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We're gonna go ahead and begin our worship. (gentle music) ♪ As we gather may your spirit work within us ♪ ♪ As we gather may we glorify your name ♪ ♪ Knowing well that as our hearts begin to worship ♪ ♪ We'll be blessed because we came ♪ ♪ We'll be blessed because we came ♪ One more time, as we gather.

♪ As we gather may your spirit work within us ♪ ♪ As we gather may we glorify your name ♪ ♪ Knowing well that as our hearts begin to worship ♪ ♪ We'll be blessed because we came ♪ ♪ We'll be blessed because we came ♪ - So now the step has to come.

♪ The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases ♪ ♪ His mercies never come to an end ♪ ♪ May I kneel every morning ♪ ♪ Kneel every morning ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness O Lord ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness O Lord ♪ ♪ The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases ♪ ♪ His mercies never come to an end ♪ ♪ May I kneel every morning ♪ ♪ Kneel every morning ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness O Lord ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness O Lord ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness O Lord ♪ - All right, good morning and welcome to Brain Community Church.

Let me get to our announcements first. First of all, as you guys were coming in, you saw a table out there that's set up with some stationary stuff. We have a sister in our church, Tanya, who's working for 316 Printing and they have donated some materials. There's a men and women's journal, calendar and various things.

And so if you walk out to the right of the entrance of the cafe, they're gonna have boxes set up. So if you wanna go grab that, again, please don't hoard it. Just take what you need, but they're gonna be out there just giving that out for free. Another announcement they asked to make clear is if you have anything lost and found, they've designated a spot as you're going into the cafe, turn left.

So if you remember, during Christmas, that's where we had our Christmas tree set up. So if you lost anything and you need to find it, it's gonna be over there. So just go into that room and turn sharp left and that's where all the stuff is just gonna be stationed.

And one other thing is, I know that brain couponers is very popular and a lot of people are just kinda exchanging stuff and it's great and we don't wanna hinder that, we wanna encourage sharing and that kinda stuff. But we're having issues with people just dropping off stuff that's just somewhere at church and come pick it up and then people don't pick it up.

So what ends up happening is we have things that, I'm not gonna say it looks like trash, but things that we're not sure if it's trash or not are scattered around the church and we don't know whose it is. Is it lost, is it what it is? So we need you guys to hand that off to each other, not say, hey, it's in front of the bathroom door so go make sure you go pick it up there or it's in the entrance of the sanctuary, just meet it up there and then somebody would forget and it's just sitting out there.

So what ends up happening is we're gonna think it's lost or it's trash or it's a gift to us. So basically, if you're gonna exchange things, make sure that you exchange it with that person personally and make sure that the other person has taken it. But we have too many things that are just kinda lying around, we don't know what to do with.

And so we have some habits that we've had when our church was smaller and we just kinda retained it as our church got bigger and because of the size of the church, we just can't do that anymore. So make sure if you're gonna exchange things that you're gonna exchange it personally.

Make sure that person gets it or keep it in your car and then make sure they come to your car and get it afterwards, okay? All right, there's a child safety training that's happening today at 1 to 140. And so if you are working with children or possibly gonna work with children in the future, that training is for you today.

So this is a mandatory thing for anyone who is working in our children's department. So that's gonna be taking place today at one o'clock. Then heads up, next week is communion service, just to prepare for that. And then one last announcement for today is, today is the abortion seminar and it's gonna be taking place at 1.45 p.m.

So even if you haven't signed up, you're welcome to come to that. We are gonna be having it in this room. And so right at 1.45, we're gonna try to start right at 1.45 and then after Pastor Mark gives his presentation, there will be a time for Q&A and open Q&A so you can come in prepared for that as well.

It's gonna last about an hour and a half so if you need to prepare anything after that. But again, even if you haven't signed up and if you did sign up, obviously, 1.45 sharp, we're gonna be starting in this room, in the sanctuary, okay? All right, this morning, I'm gonna pray for us for the offering.

If you had issues with Zelle, if you were trying to give offering and you were rejected for some reason, having some problems, well, we had some issues last week. We're in the process of changing bank accounts and that kind of stuff and so as a result, some things kinda didn't work last week.

So it should be up and running. If you had some problems last week and you were waiting, it should be okay. But if you try today and for some reason, it gets rejected, please let us know. It should have been fixed. And so I'll forward it to our finance department and they'll be able to take a look at that.

But otherwise, that's what was going on in the background. If you have a physical offering, again, we have a physical box in the back as you are leaving, you'll see that. And then after the offering, our sister Jennifer is gonna come up, give her testimony and she'll be baptized today, okay?

Let's pray. Gracious Father, we thank you so much for the privilege that we have to come and worship you. Lord, help us so that what we do is not simply out of habit, that it's not superstition, but that you would open our eyes to continue to see a greater and greater glimpse of the gospel, the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Help us to learn to love you, to obey you, to follow you, Lord God, in all things. That this morning would be a reminder, Lord, of your presence in our lives. I pray that you would bless the offering, may it be multiplied for the sake of your kingdom. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

(gentle piano music) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) Church family, let's all rise together. As we sing this next song, I just wanna read this verse to you, if you can follow along in Psalm 27, one through three.

It says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation. "Whom shall I fear? "The Lord is the stronghold of my life. "Of whom shall I be afraid? "When the wicked advance against me to devour me, "it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. "Though an army beseech me, my heart will not fear.

"The war break out against me. "Even then, I will be confident." As we sing this song about the Lord's salvation, what we have in Christ, I know a room this size, there are many people dealing with many different things, whether that is good, whether that is bad. But this song will convey to us the truth that the Lord is my salvation, whether good or bad.

So I encourage us, as we sing these songs, we are intentional in trying to teach our church that these principles that are in our songs that we can take with us wherever we go. There's a melody to it, and hopefully over time, you'll be able to memorize these melodies in these songs.

