Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is
an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,
with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.
We invite you to connect with us from wherever
you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our
mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed
by this week's sermon. As a space that is very
intimate and very close as if we are sitting
across each other sharing a cup of coffee. And
we are having a conversation about, so how are
you doing? How was your summer? What do you do?
What is the Lord teaching you? Where are you
at? I want to take this time to share some reflections.
As we're walking with the Lord in this season,
especially as we're coming out of this stage
of traveling and all the things that happen.
And it doesn't matter whether you don't drink
coffee. That's okay. You can pick another drink
if you want. But my cup is going to be dark,
strong coffee, no sugar. And as we reflect, today
what I want... you to get and to remember is
simply this. Don't lose your perspective. And
what do I mean by perspective? See, during this
time, we went to the US, the state of Texas,
we were there, and then we went to Kansas for
the sole purpose of leading the burial and the
memorial service for my mother -in -law, who
passed away in April, 95 years of age, widow,
former missionary here in Thailand. Then we moved
to Guatemala for maybe 10 days or so to spend
time with my parents, whom I hadn't seen for
over two years, to celebrate the 60th anniversary.
Who would have imagined that? And then we came
back to Thailand for one day and then we flew
to England to spend time in London and Oxford
with the ACB team that took the trip with our
class on apologetics crossroads. And then we
just came back this week. It's like very intense
time. And in these spaces, this idea of perspective
has become more and more intense. Because we
can follow God and lose our perspective and then
everything becomes misaligned. But when we follow
Christ and we follow him with the right perspective,
everything changes. And it is very important.
That as we are walking with the Lord, we do not
lose the right perspective. Let me put it this
way. I'm going to show you three pictures. And
I want you to pick the one you identify with
the most. No particular reason. Just pick one.
Done? Okay. So if I were to ask the prophet Isaiah.
Pick one of these three. Which one do you identify
the most with? He will pick this one. He's like,
what? Grass? I didn't imagine that. What are
you, like, spiky hair or something? Why grass?
He says, oh, let me tell you why. All people
are like grass, says the prophet. Faithfulness
is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers
and the flowers fall because the breath of the
Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the
word of our God endures forever. Pablo, you're
grass. You are here today, you will be gone tomorrow.
Don't forget that. Don't forget that you are
just passing by and that this life is not it.
This is part of the experience of being a human.
But life is more than this. And one day, the
grave is coming. And I started the trip with
the realization that my mother -in -law is gone,
Charlotte. And to see, realize that now she's
in this thing and we're going to bury her and
enter into her home and she's not there anymore
and the absence being so present. And then we
conclude the trip going to... England and we
visited a couple of places and we started in
London. We went to the British Library to talk
about the Bible and the text. And we went to
the British Museum and we talked about the history
and archaeology and all of that. And we visited
a couple of churches and then we went to Oxford
to also talk about C .S. Lewis and and his life,
and understand all of that stuff. And we went
to Darwin's home in London to talk about Darwinian
evolution. And we had lectures with scientists
on the fallacies of evolution based on science.
And it was really a very intense trip. But there's
something very unique about visiting England
and going to the Church of England or the Anglican
churches. And that is something that you do not
see here. If you have been shaped in your Christian
experience by the average evangelical experience,
which is kind of like coming to ECB today to
worship, you see people, then you go home. It's
not like that. Let me show you this picture.
What do you see? Well, you see a cemetery, right?
You see a graveyard. Well, this is the entrance
to the church. Can you imagine driving here into
ECB and the first thing you see is like all these
dead people places, you know. And then you walk
into the church to worship. It's like death is
right there on your face. And this place is not
just any church. This is the church that C .S.
