Participants: David Shin
Series Code: 12GYC
Program Code: 12GYC000008
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00:18 When peace like a river,
00:24 attendeth my way 00:32 When sorrows 00:35 like sea billows roll 00:43 Whatever my lot, 00:48 Thou hast taught 00:52 me to know 00:55 It is well, it is well, 01:01 with my soul 01:23 Their chains were fastened tight 01:27 Down at the jail that night 01:30 Still Paul and Cylus 01:33 would not be dismayed 01:37 They said, It's time to lift our voice 01:41 Sing praises to the Lord 01:45 Let's prove that we will trust Him, 01:49 come what may 01:53 God wants to hear you sing 01:56 When the waves are crashing round you 02:00 When the fiery darts surround you 02:03 When despair is all you see 02:07 God wants to hear your voice 02:10 When the wisest man has spoken 02:13 And says your circumstance is as hopeless 02:17 as can be 02:20 That's when God wants to hear you sing 02:31 God loves to hear our praise 02:36 On our cheerful days 02:39 When the pleasant times 02:41 out weigh the bad, by far 02:47 But when suffering comes along 02:51 And we still sing Him the song 02:55 That is when we bless 02:58 the Father's heart 03:02 God wants to hear you sing 03:05 When the waves are crashing round you 03:08 When the fiery darts surround you 03:12 When despair is all you see 03:15 God wants to hear your voice 03:19 When the wisest man has spoken 03:22 And says your circumstance 03:24 is as hopeless as can be 03:28 That's when God 03:30 wants to hear you sing 03:36 It is what, 03:41 it is what in my soul 03:57 God wants to hear you sing 04:01 When the waves are crashing round you 04:04 When the fiery darts surround you 04:07 When despair is all you see 04:11 God wants to hear your voice 04:14 When the wisest man has spoken 04:17 And says your circumstance 04:19 is as hopeless as can be 04:23 That's when God wants 04:26 to hear you sing 04:42 Amen. Amen, praise the Lord. 04:48 I like to invite you to bow your heads 04:49 with me as we pray this evening. 04:55 Our Father in Heaven, 04:59 we thank You that you have 05:03 chosen the foolish things 05:06 of the world to confound the voice. 05:11 The weak things. 05:14 And tonight Father, we pray for Your help. 05:20 We pray for Your Holy Spirit 05:24 to be poured out upon us here tonight. 05:29 We pray that Jesus would be seen, 05:33 that Christ would be uplifted, 05:37 that all of us would be drawn 05:41 to the character of Jesus Christ. 05:46 That we might become changed, 05:49 transformed, reformed, 05:54 that we would recognized that the world 05:56 is changed by You changing me. 06:01 So bless us here tonight, send Your Holy Spirit 06:06 for we ask these things in Jesus name, amen. 06:13 Amen. Tonight I would like to invite you 06:16 to turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians, 06:27 actually 2 Corinthians 11:22-27. 06:39 2 Corinthians 11:22-27, I'll be reading 06:46 from the New King James Version you can follow along 06:49 in whatever version you have. 06:52 Paul here is listing some of the sufferings 06:55 and some of the challenges that he has had in ministry 07:01 and he starts out in 2 Corinthians 11:22 by saying, 07:04 "Are they Hebrews? So am I. 07:08 Are they Israelites? So am I. 07:14 Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. 07:18 Are they ministers of Christ? 07:20 (I speak as a fool) I am more, 07:25 in labors more abundant, 07:30 in stripes above measure, 07:34 in prisons more frequent, in deaths often. 07:41 From the Jews five times I've received 07:44 forty stripes minus one. 07:48 Three times I was beaten with rods. 07:52 Once I was stoned. 07:54 Three times I was shipwreck. 07:57 A night and a day 07:59 I have been in the deep, 08:02 in journeys often, in perils of waters, 08:07 in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, 08:13 in perils of the gentiles, in perils in the city, 08:16 in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, 08:19 in perils among false brethren, 08:24 in weariness and toil, 08:27 in sleeplessness often in hunger 08:30 and thirst in fastings 08:33 often in cold and nakedness." 08:40 Paul is arguably the most influential 08:43 apostle of the New Testament. 08:47 He wrote 13 out of the 27 08:51 books of the New Testament. 08:53 The majority of second half of the Books of Acts 08:56 is devoted to Paul's missionary labors. 08:59 If anyone in body, the spirit of revolution 09:03 in the New Testament it was the apostle Paul. 09:07 He lived revolution. 