WEBVTT 00:00:00.500 --> 00:00:09.160 We're going to pray now. This is a time every week where we pray for different churches and parts of our city and for our own church. 00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:11.580 I want to invite you to come and pray with me. 00:00:12.060 --> 00:00:15.099 This morning we're going to pray for, again, another church. 00:00:15.200 --> 00:00:20.960 If you were here last Sunday, we prayed for Ryuta and Double O Cross Church in Tokyo. 00:00:21.420 --> 00:00:23.760 This morning we're going to pray for another church in Tokyo. 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:29.420 This is Seita and Emma Sagaguchi, and they lead Toyoso Community Church. 00:00:30.020 --> 00:00:33.820 Seita is Japanese. His wife Emma is from South Africa. 00:00:34.520 --> 00:00:39.859 They met in America and are busy planting this church, Toyoso Community Church. 00:00:40.660 --> 00:00:45.400 We're going to pray for them this morning. I want to encourage you to join me as we pray for them. 00:00:45.760 --> 00:00:49.200 Their new church plant is all in Japanese. 00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:53.140 Emma doesn't speak any Japanese. She's learning fast and furiously. 00:00:53.380 --> 00:00:56.660 We can pray for her. She's doing language courses every week. 00:00:56.659 --> 00:00:59.019 But that's one thing we can pray for. 00:00:59.159 --> 00:01:02.159 When we pray for Seita, that's who we're praying for. 00:01:02.519 --> 00:01:05.519 Will you join me as we pray together this morning? 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:11.679 Heavenly Father, we have gathered this morning to worship you. 00:01:12.539 --> 00:01:17.799 To, in some small measure, give you the praise and the worship that you deserve. 00:01:17.799 --> 00:01:23.479 You, O God, are creator of all things and everything, and we are created. 00:01:24.219 --> 00:01:27.239 You, O God, are infinite, and we, Lord, are finite. 00:01:28.060 --> 00:01:30.079 You are sovereign, and we are not. 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:35.479 And so, God, we've come to remind ourselves and one another that there is no one like you. 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:41.820 That you stand apart from all creation in your splendor, in your glory, in your majesty. 00:01:42.760 --> 00:01:44.320 And, Father, we've come to bow down. 00:01:44.439 --> 00:01:48.159 We've come to fall on our knees, as it were, and to worship and to honor you. 00:01:49.340 --> 00:01:55.140 Father, this morning we confess that so often, too often, in fact, you are not first in our hearts. 00:01:55.359 --> 00:01:56.320 You are not supreme. 00:01:57.260 --> 00:02:00.060 Something or someone else has taken that place in our lives. 00:02:00.060 --> 00:02:01.680 And, Father, we do confess that. 00:02:02.439 --> 00:02:03.480 We acknowledge that. 00:02:03.560 --> 00:02:04.920 And we ask you to forgive us. 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:13.259 But we also ask you, Father, to set us free from the delusions of safety and comfort that false gods and false idols offer us. 00:02:14.180 --> 00:02:18.719 Gracious God, we ask you to give us faith to trust you supremely, God. 00:02:18.819 --> 00:02:21.219 Open our eyes and to see you correctly. 00:02:21.340 --> 00:02:26.580 That we will, as a church and as followers of Jesus, both love you and fear you, God. 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:28.159 Help us, we pray. 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:33.299 Help us to love you with all of our heart and all of our soul and all of our mind and our strength, God. 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:36.000 Jesus, thank you for your amazing grace. 00:02:36.780 --> 00:02:44.579 That though we squander your kindness, though we drift and we wander, your grace is as constant as the waves on the ocean, God, never ceasing. 00:02:45.060 --> 00:02:47.139 And we praise you and we thank you for that. 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:55.099 Father, this morning we want to bring before you Sater and Emma and their family and all at Toyosu Community Church. 00:02:55.099 --> 00:03:03.180 Thank you, Jesus, for their incredible faith and their faithfulness, even in the midst of this great challenge as they plant this church. 00:03:03.299 --> 00:03:07.299 Father, won't you encourage Sater and Emma in the midst of their work? 00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:15.599 We want to pray for those that have joined their fledgling church, that some of these people will come to know you and trust you and love you and follow you. 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:20.219 We pray for men to get saved and baptized and born again. 00:03:20.900 --> 00:03:25.400 God, we ask you to continue to look after their finances as they go about planting this church. 00:03:25.859 --> 00:03:27.379 And we pray for their children, God. 00:03:27.419 --> 00:03:30.099 We really do lift up all four of their children to you this morning. 00:03:30.180 --> 00:03:33.180 We ask God, Holy Spirit, fill and flood their hearts. 00:03:33.740 --> 00:03:34.859 Draw them to you, God. 00:03:34.919 --> 00:03:39.419 I pray that they will see the privilege of ministry and church planting, God. 00:03:39.419 --> 00:03:42.339 We pray for Emma, God, and her language studies. 00:03:42.519 --> 00:03:46.199 Why don't you encourage her and strengthen her as she goes about that? 00:03:47.179 --> 00:03:53.159 Father, this morning we want to pray for the children of Watermark, for Kristen and Anastasia, for all the children's teachers. 00:03:53.859 --> 00:03:59.819 God, we really do want our children to grow up to love you and to trust you, to know you deeply and to follow you. 00:03:59.819 --> 00:04:08.159 And so we ask, God, that their lessons won't just be occasions for entertainment or to babysit them, but they'll learn about the wonder of Jesus. 00:04:08.879 --> 00:04:13.400 They'll learn about the problem of sin and the incredible grace, God, that you offer us. 00:04:13.859 --> 00:04:17.019 God, we pray that they will know what it means to follow you. 00:04:17.500 --> 00:04:19.600 Holy Spirit, we ask you to fill their classrooms. 00:04:19.699 --> 00:04:21.579 Even this morning, God, fill their hearts. 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:24.180 Anoint them and awaken their hearts to you. 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:25.779 Draw them to yourself, we pray. 00:04:25.779 --> 00:04:32.559 May they, at such a young age, be kept from false gods and trusting in themselves and come to know and trust you. 00:04:33.119 --> 00:04:35.759 Make our young children worshipers of you, we pray. 00:04:36.459 --> 00:04:40.979 Father, we pray these things trusting the safe and sovereign name of Jesus. 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:42.039 Amen. 00:04:42.799 --> 00:04:43.099 Amen. 00:04:43.259 --> 00:04:45.839 Let's listen to God's word as it's read to us this morning. 00:04:48.839 --> 00:04:52.000 The scripture reading comes from Matthew chapter 5. 00:04:52.679 --> 00:04:55.659 Please follow along in your bulletins or on the screen. 00:04:55.779 --> 00:05:00.839 You are the salt of the earth. 00:05:01.839 --> 00:05:07.000 But if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:15.019 It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trembled under people's feet. 00:05:17.239 --> 00:05:19.719 You are the light of the world. 00:05:21.099 --> 00:05:23.699 A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 00:05:23.699 --> 00:05:35.800 Nor people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 00:05:35.800 --> 00:05:49.439 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:51.860 This is the word of God. 00:05:53.860 --> 00:05:54.339 Great. 00:05:54.459 --> 00:05:55.459 Thank you, Joe. 00:05:55.459 --> 00:05:55.859 Okay. 00:05:55.859 --> 00:05:56.459 Thank you. 00:05:56.459 --> 00:05:57.459 Thank you. 00:05:57.459 --> 00:06:02.919 Well, if you are new to Watermark, we as a church are busy working our way through Matthew's gospel. 00:06:03.419 --> 00:06:08.839 We start in December, and at the moment we find ourselves in the Sermon on the Mount. 00:06:09.060 --> 00:06:17.639 This wonderful passage of teaching, which really is a summary of Jesus' teachings as he went around the towns and the villages of Galilee. 00:06:17.639 --> 00:06:25.479 He would teach, and Matthew has compiled this and put it together in what is now the Sermon on the Mount. 