The scripture reading comes from Hebrews chapters 3 and 4.
Please follow along on the screen.
It's on the screen.
Okay.
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.
On the day of testing in the wilderness,
where your fathers put me to the test
and saw my works for 40 years,
therefore I was provoked with that generation
and said,
they always go astray in their hearts.
They have not known my ways.
As I swore in my wrath,
they shall not enter my rest.
Take care, brothers,
lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart,
leading you to fall away from the living God.
But exalt one another every day,
as long as it is called today,
that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
For we have come to share in Christ.
If indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end,
as it is said,
today if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.
Let us, therefore, strive to enter that rest,
so that no one may fall
by the same sort of disobedience.
For the word of God is living and active,
sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing to the division of soul and of spirit,
of joints and of marrow,
and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
And no creature is hidden from his sight,
but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him,
to whom we must give account one day.
This is the word of God.
Great. Thank you, Rhoda.
Okay, so we've been talking this weekend
a bit about discipleship
and the need and the desire
for us to be men and women
who disciple other men and women,
to mature followers of Jesus,
who pour out our lives for the sake of others
so that they can become followers of Jesus,
that help other people become followers of Jesus.
And yesterday we had a couple of pictures.
The one picture we had yesterday morning
was that tree.
And he said,
okay, who are the branches of people
that you want to pour and invest your life into
that are going to do that to others
and going to produce fruit?
And that picture of a tree
is such a helpful one for me.
As I said yesterday,
I've often sat in a coffee shop with someone
and drawn this tree and said,
okay, this is you,
who are you pouring yourself into?
Another thing is,
if you think of your hand,
you know that WhatsApp emoji con?
They're like,
all right, okay?
So if you think about this,
I like to think,
who are the three Christians
that you invest in your life into,
that you're praying for,
connecting with,
encouraging them,
and who are two unbelievers
that you are praying for
and encouraging
and investing your life into?
And five people may be a lot,
and so there's no pressure.
This isn't like,
okay, now you need to find five people
and meet up with them every week, okay?
We've all got busy lives.
But I think if you start with,
if you have five people on a list,
chances are maybe some of them are too busy
or aren't going to want to,
but maybe you can come down to one or two people,
and you can meet up with once a month.
Just start off with once a month
and say, okay,
once a month we're going to connect
and read the Bible.
Once a month I'm going to,
yeah,
get together with you,
find out how you're doing
and pray with you.
Those are going to be people
that I've got on my heart often
when I'm on the MTR
or I'm waiting at the bus stop,
I'm praying for them,
I'm going to text them,
say, hey,
buddy,
just praying for you today
or really got you on my heart.
So just few or five people
that you're thinking of
and walking with regularly, right?
And it doesn't mean
you need to become super busy now
and cram all these extra meetings
just as you do normal life.
So you've got a free lunch time.
Hey, why don't you text someone,
say, hey, tomorrow,
got a free lunch.
Are you free?
Let's get together.
Or as you're running an errand,
include someone in on that errand
or as you're taking your kids
to swimming lessons
and they stay nearby,
hey, do you want to come with me?
Just include people
in your everyday life
and do life together.
Okay?
And reading the Bible 101
isn't the only way
to disciple people.
There's a whole lot,
but it's one tool
that I want to encourage us in.
And this morning,
we're going to talk about why.
Why the Bible?
Why do we not just
simply listen to podcasts
or just share our ideas
or just counsel
or mentor people?
What's so unique
about God's Word
and the Scriptures?
Why is this such an important
and a powerful tool
when we want to disciple people?
Okay?
And so to look at that
or to answer that,
we're going to look at Hebrews 3 and 4
that Rhoda read to us.
Now, Hebrews 3 and 4
is kind of one flow of thought.
And the flow is this.
What's happening
is the writer's urging
the followers of Jesus
to keep going
and to persevere in their faith.
He's going to say to them,
look, it's great
that you believed in God
and that you made a decision
to follow Jesus.
That's great.
But that's not enough.
You can't say,
listen, when I was 18,
I got baptized.
Once upon a time,
I made a decision
to follow Jesus.
The rest is done.
I'm sorted now.
What he's going to say is
a follower of Jesus
isn't just somebody
who makes a decision
once upon a time.
A follower of Jesus
is someone who walks with Christ
through faith and repentance
and loving and trusting Him
all of their life
until they get to glory.
So, let me say it again.
A follower of Jesus
isn't just someone
who made a decision
once upon a time.
A follower of Jesus,
a Christian,
is someone who walks
faith and repentance,
loving, trusting,
obeying Jesus
all the days of their life,
imperfectly,
up and down,
making mistakes,
sure,
but all of our life
until that day
where we get to glory.
Look at how he says it
in verse 6.
I don't know if you've got
verse 6 in your books.
I might have forgotten
to put it in there.
He says here,
We are His house,
in other words,
the people of God,
if indeed
we hold fast
our confidence.
Okay?
So, you serve God now.
That's great.
But you must persevere
if you're going to
obtain God's promises,
if you're going to
obtain God's blessings,
if you're going to
get to heaven one day.
We can't just say,
Okay, once upon a time
I made that decision.
We must persevere
and continue to the end.
We are God's house
if indeed
we hold fast
our confidence.
Remember,
Colossians chapter 1
says the same thing.
He says here,
I think we've got it up here.
He says,
You,
me,
us,
we were once
alienated,
hostile in mind,
doing evil deeds,
but God
has reconciled us
in His body of flesh
by His death
in order to present you
holy and blameless
and above reproach
before Him.