09:11 If it was anyone 09:13 that was possessed of the mission, 09:16 the gospel commission to take the gospel to the world 09:19 in his generation it was Paul. 09:23 He could write later with his own pen that the gospel 09:26 had gone to every creature under heaven. 09:30 Praise the Lord. 09:34 The apostle Paul was a revolutionary. 09:38 It's been said that Paul's influence 09:41 on Christian thinking arguably has been more significant 09:46 than any other New Testament author. 09:52 Yet we read here 09:53 in 2 Corinthians 11:22-27, 10:00 that-- this revolutionary apostle 10:05 paid a high personal price. 10:11 Let's not romanticize revolution here tonight. 10:17 Revolution is always born 10:21 in personal sacrifice. 10:25 Not that there is any merit in sacrifice. 10:28 Not they were safe through sacrifice. 10:31 But sacrifice is a result of being 10:34 a follower of Jesus Christ. 10:38 We'll touch more on that tomorrow tonight. 10:40 Revolutions always come at great personal cost. 10:47 It's easy to talk about and tough to leave and today 10:51 in Christianity there is presented 10:53 a cross-less Christ for a cross-less Christian. 10:59 Paul lived revolution. 11:03 It's estimated that he traveled over 10,000 miles 11:07 in the Book of Acts on his missionary journeys, 11:09 over 4000 of those miles probably on foot. 11:14 He was an individual that was motivated to take 11:16 the gospel to the world and as--as we have just read 11:19 here tonight the apostle Paul whipped five times, 11:25 beaten with rods three times, shipwrecked three times, 11:31 robed, beaten by Jews and gentiles, 11:35 sleepless nights, hungers, thirst, cold, 11:38 nakedness ultimately martyrdom. 11:44 And here our question tonight 11:46 as we begin our study in scripture. 11:50 What motivated the apostle Paul? 11:56 What drove him? 11:58 What possessed an individual to ultimately 12:02 give up his life for sake of the cause of Christ? 12:07 What was it Paul psyche and thinking that drove him, 12:10 that propelled him, that compelled him, 12:12 to keep on moving even though there was difficulty, 12:15 odds beyond measure that we can not even imagine. 12:18 You remember in the Book of Acts, 12:20 that John Mark came with Paul and Silas, 12:22 he was a young adult-- a young person 12:24 and he couldn't handle it. 12:26 It was too difficult that cost was too great 12:28 and he had to leave. 12:30 That latter become a subject 12:32 very contention between Paul and Silas. 12:36 Paul wanted to give him a second chance. 12:38 Silas actually wanted to give him 12:40 the second and Paul said, no. 12:43 Latter on he would recognize the ministry of John Mark 12:45 but Paul was an individual that was driven, 12:48 that was compelled, that was motivated. 12:51 What was it that drove the apostle Paul to such lengths 12:56 to give everything that he had, to take the gospel to the world? 13:03 I as a minister of the gospel I had many times 13:05 in my own personal reflections I had to think 13:08 about my motivations for service. 13:12 And I'll be honest with you that in my own introspection 13:14 that deeper I go into my soul I recognize 13:19 that there are many times selfish motivations. 13:23 I find that is possible to do the right things 13:27 for the wrong reasons. 13:30 And here we see and unprecedented individual 13:35 that literally was instrumental by the grace of God 13:39 in changing the landscape of Christianity 13:42 and taking the gospel beyond the borders of Judaism 13:45 to the entire world in his generation. 13:50 What was it that drove 13:53 the apostle Paul to such lengths? 13:57 What compelled him? 13:58 What impelled him to take the gospel 14:01 to the world regardless of the cost? 14:07 What was the motivation in the Book of Acts? 14:13 With this question in mind I'd like to invite you to turn 14:18 with me in your Bibles to the Book of Hebrews. 14:24 Hebrews Chapter 12, we're giving insight 14:27 into the mind 14:30 of the apostle Paul. 14:38 Hebrews 12:1, 2 and 3. 14:50 "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded 14:57 by so great a cloud of witnesses, 15:01 let us lay aside every weight, 15:03 and sin which so easily ensnares us, 15:08 and let us run with endurance 15:09 the race that is set before us. 15:12 Looking unto Jesus, 15:15 the author and finisher of our faith, 15:18 who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, 15:22 despising the shame, and has sat down 15:25 at the right hand of the throne of God. 15:28 For consider Him who endured such hostility 15:31 from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary 15:35 and discouraged in your souls." 