back to indexBerean Community Church Sunday Service 5.28.2023
00:09:29.100 |
♪ As we gather may your spirit work within us ♪ 00:09:41.440 |
♪ Knowing well that as our hearts begin to worship ♪ 00:10:03.600 |
♪ As we gather may your spirit work within us ♪ 00:10:18.360 |
♪ Knowing well that as our hearts begin to worship ♪ 00:10:56.560 |
♪ The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases ♪ 00:11:35.700 |
♪ The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases ♪ 00:13:08.580 |
Another announcement they asked to make clear is 00:13:23.180 |
that's where we had our Christmas tree set up. 00:13:24.860 |
So if you lost anything and you need to find it, 00:13:28.900 |
So just go into that room and turn sharp left 00:13:39.060 |
and a lot of people are just kinda exchanging stuff 00:13:49.100 |
just dropping off stuff that's just somewhere at church 00:13:51.180 |
and come pick it up and then people don't pick it up. 00:13:53.380 |
So what ends up happening is we have things that, 00:13:58.780 |
but things that we're not sure if it's trash or not 00:14:06.940 |
So we need you guys to hand that off to each other, 00:14:11.960 |
not say, hey, it's in front of the bathroom door 00:14:18.500 |
just meet it up there and then somebody would forget 00:14:22.380 |
So what ends up happening is we're gonna think it's lost 00:14:28.880 |
So basically, if you're gonna exchange things, 00:14:32.040 |
make sure that you exchange it with that person personally 00:14:34.960 |
and make sure that the other person has taken it. 00:14:36.500 |
But we have too many things that are just kinda 00:14:42.520 |
when our church was smaller and we just kinda retained it 00:14:45.740 |
as our church got bigger and because of the size 00:14:47.620 |
of the church, we just can't do that anymore. 00:14:52.160 |
Make sure that person gets it or keep it in your car 00:15:06.500 |
or possibly gonna work with children in the future, 00:15:17.400 |
So that's gonna be taking place today at one o'clock. 00:15:20.100 |
Then heads up, next week is communion service, 00:15:28.180 |
today is the abortion seminar and it's gonna be taking place 00:15:37.980 |
And so right at 1.45, we're gonna try to start 00:15:43.220 |
gives his presentation, there will be a time for Q&A 00:15:46.100 |
and open Q&A so you can come in prepared for that as well. 00:15:51.140 |
so if you need to prepare anything after that. 00:15:55.740 |
and if you did sign up, obviously, 1.45 sharp, 00:15:58.980 |
we're gonna be starting in this room, in the sanctuary, okay? 00:16:02.620 |
All right, this morning, I'm gonna pray for us 00:16:11.300 |
having some problems, well, we had some issues last week. 00:16:15.900 |
We're in the process of changing bank accounts 00:16:24.980 |
If you had some problems last week and you were waiting, 00:16:35.160 |
And so I'll forward it to our finance department 00:16:39.380 |
But otherwise, that's what was going on in the background. 00:16:45.020 |
we have a physical box in the back as you are leaving, 00:16:49.860 |
And then after the offering, our sister Jennifer 00:17:07.300 |
for the privilege that we have to come and worship you. 00:17:15.120 |
is not simply out of habit, that it's not superstition, 00:17:22.760 |
to see a greater and greater glimpse of the gospel, 00:17:43.580 |
may it be multiplied for the sake of your kingdom. 00:18:42.180 |
if you can follow along in Psalm 27, one through three. 00:18:45.880 |
It says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation. 00:18:54.920 |
"When the wicked advance against me to devour me, 00:18:57.800 |
"it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. 00:19:01.620 |
"Though an army beseech me, my heart will not fear. 00:19:09.960 |
As we sing this song about the Lord's salvation, 00:19:13.160 |
what we have in Christ, I know a room this size, 00:19:16.120 |
there are many people dealing with many different things, 00:19:25.280 |
that the Lord is my salvation, whether good or bad. 00:19:31.480 |
we are intentional in trying to teach our church 00:19:40.600 |
There's a melody to it, and hopefully over time, 00:19:43.120 |
you'll be able to memorize these melodies in these songs. 00:20:30.200 |
