0:00 So, if you turn with me to Acts chapter 16, I want to show you a picture of how an early church got formed in the city of Philippi. And so, when you read the book of Philippians, you can think about how this church got formed. 0:18 And when you see a picture of what I believe the Lord is doing in NCCF as well, and the way the Lord is going to take us in building this church body up, according to our theme, in humility and holiness. So, in Acts chapter 16, we read that the Lord led Paul and Silas and Luke, some of the apostles 0:38 that were together, to Philippi in verse 12. And it says on verse 13 that on the Sabbath day, they went to the riverside, which is where they expected people to be worshiping God, and they met with some women who had assembled 0:53 there. So, the church started with just a few God-fearing women, God-fearing sisters. Perhaps their husbands were busy making money or businessmen, but the sisters were gripped with the word of God that they had heard after the persecution, that after Stephen's death, 1:07 you know, the word spread throughout Europe. And it says, verse 14, there's a woman named Lydia who was a worshiper of God, and she was a dealer in purple fabrics. And the picture I want you to see here is a sort of rich gathering of people that are 1:23 gripped with following God. It's not, these are people who are married to rich businessmen, dealers, businesswomen of their own right, and they're gripped with the word of God, but it's sort of a rich church. And then you, as you proceed, I won't read the whole passage, but it's interesting to see 1:42 that Paul and Silas get arrested for actually going against, you know, casting out a demon and a slave girl that was making money in the name of religion for her masters. And because their prophets were eliminated, they took them to the officials, took them to prison. 2:05 And starting in verse 22 and verse 23, it says how Paul and Silas were imprisoned. And then in verse 25, it's amazing to see Paul and Silas' response here. They weren't complaining about that situation or they weren't delivered yet, so they weren't, 2:18 you know, singing songs of deliverance. They didn't know what the Lord had for them, but it says until midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing, verse 25, hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening 2:29 to them, and there came a great earthquake, so the foundation of the prison's house was shaken, and all the doors were opened, and everyone's chains were unfaceted. The thing I want you to pay attention to 25 is what prisoners, who are, you know, murderers, 2:43 rapists, convicts, all kinds of criminals, are listening to Paul and Silas, listening to Paul and Silas singing, when the jailer awoke, verse 27, the prison doors opened, and he drew his sword about to kill himself, and Paul cried out, do not harm yourself, verse 2:58 28, for we are all here, which tells me, not just Paul and Silas, the other prisoners were also there, which, imagine, this is the most insane type of jailbreak that was not. Criminals had their chains fallen off, and they decided, we're not going to go back to 3:21 our life of crime, we have an easy escape here, we can run away, nobody's trying to keep us here, but they said, we've listened to Paul and Silas singing songs of praise in the midst of their trial. We've said that in this church, right? 3:32 The greatest form of evangelism will be our response to trials. When we're in a trial, that's when the Lord will use us to evangelize through our lives. We're singing songs of praise in the middle of our imprisonment, so to speak. 3:44 And so these prisoners hear that, and they're challenged to say, this is a better life. Now, I want to picture, I want you to picture, and then the jailer, we hear the jailer and his family also give their life and are baptized. 3:59 So you've got a jailer who's sort of a lower middle class type of job, and a bunch of criminals. So I want you to picture the next Sunday meeting in Lydia's house in Philippi. You've got these rich businessmen and businesswomen, and all of a sudden you've got a bunch of 4:17 uncouth, uncultured prisoners, jailers showing up for the church meeting. This is the picture of how the Lord wanted to build a church in Philippi. So then when you read a passage like our famous passage on humility from Philippians chapter 4:33 two, verse two to five, where it says, have this attitude that was in Christ Jesus, who did not regard equality with God something to be grasped, but lowered himself to be a bondservant, to be born as a bondservant, the three levels of humility that we hear, all the way to dying 4:47 as a criminal on the cross. So this is the church in Philippians hearing this message saying, see these other criminals who are with you, Jesus became like them. And that was a message to the rich Philippian church. And I believe as I've seen newer members come into our church, hungry members in the last 5:06 couple of years, as the Lord has done a refinement of purification, and we've seen us change from a church of complacency, a church of pretty well-to-do, decently well-to-do tech professionals, et cetera, you know, doing the barriers, an expensive place to live. 5:21 We've seen people, we've seen the fellowship in Sacramento expand with needy and hungry people. We've seen people come into our church, needy and hungry, in need of repentance, in need of a savior, just like these prisoners and the jailer. 