WEBVTT 00:00:09.449 --> 00:00:14.289 Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is 00:00:14.289 --> 00:00:16.589 an international church in Bangkok, Thailand, 00:00:16.769 --> 00:00:19.789 with dozens of nationalities worshiping together. 00:00:20.129 --> 00:00:22.989 We invite you to connect with us from wherever 00:00:22.989 --> 00:00:27.210 you are through our website ecb .asia or our 00:00:27.210 --> 00:00:31.050 mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed 00:00:31.050 --> 00:00:35.490 by this week's sermon. As we were able to see 00:00:35.490 --> 00:00:40.250 throughout the story, the birth of Jesus, The 00:00:40.250 --> 00:00:44.530 theme of light comes repeatedly from the prophecies 00:00:44.530 --> 00:00:47.810 of the Old Testament that people in a great darkness 00:00:47.810 --> 00:00:53.070 will see great light. What we are told is that 00:00:53.070 --> 00:00:56.590 in the concept of celebrating Christmas, the 00:00:56.590 --> 00:01:00.210 theme of light is very important for us because 00:01:00.210 --> 00:01:05.790 it represents the contrast of darkness. And there 00:01:05.790 --> 00:01:09.010 is something that Jesus said about who he is. 00:01:09.900 --> 00:01:13.340 That brings it to the very center stage of what 00:01:13.340 --> 00:01:15.920 we are celebrating today. I'm going to invite 00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:18.980 you to read the very words of what Jesus said 00:01:18.980 --> 00:01:23.099 when he was talking about who he is. Will you 00:01:23.099 --> 00:01:27.099 read it with me? Jesus says, he spoke to the 00:01:27.099 --> 00:01:31.079 people once more and said, I am the light of 00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:35.219 the world. If you follow me, you won't have to 00:01:35.219 --> 00:01:39.159 walk in darkness because you will have. The light 00:01:39.159 --> 00:01:44.000 that leads to life. This powerful assertion on 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:47.540 Jesus to say that I am the light of the world. 00:01:47.700 --> 00:01:51.319 And to acknowledge that we were walking in darkness. 00:01:52.340 --> 00:01:55.359 And it's an invitation that Jesus was giving 00:01:55.359 --> 00:01:59.560 to people to follow him. Out of their own darkness 00:01:59.560 --> 00:02:04.799 into his light. Many years ago I was able to 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:09.639 visit. the state of Oregon in the U .S. And there 00:02:09.639 --> 00:02:12.939 was a lighthouse that was right there, beautiful, 00:02:13.080 --> 00:02:18.300 ready to be pictured. And when I saw this lighthouse 00:02:18.300 --> 00:02:23.159 with the waves crashing on the rocks, it reminded 00:02:23.159 --> 00:02:26.419 me of this imagery of Jesus being the light of 00:02:26.419 --> 00:02:29.919 the world because the people that are in the 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:32.719 midst of the waves, they either follow the light 00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:36.599 to safety or they get lost. And they get crushed 00:02:36.599 --> 00:02:40.699 by the waves. And Jesus is saying, I'm like that 00:02:40.699 --> 00:02:46.580 lighthouse for your life. If you follow me, you 00:02:46.580 --> 00:02:51.560 will find the light for your life. And this idea 00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:53.919 that Jesus is the light of the world and that 00:02:53.919 --> 00:02:56.439 he was inviting people to come out of their darkness 00:02:56.439 --> 00:03:01.189 permeates the entire New Testament. The entire 00:03:01.189 --> 00:03:04.090 biographies of Jesus that we find in the Gospels, 00:03:04.090 --> 00:03:07.569 he encounters people after people after people, 00:03:07.889 --> 00:03:11.689 inviting them to follow him. Now, there are three 00:03:11.689 --> 00:03:15.050 particular experiences that I want to point to 00:03:15.050 --> 