♪ His strength will help me stand these walls ♪ 00:21:29.880 |
♪ When winter fades, I know spring will come ♪ 00:25:22.640 |
♪ Then through the darkness your loving kindness ♪ 00:26:00.880 |
♪ What heart could fathom such boundless grace ♪ 00:26:47.160 |
♪ Hallelujah praise the one who set me free ♪ 00:27:14.280 |
♪ Then came the morning that sealed the promise ♪ 00:27:37.480 |
♪ Cleared the grave as no claim of more time ♪ 00:27:44.680 |
♪ Then came the morning that sealed the promise ♪ 00:28:04.760 |
♪ Cleared the grave as no claim of more time ♪ 00:28:23.600 |
♪ Hallelujah praise the one who set me free ♪ 00:28:49.000 |
♪ Hallelujah praise the one who set me free ♪ 00:30:14.560 |
that don't know me, I'm gonna be sharing my testimony today. 00:30:41.460 |
And I didn't realize what a blessing this was 00:30:51.700 |
Because my parents were heavily involved in the church, 00:31:02.680 |
and my life began to revolve around church activities. 00:31:06.160 |
So I served in nearly all the church related activities 00:31:09.080 |
and events and I began to equate my involvement 00:31:14.220 |
So I grew up very sheltered and I didn't realize 00:31:18.960 |
Rather I became curious at the secular lifestyles, 00:31:25.800 |
So at first I was in denial and wanted to use the excuse 00:31:34.520 |
my heart became calloused and this culminated 00:31:37.320 |
into a stage of rebellion and indulgence in my flesh. 00:31:41.560 |
The irony was that I was partaking in the very activities 00:31:48.860 |
and the deep sins and desires that were hidden away 00:31:52.920 |
Much like the prodigal son, what felt pleasurable 00:31:55.160 |
and enjoyable at first quickly turned to a time of despair. 00:31:59.260 |
My destructive lifestyle began to take a toll on my academics 00:32:06.400 |
while relationships helped health and well-being. 00:32:09.240 |
As I saw myself compromise more of my values, 00:32:26.840 |
I realized the extent of my sins and fleshly desires. 00:32:39.120 |
And I began to lose hope under the weight of my richness. 00:32:44.260 |
Rather than returning to the one that could save me, 00:32:49.300 |
and it wasn't until after a traumatizing event 00:33:07.340 |
As I began to sink deeper into my depression, 00:33:21.320 |
and I knew I could no longer continue on this path. 00:33:35.200 |
I had wandered so far, I would do whatever it takes 00:33:44.480 |
So as I began to pray, more and more of my sins 00:33:51.320 |
in validation of people, sought comfort in destructive ways, 00:33:57.640 |
and ultimately wanted to be in control of my own life. 00:34:02.440 |
As I felt the depths of my sin and my wretchedness, 00:34:30.920 |
and that he alone would be victorious over sin 00:34:37.800 |
I committed to take up my cross daily and follow. 00:35:00.720 |
but wanted me a broken and once hopeless sinner. 00:35:04.560 |
I remember sobbing as I sat in awe of his presence 00:35:10.880 |
with the realization that I was no less deserving 00:35:18.220 |
whether I was doing all the right Christian things 00:35:25.480 |
It was never my actions that had earned my salvation, 00:35:35.240 |
because of his character was beyond what I could comprehend. 00:35:42.800 |
as I had to face the consequences of deeply rooted sins 00:35:46.160 |
and the process of being purified and sanctified 00:35:55.800 |
that resides within me for strength and perseverance 00:35:58.960 |
and cling to the hope that one day I'll be reunited 00:36:06.920 |
through all my years of attending church as a child 00:36:09.060 |
began to have deeper meaning as I experienced firsthand 00:36:14.780 |
as well as discovering what it means to have true joy 00:36:22.320 |
I had the privilege to partake in several mission trips 00:36:25.360 |
where my faith in him grew through further encounters 00:36:27.640 |
and glimpses of his glory and love for his people. 00:36:30.680 |
As God's love overwhelmed and transformed me, 00:36:33.080 |
I wanted every aspect of my life with God in the center. 00:36:35.880 |
I no longer found satisfaction indulging in my sin 00:36:43.120 |
but rather became a slave to pursuing righteousness. 00:36:48.700 |
