>> Happy Lord's Day, church family. As we begin our praise, I encourage you to continue to prepare our hearts as we sing this next song to render our hearts before the Lord. >> Good morning. Welcome to community church. Before we get started, we have an announcement from our sisters.

Sisters? Grace? Let me do the other stuff and then maybe she'll come in before then. Can somebody stick their head out and ask Grace to come in if you're outside? Okay. All right. First of all, next Sunday is transformation. Basically, it's a replacement for Halloween at our church. And the theme of this year is Sola Fide.

And so there's going to be a very brief teaching on that for our children and for the parents as well. They're still asking for volunteers if you still have interest in creating a place of transformation for the children where they can come and play games. They're still taking that.

But the sign up for that day is ending today. So if you haven't signed up your children, if you want to do so, please do that by today. And they are still taking candy and prizes for that. And so if you go to the cafe, and as soon as you go into the left, there's kind of like a pile of candy there, and that's not for you.

Okay, so that's for the children. So if you want to just drop it off, you can go there and just drop it off there, and then they'll use that for this coming Sunday. So next Sunday, the time will be from 4 to 6 p.m. And then there is an evangelism outing that's taking place on November 6th, and our brother Jun-Yim is in charge of that.

So if you're interested in coming and participating in that, please let him know. All of this stuff is on our website and our church app, so you can address that or look at that. Our Bible study lab, again, in November 7th, that's happening at 2 p.m., and then our Orphan Sunday is coming up, and we will be taking an offering for that on November 7th.

Okay, so Grace has an announcement for our holiday outreach. Good morning, church family. My name is Grace Kim. I'm making this announcement on behalf of Women's Ministry for various holiday outreach opportunities available to the whole body. Oh, sorry, I ran in here. Let me catch up. So with the Thanksgiving and Christmas season quickly approaching, it's easy to become consumed with the busyness of family gatherings and celebrations.

However, I pray that our body would keep in mind to let our light shine for Christ by bringing the beautiful message of the gospel to a dark world. And I pray that these holiday outreach opportunities will serve as a way of engaging our body of Christ out of an overflow of thankful hearts for the love that we have first been shown.

So this year we have five ways to engage our church members. The first is called Olive Crest. Olive Crest is a Christian foster children agency in Santa Ana, and they have requested therapy kits to be used by counselors during therapy sessions with the foster children. And they have also requested gift baskets, which will be handed out to the youth who will be transitioning out of foster care.

The second is Operation Christmas Child. This year we'll be providing shoebox gifts filled with toys, school supplies, and hygiene items for children worldwide. And the shoeboxes will serve as a means of reaching out to children globally through partnerships with local churches to bring them the good news of Jesus Christ.

And then the third is Angel Tree, where we'll be providing gifts to local children impacted by the incarceration of a parent. We will purchase, wrap, and deliver gifts for these children on behalf of their parents in prison to remind them -- to bring the hope of the gospel and also to remind them that they are loved and valued.

And then the fourth is Orange County Rescue Mission. There are two opportunities here. The first is a lunch meal prep and service. And then the second is an annual magic at the mission event where we would be a personal shopper with the children and adult residents at the gift shop that's already set up at the OC Rescue Mission, and as well as helping them gift wrap.

And then the last one, but not least, is a Breein, our church service project and homeless outreach. You can participate in two ways for this one. Number one, you can make donations to put together care packages. And then number two, you can go directly out onto the streets to reach out to the homeless.

And please note that for several of these opportunities, they have deadlines approaching relatively quickly. So we'll be tabling outside weekly in the courtyard for these opportunities starting today after each service. So please visit these tables for the details. Thank you. Okay, so as she mentioned, if you go outside, you'll see all these canopies that are set up to the left as you're coming in, or to the right.

And so that's where all the booths are. So if you go visit there, each one of these ministries are represented in different tables, so you can do sign-ups over there. Okay? All right, so let me pray for our offering, give you time to give electronically. And for those of you who are visiting us for the first time, our physical offering box is in the back.

It'll say "Offering." It looks like a little birdhouse, but that's the offering box. So if you have a physical offering and you want to drop it off, you can just drop it off there after the service. Okay? All right, let's pray. Gracious Father, you are truly deserving of our praise and worship.

Help us, Lord God, to consider your word, your spirit, and what you've done for us, that our worship, Lord God, would be an overflow of gratitude from our hearts. Even in our giving, help us to give as an act of worship in spirit and in truth. May it be multiplied, 30, 60, 100-fold, that as we live in this dark world, as you warned us, Lord God, that because of increase of wickedness, that love of most will grow cold.

Help us, Lord God, to be deliberate in all that we do. Even in this giving, may it be an act of worship that honors and glorifies you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. (gentle music) - Let's all stand for worship. (upbeat music) Praise is rising. ♪ Praise is rising ♪ ♪ Eyes are turning to you ♪ ♪ Eyes are turning to you ♪ ♪ Hope is stirring ♪ ♪ Hearts are yearning for you ♪ ♪ We long for you ♪ ♪ 'Cause when we see you ♪ ♪ We find strength to face the day ♪ ♪ In your presence all our fears are washed away ♪ ♪ Washed away ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ You are the God who saves us ♪ ♪ Worthy for our praises ♪ - Give us a sound.

♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ Hearts returning to you ♪ ♪ Return to you ♪ ♪ In your kingdom ♪ ♪ Broken lives are renewed ♪ ♪ You make us new ♪ ♪ 'Cause when we see you ♪ ♪ We find strength to face the day ♪ ♪ And in your presence all our fears are washed away ♪ ♪ Washed away ♪ - Sing it out, Hosanna.

♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ You are the God who saves us ♪ ♪ Worthy of all our praises ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ You come and away among us ♪ ♪ And welcome you here, Lord Jesus ♪ ♪ 'Cause when we see you ♪ ♪ We find strength to face the day ♪ ♪ And in your presence all our fears are washed away ♪ - So when we see you.

