Beacon Sunday Service: August 4th, 2024

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to so glad to see everyone this morning. Loving conversing with one another we continue to do so God live with us and be steadfast alive and away all the beats all the love singers.

Lord, we just thank you so much for this great privilege of being able to come before you to worship you. Um Lord, we thank you so much for the ways that you have carried us throughout this week. Uh Lord, uh, in so many ways when we have been unfaithful, you are faithful, and God, we just come before you today to just give you all the glory and all the worship. And so um, as we fellowship today, as we hear your word today, as we sing these songs of praise, Lord, may we just be blessed, and Lord, would you just receive all the glory? So we thank you, we love you, and it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let's all rise this morning. I just want to start with a little bit of scripture from the Psalms from Psalm thirty-three and Psalm thirty-five.

Uh, just to get our hearts and minds set on the Lord. It says this, shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous. Praise befits the upright. Let those who delight in his righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, great is the Lord who delights in the welfare of his servants. And what a great Lord that we indeed worship, the one who just cares for us in every for every need and want. And um may we just worship him today and just give him all the praise.

You give home, you restore every heart that is broke. It's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise. We pour out our praise, it's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise to you.

You give life, you are love, you bring life to the dog, you give up, you restore every hope that is your breath in our loans so we pour out our praise pour out our praise, it's your breath in our loans, so we pour out our praise to you. Oh it's your breath in our lives, so we pour out our praise, pour out our praise, it's your breath in our lives, so we pour out our praise to you all the earth and all the earth will shout your praise, our hearts will cry, these bones will sing all the earth will shout your praise, our hearts will cry, these bones will see all the earth, all the earth will shout your praise, our hearts will cry, these bones will see all the earth will shout your praise, our hearts will cry, these bones will sing it's your breath in our loans, so we pour out our praise, pour out our praise, it's your breath in our loans, so we pour out our praise to you, it's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise, pour out our praise, it's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise to you only great as our Lord, and we just continue to proclaim just his greatness and how good he is to us, just like in our lives, I know why source.

I was blinded. I was blinded by my sin. Had no ears to hear your voice. Did not know your love within. Had no taste for choice. Then your spirit gave me life. Open up your word to me. Amen. Through the gospel of your son. He gave me endless hope and be help me now. Help me now to live a life that's dependent on your grace.

Yes. Keep my heart and guard my soul from the evils that I face.

You are worthy.

Oh great God. Glorify your name. See no more time with our voices.

That is our prayer. This morning we will confess our faith using the Baptist Catechism. In this question and answer, we will confess what is necessary for saving faith. And here's the question. What is faith in Jesus Christ? And together, faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation. Trusting him to forgive our sins and guide us to eternal joy on the basis of his divine power and atoning death. Amen.

That in this life that it is only through Christ that we're even able to do anything. So may we just proclaim that in song today.

Gift of grace, what gift of grace is Jesus my redeemer. There is no more heaven now to give. He is my joy, my righteousness and freedom, my steadfast love, my teeth and boundless peace to this I hope my hope is only Jesus for my life is wholly bound to him. Oh how strange and divine I can see all is mine, yet not I but through Christ in me.

But I am not saved for thy mice, the Savior He will stay I in weakness for in my needs to this I hold my shepherd will defend me through the deepest valley he will leave Oh the night has been one and I shall overcome not I but through Christ no fate I dread no fate I dread I know I am forgiven yes the future sure the price it has been paid for Jesus bless and suffered for my party and he was raised to over to this I hold my sin as defeat Jesus now and ever is my beings are released I can see I am free and not I but through Christ with every breath with every breath I long to follow Jesus for he has said that he will bring me home yes and day by day I know he will renew me until I stand with joy before the hole my hope is only Jesus all the glory ever to him when the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat not I through Christ.

When the race. When the race is complete. Still my lips shall repeat. But through God. Yet not I, but through Christ. Good morning, everyone. Today's conviction to sin is a reminder that in our wandering hearts it is only Jesus who restores us. Let's read together.

I have wandered like a sheep into the wilderness. My sin against you has entangled me in thorns and thistles, danger, and peril. I know you offer me green pastures and still waters. For your glory and my good. Please restore my soul in Jesus' name, Amen. Please be seated. Let us now take in a type of private confession of sin.