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:30.240 And so last week we looked at the Beatitudes, this wonderful block of teaching of Jesus. 00:06:30.860 --> 00:06:35.800 And this morning we get to this passage about salt and light. 00:06:36.659 --> 00:06:43.779 And the Sermon on the Mount really is Jesus' teaching about what it looks like to live life in the kingdom of God. 00:06:43.779 --> 00:06:48.839 Remember in chapter 4, he says to his disciples, come and follow me. 00:06:49.079 --> 00:06:53.179 He says the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and he invites his followers to come and join him. 00:06:53.539 --> 00:06:56.339 And the way that they do so is by following him. 00:06:56.579 --> 00:07:00.059 And the Sermon on the Mount is his teaching of what it looks like to follow him. 00:07:00.719 --> 00:07:03.319 Now our passage today asks us a question. 00:07:03.959 --> 00:07:08.239 And the question it asks is this, what is the duty of a Christian? 00:07:08.240 --> 00:07:14.980 Or maybe to put it in Matthew's language, what must we do once we've said yes to following Jesus? 00:07:15.639 --> 00:07:19.400 Jesus comes and he says to us what he said to his first disciples. 00:07:19.560 --> 00:07:20.860 He says, follow me. 00:07:21.300 --> 00:07:24.840 And if you're a Christian this morning, if you're not a Christian this morning, 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:30.000 Jesus' invitation to you is to turn from false gods, which don't really satisfy, 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:32.780 to turn to the living God and to follow him. 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:36.100 But then the question is, what do you do once you follow him? 00:07:36.100 --> 00:07:38.540 What is the duty of a Christian? 00:07:39.280 --> 00:07:42.840 And maybe that presupposes a question, which is, what is a Christian? 00:07:43.980 --> 00:07:48.120 If you are a follower of Jesus this morning, I hope that you would answer that question 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:53.879 something along the lines of, a Christian is someone who has been delivered from God's judgment of sin 00:07:53.879 --> 00:08:00.680 by the sheer mercy and grace of God alone, not because of any good works or moral effort on our behalf. 00:08:01.300 --> 00:08:05.120 We are saved from God's judgment because Jesus died on the cross 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:07.180 and we've put our hope and our trust in him. 00:08:07.500 --> 00:08:10.860 If you're a Christian this morning, I hope you'd say that a Christian is someone 00:08:10.860 --> 00:08:15.160 who because they've drawn near to Christ and because of God's work in our hearts, 00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:18.800 our character and our conduct is becoming more like Jesus. 00:08:19.160 --> 00:08:24.060 We are starting to act and behave in a way that represents Jesus in some ways. 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:26.139 That's in fact what the word Christian means. 00:08:26.199 --> 00:08:29.660 It means a little Christ, someone who takes after the Christ. 00:08:29.660 --> 00:08:35.040 But there's a third aspect of what it means to be a Christian and that's what Jesus is picking up on here. 00:08:35.639 --> 00:08:40.860 Jesus tells us that a Christian is not only someone who has put their hope and faith in Jesus. 00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:46.800 A Christian is not only someone who's becoming more like Jesus in conduct and character, 00:08:46.799 --> 00:08:54.959 but as a result of these two things, a follower of Jesus is someone who joins God on his mission into the world, 00:08:55.179 --> 00:09:01.939 who joins God in pushing back darkness and bringing healing and light and health and wholeness to the world, 00:09:02.319 --> 00:09:06.359 someone who joins God in glorifying God in all of creation. 00:09:06.360 --> 00:09:13.460 Maybe another way of saying that is a Christian is not only someone who has come to know Jesus as Lord, 00:09:13.940 --> 00:09:20.720 a Christ follower is not only someone who's come to delight in Jesus as the source of all goodness and beauty, 00:09:21.039 --> 00:09:27.120 but additionally, a follower of Jesus is someone who reflects Christ or represents Christ 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:31.539 or mirrors Christ into the culture and the society in which they live. 00:09:32.139 --> 00:09:35.060 Look at how Jesus says this in verse 13. 00:09:35.059 --> 00:09:38.779 He says, you are the salt of the earth. 00:09:39.639 --> 00:09:42.399 Now, what does Jesus mean by that? 00:09:43.559 --> 00:09:46.419 What does Jesus mean when he says, you are the salt of the earth? 00:09:47.079 --> 00:09:51.639 Well, in ancient times, salt had two main purposes. 00:09:52.279 --> 00:09:58.599 The one was obviously to flavor food, to give it that extra taste and flavor to bring out the flavors. 00:09:59.319 --> 00:10:03.419 Melvin would be very disappointed if salt were to suddenly evaporate from our world. 00:10:03.419 --> 00:10:08.279 Salt, being a man of much food and loving the taste and the flavors of food, salt does that, right? 00:10:08.299 --> 00:10:09.399 It brings out the flavors. 00:10:10.059 --> 00:10:14.860 But in the ancient world, salt had a more important purpose, and that was it was a preservative. 00:10:15.799 --> 00:10:16.719 Preservative of meats. 00:10:17.139 --> 00:10:19.139 Remember, in the ancient world, they didn't have refrigerators. 00:10:19.139 --> 00:10:25.759 And so if you had a piece of meat and you wanted to preserve its shelf life, you would rub salt into it. 00:10:26.019 --> 00:10:27.460 And this would preserve it. 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:31.960 It would stop decay from coming, and it would prolong its lifespan. 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:34.059 And so what is Jesus saying? 00:10:34.659 --> 00:10:41.460 He's saying those that have come to know him and love him are now commissioned or sent out by him as his agents 00:10:41.460 --> 00:10:47.420 to be effective influences in society, in the cities, in the towns in which they live. 00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:53.200 Not only are followers of Jesus to flavor society, to bring out all that is good in society, 00:10:53.400 --> 00:11:00.400 but more importantly, to act as a kind of preservative, to push back decay in the city of Hong Kong 00:11:00.400 --> 00:11:03.840 by living out kingdom lives and kingdom norms. 00:11:04.220 --> 00:11:07.400 And similarly, he says this, you are the light of the world. 00:11:07.399 --> 00:11:13.059 Again, light in our day and age is such a common commodity that we just take it for granted. 00:11:13.259 --> 00:11:16.360 Just switch on the light switch or switch it on with your cell phone. 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:20.059 But in the ancient world, electricity obviously hadn't been discovered. 00:11:20.699 --> 00:11:22.899 And so light was a very precious commodity. 00:11:23.340 --> 00:11:28.100 It allowed you to extend the workday beyond just the setting of the sun. 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:32.980 Light pushes back darkness, not only physically but socially. 00:11:33.259 --> 00:11:34.399 It exposes evil. 00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:37.980 Light exposes that which is hidden or lost. 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:44.779 And so Jesus is saying here, those that have come to discover our hope and life and rest in him, 00:11:45.259 --> 00:11:47.480 those that have come to know him and follow him, 00:11:47.639 --> 00:11:50.639 those that have taken up his invitation to follow him, 00:11:50.959 --> 00:11:53.500 he now commissions us to be the light of the world. 00:11:53.840 --> 00:11:56.439 Those sent into our city and into our workplaces, 00:11:56.559 --> 00:11:59.620 into the sports fields, into the restaurants, into the clubs, 00:11:59.620 --> 00:12:11.320 and into our families, those who are called to bring light and health and truth and transparency and purity to our city as we care for the sick. 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:14.480 As we show compassion to the hurting and the marginalized. 00:12:15.080 --> 00:12:17.220 As we show patience to work colleagues. 00:12:17.940 --> 00:12:20.039 As we forgive those that wrong us. 00:12:20.039 --> 00:12:24.959 As we go and look after the widows and the orphans and teenage moms. 00:12:25.699 --> 00:12:28.899 As we fight for justice and stand up against injustice. 