(gentle piano music) ♪ Grace of God has reached for me ♪ ♪ And pulled me from the raging sea ♪ ♪ And I am saved from the solid ground ♪ ♪ The Lord is my salvation ♪ ♪ I will not fear when darkness falls ♪ ♪ His strength will help me stand these walls ♪ ♪ I will see the dawn of the rising sun ♪ ♪ The Lord is my salvation ♪ ♪ Who is like the Lord our God ♪ ♪ Strong to save, faithful in love ♪ ♪ My debt is paid and the victory won ♪ ♪ The Lord is my salvation ♪ ♪ My hope is hidden in the Lord ♪ ♪ He flowers each promise of His word ♪ ♪ When winter fades, I know spring will come ♪ ♪ The Lord is my salvation ♪ ♪ In times of waiting, times of need ♪ ♪ And I know loss when I am weak ♪ ♪ I know His grace, for new these days ♪ ♪ The Lord is my salvation ♪ ♪ Who is like the Lord our God ♪ ♪ Strong to save, faithful in love ♪ ♪ My debt is paid and the victory won ♪ ♪ The Lord is my salvation ♪ ♪ And when I reach the final day ♪ ♪ He will not leave me in the graves ♪ ♪ But I will rise, He will call me home ♪ ♪ The Lord is my salvation ♪ ♪ Who is like the Lord our God ♪ ♪ Strong to save, faithful in love ♪ ♪ My debt is paid and the victory won ♪ ♪ The Lord is my salvation ♪ ♪ Glory be to God the Father ♪ ♪ Glory be to God the Son ♪ ♪ Glory be to God the Spirit ♪ ♪ The Lord is our salvation ♪ ♪ Glory be to God the Father ♪ ♪ Glory be to God the Son ♪ ♪ Glory be to God the Spirit ♪ ♪ The Lord is our salvation ♪ ♪ The Lord is our salvation ♪ ♪ The Lord is our salvation ♪ Amen.

How great the chasm. ♪ How great the chasm that laid between us ♪ ♪ How high the mountain I could not climb ♪ ♪ In desperation I turned to heaven ♪ ♪ And spoke your name into the night ♪ ♪ Then through the darkness your loving kindness ♪ ♪ Tore through the shadows of my soul ♪ ♪ The work is finished, the end is written ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ my living hope ♪ ♪ Who could imagine so great a mercy ♪ ♪ What heart could fathom such boundless grace ♪ ♪ The God of ages stepped down from glory ♪ ♪ To wear my sin and bear my shame ♪ ♪ The cross has spoken, I am forgiven ♪ ♪ The King of kings calls me his own ♪ ♪ Oh Savior I'm yours forever ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ my living hope ♪ ♪ Hallelujah praise the one who set me free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah death has lost its grip on me ♪ ♪ You have broken every chain ♪ ♪ There's salvation in your name ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ my living hope ♪ ♪ Then came the morning that sealed the promise ♪ ♪ Your buried body began to breathe ♪ ♪ Out of the silence the roaring light ♪ ♪ Cleared the grave as no claim of more time ♪ ♪ Then came the morning that sealed the promise ♪ ♪ Your buried body began to breathe ♪ ♪ Out of the silence the roaring light ♪ ♪ Cleared the grave as no claim of more time ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ is the victory ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Hallelujah praise the one who set me free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah death has lost its grip on me ♪ ♪ You have broken every chain ♪ ♪ There's salvation in your name ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ my living hope ♪ ♪ Hallelujah praise the one who set me free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah death has lost its grip on me ♪ ♪ You have broken every chain ♪ ♪ There's salvation in your name ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ my living hope ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ my living hope ♪ ♪ Lord you are my living hope ♪ - Amen, you may be seated.

(soft music) , good worship, sorry. , hi everyone. My name is Jennifer, for those of you guys that don't know me, I'm gonna be sharing my testimony today. So, sorry, oh no, okay. So I was born into a Christian family, growing up I didn't realize, oh God, I haven't even started, sorry.

And I didn't realize what a blessing this was and how it would play a significant role in forming the foundation of my faith until later in college. Because my parents were heavily involved in the church, I naturally followed their footsteps and my life began to revolve around church activities.

So I served in nearly all the church related activities and events and I began to equate my involvement in the church to my spiritual maturity. So I grew up very sheltered and I didn't realize what a blessing it was at the time. Rather I became curious at the secular lifestyles, my friends were living and slowly began to partake in their activities.

So at first I was in denial and wanted to use the excuse that I was being a light and witness, but as I compromised more of my values, my heart became calloused and this culminated into a stage of rebellion and indulgence in my flesh. The irony was that I was partaking in the very activities I had so severely judged once before and the deep sins and desires that were hidden away in my heart came to light.

Much like the prodigal son, what felt pleasurable and enjoyable at first quickly turned to a time of despair. My destructive lifestyle began to take a toll on my academics while relationships helped health and well-being. As I saw myself compromise more of my values, I realized the extent of my sins and fleshly desires.

(sniffling) And I began to lose hope under the weight of my richness. Rather than returning to the one that could save me, however, I chose to numb myself and it wasn't until after a traumatizing event where I wanted to escape my physical body that my mental state deteriorated and I began to feel empty and disinterested in life altogether.

(sniffling) As I began to sink deeper into my depression, I reached the brink of no return and I knew I could no longer continue on this path. By God's grace, I experienced godly grief and I finally came to terms that even though I had wandered so far, I would do whatever it takes to repent from my worldly ways and pursue a relationship with Christ.

So as I began to pray, more and more of my sins were made painfully aware to me in the ways I'd been placing my self-value in validation of people, sought comfort in destructive ways, prioritized my own selfish greed and ultimately wanted to be in control of my own life.

As I felt the depths of my sin and my wretchedness, I felt an increasing chasm between myself and a perfect and holy God and I was shattered at how undeserving I was of his gift of grace and salvation. Although I'd grown up hearing about Jesus dying on the cross for us, at this moment, I felt to my core the cost of my sins.

The fact that a perfect and sinless God would send his only son to die for my sins and that he alone would be victorious over sin once and for all in his resurrection compelled me to surrender my life to him. I committed to take up my cross daily and follow.

This perfect God not only loved me so much, I'm sorry, that he knew every hair on my head, and died on my behalf, but wanted me a broken and once hopeless sinner. I remember sobbing as I sat in awe of his presence with the realization that I was no less deserving of God's mercy and grace, whether I was doing all the right Christian things or living in worldly pleasures.

