WEBVTT 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:14.240 Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:16.519 an international church in Bangkok, Thailand, 00:00:16.699 --> 00:00:19.739 with dozens of nationalities worshiping together. 00:00:20.059 --> 00:00:22.920 We invite you to connect with us from wherever 00:00:22.920 --> 00:00:27.140 you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our 00:00:27.140 --> 00:00:31.000 mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:41.630 by this week's sermon. As a space that is very 00:00:41.630 --> 00:00:47.590 intimate and very close as if we are sitting 00:00:47.590 --> 00:00:51.189 across each other sharing a cup of coffee. And 00:00:51.189 --> 00:00:53.710 we are having a conversation about, so how are 00:00:53.710 --> 00:00:56.070 you doing? How was your summer? What do you do? 00:00:56.950 --> 00:01:00.009 What is the Lord teaching you? Where are you 00:01:00.009 --> 00:01:04.629 at? I want to take this time to share some reflections. 00:01:05.769 --> 00:01:07.810 As we're walking with the Lord in this season, 00:01:07.890 --> 00:01:11.370 especially as we're coming out of this stage 00:01:11.370 --> 00:01:13.430 of traveling and all the things that happen. 00:01:14.890 --> 00:01:17.209 And it doesn't matter whether you don't drink 00:01:17.209 --> 00:01:20.189 coffee. That's okay. You can pick another drink 00:01:20.189 --> 00:01:23.189 if you want. But my cup is going to be dark, 00:01:23.349 --> 00:01:31.689 strong coffee, no sugar. And as we reflect, today 00:01:31.689 --> 00:01:34.700 what I want... you to get and to remember is 00:01:34.700 --> 00:01:40.359 simply this. Don't lose your perspective. And 00:01:40.359 --> 00:01:47.319 what do I mean by perspective? See, during this 00:01:47.319 --> 00:01:55.079 time, we went to the US, the state of Texas, 00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:58.939 we were there, and then we went to Kansas for 00:01:58.939 --> 00:02:02.769 the sole purpose of leading the burial and the 00:02:02.769 --> 00:02:05.290 memorial service for my mother -in -law, who 00:02:05.290 --> 00:02:09.229 passed away in April, 95 years of age, widow, 00:02:09.610 --> 00:02:14.370 former missionary here in Thailand. Then we moved 00:02:14.370 --> 00:02:19.969 to Guatemala for maybe 10 days or so to spend 00:02:19.969 --> 00:02:22.110 time with my parents, whom I hadn't seen for 00:02:22.110 --> 00:02:25.509 over two years, to celebrate the 60th anniversary. 00:02:26.210 --> 00:02:33.020 Who would have imagined that? And then we came 00:02:33.020 --> 00:02:36.379 back to Thailand for one day and then we flew 00:02:36.379 --> 00:02:40.699 to England to spend time in London and Oxford 00:02:40.699 --> 00:02:44.960 with the ACB team that took the trip with our 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:49.719 class on apologetics crossroads. And then we 00:02:49.719 --> 00:02:53.599 just came back this week. It's like very intense 00:02:53.599 --> 00:02:59.349 time. And in these spaces, this idea of perspective 00:02:59.349 --> 00:03:06.189 has become more and more intense. Because we 00:03:06.189 --> 00:03:10.990 can follow God and lose our perspective and then 00:03:10.990 --> 00:03:13.689 everything becomes misaligned. But when we follow 00:03:13.689 --> 00:03:16.310 Christ and we follow him with the right perspective, 00:03:16.409 --> 00:03:20.030 everything changes. And it is very important. 00:03:21.039 --> 00:03:23.460 That as we are walking with the Lord, we do not 00:03:23.460 --> 00:03:27.439 lose the right perspective. Let me put it this 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:31.199 way. I'm going to show you three pictures. And 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:33.979 I want you to pick the one you identify with 00:03:33.979 --> 00:03:40.120 the most. No particular reason. Just pick one. 00:03:42.180 --> 00:03:48.599 Done? Okay. So if I were to ask the prophet Isaiah. 00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:53.879 Pick one of these three. Which one do you identify 00:03:53.879 --> 00:03:57.680 the most with? He will pick this one. He's like, 00:03:57.740 --> 00:04:03.120 what? Grass? I didn't imagine that. What are 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:06.979 you, like, spiky hair or something? Why grass? 00:04:07.740 --> 00:04:13.439 He says, oh, let me tell you why. All people 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:20.050 are like grass, says the prophet. Faithfulness 00:04:20.050 --> 00:04:24.649 is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers 00:04:24.649 --> 00:04:28.810 and the flowers fall because the breath of the 00:04:28.810 --> 00:04:32.689 Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 00:04:33.430 --> 00:04:37.850 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the 00:04:37.850 --> 00:04:45.850 word of our God endures forever. Pablo, you're 00:04:45.850 --> 00:04:50.759 grass. You are here today, you will be gone tomorrow. 00:04:52.060 --> 00:04:57.740 Don't forget that. Don't forget that you are 00:04:57.740 --> 00:05:02.319 just passing by and that this life is not it. 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:08.939 This is part of the experience of being a human. 00:05:09.620 --> 00:05:15.040 But life is more than this. And one day, the 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:24.860 grave is coming. And I started the trip with 00:05:24.860 --> 00:05:28.879 the realization that my mother -in -law is gone, 00:05:29.139 --> 00:05:33.800 Charlotte. And to see, realize that now she's 00:05:33.800 --> 00:05:38.079 in this thing and we're going to bury her and 00:05:38.079 --> 00:05:41.420 enter into her home and she's not there anymore 00:05:41.420 --> 00:05:47.480 and the absence being so present. And then we 00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:50.220 conclude the trip going to... England and we 00:05:50.220 --> 00:05:54.959 visited a couple of places and we started in 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:57.899 London. We went to the British Library to talk 00:05:57.899 --> 00:06:02.259 about the Bible and the text. And we went to 00:06:02.259 --> 00:06:04.759 the British Museum and we talked about the history 00:06:04.759 --> 00:06:08.279 and archaeology and all of that. And we visited 00:06:08.279 --> 00:06:10.959 a couple of churches and then we went to Oxford 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:18.040 to also talk about C .S. Lewis and and his life, 00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:20.279 and understand all of that stuff. And we went 00:06:20.279 --> 00:06:23.879 to Darwin's home in London to talk about Darwinian 00:06:23.879 --> 00:06:26.839 evolution. And we had lectures with scientists 00:06:26.839 --> 00:06:30.920 on the fallacies of evolution based on science. 