So, that's the gospel, right?
We're sinners.
Jesus died.
He's going to one day
present us holy
and blameless
and without any fault
before the Father
if indeed
you continue
in the faith,
stable and steadfast,
not shifting
from the hope
of the gospel
that you once heard.
And so,
this is really important
that sometimes
we can think,
Oh, once upon a time
I had a dynamic
encounter with God.
I know I'm saved.
My eternal destiny
is secure.
It's all fine.
I'll just live
my own life
the way I want to now.
And God says,
Don't be so presumptuous.
A Christian is someone
who perseveres
all the way to the end.
Now, the good news
is this,
that if you are
a genuine Christian,
Jesus is actually
holding on to you
more than you
holding on to Him.
Remember,
Simon quoted
Colossians,
Philippians 1,
He who began
a good work in you
will bring it
to completion.
So, one of the ways
that you know
that He's begun
and are going to work
in you
is that you
persevere to the end.
And this is what
the whole book
of Hebrews is about.
It's urging
and encouraging
and assuring
Christians
to keep going,
keep holding on
to Jesus,
keep your faith,
keep continuing
in what you believed.
Okay?
Now,
so it says,
verse 6,
we are His people
if indeed
we hold our confidence
firm to the end.
Verse 7,
therefore,
as the Holy Spirit
says,
today if you hear
His voice,
do not harden
your hearts
as your forefathers
did in the rebellion
on the day of testing
in the wilderness.
Verse 10,
therefore I was provoked
with that generation
and I swore in my wrath
they shall never
enter my rest.
Okay,
so what's happening here?
Remember,
God's people
come out of Egypt,
they're saved
by the blood of the Lamb,
by the grace of God,
they come out of Egypt
and then
God says,
okay,
that's only half the journey,
now I want to take you
into the promised land
where you get to experience
my rest
and my blessing
and my promises
but what happened?
Numbers 13 and 14,
Moses sends 12 spies
to go and spy out the land
and he says,
go find out
which way we should go.
Should we go this way
or should we go this way?
Should we attack the cities
from this side
or from this side?
So he says,
go and find out
what's the land like,
come back and tell us
how we can enter God's rest
and the spies come back
and they say,
yes,
the land is good,
the food is good,
it's very spacious,
there's enough space
for all of us
but there's giants in the land.
The giants are too big.
I think we should,
no,
we should,
no,
let's just go back to Egypt.
No,
we shouldn't go in
and Joshua and Caleb say,
no,
God has promised.
God is faithful.
He's told us
if we trust him,
we'll get to the rest.
We'll get to what he's promised
and the 10 spies say,
no,
it's too hard.
I don't think we can do it
and the spies spread a bad report
and all of Israel
don't believe God's promises
and they don't go into the promised land.
The voice of unbelief
is louder in their ears
than God's voice of faithfulness
and trustworthiness
and so they believe
the voice of unbelief
in their heart
rather than believing
God's promises
of his faithfulness
and his trustworthiness.
Okay?
And so,
the writer of Hebrews here
is giving these Christians
a warning
and he's saying,
what happened to these guys,
don't let that happen
to you and I.
It's one thing
to get saved from Egypt
but that's not the done deal.
God's plan
is that you get to glory
and he's saying,
for us Christians
in 21st century Hong Kong,
it's one thing
that you believed in Jesus
and got saved
by the blood of the Lamb
but that's not the end of the deal.
He wants to take you
into glory,
into his rest
and to do that,
we've got to trust
his promises
and believe him.
Don't let what happened
to them
happen to us
because they did not
enter God's rest.
Okay,
does that make sense?
You're tracking the logic?
Okay,
verse 11,
I swore in my wrath
they will never
enter my rest.
Friends,
we face the same challenges today.
We're tempted
to trust
the voice of unbelief
rather than
the promises of God
every single day
when it comes
to relationships
and dating
and sexuality
or we listen
to the voice
of unbelief
which says
we better take things
in our own hands
fulfill our own happiness
or will we trust
God's promises to us?
When it comes to money
and wealth
and what we do
with our money
are we going to listen
to the voice of unbelief
hoping and trusting
what money can do for us?
It'll make us happy,
it'll keep us safe,
guarantee our future
or are we going to trust
the promises of God?