15:39 I like to spend a little bit of time in this passage 15:43 and it beings in Hebrew 12:1 with the words, "therefore." 15:50 Now whenever you're studying the Bible 15:52 and you come across the word therefore, 15:56 the word therefore is a concluding 15:58 statement or concluding word. 16:03 You have the promise and then you have therefore, 16:06 one of my favorite subjects in school was geometry. 16:12 I didn't care so much for algebra but I love geometry. 16:16 And I remember doing these proofs 16:18 some of you may remember that from--from 16:20 your high school days and we would write these proofs 16:23 and we would list the reasons. 16:27 The promise and then we would come down to the end 16:31 and there were those three dots, therefore conclusion. 16:37 And here you have the word therefore. 16:40 The word therefore this is Paul's punchline. 16:44 This is his point, this is his application 16:48 of what he's trying to convey to the Hebrews. 16:54 He says, therefore, so we have to go 16:57 to what is before the word therefore. 17:02 The Chapter before Hebrews, well this Hebrews Chapter 11, 17:09 there were no chaptered divisions 17:12 these are here for our convenience. 17:14 I'm not gonna read through the entirety 17:15 of Hebrews Chapter 11 but I just want to highlight 17:19 a few verses that kind of stuck out of me. 17:23 So let's go to Hebrews 11:1, 17:25 I promise I won't read the entire Chapter. 17:28 Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith 17:30 is the substance of things hoped for, 17:31 the evidence of things not seen." 17:35 Verse 4, "By faith Abel offered to God 17:40 a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, 17:44 through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, 17:48 God testifying to his gifts, and through 17:51 it being dead still speaks." 17:53 Verse 13, "These all died in faith, 17:57 not having received the promises, 17:58 but having seen them afar off were assured of them, 18:01 embraced them and confessed that they were strangers 18:05 and pilgrims on the earth. 18:07 For those who say such things declare plainly 18:10 that they seek a homeland. 18:13 And if truly they had called to mind that country 18:17 from which they had come out, 18:18 they would have had opportunity to return. 18:22 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. 18:28 Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, 18:32 for He has prepared a city for them. 18:35 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, 18:40 and he who had received the promises offered up 18:43 his only begotten son, of whom it said, 18:48 In Isaac your seed shall be called, 18:50 concluding that God was able to raise him up, 18:54 even from the dead, from which he also received 18:58 him in a figurative sense." 19:01 Verse 24, By faith Moses, when he became of age, 19:04 refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 19:08 choosing rather to suffer affliction 19:11 with the people of God than to enjoy 19:14 the passing pleasures of sin." 19:16 Verse 30, "By faith the walls of Jericho, 19:21 fell down after they were encircled for seven days. 19:23 By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish 19:25 with those who did not believe them, 19:28 when she had received the spies with peace. 19:31 And what shall I more say? 19:34 For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon 19:37 and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, 19:41 and of David and Samuel the prophets, 19:44 who through faith subdued kingdoms, 19:46 worked righteousness, obtained promises, 19:49 stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, 19:53 escaped the edge of the sword, 19:55 out of weakness were made strong, 19:57 became valiant in battle, 19:59 turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 20:02 Women received their dead raised to life again. 20:05 Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, 20:07 that they might obtain a better resurrection. 20:10 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, 20:14 yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 20:16 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they, 20:19 were tempted, they were slain with the sword. 20:22 They wandered in sheepskins and goatskins, 20:25 being destitute, afflicted, tormented 20:27 of whom the world was not worthy. 20:30 These wandered in deserts and mountains, 20:32 in dens and caves of the earth. 20:33 And these, having obtained a good testament through faith, 20:37 did not receive the promise. 