In God's beloved, we have redemption through his blood.

Amen. Today's corporate prayer request is one for our children. As you may know, summer is coming to an end and our kids are going back to school. With that, new challenges will arise every year. And most importantly, our children are not going to be with their parents. They're going to be on their own. They're going to be learning what they learn in the classrooms and having relationships with children that we will not know. But we can pray for them. We can pray that God will watch over them, that God will help them to build fruitful relationships that will not lead them astray. And that as they learn and grow, that the Lord will keep and guide them. Ultimately, we want our children not to be affected by the world, but to be saved by the things that they learn here in Sunday school, and that those seeds would grow, that our children would be a light to those around them.

So let's pray.

Oh Lord, we thank you so much for these children that you've gifted us in our lives. And we continue to put our hope and trust in you and your guidance and protection of them as they go to school, as they learn new things, make new relationships. We pray, Father, that you would guide their hearts, that they would understand right and wrong what they should take home. Uh and those conversations that they have, unprotected conversations that they have with new friends and people and with their teachers, Lord. We pray, Lord, that our children would grow in the light, Father, and not take home the darkness. We pray, Father, for those relationships to be fruitful. We pray that our children in this place, as they learn and grow, that those seeds of faith would be planted so that they too can be a good shepherd to those around them.

So we pray, Father, for this upcoming school year, and we pray for our children, and we pray for your blessing upon them. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Children, you're dismissed. Please have a great Sunday school with teacher Tiffany and teacher John. As the children are being dismissed, we're gonna have a few or a couple announcements. Uh, as you guys have been reminded, uh, we are having a meet and greet with today's guest speaker and our new pastor, Pastor Peter Chung. Please stay uh immediately after service. Uh, we're gonna be having it right after with uh just food provided by the church. Uh and also uh, if you are unaware, our offering options are Zel Van Venmo Cash and Check. If you're visiting today, please do not feel obligated to give.

But as a member, we pray that you give as the Lord has blessed you in your life. So I have the pleasure of introducing this brother. Uh so today's speaker was a faceless and nameless prayer topic in our pastoral search for our ministry. Um what a blessing it is to actually get to see him in person and speak today. Pastor Peter Chung grew up mostly in the San Gabriel Valley, going to Temple City High School. He graduated with a history degree at UC Berkeley and earned his MD from Talbot School of Theology. He's been a pastor since 2001. Uh Pastor Peter has been affiliated with Breen Church, uh Breen Community Church since 2005. He was Breen's missionary uh to China between 09 and 2012 and worked for Compassion International between 2012 and 2018 in Korea in their office as a vision trip leader.

He spent the last six and a half years on the pastoral staff at Berean. Uh, and he's been married to Becky since uh his wife Becky since 2007, and they have twins, a daughter, Karis, and a son, uh, Matthias, who are both nine years old. So let's welcome Pastor Peter warmly to his new home. Alright, well, this is a little surreal. Tiffany came up to me and was like, this is so surreal. And I was like, it is.

I just said, yeah, I'm not gonna apply for this. And I turned off my phone and I went to bed. And then I couldn't sleep. And so I ended up with a very restless evening in prayer. The next morning, uh, I talked to the other pastors about the beacon, um, two of whom have actually been here before. And they're like, oh, that's a good young, hungry group. And our senior pastor was like, you know, I think this might be like a hand a glove kind of a fit. And then I put the resume in and I get an email from Howard very shortly after. And uh, I think it happens super fast. Um, and so I come with the blessings of uh Burrine Community Church, which is still currently my church, and um I can't wait to officially be here in October.