♪ When we see you ♪ ♪ We find strength to face the day ♪ ♪ And in your presence all our fears are washed away ♪ ♪ Washed away ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ You are the God who saves us ♪ ♪ Worthy of all our praises ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ Hosanna ♪ ♪ You come and away among us ♪ ♪ And welcome you here, Lord Jesus ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ There's no one like you, my Lord ♪ ♪ No one could take your place ♪ ♪ My heart beats to worship you ♪ ♪ I live just to see your face ♪ ♪ There's no one like you, my Lord ♪ ♪ No one could take your place ♪ ♪ There's no one like you, my Lord ♪ ♪ No one like you ♪ ♪ You are my God ♪ ♪ You're everything to me ♪ ♪ There's no one like you, my Lord ♪ ♪ No one like you ♪ ♪ You are my God ♪ ♪ You're everything to me ♪ ♪ There's no one like you, my Lord ♪ ♪ No one like you ♪ ♪ There's no one like you, my Lord ♪ ♪ No one could take your place ♪ ♪ I long for your presence, Lord ♪ ♪ To serve you is my reward ♪ ♪ There's no one like you, my Lord ♪ ♪ No one like you, my Lord ♪ ♪ No one could take your place ♪ ♪ There's no one like you, my Lord ♪ ♪ No one like you ♪ ♪ You are my God ♪ ♪ You are my God ♪ ♪ You're everything to me ♪ ♪ There's no one like you, my Lord ♪ ♪ No one like you ♪ ♪ You are my God ♪ ♪ You're everything to me ♪ ♪ There's no one like you, my Lord ♪ ♪ No one like you ♪ ♪ You are my God ♪ ♪ You are my God ♪ ♪ You're everything to me ♪ ♪ There's no one like you, my Lord ♪ ♪ No one like you ♪ ♪ You are my God ♪ ♪ You're everything to me ♪ ♪ There's no one like you, my Lord ♪ ♪ No one like you ♪ Amen, you may be seated.

- All right, if you can turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 13. We're gonna be reading from verse seven through 14, but the text that we're gonna be in this morning is specifically in verse seven. Hebrews chapter 13, verses seven through 14. Reading out of the NASB.

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God and God to you, and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.

We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by high priests as an offering for sin are burned outside the camp. Therefore, Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside the gate.

So let us go out to him outside the camp bearing his reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we pray that you would anoint your word. May it go forth with power, and with power change our hearts, our minds, and our very lives for the sake of your name.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen. All right, so if we look at this text, one of the questions that I asked on the Facebook, just to prepare, I just want to give you a heads up that every Saturday night when I'm preaching, I'll give a little blurb about what to prepare for the next day.

So I highly encourage you to take a look at that and look at the questions. You don't have to study through it, but if you take a look at it, I think it will better prepare you to be able to hear the message and kind of know a general outline of what we're doing.

One of the questions that I asked is, there's a bunch of imperatives here to do certain things at the end. So if we look at it superficially, it may look like that the author is just kind of at the end of the letter, and he has a bunch of things that he wants to get off his chest.

So he's done with the indicatives where he kind of taught the theology and gave broad imperatives on what you ought to do, and then now he wants to get into specifics, and he's run out of time, and he just kind of, you know, verse after verse, do this, do this, do this, do this.

Superficially, it may look like that, but there is a cohesive unity of what he is saying. It's at the end of the letter, and so typically, the thesis of the letter is usually in the very beginning or at the very end, right? And so, you know, he made it very clear to pay very close attention to what Jesus has to say, and then he goes into Christology of who Jesus is, he's superior over everything, and then now at the end of chapter 13, he's kind of concluding everything.

And so the conclusion of what he's been trying to say through 13 chapters is really contained in this section. And so the verse that kind of wraps up everything is really contained in verse 9 when it says, "Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace." That really is a summary of everything that he's been trying to say.

Remember that the warning that he has been giving us is do not drift, do not drift. How can we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? And he keeps saying, "Do not drift, do not drift, do not drift." And so in saying that, everything that he says, all the imperatives here really tie to that thing.

Do not be carried away by various strange teachings, and make sure that you're grounded and you're anchored in Christ and what Christ has done. And so in doing so, he starts out by telling us in verse 7, "Remember the leaders, remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you, and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith." So later on he's going to talk about submitting to the elders of the church, the leaders of the church, but here in verse 7 he says, "Remember those who have gone before you, consider the end result, the result of their conduct." So he's referring not simply to the leaders that are leading them today, but he's talking about the people who have gone before them.

And the reason why he starts with that is because that was the very reason why they were strained. In the very beginning of their faith, some of these leaders were suffering for the gospel and they were willing to stand with them, but as time went by, the suffering would not relent.

It got even worse. In fact, some of them were actually martyred for their faith. And as their leaders started to die off one by one, he's telling them, "Remember the result of their faith." He's not telling them that, "Look at the perseverance of your leaders, that because they persevered and suffered for a little while, that God blessed them, answered their prayers, they were able to come out of prison, take care of their children, and they lived happily ever after." That's not what he's saying.

He's saying, "Remember those people who have gone before you and were martyred for their faith." And as a result of that, the fruit that they bore. So really, the only person that's going to be encouraged by this text is, if you genuinely believe that the end result of suffering, that even if you die, it's worth it, because you believe that there's true life in Christ and Christ alone.

This is not an encouragement for people who say, "You know what, look at the leaders and look at how great their life was, even though they sacrificed for a short period, that in the long run, they had a great life." That's not the point that he's trying to make.

He's actually telling them, "Look at the end result of their life, that even as they were martyred for their faith, that you ought to look at that and to mimic what they've done, to encourage them, not to be discouraged because of the suffering of those who went before them." And that's what he's really trying to say.

And so today, we're going to be looking at the three imperatives just in this verse to remember, to consider, and then to mimic. But before we even jump into those three imperatives, one of the most common criticisms that I have heard through the years of Berean Community Church is that we are too slow in establishing leaders in our church.

And I've heard it all. I've heard some people say, "We're slow in establishing leaders because Pastor Peter's an egomaniac. He doesn't like to share his power." So I've heard that. I've heard some people say that, "I want to keep our power within the family." So you have to be a family member in order to be a leader at this church.

