(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 music) (soft music) ♪ The earth ♪ ♪ The earth is filled with your glory ♪ ♪ We stand in awe of your majesty ♪ ♪ You hold the splendor of the king ♪ ♪ Enjoy the angels as they sing ♪ ♪ Holy, holy ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy ♪ ♪ Is the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Honor, praise and glory ♪ ♪ Are yours ♪ ♪ Oh Lord ♪ ♪ Forever ♪ - As we gaze.

♪ As we gaze at your beauty ♪ ♪ We cannot help falling on our knees ♪ ♪ We have come to adore our king ♪ ♪ Enjoy the angels as they sing ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy ♪ ♪ Is the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Honor, praise and glory ♪ ♪ Are yours ♪ ♪ Oh Lord ♪ ♪ Forever ♪ ♪ Forever ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy ♪ ♪ Is the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Honor, praise and glory ♪ ♪ Are yours ♪ ♪ Oh Lord ♪ ♪ Forever ♪ - All right, good morning.

Welcome to Bruin Community Church. As you guys know, our team was out in Korea and then our Korean team came back last Saturday and the Indian team came out yesterday. So after the announcement, our brother Matt Chong is gonna be coming up and giving his testimony about what he saw and experienced.

But prior to that, let's see. We have a few announcements before we get started. First of all, you probably saw as you were coming in, the college group is setting up a fundraiser outside and so there will be lunch provided between this service and then after the third service because we have a members meeting, a beginning of the year members meeting at 2 p.m.

And so there's gonna be a Chipotle Bowl for $10 for adults and $5 for children to go to the college. Again, it'll be used for the college retreat that's coming up later. I think it's in March. So please go out and if it's not raining, I think there might be some chairs and tables set up outside or you can go to the cafe.

If it's after the third service and you can't be outside, we might be able to open it up here. But anyway, the lunch fellowship is going to be happening. Lunch fundraiser is gonna be happening after this service as well. So please come to the room before 2 p.m. 'cause we're gonna get started right at 2 p.m., okay?

Family ministry workshop. This coming Saturday, if you are part of the family ministry, there's going to be a vision and purpose meeting for the beginning of the year and kind of set the tone for the rest of the year. So if you're part of the FAM245 or you're part of the FIG ministry or the Jubilee ministry, there will be a brief presentation of each group and then for the whole ministry as well.

So please sign up for that and it'll take place at 2 p.m. and I believe that there is childcare for that. Coming up on February 9th, there's gonna be communion. We'll remind you again next week. Family ministry prayer meeting. If you are interested in one of the ways that you can devote yourself to prayer is to join that and on Saturday on February 8th at 9.15 a.m.

at the youth chapel, the family ministry is gonna be gathering together to pray for specific needs in the church. So please come to that and let them know that you're coming so they can prepare for that. Sprouts PTA. If you have a child in kindergarten all the way to sixth grade, there is a meeting, beginning of the year meeting that's happening on February 9th at 2 p.m.

in this room. So again, this is for all the parents who have children from kindergarten to sixth grade. Again, there will be a meeting here at 2 p.m. on February 9th. And finally, men's ministry fellowship. We have a quarterly men's ministry that happens at this church and on February 15th at 9 a.m.

we will be having, again, men's ministry fellowship and lunch at that time. Again, February 9th is the last day to sign up and the cost of it will be $10. So please sign up for that. There will be a sign-up table as you go outside. And I think that's it.

So let me pray for the offering and then after that, our brother Matt Chong is gonna come up and give his testimony and then we'll jump into the rest of the service. Okay, let's pray. Father, we thank you for this morning and thank you for sustaining our mission teams and that we were able to come back safely.

We pray, Father God, that you continue to bless our church as you've given us resources, manpower. Help us, Lord God, to hone that energy for your purpose and your kingdom. Help us, Lord, that even in our giving, that it would genuinely be an act of worship, that it may be handled with wisdom and for the purpose of your kingdom.

Help us to give joyfully, cheerfully, and that it may be multiplied, Lord God, that your name may be honored and glorified. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) - Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to greet the neighbors around us before we continue.

(audience chattering) (audience chattering) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - Let's sing, our God is great. ♪ Our God is great ♪ ♪ The Father of creation ♪ ♪ His splendor fills the earth ♪ ♪ The lightning crashed ♪ ♪ The thunder sings his praises ♪ ♪ The galaxies can't help but shout his word ♪ ♪ My soul must sing to you an offering ♪ ♪ How great you are ♪ ♪ My soul must sing ♪ ♪ Oh, let the heavens ring ♪ ♪ How great you are ♪ ♪ Oh, how great you are ♪ (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) ♪ The word made flesh ♪ ♪ God's promise to the Father ♪ ♪ Came with power to sing ♪ ♪ The lion of life ♪ ♪ Was crushed for our rebellion ♪ ♪ He done our death and rose up from the grave ♪ ♪ My soul must sing to you an offering ♪ ♪ How great you are ♪ ♪ My soul must sing ♪ ♪ Oh, let the heavens ring ♪ ♪ How great you are ♪ ♪ Oh, how great you are ♪ (upbeat music) (upbeat music) ♪ And our King will come ♪ ♪ Our King will come ♪ ♪ When trumpets last resounded ♪ ♪ To claim his love washed proud ♪ ♪ The land of the skies ♪ ♪ Descending as glowing ♪ ♪ And in an instant faithful turned to song ♪ ♪ My soul must sing to you an offering ♪ ♪ How great you are ♪ ♪ My soul must sing ♪ ♪ Oh, let the heavens ring ♪ ♪ How great you are ♪ ♪ My soul must sing ♪ ♪ My soul must sing to you an offering ♪ ♪ How great you are ♪ ♪ My soul must sing ♪ ♪ Oh, let the heavens ring ♪ ♪ How great you are ♪ ♪ Oh, how great you are ♪ (upbeat music) (upbeat music) ♪ Who else commands all the hosts of heaven ♪ ♪ Who else can make every king bow down ♪ ♪ Who else can whisper when darkness trembles ♪ ♪ Only a holy God ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ What other beauty demands such praises ♪ ♪ What other splendor outshines the sun ♪ ♪ What other majesty rules with justice ♪ ♪ Only a holy God ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Come and behold him ♪ ♪ The one and the only ♪ ♪ Cry out, sing holy ♪ ♪ Forever a holy God ♪ ♪ Come and worship the holy God ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ What other glory consumes like fire ♪ ♪ What other power can raise the dead ♪ ♪ What other name remains undefeated ♪ ♪ Only a holy God ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Come and behold him ♪ ♪ The one and the only ♪ ♪ Cry out, sing holy ♪ ♪ Forever a holy God ♪ ♪ Come and worship the holy God ♪ ♪ Come and behold ♪ ♪ Come and behold him ♪ ♪ The one and the only ♪ ♪ Cry out, sing holy ♪ ♪ Forever a holy God ♪ ♪ Come and worship the holy God ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Who else could rescue me from my failing ♪ ♪ Who else would offer his only son ♪ ♪ Who else invites me to call him father ♪ ♪ Only a holy God ♪ ♪ Only my holy God ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Come and behold him ♪ ♪ The one and the only ♪ ♪ Cry out, sing holy ♪ ♪ Forever a holy God ♪ ♪ Come and worship the holy God ♪ ♪ Come and behold him ♪ ♪ The one and the only ♪ ♪ Cry out, sing holy ♪ ♪ Forever a holy God ♪ ♪ Come and worship the holy God ♪ ♪ Come and worship the holy God ♪ (upbeat music) - Amen, you may be seated.