and I'm still learning and experiencing who God is, 00:36:52.920 |
his multifaceted characteristics of being a holy, 00:36:59.900 |
his purpose for his believers to share the gospel 00:37:03.680 |
and what it means to be a light and a witness 00:37:07.200 |
and to have his word as an anchor and compass for my life. 00:37:15.120 |
and strengthens me to keep fighting the good fight. 00:37:18.720 |
I just wanted to end with a verse from Psalm 717. 00:37:23.200 |
I'll give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness. 00:37:26.660 |
I will sing praises of the name of the Lord most high. 00:37:35.880 |
- Jennifer, do you understand when you go into the water, 00:37:58.720 |
- And I baptize you in the name of the Father, 00:38:34.120 |
My goal is to finish this text before I head out to Korea. 00:38:53.200 |
It was at this time that he went off to the mountain 00:38:59.000 |
to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. 00:39:02.040 |
And when day came, he called his disciples to him 00:39:04.440 |
and chose 12 of them, whom he also named as apostles. 00:39:08.440 |
Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew, his brother, 00:39:12.420 |
and James and John, and Philip and Bartholomew, 00:39:15.240 |
and Matthew and Thomas, James, the son of Aphaias, 00:39:35.680 |
but to know your heart, your purpose, your reason, 00:39:41.840 |
We pray, Father God, that you give us understanding. 00:39:52.760 |
and that we may be changed and become more and more 00:39:58.900 |
We pray for your blessing and your Holy Spirit 00:40:00.920 |
to empower us, illuminate us, to teach us and guide us. 00:40:05.820 |
So as we've been talking about up to this point, 00:40:12.600 |
that Jesus has been systematically challenging 00:40:18.760 |
So the choosing of these 12 was a punch in the face 00:40:24.200 |
He wasn't simply scanning to see what was wrong 00:40:30.880 |
He basically is tearing the whole system down 00:40:35.360 |
That the foundation of the new covenant in the church 00:40:37.880 |
is gonna look vastly different than what was established. 00:40:44.440 |
He was basically telling not only the leaders, 00:40:48.440 |
but all of Israel and even to us to this day, 00:40:52.640 |
that the wisdom of this world that established 00:40:55.520 |
the Jewish system was going to lead to destruction. 00:40:59.440 |
And so Christ comes and he not only challenges 00:41:06.640 |
of these 12 disciples, he goes exactly opposite 00:41:15.880 |
you'll notice that this is what God's been doing 00:41:22.040 |
That God has been challenging their understanding 00:41:25.100 |
of right and wrong, their understanding of power 00:41:28.160 |
in order that they recognize that God is the one 00:41:36.720 |
to give credit to themselves, to give credit to man. 00:41:43.560 |
the core of their sin is that they have a tendency 00:41:55.080 |
of the Old Testament, what God does to challenge the system. 00:42:00.320 |
we find it in the story of Gideon in Judges chapter six 00:42:03.800 |
and Judges chapter seven, where the Midianites 00:42:13.400 |
And God chooses, they said there are 32,000 men, 00:42:18.400 |
and God says to Gideon that I'm not gonna deliver you 00:42:23.420 |
with these 32,000 men because I know your tendency. 00:42:26.060 |
I know what's gonna happen because if I deliver you, 00:42:37.500 |
and so you're gonna think that those 32,000 mighty men 00:42:41.580 |
were the reason why you conquered the Midianites. 00:42:52.820 |
And then from 10,000, he dwindles it down to 300 men. 00:43:01.300 |
and the number of Midianites would have been one to 750. 00:43:07.680 |
So in order for these 300 men to be successful, 00:43:15.500 |
Now as you guys know, this is not a period of atomic bombs 00:43:39.060 |
It is impossible all 300 men would have to conquer 00:43:43.620 |
750 other men with swords, the same kinds that they have. 00:43:48.620 |
And God makes it very clear why he is doing that. 00:43:57.880 |
Now he does this repeatedly over and over and over 00:44:07.340 |
and again, I'm not gonna go too deep into it. 00:44:16.900 |
and take orders and to get in line and stop and set up camp. 00:44:21.940 |
Right before they go in to fight a fortified city, 00:44:35.220 |