It was never my actions that had earned my salvation, but God's grace and his grace alone. His love and faithfulness that never wavered because of his character was beyond what I could comprehend. Yet the battle had just begun, as I had to face the consequences of deeply rooted sins and the process of being purified and sanctified that was and is so brutal.

However, I trust and rely on the Holy Spirit that resides within me for strength and perseverance and cling to the hope that one day I'll be reunited with my Lord and Savior. The foundation that was laid through all my years of attending church as a child began to have deeper meaning as I experienced firsthand the peace that transcends all understanding, as well as discovering what it means to have true joy and contentment in God alone.

Over the next several years, I had the privilege to partake in several mission trips where my faith in him grew through further encounters and glimpses of his glory and love for his people. As God's love overwhelmed and transformed me, I wanted every aspect of my life with God in the center.

I no longer found satisfaction indulging in my sin or felt bound to my old life, but rather became a slave to pursuing righteousness. Every day I rely on his new mercies for me, and I'm still learning and experiencing who God is, his multifaceted characteristics of being a holy, righteous, loving, and merciful God, his purpose for his believers to share the gospel and what it means to be a light and a witness and to have his word as an anchor and compass for my life.

As I reflect on my life, God's faithfulness and his hand in my life is so apparent and strengthens me to keep fighting the good fight. I just wanted to end with a verse from Psalm 717. I'll give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness. I will sing praises of the name of the Lord most high.

Thank you. (audience applauding) (water gurgling) - Jennifer, do you understand when you go into the water, you're uniting with Christ's death, and when you come out, you're being united to his resurrected life? - Yes. - And I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

(whispering) (audience applauding) - Thank you, Jennifer, for that testimony. If you can turn your Bibles with me to Luke chapter six, verses 12 through 16. And as I mentioned, we're gonna be in this text for a few weeks. My goal is to finish this text before I head out to Korea.

I'm not sure if that's gonna happen, okay? I didn't get to finish the sermon today in the first service. Okay, so first, again, Luke chapter six, verse 12 through 16. It was at this time that he went off to the mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God.

And when day came, he called his disciples to him and chose 12 of them, whom he also named as apostles. Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew, his brother, and James and John, and Philip and Bartholomew, and Matthew and Thomas, James, the son of Aphaias, and Simon, who was called the Zealot.

Judas, the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. Let's pray. (audience member whistling) Father, we come before you to hear from you, not just an explanation of the text, but to know your heart, your purpose, your reason, not only for your disciples, but for us. We pray, Father God, that you give us understanding.

And even beyond that, give us an eagerness to hear from you, to see your glory, and that we may be changed and become more and more like Christ in every way, inside and out. We pray for your blessing and your Holy Spirit to empower us, illuminate us, to teach us and guide us.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen. So as we've been talking about up to this point, just to understand the context, that Jesus has been systematically challenging the religious status quo. So the choosing of these 12 was a punch in the face to the leaders. He wasn't simply scanning to see what was wrong and pointing out, we need to tweak this, we need to change this, we need to do this.

He basically is tearing the whole system down and starting from scratch. That the foundation of the new covenant in the church is gonna look vastly different than what was established. And so this was not a small challenge. He was basically telling not only the leaders, but all of Israel and even to us to this day, that the wisdom of this world that established the Jewish system was going to lead to destruction.

And so Christ comes and he not only challenges their tradition, but in the very choosing of these 12 disciples, he goes exactly opposite of what they would have done. And if you study the Bible carefully, you'll notice that this is what God's been doing all throughout history. This is not unique to these 12 disciples.

That God has been challenging their understanding of right and wrong, their understanding of power in order that they recognize that God is the one that they need to rely on. Because it was their natural tendency to give credit to themselves, to give credit to man. That's what it says in Romans chapter one, the core of their sin is that they have a tendency to create images that look like them so that they can worship it.

And we see that all throughout. In fact, I could give you dozens of examples of the Old Testament, what God does to challenge the system. And I think one of the clearest examples, we find it in the story of Gideon in Judges chapter six and Judges chapter seven, where the Midianites were suppressing the Israelites and they were vastly outnumbered.

And God chooses, they said there are 32,000 men, and God says to Gideon that I'm not gonna deliver you with these 32,000 men because I know your tendency. I know what's gonna happen because if I deliver you, you're gonna take the credit. You're gonna say because we were trained, because we had sharper swords, or because we have this or we have that, and so you're gonna think that those 32,000 mighty men were the reason why you conquered the Midianites.

So he dwindles it down to 22,000. And then from 22,000, it's like yeah, this is still not small enough, so he dwindles it down to 10,000. And then from 10,000, he dwindles it down to 300 men. Now the odds between the 300 men and the number of Midianites would have been one to 750.

750. So in order for these 300 men to be successful, each person would have to slaughter 750 men. Now as you guys know, this is not a period of atomic bombs or machine guns or they have better weaponry or they have drones they can send and bomb their headquarters.

In order for this battle to be won, each person would have to kill 750 men. So God places them in a situation where it is not improbable. It is impossible all 300 men would have to conquer 750 other men with swords, the same kinds that they have. And God makes it very clear why he is doing that.

Said at the end of it, when you conquer, you will know I did it. That it wasn't you. Now he does this repeatedly over and over and over in redemptive history. Now again, I could have told you, I could have taken dozens of examples, and again, I'm not gonna go too deep into it.

But even the way they conquered Jericho. 40 years, all they know how to do is march and take orders and to get in line and stop and set up camp. That's what they were trained to do. Right before they go in to fight a fortified city, trained men who are seasoned in battle, and he says on the seventh day, just walk around with this box seven times, tires them out.

They have a general who has no experience in battle, and then instead of sharpening their swords, instead of doing basic training, all they do is blow a horn. Because he's trying to teach them, it isn't you. It wasn't the training. It wasn't your leadership. It wasn't your organization. It wasn't the sharpness of your sword.

I did it. And he repeatedly does it over and over and over and over again. Because the primary sin of mankind is his own arrogance. The primary hindrance to our worship, to our salvation, is our own arrogance. And so God, throughout history, has been humbling us so that when he performs miracles, that there would be no doubt that this is a miraculous event from God.

