1 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:06,400 Amen. So being a guest guest speaker, 2 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:09,920 there's always like a question of of like how, how you know 3 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:14,320 how, how, what can I bring up to you guys so that I can make a 4 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:17,480 point something that you know, brings you some kind of 5 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:21,280 nourishment or inspiration or can I do I say something that's 6 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:26,160 controversial, that's pointed and I chose for the kinder, 7 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:29,880 gentler message today. OK, so I think and because 8 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:32,920 here's the thing, like I even though I'm a pastor, that 9 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:35,760 doesn't make me necessarily a professional at these things. 10 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:38,840 Amen. It doesn't necessarily mean that 11 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:41,880 I don't struggle like you do. Being a pastor doesn't 12 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:44,480 necessarily mean I'm an expert at these things or that I 13 00:00:44,480 --> 00:00:46,840 practice them so much better than everybody else. 14 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:49,640 It's some simply not true. There are certain parts of the 15 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:53,680 Bible that I've known my entire life and yet I continue to 16 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:56,880 transform to struggle. And one of the things that for 17 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:03,400 me is difficult is this idea of your identity, yourself worth 18 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:06,280 right at the core of who you are. 19 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:10,760 The question is, who are you? Who are you? 20 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:15,040 OK, so when you get pulled over, you know, the police asks you 21 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:16,800 for your driver's license because they want to know 22 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:19,360 quickly, who are you, where you live, where you coming from? 23 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:23,880 And my driver's license, you look at it says I'm 6 feet, 175 24 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:25,720 lbs. I used to be like 2/10 of praise 25 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:30,240 God, I lost some weight. Potter just described me what I 26 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:32,360 do. You know, I, I am a hospital 27 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:36,200 chaplain at a major hospital and then I am also a Hospice 28 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:40,560 chaplain on the site. But these are not my core 29 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:46,440 identity, OK? Our core identity has to do also 30 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:50,440 with our self worth, right? So one of the questions is what 31 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:53,960 do we do? A lot of us here who have jobs 32 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:58,880 or careers, what do you do? I don't know, when you guys meet 33 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:00,840 someone new, often that question comes up, right? 34 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:03,040 Like, what do you do? And when I ask somebody what 35 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,760 they do, I, I find two different reactions usually coming from 36 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:08,199 them. Either one is 1 of like pride. 37 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:11,680 Oh, like, well, you know, I'm a lawyer, I'm a doctor, right? 38 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:15,440 And, and then it's kind of like thinly veiled humility, but you 39 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:17,240 know, they're very proud of what they do for sure, right. 40 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:19,720 And then there are those who are like, not so proud of what they 41 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:21,960 do, right? Oh, So what do you do? 42 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:25,440 Oh, you know, I'm, I'm doing Uber right now or like Uber eats 43 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:27,880 or, you know, they look crestfallen a little bit. 44 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:30,480 They're kind of like their demeanor guys kind of goes. 45 00:02:30,640 --> 00:02:33,480 Some of them don't have jobs at all, Like, oh, I'm currently 46 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:36,160 unemployed and I say, no, you're in between things. 47 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:38,360 I'm sure you'll find something. I try to make them feel better. 48 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:42,120 A lot of us have this tremendous pride about what you do with 49 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:43,600 your life and good for you. No doubt. 50 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:46,760 That's awesome. Some of us have a lot of pride 51 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:50,120 or identity comes from being a parent, right. 52 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:53,560 I realized that once I had my my daughter, my first born at 53 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:58,320 Reagan, my life was not my own. I realized, holy smoke, right? 54 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:02,080 There was just so much. And now that she's getting older 55 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:05,160 and she's she recently just got into a really prestigious 56 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:06,720 program. Do you see what I just did 57 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:08,120 there? I slipped in my pride as a 58 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:10,400 Korean parent, right? But I got to tell you, I'm the 59 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:13,920 least Korean parent. As a Korean parent, I received 60 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:16,440 so much trauma. So did my wife for my parents 61 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:20,280 that we promised that we would not withhold our love because my 62 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:25,520 kid got a, a minus. OK, we, we are so like trying so 63 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:28,120 hard for Reagan to grow up without that kind of pressure. 64 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:30,440 But the weird thing is she's putting that pressure on 65 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:32,840 herself. OK, so she's getting into these 66 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:35,760 programs and we're like, I can feel a little bit of my pride 67 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:37,360 going at first. This is the funniest part. 68 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:39,680 When she got into the program, my wife and I were like, are we 69 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:43,200 sure that's not a mistake because she needed to pass a 70 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:46,960 test and then lottery in. OK, so you got to pass that test 71 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,640 1st and then you got a lottery. And then in that she got picked 72 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:51,280 from the lottery. We're like, I don't know if she 73 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:54,480 really got in. And then then she got placed 74 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:56,760 into like the highest math class. 