Or another common thing that I've heard is that, "We don't know what we're doing." And so we don't disciple people, and therefore that's the reason why we don't establish leaders because we don't disciple people, and so we don't have enough people coming up. And especially as our church grows, that comment may also grow along with that because the need for leadership is great.

But the reason why we are slow in establishing leaders is deliberate because whenever you see in the Scriptures when Israel goes astray, the first group of people that gets targeted for the judgment of God is always the leadership. In Jeremiah 23, 1-2, it says, "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture," declares the Lord.

"Therefore, thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending my people, 'You have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not attended to them. Behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds,' declares the Lord." He blames the shepherds of Israel.

If you remember, Jeremiah is a weeping prophet because he kept on telling them that you're going astray and because you're not honoring God, judgment is coming, and foreigners are going to come and take you into their land. But before he judges the nation of Israel, he says, "No, it's the leaders.

You're the reason why they are being scattered. You're the reason because you're not shepherding. You're not speaking my word." 1 Timothy 5-24, Paul warns Timothy, "Do not lay hands hastily because some men's sins are obvious." And you know, the sins that are obvious are easy to deal with because we see it coming a mile away.

It's the sins that trail behind them, meaning that they're really good at covering up, and it takes a while to reveal their character. And it says those sins that trail behind them are the ones that destroy churches because you establish them, and you don't really realize what's in them until they get squeezed or there's some conflict or there's something wrong, and all of a sudden, all hell breaks loose.

So we are warned not to lay hands hastily, we're told not to put people into ministry hastily. And he says, "If you do it hastily, you will also share in their sin by being hasty in putting people into leadership." James 3-1, he says, "Not many of you should desire to be leaders because as a leader, you will incur upon yourself stricter judgment." We all stumble, but as a leader stumbles, there are greater consequences.

Instead of stumbling a few people, you will stumble the whole church. So he says, "Not many of you should even strive to become leaders." I remember years ago, I think it was maybe around the 10th year of our church, Dr. Mantoya of Master Seminary was at a church that we were at, and he happened to be speaking, and a fellow pastor of mine--a fellow pastor, a friend of mine-- we ended up having dinner with Dr.

Mantoya. Dr. Mantoya probably was already in his 70s at that time, and so he's been doing biblical ministry for many years. So we sat with him and had dinner, and him and I--my friend and I-- had the exact same question. And the question was, "Now you've seen the harvest, and you've been doing biblical ministry for over 30-some years, would you be more patient in trying to get more younger guys into ministry, or would you be more strict and weed more people out?" Without giving a second thought, he said, "I'd weed more people out." Now, both of us, we were thinking the same thing, but we're younger pastors, and we didn't want to dare to say something like that.

So we were thinking, and we just kind of nodded our head, and we asked him, "So why do you say that?" The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. And so there is always pressure to establish leaders, because we need to plug up holes. We need people to lead.

But the reason why our churches are in the condition that we are in now is that because the harvest is full, harvest is plenty, we just want to plug up whoever, who's the next best person, and then plug them in. And then you may fix the temporary problem, but in the long term, you've destroyed the church, because you've got the wrong people in the right place at the wrong time.

And so we want to be careful. It's better to have lack of leadership than to have the wrong leadership in the wrong place that will lead the church in the wrong direction. So we are deliberate in being very slow, keeping accountable. We want to make sure that we know the sins that are obvious and the sins that trail behind them so that the men who are coming into leadership are tested through various things, tested at home, tested with their wives, possibly with their children, tested when they are criticized, tested when they are weary, because whenever a church goes astray, the first people that get targeted for judgment are the leadership.

1 Timothy 4, 16, Apostle Paul says, "Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for as you do this, you will ensure salvation both to yourself and for those who hear you." Did you notice that? Your teaching and your conduct has eternal consequences. That's what he's saying.

It has eternal consequences. You will save yourself and save your hearers. And that's why he says, "Be careful in establishing leaders." In doing so, there's three things that he mentions here that we are called to do, that we need to be careful to do. You notice here the first thing is, "Remember those who lead you who spoke the Word of God to you." He says, specifically, he points out, "Those who led you were the ones who spoke the Word of God to you." Those who led you are the ones who spoke the Word to you.

Today, sad to say, and I think many of you who've hopped from church to church will testify that we are in a generation where the Word of God has been squeezed out of many churches. I've actually talked to pastors, young and old, who have officially said that they don't do Bible study anymore at their church because people are not interested.

They won't come if we exposit the text. I've actually talked to a pastor who sat through, or at least went through some of our teaching in the book of Isaiah and our Bible study, and he was surprised. He listened to the teaching that I gave in the book of Isaiah, and he said, "They come to this?" That's what he said.

I said, "Yeah, they come to it." He's like, "Why? I don't understand. They don't come." Sad to say, we live in a generation where the Word of God has been squeezed out because if we are too serious about the Bible, the seekers won't come. So we've watered down the church, the gospel, the Bible, to the lowest common denominator for those who wish to be at church but may not be serious about their faith so that they can also be welcome and be a part of the community.

As a result of that, the Word of God has been squeezed out. In the book of Amos, and this is a book, if you don't know the content of the book of Amos, I strongly recommend to go do quiet time in this book because God speaks to the nation of Israel during a period when they were very active in their religious activity at the temple.

They were done fighting, they were pretty wealthy, and as a result of enjoying this peace, they were going to the temple and making many sacrifices, but yet God says that He is angry with the nation of Israel, that in their sacrifices it had nothing to do with God, that He actually says that their assemblies are evil assemblies, that as they are singing to God, God says, "Take away from me your noise," because they strayed away from what God desired.

And so He would bring judgment to the nation of Israel, but at the end, the final judgment of the nation of Israel is described in Amos chapter 8, 11 through 12. He says, "Behold, days are coming, declares the Lord God, when I will send a famine of the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the Lord.

People will stagger from sea to sea and from the north even to the east. They will go to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, but they will not find it." He said that was the final judgment. You keep ignoring my word. You keep straying away from what I say.