00:12:29.500 --> 00:12:34.639 As we share the gospel with neighbors and colleagues and family and friends. 00:12:35.399 --> 00:12:38.099 And Jesus is saying, this is what it means to follow him. 00:12:38.599 --> 00:12:41.860 And so in chapter 4, Chris preached about this two weeks ago. 00:12:42.019 --> 00:12:44.860 Jesus goes to his disciples and he says, come and follow me. 00:12:45.219 --> 00:12:45.860 Follow me. 00:12:46.279 --> 00:12:47.839 And the question is, what does that mean? 00:12:47.939 --> 00:12:48.939 What does that look like? 00:12:48.940 --> 00:12:52.460 And part of what that means is, go and be my agents. 00:12:52.620 --> 00:12:57.860 Go and be my salt and my light in the cities and the society in which you live. 00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:03.160 May in some way Hong Kong be more representative or reflective of heaven. 00:13:03.160 --> 00:13:07.160 Because the people of heaven are living in Hong Kong today. 00:13:08.040 --> 00:13:09.080 Does that make sense? 00:13:10.240 --> 00:13:10.520 Okay. 00:13:11.240 --> 00:13:13.780 Except there's a problem, right? 00:13:14.540 --> 00:13:17.240 And the problem is, this is very challenging. 00:13:17.240 --> 00:13:19.639 It's one thing for Jesus to say it. 00:13:19.700 --> 00:13:21.740 It's another thing for us to actually live this out. 00:13:22.519 --> 00:13:26.940 And it's one thing for us to personally ask Jesus into our lives and to follow him. 00:13:27.320 --> 00:13:30.799 But asking us to go into this city as his representatives. 00:13:31.139 --> 00:13:34.639 To be sent out as his agents to influence Hong Kong. 00:13:35.159 --> 00:13:36.799 Most of us feel unequipped. 00:13:37.460 --> 00:13:40.519 Most of us, when we try and we try and make a difference. 00:13:40.519 --> 00:13:44.539 And we try and maybe speak to our neighbors or witness for Christ. 00:13:44.740 --> 00:13:45.679 We mess it up. 00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:46.919 Or we say something dumb. 00:13:47.159 --> 00:13:50.779 Or sometimes it feels like, let's just leave this to the professionals. 00:13:51.220 --> 00:13:53.720 Let's just leave this to those that know what they're doing. 00:13:53.860 --> 00:13:56.079 And those who know have all the right answers. 00:13:57.439 --> 00:13:59.019 But look at what Jesus says here. 00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:04.860 Jesus says, he doesn't just say, go and try and be a little saltish. 00:14:05.460 --> 00:14:07.220 Go and try and be a little lightish. 00:14:07.299 --> 00:14:08.000 What does he say? 00:14:08.759 --> 00:14:10.059 He says, you are the salt. 00:14:10.659 --> 00:14:12.080 You are the light of the world. 00:14:12.480 --> 00:14:16.519 In other words, he's saying, this is intrinsic to who you are as a follower of Jesus. 00:14:17.019 --> 00:14:22.460 When you become a Christian, when you join God's family, you also join his rescue plan. 00:14:22.460 --> 00:14:23.919 His mission into the world. 00:14:24.360 --> 00:14:26.360 To bring the kingdom of heaven to Hong Kong. 00:14:26.960 --> 00:14:30.419 As a Christian, you carry the name and the nature of Jesus. 00:14:30.580 --> 00:14:32.179 You carry the Holy Spirit in your heart. 00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:36.480 But you also carry the name of Jesus in your life and in your lifestyle. 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:41.639 And so as you go into the city, who you are is a representative of Jesus. 00:14:42.039 --> 00:14:45.680 The question is, how well will we represent him? 00:14:46.300 --> 00:14:47.620 Will we represent him well? 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:50.259 Or will we represent him not so well? 00:14:50.600 --> 00:14:53.560 And so look at what Jesus says here in verse 13. 00:14:53.639 --> 00:14:55.779 He says, you are the salt of the earth. 00:14:55.779 --> 00:15:02.079 But if salt loses its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? 00:15:02.199 --> 00:15:07.459 It's no longer good for anything except to be thrown out on the pathway and trampled underfoot. 00:15:07.460 --> 00:15:13.980 Now, those of you that are more scientifically minded might point out, but hang on. 00:15:14.460 --> 00:15:16.560 Salt can't become less salty, right? 00:15:17.060 --> 00:15:19.480 Salt is made of sodium chloride, I'm told. 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:20.860 I'm not a scientist at all. 00:15:21.379 --> 00:15:24.560 And sodium chloride cannot lose its saltiness. 00:15:24.740 --> 00:15:26.540 It's like, it is what it is, right? 00:15:27.019 --> 00:15:29.180 And so what's Jesus going on here? 00:15:29.240 --> 00:15:34.019 Maybe, you know, Jesus just needed a little bit of science and then he would really know what he's talking about. 00:15:34.019 --> 00:15:41.059 Well, in the ancient world, what would happen is they didn't, salt wasn't dehydrated like it is today and purified. 00:15:41.220 --> 00:15:47.460 And so what would happen is they would walk the banks of the Dead Sea and they would harvest this kind of white powdery substance, 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:50.519 which did contain sodium chloride in it. 00:15:50.579 --> 00:15:53.639 And so it was salty, but it was full of other impurities. 00:15:53.799 --> 00:15:54.799 It wasn't pure salt. 00:15:55.460 --> 00:15:59.699 And so what would happen is it was often dirty and they'd get some, maybe some sand with it. 00:15:59.700 --> 00:16:06.320 And so in order to wash it out and to make it to look like this white purified powder, they would wash out this substance. 00:16:06.980 --> 00:16:10.220 But sodium chloride was the most soluble of the ingredients. 00:16:10.360 --> 00:16:12.560 And so that would often wash out first. 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:19.640 And so they'd try and clean this stuff thinking I've got salt, but actually a lot of the real salt, the essence, was washed out. 00:16:19.720 --> 00:16:23.640 And what they were left with wasn't very salty at all and wasn't very effective. 00:16:23.639 --> 00:16:30.860 And so Jesus says when that happens, when the salt you try and purify it, but actually it gets washed out, 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:35.419 you're left with the substance that looks like salt, but actually it has no essence to it at all. 00:16:35.500 --> 00:16:40.159 You might as well just throw it on the ground because it's not going to preserve any food. 00:16:40.379 --> 00:16:43.360 It's not going to add any taste to any substance. 00:16:44.460 --> 00:16:50.159 The Greek phrase here, which is to lose one's taste, literally means to become foolish. 00:16:50.159 --> 00:16:51.819 It's a Greek idiom. 00:16:51.980 --> 00:16:53.719 It's a play in words. 00:16:54.299 --> 00:16:55.679 And this is what Jesus is saying here. 00:16:56.199 --> 00:16:57.299 Don't be so foolish. 00:16:57.480 --> 00:17:03.740 Don't be fooled into thinking that one can be a Christian on Sundays in the family worship service, 00:17:04.180 --> 00:17:10.099 hands raised, singing the words, and yet be someone completely different in the office on Monday 00:17:10.099 --> 00:17:14.740 or in the sports field on Monday evening or at the home on Tuesday morning. 00:17:14.740 --> 00:17:21.359 Don't be fooled or deceived into thinking that you can be one person in the Christian community 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:23.000 and someone else, something else. 00:17:23.079 --> 00:17:27.339 Because what you are, your essence, intrinsic to what salt does is that it influences. 00:17:27.720 --> 00:17:28.559 It stops decay. 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:30.259 It changes the flavor. 00:17:30.700 --> 00:17:33.140 It affects that which it comes into contact with. 00:17:33.500 --> 00:17:37.460 And when it stops doing that, it's because the essence is no longer there. 00:17:37.799 --> 00:17:39.519 It's lost its vital ingredients. 00:17:39.859 --> 00:17:41.819 And it's lost what makes salt, salt. 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:44.059 And Jesus says likewise with light. 00:17:44.059 --> 00:17:47.000 He tells us, imagine a city on a hill. 00:17:47.659 --> 00:17:53.399 The sun sets, it's dark, and all the lights go out because now that the sun has set, 00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:55.119 nobody wants to walk around with light. 00:17:55.379 --> 00:17:56.279 He says it's ridiculous. 