75 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:01,080 And my daughter takes after me. We don't like math, so I don't 76 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:03,400 know how that happens. So she's doing algebra at 6th 77 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:06,040 grade, which is too mind blowing to me. 78 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:08,160 My wife and I were like, I don't, I think they may have 79 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:10,120 made a mistake. That's how we're thinking of it, 80 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:12,920 right? But some of us for sure, we get, 81 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:16,079 you know, we get this pride going about what our kids 82 00:04:16,079 --> 00:04:18,720 accomplishments are. We name Job kind of like how I 83 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:20,040 did in front of you guys right now, right? 84 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,520 Some of us are really prideful. We get our identity out of the 85 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:27,040 gifts and talents that God has given to us. 86 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:30,280 Some of us are very musically inclined, like our brother 87 00:04:30,280 --> 00:04:32,080 Potter. You know, some people are really 88 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:34,000 good at speaking in front of people. 89 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:38,080 You know, some people are are really good at making money or 90 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:40,440 your accounts are really big. So there's like, it got all 91 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:43,760 these talents and gifts and you derive a lot of pleasure out of 92 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:45,200 that. You know, at my age, I just 93 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:48,600 turned 50 not too long ago, and I haven't played basketball in 94 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:52,520 something like 20 years. And my friend, some of my 95 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:55,480 friends who had, you know, they were really good at basketball, 96 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:56,960 man. I mean, they're just so good at 97 00:04:56,960 --> 00:04:59,640 it. And now they're blowing knees 98 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:01,400 and Achilles, they're pulling and stuff. 99 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:03,680 And that's like that. That part of their life is 100 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:07,600 slowly slipping away. The pride of being such a great 101 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:10,080 athlete. Or how about this, Maybe some of 102 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:13,800 us have have your identity in Christian morality. 103 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:18,600 You have this blessed gift of having a great moral compass. 104 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,720 You seem to be always doing and saying the right things, right? 105 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:26,240 And so that kind of leads some of us into Christian ministry 106 00:05:26,840 --> 00:05:30,360 where we get a lot of identity and self worth in serving God. 107 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:33,240 You're known as somebody who serves the church or does things 108 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:36,680 for church or you once did. And so that can even be your 109 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:39,120 core identity. But these are all beautiful 110 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:43,400 things for sure, all beautiful things, but not your core 111 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:47,560 identity. I'm here to tell you two things. 112 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:53,280 One, you are God's masterpiece and #2 you are God's beloved 113 00:05:53,280 --> 00:05:54,640 child. That's the point of my 2 114 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:58,760 messages today, right? And so Tim Keller, my second 115 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:02,960 favorite Pastor Tim, you got that, OK, You're awake. 116 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:07,360 Your identity is received, not achieved. 117 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:12,800 Pastor Tim Keller said your identity is received, not 118 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:15,560 achieved. You guys hear that and I wish 119 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:17,120 I'd made that up. It sounds so amazing. 120 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:19,080 That's such a great line. If you remember nothing else 121 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:20,680 from this message, I hope that you remember this. 122 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:24,280 Your identity is received, not achieved. 123 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:28,920 So much of our lives is conditional upon achieving, 124 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:32,080 especially for a lot of us who are for Asian American families, 125 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:37,120 who, you know, it's, it's constantly striving to achieve, 126 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:42,000 to make something of yourself, to bootstrap and and perform at 127 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:44,600 a high level. Some of our jobs, you guys are 128 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:47,680 some of us are coming into a performance review, right, where 129 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:50,360 the manager gets to tell you some things that you can work 130 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:53,200 on, right. And you, how do you feel about 131 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:54,160 that? You know, in front of the 132 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:55,400 manager, like, oh, yeah, thank you. 133 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:57,240 Yeah, I'm so grateful. But when you leave, you're like, 134 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:00,280 Oh man, right. And like your, your raises, your 135 00:07:00,280 --> 00:07:03,440 promotions, your place in the company is all, you know, 136 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:07,720 predicated on this achieving. And so we're right. 137 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:10,320 When you wake up in the morning, your first thing that you think 138 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:13,600 about is getting things done, especially for some of the young 139 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:15,560 parents. I that's a lot of kids in this 140 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:18,880 family in this church. And I love that sound of the 141 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:22,080 kids running around with aunties and uncles saying hello. 142 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:24,560 And I just love that vibe. So God bless you on that. 143 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,200 But some of us were parents like it's like hit the ground and 144 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:29,880 running. You got to do, you got to feed 145 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:32,280 yourself, you got to feed the kids, you got to protect the 146 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:35,520 kids, you got to dress the kid. Everything, everything is 147 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:37,680 performance based. And then on top of all that, 148 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:40,280 there's this constant feeling like nagging feeling like you're 149 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:43,720 not doing enough. You're not such a great parent. 150 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:49,320 You wish you could be a better parent, but in Jesus, your 151 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:52,320 identity is received, not achieved. 