20:39 God having provided something better for us 20:42 that they should not be made perfect 20:44 apart from us therefore." 20:50 Paul is building a crescendo of his argument. 20:56 He goes through the hall of faith and then comes 21:00 to his concluding remark in Hebrews 12:1. 21:07 It's an application. 21:09 It goes from them to us. 21:16 "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded 21:23 by so great a cloud of witnesses." 21:30 These witnesses are the individuals, 21:33 the faithful that have gone before. 21:37 The faithfulness of Abel, of Ina, of Noah, of Abraham, 21:43 of Jacob, of Joseph, of David, of Samuel, 21:46 the faithful who have gone before. 21:48 These are the witnesses, these are the individuals 21:52 that are fold to trail in the path for us. 22:01 He says, "therefore we also, 22:04 since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses." 22:09 The witnesses are the ones that we've read 22:11 in the hall of faith in Hebrews Chapter 11. 22:13 Paul is here is painting a picture. 22:16 He's using a metaphor were surrounded 22:19 by this proverbial cloud of individuals 22:23 that have been faithful before us. 22:26 And then he starts to make his application. 22:29 "Let us lay aside every weight, 22:33 and sin which so easily ensnares us." 22:41 Secret sin, cherish sins, cherish sins, 22:48 addictions, habits, 22:54 things that perhaps 22:56 no one else in the world knows but the Lord does. 23:02 Perhaps it's something that you been 23:03 struggling with your entire life. 23:06 Perhaps you're a youth leader, 23:08 perhaps you're a GYC volunteer, 23:12 perhaps you're an elder in your church, 23:14 perhaps you're even a pastor. 23:17 And this sin, this habit, this addiction 23:21 has been plaguing you, your entire life. 23:26 And here the apostle Paul says, 23:29 we need to lay them aside. 23:33 Because this thing is besetting us, 23:36 it's whining us down, it's keeping us back 23:38 in our Christian experience. 23:40 We're told in the book Steps to Christ that "One sinful desire, 23:46 persistently cherish, well eventually neutralize 23:51 all the power of the gospel." 23:55 "One sinful desire, persistently cherish, 23:58 well eventually neutralize all the power of the gospel." 24:04 It's holding us back. 24:07 You recognize that this cherish sin is keeping you back 24:10 in your Christian but I praise the Lord for His grace. 24:15 I praise the Lord for His victory. 24:22 I praise the Lord that in Steps to Christ not pray 24:24 that if you have not read the books Steps to Christ 24:26 that you read it here tonight. 24:30 The book Steps to Christ it says, 24:32 that the Lord would love to have us come to Him 24:35 just the way that we are. 24:38 I praise the Lord that we can come to Him just the way 24:40 that we are but He loves us too much 24:42 to leave us in that condition, amen. 24:44 Amen. We're told in 24:46 the Book Steps to Christ that even repentance is a gift. 24:51 Repentance is sorrow for sin and you're turning away from it. 24:57 Repentance is a gift. 25:00 Repentance is not a barrier to keep you away from Jesus. 25:03 So many people think, I need repent before I come to Jesus. 25:07 But you can come to Jesus and say Lord, 25:12 I'm not even sorry, help me to be sorry. 25:17 Give me the gift of repentance, hallelujah. 25:21 Amen. Do for me 25:22 what I'm incapable of doing for myself. 25:28 Come to Him and I prayed tonight if you have not accepted 25:31 the Jesus Christ as your Lord 25:33 and Savior that you'll do that tonight. 25:36 You can't beat that cherish sin by yourself. 25:41 Jesus is our only hope. Amen. 25:45 You can give God your will. 25:49 Our promises are like ropes of sand. 25:55 He can change your heart. 25:56 He can change your reflections. 25:59 "Therefore we also since we are surrounded 26:02 by so great a cloud of witnesses, 26:06 let us lay aside every weight, 26:09 and sin which so easily ensnares us." 26:15 Why do we need to take this off? 26:18 Because here Paul uses 26:20 his metaphor, he says, let us run. 26:25 The reason why, we need to lay aside 26:26 every weight and sin that so easily besets us because 26:29 he's using this metaphor of running. 26:32 And you recognize when you're running 26:35 you need to layoff excess weight. 26:39 You need to take these things off. 26:41 Here Paul is grasping for a metaphor 26:46 to describe the Christian experience. 26:51 He is grasping for this metaphor and aspect 26:53 of the Christian experience that he's trying to convey 26:56 and he does not use in this intense the word, walk. 27:02 He didn't say let us stroll. 