00:06:31.100 --> 00:06:36.180 And it was really a very intense trip. But there's 00:06:36.180 --> 00:06:39.040 something very unique about visiting England 00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:42.660 and going to the Church of England or the Anglican 00:06:42.660 --> 00:06:46.439 churches. And that is something that you do not 00:06:46.439 --> 00:06:49.199 see here. If you have been shaped in your Christian 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:52.100 experience by the average evangelical experience, 00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:54.560 which is kind of like coming to ECB today to 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:58.519 worship, you see people, then you go home. It's 00:06:58.519 --> 00:07:01.959 not like that. Let me show you this picture. 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:08.180 What do you see? Well, you see a cemetery, right? 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:11.800 You see a graveyard. Well, this is the entrance 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:17.899 to the church. Can you imagine driving here into 00:07:17.899 --> 00:07:20.019 ECB and the first thing you see is like all these 00:07:20.019 --> 00:07:23.980 dead people places, you know. And then you walk 00:07:23.980 --> 00:07:27.459 into the church to worship. It's like death is 00:07:27.459 --> 00:07:31.959 right there on your face. And this place is not 00:07:31.959 --> 00:07:34.819 just any church. This is the church that C .S. 00:07:34.819 --> 00:07:37.139 Lewis attended and this is the place where he 00:07:37.139 --> 00:07:42.120 is buried. A little bit more about that later 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:48.439 today. We also visited Christ Church College 00:07:48.439 --> 00:07:54.420 and Christ Church Chapel. And as you came there, 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:58.639 it's the same thing. Same thing. It's that you 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:02.480 have people that have died. Some of them are 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:05.240 buried inside. And some others are not buried 00:08:05.240 --> 00:08:10.360 inside, but there's these places. dedicated for 00:08:10.360 --> 00:08:12.779 them to honor their lives because they studied 00:08:12.779 --> 00:08:15.540 there or they contributed to society in a meaningful 00:08:15.540 --> 00:08:20.339 way. And two, very meaningful people there, or 00:08:20.339 --> 00:08:24.720 actually I should say three, famous philosopher 00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:29.779 John Locke. That's right here. Right there. Imagine 00:08:29.779 --> 00:08:31.959 you are sitting on your chair and you are stepping 00:08:31.959 --> 00:08:36.279 on the tomb of somebody or a plaque of somebody 00:08:36.279 --> 00:08:39.720 or something that reminds you that, They lived 00:08:39.720 --> 00:08:43.419 here and now they're dead. And the other one 00:08:43.419 --> 00:08:46.840 was John Wesley and Charles Wesley. John Wesley 00:08:46.840 --> 00:08:49.440 was the founder of the Methodist Church. That's 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:55.340 where he studied. And once again, inside the 00:08:55.340 --> 00:08:59.259 church, you have all these places that are reminding 00:08:59.259 --> 00:09:04.960 you, you are just grass. You are here today and 00:09:04.960 --> 00:09:10.470 gone tomorrow. And when Jesus talked about that, 00:09:10.649 --> 00:09:14.309 he asked a very poignant question to all of us. 00:09:14.350 --> 00:09:18.250 And he says, look, if any of you wants to be 00:09:18.250 --> 00:09:22.309 my follower, you must give up your own way, take 00:09:22.309 --> 00:09:25.610 up your cross and follow me. If you try to hang 00:09:25.610 --> 00:09:28.049 on to your life, you will lose it. But if you 00:09:28.049 --> 00:09:30.549 give up your life for my sake, you will save 00:09:30.549 --> 00:09:36.169 it. And then he says, really, think about it. 00:09:36.509 --> 00:09:39.799 What do you benefit? If you gain the whole world, 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:46.620 but you lose your own soul. In fact, is anything 00:09:46.620 --> 00:09:55.200 worth more than your soul? And he gets to the 00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:59.960 core to remind us that we are these spiritual 00:09:59.960 --> 00:10:03.799 beings. We have these bodies that are part of 00:10:03.799 --> 00:10:06.659 being a human, but one day this body will be 00:10:06.659 --> 00:10:09.360 in the grave, will become dust, and our soul 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:18.299 will continue. And then we'll just await our 00:10:18.299 --> 00:10:20.820 glorification of our bodies and the final resurrection. 00:10:20.940 --> 00:10:23.639 This is our future. This is what's going to happen, 00:10:23.679 --> 00:10:25.320 and that's why Jesus says at the end of this 00:10:25.320 --> 00:10:28.580 section, For the Son of Man will come with his 00:10:28.580 --> 00:10:31.620 angels in the glory of his Father and will judge 00:10:31.620 --> 00:10:37.080 all people according to their deeds. So don't 00:10:37.080 --> 00:10:39.299 lose your perspective. If you are going to follow 00:10:39.299 --> 00:10:42.960 me, the only way to follow me well is by having 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:48.679 eternal perspective. Remember that you are grass, 00:10:48.940 --> 00:10:52.039 that you are here today, gone tomorrow, and because 00:10:52.039 --> 00:10:55.100 that's the reality, make sure that you are living. 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:59.000 With eternal perspective. And what does this 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:03.840 look like is very specific. What does it look 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:06.919 like to follow Jesus with eternal perspective? 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:12.519 First thing is that to follow Jesus with eternal 00:11:12.519 --> 00:11:17.299 perspective is a life that is characterized by 00:11:17.299 --> 00:11:21.440 prioritizing God. God is the highest priority, 00:11:21.700 --> 00:11:25.779 is the most important thing. And there's such 00:11:25.779 --> 00:11:29.940 an awareness that we belong to him and that we 00:11:29.940 --> 00:11:33.000 are accountable to him that everything we do, 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:38.480 even the most private spaces and the deepest 00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:41.679 motives of our heart that only you are aware 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:48.100 of are always under that awareness. And this 00:11:48.100 --> 00:11:52.960 is very important because as we are living life, 00:11:54.029 --> 00:11:56.750 We are so busy with everything and all the things 00:11:56.750 --> 00:12:01.909 that we have to do. But when we forget that this 00:12:01.909 --> 00:12:05.669 is temporary, then we think that this life is 00:12:05.669 --> 00:12:09.409 all there is. And therefore, it matters more 00:12:09.409 --> 00:12:13.889 than it really does. And when we start having 00:12:13.889 --> 00:12:16.870 that wrong perspective, we become fearful and 00:12:16.870 --> 00:12:19.529 controlling. And when we become controlling, 00:12:19.649 --> 00:12:26.799 we have really lost our perspective. There was 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:30.919 a guy that was very famous. He had succeeded 00:12:30.919 --> 00:12:33.480 in his life. He had all the money he could have. 