00:17:56.859 --> 00:17:59.779 It's kind of like imagine a modern day equivalent. 00:18:00.379 --> 00:18:06.000 He says imagine you've got a lighthouse that's on a rocky island just off the coast. 00:18:06.519 --> 00:18:10.559 And every night the light keeper turns the light out in order to save electricity. 00:18:11.220 --> 00:18:11.879 It's ridiculous. 00:18:12.220 --> 00:18:13.799 It doesn't make sense. 00:18:14.059 --> 00:18:16.119 It's foolish, he's saying. 00:18:17.079 --> 00:18:21.539 And Jesus says in the same way, that's what it's like for followers of Jesus. 00:18:21.539 --> 00:18:25.799 That makes about as much sense as someone who has been born again of the Holy Spirit, 00:18:25.940 --> 00:18:29.899 whose heart has been shaped by the gospel, who has come to know Jesus, 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:34.720 and they're deciding to orientate their entire lives around Jesus and delight in him 00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:41.259 and take up his call to follow him to then go into the world and not reflect him. 00:18:42.200 --> 00:18:43.500 And so what's Jesus' instruction? 00:18:44.019 --> 00:18:51.819 He says, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. 00:18:51.819 --> 00:18:55.359 You see, Jesus is saying, don't just be salty. 00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:57.359 Don't just be lightish. 00:18:57.359 --> 00:18:57.919 Don't just be lightish. 00:18:58.659 --> 00:19:00.699 No one goes to some salt. 00:19:00.779 --> 00:19:05.000 They rub it in a piece of meat to preserve it, and then they speak nicely to it and say, 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:11.099 Salt, I'm really asking you now, won't you please be very salty and just preserve this meat? 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:17.200 Because I've got a big family reunion dinner coming up on Tuesday, and I really need you to be salty. 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:21.019 No one goes to the light switch and switches on the light switch and says, 00:19:21.240 --> 00:19:24.500 Please just shine brightly for me because I've got an important date coming, 00:19:24.619 --> 00:19:26.539 and I don't want you to mess up the atmosphere. 00:19:27.500 --> 00:19:28.920 Salt does what salt does. 00:19:29.380 --> 00:19:30.720 Light does what light does. 00:19:31.180 --> 00:19:33.319 And so Jesus says, you are the soul of the earth. 00:19:33.380 --> 00:19:36.259 If the gospel is inside of you, just go and be what you are. 00:19:36.680 --> 00:19:40.559 If the light of the gospel is inside of you, just go and be what you are. 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:46.620 Let your love for Jesus and your trust in Jesus and your obedience to Jesus spill out into your everyday life. 00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:50.920 Let the light of the gospel be experienced by those who do business with you. 00:19:51.100 --> 00:19:59.480 Let the light of the gospel, what Christ has done in you, be experienced by your family around the dinner table or in the car on the way to church. 00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:04.740 Let the light of the gospel, Ed, I've experienced that many times. 00:20:05.299 --> 00:20:10.880 Let the light of the gospel shine upon you and through you at university or as you're dating someone. 00:20:11.259 --> 00:20:18.559 Let the light of the gospel be felt by your colleagues in the office, by your boss that you report to, and by those that report to you. 00:20:18.940 --> 00:20:24.660 Let the light of the gospel shine on the powerful and the influential and the rich and the famous in Hong Kong. 00:20:24.660 --> 00:20:29.400 But let it also shine on the most marginalized and the cast aside. 00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:36.640 Let it shine in the way that you care for widows and orphans and teenage moms and those caught up in the sex industry. 00:20:36.980 --> 00:20:47.120 But whatever you do, let the light of the gospel so shine through you that those who interact with you and encounter you taste that there's something different about you. 00:20:47.119 --> 00:20:50.559 And this is how Christians have always understood our faith. 00:20:50.779 --> 00:20:54.139 That the gospel is internal, but it's also external. 00:20:54.719 --> 00:20:58.799 It's personal and it's communal, but it's also missional. 00:20:59.339 --> 00:21:07.359 That it's upward, it's me and Christ, it's inward, what Christ does in my heart, but it's also outward into the world in which God has called us. 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:23.979 Listen to how Christian writer expressed this many years ago in one of his prayers. 00:21:24.099 --> 00:21:24.599 He said this, 00:21:24.599 --> 00:21:51.819 Jesus says, 00:21:51.819 --> 00:22:10.799 Now, the question is this. 00:22:11.480 --> 00:22:15.039 That's all well and true and good, but why is this so hard? 00:22:15.919 --> 00:22:18.879 Why is it that we find this so difficult to do? 00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:24.520 Why is it so easy to come to church and to sing the songs and to take communion and to say, 00:22:24.760 --> 00:22:26.880 Yes, I recognize Jesus. 00:22:27.060 --> 00:22:29.560 I identify with Jesus and his death and his resurrection. 00:22:30.300 --> 00:22:38.580 And yet on Monday morning in the office place or Monday evening at home or Monday afternoon on the sports field, 00:22:38.700 --> 00:22:43.220 so few of our family and our friends and our colleagues would know that we're followers of Jesus. 00:22:43.660 --> 00:22:44.880 Why is that the case? 00:22:45.520 --> 00:22:47.840 Why is this so hard to actually live out? 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:50.919 Well, I think there are a couple of reasons for it. 00:22:51.419 --> 00:22:55.419 The one is, maybe we want to avoid people thinking that we're weird, right? 00:22:56.299 --> 00:22:57.779 That resonates with anyone? 00:22:59.459 --> 00:23:01.699 Maybe we want people to like us. 00:23:01.799 --> 00:23:04.099 We don't want to be unpopular with our friends. 00:23:04.259 --> 00:23:07.879 Maybe we don't want people to mock us or to think we're unintelligent or we're naive. 00:23:07.880 --> 00:23:12.520 And so it's easier just to hide the light of the gospel under a bowl, right? 00:23:12.580 --> 00:23:13.500 And keep it hidden. 00:23:14.380 --> 00:23:15.900 Turn off the lighthouse light. 00:23:16.700 --> 00:23:18.540 Take out that salt and dilute it. 00:23:18.600 --> 00:23:19.580 Not let anyone see. 00:23:19.700 --> 00:23:20.820 I felt that temptation. 00:23:21.460 --> 00:23:27.420 Especially when the internet is so full of weird Christians doing weird things and saying weird things, right? 00:23:27.420 --> 00:23:31.380 Sometimes it feels like I don't want to be associated with one of those. 00:23:31.500 --> 00:23:34.140 And so I'll just keep the gospel to me. 00:23:35.279 --> 00:23:39.019 But friends, Jesus tells us that people will think you're weird. 00:23:39.560 --> 00:23:42.560 Most of our city is living by a completely different paradigm. 00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:46.559 Most of our city is living by the motto that says, 00:23:46.879 --> 00:23:48.819 He who has the most toys wins. 00:23:49.419 --> 00:23:51.859 Most of our city is living by the paradigm that says, 00:23:52.599 --> 00:23:55.779 Blessed are the pushy and the self-assertive and the self-confident, 00:23:55.919 --> 00:23:58.539 for they will be kings and queens of the earth. 00:23:58.980 --> 00:24:01.899 And so when you come along and you hear Jesus' words that says, 00:24:02.259 --> 00:24:03.619 Blessed are the poor in spirit. 00:24:04.099 --> 00:24:05.319 Blessed are those that are meek. 00:24:05.740 --> 00:24:07.279 Blessed are those that forgive others. 00:24:07.399 --> 00:24:11.879 In some ways, it's so difficult to live in the kingdom of the world 00:24:11.880 --> 00:24:15.280 and the upside-down kingdom of Jesus at the same time. 00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:18.360 Those two kingdoms don't often go well together. 00:24:18.860 --> 00:24:23.760 And so in many ways, it's just part of the nature that our world will not understand 00:24:23.760 --> 00:24:26.060 the ethic and the paradigm by which we live. 00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:32.360 In some senses, you may never be admired by the world when you march to a different drumbeat. 