Our natural tendency is whenever we see any kind of fruit, is to study the man. To study the system, to study the church, to study the mission organization. If we find out that this organization was doing well in China, we study the system. If we find out that this church was small and then it became a mega church, and we've studied the pastor, we've studied the organization, we've studied the program, the discipleship, the teaching.

And so we study these systems and said, okay, if we do what they did, maybe we can have the same success. That's our natural tendency. Our natural tendency is that, of course, God did it, and it's kind of like a side issue. We sprinkle some Jesus on it, we pray in the beginning, we pray in the end.

But the middle part that really requires us, we need to get the system right. We need to say the right things, we need to have the right people. Because that is our natural tendency. But God, deliberately, throughout history, made sure that there's no way humanly possible that this could have happened.

And yet it happened. For what purpose? So at the end of it, people will take a step back and say, God did it. God did it. As impossible as the 300 men of Israelites conquering the Midianites, what God was calling these 12 men to do was far beyond slaughtering 750 other soldiers.

Because what Jesus was calling them to do is, one, that these 12 men, these average, untrained men, uneducated men, were going to be giving the commission to go convert all the Jews. If you remember, Jesus' whole ministry never went beyond Galilee and three visits to Jerusalem. Majority of his years of ministry was happened in Galilee, in that area.

And at the end of his three years of ministry, they all walked away from him. So he was not successful. And so the task that was given to the disciples is after he dies, he resurrects, he's like, you go make disciples of all the nations. You saw what I did in Galilee.

Repeat that, well, if they repeated what Jesus did, that they're gonna also get rejected. I mean, these people who are gonna hate you, wanna kill you, after he resurrects, he gives them the commission, you go and you preach this gospel. And they're gonna hate you like they hated me, but you go preach the gospel.

Not only were they given the task to convert Israel with this strange gospel that they didn't understand, they were to convert Rome. To this day, any empire that is mighty and powerful, they compare it to the Roman Empire. Because even to this day, they haven't found anything that comes even close.

That technically, on paper, they lasted over 1,000 years. And I know that their reign, where everybody just looked up to them, may have lasted about 500 years, but they were so influential, so powerful. But these 12 men were given the task to go preach the gospel to Rome, and convert not only to Rome, but to the remotest part of the world.

If you knew that that was the task that these disciples were gonna be given, would you have chosen Peter? Would you have chosen Andrew, or John, or James? For sure, Judas Iscariot, we wouldn't have chosen, we know that. But the closer we look at these disciples, none of them comes even close to what we would think, what the world would think, if we were given that task, if Jesus came to us at that time and said, "You know what, instead of me choosing, you choose the 12," would we have chosen any one of these guys?

We probably would have started with the Sanhedrin, maybe the high priest, maybe somebody educated, maybe somebody who's powerful. Maybe Paul. I'm gonna get to him later, right? But we wouldn't have chosen any one of these 12 men, for sure, they would not have been chosen. Yet Jesus, in his sovereign will, only now, 2,000 years removed, we look back at it, and say, "Oh, he was so wise." Only 2,000 years later, knowing that, because we're still here, and the church is still thriving, and the word of God is given to us, they've given their lives, and they were successful, and only now, we look back in 2,000 years, and say, "We're so wise now, we're so insightful, "because we have 2,000 years to look at, "because of the final success." But if you were at that point, before these 2,000 years, would you have chosen them?

I'm 100%, you wouldn't have chosen them, I wouldn't have chosen them. Why does he choose these men? Everything about his choosing of these 12 men is the same repetition of what God's been doing all throughout history. He didn't choose the wisest, he didn't choose the strongest, he didn't choose the most disciplined, he didn't choose the most educated, he chose people that were gonna challenge the religious system.

In fact, Acts chapter 4, 13, after Peter preaches, and everybody's so impressed with his boldness, they say, "As they observed the confidence of Peter and John "and understood that they were uneducated "and untrained men." Imagine if you were complimented that way. Man, we're so impressed, you are so powerful.

You're not educated, you're not well-trained. That's just another way of saying, these guys are dumb, they're not like us, they don't have any pedigree. Why are these guys willing to give their lives preaching this? And remember, if you remember Peter's sermon, he does such an excellent job expositing redemptive history in the Old Testament.

And then this David, the prophecy, this guy come and Jesus is the fulfillment of that prophecy, and then it ends with, "You killed him!" People are convicted in their hearts. What do we do when people come to repentance? It's like, how are these men able to preach such powerful, effective sermons, considering that they were uneducated and unlearned and untrained?

And the only credit, only explanation that they were able to give was they were amazed and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. That's it. That's what they recognized, the reason behind their power, and these are non-Christians, these are people who are hostile to the faith. They said, "Oh, it must something about Jesus, "something about Jesus made them so powerful." Don't miss this, because this is at the core of what Jesus has been trying to teach.

It wasn't these men. And what came out of the mouth of the people who hated Jesus is the very reason why these people were chosen. He was going to challenge the wisdom of the world with the uneducated. He was gonna challenge the wisdom and the know-how and the experience and their knowledge with nobody's.

And he wanted to make sure that you got that point, that we got that point. 1 Corinthians 3, 19-91, "For the wisdom of this world "is foolishness before God. "For it is written, 'He is the one who catches the wise "'in their craftiness,'" and again, the Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that they are useless.

That all the know-how, all the education, he said, "In the eyes of God, for the purpose of salvation," is actually useless. Not only is it useless, it's harmful. Because the greatest hindrance to coming to Christ is our own arrogance. The greatest hindrance to coming to Christ is our own arrogance.

If you're a little bit stronger than somebody, if you're a little bit better looking than somebody, if you're a little bit more educated, if you have more money, you run a little bit faster, you're a little bit more athletic, it doesn't take much for us to be filled with pride.

But as soon as pride enters, it ruins, any gift that God has given you. 2 Corinthians 12, nine, "And he said to me, "Paul, my grace is sufficient for you, "for power is perfected in weakness." Think about the task that we have been given. He said, "Our fight is not against flesh and blood, "but against principalities and power, "and demonic forces." And this is clear.

I'm almost sure almost 99% of you have already heard and exposited, and maybe even memorized that text. And yet, we keep throwing flesh at the spiritual battle. We keep throwing, if we're organized enough, if we read enough, if we have the right people, if we have the right training, we can conquer Satan.