00:03:18.669 because they connect with us in many ways. One 00:03:18.669 --> 00:03:21.930 of them was a woman. We do not know her name. 00:03:22.349 --> 00:03:25.979 We know her as the Samaritan woman. She was a 00:03:25.979 --> 00:03:28.900 woman that had been married many times. She had 00:03:28.900 --> 00:03:31.939 been divorced many times. And now she was living 00:03:31.939 --> 00:03:33.879 with another guy that she was not even married 00:03:33.879 --> 00:03:38.199 to. And Jesus encounters her in that space of 00:03:38.199 --> 00:03:41.659 her life. Where she was already feeling like 00:03:41.659 --> 00:03:47.439 worthless. From relationship to relationship. 00:03:48.439 --> 00:03:52.159 Will somebody really even love me? Am I even 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:56.849 lovable? And in that darkness is where Jesus 00:03:56.849 --> 00:04:00.150 encounters her and invites her to come out there 00:04:00.150 --> 00:04:05.009 and follow him. So she did. And her life was 00:04:05.009 --> 00:04:09.030 transformed. I do not know if you are in the 00:04:09.030 --> 00:04:14.550 midst of that kind of mess. Where you are going 00:04:14.550 --> 00:04:17.649 from relationship to relationship to relationship 00:04:17.649 --> 00:04:21.730 feeling a little bit lost. And also feeling a 00:04:21.730 --> 00:04:26.110 little bit worthless. Wondering what's next. 00:04:27.329 --> 00:04:31.089 If that is where you are. Remember Jesus is the 00:04:31.089 --> 00:04:33.670 light of the world. And he's inviting you to 00:04:33.670 --> 00:04:39.509 follow him. So that you can experience life at 00:04:39.509 --> 00:04:43.149 a whole different level. Because it's life with 00:04:43.149 --> 00:04:48.240 him. There was another person. Who was a man 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:51.800 who was rich. We know his name. His name was 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:56.920 Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a person who was in 00:04:56.920 --> 00:05:01.800 charge of the entire region. In charge of the 00:05:01.800 --> 00:05:06.839 taxes for the government. And he had a lot of 00:05:06.839 --> 00:05:10.420 money. He had cheated a lot of people. And also 00:05:10.420 --> 00:05:13.160 therefore he also carried lots of shame in his 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:18.879 life. But this was this nagging feeling that 00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:22.300 he was trying to overcome and he couldn't. And 00:05:22.300 --> 00:05:25.519 that feeling that he was never good enough. It 00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:28.379 didn't matter how much more money he made. It 00:05:28.379 --> 00:05:32.519 was never good enough. Because the problem was 00:05:32.519 --> 00:05:35.379 not his career or the amount of money he had. 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:42.170 The problem was the darkness inside. Jesus meets 00:05:42.170 --> 00:05:45.829 him in that darkness and says, follow me. And 00:05:45.829 --> 00:05:48.970 Zacchaeus does. And his life is transformed. 00:05:50.310 --> 00:05:53.470 I do not know if you are in that place where 00:05:53.470 --> 00:05:58.189 money no longer satisfies. You have it all. Except 00:05:58.189 --> 00:06:02.930 for one thing that money cannot buy. And that 00:06:02.930 --> 00:06:08.750 is peace. That peace that you are missing comes. 00:06:09.399 --> 00:06:11.740 From one person known as the Prince of Peace. 00:06:11.980 --> 00:06:14.620 The light of the world. And his name is Jesus. 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:22.519 There was another man. That was religious. He 00:06:22.519 --> 00:06:26.399 was so devoted to his religion. That he knew 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:31.579 so much. Yet he was missing the very center. 