(silence) - Hi church family. Before I start, as I was kind of going through my reflections, we got back last night and I feel like I could have had more time just to reflect and digest more. But just a thought just came to my mind as I was reviewing was that God is good, he is sovereign, he is faithful and his gospel work is being done everywhere.

And so, if I'm not able to communicate that through my reflection, hopefully you guys can see that. So, hi again, my name is Matt Chong. I'm part of the family ministry. And I had the privilege of being a part of this year's India missions team. Our church has been partnered with the pastors in India for I believe a decade now.

And ever since I heard the story of Pastor Matthew, I've always been challenged and encouraged by the gospel work being done in the villages. When thinking about going on Brilliant's missions trips to India, there's kind of always an excuse not to go. Whether it was work, my kids, feeling like I don't have any skills, what use could I be.

But in the end, they're just excuses. But I remember a year or so ago, I mentioned to my wife, it would be nice to go to India one day on the missions trip. Just kind of in passing and then kind of left. And then my wife just several months later randomly was like, "Hey, you should go ask to join the India missions team." I was like, "Oh, okay." And so that kind of gave me the encouragement to ask Pastor Peter.

And by God's grace, some spots opened up and I was able to go. Like I mentioned, I don't really have any technical skills, so I just kind of wanted to be helpful and just give everything I could to be useful on the trip. But a big part of me of wanting to go was just to meet the pastors and just to see the work that was being done.

Our team, again, was split between a medical team, an optometry team, security, and VBS. I was recruited to join the VBS team, which was led by Sky. I joined with Esther, Abby, and George, kind of a mix of all our affinity groups. Just a quick recap, we kind of settled in.

And pretty much from day one, we left to the villages, which is about an hour, two-hour drive, kind of did our programs, and then came back an hour or two drive, had dinner, met as a team, and then that was just a repeat, and then for four days straight, and then came home.

I can talk about our VBS team and what we did. We ran a program where we sang songs through body worship, shared Bible stories, played games, shared the gospel through kind of the Salvation Bracelet craft. Again, here are some of my reflections. I really enjoyed my time. It was fun.

I had a lot of fun. It was encouraging to fellowship with our church family, sharing devotions, having meals together, laboring together and serving. It was just awesome. It was encouraging just to see we all had different parts, including the pastors, and we're all doing our part to further this work.

There was just something refreshing waking up every morning and kind of asking, like, "What's my purpose?" And just being very clear, like, "Why am I here?" Another reflection I had was I grew a love for the children. I was serving India. People ask me, it's like, "Are you excited?" It's like, "I don't know.

I don't know anybody there. I haven't been, but, man, I grew a love for those kids." And it just reminded me how important children's ministry is. When I say I enjoyed serving, it was mainly serving the kids. Their smiles, their enthusiasm, and just their gratitude and just us serving them made it very easy to serve.

Though we are limited in our communication, my prayer is that we had planted some seeds in them, and through the gospel we shared, through the love of Christ, we were able to show through our actions that God would continue to work in their hearts to save them. It was even encouraging to see kind of the adults hovering around and seeing smiles on their face.

And my hope is that through our work, the pastors come back to these villages and can have opportunities to share the gospel with them as well. Another reflection I had was I got to meet some amazing men of God there. In the few car rides and dinner times, I got to hear their life stories, their testimony, and it was very humbling.

These men received the word of God for comfort and security just for the work of the gospel. I'm probably doing a disservice just to how great these men are. They're so humble and relatable, yet very powerful in just what they've been doing with their lives. So I don't really know how to kind of conclude my thoughts.

I just kind of had these jotted down. My hope is that we all can pray and support and partner with the pastors and the gospel work in India. Our team, through our devotions, went through Thessalonians. And as we were reading, we kept hearing about how the Thessalonians received the word of God amidst much persecution, opposition, and suffering.

And it was just very humbling to see that these pastors in India are-- actually, this is like their life. And as I kind of reflected myself, I was like, what's hindering the work of the gospel in my life? And I was thinking persecution wasn't the right word. It was comfort.

And I still have a lot to digest and think through, but my mind feels very clear to think about these things, to think about my own life and purpose here back home. And the last thought was just an encouragement to those serving in the children's ministry. You guys are amazing.