00:24:32.360 --> 00:24:38.680 And yet in a strange way, the gospel is the very thing that the world is hungry after. 00:24:38.680 --> 00:24:45.440 Now, Martin Lloyd-Jones was this amazing doctor in the 1920s. 00:24:46.039 --> 00:24:52.400 He was the assistant to a guy called Dr. Horton, who was the physician to the King of England. 00:24:53.120 --> 00:24:55.420 And Martin Lloyd-Jones was in his 20s. 00:24:55.420 --> 00:24:56.980 He was about 25, 26. 00:24:57.160 --> 00:25:01.560 And he was the medical doctor to many of the royal family, parliamentarians, 00:25:01.820 --> 00:25:04.779 the rich and the famous, the very elite of London society. 00:25:04.779 --> 00:25:09.700 And Lloyd-Jones had this problem because he said people used to come to him 00:25:09.700 --> 00:25:13.619 and he would deal with their symptoms, but he could never deal with the root cause. 00:25:14.139 --> 00:25:17.819 He said, you know, people were eating too much, drinking too much, substance abuse, 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:23.379 and he would help them get over the symptoms only in order for them to go back and do the same thing 00:25:23.379 --> 00:25:27.500 and then come back to him a week or two later for some medical advice. 00:25:28.059 --> 00:25:29.920 And so he wanted to get to the root cause. 00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:34.800 And so he worked with this doctor, Dr. Horton, that was the physician to the King of England. 00:25:35.380 --> 00:25:37.360 And Dr. Horton was looking to retire. 00:25:37.940 --> 00:25:44.519 And so everyone expected Lloyd-Jones, this young 25-year-old, would become the next king's physician. 00:25:45.600 --> 00:25:50.640 But Lloyd-Jones realized that just healing bodies wasn't what he was called to do. 00:25:50.840 --> 00:25:54.460 And so he decided to leave medicine and become a minister. 00:25:54.460 --> 00:25:58.920 And so he becomes a minister in this small rural town in the south of Wales, 00:25:59.360 --> 00:26:02.319 in this small mission church that nobody had ever heard of. 00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:07.759 And the whole medical field in London was aghast and confused at his decision. 00:26:08.340 --> 00:26:10.200 But listen to what Lloyd-Jones says. 00:26:10.740 --> 00:26:11.340 He says, 00:26:11.339 --> 00:26:32.839 You see, the influence of Christians in and of society depends on Christians being distinct from society, 00:26:33.059 --> 00:26:35.359 not exactly identical to society. 00:26:35.819 --> 00:26:37.039 We are meant to be salt. 00:26:37.379 --> 00:26:38.559 We are meant to be light. 00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:43.700 We are meant to stand up and shine out and let the light of the gospel shine through us 00:26:43.700 --> 00:26:46.119 so that Hong Kong will see there's something different. 00:26:46.679 --> 00:26:47.700 They may not like it. 00:26:48.059 --> 00:26:49.240 They may not admire it. 00:26:49.539 --> 00:26:50.799 They may ridicule it. 00:26:51.220 --> 00:26:52.299 Friends may mock you. 00:26:52.679 --> 00:26:53.700 But they will notice. 00:26:54.700 --> 00:26:56.579 And some will even come and ask you about it. 00:26:57.200 --> 00:26:59.899 And some will come to love Jesus because of it. 00:27:01.299 --> 00:27:02.099 First reason. 00:27:02.220 --> 00:27:03.480 We don't want to seem weird. 00:27:03.480 --> 00:27:10.700 Second reason why we sometimes find this so hard is we sometimes want to win over the world without any conflict. 00:27:11.220 --> 00:27:11.339 Okay? 00:27:11.900 --> 00:27:15.400 So maybe you don't want to come across as judgmental. 00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:16.480 Judgmental. 00:27:17.400 --> 00:27:21.640 Maybe so it's easier just to not let people know that you're a Christian. 00:27:22.279 --> 00:27:25.099 Maybe as soon as you let people know that you're a follower of Jesus, 00:27:25.299 --> 00:27:27.220 everyone will assume that you're judgmental. 00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:29.400 There's so many judgmental people out there anyway. 00:27:29.400 --> 00:27:29.440 Okay? 00:27:29.980 --> 00:27:34.980 Best just to, you think the temptation is just to keep it hidden that you know and love Jesus. 00:27:35.560 --> 00:27:36.940 And keep it hidden. 00:27:38.019 --> 00:27:42.860 Maybe the temptation here is to think that if people like me and I don't, 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:48.200 if I don't tell them I'm a Christian, they'll really like me and they'll think I'm such an amazing person. 00:27:48.360 --> 00:27:51.200 And then they'll come and ask me why I'm such an amazing person. 00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:54.060 And then I can tell them that I'm a follower of Jesus. 00:27:54.900 --> 00:27:56.519 I felt that temptation myself. 00:27:56.519 --> 00:27:58.079 John Stott says, 00:27:58.240 --> 00:28:04.879 He sometimes wonders, he sometimes thinks how nice it would be if curious onlookers would come to him and say, 00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:06.940 Twinkle, twinkle, little star. 00:28:07.359 --> 00:28:09.139 How I wonder what you are. 00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:10.200 In other words, he says, 00:28:10.519 --> 00:28:13.160 I sometimes think, wouldn't it be amazing if people would come to me and say, 00:28:13.299 --> 00:28:15.660 John Stott, you're the most amazing person I've ever met. 00:28:15.879 --> 00:28:18.259 What is the secret to your amazingness? 00:28:18.980 --> 00:28:19.299 But he says, 00:28:19.339 --> 00:28:21.019 The truth is that that seldom happens. 00:28:21.240 --> 00:28:22.440 Nobody's ever done that. 00:28:23.059 --> 00:28:25.059 And friends, in reality, that doesn't happen. 00:28:25.059 --> 00:28:29.099 The truth is that the more Christians try and be like the secular world, 00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:32.960 the more we try and dilute our salt of our Christian beliefs, 00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:39.659 the more we try and turn down the dimmer switch of the light of the gospel in order to not confront the world, 00:28:40.039 --> 00:28:42.200 the less the world takes the gospel seriously. 00:28:43.059 --> 00:28:46.259 You see, friends, unbelievers are looking at our lives and they're saying, 00:28:46.259 --> 00:28:50.519 I want to know, do you really take Jesus and his gospel seriously? 00:28:50.960 --> 00:28:54.220 Because if you don't take it seriously and you call yourself a Christian, 00:28:54.359 --> 00:28:55.700 why should I take it seriously? 00:28:57.720 --> 00:29:01.319 My older brother, I've got an older brother who's three years older than me. 00:29:01.460 --> 00:29:02.400 He lives in Singapore. 00:29:02.400 --> 00:29:09.200 And he went to, or we actually both went to the same school from year one to year 12. 00:29:09.460 --> 00:29:09.620 Okay. 00:29:09.920 --> 00:29:12.420 From six years old to 18 years old in South Africa. 00:29:13.200 --> 00:29:19.240 And in my brother's year, from year one to year 12, there was a guy in the class called Christopher. 00:29:19.920 --> 00:29:25.140 And Christopher, I hope he never listens to this podcast, was a brat. 00:29:25.140 --> 00:29:29.640 He was a bully and he was the kind of kid that nobody wants their parent, 00:29:29.800 --> 00:29:32.060 no parent wants their kids to become friends with. 00:29:32.500 --> 00:29:37.960 And every parent at the beginning of the year hopes that Christopher isn't in the same class as their child. 00:29:38.120 --> 00:29:38.360 Okay. 00:29:39.100 --> 00:29:41.880 I know you've never met one of those, but they do exist. 00:29:42.800 --> 00:29:50.080 And Christopher, in particular, spent 12 years making my brother's life difficult 00:29:50.080 --> 00:29:52.560 and especially mocking his Christian faith. 00:29:52.559 --> 00:29:58.139 He just did everything he could to let the world know what a loser my brother was 00:29:58.139 --> 00:30:00.240 because he loved and followed Jesus. 00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:06.879 My brother left school at 18 years old and said goodbye and good riddance to Christopher, 00:30:07.019 --> 00:30:08.639 hoping to never see him again. 00:30:09.619 --> 00:30:14.379 But about three or four years ago, this guy Christopher tracks him down through Facebook 00:30:14.379 --> 00:30:18.519 and he finds him and he sends my brother an email. 00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:19.899 And this is what he says. 00:30:19.900 --> 00:30:21.320 He says, 00:30:21.400 --> 00:30:27.280 Simon, I want to apologize for making your life a misery for 12 years. 