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:36.440 He had all the women that he could ever have. 00:12:36.740 --> 00:12:39.919 He had all the fame he could ever dream of. He 00:12:39.919 --> 00:12:43.620 had all the power to do everything he wanted. 00:12:44.940 --> 00:12:53.840 You know his name? Solomon. King Solomon. And 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:56.539 at the end of his life, after he pursued every 00:12:56.539 --> 00:12:59.179 single thing he could pursue in his life, he 00:12:59.179 --> 00:13:02.519 wrote this book, Ecclesiastes, which is in the 00:13:02.519 --> 00:13:06.080 Old Testament. And at the very end of the book, 00:13:06.120 --> 00:13:09.940 after he has said everything, he says, you know 00:13:09.940 --> 00:13:15.580 what I realize? This is what matters most. Now 00:13:15.580 --> 00:13:18.440 all has been heard. I've written everything already, 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:22.299 so let me conclude like this. Here is the conclusion 00:13:22.299 --> 00:13:29.980 of the matter. Fear God and keep his commandments 00:13:29.980 --> 00:13:36.600 for this is the duty of all mankind. Fear the 00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:41.460 Lord and obey him. Simple. Why? Well, because 00:13:41.460 --> 00:13:44.700 you are accountable to him and one day you will 00:13:44.700 --> 00:13:50.139 give an account to him. Jesus said it. And Solomon, 00:13:50.259 --> 00:13:53.139 after he had done all the things he did, which 00:13:53.139 --> 00:13:57.179 some of them were not good, now he realizes, 00:13:57.240 --> 00:14:01.480 oops, now that I've tasted this and that and 00:14:01.480 --> 00:14:05.340 this and that, I realize that all of that is 00:14:05.340 --> 00:14:08.740 worthless. Because the only thing that matters 00:14:08.740 --> 00:14:15.149 most is God. And he says at the end, for God 00:14:15.149 --> 00:14:17.649 will bring every deed into judgment, including 00:14:17.649 --> 00:14:21.629 every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. 00:14:26.750 --> 00:14:30.509 As we are following the Lord, I realize in this 00:14:30.509 --> 00:14:40.110 time of reflection that what matters most is 00:14:40.110 --> 00:14:49.659 God. And us being honest to Him. Because when 00:14:49.659 --> 00:14:53.220 we're honest to Him, and that flows in how we 00:14:53.220 --> 00:14:55.840 follow the Lord and the things we do, things 00:14:55.840 --> 00:15:00.539 are different. The deepest motives of the heart 00:15:00.539 --> 00:15:05.000 are brought to the light. Because one day truth, 00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:11.740 truth will reign. And one day you will be seen 00:15:11.740 --> 00:15:14.259 for what you truly were and not for what you 00:15:14.259 --> 00:15:20.419 pretended to be. So as we serve the Lord together 00:15:20.419 --> 00:15:22.519 and as we follow him together, this matters. 00:15:24.940 --> 00:15:27.679 If I had my phone here with you and we were across 00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:29.519 the table from each other, I would be showing 00:15:29.519 --> 00:15:31.159 you the pictures, you know. Look at this one 00:15:31.159 --> 00:15:32.940 and you will show me some and I'll show you another 00:15:32.940 --> 00:15:36.159 one. Well, I cannot show you my phone, but I 00:15:36.159 --> 00:15:38.059 can show you better than the phone, the screen 00:15:38.059 --> 00:15:45.740 here. When we arrived to the town of Chanute, 00:15:45.879 --> 00:15:48.440 which is the town in Kansas where my in -laws 00:15:48.440 --> 00:15:53.299 came from, that's where they are buried. In order 00:15:53.299 --> 00:15:57.299 to do the burial service, we first met at a church, 00:15:57.399 --> 00:16:00.220 a small church that was right there in the town, 00:16:00.340 --> 00:16:03.620 and they opened their place for us to be able 00:16:03.620 --> 00:16:07.299 to host all the guests and the family and the 00:16:07.299 --> 00:16:10.929 friends that gathered. And as I was walking in 00:16:10.929 --> 00:16:13.990 the building, I noticed the meeting room, the 00:16:13.990 --> 00:16:18.070 boardroom, where the elders or leaders of the 00:16:18.070 --> 00:16:22.049 church would meet. And I saw something that was 00:16:22.049 --> 00:16:24.230 written on the wall, and I thought, I need to 00:16:24.230 --> 00:16:28.610 take a picture of this. Because it captures this 00:16:28.610 --> 00:16:34.110 in essence. Now, this is very informal English 00:16:34.110 --> 00:16:40.379 that Americans can understand. But it says, if 00:16:40.379 --> 00:16:45.559 it ain't kingdom, it ain't worth it. If this 00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:48.919 is not for God, it's not worth it. If it's not 00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:52.539 born from him and for him, you're wasting your 00:16:52.539 --> 00:16:58.600 time. Why waste your time in pursuing things 00:16:58.600 --> 00:17:03.700 that you know God is not in? Why try to push 00:17:03.700 --> 00:17:10.549 your agenda instead of serving God's? Don't lose 00:17:10.549 --> 00:17:16.690 your perspective. If you are single, if you are 00:17:16.690 --> 00:17:19.849 young, the world is telling you that you need 00:17:19.849 --> 00:17:23.589 to live for you to be happy. Pursue who you truly 00:17:23.589 --> 00:17:26.730 are. Follow your feelings. Follow your heart. 00:17:27.029 --> 00:17:30.670 And God says, no, that's not true. Do not follow 00:17:30.670 --> 00:17:33.230 your feelings. Do not follow your heart because 00:17:33.230 --> 00:17:35.750 you are a sinner and you have a sinful heart. 00:17:36.119 --> 00:17:38.039 And things that you desire that are contrary 00:17:38.039 --> 00:17:40.240 to me are not going to lead you to a good place. 00:17:40.359 --> 00:17:46.480 Do not buy the lie. Do not lose your perspective. 00:17:47.220 --> 00:17:50.799 If it's not for me or from me, you're going to 00:17:50.799 --> 00:18:00.359 waste your time. Don't go that route. Have you 00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:03.200 lost your perspective? And suddenly God is no 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:13.539 longer the priority? But you are? Yeah, it gets 00:18:13.539 --> 00:18:17.960 personal, doesn't it? These are things that the 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:20.579 Lord uses to remind you of what is foundational. 00:18:23.160 --> 00:18:26.059 So yeah, if we're going to follow Jesus with 00:18:26.059 --> 00:18:29.700 eternal perspective, we must follow him by making 00:18:29.700 --> 00:18:32.819 God and the awareness of God in every space of 00:18:32.819 --> 00:18:37.730 our lives the priority. And if God is a priority, 00:18:38.049 --> 00:18:42.230 the second thing follows. Is that we are following 00:18:42.230 --> 00:18:46.430 God with eternal perspective. Then we prioritize 00:18:46.430 --> 00:18:52.029 people. And I'll tell you why. If my soul matters 00:18:52.029 --> 00:18:56.490 so much to God. Hey, those people are also a 00:18:56.490 --> 00:18:59.470 soul. And they matter to God that much too. In 00:18:59.470 --> 00:19:02.009 fact, God loves them so much that he sent Jesus 00:19:02.009 --> 00:19:05.819 to die for them. And if I love God so much, then 00:19:05.819 --> 00:19:08.380 I'm going to love people too because he loves 00:19:08.380 --> 00:19:11.940 them. And that love and that care for people 00:19:11.940 --> 00:19:16.700 comes not from them being lovable or from me 00:19:16.700 --> 00:19:19.700 being a nice person. It comes from this connection 00:19:19.700 --> 00:19:23.460 with God where I start loving what God loves 00:19:23.460 --> 00:19:32.140 because I love God first. And it flows. And this. 00:19:33.309 --> 00:19:36.349 Means that if we are serving God. We are living 00:19:36.349 --> 00:19:38.970 our lives. Following God with eternal perspective. 