5:34 This is the church that the Lord wants to build, and this is what Paul talks about in Colossians chapter 3 as well, where he talks about, we've heard this passage recently as well, Colossians chapter 3, verse 10, it says, put on the new self. 5:54 This is the message these prisoners received. Put on the new self who is being renewed into a true knowledge according to the image of the one who created him, a renewal in which there's no distinction between the Greeks, these intellectual 6:06 Greeks who came to see Jesus, but were told, you must go to the ground and die, otherwise you will remain alone, and you will not bear fruit. So the Greeks needed to humble themselves, and they needed to, and the Jews needed to humble 6:20 themselves, and they needed to fellowship with who? The circumcised, the uncircumcised, the barbarian, the Scythian, the slave, and the free man. This is what happened in the early church of Philippi, but Christ is all and in all. 6:33 That's been the message that we heard from the last verse of Romans chapter 11, where through Christ, from Christ, through Christ, to Christ, Christ is in all, is all and in all. Christ is everything. So what is this renewal? 6:47 It says that we must be renewed into the image of the one who created him. It's not just a united nations of people of different economic standards and diversity. Yes, we see that in our church, but what is it that unites us? 7:01 The unity in us is the desire to be renewed every single day into the image of Christ. That's what verse 10 says. So that the eventual goal is Christ is all. When we think about NCCF, Christ is everything. When we think about the members of NCCF, Christ is in every member. 7:24 That's what verse 11 says. Romans chapter 12, verse 1 and 2. This is a passage we know well. This is what the renewal that Colossians 3.10 talks about. We shouldn't take any pride that we're just diverse, so we've got different economic standards. 7:45 But we want to ensure that in humility, we're seeking to be renewed every single day. This is what Romans 12, 1 and 2 says. Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living, holy sacrifice. 8:02 Pay attention to that word sacrifice. This is the spiritual service of worship. We've often heard this is what the word worship means, not just singing songs or playing music. It's offering your body every day as a living, holy sacrifice. 8:16 Do not be conformed to this world. We see Christianity around us getting more and more conformed to the world. The calling for the new covenant churches that were no longer conformed to the world, but transformed by the renewing of our mind. 8:31 By that daily renewing, that daily repentance through which the Lord will renew us. So that you may prove what the will of God is, what is good, acceptable, and perfect. So the Lord may renew us and call us up higher, like we heard yesterday. 8:47 This is what must unite us. And the way the Lord is going to do that is through each of us sacrificing ourselves daily. Sacrificing everything about ourselves, everything about our lives, everything that we want to take control of. 9:04 Our memory verse for this, for last week was, give preference to each other in honor. Giving up our own opinions, arguments of the way we're going to do things, our feelings, our finances, our children even, our families. 9:17 Put it on the altar. This is how, our own will. This is how the Lord is going to renew our mind, our conforming to the world. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 24. I'll show you a passage which Jesus talked about what the end times are going to look like. 9:38 Matthew 24. We are in the end times. I believe we are in the end times. And this is what the Lord Jesus Christ said about the end times. Matthew 24, verse 12. He said, because lawlessness is increased, because sin is abounding, most people's love will grow cold. 9:53 This is a warning to the disciples, not to the crowd, to the disciples here. Be careful that your love does not grow cold. But who is the one who will be saved? You often know that, give your life to Jesus, say the sinner's prayer and you're saved. 10:08 This is not what this verse says. Who is the one who will be saved? But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Verse 13. The one who endures to the end will be saved. And here's what Jesus shows as the sign of the end times in verse 15. 10:24 When you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, let the reader understand. This is a sign of the end times. And I read this passage a couple weeks ago. 10:40 And as I've read through this passage many times, I just go on to the next verse. But this verse was special because it said, let the reader pay attention. Which means I needed to pay attention to something. Let the reader pay attention. 10:53 How many verses in the Bible have that extra clause that says, reader, pay attention. Do a little bit more research. What is the Lord trying to speak to you here? When you see the abomination of desolation. And if you read this, I encourage you, when you see passages like this, read it in the amplified version. 11:07 Which actually gives you a cross reference of where that verse is referring to. And this is actually referring to a passage in Daniel chapter 11. A part of which we actually looked at yesterday. We looked at one of the verses in Daniel chapter 11. 11:22 This phrase, abomination of desolation. This is from the prophecy of Daniel. In Daniel chapter 11. So if you turn with me, dad, to Daniel chapter 11. And it's talking about the Antichrist. But that spirit is something that can come into the church. 11:38 And what the enemy, the devil, is trying to bring into the church. Daniel chapter 11. Starting with verse 31. Forces from the enemy, from Satan, will arise. And desecrate the church, so to speak. The sanctuary fortress. 