Keep planting the seeds. God is using it. It was fun just to see-- Pastor Peter had mentioned that our work in VBS could seem like it's kind of a side thing. You do these two cool medical missions thing and kind of this side VBS program. But the kids, their first exposure to Christians, to the enthusiasm, to just the love of Christ, it will pay fruit in the future.

So as the pastors go to those villages more and more, maybe they're met with less hostility and more intrigued by the gospel. Thank you, church family, for your prayers and support. My hope is that even in the short reflection, you're able to see that God is faithful, God is sovereign, and God is good.

Thank you. As we jump back into Colossians 4, 2-4, it's going to be part 2 of what I started a few weeks ago, and then I'm going to finish the sermon based on the vision. As our brother Matt has shared, we came back from India. The flight from the moment we left the hotel until we probably got home was probably about 44 to 46 hours.

So not fully here yet, not fully adjusted. This was our 10th anniversary of going into India, and not going into all the history of how we started going there, but Pastor Sake, who was my main contact when we first started the ministry, obviously the hostility toward Christianity is growing exponentially over there.

So we can tell, even now as we check into the hotel, before we would just check in, get our key, and get into our room, but now there's this huge security check. Whether we're coming through the airport or we're checking into a hotel, we have to go through and give them our passport, we have to give them a copy of our visa.

This is at the hotel that we're checking in, and we have to explain to them why we're here, and then they have to hand it over to the police station, and the police station calls back and says, "Why are these foreigners here?" And it's in such large numbers because there's so many of us coming.

One or two, maybe we won't get flagged, but so many of us are coming. And so previous year, last year, they kept on calling all throughout the week, checking, "Why is this visa this way? What are they doing every day?" And then this time, the security was even tighter than before, and so they called Pastor Sake on Monday after we checked in, we're in the village, and he told me that he was having a conversation with the police station, and they kept on asking him, "What is their purpose here?" And we say, "We came to visit," but over and over, that many people, and the greatest attraction there is this large rock fork that they have sitting on the top of a hill, but they're not dumb.

We tell them that, but they kept on asking. And so Pastor Sake, he told me that he told them that these are medical workers that have come to help our people in the remote villages, and so he began to explain to them. He said, "Yes, they are Christians, but they're here to do medical work." And he told me that at the end of that conversation, the police station actually said, "Take good care of them." He said, "They came to help our people." And then so obviously, Pastor Sake is, "Yeah, that's why we're here.

We're going to be helping them." And so that was great to hear, that we were kind of concerned because the police station was on top of us and was watching us. And so that is not how a lot of the Christians are met there, who are working there. Obviously, even those who are hostile toward the faith, the fact that we have medical workers coming and helping them with their high care and various medical things, they're very thankful.

But even in the midst of that, there are people who are so bent on eradicating Christianity there that even that kind of stuff, they don't want. And so we still have to be careful that we don't run into that. But I was very thankful that at least this time around, that at least whoever was ahead of the police station was calling, that they saw us favorably, that we were there.

And so our whole work is, obviously, we can't communicate with the village people, but we're able to be there and set a platform, and they ask questions, "Why did these Christians come to help us when we're not even Christians?" And that's the most common question that we get. And then they are very thankful to the pastors who brought us.

And so that gives them a platform for them to go back into these villages. In fact, the very last village that we went to, they told us that this village is-- this is the first time going in. Christians have been persecuted in this village, but the village leader in that particular village welcomed us to come in.

So when we got there, it was the smallest group because typically there are some Christians waiting for us, but because there are very few Christians, I think two or three families at the most in that village. And we saw that the numbers represented that, but about 10 minutes into what we were doing, the leaders of the villages started to come, and there was about five or six of them with some other assistants that came into the room.

And even the pastors were kind of surprised that they were coming. And so you can tell when leaders come into the village, it's a big deal. Everybody kind of moves out of the way. They just walk right in. Everybody grabs a chair, gives them the highest honored seat, and so they sit down.

So we knew there was somebody important and then found out that they were the party leaders of that region. And the party that they represent are working directly with BJP, who is hostile toward Christians. And so I asked the pastor, "So this political party is against Christianity?" And he said, "Yes." So I said, "Oh, they're sitting here." And so typically we have somebody share the gospel or share their testimony, sing some Christian songs before we get started.

So I was watching the pastors to see what they would do, if they were going to back down from this and try to be cautious. But sure enough, they started singing, and I could tell there was some nervousness in the room. And Pastor Sake started to speak. He spoke like any other village, and he started to share about Christianity.

And then our brother Kwon stood up, and he gave his testimony, gave a clear presentation of the gospel. And so because the pastors were willing to preach clearly, I was able to stand up at the end, and I shared my angle of our Christian faith to the leaders. And afterwards the pastor told me, he said, "It was very good that we had this meeting because these leaders represent 34 different villages, and they represent their party." And you could tell because they were wearing a scarf that represented our party.

And they said this was probably the first time they'd ever heard about the gospel, that they were able to hear it three separate times in one meeting. And so at the end, we were just kind of watching to see what kind of response that we would get from them.

And so they got the first crack at all the medical and eye care, and they left with nice sunglasses. And as they were leaving, they were looking for me because I was sitting outside with Pastor Matthew, and they went out of their way to thank me for bringing our team over.

And then so we were able to shake hands, and so the pastors told me that they were very favorable to us because of what we've done. And then at the end, as we were leaving, Pastor Saki said, "Next year when we come, that they're hoping to break into the following, the village that has crossed them," because that's where the majority of the persecution was taking place.

But because now those leaders are favorable to us, that they're going to begin their work in that next village. And so they said that after we leave, they're going to have a team start to go in there, and they're hoping to plant the church. And if we come back next year, they said we're going to probably have our camp in that village.