They have a general who has no experience in battle, 00:44:44.580 |
Because he's trying to teach them, it isn't you. 00:45:01.380 |
Because the primary sin of mankind is his own arrogance. 00:45:13.340 |
And so God, throughout history, has been humbling us 00:45:28.580 |
Our natural tendency is whenever we see any kind of fruit, 00:45:41.540 |
was doing well in China, we study the system. 00:45:47.820 |
and we've studied the pastor, we've studied the organization, 00:45:50.460 |
we've studied the program, the discipleship, the teaching. 00:46:00.940 |
Our natural tendency is that, of course, God did it, 00:46:05.860 |
We sprinkle some Jesus on it, we pray in the beginning, 00:46:22.660 |
made sure that there's no way humanly possible 00:46:31.940 |
So at the end of it, people will take a step back 00:46:48.300 |
was far beyond slaughtering 750 other soldiers. 00:47:00.020 |
these average, untrained men, uneducated men, 00:47:15.800 |
never went beyond Galilee and three visits to Jerusalem. 00:47:26.100 |
And at the end of his three years of ministry, 00:47:34.100 |
And so the task that was given to the disciples 00:47:38.460 |
he's like, you go make disciples of all the nations. 00:47:44.040 |
Repeat that, well, if they repeated what Jesus did, 00:47:56.820 |
And they're gonna hate you like they hated me, 00:47:59.320 |
Not only were they given the task to convert Israel 00:48:03.020 |
with this strange gospel that they didn't understand, 00:48:10.780 |
To this day, any empire that is mighty and powerful, 00:48:18.280 |
Because even to this day, they haven't found anything 00:48:40.300 |
preach the gospel to Rome, and convert not only to Rome, 00:48:54.040 |
Would you have chosen Andrew, or John, or James? 00:48:58.560 |
For sure, Judas Iscariot, we wouldn't have chosen, 00:49:05.040 |
none of them comes even close to what we would think, 00:49:08.720 |
what the world would think, if we were given that task, 00:49:15.380 |
"You know what, instead of me choosing, you choose the 12," 00:49:21.180 |
We probably would have started with the Sanhedrin, 00:49:23.860 |
maybe the high priest, maybe somebody educated, 00:49:35.980 |
But we wouldn't have chosen any one of these 12 men, 00:49:45.720 |
only now, 2,000 years removed, we look back at it, 00:49:53.560 |
because we're still here, and the church is still thriving, 00:49:57.320 |
they've given their lives, and they were successful, 00:50:02.320 |
and say, "We're so wise now, we're so insightful, 00:50:08.920 |
But if you were at that point, before these 2,000 years, 00:50:21.500 |
Everything about his choosing of these 12 men 00:50:27.260 |
is the same repetition of what God's been doing 00:50:44.180 |
In fact, Acts chapter 4, 13, after Peter preaches, 00:50:48.480 |
and everybody's so impressed with his boldness, 00:50:50.520 |
they say, "As they observed the confidence of Peter and John 00:51:02.520 |
Man, we're so impressed, you are so powerful. 00:51:06.280 |
You're not educated, you're not well-trained. 00:51:20.080 |
Why are these guys willing to give their lives 00:51:23.920 |
And remember, if you remember Peter's sermon, 00:51:28.840 |
expositing redemptive history in the Old Testament. 00:51:34.320 |
this guy come and Jesus is the fulfillment of that prophecy, 00:51:42.800 |
What do we do when people come to repentance? 00:51:58.300 |
that they were able to give was they were amazed 00:52:00.400 |
and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. 00:52:06.160 |
That's what they recognized, the reason behind their power, 00:52:11.880 |
these are people who are hostile to the faith. 00:52:14.200 |
They said, "Oh, it must something about Jesus, 00:52:17.800 |
"something about Jesus made them so powerful." 00:52:39.720 |
He was going to challenge the wisdom of the world 00:52:45.540 |
He was gonna challenge the wisdom and the know-how 00:52:51.720 |
and the experience and their knowledge with nobody's. 00:52:57.400 |
And he wanted to make sure that you got that point, 00:53:01.220 |
1 Corinthians 3, 19-91, "For the wisdom of this world 00:53:06.460 |
"For it is written, 'He is the one who catches the wise 00:53:19.140 |