00:30:28.060 --> 00:30:32.140 I want to say I'm sorry for all the times that I mocked your Christian faith. 00:30:32.940 --> 00:30:38.280 The truth is that actually I admired you and I saw something inside of you that I wanted, 00:30:38.440 --> 00:30:39.900 but I didn't know how to find it. 00:30:40.660 --> 00:30:44.500 And the only way I knew how to respond was to ridicule you 00:30:44.500 --> 00:30:47.820 so that people wouldn't look at me and see the emptiness in my own life. 00:30:47.819 --> 00:30:49.119 He says, 00:30:49.119 --> 00:31:16.979 Friends, the world is asking us, 00:31:16.980 --> 00:31:19.400 Will we really take Jesus and the gospel seriously? 00:31:19.519 --> 00:31:22.519 Because if we don't take him seriously, why should they? 00:31:23.519 --> 00:31:31.000 Third reason why we find this so hard is that we often feel insecure in our beliefs. 00:31:31.799 --> 00:31:35.640 And this is actually the most common and it's the most deep-seated of all the reasons, 00:31:35.720 --> 00:31:37.980 that we actually feel insecure in our beliefs. 00:31:38.099 --> 00:31:41.980 Maybe many of us here, we know we love Jesus, we know we believe in Jesus, 00:31:41.980 --> 00:31:45.420 we know the gospel is true, but we don't know how to express that. 00:31:45.480 --> 00:31:46.980 We don't know how to communicate that. 00:31:47.420 --> 00:31:51.620 And so when someone asks us questions, we kind of just shrivel up and say, 00:31:51.700 --> 00:31:53.799 I don't know, it somehow makes sense to me. 00:31:54.360 --> 00:31:57.839 And so maybe the temptation there is because it feels awkward, 00:31:57.920 --> 00:31:59.480 we don't know how to defend the belief, 00:31:59.559 --> 00:32:02.099 we don't know how to make sense or how to explain it, 00:32:02.559 --> 00:32:04.480 it's just, we just keep quiet. 00:32:04.480 --> 00:32:10.180 Now, this actually brings us to the heart of how we apply this message. 00:32:10.880 --> 00:32:12.059 See, how should we apply this? 00:32:12.160 --> 00:32:14.579 Jesus says, if you're a follower of Jesus this morning, 00:32:14.700 --> 00:32:17.579 Jesus says, you are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world. 00:32:18.039 --> 00:32:19.460 So what should we do about this? 00:32:19.819 --> 00:32:21.460 How do we actually apply this message? 00:32:21.599 --> 00:32:25.599 How do we take our lives and our children's lives and our family lives 00:32:25.599 --> 00:32:26.860 and live lives of influence? 00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:31.400 How do we push back darkness and bring light and healing and health and goodness 00:32:31.400 --> 00:32:32.819 to the city of Hong Kong? 00:32:32.819 --> 00:32:37.399 What can you and I do today and tomorrow that's going to make us effective 00:32:37.399 --> 00:32:42.119 in helping Hong Kong be more like heaven because the people of heaven live here? 00:32:43.099 --> 00:32:47.220 Well, there's many things, but I want to give us two applications as we close this message. 00:32:47.599 --> 00:32:49.200 Two very simple applications. 00:32:50.039 --> 00:32:54.659 The first one is this, love Jesus supremely. 00:32:55.679 --> 00:32:58.419 Love Jesus Christ supremely. 00:32:58.659 --> 00:33:02.419 What I mean by that is that let the affections of our hearts, 00:33:02.420 --> 00:33:05.460 let the things that we delight in and enjoy, 00:33:05.779 --> 00:33:09.539 what makes the deepest parts of our hearts happy and joyful, 00:33:10.200 --> 00:33:16.420 make sure that the primary thing that you love and delight in and can't wait to spend time in, 00:33:16.740 --> 00:33:20.220 make sure that more than anything else in the whole world, 00:33:20.600 --> 00:33:24.180 that thing is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:33:24.820 --> 00:33:27.759 Friends, if you and I are going to impact Hong Kong for the gospel, 00:33:27.759 --> 00:33:31.700 if you and I are going to make a difference in the city and push back darkness 00:33:31.700 --> 00:33:35.980 and help bring light and truth and purity and goodness come to our city, 00:33:36.359 --> 00:33:41.420 then you and I need to delight in Jesus Christ more than we delight in our children, 00:33:41.799 --> 00:33:43.420 more than we delight in our work, 00:33:43.779 --> 00:33:46.500 more than we delight in our security or our money, 00:33:46.879 --> 00:33:50.079 or more than you delight in anything else in all the world, 00:33:50.079 --> 00:33:53.439 Jesus Christ needs to be supreme in our hearts. 00:33:54.399 --> 00:33:55.899 And so I want to ask us this morning, 00:33:56.199 --> 00:33:58.859 what occupies the first place in your heart? 00:33:59.759 --> 00:34:02.000 Friends, what makes you most happy in life? 00:34:02.779 --> 00:34:05.119 What makes you most secure in life? 00:34:05.679 --> 00:34:08.960 What makes you most resting in life? 00:34:09.519 --> 00:34:11.920 What makes you feel most safe? 00:34:12.880 --> 00:34:16.400 Because if it's anything other than the wonder of who Christ is, 00:34:16.400 --> 00:34:19.079 if it's anything other than the beauty of Christ, 00:34:19.380 --> 00:34:22.660 if it's anything more than the intimacy and the deep joy 00:34:22.660 --> 00:34:24.639 and the love of Christ in your hearts, 00:34:25.039 --> 00:34:27.740 then that thing is actually a functional God. 00:34:27.920 --> 00:34:30.980 And in your heart of hearts, you're worshiping that thing. 00:34:31.680 --> 00:34:34.980 And though it promises you safety, it cannot keep you safe. 00:34:35.880 --> 00:34:39.380 And though it promises you abundance, it cannot provide for you. 00:34:40.160 --> 00:34:43.300 And though it promises you protection and peace and rest, 00:34:43.300 --> 00:34:46.420 you'll never have peace because there's always a danger 00:34:46.420 --> 00:34:48.840 that that thing will be taken away from you. 00:34:49.480 --> 00:34:52.019 Friends, the only way that you can be secure enough 00:34:52.019 --> 00:34:55.060 to obey Jesus' words today is if you and I, 00:34:55.160 --> 00:34:58.700 in our heart of hearts, the thing that ravishes our hearts 00:34:58.700 --> 00:35:00.660 and the thing that we delight in the most 00:35:00.660 --> 00:35:02.860 and the thing that we enjoy the most 00:35:02.860 --> 00:35:05.560 and the thing that gives us the most rest and peace 00:35:05.560 --> 00:35:09.640 is Christ and our intimacy and our relationship with Him. 00:35:09.639 --> 00:35:14.559 Friends, I must confess that my heart often doesn't live in this place. 00:35:15.519 --> 00:35:18.420 I go for weeks at a time when I read my Bible 00:35:18.420 --> 00:35:19.659 and I go through the motions. 00:35:20.359 --> 00:35:22.819 I lead prayer meetings and I preach on a Sunday 00:35:22.819 --> 00:35:26.219 and I lead devotions and my heart is numb. 00:35:27.359 --> 00:35:29.079 And there are times when there's no tears. 00:35:29.179 --> 00:35:30.239 There's no tears of joy 00:35:30.239 --> 00:35:33.279 and there's no anguish in my heart at my sin. 00:35:34.319 --> 00:35:36.179 And I do what every Hong Konger does. 00:35:36.259 --> 00:35:38.940 I grind it out because that's what we do in this town, right? 00:35:39.659 --> 00:35:41.679 When things get tough, we just dig deeper 00:35:41.679 --> 00:35:43.139 and we just grind on out. 00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:47.820 And so I pray often, God, send revival to Hong Kong. 00:35:48.860 --> 00:35:52.260 Send revival to Hong Kong, but God, start with my heart. 00:35:53.539 --> 00:35:56.480 Friends, is Christ supreme in our lives? 00:35:58.920 --> 00:36:00.099 Second thing is this. 00:36:00.599 --> 00:36:02.320 It's similar, but it's slightly different. 00:36:02.320 --> 00:36:05.139 It's delight in the gospel extravagantly. 00:36:05.880 --> 00:36:07.579 Delight in Jesus and who He is. 00:36:07.579 --> 00:36:10.000 Delight in what Jesus has done for you 00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:11.279 and how that changes everything. 00:36:11.599 --> 00:36:14.480 In other words, think often upon the fact 00:36:14.480 --> 00:36:16.719 that if you're a Christian here this morning, 00:36:16.860 --> 00:36:18.980 you were once dead in your sins. 00:36:19.659 --> 00:36:22.139 Not just a little bit sick or a little unwell, 00:36:22.420 --> 00:36:24.059 you were dead in your sins. 00:36:24.460 --> 00:36:25.819 If you're a Christian this morning, 00:36:26.159 --> 00:36:28.500 think often upon the fact that your destiny 00:36:28.500 --> 00:36:31.719 was once hell and eternity without Christ. 