00:06:32.060 --> 00:06:35.339 Of what he should have known. He did not know 00:06:35.339 --> 00:06:38.980 Jesus. In fact, he thought that Jesus was a fake. 00:06:39.199 --> 00:06:44.100 And therefore, his mission was to kill all these 00:06:44.100 --> 00:06:46.519 new Christians that were popping out in all of 00:06:46.519 --> 00:06:50.740 these places. Because he thought that by persecuting 00:06:50.740 --> 00:06:54.339 these people, he was serving God. Until one day, 00:06:54.439 --> 00:06:58.800 Jesus appears to him and invites him to follow 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:02.879 him. Who was this person? His name was Saul. 00:07:03.389 --> 00:07:06.110 And he became known eventually as the Apostle 00:07:06.110 --> 00:07:10.750 Paul, a follower of Jesus, one who went throughout 00:07:10.750 --> 00:07:14.329 the world proclaiming the good news that the 00:07:14.329 --> 00:07:18.689 light of the world had come. He has struggled 00:07:18.689 --> 00:07:22.810 with so much anger in his life and no religion 00:07:22.810 --> 00:07:26.629 could touch that place in his heart. Only Jesus, 00:07:26.829 --> 00:07:29.529 the light of the world, could reach that darkness. 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:33.439 And I do not know if you are in a place where 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:35.839 you have been following the religion of your 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:39.339 ancestors, the religion of your parents, and 00:07:39.339 --> 00:07:43.959 yet you know that there's no peace. And now you're 00:07:43.959 --> 00:07:46.720 in a place where you have to decide whether you 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:50.699 are going to explore the light of the world and 00:07:50.699 --> 00:07:54.519 start learning more about this Jesus or remain 00:07:54.519 --> 00:07:58.439 stuck in a place where you have religion but 00:07:58.439 --> 00:08:05.790 no peace. Opinions, but not truth. Jesus met 00:08:05.790 --> 00:08:09.990 all of these people, wherever they were at, in 00:08:09.990 --> 00:08:13.610 their darkness, and said, come, follow me. And 00:08:13.610 --> 00:08:18.550 they did. Now, I would like to fast forward a 00:08:18.550 --> 00:08:22.870 few centuries. Because these words that Jesus 00:08:22.870 --> 00:08:26.069 told the people of his time are the very same 00:08:26.069 --> 00:08:29.949 words that he's telling you and me today. He 00:08:29.949 --> 00:08:33.990 is not inviting you to just believe in him. He 00:08:33.990 --> 00:08:38.769 is inviting you to follow him. Because it is 00:08:38.769 --> 00:08:41.970 in following him that the light of the world 00:08:41.970 --> 00:08:49.250 starts shining in you. If you follow me, you 00:08:49.250 --> 00:08:52.669 won't have to walk in darkness. Because you will 00:08:52.669 --> 00:09:00.019 have the light that leads to life. So I would 00:09:00.019 --> 00:09:04.159 like to invite you to look at a different location. 00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:09.620 This time, look inside of you. What do you see? 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:17.860 Light or darkness? What do you see? Darkness 00:09:17.860 --> 00:09:21.580 comes in lots of different shapes, lots of different 00:09:21.580 --> 00:09:25.460 experiences. But at the end, the root is the 00:09:25.460 --> 00:09:29.179 same. There are different emotions and feelings 00:09:29.179 --> 00:09:36.000 and struggles. Things like fear, guilt, anger, 00:09:36.320 --> 00:09:46.879 shame, regret, anxiety, addictions, resentfulness, 00:09:47.240 --> 00:09:52.440 broken marriages, and that nagging feeling that 00:09:52.440 --> 00:09:56.440 doesn't want to go away, that keeps telling me, 00:09:56.940 --> 00:10:01.720 That I am not good enough. Is that what you see? 00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:07.360 Does this sound familiar? Or perhaps too familiar? 