152 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:54,720 Amen. So number one, the first thing I 153 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:58,680 want to say is you are God's masterpiece. 154 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,320 Ephesians 210 says this. For we are God's workmanship 155 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:06,520 created in Christ Jesus for good works, for we are God's 156 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:09,440 workmanship. That word workmanship is also 157 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:12,520 translated masterpiece or craftsmanship. 158 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:17,480 And so each and of us in this room is basically we are God's 159 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:20,680 masterpiece. Did you know that when you are 160 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:25,360 gone from this earth, there will never be another one like you? 161 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:28,720 There's another weird word of saying that that's that means 162 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:30,080 you're one-of-a-kind. Amen. 163 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:32,480 And when I think of that word masterpiece. 164 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:35,559 And by the way, this word workmanship in Greek is poema, 165 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:40,520 which is where we get the word poem, which is an artistic or 166 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:45,680 skillful written work, right? That's what a poem. 167 00:08:45,680 --> 00:08:48,760 I'm not a huge poem guy, but I do that does sound very amazing 168 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:51,240 and beautiful. But this is the idea of 169 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:55,200 something artistically made, skillfully made, beautifully 170 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:59,640 made. When I think of masterpieces, I 171 00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:01,400 start thinking of paintings. Do you guys do that? 172 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:05,960 And the painting that I think of most is Van Gogh's Starry Night. 173 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:08,160 And I brought it from my house actually today. 174 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:13,360 Yeah. You guys know this one, right? 175 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:14,880 This is probably one of the most famous. 176 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:18,680 I'm going to prop it against this mic stand. 177 00:09:19,560 --> 00:09:22,880 This particular painting has deeper personal meaning for me 178 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:26,480 because on one of my my first real dates with my wife, who 179 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:29,880 were my girlfriend at the time, we went to the MO Ma, which was 180 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:33,440 in New York, and it was a target free Friday. 181 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:36,720 So we got in for free, which makes the date even better. 182 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:41,440 And so this starry night, Vincent van Gogh is kind of 183 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:46,280 close to my heart as being, you know, just a a very novice 184 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:48,920 newbie at art. I'm not going to pretend like 185 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,720 I'm sophisticated. But Van Gogh, I don't know if, 186 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:53,480 you know, this was a was it was a Christian. 187 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:56,040 And he came from actually a family of pastors. 188 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:58,200 He himself actually thought about going to seminary, 189 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:01,000 realized that's not his thing. Aren't we so blessed that he 190 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:01,440 didn't? Right. 191 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:03,480 Right. And I don't know if you guys 192 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:06,200 know this, but he considered this painting a failure. 193 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:13,000 Yeah, I want to ask, how many of us in this room right now to 1° 194 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:15,600 or another sometimes wrestle with that feeling of being a 195 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:22,840 failure? Yeah, but Ephesians 210 says we 196 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:25,920 are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. 197 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:29,200 We all masterpieces, never to be duplicated again. 198 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:32,920 You are one-of-a-kind. That's what makes this painting 199 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:36,480 so priceless. You cannot put a price to this. 200 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:39,320 Why? Because it's one-of-a-kind, it 201 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:45,280 will never be made again. And I don't want to downplay 202 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:50,720 this, but it is nothing compared to who you are in Jesus, Amen. 203 00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:53,920 You are a masterpiece. Turn to your neighbor and say, 204 00:10:53,920 --> 00:11:02,330 hey, you're a masterpiece. It sounds funny, it sounds 205 00:11:02,330 --> 00:11:04,850 incredible, it is unbelievable, Amen. 206 00:11:05,050 --> 00:11:08,490 Which is why we all struggle with the idea. 207 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:14,120 We struggle because it's so true and it feels so cheaply had not 208 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:18,760 so not cheaply had. Ask your mom, was it easy to 209 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:22,880 have you OK? Or the way that God created each 210 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:25,200 and everyone. Psalm 13914. 211 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:28,960 This is awesome. It says I praise you because I 212 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:31,480 am fearfully and wonderfully made. 213 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:34,960 Your works are wonderful. I know that full well. 214 00:11:35,680 --> 00:11:39,480 David had a real deep appreciation for the human body 215 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:43,480 and what it could do, what it does, how it restores itself, 216 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:47,280 how it repairs itself, how each morning it is able to be 217 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:50,200 refreshed. You know, there is so much we 218 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:51,840 don't understand about the human body. 219 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:56,040 I'm a hospital chaplain, so I get to see all the floors of the 220 00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:58,840 hospital. You know, the nurses and doctors 221 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:01,200 who are in different departments and units, they don't actually 222 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:03,520 cross over to other units unless you're a floater. 223 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:06,240 But as a chaplain, I go to all these. 224 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:09,960 I go to the EDI, go to the ICU. I go to the NICU. 225 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:12,040 I go to all these places. And one of the things that's 226 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:18,200 really astounding to me is how little medical science can do. 227 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:21,880 Don't get me wrong, The technology is amazing, OK? 228 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:24,840 Like, now I've seen, you know, X-ray machines. 