But um, I want to just uh start by reading the passage of scripture that I'm gonna be looking at today, and then um hopefully in it, you not only hear the voice of God, but you also uh will get a little bit more acclimated with uh just your pastor, um, of which I have the great blessing and the benefit of being in a short uh couple months. But let me read Philippians chapter 4, verses 4 to 7. Um I'll be reading out of the NASB, and um it'll be up here for you. It reads, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I'll say rejoice, let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near, be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Let me go ahead and uh pray for us. Father, what a joy it is to be gathered just with your saints this morning. But we acknowledge, Lord God, that we are here for you, that you are our primary audience, and you are the one who is worthy of all our praise, our affection, and our worship. And Lord, as we listen to your word, grow our understanding of it, help us to apply it appropriately in our lives, but grow in us just an even greater hunger to know your word and to know your heart. I pray that you would just give us a sweet time, a fellowship as just a byproduct of our time together. And Lord, would you really bless this church as we seek to bless your name? And we pray all this in Jesus' name.

So this is a passage that you guys are probably very familiar with, right? This is something that uh a lot of children in BBS, uh, they're given to memorize. And each of these verses you can find on a picture frame or on a cart. So they're very well known. Um, and it comes out of the book of Philippians, which is actually a very powerful book, uh, really focusing on what it means to be joyful in knowing Christ Jesus. So Christ Jesus in the book of Philippians is actually very central. The words Jesus, Christ Jesus, Christ, are mentioned over 50 times in the hundred four verses. So it's almost every other verse, there's a mention of Jesus. And Paul writes this letter as almost like a thank you to the church, saying, you know, you've sacrificed on my behalf, you've sent me gifts, and I want to address a few things that are happening in the church, and there's a theme of joy in this letter.

Okay, so I want to read uh verse four again for you, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. And this is actually the third time Paul is saying this. This is actually the second time in this one verse. He says it two times. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. Typically, when we repeat something, we repeat stuff that's only that's actually of significance, right? And for example, if I were to say, Howard Huang is a good man, I'll say it again. Howard Huang is a good man. The second time I say those words, even if I've said the same thing, it comes with a little bit more force, as almost as if like I'm gonna defend him, or I'm gonna say something on his behalf, right?

So when Paul is saying this, not just for the second time, but for the third time, he's saying, Rejoice in the Lord always. I'm gonna say this again, rejoice. If you look at 1 Thessalonians 5 16, it says, Rejoice always, and you'll discover that this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. A lot of times, um, especially in our stage and our age, a lot of people think, oh, like what is God's will for my life? What kind of uh job am I gonna have? What kind of place am I gonna live in? Who am I gonna marry? Where are my kids going to go to school? But all of those sayings, God is not that concerned with.

But what's interesting is he is saying this to a people who are fallen, right? Although redeemed, we've been very fallen. And one of the greatest tragedies of the fall is that you and I, no matter how hard we try not to be, we get tired of stuff. Uh when I first got the IPA touch back in 2007, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. And I had that and a flip phone in my pocket. I carry that everywhere with me, and I loved it until I saw someone with an iPhone 3. And then I lusted after the iPhone 3 and I finally got it. Until someone had a square shaped, sleek iPhone 4. And then I got sick of my iPhone 3. I got the four. Five, seven, eight, ten, eleven, fifteen. So with each passing season, whatever I delighted in lost its luster over a little bit of time.

That's also with experiences. If you've ever been to some really crazy cool place like the Grand Canyon, the first time you go, you stand in awe. The second time you go, you enjoy it, you momentarily stand in awe, and then you watch other people stand in awe. Third, fourth, and fifth times you go to the Grand Canyon, you're not even careful, you don't care about the ah, you look at other people's reaction. That's how we are. People too. When my wife, uh, we I met her in 1999. Uh, but there wasn't any affection developed until about 2003. And in the beginning, early days, whenever I would see Becky Chuck, uh, it was Becky on at the time on the phone, I would stop whatever I was doing. Sometimes I would actually stop driving.

I'll clear my throat. Hello, right? But now, she calls me, I'm like, yeah, what? Like, I'm busy, right? Even with churches, even with pastors, everybody looks good from a distance, but as you get closer, it's hard to stay fully in enjoyment. And a lot of times, that's with our faith, that's with the scriptures, that's with God. 2020 was a great year for LA. I mean, it was a bad year for the world, but the Dodgers and the Lakers both won. And I'm a I've been a passionate Dodger and Laker fan since the mid-80s. Are we still enjoying the Laker victories? Are we still enjoying the Dodger Championship? No, we're not. So when this command is given, rejoice in the Lord always, again, I will say, rejoice.