00:10:09.460 --> 00:10:13.179 Because if this is what you see. Jesus is saying 00:10:13.179 --> 00:10:16.019 you do not have to live in darkness anymore. 00:10:16.539 --> 00:10:21.600 You can indeed have peace. Because that is what 00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:27.289 he came to give you. So what we pray for you 00:10:27.289 --> 00:10:32.950 today. Is that you will make a decision. To invite 00:10:32.950 --> 00:10:36.509 the light of the world. To meet you in your darkness. 00:10:36.610 --> 00:10:39.870 And take over your life. So that now you can 00:10:39.870 --> 00:10:44.909 follow him. Because it is in following him. That 00:10:44.909 --> 00:10:48.870 the light that your soul needs. Will be found. 00:10:53.309 --> 00:10:58.620 I would like to ask you. A question. This is 00:10:58.620 --> 00:11:02.360 very personal. But I want you to think about 00:11:02.360 --> 00:11:11.100 the answer. Do you need the light of the world 00:11:11.100 --> 00:11:18.919 to shine in your life? Do you? Because if you 00:11:18.919 --> 00:11:21.519 are here today and you do not know who Jesus 00:11:21.519 --> 00:11:26.309 is, you are not following him. then we would 00:11:26.309 --> 00:11:30.230 like to invite you to meet with us downstairs. 00:11:30.409 --> 00:11:33.090 We have people that have been preparing to meet 00:11:33.090 --> 00:11:36.230 with you. If you want to learn more about how 00:11:36.230 --> 00:11:39.090 to have a relationship with God, what does it 00:11:39.090 --> 00:11:42.909 mean to follow Jesus? There are some signs downstairs 00:11:42.909 --> 00:11:46.389 with red that says, do you want to know more 00:11:46.389 --> 00:11:49.389 about Jesus? There's a room on the first floor 00:11:49.389 --> 00:11:52.799 right there waiting for you. If you want to learn 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:55.679 more about this, don't leave right away. Stay. 00:11:56.600 --> 00:12:01.080 Because this might be the day that you encounter 00:12:01.080 --> 00:12:04.720 the light of the world to meet you in your darkness. 00:12:06.679 --> 00:12:08.940 Now, if you say, Pastor Pablo, I would love to 00:12:08.940 --> 00:12:11.720 stay, but I'm kind of in a hurry. I'm not here 00:12:11.720 --> 00:12:17.019 to stay for long. No problem. What I would like 00:12:17.019 --> 00:12:22.720 to invite you to do is to read. the Bible, especially 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:26.940 the Gospel of John, so that you can get to know 00:12:26.940 --> 00:12:31.899 who Jesus is. Because as you read who he is and 00:12:31.899 --> 00:12:36.279 what he taught, it will start meeting you at 00:12:36.279 --> 00:12:39.379 the heart level. And if you don't have a Bible, 00:12:39.559 --> 00:12:44.679 it doesn't matter. You can go to Bible .com and 00:12:44.679 --> 00:12:47.639 you will be able to access the Bible online or 00:12:47.639 --> 00:12:51.519 access it in your very phone. And you will take 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:55.220 it anywhere you go. And you can meet the words 00:12:55.220 --> 00:12:58.059 of the light of the world to meet you wherever 00:12:58.059 --> 00:13:03.500 you are. I know. I know not everybody reads. 00:13:03.860 --> 00:13:06.820 You may say, Pastor Pablo, I just don't read 00:13:06.820 --> 00:13:09.159 that much. So even if I had it in my phone, it 00:13:09.159 --> 00:13:15.899 won't work. Well, in that case, no problem. Because 00:13:15.899 --> 00:13:20.710 there's a... a group of people that came together 00:13:20.710 --> 00:13:22.950 and said, we want to tell the story of Jesus 00:13:22.950 --> 00:13:25.570 so that people get to understand who Jesus was. 00:13:25.870 --> 00:13:29.029 And granted, it wasn't word by word from the 00:13:29.029 --> 00:13:32.409 Bible, but it was a very good picture of understanding 00:13:32.409 --> 00:13:36.730 what Jesus taught and who he is. And that series 