he said, "In the eyes of God, for the purpose of salvation," 00:53:26.760 |
Because the greatest hindrance to coming to Christ 00:53:39.520 |
If you're a little bit stronger than somebody, 00:53:42.620 |
if you're a little bit better looking than somebody, 00:53:45.680 |
if you have more money, you run a little bit faster, 00:53:50.200 |
it doesn't take much for us to be filled with pride. 00:54:10.420 |
Think about the task that we have been given. 00:54:14.480 |
He said, "Our fight is not against flesh and blood, 00:54:34.520 |
And yet, we keep throwing flesh at the spiritual battle. 00:54:43.160 |
if we read enough, if we have the right people, 00:54:46.600 |
if we have the right training, we can conquer Satan. 00:55:01.780 |
Paul comes and begs to have the storm taken away, 00:55:07.700 |
and Jesus responds to him, "My grace is sufficient for you, 00:55:11.980 |
In other words, it's your power that's getting in the way. 00:55:20.940 |
I will build my church, and the gates of Hades 00:55:23.180 |
will not prevail against it, not your church. 00:55:26.180 |
So it is when you are weak, when you get out of the way, 00:55:29.940 |
when you stop taking the credit, my power is demonstrated. 00:55:34.100 |
My power is perfected in weakness, most godly, 00:55:38.100 |
therefore I will rather boast about my weakness 00:55:43.780 |
He's not boasting, he's like, "Oh, I'm so weak, I'm so weak." 00:55:51.700 |
And he says, "No, because I really want the power of God, 00:55:56.100 |
"and power of God is demonstrated when I am weak, 00:56:00.200 |
"so if I want the power of God, I tell you my weakness, 00:56:21.540 |
when God's call clearly is to become nothing. 00:56:30.820 |
imagine how much of our depression and anxiety 00:56:35.860 |
comes from disappointment that we feel like we're nothing. 00:56:45.600 |
Because we're striving against what God has called us. 00:56:48.780 |
Imagine the foolishness of knowing, reading, memorizing, 00:56:54.820 |
even singing about this, and yet every other part 00:56:57.700 |
of our life is we're trying to become something, 00:56:59.860 |
even as we serve God, we wanna become something 00:57:10.000 |
We try so hard to get noticed when God is trying so hard 00:57:13.700 |
to hide us so that they don't remember your name, 00:57:21.800 |
that people don't, like, wow, you're so good at that. 00:57:24.280 |
He's trying so hard to prevent us from getting praise. 00:57:28.060 |
Because as soon as praise come to us, we're ruined. 00:57:34.100 |
We try so hard to live while the central calling 00:57:46.620 |
so that our children will have a better living, 00:57:50.980 |
as he says, he who seeks his life will lose it, 00:57:53.780 |
he who loses his life for my sake, he will find it. 00:57:56.340 |
It's that the central calling of the gospel is to die, 00:58:07.020 |
that people will say, what's wrong with this uneducated, 00:58:09.260 |
dumb, untrained man who doesn't know anything? 00:58:18.220 |
Not him, not his smart, not his talent, it's Jesus. 00:58:22.940 |
These men wrote the Bible, and a lot of people say, 00:58:29.840 |
well, they wrote the Bible, they did all the stuff 00:58:32.080 |
so that they can benefit from this great man, 00:58:35.980 |
They made up this stuff so that they can be honored. 00:58:39.280 |
That's come from somebody who's never read the Bible. 00:58:42.040 |
If you read the Bible, I mean, we know that they were 00:58:51.620 |
Because after you carefully examine their life, 00:58:54.980 |
you come out thinking, these men changed the world? 00:59:02.720 |
And at Jesus' greatest need, he abandons him, 00:59:23.980 |
Even at the resurrection, they couldn't believe. 00:59:26.980 |
These women come, it's like, well, we've seen him. 00:59:29.880 |
Jesus made it very clear that was gonna happen. 00:59:34.580 |
Yeah, these guys wrote that about themselves? 00:59:45.700 |
has something so profound, collectively and individually, 00:59:50.220 |
to teach us, fundamentally, because we resist and fight. 00:59:55.220 |
So that's why even a doctrine of predestination, 01:00:05.740 |
God is in sovereign control, he's completely in control. 01:00:19.020 |
