back to indexBerean Community Church Sunday Service 9/13/2020
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Glad you're here. I couldn't have done it without you. 00:00:16.000 |
I honestly, I need to learn how to use Facebook. 00:00:20.000 |
You know it sounds silly if everyone's like doing it, but I really don't know how to use it. 00:00:26.000 |
Facebook's actually a really complicated thing. 00:01:01.000 |
Your grace is enough Your grace is enough Your grace is enough for me 00:01:16.960 |
When your grace is enough, when reaching down the world 00:01:25.240 |
Your grace is enough for me God, I see your grace is enough 00:01:37.240 |
I'm coming in your way Your grace is enough for me 00:01:47.240 |
I'm coming in your way Your grace is enough for me 00:01:59.240 |
I'm coming in your way Your grace is enough for me 00:02:38.240 |
He became sin, who knew no sin That we might become his righteousness 00:03:10.240 |
Good morning church family, after worship. Please remain seated as we begin with the time of worship. 00:03:15.240 |
Just a quick reminder, especially for those outside and those online, the lyrics are in the app, so if you want to pull that up, please do that. 00:03:23.240 |
We will begin with a song. Let's sing with doxology together. 00:04:48.240 |
Praise God, Praise God, Praise God, Praise God, He's Second Say-so, Praise God, Praise God, Praise God, Praise God, Our saints last day to live. 00:05:17.260 |
Praise to the King of Transcendent, His crown ending never, Our thrill and eternity, 00:05:40.260 |
Our praise to the Lord God of glory, Praise God, Praise God, Praise God, Praise God, He's Second Say-so, 00:06:00.260 |
Praise God, Praise God, Praise God, He's Second Say-so, 00:06:11.260 |
Praise God, Praise God, Praise God, Our saints last day to live. 00:06:33.260 |
Praise God's number, blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below, 00:06:56.260 |
Praise Him above the heavenly host, Praise God's most excellent and holy host. 00:07:19.260 |
All right, welcome to Breen Community Church. I feel like we're playing musical chairs. We're in this week. We'll see what happens next week, but we're going to roll with the punches. 00:07:28.260 |
Again, we welcome you, those of you who are joining us online, and we want to first of all congratulate those who are having birthday. 00:07:36.260 |
We have quite a few today. Lily Kim is turning six. Jacob Ko is turning five. Noel Grace Lynn is turning one. 00:07:45.260 |
Avery Tsang is turning three. Andrew Tang is turning one. John Noh is turning eight. 00:07:54.260 |
Maggie Mobley is turning 12. Harper Charles Kim is turning one. 00:08:00.260 |
And Phoebe, all the way from Korea, Phoebe Lee is turning seven. So congratulations, happy birthday to all of you. 00:08:07.260 |
I have otter pops and lollipops waiting for you, okay, eventually when you do return. 00:08:13.260 |
And I know we have quite a few kids here that I promised lollipops. So if you haven't gotten one, come and get it. 00:08:19.260 |
Okay, so I have it, all right, somewhere. We have a few announcements before we get started. 00:08:24.260 |
First of all, Praise and Prayer is happening on September 25th at 7.30 p.m. and the format that we're going to be using is the same as what we're doing now. 00:08:33.260 |
So we're going to fill up this room first and then whatever is in overflow, we're going to go outside for whoever comes. 00:08:39.260 |
So that's the kind of format that we're going to use for the time being until things change going forward. 00:08:43.260 |
So that's happening September 25th here, 7.30, Friday. 00:08:47.260 |
Berean Membership, we have a new one that's starting on September 27th at 9 a.m. 00:08:54.260 |
And so that's going to be an eight-week course. 00:08:56.260 |
Pastor Nate Kwok is going to be heading that, or at least he's going to take you to sign up. 00:09:00.260 |
So please go on Facebook or just contact him. The email, it's on the website or on the app, and let him know that you're coming. 00:09:08.260 |
So it's starting on September 27th for the new membership class. 00:09:12.260 |
Newcomers Welcome Event, this is an event for people who just want to check out the church, ask questions, meet some of the leadership. 00:09:21.260 |
It's going to be taking place online, online, right? 00:09:27.260 |
It is online, right? So it's going to be taking place online at 2 p.m. on Sunday. 00:09:32.260 |
And so if you're interested in participating in that, please let them know and they'll give you the access to the Zoom room that they're going to be doing that for. 00:09:40.260 |
Okay, so again, if you have questions, you want to know, you know, how the church is run, or maybe the denomination or any questions that you have, 00:09:47.260 |
that's an opportunity for you to come and learn more about the church. 00:09:51.260 |
Okay, then we have an announcement from our sisters. 00:09:56.260 |
Okay, so Grace is going to come and give the announcement for that. 00:10:05.260 |
This announcement comes from the Women's Ministry. 00:10:08.260 |
We are starting something new coming October. 00:10:12.260 |
Previously, we had something called Intentional Moms Fellowship, where small groups of moms would get together and have an intentional time together. 00:10:21.260 |
But in October, we're going to be starting something called Intentional Sisters Fellowship. 00:10:31.260 |
It's an opportunity for BAM, for those out of college, not yet married. 00:10:36.260 |
So for BAM and Family Ministry Sisters to come together. 00:10:41.260 |
And we will be forming small groups and reading through a book called A Hunger for God by John Piper. 00:10:49.260 |
It's a bi-weekly commitment, so it'll be happening just about every other week online. 00:10:56.260 |
And there are two meeting days available, so you could choose either the Friday morning. 00:11:01.260 |
Friday morning is from 930 to 1130, or it will be Monday evening with meeting times. 00:11:08.260 |