Lewis attended and this is the place where he
is buried. A little bit more about that later
today. We also visited Christ Church College
and Christ Church Chapel. And as you came there,
it's the same thing. Same thing. It's that you
have people that have died. Some of them are
buried inside. And some others are not buried
inside, but there's these places. dedicated for
them to honor their lives because they studied
there or they contributed to society in a meaningful
way. And two, very meaningful people there, or
actually I should say three, famous philosopher
John Locke. That's right here. Right there. Imagine
you are sitting on your chair and you are stepping
on the tomb of somebody or a plaque of somebody
or something that reminds you that, They lived
here and now they're dead. And the other one
was John Wesley and Charles Wesley. John Wesley
was the founder of the Methodist Church. That's
where he studied. And once again, inside the
church, you have all these places that are reminding
you, you are just grass. You are here today and
gone tomorrow. And when Jesus talked about that,
he asked a very poignant question to all of us.
And he says, look, if any of you wants to be
my follower, you must give up your own way, take
up your cross and follow me. If you try to hang
on to your life, you will lose it. But if you
give up your life for my sake, you will save
it. And then he says, really, think about it.
What do you benefit? If you gain the whole world,
but you lose your own soul. In fact, is anything
worth more than your soul? And he gets to the
core to remind us that we are these spiritual
beings. We have these bodies that are part of
being a human, but one day this body will be
in the grave, will become dust, and our soul
will continue. And then we'll just await our
glorification of our bodies and the final resurrection.
This is our future. This is what's going to happen,
and that's why Jesus says at the end of this
section, For the Son of Man will come with his
angels in the glory of his Father and will judge
all people according to their deeds. So don't
lose your perspective. If you are going to follow
me, the only way to follow me well is by having
eternal perspective. Remember that you are grass,
that you are here today, gone tomorrow, and because
that's the reality, make sure that you are living.
With eternal perspective. And what does this
look like is very specific. What does it look
like to follow Jesus with eternal perspective?
First thing is that to follow Jesus with eternal
perspective is a life that is characterized by
prioritizing God. God is the highest priority,
is the most important thing. And there's such
an awareness that we belong to him and that we
are accountable to him that everything we do,
even the most private spaces and the deepest
motives of our heart that only you are aware
of are always under that awareness. And this
is very important because as we are living life,
We are so busy with everything and all the things
that we have to do. But when we forget that this
is temporary, then we think that this life is
all there is. And therefore, it matters more
than it really does. And when we start having
that wrong perspective, we become fearful and
controlling. And when we become controlling,
we have really lost our perspective. There was
a guy that was very famous. He had succeeded
in his life. He had all the money he could have.
He had all the women that he could ever have.
He had all the fame he could ever dream of. He
had all the power to do everything he wanted.
You know his name? Solomon. King Solomon. And
at the end of his life, after he pursued every
single thing he could pursue in his life, he
wrote this book, Ecclesiastes, which is in the
Old Testament. And at the very end of the book,
after he has said everything, he says, you know
what I realize? This is what matters most. Now
all has been heard. I've written everything already,
so let me conclude like this. Here is the conclusion
of the matter. Fear God and keep his commandments
for this is the duty of all mankind. Fear the
Lord and obey him. Simple. Why? Well, because
you are accountable to him and one day you will
give an account to him. Jesus said it. And Solomon,
after he had done all the things he did, which
some of them were not good, now he realizes,
oops, now that I've tasted this and that and
this and that, I realize that all of that is
worthless. Because the only thing that matters
most is God. And he says at the end, for God
will bring every deed into judgment, including
every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
As we are following the Lord, I realize in this
time of reflection that what matters most is
God. And us being honest to Him. Because when
we're honest to Him, and that flows in how we
follow the Lord and the things we do, things
are different. The deepest motives of the heart
are brought to the light. Because one day truth,
truth will reign. And one day you will be seen
for what you truly were and not for what you
pretended to be. So as we serve the Lord together
and as we follow him together, this matters.