27:06 Let's saunter, let's plod, 27:10 let's shuffle, let's crawl. 27:18 Now there are places in scripture 27:19 where the Christian experience is giving the implication 27:23 of a walk but in this intense Paul 27:26 uses the metaphor of running. 27:34 Now for those of you that are here tonight, 27:37 what is your emotional response 27:42 when I say the word, run? 27:46 I'll be honest with you I-- when I think 27:49 of physical running for fun, 27:55 I don't have any positive feelings. 28:01 I would have much preferred that Paul use the metaphor walk. 28:04 Because when I hear the word walk, 28:06 David, let's go for a walk. 28:08 I'm like oh yeah, let's--let's go for a walk, 28:10 we can talk and do other things while we're walking. 28:13 But when someone says, David, let's go for a run, 28:16 I--I just don't feel warm things. 28:22 And I wish that Paul would have used another metaphor 28:25 and here Paul is trying to convey something 28:27 and--and he is grasping for a metaphor and he says 28:29 let us run with endurance. Let us run. 28:35 He's trying to convey an aspect of the Christian experience. 28:40 No, he did not say, saunter, plod or shuffle. 28:43 He did not even say walk. 28:45 He's trying to illustrate an aspect of Christianity 28:49 and he uses the metaphor of running. 28:55 Paul did not end there. 28:59 I wish he would have start but he goes on and he says, 29:02 "Let us run with endurance." 29:09 In other words, 29:12 this run is not a 100 yard dash. 29:20 It's not like you run 10 feet and you're like, I'm done. 29:24 It's not a 1000 meters, it's not even a mile. 29:31 Here Paul uses the word run with endurance, 29:34 in other words, this is a race 29:36 at which some point you are going to be tempted to quit. 29:43 It's going to be a challenging race. 29:45 It's going to be difficult. 29:47 Matter of fact its even going to get to the place 29:49 where you're going to be tempted to stop. 29:53 And there are many people that had began 29:55 the Christian experience, they began with enthusiasm 29:59 but they haven't started what they finished, 30:02 they've dropt out. 30:05 Here in Galatians the apostle Paul 30:08 makes a comment and he says, 30:11 "You were running the race so well. 30:13 Who has held you back from following the truth?" 30:16 There is going to be people that start 30:19 the race and yet do not finished the race. 30:24 Paul in Hebrews Chapter12 30:29 uses a metaphor of endurance 30:34 running to describe 30:37 the Christian experience. 30:43 Recently I started reading 30:48 a book on endurance running. 30:54 It's called Ultramarathon. 30:59 You ever read about some of these individuals, 31:03 it's really quite fascinating because it's gone to the place 31:07 who were a marathon 26.2 miles, 31:10 it's not enough and they called 31:13 themselves ultra endurance runners. 31:18 There's one race I read about it's called the Leadville 100. 31:23 They started the race to boost 31:25 the economic activity of a town in Leadville. 31:31 It's Leadville 100 because it's 100 miles. 31:36 Its 15,600 feet of climbing and descent. 31:42 They say it's like running 4 marathons back to back 31:45 with the sock in your mouth because of the elevation. 31:52 And the record for running this race 31:53 is 15 hours and 42 minutes nonstop. 32:02 Less than half of the runners that starts 32:05 the race finished the race. 32:11 The individuals they do this are machines. 32:15 Just super human. 32:19 I--I want to meet one of them. 32:22 I just can't imagine running miles 32:25 for fun much less pain to do so. 32:32 And there was a gentleman I read about 32:33 his name is Dean Karnazes, I'm not sure 32:37 if I'm saying that right. 32:41 He is a Ultramarathon champion. 32:46 He ran 350 miles nonstop. 32:52 It took him 80 hours and 44 minutes, 32:55 he did this in 2005. 33:00 He ran 50 marathons in 50 states 33:02 in consecutive days in 2006. 33:08 And then in 2007 he swam 33:14 across the San Francisco Bay 33:17 and this was his warm up before he ran 3000 miles 33:25 across the United States from California to New York City 33:28 in 75 days running 40 to 50 miles per day. 33:34 This man is-- I don't know of there 33:36 is an English word to describe him. Incredible. 33:43 And I had to ask myself when I was reading 33:45 about these phenomenal athletes and those one question 33:51 that always would come up, 33:52 why would anyone want to do that? 33:58 These people are motivated by something 34:03 that is beyond me to do 34:06 that for fun. 34:12 You have to be careful what you read. 34:16 You really have to be careful what you read 34:19 because a few months latter, I signed up for a marathon. 