It'll be determined by each small group that's formed. 00:11:12.260 |
Online signups will be made available through all the social media platforms. 00:11:18.260 |
But please do sign up as soon as you can because we will be starting to form the small groups soon. 00:11:25.260 |
With the first meeting for each day is October 9th for Friday, and then October 12th for Monday evening. 00:11:35.260 |
Really the purpose of this meeting with the small groups is really to spur one another on. 00:11:43.260 |
The climate in 2020 has certainly been an interesting one, but I think it is a wake-up call for all of us. 00:11:51.260 |
So during this time, we will be beseeching, as we get to know God more, by reading this book together, 00:11:59.260 |
by fellowshipping with one another, we'll be beseeching God for the perseverance of the saints, 00:12:06.260 |
and also for his mercy on our unbelieving friends and family members. Thank you. 00:12:16.260 |
All right, again, all the information that, if you haven't heard, it's going to be on the app on the church website, 00:12:21.260 |
so you can look at that for further information. 00:12:25.260 |
Will you join with me in prayer as we offer up time for our offering? Then we'll get started. 00:12:32.260 |
Heavenly Father, we pray for your continued grace. We praise you for your goodness. 00:12:40.260 |
We ask, Lord God, that at this time that you would gather our thoughts, our hearts, our intentions, 00:12:45.260 |
may it be focused on giving worship that is in spirit and in truth. 00:12:50.260 |
We pray, Father God, that the offering that we give may it be multiplied for your use. 00:12:55.260 |
I pray, Father God, that your name and your glory will go forth in our generation, 00:13:00.260 |
and that the offering that we give will be used for that purpose, 00:13:04.260 |
that even in this, that it would be our act of worship. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. 00:13:42.260 |
All right, let's stand together to sing this praise. 00:14:41.260 |
He would send his only Son to come and rescue us. 00:14:48.260 |
He has saved us, he has claimed us, he guides us now and will sustain us. 00:15:42.260 |
He would send his only Son to come and rescue us. 00:15:49.260 |
He has saved us, he has claimed us, he guides us now and will sustain us. 00:16:41.260 |
He would send his only Son to come and rescue us. 00:16:55.260 |
He would send his only Son to come and rescue us. 00:17:02.260 |
He has saved us, he has claimed us, he guides us now and will sustain us. 00:21:17.260 |
And we'll be looking from verse 32 through 39. 00:21:34.260 |
verse 32 and 39, is going to be a two-part message. 00:21:36.260 |
The first part today is going to be focused on 00:21:45.260 |
"For remember the former days when after being enlightened 00:22:01.260 |
and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, 00:22:19.260 |
he who is coming will come and will not delay. 00:22:24.260 |
for if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. 00:22:27.260 |
But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, 00:22:30.260 |
but of those who have faith to persevering of the soul." 00:22:35.260 |
Gracious God, we pray that you would anoint this time, 00:22:41.260 |
and affect our hearts, our lives, our thoughts, 00:22:54.260 |
especially in the United States, but all over the world, 00:22:57.260 |
there was a remembrance of what happened in 9/11. 00:23:00.260 |
So some of you guys probably saw that online, 00:23:05.260 |
And it's the 19th anniversary of what took place. 00:23:23.260 |
whether it is by creating a holiday, or monuments, 00:23:26.260 |
or just taking time to remember these things, 00:23:31.260 |
there's certain things that we want to make sure 00:23:34.260 |
that whatever it is that we're thinking or doing now, 00:23:47.260 |
You know, over 3,000 people were killed that day, 00:24:00.260 |
who went in to basically help the people come down. 00:24:06.260 |
obviously, you know, they ended up losing their life. 00:24:11.260 |
is to remember the people who gave their lives 00:24:29.260 |
their sacrificing in order to be in the front line 00:24:33.260 |
but obviously the environment has changed drastically overnight 00:24:42.260 |
you know, became controversial just overnight. 00:24:45.260 |
And it is all the more why it's important for us to remember, right? 00:24:49.260 |
In order for us to remember the people who've sacrificed, 00:24:54.260 |
to remember so that stuff like that does not happen again, right? 00:24:59.260 |
And the reason why is, again, for us to remember 00:25:04.260 |
So some of you guys may remember at that time, 00:25:14.260 |
that we're going to fight this together, you know? 00:25:26.260 |
remember why that happened, remember our common enemy, 00:25:29.260 |
so that it would affect the way that we view the world today 00:25:34.260 |
so that we are cautioned not to allow that to happen again. 00:25:41.260 |
this is really, that's really the point that he's getting at 00:25:46.260 |
Last week we ended with probably the harshest warning 00:25:51.260 |
Basically he says that if you continue to keep drifting, 00:25:57.260 |
And it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 00:26:01.260 |
And so there is a warning of intense judgment that's coming. 00:26:06.260 |
and you continue to drift and thinking like this is okay, 00:26:11.260 |
But remember we also said that the reason why he says this 00:26:14.260 |
is not simply to make you feel bad and feel guilty 00:26:22.260 |
So if you are an unbeliever, that there is a judgment. 00:26:26.260 |
You don't just, you know, die and then just go into oblivion. 00:26:32.260 |
and he will judge us based upon all our sins, 00:26:35.260 |
those that we know of, those that we do not know of. 00:26:40.260 |
and particularly for those Christians who are drifting 00:26:49.260 |
and I'm just kind of waiting to get to heaven. 00:26:51.260 |