If I had my phone here with you and we were across
the table from each other, I would be showing
you the pictures, you know. Look at this one
and you will show me some and I'll show you another
one. Well, I cannot show you my phone, but I
can show you better than the phone, the screen
here. When we arrived to the town of Chanute,
which is the town in Kansas where my in -laws
came from, that's where they are buried. In order
to do the burial service, we first met at a church,
a small church that was right there in the town,
and they opened their place for us to be able
to host all the guests and the family and the
friends that gathered. And as I was walking in
the building, I noticed the meeting room, the
boardroom, where the elders or leaders of the
church would meet. And I saw something that was
written on the wall, and I thought, I need to
take a picture of this. Because it captures this
in essence. Now, this is very informal English
that Americans can understand. But it says, if
it ain't kingdom, it ain't worth it. If this
is not for God, it's not worth it. If it's not
born from him and for him, you're wasting your
time. Why waste your time in pursuing things
that you know God is not in? Why try to push
your agenda instead of serving God's? Don't lose
your perspective. If you are single, if you are
young, the world is telling you that you need
to live for you to be happy. Pursue who you truly
are. Follow your feelings. Follow your heart.
And God says, no, that's not true. Do not follow
your feelings. Do not follow your heart because
you are a sinner and you have a sinful heart.
And things that you desire that are contrary
to me are not going to lead you to a good place.
Do not buy the lie. Do not lose your perspective.
If it's not for me or from me, you're going to
waste your time. Don't go that route. Have you
lost your perspective? And suddenly God is no
longer the priority? But you are? Yeah, it gets
personal, doesn't it? These are things that the
Lord uses to remind you of what is foundational.
So yeah, if we're going to follow Jesus with
eternal perspective, we must follow him by making
God and the awareness of God in every space of
our lives the priority. And if God is a priority,
the second thing follows. Is that we are following
God with eternal perspective. Then we prioritize
people. And I'll tell you why. If my soul matters
so much to God. Hey, those people are also a
soul. And they matter to God that much too. In
fact, God loves them so much that he sent Jesus
to die for them. And if I love God so much, then
I'm going to love people too because he loves
them. And that love and that care for people
comes not from them being lovable or from me
being a nice person. It comes from this connection
with God where I start loving what God loves
because I love God first. And it flows. And this.
Means that if we are serving God. We are living
our lives. Following God with eternal perspective.
The way that our lives are going to be characterized.
As is by being people who love people. Let me
show you another picture. This is my in -laws.
Dick and Charlotte Worley. Right now. They're
with the Lord. And many years ago, the Lord led
them here to Thailand to work as missionaries
here. They work with an organization called American
Baptists. They were part of a church called Matrachet
Baptist Church here in Bangkok. And they started
a school here in Thailand called Samuk Christian
Academy. And they invested decades of their lives
for that, the Thais and loving the Thai people.
And I noticed a couple of things now when we
did the funeral and the memorial. In those moments,
we always give people the opportunity to share,
share a memory, share a word of encouragement,
anything. And you know what I've noticed in all
the funerals that I've led in my pastoral ministry?
I never heard somebody say something like, oh,
yeah, she dressed so nicely. Or, oh, he had a
nice car. Their house was beautiful. No one ever
says things like that at a funeral. You know
what they say? They say things like, you know
what? One time I needed help, and he showed up
to help me. Oh, you know, one time I was going
through some struggles and no one really cared,
but she listened to me. And she changed her plans
to make me a priority. You know what people say?
People say, this person loved me. And that is
what they remember. And that is what they celebrate
because that is what matters most. And in 2017,
when my father -in -law, Dick, was diagnosed
already with cancer, they were coming here to
celebrate an anniversary with Maitre Chit. And
we thought, you know what? We do not know if
this is the last time we can take a trip together
or not. So we decided, let's just go. So we came
to Thailand in 2017. By the way, that's the first
time I stopped by ECB and I came to know ECB.
Without realizing that God would call me several
years later to lead the ministry here. But at
that time, I noticed something. It was very interesting
with my in -laws. Everybody just loved them.