229 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:27,200 You know, back in the day, you had to go to the X-ray room. 230 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:29,840 Nowadays, the X-ray come to you. Is there anyone in the 231 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:32,080 healthcare industry here? You guys will know what I'm 232 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:34,200 talking about, right? Nowadays they push this, the 233 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:37,640 X-ray machines, these things are like 20-30, forty, $1000, and 234 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:40,800 they come to the room. So technology is amazing, but in 235 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:44,000 terms of trying to make sick people, well, sometimes it's 236 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:45,720 just like you just got to wait it out. 237 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:48,600 They give you some medicines and this and that. 238 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:52,160 And especially where I'm working in the ICU, there's just such a 239 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:55,960 sense of hopelessness there. There's so little the middle 240 00:12:55,960 --> 00:13:00,440 size understands and can do. My point is, is that you have 241 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:04,080 been fearfully and wonderfully made by our Creator. 242 00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:05,560 Amen. Yeah. 243 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:09,600 There's so how intricate and complex our bodies are. 244 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:13,080 And in Hebrew, this word fearfully is yaray. 245 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:15,560 Yaray. This word has this essence of 246 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:21,320 awe, reverence and deep respect. But how many times, brothers and 247 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:24,640 sisters, do you look in the mirror and go, man, amazing, 248 00:13:24,680 --> 00:13:26,520 right? None of us, right? 249 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:29,000 Every time you guys are looking in the mirror, something is 250 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:31,960 wrong, right? A freckle, A pimple, a hair out 251 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:34,080 of place, right? We're always condemning and 252 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:36,040 shaming ourselves when we're looking in the mirror. 253 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:38,800 We don't have this deep sense of reverence and respect. 254 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:43,640 But think about how little your input was asked for when you 255 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:46,720 were made, right? When God created you. 256 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:49,960 You didn't ask for your height, your weight. 257 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:52,400 You didn't ask for how many fingers or toes. 258 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:56,200 And all of this is so wonderfully made, marvelous and 259 00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:58,760 extraordinary with. And then not just that, that's 260 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:02,280 just the human body, right? But think about the things that 261 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:05,800 that that make up who you are character wise, personality 262 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:09,120 wise, your talents, your passions, your intellect. 263 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:12,440 OK, I got it. My daughter Reagan, she's like 264 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:15,760 really into crafts right now. She's into little ducks, so 265 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:18,360 she's hot gluing ducks on everything. 266 00:14:18,680 --> 00:14:22,720 Went to Disneyland and she put ducks on her ear, mouse ears. 267 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:26,680 And it turned out to be a good thing because she lost her ears 268 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:28,840 on the ride. And then when she came back, 269 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:30,040 they're like, which one is yours? 270 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:33,760 The one with the ducks. And she was immediately able to 271 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:36,480 get her ears back. And then my little one, she's 272 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:40,000 not so much into her crafts, but she loves to dance, right? 273 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:43,760 She's watching all this BTS, you know, black, pink, and then you 274 00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:47,040 know, Huntrex, you know the whole that golden song, right? 275 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:49,960 EJ and them. And she's she, she can memorize 276 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:51,480 all the lyrics. She's only 6. 277 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:54,440 And I'm looking at her and like my wife and I are like, I don't 278 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:58,000 know if that comes for you or from me, but just amazing how we 279 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:02,760 have these different talents and gifts and passions into a 280 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:05,920 physical body that builds, restores and repairs itself. 281 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:10,400 We are God's craftsmanship, one-of-a-kind and original. 282 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:15,200 But you may say, oh, John, Pastor John, I don't feel like 283 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:18,920 an amazing masterpiece. I'm not doing well in school. 284 00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:21,680 I'm not Maybe I'm you're not doing well in your job or, or 285 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:24,000 marriage, or maybe a lack of a marriage. 286 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:27,200 You're looking to get married. I've made so many mistakes, you 287 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:30,480 may say, or you may say. I've been hurt so much by 288 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:34,640 others. But none of your failures and 289 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:38,120 mistakes and hurts changes how God sees you. 290 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:43,040 You are his masterpiece. Allow me to share this one 291 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:47,040 illustration. It's a special form of Japanese 292 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:50,480 art. It is the art of imperfection. 293 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:52,840 I'd be impressed if anyone knows what this is. 294 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:55,760 Anyone know what it is? Very good. 295 00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:58,400 Who said that? Very good. 296 00:15:58,400 --> 00:15:59,080 Very good. That's right. 297 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:03,280 It's called Kinsugi, OK. It's basically art of 298 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:06,400 imperfection. Is beauty out of the broken. 299 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:11,640 OK, So basically it's a way of restoring broken pottery. 300 00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:16,880 And the way they restore it is with this rare SAP of a tree. 301 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:19,120 And SAP is another word of saying blood, OK? 302 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:21,200 It's like the rare blood of trees. 