When it comes to our career
or honesty
or integrity
every one of us
are challenged,
tempted
to trust the voice
of unbelief
and so look at
what his recommendation
is here,
look at verse 12
of chapter 3
he says,
so take care
brothers and sisters
lest there be
in any of us
an evil unbelieving heart
leading us to fall away
from the living God
that's what happened
in the desert
they fell away
from God's promises
but exhort one another
every day
as long as it's called today
so that none of you
may be hardened
by the deceitfulness
of sin
okay so remember
we spoke about this
last year at the retreat
this is one of the most
important verses
talking about
spiritual community
and the reason is
because he says
that sin
and particularly unbelief
makes our hearts hard
and it deceives us
and so we need
brothers and sisters
around us
encouraging us
and exhorting us
to keep our hearts
soft to Jesus
and so that's why
we need spiritual community
so remember last year
the way we spoke about this
we said
when I sin
which is hundreds
of times a day
and when I'm
tempted not to believe
in God
what happens
what happens in my heart
something happens
I justify myself
and I get defensive
right
so the decision
comes my way
and I think
let me trust the voice
let me take the matters
into my own hand
rather than trusting God
automatically
the first response
in my heart
is I justify myself
and I get defensive
I tell myself
yeah well
yeah it's a good reason
to do that
because this and this
and this and this
and what happens
is my heart
starts to grow hard
towards God
and I no longer
want to trust Him
okay
but the problem
is that when I do that
I don't confess my sin
and the idols of my heart
don't get dislodged
they just get re-entrenched
and over time
I find it easier
and easier
to fall away from God
okay
does that make sense
so what do I need
in that situation
what do I need
in that time
I need two things
okay
I need to hear
God's voice
I need God's word
to come and speak
against the voice
of unbelief
and to remind me
of God's promises
and His faithfulness
I need God's word
to penetrate
into my heart
of unbelief
and to say
trust God
He is faithful
don't trust yourself
don't trust money
don't trust whatever
trust God
what do the Israelites need
they need the voice
of God to say
yes there are giants
in the land
but God is faithful
trust Him
but the second thing
I need
is I need friends
I need brothers
and sisters
to come around me
look at what
verse 12 says
take care
brothers and sisters
lest there be
in any of you
an unbelieving heart
leading you to fall
away from God
therefore exhort
one another
every day
as long as it's called
today
so that you do not
get hardened
by the deceitfulness
of sin
so I need Christian
brothers and sisters
around me
I need my wife
and I need Oscar
and Simon
and Ed
and staff
and CG leaders
to come around me
and say
Kevin you're making
a silly decision
trust God
don't trust yourself
okay
does that make sense
following the logic
okay
look at verse 14
he says
for we share in Christ
if indeed we hold
our original confidence
firm to the end
okay
it's the same as verse 6
we've got to hold on
to Jesus
verse 15
as it is said
today
if you hear
his voice
not just your friend's voice
not just Oprah Winfrey's voice
or Dr. Phil's voice
or
some opinions voice
or the Washington Post's voice
or
the New Yorker's voice
today
if you hear
his voice
do not harden
your hearts
we need
Christian family
brothers and sisters
around us
who will help us
to hear God's voice
and hold our faith
firm to the end
see friends
when I'm
tempted
not to believe God
I don't just need
friends to come around me
and say Kevin
I know you can do it
I know you can
you're such a good man
you've got such good faith
I know you can do it
that's not what I need to hear
what I need is
someone to look me
in the eye
and say Kevin
I know you're tempted
not to trust God
he is faithful
he is trustworthy
trust his word
listen to him
I need people
to bring God's word
to me
so that God's word
will put faith in my heart
not just the opinions
of man
and woman
today if you hear
his voice
we need people
to bring us
God's voice
so let me give you
an example
when I'm tempted
to be greedy
hold on to some money
and actually I know
God wants me
to give it away
so let's say
I've got some
I've got some money
and I feel like
God wants me
to give it away
to someone
or something
or some cause
do you know
what happens
every time
that that happens
the first thing
that goes
there's a bunch
of thoughts
that go through my mind
which is
I find some way
to tell myself
why I shouldn't
do it
you never know
what's going to happen
you know
the economy's tough
you might just need
to save up
a little more
or Kevin
your first responsibility
is to look after
your family
just make sure
you've got enough
of them
there's a thousand
voices that go
through my mind
justifying
why I shouldn't
trust God
and I should
hold on to it
okay
what I don't need
is Claire
to come to me
or some friends
or brothers
to say
Kevin
you've got
such a good heart
I'm sure
God understands
I'm sure
God understands
or you know