You keep hardening your heart from the prophets that I sent to you. He said the final judgment is He gives them over, okay? Then there's going to be a famine of the word. You're going to go look for it to see what God has to say, and you're not going to be able to find it.

Jeremiah 23, 36 says this, "For you will no longer remember the oracle of the Lord, because every man's own word will become the oracle." In other words, we're going to be in a relativistic community where the word of the Lord is whatever you make of it, whatever you think is right.

If it bothers you, God could not bother you. How can a God of love say this? Why would a God of love say that? Not based on the word of God, but your own sense of moral compass is going to be the word. He said because the word of God has been ignored, people are not going to be able to filter to know if this is biblical or not.

Every man's own word will become the oracle, and you have perverted the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. Doctrinal relativism is what's killing the church. We have been so concerned about making the church as pleasant as possible to as many people as possible that there are no lines today in our generation between a Christian and non-Christian.

So even the term evangelical, the term was given in order to distinguish between genuine Christians and the cults. Today, among the evangelicals, the title evangelical, they said over 70% believe that you can get to heaven without Christ. So the term evangelical no longer is a description of Christians. It's just a term who profess to be Christians.

Doctrinal relativism is killing the church, and more and more I hear even pastors saying and advertising their church and saying, "We're not doctrinal," or "We don't have creeds in our church." What they mean by that is we're not judgmental. That's what they mean by that. We don't judge like these legalists.

We're not overly concerned about every little detail of the doctrine because we're about Jesus' love. So we're not that. They advertise themselves as being non-doctrinal because the worst thing that you can accuse a Christian of in that camp is being not loving. Usually, you know, I've had many conversations with pastors and say, "Oh, we're non-doctrinal." I would ask them, "Do you have women preaching at your church?" They said, "Well, it doesn't matter." I said, "Well, I'm just asking you, do you have women preaching at your church?" They said, "Well, I don't know." I said, "Well, I haven't heard that in a while." "That's your doctrine.

You may not have that on your paper, but you have women preaching at your church. That's your doctrine. Do you baptize infants?" It's like, "It doesn't matter. Our church doesn't matter." "But do you baptize infants?" "Yes." "Then that's your doctrine. How can you be so narrow and baptize infants?

How can you be so judgmental and allow women to preach? That's your doctrine. You may not put it on paper. What you mean is doctrine don't matter to you. Of course, doctrine don't matter. We just love Jesus." And when they say that, I said, "Well, which Jesus are you referring to?

The Jehovah Witness Jesus? The Mormon's Jesus? Are you talking about the modalistic Jesus, the tritheistic? Which Jesus are you referring to? The Trinitarian Jesus that the church has fought for for centuries. People have given their lives because that's what the Bible teaches. You're saying about that Trinitarian doctrine doesn't matter to you because you're non-doctrinal." They said, "No, no, no, no.

We wouldn't say that. We believe in the Trinity." So you are doctrinal. Christians have fear that being too precise in doctrine is somehow going to divide the church. Guess what? Doctrines are given to us to divide the church, to divide between truth and falsehood, to what is true and what is false.

There is no group, there is no individual who is non-doctrinal. Years ago, early on in our church, when we were having membership, we had a lady--some of you guys who have been here a bit longer will remember--we had a lady who was confessing to be a Hindu who took our membership class.

Initially, she said she wasn't a Christian, but she was interested. She sat through all of our membership class. Back then, it was about 10 weeks, and about an hour, hour and a half each class. It was pretty long, so she sat through all of it. As she was progressing, she was starting to confess and say that, "I believe I'm a Christian." We started to celebrate and say, "This Hindu lady came to Christ.

We're excited." After she took the class, we usually have-- we have an assignment where we have to sit down, talk to her, make sure that the testimony is true. One of the leaders sat down with her and began to ask her, "Oh, we're so excited about you that you want to become a Christian." She said, "Yeah, I want to be a member of this church." We started to dig a little bit and found out that she still considers herself a Hindu.

I said, "How are you a Hindu and a Christian at the same time?" Basically, what she did was she took all the different idols. She just added Jesus to her idols. She liked the church. She liked the people at the church. She liked the doctrine of grace. She said, "I love that, but I still want to embrace the idols that she has in her life." We had to basically shut the door and say, "You're not a Christian." If you don't embrace the Christ of the Bible, you're not embracing Christ at all.

We live in a theological relativism where we think the godly thing to do is to draw no lines. Let's not be doctrinal because doctrine divides. Let me tell you what God says in Jeremiah 23, 16-17. It is so precise. Listen carefully or read carefully what he says. An indictment against the leaders.

"Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility. They speak a vision of their own imagination, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise me, 'The Lord has said, 'You will have peace,' and as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, they say, 'Calamity will not come upon you.'" Jeremiah is known as what kind of prophet?

He's known as the weeping prophet. I've never heard anybody come into ministry saying, "I want to be like Jeremiah." They want to be like Apostle Paul, even if he pours his life out, plant churches, die in glory. We're willing to do that. Jeremiah wept all his life. God told him to do strange things to convey the judgment that's coming, and he wept the whole time.

And the biggest thorn on his side were these false prophets that kept on contradicting him, saying, "No, he doesn't speak for God." And so, just like Paul warned Timothy that people are going to come, and they're going to gather around themselves, teachers are going to tickle their ears, and when they tickle their ears, what are they telling them?

"God loves you, has a wonderful plan for your life." The message in itself is not wrong. "God loves you, Israel. You're the apple of his eye." That message in itself is not wrong. But it was given to the right people at the wrong time. God sent the prophet Jeremiah to warn them.

If they don't turn from their sins, captivity and judgment is coming, and the false prophets, in order for their own personal glory, in order to be loved by the people, what he's saying is wrong. And so God says to Jeremiah, "Do not listen to them. They are not speaking on my behalf." Jeremiah 23, 21, he says, "I did not send these prophets, but they ran.