303 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:23,800 And then what you do is you dust it with gold. 304 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:27,000 Now here's the crazy part. Once the broken pottery is 305 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:32,680 restored, it becomes more valuable and more beautiful than 306 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:34,240 before. Amen. 307 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:37,080 Yeah. And who is that? 308 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:39,320 That's you and me, brothers and sisters. 309 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:42,960 Our sin in our hurts, in our wounds and our mistakes are 310 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:47,080 restored not with tree sapping gold, but with the precious 311 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:50,920 blood of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. 312 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:54,320 A new creation is what Paul calls it, right? 313 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:59,480 We are new creation in Christ and He is so close to those that 314 00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:02,920 are broken hearted, the imperfect, the misfits, that's 315 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:05,400 you and me. But God sees us as a 316 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:07,520 masterpiece. Isn't that good? 317 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:12,480 OK #2 who are you? What is your core identity? 318 00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:15,520 Number one, we said you are God's masterpiece in Christ 319 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:19,640 Jesus #2 who are you? You are God's dearly beloved 320 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:22,200 child. Have you ever thought about this 321 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:24,560 question? Like what is the point of all of 322 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:25,640 us? Like why are we here? 323 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:29,240 Why did God create us? Why did God create us, right? 324 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:33,320 It's so that we can go to church and read the Bible and and pray. 325 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:36,320 Some of our holy rollers can go to like, you know, morning 326 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:38,200 service, you know, like if you're really holy. 327 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:41,000 And so God created us so that we could do all these things for 328 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,480 him. That is not why God created us. 329 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:47,680 God created us for the same reason why families want to have 330 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:51,320 children is to share their love, right? 331 00:17:52,120 --> 00:17:57,120 Is to create a family. God created us to build a 332 00:17:57,120 --> 00:17:58,160 family. Amen. 333 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:04,040 First John 31 says this. See what great love the Father 334 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:08,360 has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God 335 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:12,600 and that is what we are. That is your core identity. 336 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:16,040 Says read it again. See what great love the Father 337 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:19,840 has lavished on us that we should be called children of God 338 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:23,520 and that is what we are, our core identity. 339 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:25,880 It's not wrapped up in what you do with your life. 340 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:27,600 It's not how much money you have. 341 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:29,680 It's not how handsome or beautiful you are. 342 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:35,840 Your core identity is in Jesus because of his great love for 343 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:36,960 us. We are his children. 344 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:40,400 And I love this word lavish. Do we use, We don't use this 345 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:43,240 word that often, but I love it. I love this word lavish. 346 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:48,960 It means basically spending or giving more than is necessary to 347 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:55,920 give in excess or extravagantly. OK, when I think of lavish, I, I 348 00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:58,040 think of my brother-in-law. He works for Disney. 349 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:01,200 So we get the, we get a chance to go to, to Disneyland and 350 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:04,800 pretty often I, I would say more often than we should actually 351 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:07,880 get real tired. But so we went this past Friday 352 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:11,280 and every time we go, my, my brother-in-law, he, you know, he 353 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,360 lets us in, you know, which is a great gift upon itself. 354 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:18,640 But then, you know, he, he buys us food and with my daughters 355 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:21,200 that we go into a store and he buys them whatever they want in 356 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:24,560 the store, not whatever they want, but within reason. 357 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:28,520 And to me, that feels like so much like, like lavish love, 358 00:19:29,120 --> 00:19:31,400 right? I feel like a parent's job is to 359 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:34,240 unspoil their children and uncles and aunties are there to 360 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:35,560 spoil children. You see what I'm saying? 361 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:39,240 And and they just, he just lavishes on them with all these 362 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:40,840 extravagant gifts. Here's the thing. 363 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:44,200 How did the Father lavish us with great love? 364 00:19:47,360 --> 00:19:52,680 John 316 We all know it. For God so loved the world that 365 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:55,040 he gave his one and only Son. Amen. 366 00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:59,720 He lavished his love in this. Because here's the thing, love 367 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:04,320 causes us to give, OK? Love causes us to give. 368 00:20:05,360 --> 00:20:07,960 The greater the love, the greater the give. 369 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:11,320 I remember when my grandparents were still with us. 370 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:14,400 Oh, yeah, we go visit them and then when we say, oh, we have to 371 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:16,880 go, and then my grandmother starts opening up a bag and 372 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:19,480 starts throwing in whatever she sees around her, a bag of 373 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:22,400 peanuts and like Bengay or like whatever's around, right? 374 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:25,760 She just loves us so much. She just, or she'll still take 375 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:29,760 out a bunch of like Korean food and start stuffing into bags 376 00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:32,680 because the greater the love, the greater the give, right? 377 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:37,280 And in our father, he gives us his most precious thing. 