And again, it serves as a warning to take this seriously. 00:26:55.260 |
But the goal of what he says is really to bring them to him. 00:27:05.260 |
So there's three things that he tells them to remember. 00:27:10.260 |
which is what we're going to be looking at today. 00:27:16.260 |
And then at the end he says to remember your current state, 00:27:20.260 |
that we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed. 00:27:25.260 |
So it's to remember your past, remember your future, 00:27:29.260 |
So today we're going to be looking at the past, right, 00:27:32.260 |
and why he tells us to remember the past, right. 00:27:35.260 |
So number one, exhortation to persevere by remembering the past. 00:27:40.260 |
He says in verse 32, remember the former days. 00:27:44.260 |
He's talking about when you first heard the gospel, 00:27:50.260 |
Obviously, he's not saying remember when you were saved. 00:27:53.260 |
He's talking about when you first heard the gospel. 00:28:07.260 |
have tasted the good word of God and powers of the age to come, 00:28:12.260 |
So when he says remember when you have been enlightened, 00:28:14.260 |
what he's talking about is when you first heard the gospel. 00:28:18.260 |
For the first time you were confronted with the resurrected Christ 00:28:28.260 |
You know, I was thinking about how obviously most, if not all of us, 00:28:36.260 |
We've heard the gospel, many of you, multiple times. 00:28:49.260 |
there's no other group of people ever that have existed in human history 00:28:59.260 |
I know we're inconvenienced by sometimes going outside, 00:29:11.260 |
But we live in a free country where we can gather together. 00:29:16.260 |
We're not worried about police officers or anybody coming through our door. 00:29:19.260 |
We don't have to worry about our neighbors attacking us 00:29:28.260 |
the access that we have to the Bible is unprecedented, ever. 00:29:33.260 |
You know, we wrestle with which translation that we're going to have. 00:29:37.260 |
And if we don't like this pastor, we go to that pastor. 00:29:40.260 |
If we don't like this church, we go to that church. 00:29:42.260 |
If the church is too far, we want a church that's a little bit closer. 00:29:45.260 |
And we wrestle with, well, if you like this book or that. 00:29:50.260 |
You wake up 3 in the morning, and you happen to hunger for the word of God, 00:29:55.260 |
You can get the best speakers of our generation, 00:29:58.260 |
and you can pick and choose which sermon to listen to. 00:30:03.260 |
I mean, the access that we have to the word of God is unprecedented, 00:30:10.260 |
There's nobody that has ever lived in human history 00:30:14.260 |
that has the kind of access to God's word that you and I have today. 00:30:19.260 |
Yet, one of the biggest problems that we have in our generation 00:30:23.260 |
are people who have access but are not interested in reading. 00:30:29.260 |
You know, one of the challenges of doing ministry in Orange County 00:30:33.260 |
in our generation is constantly trying to get Christians who are bored 00:30:40.260 |
People ask me, you know, because we were so involved with China 00:30:46.260 |
You know, at one time, I counted, when we had about 200 people at church, 00:30:50.260 |
I counted up to about 160 plus that went to China for short-term missions. 00:30:56.260 |
And then we had over 30 to 40 people who actually lived there for a short term, 00:31:00.260 |
for half a year to a year and a half to two years. 00:31:06.260 |
And so, obviously, people ask me, "What caused you to have a heart for China?" 00:31:15.260 |
I remember in 1993, I went in there with my seminary professor 00:31:19.260 |
and a small group of the students, and we went there for a vision trip. 00:31:23.260 |
And I remember going further away from the main city. 00:31:27.260 |
We were traveling the Silk Road, and I happened to be at a small university, 00:31:31.260 |
and we were speaking English, and one of the students there 00:31:36.260 |
So he came down and started having a conversation with us. 00:31:39.260 |
And then, so obviously, I took that opportunity to try to share the gospel with him. 00:31:43.260 |
And then I mentioned the name Jesus, and he said, "Never heard of him." 00:31:48.260 |
I said, "This is a university student. How can you have never heard of the gospel?" 00:31:51.260 |
I know this is a communist country, but this can't be right. 00:31:54.260 |
So I thought maybe my accent wasn't good enough, or maybe his English isn't good enough. 00:32:03.260 |
And I know that Chinese is closer to Korean, so I started using the Korean word "yesu," 00:32:07.260 |
because the Chinese word for Jesus sounds more similar to that. 00:32:10.260 |
So I tried everything, and sure enough, after about 15, 20 minutes of conversation, 00:32:17.260 |
He kind of heard vaguely about Christianity, but he had no idea what that was about. 00:32:23.260 |
And that just blew my mind, that I ran into somebody in this world that has never heard the gospel. 00:32:30.260 |
Now, I've heard of that before, and I always thought that they were way deep in the jungles, 00:32:34.260 |
that we don't have any access to, but this was in a city. 00:32:38.260 |
And this is a guy in a university, and he told me he never heard the gospel. 00:32:43.260 |
So when I came home, I was thinking, "Wow, we live in a place where we're fighting to keep Christians interested 00:32:50.260 |
while there's people all over the world who's never heard the gospel." 00:32:54.260 |
In fact, the actual statistics that the missionaries give is there's over 2 billion people currently 00:33:01.260 |
who have never heard the gospel. 2 billion people. 00:33:06.260 |
People ask me about even India, like, "What caused you to start going into India?" 00:33:11.260 |
Again, never had interest in India. You know, it's not a place that I was on my bucket list to go and visit. 00:33:17.260 |