34:27 It's amazing how it goes from here 34:29 and then you start singing up for things 34:31 that you never thought would sign up. 34:33 And my logic when something like this--perhaps 34:35 I was going through a crises I think I kind of was. 34:38 I reached a point, you know, and I was like oh, 34:40 what, what are the mounts there to climb and I said, 34:43 oh, marathon and I said surely if Dean Karnazes 34:47 can run 350 miles nonstop, I can run 26. 34:52 Piece of cake, 350, 26 come on. 34:59 And so I did start training. 35:04 I didn't realize till latter 35:07 that the average individual like myself, 35:11 can only hold a certain amount of glycogen in our tank, 35:14 like certain amount of sugar 35:16 and we only can hold about 18 to 20 miles worth of glycogen 35:21 and then last six miles you just run on fumes. 35:27 And last year I ran the Detroit Marathon, 35:30 I don't know what possessed me but I'm dare 35:31 at the start line and it's interesting 35:35 how the psychology of this things goes. 35:36 Because in the beginning 35:38 everyone's smiling and high-fiving. 35:41 We got this, this is gonna be great and you know, 35:45 you're all pumped up, marathon. 35:47 Yes, this is wonderful, there is like thousands 35:50 of people running on the drenalin 35:52 and the first 13 miles its-- its wonderful. 35:59 I remember going over the Ambassador Bridge 36:01 I was just flying, I was passing people 36:05 and I looked down on my pace and I said oh, 36:06 I'm on set for up here a personal record. 36:12 And I--I am passing people and I was next is an individual 36:16 and he told me his marathon time and 2 hours and 30 minutes. 36:22 And I was like wow, this is--this is wonderful. 36:26 He was staying back with the rest of us but I would 36:29 notice that at certain times he would surge 36:31 and so I would surge with him. 36:35 Mile 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 36:41 and I don't know if excruciating 36:44 describes what I was feeling. 36:52 I--I literally thought because of the amount of pain 36:58 I was experiencing I was going to loose my mind. 37:04 I'm not exaggerating, I'd never been 37:07 in so much pain before because what I had done 37:09 it was a cool day and so I was skipping 37:11 water stations like an intelligent individual. 37:16 And by mile 17, I was absolutely dehydrated, 37:19 burned out all my electrolytes. 37:25 And a thought entered my fuzzy consciousness, 37:30 why am I doing this? 37:37 Why did I pay $120 to do this? 37:44 And I'll never forget it. 37:46 I'm running mile 20 and these people these women 37:51 are cheering 6 more miles and I'm just thinking, 37:58 I don't think 38:02 this is going to be a reality. 38:08 I honestly thought 38:12 I was not going to finish. 38:18 And some how in the midst of that foggy agony 38:23 because that's what it was. 38:27 I focused on the finish line. 38:34 Some of you may not think that's a very motivating thing 38:37 but for some reason it was. 38:40 I focused on the finish line and everything 38:45 within my being I just surged and--and ran and ran 38:50 and ran and ran and I saw that I was literally at one point, 38:56 I remember in another marathon that I ran that about 300 yards 39:01 from the finish line there a guy that was about 39:02 the fall backwards and they had catch him and that's way I fell. 39:05 I was running and running and running and finally 39:08 I cross the finish lines and I'm not exaggerating 39:11 I cross the finish line. 39:13 And the guy with the medal was like from here to the front row. 39:17 He had the medal 39:19 and he said come on. 39:26 And I said okay, and my legs had frozen. 39:31 And he said come on and I said I can't. 39:33 And he said, you mean to tell me you've gone 26 miles 39:37 you can't come 10 feet? I said no. 39:40 And I literally waddled over to him. 39:43 He put the medal on my neck. 39:44 My wife came to me and I said 39:46 I'm never doing that again. 39:54 Hebrews Chapter 12 has absolutely 39:56 new meaning to me now. 40:02 Paul relates the Christian experience 40:09 to an endurance run. 40:14 And he says that the present agony is made easier 40:20 by where your focus lies. 40:24 Let me read that again. 40:25 The present agony is make easier dependent 40:30 on where your focus lies. 40:34 The Bible tells us in Genesis 29:20, 40:36 "So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel." 40:39 Seven years is a long time. 40:42 He actually had to work 14. 