00:19:39.309 --> 00:19:42.430 The way that our lives are going to be characterized. 00:19:43.529 --> 00:19:53.089 As is by being people who love people. Let me 00:19:53.089 --> 00:19:57.470 show you another picture. This is my in -laws. 00:19:57.769 --> 00:20:03.400 Dick and Charlotte Worley. Right now. They're 00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:10.319 with the Lord. And many years ago, the Lord led 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:12.740 them here to Thailand to work as missionaries 00:20:12.740 --> 00:20:14.839 here. They work with an organization called American 00:20:14.839 --> 00:20:18.980 Baptists. They were part of a church called Matrachet 00:20:18.980 --> 00:20:22.980 Baptist Church here in Bangkok. And they started 00:20:22.980 --> 00:20:26.960 a school here in Thailand called Samuk Christian 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:30.240 Academy. And they invested decades of their lives 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:35.789 for that, the Thais and loving the Thai people. 00:20:38.210 --> 00:20:41.930 And I noticed a couple of things now when we 00:20:41.930 --> 00:20:45.410 did the funeral and the memorial. In those moments, 00:20:45.430 --> 00:20:48.049 we always give people the opportunity to share, 00:20:48.150 --> 00:20:52.390 share a memory, share a word of encouragement, 00:20:52.450 --> 00:20:56.390 anything. And you know what I've noticed in all 00:20:56.390 --> 00:20:59.849 the funerals that I've led in my pastoral ministry? 00:21:00.670 --> 00:21:03.789 I never heard somebody say something like, oh, 00:21:03.970 --> 00:21:08.430 yeah, she dressed so nicely. Or, oh, he had a 00:21:08.430 --> 00:21:16.470 nice car. Their house was beautiful. No one ever 00:21:16.470 --> 00:21:19.230 says things like that at a funeral. You know 00:21:19.230 --> 00:21:24.150 what they say? They say things like, you know 00:21:24.150 --> 00:21:28.950 what? One time I needed help, and he showed up 00:21:28.950 --> 00:21:33.250 to help me. Oh, you know, one time I was going 00:21:33.250 --> 00:21:35.789 through some struggles and no one really cared, 00:21:35.849 --> 00:21:40.269 but she listened to me. And she changed her plans 00:21:40.269 --> 00:21:45.029 to make me a priority. You know what people say? 00:21:45.910 --> 00:21:52.069 People say, this person loved me. And that is 00:21:52.069 --> 00:21:55.269 what they remember. And that is what they celebrate 00:21:55.269 --> 00:22:02.930 because that is what matters most. And in 2017, 00:22:03.230 --> 00:22:05.890 when my father -in -law, Dick, was diagnosed 00:22:05.890 --> 00:22:09.089 already with cancer, they were coming here to 00:22:09.089 --> 00:22:11.589 celebrate an anniversary with Maitre Chit. And 00:22:11.589 --> 00:22:14.890 we thought, you know what? We do not know if 00:22:14.890 --> 00:22:16.990 this is the last time we can take a trip together 00:22:16.990 --> 00:22:21.589 or not. So we decided, let's just go. So we came 00:22:21.589 --> 00:22:24.970 to Thailand in 2017. By the way, that's the first 00:22:24.970 --> 00:22:29.130 time I stopped by ECB and I came to know ECB. 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:31.920 Without realizing that God would call me several 00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:35.980 years later to lead the ministry here. But at 00:22:35.980 --> 00:22:39.180 that time, I noticed something. It was very interesting 00:22:39.180 --> 00:22:43.819 with my in -laws. Everybody just loved them. 00:22:44.680 --> 00:22:47.539 And they were just spending time with them. You 00:22:47.539 --> 00:22:53.059 could see the attitude of gratitude. And I could 00:22:53.059 --> 00:22:57.859 see it. When my mother -in -law died. Here in 00:22:57.859 --> 00:23:01.339 Thailand, they did a memorial service. It was 00:23:01.339 --> 00:23:05.440 beautiful. Even though she wasn't here, her body 00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:07.619 wasn't here, she died in the U .S. What church 00:23:07.619 --> 00:23:12.839 does that? Only a place that has been impacted 00:23:12.839 --> 00:23:17.559 by love and laughs back. It was a very meaningful 00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:23.640 time for the family. But the testimonies were 00:23:23.640 --> 00:23:29.890 all about this. They loved me. When I was a kid, 00:23:30.049 --> 00:23:34.089 they loved me. She was like a mother to me. He 00:23:34.089 --> 00:23:40.250 was like a father to me. They loved me. And what 00:23:40.250 --> 00:23:41.890 is interesting is that the Bible talks about 00:23:41.890 --> 00:23:46.970 this very clearly. In fact, when the Bible is 00:23:46.970 --> 00:23:50.690 going to quote Prophet Isaiah, it's going to 00:23:50.690 --> 00:23:54.309 quote Isaiah, you know, this imagery of being 00:23:54.309 --> 00:23:57.680 grass. He's going to, the Apostle Peter is going 00:23:57.680 --> 00:24:00.380 to quote this in the context of this. It's like, 00:24:00.500 --> 00:24:03.539 look, remember you are grass, so go and love 00:24:03.539 --> 00:24:07.000 people. Remember you are here temporarily, so 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:10.380 people matter most. He's going to say that. And 00:24:10.380 --> 00:24:13.940 this is how he says it. Now that you have been 00:24:13.940 --> 00:24:17.960 purified yourselves by obeying the truth, so 00:24:17.960 --> 00:24:20.720 that you have sincere love for each other, and 00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:25.119 love one another deeply from the heart. For you 00:24:25.119 --> 00:24:29.000 have been born again. Not of perishable seed 00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:31.880 but of imperishable. Through the living and enduring 00:24:31.880 --> 00:24:38.480 word of God. Love people because now you have 00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:42.019 a new nature in you. The love that you need is 00:24:42.019 --> 00:24:46.440 not born from you. It's born in God through you. 00:24:46.970 --> 00:24:49.390 Because now that you are following Christ, if 00:24:49.390 --> 00:24:51.349 you are a follower of Jesus, he's your savior, 00:24:51.430 --> 00:24:54.130 you have the Holy Spirit in you. And now that 00:24:54.130 --> 00:24:56.890 you have the Holy Spirit in you, the fruit of 00:24:56.890 --> 00:25:05.109 the Spirit is what? Love, joy, peace, and all 00:25:05.109 --> 00:25:12.869 of these things from him. So love people deeply 00:25:12.869 --> 00:25:15.690 because you are born again. You have what it 00:25:15.690 --> 00:25:20.539 takes. And then he says this. Can you read it 00:25:20.539 --> 00:25:25.259 with me out loud? For all people are like grass. 