Happened to have an opportunity to go to teach the—train the local church pastors, 00:33:22.260 |
and then I realized that through these trips that the most heavily concentrated, 00:33:31.260 |
And so that was what caused it. I said, "Well, they need the gospel. We have opportunity. Let's go." 00:33:35.260 |
And that's kind of what started to open the door. 00:33:38.260 |
Because we have so much access to the gospel, so much access to the word, to the Bible study. 00:33:45.260 |
Our problem is we take for granted what it is that we have. 00:33:50.260 |
And that's really what opened the door to do the ministry out there. 00:33:54.260 |
But when he says he's reminding them, because they're drifting, he goes back and he says, 00:34:00.260 |
"Remember after you have been enlightened, remember the first time you heard the gospel, 00:34:05.260 |
how precious it was to you? Remember the first time you heard the gospel." 00:34:10.260 |
If you are a genuine believer now, if you grew up in the church, you may not remember the very first time you heard it, 00:34:16.260 |
because you probably heard it from your parents, your Sunday school teachers, 00:34:20.260 |
and at some point it made more sense to you. Right? And it may have been gradual. 00:34:25.260 |
But whenever that point was, whether it was a specific time that you can remember, 00:34:29.260 |
or whether it was a period that you remember, all of a sudden your ears became open. 00:34:35.260 |
And the impact that it had on your life, all of a sudden your paradigm of how you looked at the world completely changed. 00:34:43.260 |
And it wasn't because of discipleship. It wasn't because you were sitting through good teachings for years and years and years. 00:34:49.260 |
It was just the impact of the reality of Christ and what he has done. 00:34:55.260 |
And you were literally enlightened. Something that you didn't know became real to you all of a sudden. 00:35:01.260 |
He said, "Remember that." And the reason why he starts at that point, he doesn't point to discipleship, 00:35:08.260 |
he doesn't point to years of training. Again, there's nothing wrong with any of that. 00:35:12.260 |
But he says, "The reason why you're drifting is because you have forgotten this. 00:35:17.260 |
You have forgotten the power of the cross when you were first enlightened." 00:35:21.260 |
And then he says, "Because you were enlightened, remember," verse 32, "how you endured great conflict of suffering." 00:35:29.260 |
Verse 33, "They became public spectacles through reproaches and tribulation." 00:35:35.260 |
It wasn't simply that they didn't get accepted in society or people were pointing fingers or snickering at them. 00:35:44.260 |
Remember the text that we're looking at in Thessalonica? 00:35:52.260 |
Again, Apostle Paul was no coward. He was not afraid of hardship. 00:35:58.260 |
He was willing to give his life. Remember when he was in Lystra, that's where he picks up Timothy, 00:36:05.260 |
he was dragged out of town and stoned, and they left him there thinking that he was dead. 00:36:10.260 |
Remember what Paul does? He doesn't die from that. 00:36:13.260 |
He gets back up, he shakes off the dust, he goes back into Lystra, and then he preaches the gospel. 00:36:20.260 |
So Apostle Paul didn't run out of Thessalonica because he was afraid of the persecution. 00:36:25.260 |
So imagine how intense this persecution was in Thessalonica. 00:36:30.260 |
He didn't leave because of himself. He left because they were starting to persecute Jason and the other Christians who converted, 00:36:36.260 |
and in order for their safety, he ended up withdrawing, 00:36:39.260 |
and he writes that letter in order to check up on them because he had to leave. 00:36:43.260 |
So when they're talking about this persecution, 00:36:47.260 |
it's nothing that I think any Christian in our generation have experienced, at least where we live. 00:36:57.260 |
When they say they were public spectacles, it means that they were—that's how bold they were. 00:37:01.260 |
This wasn't just, you know, just snickering or stabbing you or doing something in secret. 00:37:06.260 |
They were very open about their hatred toward these Christians. 00:37:10.260 |
He says, "Remember when you first enlightened, you became a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulation." 00:37:23.260 |
Remember when the intense persecution—remember how joyfully you accepted the seizure of your property. 00:37:32.260 |
So I want you to let that sink in, the degree of persecution that they faced. 00:37:40.260 |
And the purpose of him writing this is so that they would remember that and help them to persevere going forward. 00:37:52.260 |
If your goal is to encourage them in the midst of intense persecution to go forward, 00:38:04.260 |
You say, "You know, I know it was hard in the past. I know it was intense." 00:38:12.260 |
Because God is faithful. He's going to protect you. 00:38:16.260 |
Enough people are going to come to Christ, and the persecution is going to die down eventually. 00:38:21.260 |
The church is going to gain power, and eventually that's going to die down. 00:38:28.260 |
In order to strengthen them to persevere, he reminds them, "Remember when your property was being taken? 00:38:34.260 |
Remember when you were like public spectacle? 00:38:39.260 |
Remember when it was intense? Remember how difficult that was?" 00:38:42.260 |
But the key to what he is saying is, he says, "Joyfully." 00:38:47.260 |
He's bringing that back up because in the midst of all of that suffering, 00:38:52.260 |
he's reminding them the joy that they experience in this suffering. 00:38:58.260 |
See, to a non-Christian, this makes absolutely no sense. 00:39:02.260 |
Why would you encourage people to persevere in their faith in the midst of suffering, 00:39:07.260 |
and reminding them of the intense suffering in the past, 00:39:11.260 |
in order to get them encouraged to continue to go forward? 00:39:15.260 |