11:57 And the King James Version says, The enemy will do away with the daily sacrifice. This is the enemy's plan. To ruin disciples. And to have the love of many grow cold. Is to bring a message to the Christian church that says, 12:15 You don't need to sacrifice every day anymore. Christ has died for you. You can have a comfortable life. He's here to bless you. To make a lot of money. He's going to take care of your kids. Have a great college education. 12:29 He's going to take care of all of your problems. You don't need to sacrifice anymore. You have the imputed righteousness of Christ. There's nothing more to be done in your Christian life. And that is the lie that the devil is going to plant. 12:44 If we're not careful. That will cause our love to go cold. Doing away with the daily sacrifice. The most dangerous thing. A very subtle thing. It's not adultery. It's not murder. It's doing away with the daily sacrifice. 12:59 The conviction of the Lord to say, I must sacrifice my feelings. My will. The double-edged sword of God that's meant to separate the soulish from the spiritual. Oh, I don't need that anymore. Let me listen to what I feel like. 13:13 Let me exert my opinion under the pretext of exercising my authority as the head of the home. Let me win the argument. Let me impose myself. Let me express my feelings because my convictions are right. Let me take control of my finances under the pretext of like, oh, I'm trying to take care of my family. 13:33 Let me take control of my children like we heard yesterday. Let me show them greater love than Christ has for them by not disciplining them because they're my children and I love them. The Lord is saying, put it on the altar. 13:47 Every day there must be something that the Lord is pointing out to us that we're saying, Lord, I want to put my will to death. I want to put myself to death. I want to put my family on the altar. I want to put my finances on the altar. 13:59 I want to put my relatives, relationships, friendships, everything on the altar. This is the message for the disciple, is the daily sacrifice. And instead it says in verse 32, sorry, in verse 31 it says, and they will set up the abomination of the last part. 14:21 They will set up the abomination of desolation. That's the reference that Jesus made in Matthew 24, the abomination of desolation. And I've thought about that word. What does the word desolation mean? Desolation means a barren wasteland, an area of total fruitlessness. 14:37 This is how the devil is going to ruin our Christian life. It's not by some major sin, but it is with a barren wasteland of no fruitfulness in our lives. And I believe, as I was meditating on the scripture, I believe the Lord is, I believe the enemy is doing that right now. 14:56 In each of our, amidst, with the arrival of technology, with our teenagers, with our children, the abomination of desolation, the picture of the Lord gave me, was right, is right in our own hands. It's right here, on these phones. 15:12 We've got the Bible, which can lead us to a daily sacrifice. And on the other hand, we wake up every morning. We're scrolling social media, rotting our brains. Not necessarily overtly sinful things, but they're taking on our lives. 15:31 We're watching the news, reading about politics, things that, things that basically feed anxiety, feed insecurity in our children and our teenagers, because they want what, they're comparing themselves to what other people in the world have. 15:48 Feed the conforming of the world, that Romans 12, 2 talks about, instead of the renewing of our mind. This is the abomination of desolation that the enemy is placing in our lives, even adults. Think about what you spend most of your time doing during the day, or what you do in your waking moments, or right before you sleep. 16:10 What is it that's consuming your mind? Could be your work email. It's all here on this device. What are the apps you're going to? And I'm not saying they're overtly sinful, and I'm not saying in moderation they're okay. 16:21 Jesus himself kept up with the news and things like that. But if that has become what is consuming us and conforming us to the world, it will lead us into a defeated life of anxiety, into a defeated life of yielding to our feelings, not being able to separate the soulish from the spiritual. 16:44 Not meditating on God's word, comparison to others, insecurities, and all of these evil things. And this is how I believe the enemy is setting up this abomination of desolation in the church to replace the daily sacrifice. 17:04 Let's see what it says in the rest of this passage. It says, verse 32, by smooth words, he will turn to godlessness. This will actually lead, the more you get consumed with these things outside of the word of God, it will lead to godlessness. 17:17 Those who act wickedly towards the covenant. But the people who, this is the verse we heard yesterday, the people who know that God will display strength and take action. What we need is parents, elders, facilitators, brothers and sisters of this church who will display strength and take action by leading with the example of the daily sacrifice. 