And that's the village where, again, it probably wasn't safe for us to go in. But because the leaders were behind what we were doing, we were able to get in. And so that's the work that we did, and it is physically grueling. And traveling before I was 50, and then now that I'm a couple years beyond 50, physically, obviously, I can tell.

Yesterday I had a nice seat on the airplane, 17 hours from Doha to come back, and I was in the front seat, and I said, "Okay, I can get some rest. Maybe I can open up my laptop, review my sermon." And then I found out that this young lady with an infant baby sat next to me.

And it turned into the nicest trip to the most difficult trip the whole way back. So I'm a little bit tired. It's 1.30, so if I start saying gibberish, it's because I'm not fully here yet. I did have a cup of coffee, so hopefully that helps out. But prior to India, we were out in Korea, and there's about five of us who was in Korea, and then we made our trip to India.

And I come back from India, obviously energized and strengthened, maybe not physically, but spiritually. Going to Korea, more than ever, I am convinced that we need to be in this country. There are some things that I'm going to ask you to pray for in the members' meeting, but how quickly Christianity has fallen in this country is mind-boggling.

Because even throughout seminary, Korea has been the talk of conversation among the mission field. How quickly and how strongly Christianity came into Korea in the last 100 years, especially the last 50 years, how dramatically the country changed because of Christianity. And so missiologists, people who study missions, Korea is on the top of the list of studies, like how revival breaks out, how the gospel came in.

And at one point, it was a country that had less than 1% Christian in the 50 to 60 years, went from less than 1% to 33% in pretty much one generation. And then to have that fall back down to below 2% for people who are 23 and under is mind-boggling, how quickly they rose and how quickly they fell.

Was it the threat of communism because of North Korea? Was it their influence that caused this sharp decline? Was it because of lack of discipling or organization or the support? I don't think anybody can argue that because Korea has become an epicenter for seminary education for all of Asia because they have so many megachurches who have funding and so many pastors and theologians with PhD that have come here to Europe to study and they've gone back and established many, many schools over there.

So I don't think anybody can argue that that was the reason or maybe it's because of the great political turmoil. Recently, they impeached a sitting president because he declared martial law and then just read this morning that he was indicted by their court, that he was guilty and they're going to probably send him to prison.

And this was a sitting president that they did too. And so was it because of the great political turmoil that affected the church? Every opportunity I get to sit with a Christian leader in Korea, I ask them that question. What do you think was the downfall of Christianity in this young generation?

And the universal answer that I get from them is that Korea's fast-growing economy basically affected the church. As much as Christianity grew rapidly in this country, their economy followed along. In the 1950s after the Korean War, they were not one of the poorest country. I think it could be argued that they were the poorest country after the Korean War.

Countries like Haiti and many other Third World countries felt so bad for Korea that even they sent support to help Korea. World Vision, Compassion International, so many orphanage organizations started out in Korea because there were so many orphans after the war. And so a country that may have been the poorest country in the 1950s and '60s has become one of the biggest economies in Asia in a matter of four or five decades.

So as much as Christianity is studied, they also study the economy of Korea and how quickly it grows. And so most Christian leaders will say that Christianity has been deeply affected because people became rich and riches basically has corrupted the church. Seoul, in that one city, nine of the ten largest megachurches.

In the United States, if you have over 2,000 people, they start labeling you a megachurch. In Korea, you're not a megachurch until you have 30,000. Three, four, five, 6,000, they consider that a medium-sized church over there. Nine of the ten largest churches, which means there's a concentration of finance.

There's a concentration of organization. There's a concentration of scholarship in this one city more than any other city in the world. Korea, South Korea, was the number two sending missionary country in the world behind America. Compassion International says that they have the second largest funding to support the orphan work in the world from South Korea.

They have more human resources, manpower, than the church has ever experienced outside of the United States, and yet they have completely lost the next generation. What has corrupted the church is not a lack of manpower, is not a lack of know-how, is not a lack of scholarship, is that there's a tendency when the church becomes rich, just like Jesus said, is more difficult than a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, than a camel to enter through an eye of a needle, because riches tend to corrupt more than anything else.

If you look at the history of Christianity, persecution actually purifies the church. When I ask the pastors, "How has persecution affected what you are doing here?" And he says, "Yes, it's difficult." It's difficult because they don't know where they're going to get stoned. They don't know. In fact, many of the pastors, because the local government is refusing support for them, that their children are not able to go to school.

And so, because of the persecution, some have already fallen out, even among the pastors. They said three of the pastors that they were working with, that because of fear of the backlash that is coming from their neighbors and from the government, that three of them had fallen out. But he said what has happened to the church, it has purified the church.

Nominal Christianity cannot exist in this country. No one is going to risk a well-being for themselves physically and financially to be a nominal Christian. And so, it may be harder to be a Christian there, but it has purified the church, and they are more determined than ever to bring the gospel to the remotest part of the world.

We've seen this even in China. When we first started going out to China about 1997, 1998, Christianity was beginning to blow up in this area. And so, we were excited every time. It was just like people are excited every time they come back from India. Some of you guys who were there in the early years when we were coming in and out of China, every time we came back, it was like it was spreading the gospel.

Like you don't have to do anything other than sit at McDonald's and open up the Bible. Just speak English and talk about Christ, and somebody wants to sit down and have a conversation. It was that easy. And as years went by, we began to notice that their hunger for the gospel began to get squashed.

As the money came in, more and more we began to see the churches over there began to reflect the churches here. You have young, up-and-coming college grads who are attending church, and their primary goal is they want Christ, and they want to become more like the Christians in the United States who have the freedom to travel, have money.

And they equated Christianity with America. And Americans are rich. And so much of the gospel that began to penetrate into China in the later part was because they equated Christianity with Christianity here. That our life and our blessing will look like the Christians in America. And so the health and wealth gospel came in.

When you talk to the underground church and you ask them what the number of Christians is, it's very different. You may have heard somewhere between 300 million to 600 million to maybe 100 million. But when you ask the underground church what the number of Christianity is, they'll give you a completely different number.