maybe just give away
some of it
maybe just half of it
I think God
will be happy
I don't need
the opinions
of friends
I need
God's voice
I need someone
I need Claire
or my friends
to come and say
Kevin God
is trustworthy
has he ever
let you down
has he ever
not fulfilled
his promises
has he ever
left you high
and dry
no you can
trust him
to bring
God's word
today if you
hear his voice
not just your
friend's voice
do not harden
your hearts
if friends bring
me my own
opinions
it's not going
to be powerful
enough to confront
the idols in my
heart
and I'll find a way
of justifying myself
or telling myself
that their wisdom
doesn't apply to me
so let's say
Sukai comes to me
and we're having
coffee
and I'm sharing
this thing
if he just gives me
his opinion
I'm as true
as that may be
I'm going to find
a way in my mind
of telling myself
yeah but it
doesn't apply
in this situation
you know
it's true for him
but what's true
for him
isn't true
for me
right
but if he brings
me God's word
he opens up
God's word
and says hey
Kevin let's just
look at what
God says here
he says this
that word
finds a way
of penetrating
my defenses
and putting
faith in my heart
encouraging me
to trust him
okay
here's another
example
let's say
someone is
tempted to move
in with their
girlfriend
or go on a
romantic holiday
away
just the two of
them
by the way
that's not a
good idea
don't do that
if you're tempted
what does our
friend need
they don't just
need someone
saying
that might not
be a best
idea
let's think
about that
what do they
need
they need us
to bring
God's word
to put faith
in their heart
because otherwise
we'll find a
million reasons
to justify our
decision
we'll say
oh you know
housing in
Hong Kong
is so expensive
it just makes
financial sense
it's prudent
it's good
stewardship
of our
finances
right
or we'll say
well we're just
checking that we're
compatible
before we get
married
you know
we don't
make a mistake
so we're just
checking that we're
compatible
we'll find a
thousand reasons
to justify
ourselves
but what we need
in that situation
is someone to
bring the light
and the power
of God's voice
to shine in our
hearts
to arrest our
fears
to give us
faith
to help us
see the foolishness
of our decisions
and to turn to
God in faith
and trust him
and it's not
just sin
what about
a challenge
comes your way
so what happens
your child
gets diagnosed
with some
disease
or some
sickness
or some
challenge
right
we don't just
need someone
to come and say
oh you know
you've been such
a faithful Christian
I'm sure God's
going to look
after you
that's just
your opinion
we need someone
to come bring
God's word
to speak God's
word into our
hearts
to give us
faith
to trust him
to arrest
the voices
of unbelief
and to put
faith in our
hearts
so that we can
trust him
in the midst
of challenges
and difficulties
for the Israelites
at the moment
of decision
the voice
of God's
faithfulness
was drowned
out by the
voice of
unbelief
so God
said
will you
trust me
to go
into promised
land
and the
voice
of unbelief
saying
the giants
are too
big
the food
is not
good enough
the battle
is going
to be too
hard
that voice
was too
loud
in their
ears
and so
they listened
to that
voice
rather
than the
voice
of God's
faithfulness
okay
now
all that
to say
let's look
at chapter
four
in chapter
four
he's going
to continue
the same
train of
thought
okay
and so
look at
verse 11
he says
here
don't fail
to enter
God's rest
by hardening
our hearts
verse 11
therefore
let us
strive
to enter
that
rest
so that
no one
may fall
away
by the
same
sort
of
disobedience
for the
word
of God
is living
and active
it's sharper
than any
two-edged
sword
piercing
to the
division
of soul
and spirit
of joints
and marrow
discerning
the thoughts
and intentions
of the heart
and no
creature
is hidden
from his
sight
but all
are naked
and exposed
to the eyes
of him
to whom
they must
give an
account
see friends
for you and
I to become
the people
that God
called us
to be
to make
disciples
and to help
other people
make disciples
and to obtain
the promises
of God
and to get
to heaven
God calls
us to do
the same
things that
he called
them to
which is
to trust
him
even in
the midst
of great
difficulty
and even
in the face
of great
opposition
they didn't
trust him
because they
saw the
giants
and the
obstacles
they didn't
become the
people God
called them
to be
because in
the face
of challenges
they weren't
able to
quieten
the voice
of unbelief
okay
so what
did they
need
to foster
that belief
what did
they need
in order
to trust
God
and get
to the
promised
land
they needed
God's
word
and God's
voice
to be
louder
and more
powerful
in their
minds
and their
hearts
than the
voice
of unbelief
okay
and so they
needed to
hear God's
word
verse 2
says
they needed
to hear
the gospel
it says
for the good
news came
to them
as just
as it
comes
to us
they needed
to hear
God's
word
and so let's
look at
this description
of God's
word
okay
look at
what he
says here
he says
the word
of God
is living
and active
what does
that mean
what does it
mean when God's
word is living
and active
okay it's
relevant
yeah
what are