I did not speak to them, but they prophesied." They're not speaking the word of God. They're telling you what they think you want to hear. They're telling you what they think is going to draw as many people to them as possible. And he says, "Do not listen to them." Jeremiah 23, 30-31, "Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets," he clares the Lord, "who steal my words from each other." "Behold, I am against the prophets," he clares the Lord, "who use their tongues and declare the Lord declares." Does that sound anything like what's going on today?

You know, years ago, it took a lot of work to be a heretic. It took a lot of work because you had to be gifted. You have to be charismatic. You have to first have a large following locally. And you have to have done that for a certain period of time where you have a large following, and then people start hearing about you in different cities, and then you write a book, you go start going to conferences.

And so it took a long time for a heretic to rise up in the ranks and then start to have influence. Today, you can have a 20-year-old on a blog that got a large following on TikTok because he did some silly dance, and then all of a sudden he writes a blog and it becomes popular, and then people in his generation listen to it.

That sounds about right. So you have a generation of people who can't filter what the Word of God says because the Word of God has been taken out of the church. And so today, you can instantly have national and international influence because you have a church filled with people who can't tell if this is from God or not.

So they quote each other. They quote the other false prophets, all their books and all their people, but they do not know what the Word of God says. Our church, Berean Community Church, typically when I meet somebody who's never heard that word, I say, "Oh, what's your church name?" I say, "Berean Community Church." They say, "Oh, yeah, Korean." No, Berean.

"Buh," not "Kuh." Berean Community Church. And the reason why a lot of people don't know that name is because it is an obscure name in the Bible. It's not everywhere. It's mentioned in Acts 17 and 11. And even in that verse, it's not a big verse. If you look at Paul's ministry, he was in Thessalonica doing ministry, and they were considered the model church, remember?

Their faith is being proclaimed all throughout Macedonia. Their love is growing more and more. But he had to leave that church because of heavy persecution. And in order to protect the church that was in Thessalonica, he runs away from persecution, and he happens to land in this obscure little city called Berea.

And in Berea, he says in Acts 17, verse 11, that's the verse that our church name is, where we take our name, he said, "Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica." Remember, Thessalonica was the model church. They were the church in Macedonia, but they were more noble-minded, and only one thing is mentioned.

"For they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were true." Apostle Paul said these were more noble-minded. For what reason? For questioning them. You can imagine if you were an apostle and you come in and said, "The Word of God says this." It's like, "Does it really say that?

How dare you question me? I'm an apostle. I've been stoned, dragged into prison, shipwrecked, and you're going to question me?" Inside, he says, "They were more noble because their authority was from the Word." And he said they were more noble in character because they questioned. That their strength, their foundation, their authority came from the Word of God.

That's where they were more noble-minded. That's why we decided to choose that as our church name. Apostle Paul says in Acts 20, 29-31, I'm not going to read that passage for the sake of time, but as he is headed toward Rome, knowing that he's going to be in prison, he spends the night with the elders of Ephesus, and he tells them that, "After I leave, savage wolves are going to come in, introducing heresy to you." And then verse 31, "Therefore be alert." Be alert.

They're going to come, and they're going to savage your church. You know what the savage church that he's referring to, you know what the heresy he's referring to? He's talking to Judaizers. Judaizers were basically Jews who embraced Christianity without letting go of their Jewish past. So on the surface, it doesn't look that bad.

They believe in Christ. They believe in the Atonement. They believe in the Resurrection. They believe in the church, but they just refuse to let go of their past. So they say, "Well, you still have to be circumcised. You still have to keep the Sabbath. You still have to keep the dietary laws." But Apostle Paul says of that in Galatians, "If anybody comes to you, preaches a different gospel than what I preach to you, let him be anathema." Even if it's me or an angel of God.

If they contradict the Word of God in the gospel, let him be anathema. Anathema basically means to be accursed, condemned. The modern understanding of that would be to go to hell. That's what that means. It was the severest judgment that you can give, and Apostle Paul says that twice.

And you know who he rebukes with that? Apostle Peter. Apostle Peter is the most respected apostle among the apostles. I mean, if there's anybody that you would want to excuse, and not to shame publicly, it would be an Apostle Paul, Apostle Peter. But he calls him out publicly. Because even Apostle Peter is not above the gospel.

Because he was in leadership, that his confrontation, he refused to sit with the Gentiles to eat. That's all he did. He just wouldn't eat with the Gentiles. Because he was concerned about the Judaizers. That was very influential in the church. That somehow, that he's going to be shunned by them.

And the other one, Barnabas. Barnabas was the one who stood up for him, when other people couldn't believe him. How can this guy who was trying to kill us and murder us, how can he be representing us? Barnabas stood up and he testified. He's like, no, I can vouch for him.

Genuine conversion happened. So these two men, if there's any two people that Apostle Paul would have been afraid to question publicly, it would have been Peter, it would have been Barnabas. And I think God did that on purpose. To sanctify him and to sanctify us. That the word of God has to be held up higher than any man.

And so Peter and Barnabas were called out for eternity in the book of Galatians, that they compromised. And by doing so, they may pervert the gospel. That the word of God, this gospel of God has to be placed above any human being. He says that the laughter got bigger, right?

The first one you probably thought, oh, Pastor Peter didn't get enough sleep. So he's probably said that wrong. Gospel of James. I know there's James, I don't know if it's the gospel, maybe he's saying it wrong. Maccabees, for sure he's wrong. Maccabees. Now let me ask you, if you're sitting here and you did not know that this is not in Scripture, you shouldn't have strong opinions about what the word of God says or does not say.

You do not know the content of what the word of God says. You do not know the content of the word of God, period. You should not have strong opinions, I don't think God says that. Again, we live in a generation of so many opinions with so shallow understanding of the word of God, and this is the reason why so many bad doctrines are coming into the church.

And I blame the leaders for that. If you did not know that this is in Scripture, and you're a younger Christian, you don't need to be ashamed. Because part of why you commit to the church, why you give yourself to the teaching every week, is so that you can learn.