00:13:36.730 --> 00:13:40.350 is called The Chosen. You can go to YouTube, 00:13:40.490 --> 00:13:45.529 type The Chosen, and now get hooked. Because 00:13:45.529 --> 00:13:47.870 I think they have four seasons or five or something 00:13:47.870 --> 00:13:50.909 like that. If you've never seen this and you 00:13:50.909 --> 00:13:55.210 do not know who Jesus is, this is a good place 00:13:55.210 --> 00:13:59.330 to get introduced. Because once you meet him, 00:13:59.490 --> 00:14:03.029 now you will want to read that which we're saying 00:14:03.029 --> 00:14:06.850 you cannot read. Now if you say, well, Pastor 00:14:06.850 --> 00:14:09.850 Pablo, I just don't have time to read these things. 00:14:10.009 --> 00:14:12.629 I don't have time to watch any YouTube videos. 00:14:13.149 --> 00:14:17.419 Listen. If you live in Thailand, if you live 00:14:17.419 --> 00:14:21.860 in Bangkok, forget Bible .com, forget YouTube, 00:14:21.960 --> 00:14:29.360 you have ECB. And here we are committed to walking 00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:32.120 with you in your journey because we want you 00:14:32.120 --> 00:14:42.220 to experience the peace of God. You do not need 00:14:42.220 --> 00:14:47.730 to be broken. You do not need to be lost. You 00:14:47.730 --> 00:14:52.129 do not need to be in darkness. There is life. 00:14:52.330 --> 00:14:57.730 There is light. There is peace. And what you 00:14:57.730 --> 00:15:00.269 will find here. Is a community of people from 00:15:00.269 --> 00:15:04.870 all over the world. People that have met. The 00:15:04.870 --> 00:15:08.210 light of the world. Who are following him. And 00:15:08.210 --> 00:15:11.429 people who were where you are today. So you will 00:15:11.429 --> 00:15:15.080 learn from each other. A place. of a genuine 00:15:15.080 --> 00:15:20.100 following with all of its messiness. We meet 00:15:20.100 --> 00:15:23.519 on Sunday mornings at 9 a .m. and at 11 a .m. 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:28.440 So if you want to follow Jesus, if you want to 00:15:28.440 --> 00:15:31.220 meet the light of the world, if you want the 00:15:31.220 --> 00:15:33.139 light of the world to shine in your darkness, 00:15:33.259 --> 00:15:39.519 join us in the journey of following Jesus. Take 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:42.519 this moment to thank the Lord. The light of the 00:15:42.519 --> 00:15:46.529 world has come. And Lord Jesus, as we celebrate 00:15:46.529 --> 00:15:55.950 you, we light this candle with gratitude. Because 00:15:55.950 --> 00:16:02.570 your light has reached my darkness, forgiven 00:16:02.570 --> 00:16:13.610 forever in your presence. Your light. My light. 00:16:16.049 --> 00:16:49.059 Thank you, Jesus. All is calm, all is bright, 00:16:50.000 --> 00:17:01.659 round yon virgin mother and child, holy infant 00:17:01.659 --> 00:20:21.319 so tender. Beautiful. Do you remember what it 00:20:21.319 --> 00:20:25.549 was like? When you were in darkness? When you 00:20:25.549 --> 00:20:30.769 did not know Jesus? Do you remember what it was 00:20:30.769 --> 00:20:38.069 like to be lost? Lost no more. Thank you, Jesus. 00:20:38.869 --> 00:20:43.309 We honor you for what you have done. Light of 00:20:43.309 --> 00:20:46.549 the world has come into a darkness. And today 00:20:46.549 --> 00:20:50.269 we celebrate you. And we say happy birthday. 00:20:52.039 --> 00:20:57.599 We are so glad you came. We love you, Lord. We 00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:17.230 pray in Jesus' name. Amen. we welcome you to 00:21:17.230 --> 00:21:21.309 engage by sending us an email to office at ecb 00:21:21.309 --> 00:21:26.009 .asia. If God is calling you to support our ministries, 00:21:26.049 --> 00:21:28.730 you will find giving options on our website. 00:21:29.549 --> 00:21:32.970 And remember to join us next week. God bless 00:21:32.970 --> 00:21:33.210 you.