00:25:25.619 --> 00:25:28.960 And all their glory is like the flowers of the 00:25:28.960 --> 00:25:32.240 field. The grass withers and the flowers fall. 00:25:32.539 --> 00:25:36.400 But the word of the Lord endures forever. And 00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:40.519 this is the word that was preached to you. Don't 00:25:40.519 --> 00:25:47.200 forget. You are grass. Here today. gone tomorrow. 00:25:47.700 --> 00:25:55.000 Therefore, love people. And you know, for those 00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:56.819 of us who are in leadership, this matters so 00:25:56.819 --> 00:25:59.000 much because when you are leading, whether you 00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:02.740 are leading a team or an organization, leading 00:26:02.740 --> 00:26:05.500 is about mobilizing people to accomplish certain 00:26:05.500 --> 00:26:08.279 things. So you have due dates, you have projects 00:26:08.279 --> 00:26:10.680 that need to happen, you have plans that need 00:26:10.680 --> 00:26:14.079 to be accomplished, and the emphasis can become 00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:17.140 so much in the doing that needs to happen and 00:26:17.140 --> 00:26:20.299 the numbers and the things, the next thing and 00:26:20.299 --> 00:26:26.000 then the next thing, that we forget that the 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:29.099 accomplishing is not the most important thing, 00:26:29.240 --> 00:26:33.880 but is the loving of the people that we are leading 00:26:33.880 --> 00:26:39.299 in order to accomplish the things. And if you 00:26:39.299 --> 00:26:43.410 are entrusted by God, With the gift of leadership 00:26:43.410 --> 00:26:45.990 and the position to lead people, whether it be 00:26:45.990 --> 00:26:48.250 in your company, whether it be in your ministry, 00:26:48.549 --> 00:26:53.990 whether it be at home. Remember that these people 00:26:53.990 --> 00:26:56.329 that the Lord has placed under your leadership 00:26:56.329 --> 00:27:00.809 have one primary need and that is to be loved. 00:27:02.509 --> 00:27:05.670 And if you lose your perspective, rather than 00:27:05.670 --> 00:27:08.789 loving them as you lead them, you are going to 00:27:08.789 --> 00:27:12.329 be annoyed by them as you lead them. And they're 00:27:12.329 --> 00:27:14.569 going to not feel loved, but they're going to 00:27:14.569 --> 00:27:19.789 feel your annoyance. And you have lost your perspective. 00:27:25.150 --> 00:27:31.019 So are we loving the people? Or we have lost 00:27:31.019 --> 00:27:34.400 our perspective and make things or accomplishments 00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:39.900 or goals more important. I remember a professor 00:27:39.900 --> 00:27:42.460 that would tell us, his name was Howard Hendricks 00:27:42.460 --> 00:27:45.460 at Dallas Theological Seminary. He would tell 00:27:45.460 --> 00:27:49.299 us, students, you have to remember, people don't 00:27:49.299 --> 00:27:52.940 care what you know until they know that you care. 00:27:55.799 --> 00:27:59.150 That's easy to remember, right? People don't 00:27:59.150 --> 00:28:02.170 care what you know until they know that you care. 00:28:04.670 --> 00:28:14.569 And that's it. God is my priority. Make loving 00:28:14.569 --> 00:28:20.130 people your priority. And then from that, what 00:28:20.130 --> 00:28:23.109 follows is this. If we're going to live with 00:28:23.109 --> 00:28:26.349 eternal perspective, We're going to prioritize 00:28:26.349 --> 00:28:33.349 serving God. We realize that who we are is not 00:28:33.349 --> 00:28:36.650 an accident. I'm not here just because of the 00:28:36.650 --> 00:28:39.990 will of people. I'm here because God created 00:28:39.990 --> 00:28:43.990 me. He designed me. He gave me gifts and abilities. 00:28:44.829 --> 00:28:47.589 And he didn't give me some gifts and some abilities 00:28:47.589 --> 00:28:51.210 that I don't have. And that's good. I'm good 00:28:51.210 --> 00:28:53.369 for something and I'm not good for some others. 00:28:53.869 --> 00:28:57.170 And that's fine. But God entrusted me the things 00:28:57.170 --> 00:28:59.529 that I'm good at and the passions and the gifts 00:28:59.529 --> 00:29:05.490 so that I can use them for his purposes. And 00:29:05.490 --> 00:29:08.910 therefore, if there's anything that I have that 00:29:08.910 --> 00:29:13.869 he has given me, even if it's insignificant in 00:29:13.869 --> 00:29:19.690 my eyes, is an area that God means for me to 00:29:19.690 --> 00:29:26.519 invest for his kingdom. And this was beautiful 00:29:26.519 --> 00:29:32.579 to see as we were with our group from ECB visiting 00:29:32.579 --> 00:29:35.980 Oxford and we went to C .S. Lewis' home and then 00:29:35.980 --> 00:29:41.920 we went to his church and graveyard. If you do 00:29:41.920 --> 00:29:47.599 not know who C .S. Lewis is, let me just give 00:29:47.599 --> 00:29:52.480 you a short description. He was a man who lived 00:29:52.480 --> 00:29:58.490 in England. who was an atheist. He was in the 00:29:58.490 --> 00:30:00.970 academics, he taught at Cambridge, then he taught 00:30:00.970 --> 00:30:07.089 at Oxford, at Magdalen College. And then, as 00:30:07.089 --> 00:30:11.250 an adult, he became a follower of Jesus. And 00:30:11.250 --> 00:30:13.349 the process from being an atheist to becoming 00:30:13.349 --> 00:30:16.450 a follower of Jesus was a process in which he 00:30:16.450 --> 00:30:20.549 had to wrestle with what was really true. And 00:30:20.549 --> 00:30:22.849 because he was an intellectual, a lot of his 00:30:22.849 --> 00:30:27.440 wrestling was about ideas and concepts and the 00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:31.700 logic of things. So later when he became a Christian, 00:30:31.880 --> 00:30:35.700 he started engaging with people and discussions 00:30:35.700 --> 00:30:38.019 and things. And from that, he had the opportunity 00:30:38.019 --> 00:30:42.099 to do some radio programs talking about why Christianity 00:30:42.099 --> 00:30:46.380 was a reasonable faith, why it was true. And 00:30:46.380 --> 00:30:49.279 from those programs, then he started writing 00:30:49.279 --> 00:30:51.680 and he wrote a book. called Mere Christianity, 00:30:51.980 --> 00:30:54.500 which was a summary of some of his talks. And 00:30:54.500 --> 00:30:56.759 that book became very famous because in that 00:30:56.759 --> 00:30:59.660 book, Mere Christianity, he was able to summarize 00:30:59.660 --> 00:31:02.200 common questions that people had about, well, 00:31:02.259 --> 00:31:04.279 but what about this and what about that? That 00:31:04.279 --> 00:31:06.680 doesn't make sense. And he was able to give a 00:31:06.680 --> 00:31:10.079 logical explanation for every single thing in 00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:14.420 a way that was very gifted. And not only that, 00:31:14.640 --> 00:31:20.440 he loved writing. And he had a gift for creativity, 00:31:20.519 --> 00:31:24.859 so he became a prolific writer. If you watch 00:31:24.859 --> 00:31:27.480 or your kids watch the movie, The Chronicles 00:31:27.480 --> 00:31:31.160 of Narnia, well, that's actually a series of 00:31:31.160 --> 00:31:33.640 books. And those books were written by C .S. 00:31:33.640 --> 00:31:36.559 Lewis. And they are a metaphor of Christianity. 