But the problem is, when you become a Christian in this generation, your learning period is very short, and then after that you become a teacher. We need to know what the word of God says. We need to understand what the word of God says. A lot of the things that you may be thinking is right or wrong may be a quote from other people.

And it may be people that God never sent. They just are very articulate. They just have a large following. They wrote a bestseller, so therefore they have a voice in our generation. But you do not know what the word of God says. You and I must be Bereans. If our knee-jerk reaction to any doctrine makes us feel uncomfortable, the next question should be, "Is it biblical?" Not, "I don't like it," or, "I like it." Is it or is it not biblical?

And if we're not able to answer that question, we should not have strong opinions. But having said that, we live in a generation where we are more than willing to excuse bad doctrine if they have good life. You see someone say, "They teach weird things, but look at their church.

Look how many people came to Christ. Look how influential they are." So because they are very influential, we excuse bad doctrine. I mean, that's how the church has become what it is today. We must never excuse bad doctrine because of who they are. Even Apostle Paul, even Barnabas, even an angel, he says, "Let him be anathema." Because once the word of God is perverted, then the church gets perverted.

But having said that, we should never excuse their conduct because they have good doctrine. He says to consider the result of their conduct and mimic them. Consider. The word "consider" here is not just casually look. It means to intently examine. Hebrews 12.2, that same word is translated, "Fix your eyes on Jesus." Intently look upon them.

1 John 3.1, same word, "Behold." "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us." Look and examine carefully. Look at what they preach. Look at how they live. See if it's consistent. See if their theology and their life is consistent. You can have a great sermon and have a lousy life.

And you can have a great life and have lousy, lousy theology. Neither should never be excused. Matthew 7.15 says, "Beware of the false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves." The Bible clearly says, when deception comes, it's going to come in the name of righteousness.

It's going to come saying that this is from God. The most destructive things that come into church are people who are very well respected in Christian community. So therefore, if you do not know the Word of God, if you're not growing in understanding of what the Word of God says, when these ravenous wolves come, what's going to end up happening is, "I like that guy.

I like this guy." So whatever your prejudice is, that's what's going to blind you to go down that path. Because the Word of God is not your filter. The filter is your own sense of right, your own sense of wrong. So if you have a picture of God, He loves unconditionally, and He would never judge.

So whatever sounds harsh to you is not from God. Or you can err on the other way. You know what I mean? Jesus flipped over tables, so He's flipping over tables every day. And there's no grace in that either. And we can err on either way when the filter isn't the Word of God.

But having said that, does their life match what they preach? Well, what does He mean? What conduct? What are some of the things that we should be looking for? Well, we don't have to look far because Paul describes it in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. He was being accused of being a false prophet, and so in defense of the gospel that he was preaching, he lists out, in defense, his life.

So therefore, they need to pay attention to what he says. So I broke it up into three parts. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 1 through 4, he says, "For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi.

As you know, we had the boldness in our gut to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition. For our exaltation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts." So the first thing that he says is, every time Apostle Paul defends his ministry, he starts with his suffering.

Well, how do you know? How have they been approved that they're not speaking in error, that they're not doing this for their selfish gain? He says, because there was no gain for them, that they ended up sacrificing everything, even their life, preaching this gospel. Now, that doesn't make the doctrine right, but he says the evidence of their own heart was proven by their willing to sacrifice and to suffer.

So that's the first thing that he says. So if a man comes to you and his whole purpose is to gain people, more people to come to his church, then immediately he's going to be tempted to tickle your ears. Because if I say anything that's offensive, some of you may leave.

If we do anything in the church that doesn't attract the seekers, then they're going to leave. So first thing that he says, in every instance where Apostle Paul defends himself, he starts with his credential of suffering. Look at what we sacrifice. Look at people who died in preaching this gospel.

So they believe that it was true. You know, usually when a young man says he wants to go into ministry, one of the first things that I warn him about is, are you ready to suffer for Christ? Different people may suffer in different ways, but you need to be willing to suffer.

If you're going into ministry, and this is not true only of people who are going into ministry, but if you're going into ministry, you have to come into ministry and say, "Lord, hear my, send me." Every other family, they'll choose churches based upon what they think is best for their family.

Do they have Sunday school? Or is there a good women's program? Is there good marriage counseling? Are there good things, the Bible being taught? And so when you look at the totality of the church, is this somewhere that my whole family could benefit from? There's nothing evil, there's nothing wrong or doctrinally wrong about any of that.

But if you're going into full-time ministry, you don't choose church based upon what you think is best for your family. You choose church based upon where the greatest need is. Where's the greatest need? So the greatest need may not be here. The greatest need may be overseas. The greatest need may be in an area where there is lack of churches.

The greatest need may be in churches where they don't have proper leaders and teaching. So we choose based upon the greatest need for that area, which may mean greater suffering for your children, greater hardship for your wife. They may not have people that are your age that are in that place.

So you may not have the community that you desire. But if you're coming into ministry thinking, "I can only serve God if my children are taken care of, my bills are paid, my wife is taken care of, and we have the perfect Sunday school, and so in that context I want to preach the Lord with boldness." Then you do not want to go into ministry because you have to come into ministry saying, "Here am I.

Send me." And so Apostle Paul says the proof that his heart was in the right place was that he was willing to suffer and die for the cause of Christ. Secondly, that his primary concern is not praise of men. "For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with pretext of greed.

God is witness. Nor do we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority." He said he's not a man pleaser. If you're a man pleaser, you cannot lead. Because Paul says to Timothy to preach the word in season and out of season.

If you are only willing to preach in season, in season meaning when people are thanking you, and praising you, and there's benefits, and you see fruit, and that's the only time you're willing to preach the clear word of God, then you cannot lead because there are many times when it's not in season.

That because of what you say, people may leave. They may be offended. People may get hurt. And as a result of that, you're going to suffer. That your children are going to suffer. Because you're not going to have the financial means to take care of your family. But if you are a man pleaser, you cannot lead.

Because leader means you have to lead in season and out of season. You have to stand for truth in season and out of season. Whether it empties the church or gathers the church. We are representative of Christ. Our primary goal is not to fill this room with as many people as possible.