Paul is being very serious here, but for us, when we read it, we're like, oh, that's a sexy command. That's a cool command, and then we gloss over it because we don't think that this is possible. Remember, this is God's will. And because this is a command, if I'm not rejoicing always, it's actually disobedience and it's a sin. But when we see verses like this in the scriptures that seem too lofty, seem too ideal, we don't pay attention a lot of the times. True or false. So but he's saying this, and he means it, and he demands that we obey. And I'm gonna read the passage again for you. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice, and that's the what of our sermon. There is a command for us to be joyful.

Verse 6, be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with your thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. If you're astute, you'll notice that I just skipped verse 5. I blacked it out. Did it make any difference in terms of what the verse meant? Does it meet make any difference to how it feels or how it reads? At first glance, no, right. But verse 5 is actually the most important verse in this whole section. Okay? And I want to show you. It reads, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice. Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

Be anxious for nothing, and so on and so forth. And if you look at it carefully, and if you're thinking logically through this passage, that looks super out of place. Rejoice always. Don't be anxious. But what is this? Let my gentle spirit be made known to all men. But this verse is the hinge on which the rest of the passage swings. This is absolutely central to understanding this passage correctly. And that word, gentle spirit, is a Greek word epiakea. And I want you guys to, I want to hear your voices. Repeat after me. A. Ka. Uh. Epi. Acheia. It's like Ikea with an A. Epiachea. Okay. And one thing you'll find that's interesting is depending on what translation you're using, it reads differently.

And when you look at many English translations of the Bible, and that same verse is translated differently in different translations, there's something that's really difficult to translate in the original language. Okay? So if you look at the King James, it says, let your moderation be known to all men. The ESV says, how many guys use ESV? Okay, let your reasonableness. Is that similar to gentle spirit or does it have a different picture? It's different, right? Let your gentleness, NIV, let your graciousness. Living Bible actually puts two words in there unselfish and considerate spirit. Gentle, unspirit, like unselfish. How are those related? My definition of equa is this. It's a steadfastness, grace, and calmness that comes with experience, involvement, and age.

It's steadfastness, grace, and calmness that comes with experience, involvement, and age. So in other words, it's like battle-tested Christian common sense. If you're thinking of a sports team, when you have a very young, gifted athletic team, usually they'll try to add that, uh, will put in that roster very seasoned veterans, right? Who've seen things, who've experienced the heat of competition. Why? Because you know that they don't get rattled. So epi achea is a battle-tested Christian common sense, and like I said, that's the hinge on which this whole passage stands. Charles Spurgeon says, when you go through a trial, the sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which you lay your head. So one of the reasons we can be joyful always, even though we get tired of things, one of the ways that we, one of the reasons we can be anxiety free in a very cursed and anxious world, is because of our epichea.

So let your gentle spirit, let your epiakea be known to all men. And this is the why. The Lord is near. In this passage, this is not talking about a physical nearness, right? In other passages of scripture, the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves us who are crushed in the spirit. So when we're grieving, yes, God draws near physically. But in this passage, the word is the Lord is actually soon. You follow? Let your epiakea be known to all men, the Lord is soon. So the King James will say, the Lord is at hand. The Lord is coming soon. And one of the things that lines the entire letter of Philippians is the return of Jesus. And Paul, for him to live is Christ, to die is to gain. He longs to be with the Lord, which is better by far.

And he's eagerly waiting for the Lord Jesus to return. So what he is saying is your battle-tested Christian common sense and an understanding that the Lord is going to come very soon and restore all things, that should cause you to have almost an elation in your heart and in your life. And Paul's in prison when he's writing this. Think of just an engaged couple. How many of you guys are married in here? How many guys have been engaged at some point then? Okay. Are you glad that you are no longer engaged, or do you wish you were still engaged? Engagement sucks. It's like it's kind of an already, but not yet. Right? You're one, but you're not. Your money is shared, but it's not. All the privileges and the joys of marriage are almost there, but they're not.

And it's almost like the responsibility is there without the privileges. But the engagement period is very important because you need to get the invitations out. You need a wedding to prepare for.