If you're talking about how many people say that they're Christians, yes, you make 300, 400 million. If you're talking about people who have been born again genuine followers of Christ, it says probably a very small fraction of that number. I remember years ago when China was having their Olympic, I think it was 2008, we've been in and out of China for almost a decade by that time, and we were all, not just me, but all the mission organizations, all the Western church has been waiting and praying for China to open up so that we can go in there freely, share the gospel, to plant churches.

And so because we were so invested in China, we were praying for China to be open, along with everyone else. And we were expected, and we were planning, what are we going to do when we get into China? Are we going to buy some property? What is our English camps going to look like when they're completely open?

And then we began to talk to some of the underground church leaders, and they said that they were praying so that China would not open. And what a slap in the face. Because all the Western missionaries and churches have been praying for it to open so that we can have full access to China.

But the underground church leaders were saying that they're praying that it would not open to stop the influence of Western Christianity into the underground church. They said that the Western Christianity was beginning to hurt the underground church. So as you guys know, recently, during the pandemic and after the pandemic, Christianity basically have been weeded out by the government.

So all the major mission organizations have been chased out. There are missionaries still there, but they're not connected to any big organization. So the whole Western community has been concerned about this country. They said, "We're not able to support them. We're not able to train them." But then the recent report that's been coming out of China is that the underground church is thriving.

They are thriving without the Western influence, without the Western training. And so obviously, the prayers of the underground church has been answered above ours. We have a tendency to think that because we have money, because we have training, because we have school, we have know-how, that somehow if we can spread our version of Christianity, revival will break out.

Power is not concentrated here. You see more power in remote villages in India, in parts of the places where they have very little representation of Christianity. And every once in a while, we are privileged to interact with them. We come back with a clearer sense of what Christianity was meant to look like in those villages than what we experience here.

If you read the Bible and compare what the Scripture says about what Christianity ought to be, and you compare with our average experience of Christianity here, it doesn't even look the same. But when you're over there, everything that it says, this is what it must have looked like. This is what Christianity must have looked like in the first century.

This is what pastor's life must have looked like. This is what they were going through. In fact, all through Scripture, we are warned that when you are comfortable, that you do not forget God. Deuteronomy 8, 10-11, as God is preparing the nation of Israel to enter into the Promised Land, He says to them, "When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.

Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today." The primary thing that God was concerned about the nation of Israel is that when their prayers are answered, and they have eaten, and they have been satisfied, that they would forget God.

And that's exactly what happens in Hosea chapter 13, 6 as they are taken into captivity. God describes the reason why Israel falls. Hosea 13, 6, "As they had their pasture, they became satisfied. And being satisfied, their heart became proud. Therefore, they forgot Me." Now, when He says, "They forgot Me," does that mean that they were worshipping idols?

Did they have ball worship and asherah polls in their homes? No. In the book of Amos and Isaiah, it tells us that they were very busy sacrificing, and singing, and gathering. But in the midst of that, God says, "I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice." And in the knowledge of God, then burnt offering.

What you are doing is religious activity, but there's no genuine worship. Israel fell by two countries, the Assyrians and the Babylonians. The captivity in Assyria and Babylonia couldn't have been more polarizing. Assyria came in, threatening them, killing them, chopping off their limbs to scare the nation of Israel into submission.

Babylonians, on the other hand, gave them privilege. They integrated them into Babylonia, and they allowed them to have a good life. And if you look carefully in the scripture, the world is not called Assyrians. The world is called Babylonians. The primary way that the church falls is not through persecution.

It's through comfort. It's through peace. It's through wealth. Christianity in the United States has become so intertwined with the health and wealth gospel, even in strong Bible teaching churches, it has become so compromised that what we consider to be a blessing from God doesn't look anything different than what the world pursues.

When we get good jobs, when somebody is sick and they become healthy, when we make good investment, when good things happen, which is no different than the eyes of the world, that that's a blessing from God. And then when we get sick, we make investments, things that we don't want happening in our life, and all of a sudden we say, "Where is God?

How come God is not answering our prayer?" Again, we have become so intertwined with the deception of the world that even in Bible teaching, Bible studying, that our sense of reality of what God has called us to doesn't look anything like what we see in scripture. This is why he says, "Devote yourself to prayer." Be devoted to prayer, be devoted through prayer, and then he says, "You must be sober." You must be sober in prayer.

The word "sober" is to be watchful, to be alert. In the book of Ezekiel, God calls Ezekiel a watchman. Watchman is basically a person that has been set aside on the wall, and his whole job is to stay awake and to watch. If that man falls asleep, whatever danger that may be coming, he's not able to warn.

They say, you know, the pastors are to be sober, the missionaries are to be sober, the elders and the leaders are to be sober, and we have a tendency to applaud those who lead and to be sober. But you are called, every single Christian has been called to be a watchman, to be sober, to be prayerful, because there are your children, your family, there's people around you that we don't have any access to, that you are responsible for.

Matthew 26, verse 41, it says, "Keep watching and praying that you may not enter temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Jesus said that to his disciples as he was resting in prayer before he went to the cross. I know your heart, I know your desire, that your spirit is willing, but your flesh is weak.

He says you must be sober and pray, because you have no idea how committed your enemy is for your downfall. Your enemy is stronger than you, your enemy is more organized than you, your enemy is more determined than you, and your enemy is more persistent than you. If you knew that there was somebody, even one person, with equal strength, not more powerful than you, with equal strength, and his determination is to bring you down, walking around in your neighborhood, my guess is that knowledge would keep you sober.

Well, our enemy is more determined, more powerful, more cunning. And he says he's like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour, and he is constantly scheming. That's why Jesus says, "Even though you are willing, your flesh is weak." You have no idea what kind of enemy that you are against.