00:36:31.719 --> 00:36:34.959 Think often upon the fact that you had no way 00:36:34.959 --> 00:36:36.159 of reaching out to God. 00:36:36.799 --> 00:36:39.500 We were so dead in our sins that we didn't even have the faith 00:36:39.500 --> 00:36:41.059 to reach out to God. 00:36:41.379 --> 00:36:44.359 And so God reached out to us and gave us faith 00:36:44.359 --> 00:36:45.719 to call upon Him. 00:36:46.079 --> 00:36:47.379 And then because of our faith, 00:36:47.699 --> 00:36:49.039 He caused us to be born again. 00:36:49.500 --> 00:36:51.859 We sang it earlier, but think deeply upon the words 00:36:51.859 --> 00:36:52.359 of the song. 00:36:52.359 --> 00:36:54.519 He took my sins and my sorrows. 00:36:54.639 --> 00:36:56.339 He made them His very own. 00:36:56.779 --> 00:36:58.399 He bore the burden to Calvary. 00:36:58.400 --> 00:37:00.780 He suffered and He died alone. 00:37:01.180 --> 00:37:04.139 Friends, the gospel tells us that we were traitors. 00:37:04.300 --> 00:37:05.099 We were rebels. 00:37:05.519 --> 00:37:07.900 We had given God the middle finger and said, 00:37:08.039 --> 00:37:10.200 stuff you God, I'm gonna do things my way. 00:37:10.740 --> 00:37:13.820 And God then went to us as traitors and rebels 00:37:13.820 --> 00:37:15.660 and He welcomed us home. 00:37:16.019 --> 00:37:18.119 And He brought us into the family home. 00:37:18.340 --> 00:37:20.420 And He gave us a seat at the table 00:37:20.420 --> 00:37:23.119 and He gave us the family name. 00:37:24.019 --> 00:37:25.420 And friends, He did it, why? 00:37:26.260 --> 00:37:27.920 Because He loves us. 00:37:28.400 --> 00:37:30.380 Because He loves you. 00:37:31.099 --> 00:37:32.500 Not because you're amazing, 00:37:32.940 --> 00:37:34.280 but because He's amazing. 00:37:34.980 --> 00:37:36.119 Parents, I wanna say, 00:37:36.599 --> 00:37:38.519 don't teach your children, 00:37:38.760 --> 00:37:39.539 don't teach your children, 00:37:39.539 --> 00:37:42.160 don't teach your children how to become Christians. 00:37:42.880 --> 00:37:45.139 Or don't teach your children to be Christians. 00:37:45.280 --> 00:37:46.320 That may surprise you, 00:37:46.639 --> 00:37:49.180 but please don't teach your children to be Christians. 00:37:49.860 --> 00:37:51.099 Don't tell your children, 00:37:51.360 --> 00:37:53.240 this is what we do because we are Christians. 00:37:53.559 --> 00:37:55.579 Or this is how Christians behave. 00:37:55.579 --> 00:37:58.619 Tell your children about the wonder of Jesus. 00:37:59.279 --> 00:38:01.219 Tell them that they were dead in their sins. 00:38:01.819 --> 00:38:04.619 Show your children how their hearts are bent in on themselves 00:38:04.619 --> 00:38:06.079 and they're living for themselves. 00:38:06.719 --> 00:38:09.559 Tell your children that Jesus loved them so much 00:38:09.559 --> 00:38:10.980 that He died on the cross for them. 00:38:11.440 --> 00:38:13.940 Tell your children that they're part of God's rescue plan 00:38:13.940 --> 00:38:15.500 to make the world a better place. 00:38:16.039 --> 00:38:17.739 Tell them that they're part of God's plan 00:38:17.739 --> 00:38:19.219 to push back darkness 00:38:19.219 --> 00:38:21.719 and to shine light into the city of Hong Kong 00:38:21.719 --> 00:38:23.519 to help people glorify Him. 00:38:23.919 --> 00:38:25.879 Don't tell your children to do good things 00:38:25.879 --> 00:38:27.239 because that's what Christians do. 00:38:27.739 --> 00:38:29.279 Teach them to make sacrifices. 00:38:29.579 --> 00:38:30.859 Teach them to love the poor 00:38:30.859 --> 00:38:32.480 and to serve the marginalized 00:38:32.480 --> 00:38:34.799 and to love widows and orphans 00:38:34.799 --> 00:38:36.679 because Jesus is worth it 00:38:36.679 --> 00:38:39.719 because He is supreme in our lives. 00:38:41.059 --> 00:38:43.399 Friends, do you know that if you're a Christian this morning, 00:38:43.799 --> 00:38:46.119 if you've surrendered your life to Jesus 00:38:46.119 --> 00:38:48.219 and you've taken up His call to follow Him, 00:38:48.219 --> 00:38:51.019 do you know that Jesus loves you? 00:38:51.959 --> 00:38:53.759 Do you know that He delights in you? 00:38:54.579 --> 00:38:56.339 Do you know that He enjoys you? 00:38:57.319 --> 00:38:59.939 Do you know that Christ is delighted 00:38:59.939 --> 00:39:02.480 at the thought of spending all eternity with you? 00:39:03.539 --> 00:39:06.159 Friends, maybe something has gone wrong in your life. 00:39:06.279 --> 00:39:08.099 Maybe you've encountered some difficulty 00:39:08.099 --> 00:39:10.219 and your heart has grown hard towards God. 00:39:11.039 --> 00:39:12.939 And maybe you haven't served Him very much. 00:39:13.599 --> 00:39:15.299 And maybe you haven't been great light 00:39:15.299 --> 00:39:16.279 and you haven't been salt. 00:39:16.280 --> 00:39:19.080 Maybe your heart has grown bitter towards Him. 00:39:19.840 --> 00:39:22.620 Do you know that He still loves you extravagantly? 00:39:23.300 --> 00:39:25.920 He hasn't changed one iota His love for you 00:39:25.920 --> 00:39:29.600 because His love for you is not found in what you do for Him. 00:39:30.120 --> 00:39:32.840 It's found in His own heart for you. 00:39:33.820 --> 00:39:37.060 Friends, do you know that if you give a million dollars 00:39:37.060 --> 00:39:38.280 to the things of Christ 00:39:38.280 --> 00:39:40.860 and you start a prayer meeting at work 00:39:40.860 --> 00:39:42.660 and you start an orphanage 00:39:42.660 --> 00:39:44.280 and you start some great organization 00:39:44.280 --> 00:39:46.480 and you do extravagant things for Jesus, 00:39:46.620 --> 00:39:47.800 do you know that He won't love you 00:39:47.800 --> 00:39:49.100 one single bit more? 00:39:50.060 --> 00:39:51.920 He loves you just because He loves you. 00:39:52.560 --> 00:39:54.660 He loves you enough to die on the cross for you. 00:39:55.400 --> 00:39:57.880 He loves you because of what's in His heart. 00:39:59.480 --> 00:40:00.360 That's the gospel. 00:40:01.400 --> 00:40:03.360 And friends, if we're going to be salt and light 00:40:03.360 --> 00:40:04.000 into our city, 00:40:04.680 --> 00:40:07.539 we need to delight in that extravagantly. 00:40:08.160 --> 00:40:09.300 Friends, when you know that, 00:40:09.360 --> 00:40:11.559 when the truth of the gospel has gripped your heart, 00:40:11.640 --> 00:40:13.180 you'll be the greatest witness in the world. 00:40:13.800 --> 00:40:15.539 People won't be able to shut you up. 00:40:16.120 --> 00:40:18.440 You'll shine the light of the gospel wherever you go. 00:40:18.820 --> 00:40:20.300 You won't be able to help yourself. 00:40:20.720 --> 00:40:22.599 Your heart will overflow with compassion 00:40:22.599 --> 00:40:23.579 for those around you. 00:40:23.960 --> 00:40:25.400 You won't be able to stop yourself 00:40:25.400 --> 00:40:27.420 but to serve the needs of those around you. 00:40:27.740 --> 00:40:29.340 You'll show forgiveness and mercy 00:40:29.340 --> 00:40:30.539 to those that have wronged you. 00:40:30.940 --> 00:40:32.599 You'll serve the widows and the poor 00:40:32.599 --> 00:40:34.199 and the teenage moms. 00:40:34.500 --> 00:40:36.259 You'll serve those that society hates 00:40:36.259 --> 00:40:38.480 and you'll do it with such joy in your heart 00:40:38.480 --> 00:40:40.279 with no arrogance or snobbishness. 00:40:40.639 --> 00:40:42.320 You'll do it just because you love Jesus. 00:40:42.420 --> 00:40:43.719 It'll overflow without you. 00:40:44.500 --> 00:40:45.380 But the other thing is 00:40:45.380 --> 00:40:46.920 you won't care what people think of you. 00:40:47.880 --> 00:40:49.619 You won't mind if they despise you 00:40:49.619 --> 00:40:50.860 and reject you. 00:40:52.019 --> 00:40:53.380 Delight in the gospel often. 00:40:54.360 --> 00:40:56.239 Let Jesus be supreme in your heart. 00:40:57.119 --> 00:41:00.400 John Newton wrote that song, Amazing Grace. 00:41:00.539 --> 00:41:02.340 Amazing grace, how sweet the sound 00:41:02.340 --> 00:41:04.699 that saved a wretch like me. 00:41:05.400 --> 00:41:06.659 I once was, how does it go? 00:41:07.059 --> 00:41:08.940 I once was lost but now I'm found. 00:41:09.320 --> 00:41:10.840 Was blind but now I see. 00:41:10.920 --> 00:41:12.259 I know the words amazingly, right? 00:41:13.199 --> 00:41:15.139 At the end of his life, John Newton, 00:41:15.699 --> 00:41:18.860 he's an old man and he says this amazing line. 00:41:19.500 --> 00:41:22.059 He says, though I'm old and my memory is failing, 00:41:22.739 --> 00:41:24.300 two things I will never forget. 00:41:24.300 --> 00:41:28.340 I am a great sinner and Christ is a great savior. 