00:31:38.480 --> 00:31:42.319 The lion that dies and gives his life for the 00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:47.299 kid, that's a metaphor for Jesus. And he's using 00:31:47.299 --> 00:31:52.599 all this creative writing as a way of portraying 00:31:52.599 --> 00:31:56.500 Christian truths. And they became famous and 00:31:56.500 --> 00:32:02.460 they became movies. But he loved writing. And 00:32:02.460 --> 00:32:05.299 we went to his house. We were able to sit at 00:32:05.299 --> 00:32:07.940 one of his desks and took pictures like C .S. 00:32:07.940 --> 00:32:10.460 Lewis, you know, with the things he smokes, you 00:32:10.460 --> 00:32:13.599 know, and all this stuff that he had. It was 00:32:13.599 --> 00:32:18.309 funny. But we learned that actually he had written 00:32:18.309 --> 00:32:21.509 so many letters that there were a whole collection. 00:32:21.509 --> 00:32:24.670 Now you can have the book published with a collection 00:32:24.670 --> 00:32:29.390 of his letters. He took time to answer people 00:32:29.390 --> 00:32:32.490 that he did not know. This is before internet, 00:32:32.710 --> 00:32:36.230 before emails. And he will write these letters 00:32:36.230 --> 00:32:39.029 and he will send them to people. And when a person 00:32:39.029 --> 00:32:42.329 receives the letter from a guy that took the 00:32:42.329 --> 00:32:46.210 time to answer, they treasure those. And they 00:32:46.210 --> 00:32:49.730 kept them. And before they even could realize, 00:32:50.109 --> 00:32:52.890 those became a collection, and then they became 00:32:52.890 --> 00:33:00.750 a book. That gift for writing. Hey, you're good 00:33:00.750 --> 00:33:04.970 at writing. Yeah, I mean, well, it's not a big 00:33:04.970 --> 00:33:08.049 thing. It's not, you know, there are other gifts 00:33:08.049 --> 00:33:10.549 that are better, but writing? What can writing 00:33:10.549 --> 00:33:14.109 do? Hey, you got a major in English. Yeah, English, 00:33:14.250 --> 00:33:18.220 but what? What could that do? Do you realize 00:33:18.220 --> 00:33:25.420 that when God gives you a gift, there's no gift 00:33:25.420 --> 00:33:32.460 that you have that is insignificant? God can 00:33:32.460 --> 00:33:36.980 use anything that you offer him and he will take 00:33:36.980 --> 00:33:40.480 it and make an impact that you could never ever 00:33:40.480 --> 00:33:46.609 imagine. But when you start realizing that everything 00:33:46.609 --> 00:33:49.490 that you are, everything that you have is for 00:33:49.490 --> 00:33:52.410 him, for his purpose, so you just start doing 00:33:52.410 --> 00:33:57.410 it. Suddenly, your life takes a whole different 00:33:57.410 --> 00:34:01.029 direction. And that's what happened to C .S. 00:34:01.029 --> 00:34:05.470 Lewis. He was just an ordinary guy. He grew up 00:34:05.470 --> 00:34:08.349 in a home where his mother died when he was a 00:34:08.349 --> 00:34:11.630 kid. He only had a brother. Then his relationship 00:34:11.630 --> 00:34:14.030 with his father was not good. It was emotionally 00:34:14.030 --> 00:34:18.130 distant. He wasn't going to school. So he was 00:34:18.130 --> 00:34:23.530 emotionally in a place that he did not connect 00:34:23.530 --> 00:34:27.130 well. And then his father died. He only had his 00:34:27.130 --> 00:34:31.050 brother. And then there's the rest of his life 00:34:31.050 --> 00:34:32.929 that happened. You can read his biography or 00:34:32.929 --> 00:34:35.909 look at the links in the study guide for this 00:34:35.909 --> 00:34:42.880 study. When we visited the church, what was very 00:34:42.880 --> 00:34:47.880 interesting is that not only were we able to 00:34:47.880 --> 00:34:50.760 see the graveyard where he is, but we were able 00:34:50.760 --> 00:34:53.400 to go inside the church. We had a time there 00:34:53.400 --> 00:34:55.860 to pray together with the team and sing together. 00:34:56.900 --> 00:35:02.760 And the people leading that time were telling 00:35:02.760 --> 00:35:06.880 us, oh, you want to sit down at the bench where 00:35:06.880 --> 00:35:10.400 C .S. Lewis used to sit? It's like, you know 00:35:10.400 --> 00:35:12.199 where he used to sit? Yeah, he used to sit here. 00:35:12.860 --> 00:35:15.440 And they have even a little plaque right there 00:35:15.440 --> 00:35:18.139 with the name C .S. Lewis. It's like, before 00:35:18.139 --> 00:35:19.860 you knew it, everybody wanted to sit there and 00:35:19.860 --> 00:35:22.739 take a picture. And they would explain to us, 00:35:22.780 --> 00:35:25.460 like, he was famous, but he didn't like people. 00:35:25.659 --> 00:35:28.280 Like, he didn't like that. He was just a simple 00:35:28.280 --> 00:35:30.760 guy, so he would sit here, because there's this 00:35:30.760 --> 00:35:33.800 pillar right here, so it would cover him from 00:35:33.800 --> 00:35:36.159 seeing people. And he would only see the preacher, 00:35:36.300 --> 00:35:41.940 like that. He was an introvert. And he liked 00:35:41.940 --> 00:35:46.000 it like that. We visited his home that we were 00:35:46.000 --> 00:35:48.179 able now to do the tour to understand better 00:35:48.179 --> 00:35:51.659 his life and everything. And that was my third 00:35:51.659 --> 00:35:55.380 time for me doing that tour and being in Oxford. 00:35:55.440 --> 00:35:58.420 But all of those moments are such a good reminder. 00:36:00.239 --> 00:36:02.559 Sometimes you see people that have succeeded 00:36:02.559 --> 00:36:05.480 or God has used tremendously and you think of 00:36:05.480 --> 00:36:08.619 them as if they are like somewhere there. And 00:36:08.619 --> 00:36:12.539 in reality, they were just normal people with 00:36:12.539 --> 00:36:16.420 simple gifts that they made available for God. 00:36:16.840 --> 00:36:19.739 And God used them beyond what they could ever 00:36:19.739 --> 00:36:23.880 imagine or do on their own. And that's what you 00:36:23.880 --> 00:36:27.440 see here in this picture. You come out of the 00:36:27.440 --> 00:36:30.420 church, right there on the yard, the cemetery. 00:36:31.380 --> 00:36:33.599 And there's his graveyard. And we're able to 00:36:33.599 --> 00:36:36.800 stand around with our team as we're reflected. 00:36:37.550 --> 00:36:41.570 On his life. And then we thank God together for 00:36:41.570 --> 00:36:46.409 his life. You know what the Bible says about 00:36:46.409 --> 00:36:51.289 this? Jesus said that he has entrusted people 00:36:51.289 --> 00:36:54.670 with gifts. And he told this parable. He gave 00:36:54.670 --> 00:36:57.130 gifts to this guy, to this guy, to this guy. 00:36:57.289 --> 00:37:00.610 And then each one reacted to it differently. 00:37:00.650 --> 00:37:03.409 And one of them decided not to do anything with 00:37:03.409 --> 00:37:07.980 it. The other two did something with it. And 00:37:07.980 --> 00:37:12.119 at the end of the story, Jesus says, well done, 00:37:12.280 --> 00:37:16.739 good and faithful servant. You have been faithful 00:37:16.739 --> 00:37:19.500 with a few things. I will put you in charge of 00:37:19.500 --> 00:37:23.099 many things. Come, share your master's happiness. 