You feel safe because you have a ring camera on your door? You feel safe because you got a gun, and you practice to become a marksman, expert, trained all your children and your wife to handle a gun well? Nothing wrong with any of that. We have the freedom in this country.

But your enemy is not outside your door. The primary enemy that can bring us down are not going to be threatening you with guns. They're not going to be at your door banging to come in. The enemy that we were warned about is already in your house, is already scheming.

There's not a single person in this room who has not fallen, to some degree, even right now, into the enemy's scheming, because you may have justified certain sins in your life, and you don't know that you fell to the scheming of the devil. And so, if you're not aware of the enemy's scheming in your life, and just how powerful and determined he is, and you feel safe where you are because you live in a big house, because you got a big gun, and you've been working out and building your muscle, and you have enough money put away as a safety net, you have no clue.

You have no clue what battle you're in. He says you must be awake and pray and be devoted to prayer. You don't know how weak and susceptible you are. In Philippians 3, 3-4, it said, "For we are the true circumcision who worship in the Spirit of God, glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh." And that's the problem of Western Christianity.

Because we have resources, because we have money, because we have education, because we have know-how, we automatically think that if we apply ourselves, that revival can break out, that we can somehow disciple people into the kingdom. If we just set them a good example, not realizing the power is not in us.

Paul says, "We have no confidence in the flesh." That doesn't mean that what we do doesn't matter. It matters. But that's not where the power lies. And that's why he says, first and foremost, to pray. If you just study the Bible without devoted prayer, it will ruin you. If you evangelize without devoted prayer, it will ruin you.

Because you're going to come to believe that it was because of your know-how, because of your articulation, because you figured out some way to get a non-Christian to agree with you, that if you apply that method of what you come to say that it works, that somehow that that's what God's been waiting for.

God's been waiting for some clever, smart, devoted people to figure out how to do this. And so now that we've applied our money, we've applied our know-how and our technology, now God can finally bring revival. God is waiting for us to get out of the way. God is waiting for us to realize just how susceptible we are, and that we have no confidence in our flesh so that He can intervene.

That's why wealth has a tendency to ruin the church, because it makes us proud, because we live in comfortable homes, we have wealth in our bank accounts, we don't have a sense of urgency. That's why we see more power in a village who has no training, very little, seminaries, and yet we are more aware of the power there than here.

You have no idea the trials that are coming your way. Mark 13:33, "Take heed, keep on the alert, for you do not know when the appointed time will come." You may not feel the need to stay sober today. You have no idea what's coming around the corner. You know, what I found is the greatest test of your commitment to Christ is time.

Time. When you feel urgent when you're young, you get older, you get used to going to church, you get used to going to Bible study, you get used to paying bills, you get used to serving the church, and after a while you think that, "Is this it? Is this it?" And everything becomes boring because it's become routine.

And a sense of urgency and desperateness to cling to Christ begins to die. And you just do what you're supposed to do, you just do it day after day, and you don't remember the last time you cried out for the lost. You don't remember the last time you grieved for those around you who aren't Christians.

You don't remember the last time you felt unsafe because you didn't pray, because it's become so routine. And the Christianity that we have accepted looks nothing like what we see in Scripture. And the problem is not that you're there. The problem is that you're there and you're okay with it.

1 Peter 4:7, "The end of all things is near. Therefore be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer." You must be sober to pray. 1 Thessalonians 5, 5-6, "For you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness, so let us not sleep as others do." Let us not behave like the world.

Let us not hope like the world hopes. Let us not rejoice and be sad over what they're sad over and rejoice over what they rejoice over. We are not like the world. If Christ comes tomorrow, how will your life change? If you had one year to live, all the things that you're concerned about, all the things that you're anxious about, all the things that you are working so hard to get, when your life is done, will it matter?

Will it matter? So much of our time and effort and energy is poured into things that don't matter. In Matthew 24, 38-39, Jesus says, "For as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking and marrying and giving to marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark.

They did not understand until the flood came and took them all away. So will the coming of the Son of Man be." You notice here, he says, before the judgment came, that Christ is going to come like a thief in the night. And the reason why, he doesn't say they were idolatrous and sexual immorality and all these things are true.

He says they were eating and drinking and marrying like everybody else. They had no clue. What they valued, what they celebrated, what they became sand over, what they pursued was no different than the world. What is so simple about eating and drinking? What is so simple about being married?

At the end of the day, the things that we grumble over doesn't matter. It has no eternal value. It's because we have become lulled to sleep. We have become deceived. The things that matter so much to us has no value in eternity. It's because we have been deceived. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 10, 1-5, he said all of the Israelites went into the desert, and they saw the power of God, the miracle of God.

They ate the miracle bread. And yet, he says, most of them, God was not pleased. They couldn't enter the promised land. And the reason why he gives in 1 Corinthians 10, 6-10, it says, "Now these things have happened as an example for us so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.

Do not be idolatrous as some of them were, as it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and stood up to play." He's talking about all the reasons that God can give why these people did not enter the promised land. He says, "The idolatry in their heart was they were eating and drinking and playing." Eating and drinking and playing.

That's what caused them to drift away from God. Eating and drinking and playing. Now, it's not sinful. But even the way we ask questions about God's will, is it sin? Is it sin to do this? And the answer, obviously, is not sin. Because the Bible doesn't spell it out to be sin.

But the fact that we live our lives, as long as it's not sin, as long as I'm not going to be prevented from going to heaven, then I'm going to live it up until I die. You have been deceived. You have been deceived. Because you don't understand the value of what it is that we have in Christ.

At the end of the day, the worst thing that can happen to a Christian is that he gets sick and dies early. And if you're a parent, the worst thing that can happen is that your children get sick and die early. But if you're a child of God, the worst-case scenario is that we get to be glorified earlier than other people.