And they were just spending time with them. You
could see the attitude of gratitude. And I could
see it. When my mother -in -law died. Here in
Thailand, they did a memorial service. It was
beautiful. Even though she wasn't here, her body
wasn't here, she died in the U .S. What church
does that? Only a place that has been impacted
by love and laughs back. It was a very meaningful
time for the family. But the testimonies were
all about this. They loved me. When I was a kid,
they loved me. She was like a mother to me. He
was like a father to me. They loved me. And what
is interesting is that the Bible talks about
this very clearly. In fact, when the Bible is
going to quote Prophet Isaiah, it's going to
quote Isaiah, you know, this imagery of being
grass. He's going to, the Apostle Peter is going
to quote this in the context of this. It's like,
look, remember you are grass, so go and love
people. Remember you are here temporarily, so
people matter most. He's going to say that. And
this is how he says it. Now that you have been
purified yourselves by obeying the truth, so
that you have sincere love for each other, and
love one another deeply from the heart. For you
have been born again. Not of perishable seed
but of imperishable. Through the living and enduring
word of God. Love people because now you have
a new nature in you. The love that you need is
not born from you. It's born in God through you.
Because now that you are following Christ, if
you are a follower of Jesus, he's your savior,
you have the Holy Spirit in you. And now that
you have the Holy Spirit in you, the fruit of
the Spirit is what? Love, joy, peace, and all
of these things from him. So love people deeply
because you are born again. You have what it
takes. And then he says this. Can you read it
with me out loud? For all people are like grass.
And all their glory is like the flowers of the
field. The grass withers and the flowers fall.
But the word of the Lord endures forever. And
this is the word that was preached to you. Don't
forget. You are grass. Here today. gone tomorrow.
Therefore, love people. And you know, for those
of us who are in leadership, this matters so
much because when you are leading, whether you
are leading a team or an organization, leading
is about mobilizing people to accomplish certain
things. So you have due dates, you have projects
that need to happen, you have plans that need
to be accomplished, and the emphasis can become
so much in the doing that needs to happen and
the numbers and the things, the next thing and
then the next thing, that we forget that the
accomplishing is not the most important thing,
but is the loving of the people that we are leading
in order to accomplish the things. And if you
are entrusted by God, With the gift of leadership
and the position to lead people, whether it be
in your company, whether it be in your ministry,
whether it be at home. Remember that these people
that the Lord has placed under your leadership
have one primary need and that is to be loved.
And if you lose your perspective, rather than
loving them as you lead them, you are going to
be annoyed by them as you lead them. And they're
going to not feel loved, but they're going to
feel your annoyance. And you have lost your perspective.
So are we loving the people? Or we have lost
our perspective and make things or accomplishments
or goals more important. I remember a professor
that would tell us, his name was Howard Hendricks
at Dallas Theological Seminary. He would tell
us, students, you have to remember, people don't
care what you know until they know that you care.
That's easy to remember, right? People don't
care what you know until they know that you care.
And that's it. God is my priority. Make loving
people your priority. And then from that, what
follows is this. If we're going to live with
eternal perspective, We're going to prioritize
serving God. We realize that who we are is not
an accident. I'm not here just because of the
will of people. I'm here because God created
me. He designed me. He gave me gifts and abilities.
And he didn't give me some gifts and some abilities
that I don't have. And that's good. I'm good
for something and I'm not good for some others.