378 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:40,360 It doesn't say that God had ten sons. 379 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:44,680 It says that he had one son, and our Father in his great love 380 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:48,560 gives us the most precious one and only son. 381 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:52,160 That's what we celebrate Christmas for. 382 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:55,160 We can say happy holidays blue in the face, but we're all 383 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:56,600 trying to say Merry Christmas, Amen. 384 00:20:56,960 --> 00:20:59,520 When we all celebrate God's greatest gift, which is why 385 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:02,480 we're giving gifts to each other, because we're remembering 386 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:04,520 how God gave us his most precious gift. 387 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:06,160 Amen. Yeah. 388 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:09,000 The greatest gift of all. That's why we're giving gifts to 389 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:10,080 each other. You ever thought about that? 390 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:11,360 Why are we giving gifts to each other? 391 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:14,600 Yeah, it's because we are remembering God's gift to us. 392 00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:18,560 If you guys know who Tony Dungy is, he's now a commentator, but 393 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:21,200 he used to be a Super Bowl winning coach of the 394 00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:23,560 Indianapolis Colts and once. I don't know if you guys know 395 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:25,360 this, but he's a big Christian. He's a believer. 396 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:29,600 He said this. If God were to ask for my son in 397 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:33,800 exchange to save the world, I would have to say, I'm sorry, 398 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:37,560 Lord, I cannot give up my son to save the world. 399 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:43,960 But that is what God did. He gave up his son so that we 400 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:46,320 might be saved. Think about that folks for a 401 00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:48,360 second, especially those of us who are parents in this room, 402 00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:50,600 right? What parent would willingly give 403 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:52,720 up their child to die for someone else? 404 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:56,280 I'm a pastor and all, but I'm sorry, that's not something I'm 405 00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:58,680 going to do. I will not give up my child for 406 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:02,720 someone else. But that's exactly what God does 407 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:05,560 for us. Romans 5 says very rarely will 408 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:08,240 anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good 409 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:11,520 person, someone might possibly dare to die, right? 410 00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:15,640 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this while we 411 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:18,400 were sinners, Christ died for us. 412 00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:22,720 Amen. That means what does that mean? 413 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:25,840 That's that means that God did not send Jesus to die for us 414 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:29,640 when we were doing really good, morally upright and virtuous 415 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:31,720 things. He died when we were at our 416 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:35,280 worst. The amazing thing about this is 417 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:37,840 this, and we don't actually run across this anywhere in the 418 00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:40,880 world. Only in God do we find this word 419 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:44,480 unconditional love, unconditional love. 420 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:46,960 This gets thrown around a lot, but basically what it means is a 421 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:50,680 fancy way of saying God loves you no matter what. 422 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:54,480 Amen. No matter what, no matter what, 423 00:22:54,880 --> 00:23:00,080 He cannot love you anymore or any less than he does right now. 424 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:02,080 Amen. Isn't that good? 425 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:06,120 You can read your Bible backwards and forwards 100 times 426 00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:10,280 and come to, you know, every. There's no religious or virtuous 427 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:13,640 thing can you ever do that makes God love you more? 428 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:17,640 Amen. Gosh, on the other side, there's 429 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:21,440 no sin that you can do as much as you do that making God love 430 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:26,000 you any less. Hey man, imagine trying that at 431 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:27,920 your work. I'm going to go to work when I 432 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:30,040 feel like it. See how that works out, right? 433 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:32,720 I think you just do whatever you want at work. 434 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:35,000 Never. It's always conditional. 435 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:36,760 Every single thing is conditional. 436 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:38,960 Even in schools, everything is conditional, right? 437 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:41,320 Don't go to class. See how that works? 438 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:43,160 Stuff is exactly what I did in my life in high school. 439 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:45,880 I got kicked out of high school because I ditched so much. 440 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:48,920 I didn't end up graduating high school. 441 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:50,920 You're looking at probably one of the few Koreans. 442 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:54,760 I'm a Unicorn, guys. OK, You've not met a Korean guy 443 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:57,360 that did not graduate high school? 444 00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:00,000 I have a GED. It's not the same thing. 445 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:03,600 It's a good enough diploma, OK? I should have just taken my 446 00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:05,120 freshman year and just get it out of the way. 447 00:24:05,120 --> 00:24:08,000 And I went to junior college. I went to UCLA. 448 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:10,120 OK, So my children, friends here. 449 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:12,200 Little misled crowd. OK, Yes. 450 00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:13,640 You're good at football. Good for you. 451 00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:14,600 All right, Good for you. OK. 452 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:17,440 All right. But what it means is that no 453 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:21,800 matter what, God cannot love you anymore or less than he already 454 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:23,800 does right now. In fact. 455 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:29,800 In fact, it is a love so great and amazing it takes 66 books to 456 00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:34,160 tell us of his love. Essentially, the Bible is a 457 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:36,320 giant love letter. Amen. 458 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:38,480 It's a giant love letter, isn't it? 459 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:40,840 Isn't that nice kind of like frame it that way instead of a 460 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:43,920 religious book on got to read my Bible, right like blue in the 461 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:46,080 face right all the past telling you to read your Bible. 