00:37:25.559 --> 00:37:30.360 And that's the end of the parable. And this is 00:37:30.360 --> 00:37:35.630 the reminder that at the end of the day, When 00:37:35.630 --> 00:37:39.489 everything is said and done, whether you have 00:37:39.489 --> 00:37:42.269 become a person that is well known or someone 00:37:42.269 --> 00:37:48.110 that very few people know, that really does not 00:37:48.110 --> 00:37:52.809 matter. What matters is what God thinks and what 00:37:52.809 --> 00:37:56.250 God says and God knows whether you are living 00:37:56.250 --> 00:37:59.050 to serve him and you're investing what he has 00:37:59.050 --> 00:38:03.349 entrusted you with for his purposes. And one 00:38:03.349 --> 00:38:08.570 day, I do not know you, but me. If there's one 00:38:08.570 --> 00:38:14.030 thing that I desire, it's to hear our Lord say, 00:38:14.309 --> 00:38:20.269 well done, good and faithful servant. Just come 00:38:20.269 --> 00:38:23.489 and share in your master's happiness. You finally 00:38:23.489 --> 00:38:29.889 made it. You are here. Come in. Well done. That 00:38:29.889 --> 00:38:35.500 will mean more than anything else. And that's 00:38:35.500 --> 00:38:40.500 why in this role of leadership in which the Lord 00:38:40.500 --> 00:38:46.260 entrusts us with, we have to be very well grounded 00:38:46.260 --> 00:38:51.340 on this space. From a leader to a leader. Let 00:38:51.340 --> 00:38:57.519 me tell you this. When you are leading, sometimes 00:38:57.519 --> 00:39:00.519 you will say things or do things that people 00:39:00.519 --> 00:39:04.179 will love. And sometimes you will do things or 00:39:04.179 --> 00:39:08.179 say things that people will dislike. People will 00:39:08.179 --> 00:39:12.260 love you and equally people will hate you. That's 00:39:12.260 --> 00:39:17.380 the way of leadership. If you lose your perspective, 00:39:17.500 --> 00:39:21.579 you're going to become a people -pleasing leader. 00:39:23.679 --> 00:39:29.519 Manipulative, fake, you name it. You lost your 00:39:29.519 --> 00:39:38.059 perspective. In reality, it doesn't matter whether 00:39:38.059 --> 00:39:42.519 you liked the leadership, whether you liked the 00:39:42.519 --> 00:39:45.679 sermon, whether you liked what was said or not 00:39:45.679 --> 00:39:50.420 said. At the end of the day, if we are sitting 00:39:50.420 --> 00:39:53.300 across from each other with a cup of coffee and 00:39:53.300 --> 00:39:57.460 whatever you have in your cup, and I can tell 00:39:57.460 --> 00:40:03.179 you, you know what I realize? I don't care. I 00:40:03.179 --> 00:40:06.460 don't care what people think. I don't care what 00:40:06.460 --> 00:40:09.260 you think. Because the only thing that matters 00:40:09.260 --> 00:40:16.420 is what God thinks. And he knows the truth. And 00:40:16.420 --> 00:40:19.420 one day we are going to stand in his presence. 00:40:20.579 --> 00:40:26.599 Truth will be spoken. So leaders, if you are 00:40:26.599 --> 00:40:29.780 leading, don't fall for the trap of leading to 00:40:29.780 --> 00:40:35.230 please people. Lead. to please God. And when 00:40:35.230 --> 00:40:40.250 you do that, so much freeing because you are 00:40:40.250 --> 00:40:44.130 serving the Lord with eternal perspective. Live 00:40:44.130 --> 00:40:55.230 for this day, not for Friday. So, is serving 00:40:55.230 --> 00:40:57.630 God your priority? Is this part of the perspective 00:40:57.630 --> 00:41:00.900 or you have lost that perspective? And I realized 00:41:00.900 --> 00:41:06.960 as I conclude this reflection that if God is 00:41:06.960 --> 00:41:10.199 going to become my priority, if loving people 00:41:10.199 --> 00:41:12.980 is going to become a priority, and serving God 00:41:12.980 --> 00:41:14.659 is going to become a priority, and that's how 00:41:14.659 --> 00:41:16.579 we follow the Lord because that's what eternal 00:41:16.579 --> 00:41:22.519 perspective is about. Sometimes that takes you 00:41:22.519 --> 00:41:25.360 to places that are difficult because it costs 00:41:25.360 --> 00:41:29.570 you. You have a higher price to pay than other 00:41:29.570 --> 00:41:34.610 people. And sometimes that price is a relational 00:41:34.610 --> 00:41:38.510 cost of separation. You will have to be separated 00:41:38.510 --> 00:41:42.409 from people that you love. Your children grow 00:41:42.409 --> 00:41:45.449 up. They're in other countries. You will never 00:41:45.449 --> 00:41:49.150 see them. You will see them once a year. Grandkids 00:41:49.150 --> 00:41:51.989 are born. You don't get to be with them. You 00:41:51.989 --> 00:41:54.929 don't get to see them grow old because God placed 00:41:54.929 --> 00:41:58.730 you somewhere else. You went and visited your 00:41:58.730 --> 00:42:01.610 parents during this break, and when you say goodbye 00:42:01.610 --> 00:42:05.550 to them, you wonder, is this the last time I'm 00:42:05.550 --> 00:42:10.750 going to see them? How did you function in that 00:42:10.750 --> 00:42:18.550 space? How does separation become manageable? 00:42:19.510 --> 00:42:24.750 How do you carry that weight? There's only one 00:42:24.750 --> 00:42:30.639 way. And that's with eternal perspective. Because 00:42:30.639 --> 00:42:35.860 if we are going to be able to pay the price of 00:42:35.860 --> 00:42:39.659 separation, it's because we understand that separation 00:42:39.659 --> 00:42:43.840 is temporary. And we have to see it that way. 00:42:44.619 --> 00:42:52.500 Otherwise the grieving becomes difficult. As 00:42:52.500 --> 00:42:54.719 we were in Guatemala during our time there, it 00:42:54.719 --> 00:42:57.099 was our first time as a family to be there in 00:42:57.099 --> 00:43:01.860 a beautiful country. And we were there to celebrate 00:43:01.860 --> 00:43:04.800 the 60th anniversary of my parents. And you can 00:43:04.800 --> 00:43:07.679 see them right here in the middle. The white 00:43:07.679 --> 00:43:11.519 hair, gray hair, that's dad. His name is Nelson. 00:43:12.500 --> 00:43:18.079 And next to him, mom, Rebecca. Some of you have 00:43:18.079 --> 00:43:21.679 asked us, how are your parents doing? Mom had 00:43:21.679 --> 00:43:25.019 stomach cancer. Her stomach was removed. She 00:43:25.019 --> 00:43:27.019 went through chemo. She's cancer -free today. 00:43:27.260 --> 00:43:32.980 And she's stable. She's in a good place. How's 00:43:32.980 --> 00:43:36.219 your dad doing? Well, dad is also stable. He's 00:43:36.219 --> 00:43:42.980 in a place in which his memory issues with the 00:43:42.980 --> 00:43:46.300 beginnings of Alzheimer's and all of that is 00:43:46.300 --> 00:43:49.940 progressing but still functional. So we can still 00:43:49.940 --> 00:43:52.599 talk, we can still joke, we can still do things, 00:43:52.780 --> 00:43:58.539 but he's a fraction of what he used to be. And 00:43:58.539 --> 00:44:01.420 that space of deeper conversation cannot happen. 