other
thoughts
it's
powerful
yeah
it's
got a
life of
its own
actually
it can
activate
life
it can
cause
stuff to
happen
it's
not
blunt
and
dull
right
I don't
know if
you've
I know
most Hong
Kongers
we're
such city
slickers
you might
never have
done this
but if
by some
chance
you've
ever
tried to
chop
wood
with an
axe
okay
have you
tried to
do that
I was
chatting to
someone the
other day
about
some
analogy from
the bible
about sheep
and farming
and he was
like bro
I live in
Hong Kong
I don't
know about
sheep and
farming
okay so
if you know
about chopping
wood
my parents
in Cape Town
we were there
in July
and it was
winter
and they've
got a
wood fire
and so
they've
got a
whole
bunch
of
wood
outside
and so
I was
trying to
chop
some
wood
and if
you've
ever tried
to chop
wood
with a
blunt
axe
do you
know what
happens
you bring
it down
as hard
as you
want
and it
just
bounces
off the
wood
it's like
ding
and just
bounces
straight up
and it
doesn't
do
anything
but if
you
sharpen
that axe
it just
splits
it so
beautifully
straight down
the middle
and you
just get
all these
pieces
okay
God's
word
is
living
and
active
it's
sharp
it
accomplishes
what
it
wants
to
do
it
doesn't
bounce
off
it's
not
like
our
opinions
when we
listen
to
people's
opinions
if
I'm
struggling
with
something
and
Claire
just
gives
me
her
opinions
sometimes
it's
like
yeah
okay
I can
kind
of
see
that
yeah
that
maybe
makes
sense
but
God's
word
isn't
just
blunt
it
doesn't
bounce
off
our
hearts
it's
able
to
penetrate
our
hearts
and
because
it's
living
and
active
and
it's
as
sharp
as
ever
I
don't
know
if
you've
ever
experienced
this
where
maybe
you
opened up
God's
word
and
it
just
came
alive
to you
and
you're
like
oh
my
goodness
like
God
spoke
to you
like
God
was
right
in
the
room
have
you
ever
experienced
that
I've
got
a bunch
of
experiences
like
that
I'm
going to
tell you
one
or
two
stories
so
I
remember
I
was
20
years
old
in
Cape
town
and
my
first
year
in
Cape
town
and
pretty
much
I
had
grown
up
in
this
church
family
and
church
culture
in
Johannesburg
in
South
Africa
and
this
church
culture
everyone
just
spoke
about
planting
churches
and
going
to
ministry
that was
like
what
everyone
wanted
to
do
okay
and
so
I
as
this
very
religious
youthful
person
I
thought
I'd
serve
God
so
hard
and
I
was
such
a
faithful
diligent
Christian
youth
and
my
dream
as a
teenager
was
I
wanted
to
plant
a
church
or
lead
a
church
in
Asia
so
when
I
went
to
first
year
university
I
studied
Mandarin
just
I
can't
remember
anything
but
I
studied
Mandarin
because
I
wanted
to
lead
a
church
in
Asia
that
was
all
I
wanted
to
do
with
my
life
and
I
remember
I
felt
like
God
had
said
that
you
will
go
to
another
nation
not
South
Africa
I
will
send
you
to
another
country
and
Asia
was
my
passion
anyway
I
am
now
living
in
Cape Town
I
am
20
years
old
and
I
am
just
feeling
useless
I
feel
like
God
you
could
never
use
someone
like
me
I
am
not
gifted
enough
I
am
not
talented
enough
and
I
remember
praying
this
I
was
house
sitting
a
friend
house
and
I
was
walking
around
the
house
one
Friday
evening
and
I
was
just
saying
you
know
God
I
have
really
tried
to
serve
you
I
have
tried
to
be
faithful
but
I
think
it's
all
been
in
vain
I
remember
using
that
word
it's
all
been
in
vain
because
you
could
never
use
someone
like
me
I'm
just
not
gifted
enough
I'm
talented
enough
I
guess
I'll
just
be
like
car
salesman
or
something
Cape
town
and
you
know
it's
all
just
been
a
pipe
dream
that
night
I
opened
my
Bible
and
I
opened
to
Isaiah
49
I
was
busy
reading
through
the
book
of
Isaiah
so
I'm
like
before
I
go
to
bed
I
better
read
my
Bible
go
to
Isaiah
49
and
Isaiah
49
says
this
it
says
I
will
make
your
mouth
sharp
like
an
arrow
he's
talking
about
being
a
preacher
and
he
says
you
say
you've
spent
your
strength
in
vain
but
I
say
I've
got
plans
and
purposes
for
you
I
will
send
you
as
a
light
to
the
nations
to
the
Gentiles
to
the
nations
far
away
so
right
there
I'm
like
oh
God
I
have
this
dream
but
I
guess
it's
all
been
in
vain
open
God's
word
says
you
say
it's
all
been
in
vain
but
I've
got
a
plan
for
you
will
go
to
the
nations
isn't
that
incredible
that
night
it
was
like
Jesus
was
in
the
room
speaking
to
me
his
word
was
living
and
active
I
remember
a few
years
ago
I
was
sitting
in
church
I
was
leading
the
meeting
and
my
friend
called
Ian
Kruger
was
preaching
from
John
21
Jesus
has
died
he's
risen
from
the
dead
and
he
goes
and
he
finds
the
disciples
fishing
on
the
boat
and
he
calls
them
ashore
and
he
says
Peter
do
you
love
me
Peter
says
yes
feed
my
sheep
Peter
do
you
love
me
yes
I
do
feed
my
lambs
a
third
time
Peter
do
you
love
me
yes
I
do
take
care
of
my
sheep
and
so
my
friend
Ian
is
preaching
and
he
says
why
does
Jesus
ask
Peter
three
times
and
I
sit
there
I'm
thinking
yeah
that's
a
good
question
I
have
no
idea
I've
often
wondered
about
that
why
does
Jesus
ask
Peter
three
times
do
you
love
me
and
then
Ian
says
well
remember
earlier
how
Peter
had
said
to
Jesus
even
if
everyone
denies
you
and
runs
away
I
will
never
deny
you
I'll
be
faithful
and
then
the
next
chapter
where's
Peter
he's
standing
at
the
call
of
fire
and
he