40:45 "But they seemed," notice this next part. 40:48 Now this is true love, "but they seemed 40:52 only a few days 40:55 because of his love for her." 41:01 The present agony is made easier by where your focus lies. 41:06 The more profound the focus point 41:09 the more profound our motivation. 41:11 Let's go back to Hebrews Chapter 12, 41:16 "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded 41:18 by so great a cloud of witnesses, 41:20 let us lay aside every weight, and sin which so easily 41:22 ensnares us, and let us run with endurance 41:25 the race that is set before us." 41:26 Looking unto whom? Jesus. 41:29 Looking unto, whom? Jesus. 41:31 "Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, 41:34 who for the joy that was set before us endured the cross, 41:37 despising the shame, and has sat down 41:39 at the right hand of the throne of God." 41:44 Jesus says, that we should look to Jesus. 41:48 Jesus is our motivation. 41:52 Someone say, amen. 41:55 Amen. Jesus is who drives us. 42:00 Jesus is who propels us forward. 42:03 Jesus is the individual that motivated that Book of Acts 42:09 and motivates every Christian to take the gospel to the world. 42:16 Focus on Jesus and He enables 42:22 you to be carry through. 42:27 The apostle Paul goes on looking onto Jesus, 42:32 what should we focus on? 42:33 The author and the finisher of our faith, 42:35 the God that started within should, amen. 42:37 Amen. "Who for the joy 42:39 that was set before him endured the cross, 42:42 despising the shame, and set down 42:45 at the right hand of the throne of God." 42:50 We're told to focus 42:54 on the way that Jesus endured. 43:00 I want to read this from the Desire of Ages, 43:04 "The awful moment had come-- the moment which was to decide 43:09 the destiny of the world. 43:11 The fate of humanity trembled in the balance. 43:16 Christ might even now refuse to drink the cup 43:19 apportioned to guilty man." 43:22 This is in Gethsemane. 43:24 "It was not yet too late. 43:26 He might wipe away the bloody swept from His brow 43:28 and leave to perish in His equinity. 43:31 He might say, let the transgressor 43:33 receive the penalty of his sin. 43:35 I will go back to his Father." 43:37 Jesus in Gethsemane could have walked away 43:39 and he would have owned us nothing. 43:43 He could go and right back to heaven. 43:46 The weight of sin and guilt was crushing His very soul. 43:51 The sinless one was becoming the sin bearer. 43:56 And his nature recoil from Gethsemane. 44:03 She goes on, the words fall trembling 44:08 from the pale lips of Jesus. 44:11 "O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, 44:16 except I drink it, thy will be done." 44:21 Three times he uttered that prayer, 44:23 three times has humanity shrunk 44:26 from the last crowning sacrifice. 44:29 The reality is Jesus wanted to quit. 44:36 He asked not once, not twice but three times. 44:39 Father, do I have to drink this cup? 44:43 He was going through the agony of Gethsemane 44:46 and it got to the place or heaven could no longer 44:50 take in and an angel had to be sent. 44:55 Take this cup away. 45:00 The words fall trembling from the pale lips of Christ. 45:05 But now the history of the human race 45:10 comes up before the world's Redeemer. 45:14 He sees that the transgressors of the law 45:19 if left to themselves must perish. 45:23 His decision is made. 45:26 He was safe man at any cost to himself. 45:32 Amen. What kept Jesus 45:40 going in Gethsemane? 45:46 He is going through agony. 45:52 He wants to go back to heaven. 45:58 Wipe the sweat from His brow. 46:00 He doesn't want to be the sin-bearer 46:02 its crushing the life of His very soul. 46:06 He's experiencing separation from God 46:12 and then He thinks of you. Amen. 46:18 He thinks of me, David Shin 46:25 and He says, I'll do it. 46:29 Praise the Lord. 46:32 We're told that heaven is not a place to be desire for Christ 46:39 with the thought that we would not be there. 46:44 He endured Gethsemane and His motivation was you. 46:51 He thought of you. 46:55 Not a collective faceless group of individuals 46:57 but you sitting in that chair, the individual. 47:02 We're told so many times that Christ would have come for one 47:05 but He came literally for you and in Gethsemane 47:09 even when He wanted to walk away. 47:13 What compelled Him, what motivated Him 47:16 forward was you. 47:20 And Paul is saying in Hebrews Chapter 12, 47:25 Focus on the Christ that focused on you. Amen. 47:33 Amen. Focus on the Christ 47:36 that focused on you. 47:41 I want to make appeal tonight. 