The Story of Us (7/22/18 Joint Service)
ATTN: My name is Pastor Hong, and I am the pastor of As One Community Church. So that you are not confused, there are two churches meeting in this building. The Trinity Baptist Church meets at 10:30 on Sunday here. If you like more of a traditional service with hymns and choir, then that’s the service to attend. As One Commmunity Church meets at 12:15 pm on Sundays. If you like more of a contemporary service with guitar and drums, then that’s the service to attend. But we both preach the word of God faithful from the Bible. So, we would love for you attend either of our churches and learn the ways of God with us.
I’m 47 years old. I have lived a third of my life in S. Korea. A third in the state of VA. And a third here in Tacoma. I have traveled quite a bit around the world. And here’s what I discovered about people no matter where they are from. We are all sinners! And there is something very wrong with this world because we are sinners. Racism. Tribalism. Oppresion. Mass shootings. Drug abuses. Divorces. Addictions of every kind. We are imperfect people living in an imperfect world. What can fix us? Donald Trump? Better laws? More money? No.
TRANS: Let me share with you why the Bible says the world is what it is and what God is doing to fix it. And it goes like this: creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.
Creation.
Gen 1:1 – In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Right off the bat, we are told that this universe is not a product of random chance. This universe has a purpose. That means our lives have a purpose. And that purpose is to know Him and find our happiness in Him. And when a man and a woman was first created, they had that and everything was good. (Gen. 1:31 – and God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.)
Imagine a world without any worries about money, medical issues, child-care, or getting old and dying. It was a perfect world. But it wasn’t that all they did was to sit around and bathe in the sun. They were given work to do. “Well, that doesn’t seem very happy to me if they had to do work!” But it was happy kind of work. It was pleasurable to work because the ground wasn’t cursed yet and it produced abundantly. Have you ever done something you feel passionate about and you did it because you liked it and not because you had to do it? Maybe some of you are into gardening. Some of you may be into building things. Imagine, if doing so yielded enough fruit for everyone around you! And the man was put in charge of taking care of the all that beautiful creation.
Gen 1:28, ‘And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
So, The story begins with a perfect world. Adam and Eve, both perfectly young and healthy, enjoyed intimate relationship with their Maker.
- The Fall
However, you and I know that we do not live in that world anymore. Something is very wrong with this world. Something happened that shattered the perfect world that God created. Something called sin entered this world. How? Man rebelled against God. You see, God only gave one stipulation to them: They could eat from 10,000 other trees in the garden, just don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That command was given to them to have them trusting God to give them what’s best. But because they thought they knew better than God, they distrusted God, ate from the tree, and the result is the fall. And the effects of the fall are devastating – cancer, disease, death, divorce, poverty and racism – everything ugly and undesirable are caused by sin. We have brought that upon ourselves.
ILL: It’s like in the movie Beauty and the Beast. When the prince of the castle fell under a spell, it wasn’t just him who turned into a monster, but the castle itself and all his servants turned into something less than themselves, didn’t they?
Just like that, by rebelling against God, we have brought all the ugly things of the world upon us. But the real result of sin is the broken relationship with God. Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden and out of fellowship with God, and ever since then, mankind had been longing to get back home. We are longing for the home we once shared with God. So, we work, we get married, we educate our children to improve our lives all hoping that we can somehow get the life we once had in the garden. But nothing quite works. Because of our sinful nature, our greed, lust for power, and hatred for people who are different from us, only make ourselves and this world a harder place to live. Death is the end of us all. A pastor friend of mine recently lost his 14 year old daughter through an accident.. Our sin brought death into this world. We need a Savior. We are drowning in the sea of sin. - Redemption
God could’ve left us alone and let us all drown in sin. But God didn’t leave us alone. He decided to rescue us from our sins. 1 Peter 3:18 Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.
God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die the death that you and I deserved. He took the punishment upon Himself that we should’ve gotten. All of our lying, cheating, drunkenness, cussing, hating, have been put on Him and died with Him on the cross. At our church, we like saying, “Jesus is not just our example to follow. He is our substitute.” He substitute died for us. And He gave Himself and His act as a gift to us. And all who would receive Him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God. And through His act, not only are we redeemed, but the creation also gets restored. One day, God will restore all things to its original state before the fall, the way God originally designed it.
You see, Jesus is not just the savior of our souls. He is also the savior of the world. Did you know that millions upon millions are coming to know Christ in places like China, Korea, Africa, and S. America? They are finding peace with God and becoming the children of God all because they believe in Jesus as their Savior and Lord. And this movement will only grow…. And what will ultimately happen at the end for those who believe in Jesus?
4 Restoration
Rev 21:3-5 “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away
This is the restoration. Everything will be put back, and more than that, it will be better than before the fall. Heaven will come to us! God will dwell with us and He will make all things new.
ILL: beauty and the beast. When the beast falls in love but dies, he is magically transformed into a handsome prince again. But with him, also everything in the castle transforms back to the original state again, does it not? Everything went back except it was better and he has gained Bell, the love of His life. God has gained us back with His own sacrifice and He has re-earned our love.
What will this renewed heaven and earth really be like? Imagine the most beautiful and most exciting thing you can ever think of, such as seeing your children be happy. God promises us something far better for those who would put their trust in Jesus who conquered death and promises us eternal life with Him. I want to invite you to come on a journey with us if you are not already. Learn about this God who sent His most prized possession in His Son knowing that He would be killed. Learn why the world-over is going after this Jesus. We are here every Sunday at 10:30, and 12:15 pm. Thank you.
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