And that's fine. But God entrusted me the things
that I'm good at and the passions and the gifts
so that I can use them for his purposes. And
therefore, if there's anything that I have that
he has given me, even if it's insignificant in
my eyes, is an area that God means for me to
invest for his kingdom. And this was beautiful
to see as we were with our group from ECB visiting
Oxford and we went to C .S. Lewis' home and then
we went to his church and graveyard. If you do
not know who C .S. Lewis is, let me just give
you a short description. He was a man who lived
in England. who was an atheist. He was in the
academics, he taught at Cambridge, then he taught
at Oxford, at Magdalen College. And then, as
an adult, he became a follower of Jesus. And
the process from being an atheist to becoming
a follower of Jesus was a process in which he
had to wrestle with what was really true. And
because he was an intellectual, a lot of his
wrestling was about ideas and concepts and the
logic of things. So later when he became a Christian,
he started engaging with people and discussions
and things. And from that, he had the opportunity
to do some radio programs talking about why Christianity
was a reasonable faith, why it was true. And
from those programs, then he started writing
and he wrote a book. called Mere Christianity,
which was a summary of some of his talks. And
that book became very famous because in that
book, Mere Christianity, he was able to summarize
common questions that people had about, well,
but what about this and what about that? That
doesn't make sense. And he was able to give a
logical explanation for every single thing in
a way that was very gifted. And not only that,
he loved writing. And he had a gift for creativity,
so he became a prolific writer. If you watch
or your kids watch the movie, The Chronicles
of Narnia, well, that's actually a series of
books. And those books were written by C .S.
Lewis. And they are a metaphor of Christianity.
The lion that dies and gives his life for the
kid, that's a metaphor for Jesus. And he's using
all this creative writing as a way of portraying
Christian truths. And they became famous and
they became movies. But he loved writing. And
we went to his house. We were able to sit at
one of his desks and took pictures like C .S.
Lewis, you know, with the things he smokes, you
know, and all this stuff that he had. It was
funny. But we learned that actually he had written
so many letters that there were a whole collection.
Now you can have the book published with a collection
of his letters. He took time to answer people
that he did not know. This is before internet,
before emails. And he will write these letters
and he will send them to people. And when a person
receives the letter from a guy that took the
time to answer, they treasure those. And they
kept them. And before they even could realize,
those became a collection, and then they became
a book. That gift for writing. Hey, you're good
at writing. Yeah, I mean, well, it's not a big
thing. It's not, you know, there are other gifts
that are better, but writing? What can writing
do? Hey, you got a major in English. Yeah, English,
but what? What could that do? Do you realize
that when God gives you a gift, there's no gift
that you have that is insignificant? God can
use anything that you offer him and he will take
it and make an impact that you could never ever
imagine. But when you start realizing that everything
that you are, everything that you have is for
him, for his purpose, so you just start doing
it. Suddenly, your life takes a whole different
direction. And that's what happened to C .S.
Lewis. He was just an ordinary guy. He grew up
in a home where his mother died when he was a
kid. He only had a brother. Then his relationship
with his father was not good. It was emotionally
distant. He wasn't going to school. So he was
emotionally in a place that he did not connect
well. And then his father died. He only had his
brother. And then there's the rest of his life
that happened. You can read his biography or
look at the links in the study guide for this
study. When we visited the church, what was very
interesting is that not only were we able to
see the graveyard where he is, but we were able
to go inside the church. We had a time there
to pray together with the team and sing together.
And the people leading that time were telling
us, oh, you want to sit down at the bench where
C .S. Lewis used to sit? It's like, you know
where he used to sit? Yeah, he used to sit here.
And they have even a little plaque right there
with the name C .S. Lewis. It's like, before
you knew it, everybody wanted to sit there and
take a picture. And they would explain to us,
like, he was famous, but he didn't like people.
Like, he didn't like that. He was just a simple
guy, so he would sit here, because there's this
pillar right here, so it would cover him from
seeing people. And he would only see the preacher,
like that. He was an introvert. And he liked
it like that. We visited his home that we were
able now to do the tour to understand better
his life and everything. And that was my third
time for me doing that tour and being in Oxford.
But all of those moments are such a good reminder.
Sometimes you see people that have succeeded
or God has used tremendously and you think of
them as if they are like somewhere there. And
in reality, they were just normal people with
simple gifts that they made available for God.