denies
Jesus
and
he
denies
Jesus
a
second
time
and
he
denies
Jesus
a
third
time
and
then
after
that
Jesus
goes
to
him
and
three
times
the
same
number
of
times
he
denied
him
he
elicits
a
proclamation
from
his
mouth
saying
I
love
you
Lord
I
love
you
what's
Jesus
doing
there
he's
saying
to
Peter
I
knew
I
know
how
many
times
you
denied
me
but
I
know
in
your
heart
that
you
still
love
me
and
you
feel
guilty
and
you
feel
ashamed
and
you
feel
like
your
calling
has
been
written
off
but
I'm
going
to
help
you
see
that
actually
you
do
love
me
and
it's
not
done
and
I'm
not
finished
with
you
and
I've
still
got
a
plan
and
purpose
for
you
and
as
my
friend
Ian
was
explaining
that
as
soon
as
he
said
Peter
denied
Jesus
three
times
it
was
like
the
penny
dropped
and
I
just
remember
tears
streaming
down
my
eyes
and
I
was
like
oh
my
goodness
God's
mercy
is
unbelievable
it was
like
God's
word
just
exploded
in my
heart
I was
like
oh
my
heck
how
gracious
is
Jesus
that
Peter
denies
him
three
times
and
Jesus
says
you
know
Peter
I
know
about
that
and
it's
okay
I
still
love
you
and
I
know
you
love
me
and
I'm
going
to
help
you
see
that
you
love
me
and
I'm
going
to
send
you
out
to
go
and
be
my
agent
God's
word
exploded
in my
heart
and
tears
streamed
down
my
face
I
remember
another
time
listening
to
John
Piper
sermon
expounding
God's
sovereignty
from
Isaiah
46
where he
says
I
am
the
one
who
calls
things
before
they
even
exist
I
speak
about
them
things
that
have
not
yet
been
done
I
proclaim
them
I
will
accomplish
my
purposes
I
will
bring
them
to
pass
there
is
no
one
like
me
and
as
he
just
opened
that
up
line
by
line
and
explained
it
was
like
this
combustion
of
explosion
in my
heart
God's
word
cut
my
heart
and
I
knew
that
I
knew
that
I
knew
God
is
sovereign
there
is
no
one
and
nothing
in
all
the
world
that
can
thwart
his
sovereignty
but
I
my
mind
so
that
I
could
trust
him
so
why
is
that
the
reason
is
because
these
words
aren't
just
words
on a
page
and
they
aren't
just
advice
these
are
living
words
it
isn't
just
information
for
our
minds
it's
getting
to
our
heart
so
that
we
can
encounter
God
in
his
word
when
we
disciple
people
by
reading
God's
word
with
them
whether
they
are
Christians
or
not
the
goal
isn't
just
information
in
their
minds
the
goal
is
that
they
encounter
God
through
his
word
that's
why
we
open
it
up
so
that
we
can
meet
with
God
now
look
at
what
Simon
said
he
says
it's
living
and
active
which
means
it's
always
fresh
it's
never
obsolete
so
think
about
this
every
day
technology
makes
thousands
of books
completely
obsolete
right
especially
textbooks
if you
ever
picked
up
a
textbook
from
the
1920s
or
something
or
the
1950s
there's
a
whole
lot
of
stuff
that
is
completely
obsolete
friends
this
book
the
words
here
are
never
ever
going
to
be
obsolete
because
God's
word
is
eternally
relevant
it's
as
relevant
to
the
next
generation
as
it
was
to
the
people
2000
years
ago
it's
living
and
it's
fresh
and
it's
active
it's
never
obsolete
look
at
what
also
he
says
it's
God's
word
is
so
sharp
it's
able
to
dissect
what's
going
on
in
our
lives
and
speak
to
the
deepest
areas
of
our
lives
even
the
areas
that
no
one
knows
about
so
again
I
don't
know
if
you've
ever
had
this
where
you're
grappling
with
something
and
you're
struggling
or
maybe
you've
got
fear
or
there's
something
you're
not
so
sure
about
or
you're
wondering
about
something
and
somebody
opens
up
God's
word
or
you
go
to
church
or
you
go
to
CG
and
it
speaks
exactly
to
what
you're
wrestling
with
but
nobody
knew
you're
wrestling
with
it
was
like
the
secret
in
your
heart
and
you're
like
oh
my
goodness
have
you
been
listening
to
my
thoughts
how
did
you
know
I
was
wondering
about
that
you've
experienced
that
okay
so
here's
another
story
Isaiah
49
remember
20
so
hard
I've
tried
to
serve
you
but
I'm
just
such
a
mess
you'll
never
be
able
to
use
someone
like
me
my
brothers
yeah
you
can
use
my
brothers
but
me
oh
my
goodness
my
heart
is
just
like
I'm
a
mess
anyway
I
have
forgotten
about
that
time
five
years
previously
so
I
go
to
my
friend
John
Smythe
and
John
says
to
me
I
go
have
coffee
with
him
but
God
didn't
give
me
anything
so
let's
just
read
the
Bible
together
why
don't
you
open
to
Isaiah
49
let's
just
read
it
together
and
I
had
forgotten
so
we're
reading
it
and
as
I'm
reading
it
I'm
like
oh
my
goodness
this
is
the
scripture
God
gave
me
five
years
ago
you
say
you spent
your
strength
in vain
but
I
say
I've
got
purposes
for
you
I'll
send
you
to
nations
as
a
light
to
the
earth
exactly
what
I was
struggling
with
nobody
knew
it
God's
word
was
sharp
and
living
and
active
I
remember
when
Claire
and I
were
wondering
to
come
to
Hong
Kong
we
came
to
visit
two
years
ago
and
we
met
a
whole
bunch
of
you
guys
and
at
the
end
of
the
trip
it
was
on
the
Saturday
night
and
we
were
exhausted
and
we
were
finished
I
got
nothing
to
watermark
I
remember
just
feeling
I
got
nothing
that
night
I
opened
my
Bible
reading
2
Corinthians
13
and
it
says
this
my
grace
is
sufficient
for
you
my
power
is
made
perfect
in
your
weakness
just
that
day
I
was
thinking
God
I
got
nothing
I
got
nothing
and
as
I
read
that
God's
word