because we need to have some sort of a dignity. 01:01:02.080 |
And you think, well, I mean, we've grown out of that, right? 01:01:16.920 |
because we start crying and throwing tantrum. 01:01:20.240 |
People are gonna judge us, and they're not gonna like us, 01:01:23.560 |
So we just found different methods to get what we want. 01:01:27.160 |
We just found different ways to express ourselves. 01:01:30.440 |
But how much of our crying out is crying out for me? 01:01:41.120 |
that somebody recognize my hurt, my pain, my sorrow, me! 01:02:07.400 |
we figure out a method, we figure out a training, 01:02:31.880 |
Only way that we can engage in the spiritual battle 01:02:41.840 |
And the only way that His glory and His power 01:02:45.520 |
and we get out of the way and we die to ourselves. 01:02:50.960 |
That's the backbone behind what God has been doing 01:02:54.560 |
through history and the choosing of these 12 men 01:03:23.880 |
that we're not first calculating what do you like, 01:03:32.600 |
Our primary concern is what brings God the most glory, 01:03:42.960 |
not just worship or singing or fellowship or discipleship, 01:03:53.480 |
And now you can see why I didn't finish for service. 01:03:56.080 |
I have five points, but I'm only gonna give you 01:04:00.960 |
And then I'm gonna get to the other next week. 01:04:19.280 |
The second group of people, Philip, Bartholomew, 01:04:21.280 |
Matthew, and Thomas, we know some things about them, 01:04:29.960 |
The third group starts with James, son of Alphaeus, 01:04:36.760 |
So we know Judas Iscariot, and we're gonna take some time 01:04:41.960 |
'Cause clearly Jesus was not surprised of his betrayals. 01:05:01.120 |
They're the ones who are taken up to the transfiguration 01:05:04.280 |
and shown the glory, and then they were commissioned 01:05:17.160 |
Andrew's the one who said, "Hey, come see this man." 01:05:22.800 |
and then Jesus says, "Peter, James, and John, 01:05:36.800 |
If I get to ask him, "Andrew, how did you feel?" 01:05:48.640 |
and you asked them, "What happened up there?" 01:05:56.480 |
I mean, first of all, I didn't get taken up there. 01:06:05.480 |
Jesus, Peter mentions about the transfiguration, 01:06:13.480 |
Can you imagine Andrew hearing this like, "What?" 01:06:24.360 |
and I wasn't taken up, I'm the one who introduced you. 01:06:36.000 |
I don't know, there's some wisdom behind that. 01:06:37.520 |
We're gonna try to dig into that a little bit further 01:06:41.000 |
But Peter, one, first point, clearly is the leader. 01:06:47.240 |
He's a leader because he's always written first, 01:06:49.040 |
and he says he's the first among the disciples, 01:07:10.160 |
at some point, Jesus changes his name from Simon to Peter, 01:07:15.320 |
and we see that pattern all throughout scripture. 01:07:43.920 |
Well, it used to be Sarai, which means princess, 01:07:47.200 |
but Yahweh told us to change our name to Sarah, 01:08:22.480 |
Yeah, I know, there must be a Jacob in here somewhere. 01:08:50.760 |
So, he saw a guy who was tricky, slippery, conniving, 01:09:00.960 |
Apostle Paul, we universally accept that he's an apostle, 01:09:08.360 |
and he gives him a name that probably you wouldn't want. 01:09:11.800 |
His name, Saul, means the one prayed for, right? 01:09:38.840 |
yes, if he was convicted, he didn't just sit on it. 01:10:10.240 |
to figure out if you're going to live or die, 01:10:13.160 |
'Cause that's the guy that everybody's going to follow, 01:10:21.480 |
And then if you don't die, I'll come after you. 01:10:24.440 |
I don't care what kind of title that you have. 01:10:32.280 |
Peter's the guy who jumps in the lake, right? 01:10:39.360 |
clearly Peter is the leader by his personality, 01:10:58.680 |
Depending on which passage and what event you're looking at, 01:11:36.960 |
And so Jesus, the way he calls and goes back and forth, 01:11:41.360 |
And that's not the way his name generally is used. 01:11:44.680 |
He goes back and forth to Simon, Peter, Simon, Peter. 01:11:46.880 |
Sometimes it would be Simon, sometimes it's Peter, 01:12:01.160 |
And he goes out into the water and he's going out. 01:12:04.640 |
And then the storm comes and he begins to sink 01:12:23.760 |