So the ability to be joyful always and not to be anxious about anything is directly tied with my experience of walking with the Lord, being unable to just wait for his return. But in the meantime, there are responsibilities that I have to fulfill. There are things that I need to take care of. There is a party to be planned. There are people to invite in. But if that doesn't, that wedding day doesn't cause in me an excitement, there's something wrong. What does Epiakea look like? In James 1 2, it says, consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials.

If I am ordained by a God who makes no mistakes, God's will is perfect, he wakes nothing, he makes no mistakes, he's ordained this hardship in my life. Because it's biblically, God ordains times of calamity even for those he loves. Sometimes especially for those he loves.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And in this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials. It's future focused. The engagement will end. The marriage will come. I cannot wait. But this period is necessary. So I'll endure it faithfully.

For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake. If I am persecuted for the cross of Christ, if I am mistreated for my faith, if I am scoffed at, if I's not God punishing me, it's God giving me an opportunity to show to the world joy in Christ in the midst of suffering because the world has no answer to a suffering Christian who is rejoicing. So that is what Ekbeikea looks like. Fixing on our eyes of Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the Father in heaven. For the Christian, our call is to take up our cross daily and follow.

Amen. Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshipped. You can have tears of sorrow and be joyful. The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field. And when a man found it, he sold it again, and for the joy over it, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. If I were to say, how many of you guys are in finance? Okay. If I were to say, find a way to put away 200 a day for a month. That's 6,000 bucks at the end of the month, right? Okay, you're mad. It's too early in the morning on a Sunday. If I were to say, put 200 away, and at the end of a month, you're gonna get a billion. And if it was true, would you do it?

Yes. You'd be a dum-dum not to do that. Even though 200 a day, if some of you guys, if you don't make 200 a day, you're gonna still try to find a way to make it, because the reward at the end of it is absolutely worthless or worth worth it, right? I'm gonna put away 200 bucks for a billion dollars, only a fool would say no to that. But is knowing God and the benefits of walking with the Lord, if you really understood how ridiculous that reward is, you would do everything in this life, even if it means to withhold temporary pleasures, to pursue that investment. That's Christian common sense. So this is the definition of joy. It's the attitude of the heart found only in kingdom citizens that delights in and willingly submits to the goodness and the sovereignty of God.

Joy is not an emotion biblically. Biblically, joy is not an emotion. It's a posture of the heart. So for those of us who are extremely emotionally fickle, who are moody, what's encouraging is that my posture, the posture of my heart can be such as I walk with the Lord that no matter what highs and what lows I experience day to day, I am joyful in the God of my salvation. I trust in a God whose will is perfect, he makes no mistakes, he wastes nothing, and everything he ordains, the good, the bad, the ugly in my life is either for good or for my good, I will rejoice. Even if I'm scared, I will rejoice, even if I'm a little grieved, even if my beloved family member passes away, they're at the presence of God, they don't miss you.

They're not looking back. And I will miss the loved one, but I will be joyful. That's joy. I'm a cancer survivor. I got diagnosed with stage 3 C. colorectal in 2019. I had uh six months of chemo, six weeks of radiation, then I had 10 inches of my colon half the rectum removed. But the fascinating thing was, as soon as I got diagnosed with it, there was a sense of peace in my heart. This is on purpose. At that time, Bahrain was 700 people. Nobody was sick. And I'm like, this is cool. And that is not something that I could have prepared for. This is not something you learn in seminary. But in that moment, as I was praying, I said, Lord, if this is on purpose, that means for a moment, even though I have a testimony that is a little bit of a little like a little knife, I can cut.

But you're giving me a spiritual bazooka. Because the testimony of a cancer patient is way more powerful than the testimony of a cancer survivor. So in this period of cancer, help me to preach, teach, shepherd well. And that's 15 months, the joy of the Lord was my strength, and I was absolutely confident that even if physically I were to die, God will take care of my wife, my kids, my church. That's epiakea. I've walked with him long enough, 32 years. I've been a pastor preaching the word of God 24 years. I know God. He makes no mistakes. And the posture of my heart is he is good, he is sovereign, this world is cursed, this is not my home anyway. So while I go through the good, the bad, and the ugly, I'm going to give glory to God.