462 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:50,960 But when I tell you that truth be told, the Bible is a giant 463 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:54,200 love letter, kind of changes things, doesn't it? 464 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:57,440 Kind of reframe it. It's not religious anymore. 465 00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:01,520 It's relationship. Imagine if your mom or dad died 466 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:03,160 and wrote you a letter before they died. 467 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:06,480 Would you read that letter? How would you treat that letter? 468 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:09,000 Is that, you know, when I have time, you know, I'll read it. 469 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:12,360 You know, let me let you know. Let me just let me put this away 470 00:25:12,360 --> 00:25:15,080 while I'm doing other stuff. No way you would cherish that 471 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:18,000 thing, right? You start memorizing and quoting 472 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:21,520 it, right, wouldn't you? You understand my illustration 473 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:24,240 right now, right? Why we're always saying we need 474 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:26,360 to understand the word of God and read the word of God. 475 00:25:26,360 --> 00:25:28,160 Why? Because you won't know God's 476 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:30,720 love unless you read the love letter, Amen? 477 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:33,200 Isn't it a way better frame that way? 478 00:25:34,120 --> 00:25:38,000 Because now you don't have to feel condemned or guilty, You 479 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:40,680 know, if you only read a little or read a lot, it's OK. 480 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:44,040 Just read what you can, Amen? But you got to get the love 481 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:47,640 letter in you, otherwise the world is going to crush your 482 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:50,040 spirit. You guys hear what I'm saying? 483 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:52,760 You go to work, you go to schools, you go to all these 484 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:55,760 things, and you're constantly being measured, right about how 485 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:58,120 well you do. And that's not who you are, 486 00:25:58,120 --> 00:26:01,280 Amen. You are a child, precious child 487 00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:03,120 of God. That's the truth. 488 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:07,000 And if that gets inside of you, the love of God, and to the 489 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:10,920 degree that you let it get in you by personal worship, by 490 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:15,040 prayer, by singing praise right and letting it get in you, two 491 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:18,320 things begin to happen. OK, Number one, right, You 492 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:23,760 stopped searching for praise and affirmation from the world, 493 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:25,480 Amen. That's powerful. 494 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:29,040 OK? Number two thing it does is you 495 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:34,120 don't get offended as easily, OK, You take criticism, OK, all 496 00:26:34,120 --> 00:26:35,240 right, that's something to work on. 497 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:37,320 I got you right. But when you forget the love of 498 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:40,120 God inside of you, the core identity, and you let that bloom 499 00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:44,760 inside of your heart, real deep, real deep and the criticisms and 500 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:47,360 the weaknesses, the things you got to work on, it doesn't mean 501 00:26:47,360 --> 00:26:48,960 so much. You see what I'm saying? 502 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:51,560 It's like one of the things I remember when I was watching K 503 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:53,600 dramas and by the way, I'm old enough to remember like the 504 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:55,840 original Cage. I'm like bullish again, like 505 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:57,760 Tutu. Anyone know what those you guys 506 00:26:57,760 --> 00:26:58,800 don't even know what those are, right? 507 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:00,600 I don't think you were even born then. 508 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:03,280 OK, OK. But those are like the original 509 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,480 Cage dramas. I remember watching this and 510 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:07,520 like, after a while, I start to feel like this. 511 00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:09,800 Like, I start to feel like I can't measure up to these 512 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:11,960 people. These are like, the most, like, 513 00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:13,880 spotless human beings ever, right? 514 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:17,200 Like they're carrying their grandma 50, you know, 50 miles, 515 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:19,320 You know, like, they're going to do any of this stuff, right? 516 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:22,440 Like, you constantly measure yourself to other people, do you 517 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:25,640 not? You know what happens when you 518 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:26,680 compare yourself to other people? 519 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:28,120 We talked about this years ago, right? 520 00:27:28,120 --> 00:27:31,000 When I was at your retreat. When you compare your life to 521 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:33,320 other people, two things happen. Either 1. 522 00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:36,400 You get proud you're doing better than them, right? 523 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:39,400 Or you feel bad because you're not doing as well, right? 524 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:40,920 It's awful. It's an awful game. 525 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:44,480 You cannot win, OK? But when you get filled with the 526 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:46,400 love of God, you know where yourself worth comes from. 527 00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:48,720 It's not how much I make or what kind of car I drive or how big 528 00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:50,640 my house is if I have a house, right? 529 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:53,760 It's about God's love for me showing through Jesus Christ. 530 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,760 Amen. When that happens, then you feel 531 00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:59,480 so much lighter and happier and joyful. 532 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:00,920 That's called the fruit of the Spirit. 533 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:03,440 Amen. Isn't the more we understand 534 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:05,840 God's love, the more we appreciate God's love, the more 535 00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:09,560 we let it get inside of our hearts, the more bulletproof you 536 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:11,520 become. Isn't that great? 