The arrogance of that, Paul reminds them, we're not fighting a physical battle. It is spiritual. You must cling to Christ. Paul comes and begs to have the storm taken away, and Jesus responds to him, "My grace is sufficient for you, "my power is perfected in weakness." In other words, it's your power that's getting in the way.

It's my power that's gonna help conquer. I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it, not your church. So it is when you are weak, when you get out of the way, when you stop touching the glory, when you stop taking the credit, my power is demonstrated.

My power is perfected in weakness, most godly, therefore I will rather boast about my weakness so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. He's not boasting, he's like, "Oh, I'm so weak, I'm so weak." Sometimes even the way that we're humble is bragging about our humility. And he says, "No, because I really want the power of God, "and power of God is demonstrated when I am weak, "so if I want the power of God, I tell you my weakness, "knowing that despite my weakness, "in fact, sometimes because of my weakness, "his power is shown." Imagine how much time, effort, money is devoted to becoming something when God's call clearly is to become nothing.

Imagine how much time and energy, imagine how much of our depression and anxiety comes from disappointment that we feel like we're nothing. Because we're striving against what God has called us. Imagine the foolishness of knowing, reading, memorizing, even singing about this, and yet every other part of our life is we're trying to become something, even as we serve God, we wanna become something when God has called us to become nothing.

As it is in our weakness where he is strong. We try so hard to get noticed when God is trying so hard to hide us so that they don't remember your name, that you don't have all the best reputation, that people don't, like, wow, you're so good at that.

He's trying so hard to prevent us from getting praise. Because as soon as praise come to us, we're ruined. We try so hard to live while the central calling of the gospel is to die. We try so hard to make a better living so that our children will have a better living, so that we can have a generational, as he says, he who seeks his life will lose it, he who loses his life for my sake, he will find it.

It's that the central calling of the gospel is to die, become nothing, be hidden in Christ. So that if God exhausts us for any reason, that people will say, what's wrong with this uneducated, dumb, untrained man who doesn't know anything? Why is he bearing so much root? Oh, it's Jesus.

Not him, not his smart, not his talent, it's Jesus. These men wrote the Bible, and a lot of people say, well, they wrote the Bible, they did all the stuff so that they can benefit from this great man, and so that's why. They made up this stuff so that they can be honored.

That's come from somebody who's never read the Bible. If you read the Bible, I mean, we know that they were uneducated, untrained men, but I mean, man, they were really dumb. Because after you carefully examine their life, you come out thinking, these men changed the world? This backstabber was part of the 12?

And at Jesus' greatest need, he abandons him, even as Jesus is going to the cross, they're like fighting each other to see who's going to be great. These men? So if these guys lied, man, they're like, something's off with them, right? They don't come out good. Even at the resurrection, they couldn't believe.

These women come, it's like, well, we've seen him. It's like, yeah, right. Jesus made it very clear that was gonna happen. He's like, nah, that couldn't happen. Yeah, these guys wrote that about themselves? The 12 men, the choosing of them, has something so profound, collectively and individually, to teach us, fundamentally, because we resist and fight.

So that's why even a doctrine of predestination, it bothers people. It bothers the core of our pride. God is in sovereign control, he's completely in control. What about man's dignity? I need to choose, I have to have power. Yeah, that's what the scripture says. At the core of who we are, we're fighting, because we need to have some sort of a dignity.

We're not controlled like robots, that we don't fully understand, but we know what the Bible says. It is very, very, very difficult. To kill our pride, because our lens, through which we see, is self-centered. From the moment we are born. From infancy, we are born. That infant doesn't care if you're tired, or a mother gave birth and took 25 hours, and she's about to pass out.

That infant doesn't care. I'm hungry, and you need to give me food. And I'm gonna scream my head off, until you satisfy me. And you think, well, I mean, we've grown out of that, right? We've grown out of that. We don't do that anymore, right? No, we just become more sophisticated.

We've become more sophisticated, because we start crying and throwing tantrum. People are gonna judge us, and they're not gonna like us, and then we're not gonna get what we want. So we just found different methods to get what we want. We just found different ways to express ourselves. But how much of our crying out is crying out for me?

For my comfort, for attention on me, for somebody who recognize me, that somebody recognize my hurt, my pain, my sorrow, me! Not realizing it is our own pride, our own self-centeredness. It's what's killing us. He who finds his life will lose it. He who loses his life will find it.

Even in the context of serving God, we figure out a method, we figure out a training, we figure out that if we find just good men, if we just find a good method, if we read the right books, if we go and have the right leaders, if we can just find the right system, we can do what God calls us to.

Are you kidding? You're going to convert the spiritual world led by Satan and his angels by finding a system that will work? Are you kidding? Only way that we can engage in the spiritual battle is His power is demonstrated. His power, His glory. And the only way that His glory and His power is demonstrated when we become weak and we get out of the way and we die to ourselves.

That's the backbone behind what God has been doing through history and the choosing of these 12 men are no different. He chooses these 12 men so that these men will not get the glory. Because when men receive glory, we die. When God receives glory, we live. It's simple as that.

That's why the first vision of our church is God-centered worship. God-centered worship means that we're not first calculating what do you like, what makes you happy, what's going to bring the most people, what causes you to be most encouraged. That's not our primary concern. Our primary concern is what brings God the most glory, how does He want to be worshiped, what prescription has He given?

And make sure that all that we do, not just worship or singing or fellowship or discipleship, all of it is God-centered, not man-centered. Now all of this is an introduction to Peter. And now you can see why I didn't finish for service. I have five points, but I'm only gonna give you three today, okay?

And then I'm gonna get to the other next week. Peter was clearly the leader. He was the leader because he's always on the top of the list, right? So Peter, Andrew, James, and John, those guys are always on the top of the list because they were the four first disciples that Jesus picks up.

The second group of people, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, and Thomas, we know some things about them, but they're not at the center. But they're mentioned quite a bit, enough so that we have enough information. The third group starts with James, son of Alphaeus, Simon, the zealot, Judas, the son of James, and Judas Iscariot.

So we know Judas Iscariot, and we're gonna take some time to dig into why was that man even chosen? 'Cause clearly Jesus was not surprised of his betrayals. I'm not gonna get into that today. But the first four were brothers, right? They were at the core of Jesus's ministry.