Because sometimes my response to my circumstance preaches a better gospel than the gospel proper, which the world has hardened its heart towards. But if your faith is what I mean, what I call churchanity, if it's just churchienity, you're not going to be joyful. If your faith is based on your group, if your faith is based on a Christian inherit, like a heritage or a background, you're not going to understand Evi Akea. See? My iPad, uh, all my notes disappeared as I was preaching. So I was like, okay, this is this is great. So I'm just going off the cuff. But uh, so as a spirit leads, right? Philippians 4, 4 through 7.

And verse 4 is not up there, but rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice. Let your epiacha, your battle test of Christian common sense be made known to all men. The Lord is soon. So be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. And the word guard there is uh fruit, say. And what that means is if you're thinking of like Roman times, Greco-Roman times, and you have an emperor walking out, and people perceive that the emperor is in danger, what happens to the Roman faith? Like, what's the what a what do you have an image in your head?

They just surround the emperor with uh this long shield and a spear. Do you guys have that image in your head? If it's hard to imagine the Greco-Roman times, think Donald Trump when there was an assassination in the tank, boom, everyone's just on top of him trying to protect him. Even the little short lady, right? They're all trying to protect him. Think about this.

No anxiety, gratitude, and a peace that surrounds my heart and my mind and my conscience and my volition like a fortress. You can't get to the Roman emperor when the centurions are surrounding him. Nothing in the world, no satanic attack can affect the peace of your heart when the Lord is present. Are you guys following this? So Philippians 4, 4 through 9 isn't so much a bunch of commandments. This is a description of what happens in a normal Christian life. But obviously, there are areas of immaturity, there's entanglements, and there's worldliness. And we need to grow in these areas.

But you can consider it all joy when you encounter various trials as you walk with the Lord, and as your heart is battle tested, as it's trained, and yet you have like a natural spiritual muscle memory that develops.

We're in year 18. I can go to a new restaurant even without my wife, and I'd be like, oh, she would like this. I still can't figure out the clothes. But at a restaurant, my wife would love this. She says that all the time. She goes out with a bunch of like the friends, and they come, she comes home. Oh, I tried this hot pot place, oh, their sauce, you would have liked it. Or she went to an Ethiopian place, she comes, she came back home, she's like, you wouldn't have liked it. She can predict what I will say, what I will do, because there is a built-in trust and a relationship and a knowledge that wasn't there in year one. So if you walk with the Lord and you've seen him in action, this is what happens.

But a lot of times in our world, in our society, the world is bombarding you. Oh, it's okay to be anxious. It's okay to just let yourself really feel your emotions. You want to know what's at the very core? Sin. If you're trying to understand yourself better, I'll fast forward it for you. You suck. You're rotten to the core. You are desperate in need of a savior. And whoever hurt you, whoever scarred you, he, she, all of them are also in desperate need of a savior. This world is broken, but it's not our home. When the Lord being soon takes center stage of our obsessions, when that wedding day becomes my obsession. A lot of stuff that happens in this life, it goes quick. Here's one applicable thing I want to leave you with.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is good, if there is any excellence, anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. And this is also a difficult word to translate. Some translations say consider, some say think, but the word is actually obsessed. Think about this. Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there's anything excellent or worthy of praise or commendable, obsess over that. And my desire for what will soon be our church is that our brains and our minds and our hearts are equipped with each passing season to obsess over those things and to help others obsess over the same.

Amen. It says, the things that you've learned and received and heard and seen in Paul the mentor who's in prison. People are preaching a gospel to shame him, and he's in prison. He's like, I don't really care. They're trying to take my Jesus brand, and like, they're trying to gain greater popularity to make me look bad. Great. Christ is proclaimed, and in this I will rejoice, and I'll continue to rejoice. He's hungry. He's cold. He's like, I know what it is to have plenty. I also know what it is to be in want. But I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And that's four verses from here, right? I can do all things through him who strengthens me. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, or in sickness and in want.

That's fine. I can do all things. Paul has his epiachea. Pretty stelder. And what he's saying to the Philippians is imitate this. And what's interesting is before, the peace of God will surround your hearts. But here, it's a word play. The God of peace. Who is not just soon, but he's physically present. He's gonna be with you.