And God used them beyond what they could ever
imagine or do on their own. And that's what you
see here in this picture. You come out of the
church, right there on the yard, the cemetery.
And there's his graveyard. And we're able to
stand around with our team as we're reflected.
On his life. And then we thank God together for
his life. You know what the Bible says about
this? Jesus said that he has entrusted people
with gifts. And he told this parable. He gave
gifts to this guy, to this guy, to this guy.
And then each one reacted to it differently.
And one of them decided not to do anything with
it. The other two did something with it. And
at the end of the story, Jesus says, well done,
good and faithful servant. You have been faithful
with a few things. I will put you in charge of
many things. Come, share your master's happiness.
And that's the end of the parable. And this is
the reminder that at the end of the day, When
everything is said and done, whether you have
become a person that is well known or someone
that very few people know, that really does not
matter. What matters is what God thinks and what
God says and God knows whether you are living
to serve him and you're investing what he has
entrusted you with for his purposes. And one
day, I do not know you, but me. If there's one
thing that I desire, it's to hear our Lord say,
well done, good and faithful servant. Just come
and share in your master's happiness. You finally
made it. You are here. Come in. Well done. That
will mean more than anything else. And that's
why in this role of leadership in which the Lord
entrusts us with, we have to be very well grounded
on this space. From a leader to a leader. Let
me tell you this. When you are leading, sometimes
you will say things or do things that people
will love. And sometimes you will do things or
say things that people will dislike. People will
love you and equally people will hate you. That's
the way of leadership. If you lose your perspective,
you're going to become a people -pleasing leader.
Manipulative, fake, you name it. You lost your
perspective. In reality, it doesn't matter whether
you liked the leadership, whether you liked the
sermon, whether you liked what was said or not
said. At the end of the day, if we are sitting
across from each other with a cup of coffee and
whatever you have in your cup, and I can tell
you, you know what I realize? I don't care. I
don't care what people think. I don't care what
you think. Because the only thing that matters
is what God thinks. And he knows the truth. And
one day we are going to stand in his presence.
Truth will be spoken. So leaders, if you are
leading, don't fall for the trap of leading to
please people. Lead. to please God. And when
you do that, so much freeing because you are
serving the Lord with eternal perspective. Live
for this day, not for Friday. So, is serving
God your priority? Is this part of the perspective
or you have lost that perspective? And I realized
as I conclude this reflection that if God is
going to become my priority, if loving people
is going to become a priority, and serving God
is going to become a priority, and that's how
we follow the Lord because that's what eternal
perspective is about. Sometimes that takes you
to places that are difficult because it costs
you. You have a higher price to pay than other
people. And sometimes that price is a relational
cost of separation. You will have to be separated
from people that you love. Your children grow
up. They're in other countries. You will never
see them. You will see them once a year. Grandkids
are born. You don't get to be with them. You
don't get to see them grow old because God placed
you somewhere else. You went and visited your
parents during this break, and when you say goodbye
to them, you wonder, is this the last time I'm
going to see them? How did you function in that
space? How does separation become manageable?
How do you carry that weight? There's only one
way. And that's with eternal perspective. Because
if we are going to be able to pay the price of
separation, it's because we understand that separation
is temporary. And we have to see it that way.
Otherwise the grieving becomes difficult. As
we were in Guatemala during our time there, it
was our first time as a family to be there in
a beautiful country. And we were there to celebrate
the 60th anniversary of my parents. And you can
see them right here in the middle. The white
hair, gray hair, that's dad. His name is Nelson.
And next to him, mom, Rebecca. Some of you have
asked us, how are your parents doing? Mom had
stomach cancer. Her stomach was removed. She
went through chemo. She's cancer -free today.
And she's stable. She's in a good place. How's
your dad doing? Well, dad is also stable. He's
in a place in which his memory issues with the
beginnings of Alzheimer's and all of that is
progressing but still functional. So we can still
talk, we can still joke, we can still do things,
but he's a fraction of what he used to be. And
that space of deeper conversation cannot happen.