Because the key to this wasn't suffering. It wasn't their circumstance. 00:39:19.260 |
It was when they were enlightened. The gospel made such a big impact in them. 00:39:25.260 |
When they first heard it, that even in their suffering, they experienced tremendous joy. 00:39:31.260 |
That's what he was reminding them. He wasn't reminding them of how happy they were 00:39:36.260 |
because their possessions were being taken, or some of them were being dragged to jail, or losing their life. 00:39:41.260 |
That wasn't his point. He said, "Even in the midst of all of that, 00:39:44.260 |
remember the impact that the gospel had on you, that even in the midst of this, you were joyful?" 00:39:53.260 |
He says, "Remember that. That's what you've drifted away from." 00:39:57.260 |
So the problem wasn't the circumstance. He wasn't encouraging them, saying, 00:40:02.260 |
"Don't worry. The circumstances are going to change, so your outlook in life is going to look a lot better." 00:40:06.260 |
He doesn't promise them any circumstance. He doesn't promise these people who are facing intense suffering, 00:40:12.260 |
saying, "If you just hold on just a little bit, God's going to answer your prayer and take care of your kids, 00:40:17.260 |
and things are going to be okay." He doesn't promise any of that. 00:40:20.260 |
He says, "Remember when you were in a similar circumstance, but you were joyful." 00:40:26.260 |
Where did that joy come from? Were they better trained in the beginning? 00:40:31.260 |
Did they know their theology better in the beginning? 00:40:34.260 |
Did they have better discipleship in the beginning? Was the church better organized in the beginning? 00:40:39.260 |
No. It's that the impact of the gospel, when they first heard it, was so powerful. 00:40:46.260 |
It was the gospel that impacted them so deeply, that changed them, 00:40:51.260 |
and looked at even in the context of suffering, they saw God, and they had hope. 00:41:01.260 |
See, in Acts chapter 5, 42-41, you see the disciples, 00:41:05.260 |
who just a few weeks earlier, they were cowering because Jesus was being crucified. 00:41:11.260 |
Their master who protected them, he goes to the cross, and they're confused, and then they're hiding. 00:41:19.260 |
It's Acts chapter 5, 42-41. After they encounter the resurrected Christ, 00:41:24.260 |
the Holy Spirit comes and gives them the power that he promised. 00:41:29.260 |
They preach the gospel, and those same people who crucified Christ drags them into their presence. 00:41:34.260 |
He beats them and warns them and says, "If you keep doing this, possibly you may lose your life." 00:41:42.260 |
"And after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, 00:41:50.260 |
"So they went on their way from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been considered 00:41:59.260 |
Not only do they refuse to stop, they went out and said, "Wow, God considered me faithful. 00:42:08.260 |
He allowed us to suffer. Even after their failure, he allowed me to suffer." 00:42:15.260 |
Now again, for a non-Christian, this is ridiculous. 00:42:20.260 |
There's no way to explain this to a non-Christian. 00:42:24.260 |
Unless you yourself have been enlightened by the Word of God, 00:42:29.260 |
unless you have been impacted where your paradigm of what is good and what is bad 00:42:34.260 |
has been radically changed, this just sounds like a bunch of crazy people. 00:42:39.260 |
Just like your master was crucified, we have the power to crucify and kill you too 00:42:44.260 |
if you continue this, and they come out rejoicing 00:42:49.260 |
that God considered me faithful, that I would suffer as well. 00:42:52.260 |
Philippians 1, 29-30. Paul says to the Philippians, 00:42:56.260 |
"Sitting in prison, for to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, 00:43:01.260 |
not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake. 00:43:04.260 |
Experience the same conflict which you saw in me, and now here to be in me." 00:43:12.260 |
Compare that to the way that we typically pray. 00:43:24.260 |
The weather is bad, pray so that we will be protected. 00:43:27.260 |
The air quality is bad, so pray that we will be protected. 00:43:30.260 |
We're raising our kids, so we pray for our children to be protected. 00:43:35.260 |
How much of our prayer is about being protected from harm outside 00:43:38.260 |
so that we can live a comfortable, safe life? 00:43:40.260 |
Consider that Paul, sitting in prison, writing a letter to the people who are outside, 00:43:49.260 |
Completely different than the way that the world thinks. 00:43:53.260 |
It has been granted for Christ's sake. He longed for it. 00:43:56.260 |
He desired it. Not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake. 00:44:05.260 |
That's why the book of Philippians is about joy. 00:44:08.260 |
In the midst of, in the context of sitting in prison and being beaten, 00:44:16.260 |
he doesn't say, "Come and get me. Where are you? How come you've abandoned me?" 00:44:20.260 |
The letter is about joy in Christ, no matter what circumstance. 00:44:24.260 |
I've learned the secret of being content in every and all situations. 00:44:28.260 |
Only an individual who has encountered the resurrected Christ 00:44:32.260 |
and has been enlightened can say what he says. 00:44:39.260 |
It doesn't fit any kind of paradigm that this world teaches. 00:44:42.260 |
1 Peter 4, 13-14, "But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, 00:44:52.260 |
"So that also at the revelation of his glory you may rejoice with exaltation." 00:44:56.260 |
If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed. 00:45:00.260 |
Because the spirit of glory and of God rests in you. 00:45:03.260 |
He said, if you suffer for his name, if you want assurance of salvation, 00:45:11.260 |
but the fact that you are suffering for the name of Christ 00:45:14.260 |
may be a good indicator that the spirit of Christ is in you. 00:45:18.260 |
