mystery of Christ, that you would soak in, that you would soak in, so that you and I would be the aroma of Christ wherever we go. Father, we love you. We love because you first loved us.
Help us, Lord God, to understand deeply what it is that we have in Christ, that all that we do would simply be a response, a reasonable response. Help us, Lord God, to take our eyes off of ourselves, off of this world, and fix it on Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let's all stand up for the closing praise. I will trust my Savior Jesus when my darkest hours befall. I will trust my Savior Jesus, trust Him when my strength is small. Jesus, only Jesus, help me trust You more and more. Jesus, only Jesus, may my heart be ever Yours.
I will trust my Savior Jesus, He has said His way is best, and I know the path He's chosen for me. Jesus, only Jesus, help me trust You more and more. Jesus, only Jesus, help me trust You more and more. Oh, on that cross, how it was seen, I can go now ever trusting in the One who died for me.
What could I bring for Your gift is complete. Jesus, only Jesus, help me trust You more and more. Jesus, only Jesus, help me trust You more and more. Jesus, only Jesus, may my heart be ever Yours. Let's pray. 1 Peter 1 3-6 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, for protected by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this, you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials. Help us, Lord God, to recognize what it is that we have in Christ, that we would worship You in spirit and in truth, that we would declare Your new life, Your glory, wherever You send us this week.
Amen. God sent His Son, they called Him Jesus, He came to love, He left the world, He lived in us, He came to buy my soul, He came to buy my heart. And I know, because of You, all fear is gone, because I know, He owns the future, and life is the living, just because He lives.
Amen.