The tragedy in this world is a rich man, a famous man, a comfortable man, who has enough possession to take care of his family for the next 10 generations, and yet he dies without Christ. That's the greatest tragedy. So if a Christian is not living his life with that perspective, he has been deceived.

He has been deceived to value what is temporary, worthless, more than what is eternal. And that's what wealth has a tendency to do, and that's why he says you must be sober to pray. You must be sober to pray. Not only do you need to be sober to pray, he says you must be thankful.

Nothing kills sober praying than a grumbling spirit. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, it says, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." You may look at that and say there's three imperatives here to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks.

But these three imperatives, you cannot practice one without the other. Even in the world, when somebody wins a lottery or they win the Super Bowl, and oftentimes even non-Christians would say, "Thank God that God blessed me. Thank God for this money. Thank God for this investment. Thank God that my child was sick and now he answered my prayer.

Thank God." There's thanking, there's rejoicing, and there is communication with God. Even non-Christians do that. But it's very circumstantial. Christians do that. Just like the world, when something good happens. When somebody was sick and they become healthy. You're looking for a job and you got a good job. You made an investment.

Good things happen to you. But from a Christian sober perspective, every single one of us who deserved eternal damnation met the living Christ. Every single one of us, the blood of Christ, the Son of God was shed for us so that we can have eternity with Him. There is not a single second in a Christian's life that when he is sober should not be thanking God for his very breath.

The only reason that we are not rejoicing, we are not praying, we are not thanking is because we have been entangled with this world. And our value system has been intertwined with this world. That's why he says to rejoice always, pray without sin. How can you rejoice always? Because rejoicing is not based upon your circumstance.

How do you give thanks in all circumstances? You don't know what's going on with you. Because giving thanks is not based upon your current circumstance. Rejoicing and thanking and praying is based upon what Christ has already done for you. That's what worship is. You don't worship God because you won the lottery.

You don't worship God because you're healthy and your kids are safe. We worship God because of what He has already done. And that's why He can command us, always pray, always give thanks, always rejoice when you are sober and you are aware of what you already have in Christ.

Philippians 4, 6, and 7, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." Be anxious for nothing. Not only for those things that you can't handle. Not only in dire situations. But he says, be anxious for nothing.

He says the reason why you're anxious is because you haven't prayed. That's what he said. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses human understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

You know why praying gets rid of anxiousness? Because if I pray, no matter what circumstance I am in, if I pray and leave it to God and ask God to have Your will be done, whatever is going to happen, I let it go. I let it go. The reason why we're anxious is because this needs to happen.

This needs to happen. So we're anxious, if I pray, will God fix this? No. If we pray, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," then this doesn't have to be. It can be the opposite of that. What, worst case scenario, in my mind, may happen, but as long as I release it and say, "Your will be done," then I no longer have to worry.

It's because we have determined what our desire is, and we're trying hard to bend God's will toward my will, so when my will is not done, we become anxious. Whether it's job, circumstance, people, whether I'm married or not married, have children or not have children, our anxiousness comes because we're concerned that God will not bend His will toward mine.

If we pray with soberness, and we pray with faith, and we surrender our will to His, it automatically eliminates anxiousness because His will will be done, whatever that may be. Now, why do we need to pray soberly? Why do we need to pray with thanksgiving? Why do we need to be devoted to prayer?

Is it simply so that our lives would be better? Because our lives is hard, and so we need to be devoted to prayer? That you didn't get the job because you weren't devoted? Your family, you're having relational problems because you were not devoted? Is that why He tells us to pray?

Why do we need to pray with soberness? Because somebody's going to break into your house? Because the wrong politician is going to get into the office? Why do we need to be sober so that we can pray? Why do you need to be thankful when we pray? So that we can have joy in our life and not to be anxious, just focus on the positive instead of the negative?

Is that why He tells us that we need to be devoted and sober and be thankful so that we can pray? No. It's because what we need to pray for requires it. What we need to pray for. He says, "Pray at the same time for us as well, that God will open to us a door for the Word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned, that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak." We need to be devoted to prayer, to be sober in prayer, to be thankful in prayer, so that we can be the light that God called us to be.

So that we can recognize if we are being deceived to think that we're going to be here forever. That if somehow, that if you don't meet the right husband at the right time, that somehow your hopes and dreams are going to be dashed to the floor. That if you don't have a child, a boy and a girl, if you don't have the right job, if you don't have certain health, if you don't have a certain type of friends, that that's possibly the worst possible scenario.

If you've been somehow deceived that your value looks no different than the values of the world, the only difference is the means for your joy is through Christ. And it doesn't look any different than a Buddhist, or a Muslim, or Jehovah's Witness. It's just that the one you pray to, to get it, has a different name than you have been deceived.

Christ did not come so that you may have a comfortable ride while judgment comes. Christ came primarily to save us from judgment himself. He is our joy. He is our life. He is the way. Our primary call, why we need to stay sober, is because our primary call to life here on earth is to be the light.

Wouldn't it be easier for you if you accepted Christ and you died, just like the thief on the cross? I believe you, Lord. And then when you come and get baptized in the water, you never come out. If it kept you in there and you died, wouldn't your life be easier?

You don't have to worry about raising children. You don't have to worry about—you're in heaven. And we say that every time we're at a funeral. We remind them, "Your loved one is in a better place." And we're not exactly—it's not empty words because it's 100% true. So then why are we here?

So he can torture us? So he can see if we're going to make it or not? Why are we here? It's clear. He said, "I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not be able to prevail against it." He said, "You are the light of the world." No one lights a lamp and puts it under a table.

He puts it on top so that the world can see. "You are the salt of the earth, and if it loses its saltiness, what purpose does it serve?" What purpose does a church serve if all we are concerned about is ourselves? All we are happy about is ourselves. All we grumble about is ourself.

I'm not comfortable. I don't like this. I don't like that. What good is it? It would have been better if we died when we met Christ. The reason why you and I are here is so that as Christ came to seek and save the lost, that we may also deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and join him.