Because only an individual who has truly been enlightened, 00:45:28.260 |
When we live the rest of our lives looking for safety and comfort, 00:45:32.260 |
that may be an indicator that our paradigm has not shifted, 00:45:36.260 |
that our hope may not be in the future but here. 00:45:39.260 |
And Christ is only an avenue to have a better life here. 00:45:46.260 |
Why would you follow Christ if it means a greater suffering, 00:45:50.260 |
a public spectacle, taking away of your possessions? 00:45:58.260 |
He says, remember that, remember when that happened. 00:46:02.260 |
But not only does he say that, he says, they experience true fellowship. 00:46:07.260 |
In 33b he says, becoming sharers with those who are treated. 00:46:11.260 |
The word "sharer" is a word that you probably are very familiar with, 00:46:17.260 |
If you've been a Christian for any period of time, 00:46:21.260 |
Churches are named koinonia, Bible studies are named koinonia. 00:46:25.260 |
Anytime that Christians gather together for anything, 00:46:31.260 |
we're going to have hiking koinonia, we're going to have chess koinonia. 00:46:37.260 |
sometimes not really realizing the significance of that term. 00:46:44.260 |
And he's using that term as if you experience true koinonia 00:46:52.260 |
If you've ever suffered together for the same thing, 00:46:58.260 |
That's why you see a lot of guys who go to war in the military. 00:47:05.260 |
"Were you fighting for the country? Were you fighting for that?" 00:47:12.260 |
I was fighting for the guys in the foxholes." 00:47:17.260 |
No matter what the background was, no matter what skin color, 00:47:19.260 |
they come out of that foxhole after suffering together 00:47:23.260 |
and fighting together, risking their lives together, 00:47:25.260 |
there's a bond that they have for the rest of their lives. 00:47:31.260 |
but every time they got together, they always tell the story 00:47:35.260 |
because they became family in that foxhole, suffering together. 00:47:39.260 |
So he reminds them, "Remember the koinonia that you had. 00:47:43.260 |
Not only did you suffer, but when they suffered, you suffered with them. 00:47:48.260 |
And you sympathize with them, those who are in prison." 00:47:54.260 |
the word is simpateo, means together in emotion. 00:47:59.260 |
So he didn't just observe people who are suffering from a distance 00:48:09.260 |
We worry about Christians in North Korea and China. 00:48:14.260 |
But he said, "Remember when you sympathize with them, 00:48:19.260 |
and as a result, you were sharers with them." 00:48:24.260 |
1 Corinthians 12, 24, "And if one member suffers, all members suffer with it. 00:48:28.260 |
If one member is honored, all members rejoice with it." 00:48:32.260 |
In fact, in Philippians 3, 10, Paul says that, 00:48:34.260 |
"I may know him and the power of his resurrection 00:48:37.260 |
and the fellowship," koinonia, "of his sufferings, 00:48:47.260 |
This is why he points and says, "Remember in the beginning, 00:48:51.260 |
not because of your hard work, not because you were more determined, 00:48:57.260 |
and the power of the gospel made such an impact on you 00:49:09.260 |
And you experience what it meant to be a follower of Christ 00:49:12.260 |
because of the impact of his word in our lives. 00:49:17.260 |
And he said, "That's what you've been drifting from." 00:49:21.260 |
Remember when you were first in line, how you suffered. 00:49:25.260 |
Public spectacle, the fellowship that you experienced, 00:49:40.260 |
"I'm the way I am because I don't have enough of this." 00:49:44.260 |
If I was just at a better church, if I was--if I had just better leaders, 00:49:48.260 |
if I had this, if I had better teachers, if I had better fellows, 00:49:51.260 |
if I had older brothers, if I had younger brothers, if I had more peers, 00:49:54.260 |
and how often do we say, "I'm the way that I am 00:49:57.260 |
because the circumstances around me are this way," 00:50:00.260 |
and then just waiting and hoping that if the circumstances would change, 00:50:11.260 |
He doesn't say, "Hey, you're missing out on this. Hey, try this new method. 00:50:14.260 |
Oh, this church down the street got this new way of organizing small groups, 00:50:18.260 |
and that's been working fantastic. Maybe if you did that, 00:50:25.260 |
He says, "Remember, in the beginning, in the beginning, 00:50:33.260 |
They weren't more theologically astute in the beginning. 00:50:36.260 |
They don't have years of bearing fruit in the beginning. 00:50:39.260 |
The churches were not organized in the beginning. 00:50:44.260 |
They didn't have formal established leadership in the beginning. 00:50:47.260 |
The only thing that they had was they encountered God 00:50:53.260 |
When you were enlightened, the impact of the Gospel caused you to react. 00:51:05.260 |
If you have Jesus and you have the Word of God, 00:51:08.260 |
you have everything that you need for a life of godliness. 00:51:17.260 |
can ever come before God and say, "I am in the condition that I am 00:51:26.260 |
Because everything that he's explaining about these Christians, 00:51:44.260 |
See, if you study the Old Testament in particular, 00:51:49.260 |
go back and when you read through the Old Testament, 00:51:59.260 |
There isn't a single book, single letter that you will read 00:52:02.260 |
that isn't saturated with that term or something similar to that to remember. 00:52:06.260 |
Because God already knows our tendency to drift. 00:52:10.260 |
In Deuteronomy chapter 4, 9, way before they ever entered the Promised Land, 00:52:35.260 |
"Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently 00:52:42.260 |
You notice how he says, "Give heed to yourself." 00:52:46.260 |
How much of our time and effort is giving heed to what's going on around us? 00:52:53.260 |
And he says, "No, the greatest danger is yourself." 00:53:00.260 |
The greatest danger is not what's happening around us. 00:53:06.260 |