"I knew it, that guy, man, he's so impulsive. 01:12:28.160 |
But he's the guy who's out in the water taking the risk. 01:12:40.760 |
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 01:12:51.120 |
I will build my church and the gates of Hades 01:13:08.720 |
Jesus says, "No, you're gonna fail me miserably, right? 01:13:22.400 |
Am I Satan or am I the foundation of the church? 01:13:59.840 |
Clearly, he was a fisherman, not a swordsman. 01:14:02.120 |
So he doesn't hit the guy, he cuts off his ear. 01:14:06.780 |
Jesus picks the ear back up and puts it back on. 01:14:12.440 |
He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword. 01:14:14.360 |
And so Peter's like, "I don't understand what's going on." 01:14:20.600 |
Everybody else scatters and they're hiding in fear. 01:14:23.160 |
Peter's the one that's like, "What's going on?" 01:14:33.440 |
at least he had the courage to go because he was loyal. 01:15:01.820 |
when Jesus is washing the feet of the disciples 01:15:03.860 |
and Peter, out of loyalty and his love for his master, 01:15:17.820 |
Peter said to him, "Never shall you wash my feet." 01:15:23.240 |
Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, then wash not only my feet, 01:15:31.200 |
"needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean, 01:15:42.320 |
and his master chooses to sit at the end of the table 01:15:46.400 |
And Peter said, "No, no, master, you're my master. 01:15:57.860 |
is sitting at the end and he's not being honored. 01:16:00.860 |
so you're not gonna be able to digest your food 01:16:13.580 |
And then Peter responds, "Then get on the floor." 01:16:24.140 |
He's like, "Well, I have no relationship with you." 01:16:38.020 |
And then he makes mistakes and then he gets rebuked. 01:16:51.820 |
'cause we have a tendency to look at Peter and say, 01:16:59.140 |
And sometimes I don't like reading biographies 01:17:04.140 |
that kind of highlight all the good stuff about the man 01:17:12.520 |
at three in the morning and he fasted and prayed 01:17:48.940 |
Most people that I know struggle with their flesh 01:17:55.840 |
Somebody cuts me off, I get angry like everybody else 01:18:08.340 |
is fighting within me and I'm trying to fight 01:18:11.180 |
and struggle with this and that's the real reality. 01:18:25.820 |
just like us on Sunday, all of you are beautiful. 01:18:28.560 |
You put on your godly faces, you sing your songs, 01:18:34.420 |
you go outside, nobody's yelling at each other 01:18:38.900 |
And you hold that in until you get into your car, right? 01:18:45.300 |
You're the godliest person here and then you get in the car 01:18:50.900 |
and your kids are irritating, they're not listening to you 01:18:58.860 |
get on the freeway, make sure nobody's around. 01:19:10.360 |
Depending on if you saw him on Sunday or Monday 01:19:14.160 |
or Friday or Wednesday at Bible study, right? 01:19:28.720 |
ultimately is not to figure out what qualities 01:19:32.880 |
that we're supposed to mimic so that we can change the world 01:19:38.400 |
If we're honest with ourselves, we study them, 01:19:45.600 |
In fact, in Galatians 2, if you guys know Galatians 01:19:51.120 |
and just give you a heads up, we're studying Galatians 01:19:53.440 |
for our next teaching and give you a little plug. 01:19:57.000 |
Galatians is one of the most interesting books. 01:19:58.520 |
If you read it superficially, you get very little out of it 01:20:05.920 |
'Cause so much theology comes from the book of Galatians. 01:20:12.920 |
Galatians is the next letter that is rich in theology. 01:20:17.000 |
That was the primary struggle for the first 150 years 01:20:25.760 |
"If anyone preaches a gospel other than what I have preached 01:20:30.860 |
So even if me or an angel of God comes and preaches 01:20:36.760 |
And then he says, "If I succumb to pressure of man, 01:20:49.120 |
All of chapter one is a setup for what he needs to say 01:20:53.400 |
And so because in chapter two, after he said all that 01:20:55.600 |
and he puts all of that out, he says in Galatians 2.11, 01:20:58.240 |
"But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face 01:21:04.580 |
"For prior to the coming of certain men from James, 01:21:15.480 |