A disciple of Christ is not simply because you study the Bible. A disciple of Christ is somebody who goes where Jesus goes, says what Jesus says, and does what Jesus does. That's a disciple. Not simply somebody because you raised your hand because you said the right doctrine. Paul prays that the door may be opened.

1 Corinthians 16, 8-9, "I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective service has been opened to me, and there many adversaries." One of the stories that we kept on hearing from the pastors in India is that because of this persecution, how do you bring the gospel to the lost?

And there's one particular story that Pastor David, and if you've ever been to India and you met Pastor David, you know how introverted he is. He's quiet. His brother is the one who's always talking, and he's joking around with us, and Pastor David is always the quiet one in the back.

He was the one who was halfway through his pharmacy school, and he said, you know, I was determined not to be a pastor because he saw what his dad went through and what they went through, sleeping on the field when they're being chased out. He said, "I don't want to bring my children into that." And then he said, in the middle of his pharmacy school, he said he repented and he decided to follow Christ.

And he also prayed, not only for himself, that if God gave him a son, that he would also dedicate him to the Lord. So he has an older son who's 16 years old who's prepping to go into ministry. And we asked him, "How do you handle going into these villages to share the gospel if they're so hostile?" And he just said, "I go in there and they kick us out, and we wait till they calm down, and they go back, and they kick us out, and then we go back." He said, "How many times?" He said, "Well, there's one village that he went to after he became a Christian to share the gospel because no Christianity has ever touched this area.

It's in the top of a large hill, and it's very difficult to get to." And once he got there, he had to stay there for several months. And he said he went back and forth to that village over 12 times as they were kicking him out, hostile toward him, throwing rocks, beating him.

He said eventually somebody came to Christ, and they were able to plant the church. Think about how rich people determine a wide open door. Do we have enough funding? Do we have enough support? Are they inviting us? Is there air conditioning if we're going to go? If we don't have what we're comfortable, what we're used to here, we say, "Oh, no, no, the door's not open." Compare how they saw the door open and how rich people consider a door open.

And this is why Christianity is weak where we're at. Wealth is not evil. But if wealth blinds you, if wealth makes comfort a necessity, if wealth becomes a primary distinction between blessing and not blessing, then we have been deceived by wealth. We need to pray and engage the harvest because God has given us resource.

You can use that resource. We can use that resource so that we can be comfortable, or we can use that resource for the purpose of gospel ministry. It is not wealth that is evil. It is the love of money that blinds us. Let me read you one passage. 1 Peter 3:15, "Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence." Let's pray.

Father, as we begin 2025, open our eyes to see how desperate we are when we are not near you, how vulnerable we are when we are not clinging to you, when we're not devoted in our prayers. Help us to be sober. Help us to be thankful. Help us to be engaged, Lord God, in this dark world, that Christ's name may be exalted, that more and more of your elect may come to Christ.

Help us, Lord God, to be an extension of who you are, wherever we are. Help us, Lord God, in our weakness, that we may pray, pray, pray, that your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let's all stand up for the closing praise.

(soft piano music) Let's sing "For By Waking Breath." ♪ For by waking breath ♪ ♪ For by daily breath ♪ ♪ I depend on you ♪ ♪ I depend on you ♪ ♪ For the sun to rise ♪ ♪ For my sleep at night ♪ ♪ I depend on you ♪ ♪ I depend on you ♪ ♪ You're the way, the truth, and the life ♪ ♪ You're the well that never runs dry ♪ ♪ I'm the branch and you are the vine ♪ ♪ Draw me close and teach me to abide ♪ ♪ Where the spirit meets ♪ ♪ As I'm following ♪ ♪ I depend on you ♪ ♪ I depend on you ♪ ♪ For the victory's still in front of me ♪ ♪ I depend on you ♪ ♪ I depend on you ♪ ♪ You're the way, the truth, and the life ♪ ♪ You're the well that never runs dry ♪ ♪ I'm the branch and you are the vine ♪ ♪ Draw me close and teach me to abide ♪ ♪ Be my strength, my song in the night ♪ ♪ Be my all, my treasure, my prize ♪ ♪ I am yours forever, you're mine ♪ ♪ Draw me close and teach me to abide ♪ ♪ When I pass, when I pass through death ♪ ♪ As I enter rest ♪ ♪ I depend on you ♪ ♪ I depend on you ♪ ♪ For eternal life to be raised with Christ ♪ ♪ I depend on you ♪ ♪ Yes, I depend on you ♪ ♪ You're the way, the truth, and the life ♪ ♪ You're the well that never runs dry ♪ ♪ I'm the branch and you are the vine ♪ ♪ Draw me close and teach me to abide ♪ ♪ Be my strength, my song in the night ♪ ♪ Be my all, my treasure, my prize ♪ ♪ I am yours forever, you're mine ♪ ♪ Draw me close and teach me to abide ♪ ♪ Be my strength, my song in the night ♪ ♪ Be my all, my treasure, my prize ♪ ♪ I am yours forever, you're mine ♪ ♪ Draw me close and teach me to abide ♪ - Let's pray.

Now the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, eternal love of God the Father, rest, restore, strengthen the church that we may be the aroma of Christ and the light of Christ wherever you send us this week. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

♪ God sent his son ♪ ♪ They called him Jesus ♪ ♪ He came to love ♪ ♪ He'll never forget ♪ ♪ He lived and died ♪ ♪ To buy my forehead ♪ ♪ An empty grave is there to fill ♪ ♪ My Savior lives ♪ ♪ Because he lives ♪ ♪ I can face tomorrow ♪ ♪ Because he lives ♪ ♪ All fear is gone ♪ ♪ Because I know ♪ ♪ He holds the future ♪ ♪ And life is worth the living ♪ ♪ Just because he lives ♪ ♪ Oh my love is soft and calm ♪ ♪ He must hold me now ♪ My soul