God calls us to represent Him. There are periods when people hated Jesus. If they hate Jesus and they love you, you are not a servant of Christ. If they have no interest in Christ but they're very interested in you, then you are not a servant of Christ. If preaching Christ drives many, many people away, and yet many, many people are coming to you, then you are not a servant of Christ.

The second test is, is he a man pleaser or is he a representative of Christ? Thirdly, does he love as Christ loved? But we prove to be gentle among you as nursing mothers tenderly cares for our own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives.

And then he says our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to you, any of you, we proclaim to you the gospel of God. And then at the very end, verse 11, he says he treated them as father would his own children.

He loved them dearly. He loved as Christ loved them. You know, in the Western culture that you and I are in, you know, even when I was in seminary, you know, it's almost like business, like how much should a pastor get paid? And I remember I had a classmate who spent the whole semester doing a paper on how much should a pastor get paid?

And there were other different philosophies. And he did an excellent job. He really, you know, that could have been a book. At the end of the day, I'm like, of all the things that you could have written and dedicated your semester about, that it was about that he had interest in.

Again, you know, I judged him. I mean, there was a need for that, but it was just like, oh, you know, that was something that he was very, very interested in. And like what is a job description? And I remember an older pastor told me, make sure your job description is very clear, that you're going to go there and teach, you're going to do this, and then so that you're not responsible for this and that.

And, you know, every once in a while, somebody, a younger pastor would ask me, like, what is the job description? Pastor Peter, what do you do after Sunday? You know, I get that question every once in a while, right? I play golf. I don't play golf, right? So what do you do?

What is your job description? Let me ask you, especially mothers. This is true of mothers and fathers, but mothers in particular. What is your job description? Put that on paper, what you do. What is your job description? I make breakfast, do the laundry, make sure the kids don't kill themselves, right, feed them dinner, make sure they go to bed.

Is that an accurate description of what you do? Part of it. Can you describe what a mother does for their children? You can't. Because sometimes you're a chauffeur if they need rides. If they need to eat, you become a chef. If they don't behave, you become the police. If they have problems, you become the counselor.

If they wear unmatching socks, you become their designer. If they don't comb their hair right, you become the hairdresser. You become whatever you need to become based upon what they need. Why? Because you love them. It's not about you. I know plenty of ladies who refuse to cook until they have their child.

"Oh, why? How come the women have to cook? Why don't the men cook?" And then they have their kid and all their feministic thing that they grew up in goes out the door because your kids. And all of that, all of the secular philosophy goes out the window because you need to care for your kids.

And again, I'm not saying that this is true just of moms. The description is no different from a husband. There is no description. If you are a leader, if you are a pastor, there is no job that you don't come into ministry saying, "I'm going to do this," and everything else is your problem.

Then you're not the leader. A leader is the one who loves as Christ loved. You become all things to all men, but by all means to save some. You can't come into ministry saying, "I'm going to do this and I'm not going to do that. I'm going to preach, but I'm not going to take care of the toilet.

I'm going to teach, but I'm not going to work with the children." You become whatever you need to become because you love the church and you want what the church needs. So there is no job description. There is no part-time pastor. There is no part-time leader. Sometimes it's not in season, so there's greater sacrifice, and sometimes there's rewards.

But he says Paul describes his ministry in that way. He says, "Observe, consider carefully that their doctrine and their life lines up," and then he says to mimic that faith, mimetus. In our generation, it almost seems arrogant to say, "Follow me." What an arrogant thing to say. "Follow me." Who are you?

I know some people who have been burned by their previous leaders. I had a friend who was burned himself, and he said, "I follow Christ, but I follow no man." I understand because you've been burned. I fully understand that because when I was a young man, I got converted by a church-- not a church, a parachurch ministry in Los Angeles.

That was everything to me. I dropped baseball. I dropped my friends. I dropped everything because I wanted to be in their fellowship. Eventually, my parents moved from Burbank to Orange County, and I couldn't attend that ministry anymore. So eventually, I couldn't go. I remember just being away, and I was struggling, and I couldn't get down to L.A.

because I had no rides to get over there. Then I met the pastor because they were playing volleyball or some tournament, and I met the pastor of that ministry. I remember meeting him, and I was so excited to say hello to him because I haven't seen him in a couple of years because I couldn't go down to L.A.

I remember he came up to me, and he grabbed my hand. I was so excited to say hello to him. He grabbed my hand, and he said, "You traitor." I thought he was kidding. I looked into him. He was hurt that I wasn't coming, and he said, "You're a traitor.

You're a traitor because you stopped coming to our ministry." Then he just walked off. I was so devastated by that because he meant everything to me. I got saved through his ministry, through his preaching. I was discipled. I gave up everything to go to their Friday night prayer meetings and to have that man call me a traitor, it devastated me.

When the next ministry came around, the campus ministry, my former disciple asked me, "Hey, do you want to be discipled?" I jumped at the chance. I said yes. I remember the very first thing I said to him, "I want to be discipled by you, but I don't want to be part of your ministry.

I don't want to commit to this ministry because I don't want that happening again." It's just personal between me and you, but don't ask me to join this ministry. It took me years for me to get over that hump because I was so discouraged by that one statement, "You traitor." To this day, it rings in my head.

Today, it sounds arrogant to even say, "Follow me. You're just a man." Look at how often Paul says this, Hebrews 6.12, "So that"--this is not Paul, but in Hebrews-- "so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who, in faith and patience, inherit the promises." 1 Corinthians 11.1, "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ." 1 Corinthians 4.16-17, "Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.

For this reason I have sent you to Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ." Philippians 3.17, "Brethren, join in following my example. Observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us." Philippians 4.9, "The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." 1 Thessalonians 4.16, "You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit." 2 Thessalonians 3.9, "Not because we do not have the right to do this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example." It sounds--again, it sounds like, "Why?

It's biblical to say, 'Hey, don't follow me. I'm a sinner just like you.'" And so we excuse all kinds of behavior, all kinds of lifestyle, in leadership, because we think it's humble. We think it's biblical. And so the standard that we have in leadership is no different than the rest of the church.