17:38 You don't have to be a preacher from this pulpit. You don't have to be a song leader or a Sunday school teacher. You can be a quiet mom in your home praying for your children but displaying through your own example in your life how the daily sacrifice is the way to endure to the end in love. 17:56 And your children will see that example amidst difficulty, amidst trial. And that's what's going to save them to become disciples. And you can teach them that in the fear of the Lord. Verse 33, those who have insight among the people will give understanding to many. 18:09 This is a really dangerous warning here. There are people who are known for giving insight and understanding to others. Ones that we respect for giving understanding and insight to others. But perhaps the Lord has not done that work or they've lost that sense of daily sacrifice and that humility of depending on the Lord. 18:30 Yet they will fall away. The ones who are, imagine, the ones who are giving insight to people and giving understanding will fall away by sword. What is the picture of the sword? The word of God that separates the soulish from the spiritual, yielding to their feelings, yielding to their relationships, to their attachment to family or the things of this earth. 18:51 Or they will fall by flame, by the fire of God coming down to purify the church. Or they will find by captivity because they will be enslaved to some sin in their life that will bring them down. Or by plunder, which is a picture of the riches of this world. 19:10 The attachment to money or the love of money will bring them down. These are ones who are giving insight and understanding to many. And the Lord is saying they will fall. And when they fall, they will be granted a little help. 19:22 Verse 34. And many will join them in hypocrisy. That means an outward appearance of spirituality. But deep down inside, they're controlled by plunder. By not taking the word of God seriously. Not letting the fire burn out what needs to be burnt out. 19:39 Or their attachments to relationships, captivity to some sin. And verse 35 says, some of those who have insight will fall. For what purpose? In order to refine and purge and make them pure until the end time. That's the desire the Lord has. 19:59 He doesn't have a desire for people to die without salvation or to not be purified. He has a desire for these things to be purified from us. Not entire people to be wiped out. But for these attachments to be purified from us. 20:17 This way of doing our own will to be purified from us. This is the daily sacrifice that I believe the Lord wants to call us to. And renew our focus on. That renewal that will join us across in unity and hunger. With all these different ones that are joining our church. 20:37 And hunger to be conformed to the image of Christ. Let's not just be comfortable with that. But let's ensure we have this daily sacrifice. This is the picture that when you think about how Jesus. How God decided to build his church. 20:54 He said his church would be built. The temple of God will be built on Mount Moriah. Solomon built the temple on Mount Moriah. And Mount Moriah is a picture as we've heard. Of David's sacrifice. There's two important events besides the building of the temple that happened in Mount Moriah. 21:11 Second Samuel 24-24. David. I don't have time to turn there. But David was convicted of the Lord. Of taking a census. Of counting. Of taking pride in his own kingdom. And the Lord was calling him back to say. No. You've forgotten to depend on me. 21:29 And as a result of that conviction. He repented. And he was renewed. And he decided to offer to the Lord that which cost him something. That's 2nd Simon 24-24. And the Lord showed up. And accepted that offering. With fire from on high. 21:45 The other event that happened. Was in Genesis chapter 22. Which was Abraham offering Isaac. The closest attachment. The beloved son whom he loved. This is the picture of the daily sacrifice that the Lord might call us. Call upon us to offer up every single day. 22:05 The thing that we're most attached to. That may not even seem sinful. A relationship with a family member. Or a attachment to something that may not even be overtly sinful. But the Lord is saying. I want you to put it on the altar. 22:18 And we know the story of Abraham and Isaac. And Abraham put Isaac on the altar. And the angel of the Lord stayed his arm. And he found a ram. To replace that offering. And again. The fire of the Lord came down. And accepted that sacrifice. 22:37 But I want to show you something interesting. In Genesis chapter 22 verse 14. It's interesting to see. Abraham's response. Abraham. Here's Abraham. Offering up his son Isaac. And. What does he name this place? This is the. 22:58 Motto for all of us Christians. This must be the testimony of our lives. He doesn't name this place. The amazing sacrifice I made for the Lord. He doesn't name this place. My son was redeemed. Abraham. Call the name of that place. 23:15 Verse 14. The Lord will provide. And that's the name it has to this day. That is. The motto. That all of us. Must live by. As we daily. Sacrifice. Ourselves to the Lord. Our wills to the Lord. It's not the Lord has provided. 23:32 Fast tense. Not even the Lord provided today. The Lord will provide. Every single day. We must seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit. As we're renewed into the image of Christ. As we repent. And we. Offer up ourselves to the Lord. 23:47 Every single day. With the confidence. That we can name that day. The Lord provided. And we can name tomorrow. The Lord will provide. So I want to end with this. These lyrics from the song. We often sing. We've sung at this conference as well. 24:05 Send the fire. It says. The fire will meet our every need. Send the fire. For strength to ever do the right. For grace to conquer in the fight. Oh see us. On thy altar lay. Our lives are all this very day. This is the daily sacrifice. 24:22 That the Lord is. Calling. Us to come up higher. To crown the offering. Now we pray. Send the fire Lord. Send your Holy Spirit. May this be true in our lives. May. Our daily walk with the Lord. Involve. Repentance. Sacrifice. 24:40 And through that a renewal. Into the image of Christ. Amen.