When you're physically hungry, he's gonna keep you spiritually filled. When your spirit, when you're physically cold, he's gonna come up and fill your heart with great supernatural warmth. So this is the part that I would say we can try and apply. Because our anxiety is sometimes hard to control. Our minds are weak and we're stupid. Right? I'm gonna actually get you to do the very opposite of what I tell you to do. Okay? Don't think of a blue monkey sitting on Howard's head. What just happened? Do not think of a blue monkey sitting on Howard's head. Holding a little bag. You're easily manipulated. I'm easily manipulated. Weird thoughts get planted in my head. Causes me to be anxious, causes me to worry, causes me to be fearful.

But what God does is, he draws near and he chases that away. So God's will for you and for me, for the church at Bereen, for the church here at Beacon, is that we're joyful always, that we're praying continually, and then in all situations and all circumstances, we're giving thanks. So hopefully that excites you that God is here, that his word never changes, that he is love. And uh just on a personal note, I woke up really early today. I was just super excited. I was like, dude. I mean, I've been at Berean 22 years. Obviously, a decade in the middle, we were gone, but that was always home. But with this new chapter, there is, and I was telling Howard this on our first video interview, where nothing was even said, or nothing was even offered.

I hadn't even met. I don't, I didn't know filler or Steven's voice, but I was like, God's doing something here. And I'm excited. Because normally I sleep real good. But that night I could not sleep. I didn't know what it was. And then the next day after I talked with our pastors, I went into the sanctuary to pray. Because it's K Town. It's Far from Irvine. I was like, Lord, but if you want this, I'm available to go there and to preach and teach and minister your truth to the your people there. And then my prayer was like, oh Lord, help my wife like K Town. And then we're driving, and as we were getting off of the freeway, my wife's face turned into a scowl. Okay? So she's not here, I could do this kind of stuff.

She's like, and she's like, it smells here. It's dirty. And I was like, oh man, she's gonna sabotage this. And then she comes in, and you know, and you'll got you guys don't meet her. She she turned her charm on, and as we're driving home, she's like, man, they're lovable. They're so endearing. Oh, and then I knew, okay, the Lord's at work. So this is the God whom we serve, who makes no mistakes, who orchestrates things in his way, in his time for his purposes. And I'm very excited to just to be able to enter into this new season with you. Let's pray together. Father help us.

Grow our desire for your second coming. And in the meantime, as the invitations need to go out, give us boldness to really proclaim your truth to those around us. We love you, Lord. Thank you for just the opportunity to just hear your truth proclaimed this morning. And pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Um thank you, Pastor Peter. Um let us just respond in worship at this time and just uh really trust in God's sovereignty, and just through this week, may we just have that uh divine joy that only comes from God no matter what our circumstances may we just continue to trust in him and put our faith in him. So may we all rise and sing together that Christ is our hope in life and death. May we look towards the future when he will return again. What is our home in life and death? Christ alone, Christ alone, what is our only confidence, and that our souls to him belong, who holds our days within his hands, what comes apart from his command, and what will keep us to the end, the love of Christ in which we stand.

Oh seek, hallelujah, our hope springs eternal, oh sing, hallelujah, now and ever we confess Christ our hope and life and death, untruth can come the troubled soul. God is good, God is good, where is his grace and goodness known in our great redeemers who holds our faith when fears arise, who stands above the stormy trial, who sends away that brings us nigh unto the shore, the rock of Christ.

Oh seat, hallelujah, our hope springs eternal. Oh yeah. Now and never we confess. Christ our hope and life and death to the grave unto the grave, what will we see? Christ He lives, Christ He lives, and what reward will heaven bring everlasting life with him, and we will rise to meet the Lord, then sin and death will be destroyed, and we will feel in joy when Christ is ours forevermore.

Oh see, our hope springs eternal. Oh sea, hallelujah, now and never we confess Christ, our hope in life and death. Oh sin, Hallelujah, our hope springs eternal, oh see, Hallelujah, now and ever we confess Christ, our hope in life and death, now and ever we confess Christ our hope in life and death.