dissected
my
heart
my
mind
and
spoke
faith
into
my
heart
and
suddenly
I
realized
God
you
calling
us
here
is
fine
I
know
we
are
weak
but
you
say
that
you
will
be
with
us
two
weeks
after
that
we
go
back
to
Cape
town
and
we
kind
of
knew
God
was
calling
us
to
Hong
Kong
but
one
of
the
things
I
was
worried
about
was
God
Hong
Kong
is
so
expensive
how
are we
ever
going to
afford
to live
driving
in
my
car
I
pray
this
prayer
I
say
God
I
just
need
to
know
that
you
know
that
I
am
worried
about
finances
right
you
don't
need
to
tell
me
what
the
answer
is
but
I
just
need
to
know
that
you
know
that
I
am
worried
okay
and
I
go to
the
office
we
have
a
staff
meeting
and
there
is
another
organization
that
joined
us
so
there
80
people
in
the
according
to the
riches
of
his
glory
in
Christ
Jesus
and
as
I
say
that
I'm
like
oh
my
goodness
that's
exactly
what
I
needed
my
God
will
supply
everything
you
need
just
half
an
hour
before
I
don't
know
how
it's
going
to
work
God
like
just
I
need
a
sign
that
you
know
God's
word
just
came
and
in
that
moment
it
was
those
faith
in
my
heart
you
see
come
unbelief
the
voice
of
doubt
was
so
loud
in
my
ears
now
in
theory
I
knew
that
God
was
faithful
if
you
said
to
me
Kevin
do you
believe
God
is
faithful
yes
in
my
head
I
knew
God
was
faithful
but
in
that
moment
my
heart
didn't
believe
it
my
head
understood
it
but
there
was
a
disconnect
between
the
theology
in
my
head
and
actually
what
my
heart
was
trusting
in
God
trusted
God
and
so
I
could
go
ahead
and
trust
him
now
of
course
sometimes
God's
friends
sometimes
our
friends
can
do
that
sometimes
the
Holy
Spirit
can
just
use
a
friend
but
generally
I
find
my
friends
their
advice
is
good
but
it's
kind
of
a
bit
blunt
but
God's
word
when
it
opens
up
God's
word
it
speaks
to
my
heart
and
it
gives
me
such
faith
God
through
his
word
finds
a way
of
cutting
through
the
stuff
and
getting
to
heart
it
somehow
knows
what
my
fears
and
anxieties
are
it
speaks
to
those
knows
where
I'm
proud
and
it
humbles
me
it
knows
where
I'm
short
sighted
and
I
need
faith
it's
razor
sharp
like
a
knife
that
cuts
to
my
heart
and
speaks
the
deepest
part
of
me
okay
does
that
make
sense
okay
we're
almost
done
so
think
about
this
in
Genesis
chapter
3
the
devil
comes
to
Adam
and
Eve
or
Genesis
2
and
he
tempts
them
to
rebel
against
God
and
sin
enters
the
world
and
there's
a
mess
but
how
does
he
do
it
what
does
the
devil
say
to
Adam
and
Eve
remember
he
comes
and
he
undermines
God's
word
he
says
did
God
really
say
that
he
makes
them
doubt
God's
word
he
puts
seeds
of
doubt
and
unbelief
he
wants
to
drown
out
God's
word
but
the
second
thing
he
does
is
he
twists
God's
word
remember
God
had
said
you
can
eat
of
any
tree
you
want
there's
just
that
one
tree
don't
eat
of
that
the
devil
comes
to
Eve
and
says
did
God
really
say
you
can't
eat
of
any
tree
in
the
garden
I
mean
that's
not
very
kind
of
him
he
twists
God's
word
and
subtly
twists
it
so
that
Eve
starts
to
doubt
the
faithfulness
of
God's
word
because
the
devil
knows
that
if
he
can
malign
God's
voice
and
God's
word
he's
won
half
the
battle
now
just
on
a
side
note
that's
why
there's
three
implications
of
this
one
implication
is
this
every
Sunday
at
watermark
we're
going to
teach
God's
word
you
don't
need
you
in
your
situation
when
in
the
day
to
day
trenches
of
life
the
voice
of
unbelief
is
loud
in
your
ears
you
don't
need
to
hear
the
blunt
acts
of
my
thoughts
and
opinions
you
need
to
hear
God's
word
that's
why
every
Sunday
we're
going to
try and
open up
God's
word
second
implication
is
this
let's
have
devotions
again
to
God's
word
we need
God's
word
one
morning
you
struggle
you
open
up
your
Bible
God's
word
can
speak
to
us
on
Sunday
mornings
can
I
ask
you
pray
for
us
as
a
church
throughout
the
sermon
just
be
praying
God
speak
to
us
God
let
your
word
come
alive
on
the
way
to
church
be
praying
God
we
want
to
hear
your
word
this
morning
we
don't
just
want
to
be
entertained
God
come
speak
your
word
to
us
so
three
quick
implications
look
at
verse
13
with
me
here
okay
so
God's
word
is
living
and
active
it's
sharper
than
any
two
edged
sword
verse
13
and
no
creature
is
hidden
from
his
sight
all
are
naked
and
exposed
to
the
eyes
of
him
to
whom
we
must
give
an
account
now
does
that
sound
like
a
description
of
God
or
a
description
of
God's
word
okay
that
to me
sounds
like
a
description
of
God
but
we've
just
been
talking
about
God's
word
right
it
says
God's
word
is
living
and
active
God's
word
is
sharp
and
then
it
says
and
no
creature
is
hidden
from
his
sight
all
are
naked
and
exposed
the
eyes
of
him
to
whom
we
must
give
an
account
what's
going
on
here
well
if
you
in
the
scriptures
God's
word
is
so
aligned
to
God
himself
that
in
many
ways
what
God
does
his
word
does
and
what
God's
word
does
is
the
same
thing
that
God
does
now
that
doesn't
mean
that
this
is
God
we
don't
bow
down
and
worship
his
word
but
God's
word
is
so
aligned
to
God
himself
that
what
God
does
is
what
his
word
does
last
week
Chris
read
Psalm
29
for
us
as
our
call
to
worship
I
think
we
got
it
up
on
the
screen
let's
look at
Psalm
29
look at
this
look at
verse 5
it says
the voice
of the
Lord
breaks