And so because the church is growing and there's a greater need, we're going to pick whoever to fill that hole. If you're old enough, if you're experienced enough, you get in that position, and then some men's sins are obvious, some men's sins trail behind them. And then by fixing an immediate problem, you end up kicking a can down the road that's going to ruin the church later on.

He says, "Do not lay hands hastily." He says, "Follow me." A leader must be able to say, "Follow me as I follow Christ." Yes, we're flawed men. We're flawed men. But you need to keep us at a high standard. Test what we say. Test the Word of God. Test the life of the leaders.

And if there is something that needs to be questioned, if there's two or three, if there's an agreement, he says, "Bring it to the church, because the damage will be severe if you do not." A perfect example of this is Ravi Zacharias. And I know that's a sore spot to some of you because you really looked up to Ravi Zacharias.

Here's a man who spent 30, 40 years of ministry influencing internationally. When he died, all kinds of filth came out. It wasn't even hidden. People knew about it. He himself said, as he was sexually assaulting people, the excuse that he gave was, "Because I'm being used greatly for God, that God will excuse this." And many people bought into that and said, "We don't want to disturb the international community.

If they find out what he is like behind the scenes, all of his ministry is going to crumble." So they excused. This was not an indiscretion. This was not just somebody who was tempted and fell for the minute. This was a pattern in his life where his public life and private life was a completely different man.

And I don't think he was a Christian. But yet, the church completely ignored what was obvious. Because there were, after he died, people started coming out and realizing, "How did he keep this buried?" It wasn't buried. People knew about it. Testimony after testimony after testimony started coming out. And they just kept it under wraps because they didn't want to ruin his ministry.

But now that after he has died, all of it has surfaced, and the ministry has crumbled, and I think the impact of that is much worse today than if it had been revealed when he was alive. We must not. He says, "Not many of you should become leaders because leaders will be under a greater scrutiny.

Because when the leaders fall, so will the church." Now having said that, he said, "Well, thank God I'm not a leader." Maybe some of you guys may be thinking that. But it is important for me and the leaders of our church to watch our doctrines and our life carefully.

You're all leaders, especially the men, in your own homes. Your family will rise and fall based upon your leadership. In our community, wherever you are, as you are watching me and as I'm doing my best to lead you to Christ, there are non-Christians in your life who are looking to you to represent Christ.

And so you must also watch your life and doctrine carefully because if you do so, you will save yourself and also those who are around you. So it is imperative. Our doctrines matter. How we live our life matters. Let me say that again. Your doctrines matter, and your life matters.

It has eternal consequence. Anyone who tells you otherwise does not know the Word of God. Let's pray. Again, let's take a few minutes to come before the Lord in prayer. Anything I said that disturbs you, I challenge you. Test me. Test it with the Word of God. Don't make what you hear from here to be the final authority in your life.

Examine the Word for yourself. Look up the verses that I gave that you didn't like. See if what I'm saying is taken out of context. See if I have a hobby horse that I keep pounding on that really isn't biblical. Examine what you hear so that your authority doesn't come from this pulpit, from your own personal lives, but from the Word of God.

But if you find it to be true, if you find what the Word of God says is true, then we must commit ourselves to the Word, and we must commit ourselves to follow what the Word of God says. Let's take some time to pray and ask the Lord of the harvest to raise up more biblical leaders.

Harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So let's take some time to pray as we ask the Lord to examine us. Let's all rise for the closing praise. And for those seated outside, if I could ask that everyone remain seated so that everyone can see the lyrics for "Praise." The Lord of every age, author of our faith, first and last the same, the name above all names.

Crowned in majesty, glorious prince of peace, throne of God's right hand, the world at His command, the world at His command. Jesus, Lamb of God, how great You are. There is no other Savior. Every knee bows down at Your renown. There is no other Savior. Merciful, high priest, lover of the least, generous and meek, protector of the weak, sacrifice to death for us to find our breath.

You write the words to save, to overcome the grave, to overcome the grave. Jesus, Lamb of God, how great You are. There is no other Savior. Every knee bows down at Your renown. There is no other Savior. You reign forever. You reign forever. You reign forever. You reign forever.

You reign forever. You reign forever. You reign forever. You reign forever. Jesus, Lamb of God, how great You are. There is no other Savior. Every knee bows down at Your renown. There is no other--Jesus, Lamb of God. Jesus, Lamb of God, how great You are. There is no other Savior.

Every knee bows down at Your renown. There is no other Savior. Heavenly Father, we pray that Your Spirit that You've given to us, Lord God, would continue to groan on our behalf. Help us, Lord, to not to grieve the Spirit, not to turn from Your Word to the left or to the right.

Help us, Lord God, to follow You and to love You, to honor You. We pray, Father God, that the examples that have gone before us, men and women, Lord God, who gave their lives, that we may have Your Word to spread the gospel to the remotest parts of the world.

Help us, Lord God, to consider carefully the end result of their lives, Lord God, that we may mimic their faith, that these men and women who have so boldly stood up for the gospel, that we would continue that tradition in our generation, that no matter how difficult life may become, help us to have an eternal perspective.

Help us, Lord God, not to be short-sighted for this short period of life, Lord God, where we come and go like a mist. Lord, I pray that You would open our eyes, that we may see eternity, that all things that we do, that we would long for, fight for, strive for, the things that matter in eternity.

So we pray that You would continue to purify our church, bring revival in our generation, that as the world becomes more and more wicked, that we will become brighter and brighter, Lord God, as light in darkness. Help us, Lord God, to be salt of this earth, that Christ may be exalted, that our neighbors and our friends and our family members may know that there is hope in the name of Jesus Christ.

For that end, I pray that You would send us wherever You send us, that may we be the light that You have called us to be. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. God sent His Son. They called Him Jesus. He came to love, heal, and forgive. He lived and died.

To buy my heart again. An empty grave is there to put my Savior's lips. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives. All fear is gone. Because I know He holds a future. And life is worth the living just because He lives. Amen. (beeps)