"Give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently." 00:53:14.260 |
"Hold fast the confession of your faith," which he just said previously. 00:53:19.260 |
"Give heed to yourself, keep your soul diligently, 00:53:25.260 |
In other words, if you're anchored in Christ, 00:53:39.260 |
even in the midst of getting your possessions taken, 00:53:42.260 |
if you're anchored in Christ, and you do not forget, 00:53:52.260 |
all of a sudden your possessions become an issue. 00:54:04.260 |
because naturally that's the world that we live in. 00:54:07.260 |
But the only way to live in a paradigm unlike this world 00:54:12.260 |
is to be anchored with the one who radically changes this paradigm. 00:54:22.260 |
"Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God 00:54:24.260 |
by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes, 00:54:30.260 |
And then verse 12, "Otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied 00:54:34.260 |
and have built good houses and lived in them, 00:54:37.260 |
and when your herds and your flocks multiply, 00:54:53.260 |
He says, "I'm going to take you into a land full of milk and honey, 00:54:58.260 |
and I'm going to bless you, not because you're great, 00:55:03.260 |
but because of the covenant that He made with their forefathers. 00:55:06.260 |
So I'm going to be faithful to myself, and I'm going to take you in. 00:55:09.260 |
But once you experience that blessing, be careful. 00:55:14.260 |
Because your heart's naturally going to think, 00:55:18.260 |
And again, that's a challenge where you and I live. 00:55:21.260 |
We want Him, but we don't feel like we need Him. 00:55:26.260 |
And so, when we drift, we want Him, we should have Him, 00:55:32.260 |
but there's no urgency, because we've forgotten that we need Him. 00:55:37.260 |
And that's exactly what happens to the nation of Israel. 00:55:47.260 |
I've loved you like Hosea was loving Gomer, the prostitute." 00:55:53.260 |
He said repeatedly, He sends Hosea to love this unfaithful wife. 00:55:58.260 |
All of that to illustrate this was the relationship with God and the nation of Israel. 00:56:03.260 |
No matter how much I showed grace, no matter how much I was patient with you, 00:56:06.260 |
you kept on going and kept on going, kept on going, because you forgot. 00:56:13.260 |
"As they had their pasture, they became satisfied. 00:56:17.260 |
And being satisfied, their hearts became proud; therefore, they forgot me." 00:56:22.260 |
That was the summary of the nation of Israel and why judgment was coming. 00:56:28.260 |
That's a challenge that you and I have, because we have a good job, we have a good home. 00:56:35.260 |
Our biggest problem is the, you know, the political environment. 00:56:41.260 |
Getting a better job, getting a better car, safety, our families. 00:56:47.260 |
And again, in the eyes of the world, of course, these things are important. 00:56:52.260 |
And it would make no sense to say, "Rejoice in suffering," 00:57:00.260 |
Only those who have encountered the resurrected Christ, 00:57:07.260 |
That's the Christ that the disciples encountered that caused them to be willing. 00:57:13.260 |
Before the resurrection of Christ, even as they were following Christ, 00:57:18.260 |
When the kingdom comes, "Let me sit on the left, let me sit on the right," 00:57:22.260 |
But after the resurrection, after they encountered this resurrected Christ, 00:57:29.260 |
In fact, if you die in the name of Christ, for His name, there's greater glory for Him. 00:57:36.260 |
Only a Christian who've encountered this Christ can even understand what's being said here. 00:57:42.260 |
That's why He says, that's why it says in Revelation chapter 2, 5, 00:57:46.260 |
to this church who is just going through the motion, 00:57:49.260 |
who lost and forsaken their first love, He says, 00:57:52.260 |
"Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, 00:58:00.260 |
or else I am coming to you and will remove your lambskin out of its place, 00:58:08.260 |
It is not just one of many things that we need to deal with. 00:58:13.260 |
It is at the heart of everything that we're doing. 00:58:17.260 |
If we've been waiting for circumstances to change, or things to happen, 00:58:21.260 |
or when our children get a little bit older, when my bills are paid, 00:58:25.260 |
when my relationships get a little bit better, 00:58:29.260 |
This is a reminder, He says, "No, remember the height from which you have fallen. 00:58:36.260 |
Remember, even as other people were suffering, the fellowship that you experienced." 00:58:44.260 |
I started to kind of comb through, in my mind, trying to remember for myself. 00:58:58.260 |
You know, just seeing, I was just, it just mind-blown. 00:59:06.260 |
You know, I grew up in the church memorizing Scripture, the Lord's Prayer, 00:59:09.260 |
things that I had no understanding, I just, I just repeated because I just thought. 00:59:14.260 |
And then, at the age of 16, my eyes got open, 00:59:18.260 |
and I remember just thinking, like, every day, 00:59:20.260 |
I was thinking about some verse that I memorized at BBS, or, you know, 00:59:24.260 |
the Lord's Prayer, and all of a sudden, it started making sense. 00:59:28.260 |
It's like, "Oh, that's why. Oh, that's what that means. Oh, that's what that means." 00:59:33.260 |
And I remember coming down from that mountain thinking, 00:59:45.260 |
the thing that I struggled with the most is, like, where do I fit in? 00:59:54.260 |
You know, most people want to exceed other people. 00:59:56.260 |
That was not my dream. My dream is to be normal. 01:00:03.260 |
I just want to be normal. You know what I mean? 01:00:08.260 |
I just want to be average and walk into a room and nobody looks at you. 01:00:17.260 |
And I remember meeting Christ thinking, like, "Wow." 01:00:20.260 |
But that burden was lifted instantaneously when I met Christ. 01:00:24.260 |
And whatever that was so important to me was no longer important. 01:00:28.260 |