47:47 If it's your desire tonight to say in your heart of hearts, 47:55 Lord, I want to see Jesus. 47:59 Help me to keep my eyes 48:02 focused on the Christ 48:06 that focused on me. 48:10 Help me to keep my eyes, focused on Jesus, 48:12 let Jesus me, my motivation for service 48:16 because everything else is selfishness. 48:20 Help Jesus be the reason why we go door to door. 48:23 Have be the reason why'd be do everything 48:26 and of besides that your desire tonight. 48:28 I want to invite you to stand with me saying Lord, 48:31 help me because I can't help myself. 48:33 Help me to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. 48:37 Help Jesus to be the reason and the motivation for service. 48:42 Help Jesus to be everything that drives me forward 48:47 to take the gospel to the world in this generation. 48:51 Tonight I can't close this with 48:56 an opportunity to give you to respond. 49:07 If there someone here tonight, 49:12 that hasn't fully surrendered their life to Jesus Christ. 49:18 If there's someone here tonight that perhaps 49:20 you've given 50%, perhaps you've given 90%, 49:23 perhaps you've even given 99% but you know, 49:26 in your heart of hearts that there is aspect of your heart 49:29 that you haven't fully laid on the altar. 49:32 And tonight you want to say Jesus take my heart 49:36 because I can't give it. 49:37 I want to lay myself unreservedly 49:40 on the altar of sacrifice for you because 49:42 of what You have done for me 100%. 49:46 I want to invite you to come forward. 49:50 There is no merit in coming forward. 49:54 Coming forward is a physical response 49:57 that solidifies a spiritual decision, amen. 50:01 So I want to invite you to come forward tonight. 50:03 You have not made a full surrendered to Jesus Christ 50:06 but--but you want to. 50:09 You haven't given 100%. 50:11 Someone here is being called in the mission field 50:14 and you're struggling and you want to say Lord, 50:17 I'll go where You want me to go. 50:19 I'll be what You want me to be. 50:20 Someone here tonight is putting the opinions 50:23 of their boyfriend or girlfriend above Jesus Christ 50:26 and you want to say, Lord, 50:27 I want to placed You first in my life. 50:29 I want to invite you to forward tonight. 50:31 Someone here tonight is experiencing challenges 50:35 with stewardship and God is calling 50:38 you to be faithful stewards and you want 50:40 to lay that on the altar. 50:41 I want to invite you to forward tonight. 50:44 You want to lay yourself 100% on the altar and say Lord. 50:49 take my heart because I can't give it. 50:51 Do for me what I'm incapable of doing for myself. 50:55 Please give me the gift of repentance. 51:00 Father, help us. 51:03 Father, reveal Jesus to us. 51:06 Father, may Jesus be the motivation. 51:10 There is nothing more that Jesus could've done 51:14 that he-- and He did at Calvary. 51:17 All of heaven was poured out in that gift of Jesus Christ 51:21 and that's why we're here friends. 51:25 That's why we exist this GYC. 51:28 That's why we go door to door. 51:30 That's why we sacrifice our Christmas vacation 51:33 it's because of Jesus. 51:39 I want to invite you to bow your heads with me as we pray. 51:48 Our Father in heaven, 51:53 Lord, I wish that I had 51:57 the tongue of an angel that I could convey 52:00 how much You love us. 52:03 All that I had the language of Canaan 52:06 that I could deliver a message worthy of Your love. 52:13 We're thankful that You make up the difference. 52:15 And Father, tonight, Your people have stood, 52:19 saying Lord we want Jesus to be out motivation. 52:24 We want Jesus to be the individual 52:27 that drives us, that motivates us. 52:31 That no matter the challenges it brings us forward. 52:36 Lord some have come forward tonight saying, 52:40 I want to give everything. 52:43 There is something that I had been keeping from the altar 52:45 and I want to lay it down. 52:46 I pray for them tonight. 52:48 I pray that You would do for the individuals. 52:55 Give them the gift of repentance. 52:58 Give them Your spirit. 53:01 Give them Your world of righteousness. 53:03 Cover them and we pray that You would work in them 53:07 both to will and to do of Your good pleasure. 53:12 Take our hearts because we cannot give it. 53:18 For we ask these things in Jesus name 53:22 and for His sake, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17