00:44:01.719 --> 00:44:05.559 You cannot go deeper because that's missing now. 00:44:07.619 --> 00:44:09.820 But we were able to be together, and as you know, 00:44:09.840 --> 00:44:15.469 I'm the fourth of seven kids. Six of the seven 00:44:15.469 --> 00:44:18.170 were able to gather together, so the others arrived 00:44:18.170 --> 00:44:20.329 as a surprise for my parents. We all gathered 00:44:20.329 --> 00:44:25.190 there. And we live in different countries, different 00:44:25.190 --> 00:44:28.349 places, and we know that then it's time to say 00:44:28.349 --> 00:44:33.570 goodbye. And then our son Alex was able to join 00:44:33.570 --> 00:44:36.130 us there as well, so it was good to be together. 00:44:36.170 --> 00:44:38.849 Our kids love each other. They have a good relationship, 00:44:39.050 --> 00:44:42.269 so they look forward to being together. and for 00:44:42.269 --> 00:44:44.010 him to reconnect with the rest of the family. 00:44:44.650 --> 00:44:46.650 And then we have to say goodbye to him, too, 00:44:46.750 --> 00:44:50.570 because he lives in Oregon and graduated from 00:44:50.570 --> 00:44:52.630 college already, and he's in a new season in 00:44:52.630 --> 00:44:57.829 his life. So we are in this time in which it's 00:44:57.829 --> 00:45:00.730 like we love people, we love family, we enjoy 00:45:00.730 --> 00:45:03.269 a little bit, and then goodbye. And when do we 00:45:03.269 --> 00:45:05.809 see each other? Would it be heaven? Would it 00:45:05.809 --> 00:45:11.309 be here? We do not know. If you live in that 00:45:11.309 --> 00:45:17.210 space, I understand. One of my brothers is not 00:45:17.210 --> 00:45:21.130 a follower of Christ. So I also know what it's 00:45:21.130 --> 00:45:23.230 like to feel at moments like, is this the last 00:45:23.230 --> 00:45:26.110 time? And am I going to see him in heaven or 00:45:26.110 --> 00:45:31.599 not? I don't know. And in those moments you intercede 00:45:31.599 --> 00:45:34.219 and we intercede for you if you have loved ones 00:45:34.219 --> 00:45:36.460 that do not know the Lord and that's heavy in 00:45:36.460 --> 00:45:38.400 your heart and you say, Pastor Pablo, pray for 00:45:38.400 --> 00:45:41.000 my father, pray for my sibling, pray for mom. 00:45:42.860 --> 00:45:49.039 We understand. The only way we can live in this 00:45:49.039 --> 00:45:53.260 space is with eternal perspective. So let me 00:45:53.260 --> 00:45:57.079 conclude with this verse because this is what 00:45:57.690 --> 00:45:59.690 The Apostle Paul says in Philippians and captures 00:45:59.690 --> 00:46:03.630 it so well. He says, I have told you before. 00:46:06.550 --> 00:46:08.989 And I say it again with tears in my eyes that 00:46:08.989 --> 00:46:11.690 there are many whose conduct shows that they 00:46:11.690 --> 00:46:15.670 are real enemies of the cross of Christ. They 00:46:15.670 --> 00:46:18.409 are headed for destruction and their God is their 00:46:18.409 --> 00:46:22.170 appetite. They brag about shameful things. They 00:46:22.170 --> 00:46:25.769 think only about this life here on earth. they 00:46:25.769 --> 00:46:27.570 do not have eternal perspective because they 00:46:27.570 --> 00:46:32.789 do not know the Lord. So they live for here and 00:46:32.789 --> 00:46:37.489 now by you, follower of Jesus. You and I are 00:46:37.489 --> 00:46:43.250 not them. We are citizens of heaven where the 00:46:43.250 --> 00:46:47.250 Lord Jesus Christ lives and we are eagerly waiting 00:46:47.250 --> 00:46:50.210 for him to return as our Savior and he will take... 00:46:50.519 --> 00:46:53.000 Our weak mortal bodies. And change them into 00:46:53.000 --> 00:46:56.219 glorious bodies. Like his own. Using the same 00:46:56.219 --> 00:46:59.760 power. With which he will bring everything under 00:46:59.760 --> 00:47:02.519 his control. This is what is about to happen. 00:47:02.719 --> 00:47:06.179 This is where we are going. So if God is calling 00:47:06.179 --> 00:47:09.079 you to be separated. From people that you love. 00:47:09.400 --> 00:47:14.940 It's worth it. For the cause of Christ. Because 00:47:14.940 --> 00:47:19.099 the separation is temporary. The day is coming. 00:47:19.739 --> 00:47:22.760 When the Lord will come back and everything that 00:47:22.760 --> 00:47:25.920 we have lived for will be fulfilled. And that 00:47:25.920 --> 00:47:33.840 is the beginning of the rest of our lives. So 00:47:33.840 --> 00:47:39.500 we say goodbye with hope. And with perspective 00:47:39.500 --> 00:47:44.920 that is eternal. That is the only way. So if 00:47:44.920 --> 00:47:47.699 you are in that time of grieving, readjusting, 00:47:47.699 --> 00:47:53.420 don't. Lose your perspective. Jesus says that 00:47:53.420 --> 00:47:55.840 the only way to follow him is by keeping this 00:47:55.840 --> 00:48:00.119 eternal perspective. So therefore, that is how 00:48:00.119 --> 00:48:02.679 we're going to walk with God. We're not going 00:48:02.679 --> 00:48:05.260 to lose our perspective. And we're going to stand 00:48:05.260 --> 00:48:07.460 up together today and we're going to tell the 00:48:07.460 --> 00:48:13.579 Lord, Lord, you are amazing. And if I have lost 00:48:13.579 --> 00:48:17.079 my perspective, would you please reframe me again? 00:48:17.789 --> 00:48:20.170 Let me walk with you with eternal perspective 00:48:20.170 --> 00:48:25.030 because that is what my heart needs. If you have 00:48:25.030 --> 00:48:26.809 lost your perspective, would you tell the Lord? 00:48:30.489 --> 00:48:35.909 Will you recommit to him? Would you seek him 00:48:35.909 --> 00:48:39.730 to strengthen you? Here, right now, in your own 00:48:39.730 --> 00:48:45.739 words, as we worship the Lord. Father, You loved 00:48:45.739 --> 00:48:48.360 us and you sent your son Jesus to die for us 00:48:48.360 --> 00:48:54.159 so that all things can be made right again, reconciled 00:48:54.159 --> 00:48:59.860 with you. And your word says that one day our 00:48:59.860 --> 00:49:05.000 Lord Jesus will return and things will be fulfilled 00:49:05.000 --> 00:49:11.280 and we'll live for that. So thank you, Lord, 00:49:11.360 --> 00:49:14.079 for the experiences that have pointed us back 00:49:14.079 --> 00:49:18.760 to you. And I want to intercede for my friends 00:49:18.760 --> 00:49:22.400 here today, Lord, if there's anyone that have 00:49:22.400 --> 00:49:27.900 lost their perspective, bring them back to you. 00:49:30.000 --> 00:49:34.380 Empower them so that they will live for you first, 00:49:34.579 --> 00:49:39.670 to serve you first, and to love you People with 00:49:39.670 --> 00:49:44.909 your love. Even. When you have called them to 00:49:44.909 --> 00:49:49.730 love. People that are hard to love. You empower 00:49:49.730 --> 00:49:54.469 them. So intercede for them. And I ask you. Encounter 00:49:54.469 --> 00:49:57.030 them in this space of worship. In Jesus name. 00:49:57.530 --> 00:50:10.639 Amen. Whether near or far, if you are looking 00:50:10.639 --> 00:50:14.420 for community or are in need of prayer, we welcome 00:50:14.420 --> 00:50:17.860 you to engage by sending us an email to office 00:50:17.860 --> 00:50:22.820 at ecb .asia. If God is calling you to support 00:50:22.820 --> 00:50:25.420 our ministries, you will find giving options 00:50:25.420 --> 00:50:29.219 on our website. And remember to join us next 00:50:29.219 --> 00:58:47.619 week. God bless you. If God is calling you to 00:58:47.619 --> 00:58:50.159 support our ministries, you will find giving 00:58:50.159 --> 00:58:53.980 options on our website. And remember to join 00:58:53.980 --> 00:58:56.039 us next week. God bless you.