And all I wanted to do was to go to Bible study. 01:00:32.260 |
All I wanted to do was sing songs and pray with these people and fellowship. 01:00:40.260 |
there's a, in Biola, there's this chapel called Rosemary Chapel. 01:00:44.260 |
And it was in between the classes. I was going back and forth. 01:00:51.260 |
And so I remember how much I loved being in that room. 01:01:00.260 |
That sometimes I didn't have anything to pray about. 01:01:04.260 |
But I prefer being with Christ in that room more than whatever else that was going on outside. 01:01:09.260 |
And I remember there were times that I would sit for an hour or two hours just sitting there. 01:01:14.260 |
Just thinking about who He is and just conversing with Christ. 01:01:18.260 |
And it was never a burden. It was just something that I preferred. 01:01:22.260 |
You know, than my friends just having silly, goofy time outside. 01:01:34.260 |
You know, I dreamt about meeting non-Christians and sharing the Gospel. 01:01:38.260 |
Bringing Gospel to the lost. And I remember reading Jim Elliot 01:01:42.260 |
in his journal, right before he went out to Ecuador. 01:01:46.260 |
He says in his journal, and this is not verbatim, he says, "Lord, I'm not asking 01:01:50.260 |
for a long life, but passionately, courageously, live fully. 01:01:54.260 |
And even if I die early, that I would be burnt out for Christ." 01:01:59.260 |
And I remember reading that being so challenged. 01:02:03.260 |
That that's what I want. I'm not asking for a long, 01:02:07.260 |
safe life. I want to just run as hard as I can, as fast 01:02:11.260 |
as I can, and share the Gospel to as many people as I can, and then burn out for Christ and die. 01:02:28.260 |
Paid the bills. I have responsibilities in the church. 01:02:37.260 |
You know, PTSD in relationship, PTSD in church. 01:02:47.260 |
trying to overcome the jadedness that kind of creeps in in my heart. 01:02:52.260 |
And at times it just kind of kills the joy that I have. 01:02:56.260 |
When I hear somebody's a Christian, my first reaction isn't, "That's awesome." 01:03:00.260 |
My first reaction is, "What kind of Christian are you?" 01:03:09.260 |
where I catch myself just trying to ride this out till the end. 01:03:21.260 |
And I remember, I remember many of you when you first came to Christ. 01:03:30.260 |
being forsaken from your family because you were making a decision to follow Christ. 01:03:35.260 |
And I remember praying with you and crying together. 01:03:40.260 |
I mean, I have so many memories. I can't jot it down. 01:03:44.260 |
You know, I wanted to share some, but it would take too long. 01:03:52.260 |
And this is why we need to take some time to remember. 01:04:05.260 |
Remember how these songs meant so much to you? 01:04:09.260 |
Remember when you wanted to literally give your life to share the gospel? 01:04:19.260 |
How you wanted to pray, "Lord, I want to be burnt out for Christ." 01:04:31.260 |
Now we're just making it from week to week, month to month, year to year. 01:04:35.260 |
You know, thinking like passion for Christ is something that kids do. 01:04:43.260 |
we're just going to ride this out. And I notice a danger even in my own heart. 01:04:56.260 |
All of this really is summarized in the next chapter, in chapter 11, verse 1, 01:05:00.260 |
where he says, "Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen." 01:05:06.260 |
If we live by our flesh, it's natural that we're going to drift. 01:05:12.260 |
It's natural to be discouraged when you can't pay your bills, 01:05:16.260 |
your work doesn't go right, your relationship with your husband and wife isn't exactly what you want it to be. 01:05:20.260 |
If we live by our flesh and what we see, our discouragement and encouragement, 01:05:24.260 |
our joy, our sadness is going to go up and down based upon what is happening around us. 01:05:37.260 |
And so we live with a conviction, an assurance of what we do not see. 01:05:43.260 |
And that's what he's trying to remind them of. 01:05:55.260 |
Remember the height from which you had fallen. 01:05:57.260 |
Repent and redo the thing that you did at first. 01:06:08.260 |
Heavenly Father, we are weak creatures in need of your grace even now. 01:06:17.260 |
Even after 36 years, I am desperately in need of you. 01:06:27.260 |
I pray, Father God, that you would help us as a church not to drift. 01:06:31.260 |
To heed the warning that you've given us, that our view of what we hope for, 01:06:38.260 |
what we value, what we believe will recalibrate our mind, our thought, our heart, and our lives. 01:06:46.260 |
That whether we live long or even just a few months, 01:06:52.260 |
help us, Lord God, to truly live for your glory. 01:06:56.260 |
So I pray, Father God, in the midst of this chaos, that we would not run to the hills for safety. 01:07:04.260 |
That you would remind us to be anchored in Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith. 01:11:46.260 |
Heavenly Father, I pray for my brothers and sisters 01:12:00.260 |
Lord, you know our hearts, how prone we are, Lord God, to drift. 01:12:05.260 |
So we pray, Father God, as helpless sinners in need of your grace 01:12:15.260 |
remind us, Lord God, of what it is that we have in you. 01:12:23.260 |
That we may rejoice with those who rejoice and suffer with those who suffer. 01:12:28.260 |
That especially now, Lord God, that you would cause your church 01:12:34.260 |
Help us to live with courage and boldness and conviction. 01:12:43.260 |
Now the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, 01:12:47.260 |
the eternal love of God the Father, rest, restore, strengthen the church 01:12:51.260 |
for the sake of his glory and his name. Amen. 01:14:16.260 |
Light turned on. Can you guys sit for a second? 01:14:22.260 |
Pastor Mark is going to give us some instructions. 01:14:29.260 |
Is there a question again? Matt, is there a question again? 01:14:36.260 |
Thank you for your patience. We're going to start an orderly fashion.