You cannot go deeper because that's missing now.
But we were able to be together, and as you know,
I'm the fourth of seven kids. Six of the seven
were able to gather together, so the others arrived
as a surprise for my parents. We all gathered
there. And we live in different countries, different
places, and we know that then it's time to say
goodbye. And then our son Alex was able to join
us there as well, so it was good to be together.
Our kids love each other. They have a good relationship,
so they look forward to being together. and for
him to reconnect with the rest of the family.
And then we have to say goodbye to him, too,
because he lives in Oregon and graduated from
college already, and he's in a new season in
his life. So we are in this time in which it's
like we love people, we love family, we enjoy
a little bit, and then goodbye. And when do we
see each other? Would it be heaven? Would it
be here? We do not know. If you live in that
space, I understand. One of my brothers is not
a follower of Christ. So I also know what it's
like to feel at moments like, is this the last
time? And am I going to see him in heaven or
not? I don't know. And in those moments you intercede
and we intercede for you if you have loved ones
that do not know the Lord and that's heavy in
your heart and you say, Pastor Pablo, pray for
my father, pray for my sibling, pray for mom.
We understand. The only way we can live in this
space is with eternal perspective. So let me
conclude with this verse because this is what
The Apostle Paul says in Philippians and captures
it so well. He says, I have told you before.
And I say it again with tears in my eyes that
there are many whose conduct shows that they
are real enemies of the cross of Christ. They
are headed for destruction and their God is their
appetite. They brag about shameful things. They
think only about this life here on earth. they
do not have eternal perspective because they
do not know the Lord. So they live for here and
now by you, follower of Jesus. You and I are
not them. We are citizens of heaven where the
Lord Jesus Christ lives and we are eagerly waiting
for him to return as our Savior and he will take...
Our weak mortal bodies. And change them into
glorious bodies. Like his own. Using the same
power. With which he will bring everything under
his control. This is what is about to happen.
This is where we are going. So if God is calling
you to be separated. From people that you love.
It's worth it. For the cause of Christ. Because
the separation is temporary. The day is coming.
When the Lord will come back and everything that
we have lived for will be fulfilled. And that
is the beginning of the rest of our lives. So
we say goodbye with hope. And with perspective
that is eternal. That is the only way. So if
you are in that time of grieving, readjusting,
don't. Lose your perspective. Jesus says that
the only way to follow him is by keeping this
eternal perspective. So therefore, that is how
we're going to walk with God. We're not going
to lose our perspective. And we're going to stand
up together today and we're going to tell the
Lord, Lord, you are amazing. And if I have lost
my perspective, would you please reframe me again?
Let me walk with you with eternal perspective
because that is what my heart needs. If you have
lost your perspective, would you tell the Lord?
Will you recommit to him? Would you seek him
to strengthen you? Here, right now, in your own
words, as we worship the Lord. Father, You loved
us and you sent your son Jesus to die for us
so that all things can be made right again, reconciled
with you. And your word says that one day our
Lord Jesus will return and things will be fulfilled
and we'll live for that. So thank you, Lord,
for the experiences that have pointed us back
to you. And I want to intercede for my friends
here today, Lord, if there's anyone that have
lost their perspective, bring them back to you.
Empower them so that they will live for you first,
to serve you first, and to love you People with
your love. Even. When you have called them to
love. People that are hard to love. You empower
them. So intercede for them. And I ask you. Encounter
them in this space of worship. In Jesus name.
Amen. Whether near or far, if you are looking
for community or are in need of prayer, we welcome
you to engage by sending us an email to office
at ecb .asia. If God is calling you to support
our ministries, you will find giving options
on our website. And remember to join us next
week. God bless you. If God is calling you to
support our ministries, you will find giving
options on our website. And remember to join
us next week. God bless you.