"The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy 01:21:17.980 |
"with the result that even Barnabas was carried away 01:21:23.120 |
Now I want you to think, this is an Asian culture, right? 01:21:30.480 |
And Paul, this latecomer, and the only reason 01:21:33.560 |
why they even accepted him is 'cause Barnabas 01:21:40.320 |
This guy who killed Stephen, he got permission 01:21:44.420 |
from Ananias and Caiaphas to go grab more Christians 01:21:58.800 |
I don't wanna disturb you, I don't want other people 01:22:10.800 |
Not only shames him, shames Barnabas who was so loyal 01:22:15.460 |
But he says, "Their hypocrisy's gonna ruin the gospel 01:22:21.240 |
So chapter one is a setup for what he's about to do 01:22:23.240 |
because he understands if people don't receive this well, 01:22:27.920 |
You have this Apostle Paul who's going around planting 01:22:30.400 |
all these churches and a huge name among the Gentiles 01:22:33.280 |
and the pillars, pillars in the early church, 01:22:38.280 |
Peter and Barnabas was gonna be publicly shamed. 01:22:42.720 |
So he needed to set the foundation, we're not about Peter. 01:22:48.240 |
We're not about me, we're not even about angels. 01:22:55.000 |
Now, if Peter got offended and he came out swinging, 01:23:02.000 |
it's about how he said it and then started going at it 01:23:05.000 |
with Paul, that would have splintered the church 01:23:06.680 |
and I don't know if it would have been humanly speaking. 01:23:18.200 |
And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation 01:23:22.200 |
according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you 01:23:28.960 |
of these things in which are some things hard to understand 01:23:40.760 |
He equates Paul's writings with other scripture. 01:23:43.820 |
Paul recognizes, I'm sure he's a human being. 01:23:52.920 |
And he said, but the reason why he doesn't lash out 01:23:54.760 |
is 'cause Peter understood that this was from the Lord. 01:24:03.080 |
because it's hard to understand, they distort. 01:24:11.280 |
He couldn't understand, like, well, what are you doing? 01:24:22.020 |
they split, what would happen to the early church? 01:24:27.440 |
Sometimes a weak man, sometimes a strong man. 01:24:35.400 |
Sometimes denying Christ, sometimes loving Christ. 01:25:07.200 |
But he's never to be meant to be on a pedestal. 01:25:29.160 |
you're gonna be accused of something horrendous 01:25:32.040 |
And people, false witnesses are gonna come and accuse you, 01:25:40.760 |
and then eventually they're going to kill you. 01:25:49.680 |
that you know are gonna abandon you at that time. 01:25:52.320 |
How would that affect your relationship today? 01:25:59.640 |
Would you be excited to celebrate their birthdays 01:26:04.720 |
Would you begin to weed those people out of your life? 01:26:13.680 |
Probably, if we knew that the closest friends 01:26:19.080 |
at the most difficult time of our life three years from now, 01:26:24.760 |
most likely it will affect your relationship today. 01:26:28.800 |
Yet Christ, knowing all that these disciples would do, 01:27:02.080 |
And the same love that he loved as disciples loved us, 01:27:11.160 |
To choose to love people that we don't want to love, 01:27:52.440 |
I pray, Father God, that you would be merciful, 01:27:59.200 |
Help us, Lord God, to see the value of the glory 01:28:03.480 |
that we would volunteer and desire to be hidden. 01:28:15.200 |
May Christ and Christ alone be exalted in us and through us. 01:31:41.760 |
that you have implanted in our minds and our hearts 01:31:51.400 |
Any patterns that we have allowed in our lives, Lord God, 01:31:59.560 |
because we don't see the immediate consequence. 01:32:02.180 |
Continuing to drift, Father, not fighting and striving, 01:32:10.020 |
Help us, Lord God, as we recognize our weakness, 01:32:15.000 |
that there will be a growing hungering and thirsting 01:32:18.040 |
for the presence of Christ, for loving Christ, 01:32:23.040 |
for honoring Christ, and eagerly waiting for Christ. 01:32:32.860 |
I pray that your word would bear fruit in our lives, 01:32:37.360 |
that we may proclaim him, honor him, glorify him,