And Peter was at the top. In fact, out of the four, three of them become the inner circle. They're the ones who are taken up to the transfiguration and shown the glory, and then they were commissioned to go and tell other people after the resurrection of Christ. I don't know what happened to Andrew.

'Cause Andrew's the one who introduced all of them to Jesus. Andrew's the one who said, "Hey, come see this man." And then he introduces everybody, and then Jesus says, "Peter, James, and John, "you come with me. "Andrew, sit back." Right? So I have no idea why Andrew disappeared. And I told you before, he's a mystery to me.

When I get to heaven, I'm gonna ask him. If I get to ask him, "Andrew, how did you feel?" (congregation laughing) When your brother and James and John came back from that mountain, and you asked them, "What happened up there?" And they said, "I can't tell you." (congregation laughing) And then he's like, "What?" I mean, first of all, I didn't get taken up there.

And then now you're not even gonna tell me? And then after the resurrection, Jesus, Peter mentions about the transfiguration, we heard the voice of God. We saw the glory of the Son. Can you imagine Andrew hearing this like, "What?" Not only was I not taken up there, and you didn't even tell me, you heard the audible voice of God, and I wasn't taken up, I'm the one who introduced you.

I have no idea what happened, right? When I get to heaven, I'm gonna ask, "Andrew, what happened? "What did you do?" Right? I don't know, there's some wisdom behind that. We're gonna try to dig into that a little bit further when we get to Andrew. But Peter, one, first point, clearly is the leader.

Right? He's a leader because he's always written first, and he says he's the first among the disciples, so clearly he's a leader. But he's a leader. He's clearly a leader, but before we even get to that point, he was a changed man, right? He was a changed man. He didn't just choose anybody and then just kind of left them alone.

As soon as he gets chosen, at some point, Jesus changes his name from Simon to Peter, and we see that pattern all throughout scripture. Abram, his name means honored father, changes his name to Abraham, which means father of multitudes, before he has one child. Imagine him walking around, and people ask you, "What's your name?" Abraham.

Well, Abraham, as father of multitudes, and he doesn't have a child. It's like, okay, something weird's going on. What's your wife's name? Well, it used to be Sarai, which means princess, but Yahweh told us to change our name to Sarah, which means mother of nations, before she has a child.

And obviously, this was a foreshadowing of what God was intending to do with them. We see that with Jacob. His name means slippery one or supplanter. The one who holds the heels of his brother. That was his name. He's a tricky one. That's not a good name to have, right?

So, are there any Jacobs in here? 'Cause the Jacob basically means, like, don't trust this guy, right? He's a slippery one. Yeah, I know, there must be a Jacob in here somewhere. But that's what the name means. He was a slippery one, supplanter. He's the one who challenges, and he kind of like tricks his brother to get into this higher position, and then at the end of his life, God changes his name to Israel, which means the one who wrestles with God, contends with God, and God's whole nation is given that name, Israel, because he becomes the founder of that, and basically means he's a wrestler.

So, he saw a guy who was tricky, slippery, conniving, and turned him into the one who wrestles and contends with God. But you know what's interesting? Apostle Paul, we universally accept that he's an apostle, but apostle Paul's the only one where he has a great name, and he gives him a name that probably you wouldn't want.

His name, Saul, means the one prayed for, right? One prayed for, that's what Saul means. Like, he has his, so that's interesting, that God was going to humble this man. Remember when he is, he's the one who preached to the thousands, risking his life. He was the one who raised Dorcas from death.

He was the one who writes 1 and 2 Peter. He was a man of action. He was the guy who was like, yes, if he was convicted, he didn't just sit on it. You know, I had somebody, a younger pastor from years ago, who wanted to be a leader, but he says he doesn't like being first.

And I said, what does that mean? He said, like, yeah, you know, like if there's something, 'cause I'm not a risk taker, and so I want to see what other people do, and then I go in after that, and I figure out how to do it better, right? I said, Dan, you're not a leader.

Whoever jumps into that pool first to figure out if you're going to live or die, that's the leader, right? 'Cause that's the guy that everybody's going to follow, right? You can't be a leader with, let's say if you die, right? And then if you don't die, I'll come after you.

Then you're not the leader. I don't care what kind of title that you have. I don't know what kind of training you have. The leader's the guy who's up in the front, risking his neck. That's Peter. Peter's the guy who jumps in the lake, right? He's the guy who makes the confession.

He's the guy who, even though he fails, clearly Peter is the leader by his personality, by his, he acts. If he's convicted, he's the guy who acts. Peter, and this is my final point for today, Peter is both carnal and spiritual, right? Depending on which passage and what event you're looking at, Peter, you're like, "This guy's the leader?" And then there are other passages like, "Oh, he's the leader." In fact, and this is MacArthur, John MacArthur's point of view about Peter that only applies to Jesus.

And I don't know if this is accurate or not, but this is his view that oftentimes Peter, when Jesus calls him Simon, is because Peter's doing something wrong. And then when he says Peter, it's because he's commending him. And so Jesus, the way he calls and goes back and forth, and he has a list of things to prove.

And that's not the way his name generally is used. He goes back and forth to Simon, Peter, Simon, Peter. Sometimes it would be Simon, sometimes it's Peter, sometimes it's Simon, Peter, right? Whether that's true or not, we see it. We see it in his life. He's the one who sees Jesus and he's like, "Is that you?

"Can I come?" And he goes out into the water and he's going out. And then the storm comes and he begins to sink and then Jesus rebukes him, right? And you really look at that and it's like, "Ah, this weak faith man. "Like how long am I gonna be with you?" But he was the one out in the water, right?

The other R11 was in the boat. He's like, "Let's see if he sinks." You know, and he begins to say, "I knew it, that guy, man, he's so impulsive. "He should have stayed in with us." But he's the guy who's out in the water taking the risk. So when he goes out, he looks brave.

When he begins to sink, he's like, "Ah, he's like this guy again." He's the guy who makes the confession. "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Flesh has not revealed this to you. This was given to you by God. And upon this confession, Peter, I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

And you can imagine Peter walking around. You hear that? Andrew, did you hear that? Upon my confession. And literally in the very next passage, everybody will fail, I won't fail. Jesus says, "No, you're gonna fail me miserably, right? "And you're gonna deny me three times." And then very next passage, Jesus says, "Get behind me, Satan." Can you imagine the confusion?