00:41:29.260 --> 00:41:30.940 Friends, delight in the gospel often. 00:41:31.680 --> 00:41:33.080 Love Jesus supremely. 00:41:33.900 --> 00:41:36.420 Let Jesus be so beautiful in your sight 00:41:36.420 --> 00:41:38.900 that you'll pay any price to represent him. 00:41:39.660 --> 00:41:41.440 Let Christ be so glorious to you 00:41:41.440 --> 00:41:43.060 that he'll embrace any cost. 00:41:44.200 --> 00:41:46.180 Delight in the gospel and what he's done for you. 00:41:46.179 --> 00:41:49.059 Friends, the wonder of the gospel 00:41:49.059 --> 00:41:50.279 is that despite our sin, 00:41:50.399 --> 00:41:51.879 despite our self-centeredness, 00:41:52.039 --> 00:41:53.339 despite our self-glory, 00:41:53.919 --> 00:41:55.559 Jesus loved you and I so much 00:41:55.559 --> 00:41:56.559 that he went to Calvary, 00:41:57.199 --> 00:41:59.779 was flogged and beaten beyond human recognition, 00:42:00.719 --> 00:42:01.599 hung there to die, 00:42:02.139 --> 00:42:03.139 and he did it gladly. 00:42:04.119 --> 00:42:05.239 And there in that moment, 00:42:05.359 --> 00:42:06.899 he says, Father, forgive them. 00:42:07.619 --> 00:42:08.759 They know not what they do. 00:42:09.480 --> 00:42:10.799 Friends, do you know this gospel? 00:42:11.759 --> 00:42:12.819 Do you know Jesus? 00:42:13.820 --> 00:42:14.780 Do you love him? 00:42:15.620 --> 00:42:17.519 Has your heart grown cold towards him? 00:42:17.580 --> 00:42:19.000 Have you become familiar with him 00:42:19.000 --> 00:42:20.460 that he no longer moves you? 00:42:21.200 --> 00:42:23.640 Do you feel like Jesus is a good add-on to your life 00:42:23.640 --> 00:42:26.440 or do you need him every day and every hour? 00:42:27.620 --> 00:42:29.420 Friends, come to him once again this morning. 00:42:30.140 --> 00:42:31.680 You see, coming back to that last point, 00:42:31.780 --> 00:42:32.980 the truth is that none of us 00:42:32.980 --> 00:42:35.420 will have every perfect answer to every question. 00:42:36.100 --> 00:42:37.280 People are gonna challenge you. 00:42:37.420 --> 00:42:38.660 People are gonna come to you and say, 00:42:38.760 --> 00:42:39.460 what about this? 00:42:39.840 --> 00:42:41.980 People are gonna throw a thousand reasons at you 00:42:41.980 --> 00:42:43.659 why your faith may seem unreasonable. 00:42:44.240 --> 00:42:45.639 They're gonna throw a thousand reasons 00:42:45.639 --> 00:42:47.880 why it's ridiculous to follow a dead religion 00:42:47.880 --> 00:42:49.240 from 2,000 years ago. 00:42:49.800 --> 00:42:52.139 And friends, you'll never have every perfect answer 00:42:52.139 --> 00:42:53.559 to every question. 00:42:53.659 --> 00:42:54.360 That is true. 00:42:54.920 --> 00:42:56.420 But the gospel does answer 00:42:56.420 --> 00:42:57.880 the deepest questions of the heart. 00:42:58.460 --> 00:42:59.860 The gospel does answer the questions 00:42:59.860 --> 00:43:00.619 of why we're here. 00:43:01.099 --> 00:43:02.300 The gospel does tell you 00:43:02.300 --> 00:43:03.860 what your purpose in life is. 00:43:04.139 --> 00:43:05.380 Why God created you. 00:43:05.699 --> 00:43:06.599 Why are you in this world? 00:43:06.679 --> 00:43:07.500 Why are you having existence 00:43:07.500 --> 00:43:08.460 and where are you going? 00:43:09.159 --> 00:43:10.460 Friends, let the good news 00:43:10.460 --> 00:43:11.699 of the wonder of Jesus. 00:43:12.280 --> 00:43:14.240 Shine and let men and women see it. 00:43:14.780 --> 00:43:15.740 And some will wonder. 00:43:16.639 --> 00:43:18.059 Some of them will even give glory 00:43:18.059 --> 00:43:18.940 to your Father in heaven. 00:43:19.579 --> 00:43:21.440 Some will even become followers of Jesus. 00:43:21.760 --> 00:43:23.440 Jesus said, you are the salt of the earth. 00:43:24.260 --> 00:43:25.820 But if salt has lost its taste, 00:43:25.920 --> 00:43:27.440 how will it be made salty again? 00:43:27.699 --> 00:43:28.780 It has no purpose. 00:43:28.880 --> 00:43:30.119 Might as well just be thrown out. 00:43:30.780 --> 00:43:32.579 Jesus said, you are the light of the world. 00:43:33.179 --> 00:43:34.220 No one lights a lamp 00:43:34.220 --> 00:43:35.900 and puts it under a basket. 00:43:36.320 --> 00:43:37.199 They put it on a stand. 00:43:37.280 --> 00:43:37.860 It'll shine. 00:43:37.860 --> 00:43:39.079 And its light will shine out. 00:43:39.480 --> 00:43:40.420 In the same way, 00:43:40.519 --> 00:43:42.380 let the light of the gospel 00:43:42.380 --> 00:43:43.519 shine before others 00:43:43.519 --> 00:43:45.380 that they may see your good deeds 00:43:45.380 --> 00:43:47.539 and praise your Father in heaven. 00:43:47.980 --> 00:43:48.880 Let's pray together. 00:43:54.760 --> 00:43:55.940 Lord Jesus Christ, 00:43:56.019 --> 00:43:57.260 we come before you this morning 00:43:57.260 --> 00:43:59.420 and we ask you, God, 00:43:59.460 --> 00:44:02.280 not just to make us better witnesses, 00:44:02.720 --> 00:44:03.720 though we do want that. 00:44:03.719 --> 00:44:05.699 we ask you, Lord Jesus, 00:44:06.000 --> 00:44:09.519 not just to help us 00:44:09.519 --> 00:44:11.699 answer questions and objections. 00:44:12.659 --> 00:44:14.219 Jesus, we come before you this morning. 00:44:14.299 --> 00:44:16.239 We ask you to fire up our hearts 00:44:16.239 --> 00:44:17.259 to love you more. 00:44:18.279 --> 00:44:19.239 God, we confess, 00:44:19.339 --> 00:44:20.119 as we said earlier, 00:44:20.239 --> 00:44:21.719 that so often other things 00:44:21.719 --> 00:44:24.859 take place of preeminence in our lives. 00:44:26.099 --> 00:44:27.439 Christ, come and have your way. 00:44:28.299 --> 00:44:28.819 Come and God, 00:44:28.899 --> 00:44:30.379 I pray that the wind of the Spirit 00:44:30.379 --> 00:44:32.279 will blow on the embers of our hearts 00:44:32.280 --> 00:44:33.620 and fan into flame 00:44:33.620 --> 00:44:35.100 our love for you once again. 00:44:35.720 --> 00:44:37.200 God, where our passion for you 00:44:37.200 --> 00:44:37.980 has grown cold, 00:44:38.220 --> 00:44:39.700 Jesus wants you to revive that. 00:44:40.420 --> 00:44:42.220 Revive our hearts, we pray, God. 00:44:42.400 --> 00:44:43.360 Revive Hong Kong, 00:44:43.460 --> 00:44:44.519 but start with us. 00:44:45.260 --> 00:44:46.400 God, for those of us, Lord, 00:44:46.460 --> 00:44:47.800 that have become blase 00:44:47.800 --> 00:44:49.400 and familiar with you, 00:44:49.780 --> 00:44:50.680 for those of us, God, 00:44:50.740 --> 00:44:52.180 where we just go through the motions 00:44:52.180 --> 00:44:53.700 and we go to church 00:44:53.700 --> 00:44:55.500 and we read our Bibles once a month, 00:44:55.960 --> 00:44:56.740 God, I pray, 00:44:56.880 --> 00:44:58.240 arrest our hearts. 00:44:59.120 --> 00:45:00.440 Christ, come and be supreme. 00:45:00.440 --> 00:45:01.740 Holy Spirit, 00:45:01.820 --> 00:45:02.780 won't you come and blow 00:45:02.780 --> 00:45:04.500 and fall upon us, God, 00:45:05.360 --> 00:45:07.099 and cause us to love you deeply. 00:45:08.159 --> 00:45:09.960 Jesus, forgive us, we pray, God, 00:45:10.019 --> 00:45:11.659 where we've trusted in other gods 00:45:11.659 --> 00:45:12.539 and false gods. 00:45:13.440 --> 00:45:14.659 God, won't you open our eyes 00:45:14.659 --> 00:45:16.099 and give us faith, Lord Jesus, 00:45:16.220 --> 00:45:16.920 to trust you 00:45:16.920 --> 00:45:18.480 and to love you supremely again. 00:45:19.679 --> 00:45:20.920 God, come and dismantle 00:45:20.920 --> 00:45:21.760 those false idols 00:45:21.760 --> 00:45:22.820 in our hearts, we pray. 00:45:24.039 --> 00:45:24.740 Lord, I pray that, 00:45:24.820 --> 00:45:25.599 watermark really, 00:45:25.740 --> 00:45:26.860 we will be a church, 00:45:26.860 --> 00:45:28.720 that out of the overflow 00:45:28.720 --> 00:45:29.360 of our love 00:45:29.360 --> 00:45:30.720 and our passion for you, God, 00:45:30.760 --> 00:45:31.539 we make a difference 00:45:31.539 --> 00:45:32.079 in our city. 00:45:33.099 --> 00:45:34.480 That tens of people, 00:45:34.680 --> 00:45:35.700 hundreds of people 00:45:35.700 --> 00:45:37.340 will come to discover 00:45:37.340 --> 00:45:38.400 the wonder of Jesus, 00:45:39.680 --> 00:45:41.180 will come to discover 00:45:41.180 --> 00:45:42.480 the truth of who you are 00:45:42.480 --> 00:45:44.320 and have the light 00:45:44.320 --> 00:45:45.200 of the gospel shine 00:45:45.200 --> 00:45:45.940 in our hearts 00:45:45.940 --> 00:45:48.599 because of this simple church, 00:45:48.740 --> 00:45:48.900 Lord, 00:45:49.680 --> 00:45:51.000 because of our love for you. 00:45:52.200 --> 00:45:53.480 Come and do it, we pray. 00:45:53.480 --> 00:45:55.740 In your name, 00:45:56.699 --> 00:45:57.019 Amen.