the
cedars
the
Lord
breaks
the
cedars
the
voice
of the
Lord
shakes
the
wilderness
the
Lord
shakes
the
wilderness
so
who's
who
it's
a
description
of
God's
power
and
authority
is
God's
word
powerful
and
authoritative
or
is
God
powerful
and
authoritative
well
the
answer
is
both
right
both
we
see
friends
that
God's
word
carries
authority
and
power
because
God
inhabits
his
word
when
we
open
up
the
word
when
someone
sits
across
the
table
with
us
when
we
read
God's
word
in
CG
when
we
let
it
speak
to
us
it
has
power
and
authority
because
it's
living
and
it's
active
it
knows
and
discerns
the
intentions
of
our
hearts
our
private
thoughts
God's
word
is
able
to
cut
through
our
fears
and
give
us
faith
but
you
know
what
last
thought
is
this
you
know
the
book
of
Hebrews
is
all
about
persevering
to
the
end
but
the
book
of
Hebrews
is
actually
not
about
God's
word
the
book
of
Hebrews
is
actually
about
God
himself
you
see
all
of
us
you
and
I
we
just
like
the
Israelites
we
don't
trust
God
we
don't
love
him
supremely
we
don't
always
obey
him
we
tend
to
trust
ourselves
and
we
don't
always
obey
him
but
you
know
God
continued
to
give
his
word
to
his
people
he
sent
prophet
after
prophet
after
prophet
to
continue
to
give
them
God's
word
to
pour
faith
in
our
hearts
and
to
cause
us
to
trust
him
but
we
just
like
the
Israelites
we
spurn
and
reject
his
word
time
through
the
prophets
and
through
the
law
God
was
revealing
himself
to
his
people
but
through
Jesus
he
reveals
himself
ultimately
and
so
Hebrews
1
actually
starts
off
and
it
says
this
long
ago
at
many
times
and
in
many
ways
God
spoke
to
his
people
through
his
prophets
but
in
these
last
days
he
has
spoken
to
us
by
his
son
by
Jesus
whom
he
appointed
the
heir
of
all
things
through
whom
he
created
the
whole
world
this
son
Jesus
is
the
radiance
of
the
glory
of
God
the
exact
imprint
of
his
nature
he
upholds
the
universe
by
the
word
of
his
power
and
after
making
purifications
for
sins
he
sat
down
at
the
right
hand
of
the
majesty
on
high
friends
the
good
news
of
the
gospel
is
that
though
you
and
I
day
fall
away
Jesus
comes
to
us
again
and
again
and
again
and
reminds
us
that
he
is
faithful
he
is
trustworthy
his
promises
are
true
and
that
we
can
bank
our
lives
on
him
he
is
the
one
that
came
when
we
were
dead
and
made
us
alive
he
the
one
who
poured
faith
into
our
hearts
he
is
the
one
who
by
grace
we
have
been
saved
because
of
him
and
that
is
why
Hebrews
12
says
this
therefore
since
we
are
surrounded
by
such
a
great
cloud
of
witnesses
let
us
lay
aside
every
weight
and
sin
that
clings
so
closely
running
with
endurance
the race
that is
set
before
us
how
looking
to
Jesus
to
the
word
made
flesh
the
founder
and the
perfect
of our
faith
who
for the
joy
set
before
him
endured
the
cross
friends
as
beautiful
and as
magnificent
and as
glorious
as the
scriptures
are
the
bible
didn't
die
on the
cross
for us
the
bible
didn't
take
away
our
sins
the
bible
brings
god's
word
into
our
hearts
but
ultimately
we
look
to
Jesus
and
the
reason
we
come
to
god's
word
is
because
it
shows
us
jesus
beautifully
and
powerfully
the
word
made
flesh
god's
word
says
to
us
what
the
people
of
god
have
always
needed
to
hear
that
god
is
faithful
and
that
we
can
trust
him
let's
come
before
him
now
let's
do
that
together
let's
pray
father
god
thank you
so much
for
your
god
thank you
that you
such a
faithful
god
christ
you are
so
incredibly
faithful
god
we are
just
like
the
israelites
god
every
day
we are
tempted
to
listen
to
the
voice
of
unbelief
god
every
day
we
trust
ourselves
rather
than
you
god
you
are
so
exceedingly
abundantly
incredibly
patient
and
gracious
and
we
are
so
grateful
lord
thank
you
thank
you
thank
you
for
your
mercy
and
your
grace
god
thank
you
god
as
roman
says
we're
sin
abounded
grace
super
abounded
all
the
more
father
thank
you
for
your
faithfulness
god
thank
you
for
your
word
god
i pray
that
you
will
make
us
as
a
church
people
of
your
word
lord
pray
make
your
word
come
alive
to
us
god
we
want
your
word
to be
at
work
in
our
hearts
and
our
lives
god
send
your
word
to
penetrate
our
hearts
i pray
father
for
each
one
of
us
here
where
fear
and
doubt
has
gripped
us
god
and
is
the
reality
of
our
hearts
god
i
pray
that
your
word
will
cut
like
a
knife
and
penetrate
the
depths
of
our
hearts
and
implant
faith
into
our
hearts
god
may
we
trust
you
god
i pray
in a
moment
your
word
of
faith
will
arrest
the
fear
and
arrest
the
doubt
and
arrest
the
unbelief
god
and
pour
faith
into
our
hearts
that
we
will
trust
you
god
father
we
don't
know
the
battles
that
so
many
of
us
are
facing
and
the
challenges
that
so
many
of
us
are
facing
god
we
don't
minimize
those
challenges
but
god
we
look
to
you
help
us
to
trust
you
god
father
we
pray
that
our
hearts
won't
be
hardened
but
that
we
can
hold
fast
our
confidence
firm
to
the
end
that
we
all
get
to
inherit
the
promises
of
god
and
enjoy
that
rest
and
god
as
we
seek
to
disciple
each
other
and
let
your
word
light
a
fire
in
us
that
explodes
in
our
hearts
and
spreads
beyond
us
god
like
a
flame
throughout
hong kong
god
oh
lord
we
pray
come
and
help
us
in
your
wonderful
and
powerful
name
amen