Jesus, which is it? Am I Satan or am I the foundation of the church? Which is it? 'Cause he heard that back to back. He's the one who confesses. Like, "I'm not going to deny you. "I will die for you." And I think Peter meant it. I think he meant it.

I don't think he was just talking 'cause he was a man of action. In fact, when the soldiers came, they were probably outnumbered by hundreds. They came early in the morning because they were afraid of the crowd. So they didn't come with two, three people. They didn't come with a dozen.

They came with hundreds of people. And Peter took out his knife, swung it. Clearly, he was a fisherman, not a swordsman. So he doesn't hit the guy, he cuts off his ear. It's a very comical scene. Jesus picks the ear back up and puts it back on. Peter, what are you doing?

(congregation laughing) He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword. And so Peter's like, "I don't understand what's going on." Peter's the one who follows them. Everybody else scatters and they're hiding in fear. Peter's the one that's like, "What's going on?" So the reason why he ends up denying him is because he went with Jesus instead of hiding like the others.

So when he went with Jesus, at least he had the courage to go because he was loyal. But because of that, he ended up denying. In fact, the scripture says that he began to curse on his third time. "I told you I don't know this man." Depending on where you see him, either he's fleshly or he's spiritual.

In fact, I think one of the passages that really reveals his personality is in John 13, six through 10, when Jesus is washing the feet of the disciples and Peter, out of loyalty and his love for his master, says this. So he came to Simon Peter. He said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" Jesus answered and said to him, "What I do, you do not realize now, "but you will understand hereafter." Peter said to him, "Never shall you wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, "you have no part with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, then wash not only my feet, "but also my hands and my head." Jesus answered him, "He who has bathed "needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean, "and you are clean, but not all of you." You know what that's like?

It's like he's at the table and his master chooses to sit at the end of the table where it's not honored. And Peter said, "No, no, master, you're my master. "You should be at the head of the table." Remember, this is an Asian culture, right? You can't, you can't eat comfortably if the guy who's supposed to be at the front is sitting at the end and he's not being honored.

So this is an Asian culture, so you're not gonna be able to digest your food in this culture if he sits there. They said, "Master, you can't sit there." And Jesus answers, "I must sit here. "You don't understand this now, "but if you don't let me sit here, "I have no relationship with you." And then Peter responds, "Then get on the floor." (congregation laughing) That's basically what he's saying, right?

"You can't wash my feet." He's like, "Well, I have no relationship with you." "Then wash everything, right? "Then bathe me." That's so Peter, that's his personality. He's just all passion. He talks and he moves. And then he makes mistakes and then he gets rebuked. Now why is this so relevant to us?

Because this man looks just like us. He looks just like us, 'cause we have a tendency to look at Peter and say, "Well, he's a man of faith and he did this "and he's willing to die for Christ. "He was crucified upside down." And sometimes I don't like reading biographies that kind of highlight all the good stuff about the man and never share his struggle.

Sometimes I read books and this guy woke up at three in the morning and he fasted and prayed every day, right? Then he evangelized, planted 50 churches, and he memorized the whole scripture from Genesis to Revelation. And so we need to honor this man because he's done such great work.

He's a man of God. And you read that thinking, like, "When did this guy sleep? "When did he eat? "How did he memorize all of that scripture "and then fasted every other day?" But real testimonies of people that I know are people in the context of struggling, wrestling, and failing.

Most people that I know struggle with their flesh and are fighting. I can't give in to this. Somebody cuts me off, I get angry like everybody else and say, "I can't do this, I'm a pastor." But my flesh and my desire to honor God is fighting within me and I'm trying to fight and struggle with this and that's the real reality.

And we look at Peter and the disciples, they look just like us. They look just like us. Depending on what day you examine him, just like us on Sunday, all of you are beautiful. You put on your godly faces, you sing your songs, you go outside, nobody's yelling at each other even though you're irritated inside.

And you hold that in until you get into your car, right? Because that's a flesh safe zone. You're the godliest person here and then you get in the car and your kids are irritating, they're not listening to you or somebody said something insensitive and then shut the door, get out the car, get on the freeway, make sure nobody's around.

Can you believe what they did? It sounds, this guy sounds just like us. Struggling. Depending on if you saw him on Sunday or Monday or Friday or Wednesday at Bible study, right? That's not by accident. 'Cause this wasn't about Peter. Us studying Peter and the other disciples ultimately is not to figure out what qualities that we're supposed to mimic so that we can change the world for Jesus Christ.

If we're honest with ourselves, we study them, these guys were chosen. In fact, in Galatians 2, if you guys know Galatians and just give you a heads up, we're studying Galatians for our next teaching and give you a little plug. Galatians is one of the most interesting books. If you read it superficially, you get very little out of it or you'll get a lot out of it still but Galatians is meant to be dug in.

'Cause so much theology comes from the book of Galatians. I would say outside of Romans and Hebrews, Galatians is the next letter that is rich in theology. That was the primary struggle for the first 150 years of the church. And so Paul comes out and he says, "If anyone preaches a gospel other than what I have preached "to you, let him be anathema." This is Galatians chapter one.

So even if me or an angel of God comes and preaches to a different God, let him be anathema. And then he says, "If I succumb to pressure of man, "I'm not serving God, I'm serving man." You know why he says all of that? Because chapter two's coming. All of chapter one is a setup for what he needs to say in chapter two.

And so because in chapter two, after he said all that and he puts all of that out, he says in Galatians 2.11, "But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face "because he stood condemned. "For prior to the coming of certain men from James, "he used to eat with the Gentiles.

"But when they came, he began to withdraw "and hold himself aloof, fearing the party "of the circumcision. "The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy "with the result that even Barnabas was carried away "by their hypocrisy." Now I want you to think, this is an Asian culture, right?

And Peter is the head of the apostles. And Paul, this latecomer, and the only reason why they even accepted him is 'cause Barnabas stood in the gap and said, "No, trust me, "his conversion was real." This guy who killed Stephen, he got permission from Ananias and Caiaphas to go grab more Christians and kill them.

That guy publicly shames Peter to his face. This was not a prior conversation. I don't wanna disturb you, I don't want other people to think badly of you, I respect you. So he goes to him in private and points out, he said, "No, it's public." Publicly shames him. Not only shames him, shames Barnabas who was so loyal to him and stood for him.

But he says, "Their hypocrisy's gonna ruin the gospel "for the sake of the kingdom." So chapter one is a setup for what he's about to do because he understands if people don't receive this well, it's gonna ruin the church. You have this Apostle Paul who's going around planting all these churches and a huge name among the Gentiles and the pillars, pillars in the early church, Peter and Barnabas was gonna be publicly shamed.

So he needed to set the foundation, we're not about Peter. We're not about me, we're not even about angels. We're about Christ and Christ crucified. Now, if Peter got offended and he came out swinging, it's like, it's not about what he said, it's about how he said it and then started going at it with Paul, that would have splintered the church and I don't know if it would have been humanly speaking.

But we see later on in Peter's writing, 2 Peter 3, 14 and 16 says this. And let me start reading from verse 15. And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things in which are some things hard to understand which the untaught and unstable distort as they do also the rest of scripture to their own destruction.

So you see what he does there? He equates Paul's writings with other scripture. Paul recognizes, I'm sure he's a human being. He was offended, he was hurt. You shame me in front of other people. And he said, but the reason why he doesn't lash out is 'cause Peter understood that this was from the Lord.

And he humbled himself. And you know when he says other people, because it's hard to understand, they distort. You know why he says that? Because that was him. That was him. He couldn't understand. He couldn't understand, like, well, what are you doing? Why was this necessary? And he said, but it was from the Lord.

So he submitted himself. Can you imagine if Peter and Barnabas, they split, what would happen to the early church? This is Peter. Sometimes a weak man, sometimes a strong man. Sometimes fleshy, sometimes loyal. Sometimes denying Christ, sometimes loving Christ. Isn't that you? Isn't that me? That's all of us.

Whenever we put man on pedestal, it's just a matter of time that you will work hard to knock him off. Don't ever put a man on a pedestal. No man belongs on a pedestal, no man. That doesn't mean you don't honor him. It doesn't mean you don't follow him.

But he's never to be meant to be on a pedestal. Let me conclude with this. If you knew three years from now that your closest friends today are going to disappear in the most difficult part of your life three years from now, you're gonna be accused of something horrendous that is not true.

And people, false witnesses are gonna come and accuse you, and then they're going to indict you, and then they're going to put you in jail, and then eventually they're going to kill you. Execution. And all your friends, your best friends that you have today that you know are gonna abandon you at that time.

How would that affect your relationship today? Would you still be friends with them? Would you be excited to celebrate their birthdays when their birthday comes around? Would you begin to weed those people out of your life? Probably, if we knew that the closest friends that we have today are gonna abandon us at the most difficult time of our life three years from now, and when I'm being executed, nobody's there, most likely it will affect your relationship today.

Yet Christ, knowing all that these disciples would do, chose to love them, walk with them, live with them, fed them, protected them, and then eventually died for them. The study of these 12 men isn't about Peter. It's not about John or Andrew. It's about Christ. It's about the foundation of his church.

And the same love that he loved as disciples loved us, and has called us to love as he loved. To choose to love people that we don't want to love, to bring the greatest glory to God. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we come before you knowing full well our own weakness, how we are prone to want how we are prone to wander, even now.

Some of us have hardened our hearts because we do not want to follow the path that you have laid before us. I pray, Father God, that you would be merciful, that you would hear our prayers. Help us, Lord God, to see the value of the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that we would volunteer and desire to be hidden.

Help us, Lord God, to die in Christ that we may truly live in Christ. May Christ and Christ alone be exalted in us and through us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let's all stand up and praise. You are mine. One more time, you are. (soft music) You are my strength when I am weak.

You are the treasure that I seek. You are my all in all. Seeking you as a precious jewel, hope to give up I'd be a fool. You are my all in all. Jesus, Lamb of God. ♪ Jesus, the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Worthy is your name ♪ ♪ Jesus, the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Worthy is your name ♪ ♪ Your name ♪ ♪ Taking my sin, my cross ♪ ♪ Taking my sin, my cross, my shame ♪ ♪ Rising again, I bless your name ♪ ♪ You are my all in all ♪ ♪ When I fall down, you pick me up ♪ ♪ When I am dry, you fill my cup ♪ ♪ You are my all in all ♪ ♪ Jesus, Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Worthy is your name ♪ ♪ Jesus, the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Worthy is your name ♪ One more time, Jesus.

♪ Jesus, Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Worthy is your name ♪ ♪ Jesus, Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Worthy is your name ♪ Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we pray that the word that you have implanted in our minds and our hearts would transform and renew us. Lord, search us and know us and see if there's any hurtful ways in us.

Any patterns that we have allowed in our lives, Lord God, that continue to harden our hearts. Excusing sins, Lord God, because we don't see the immediate consequence. Continuing to drift, Father, not fighting and striving, not searching you with all our hearts. Help us, Lord God, as we recognize our weakness, that there will be a growing hungering and thirsting for the presence of Christ, for loving Christ, for worshiping Christ, for pursuing Christ, for honoring Christ, and eagerly waiting for Christ.

Help us, Lord, as a church to pursue Christ and Christ alone. I pray that your word would bear fruit in our lives, that we may proclaim him, honor him, glorify him, wherever it is that you send us this week. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. ♪ God sent his son ♪ ♪ They called him Jesus ♪ ♪ He came to love ♪ ♪ Heal and forgive ♪ ♪ He lived and died ♪ ♪ To buy my pardon ♪ ♪ An empty grave is there to prove ♪ ♪ 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 ♪ Amen.

(bell ringing) is there a heart flash? (laughing) (indistinct) (indistinct) (indistinct) (indistinct) ♪ But in the costly wounds of love ♪ ♪ At the cross ♪ ♪ My worth is not in skill or name ♪ ♪ In live or lose, in cry or shame ♪ ♪ But in the blood of Christ that flowed ♪ ♪ At the cross ♪ ♪ I rejoice in my Redeemer ♪ ♪ Greatest treasure ♪ ♪ Wellspring of my soul ♪ ♪ I will praise ♪