537 00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:16,480 The side of the, what happens in all of this is we become, we 538 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:19,440 become bulletproof and the world does not, is not able to touch 539 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:23,120 us and harm us the way it used to. 540 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:25,600 All right. My, my, my wife has friends, you 541 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:28,000 know, who are doing very well in life, OK. 542 00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:30,680 And, and I don't know if you have this phenomenon happening 543 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:32,840 to you where maybe you're not doing it as well. 544 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:36,080 And you can't go with them when they're going on vacation, some 545 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:39,320 of these extravagant vacations, you know, they're going to a 546 00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:41,720 five star resorts and they're inviting us. 547 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:45,120 But we all know back of their minds and back of our minds, we 548 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:48,160 ain't going. We simply can't afford it, you 549 00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:51,000 know? And if, if I were, if, if, if 550 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:54,720 my, my, if myself worth my entity identity was all wrapped 551 00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:59,440 up into how much I make as a provider, I would feel so bad, 552 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:00,800 right? I would feel awful. 553 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:02,320 I wouldn't want to kill myself, right? 554 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:06,160 But I don't. I'm like, yeah, have fun, you 555 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:06,720 know? That's great. 556 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:08,360 You know, I'll see you back around here. 557 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:09,560 Some parts. We'll go to San Diego or 558 00:29:09,560 --> 00:29:11,280 something, or something I can afford, you know what I mean? 559 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:17,760 But so easily you, we are all made to feel lesser than because 560 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:19,680 we can't keep up with the Joneses. 561 00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:23,160 All right? And if you ask them how they're 562 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:25,480 doing, they're probably thinking on another level. 563 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:27,440 You see what I'm saying? Oh, we're only going to this 564 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:29,920 five star resort here. But my other friend, they're 565 00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:31,080 going to tell you that, you know what I'm saying? 566 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:32,920 It's like the goal post keeps moving. 567 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:35,680 You see what I'm saying? You achieve one and then it 568 00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:38,400 keeps moving forward. You're never able to be content 569 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,640 with what you have. And Paul actually says 570 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:46,080 contentment is great gain. Think on that for a second. 571 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:49,680 Contentment is great gain. You know, we just celebrated 572 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:52,120 Thanksgiving. I wonder how many of us are 573 00:29:52,120 --> 00:29:54,640 really, truly appreciative for the things that we have. 574 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:58,040 There are people in the world who wish they could be you. 575 00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:04,200 They dream about it. I wish I could be in America. 576 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:06,400 I wish I could be in California. I wish I could be in Torrance. 577 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:08,240 Here that just constantly keeps going. 578 00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:11,600 But but for us, it's so easy when we don't have the love of 579 00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:14,920 God within us, then we begin to derive our identity from all 580 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:17,640 these different places that the world tells us we need to have. 581 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:19,520 We need to look like this. We got to drive that car. 582 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:21,840 We got to have, you know, all these, these accomplishments, 583 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:25,400 you know, So yeah, I didn't, I didn't graduate high school, but 584 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:29,720 I got into UCLA, right, Right. And I was like so happy. 585 00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:32,760 And then once you get a certain time, like nobody cares what 586 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:34,480 school you went to. Really. 587 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:37,080 Nobody cares. Like my entire life, I thought 588 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:39,120 my whole I did it, I thought my destiny. 589 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:42,040 I thought when I got into UCLA, my whole life would be like, oh, 590 00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:44,400 yes, I finally made it. My life is going to be like easy 591 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:45,880 from now on. Nobody cares. 592 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:49,000 Nobody cares. And in this day and age, it 593 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:53,680 seems to me like the colleges mean less and less, you know, as 594 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:56,440 time seems to go by. My point is, of course, is that 595 00:30:56,440 --> 00:31:01,040 if we do not receive our core identity from God, we will begin 596 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:04,360 to have core identities that are faults that are around us. 597 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:11,800 There is only one place that is God's love, which is 598 00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:14,200 unconditional, which you'll always have. 599 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:19,000 God's love is totally opposite from the world where love is 600 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,440 totally conditional. People love you only if you're 601 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:26,400 beautiful, rich, accomplished. We chase the love and approvable 602 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:31,440 of people rather than soak in the amazing love of God that is 603 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:36,480 always available to us. Amen, always available to US. 604 00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:41,160 One of the trippy parts of of Mark in the very beginning, 605 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:44,240 there's a story where Jesus comes up out of the water and 606 00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:48,360 this it says the heavens tore open and the spirit came upon 607 00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:50,400 Jesus like a dev note. And then there was a voice. 608 00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:55,240 I said, you are my son whom I love, and in you I'm well 609 00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:58,640 pleased Jesus hadn't done anything. 610 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:03,480 This is the first chapter you see that how Jesus's heart was 611 00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:06,760 so full of God's love and affirmation that it made it 612 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:09,720 possible for him to walk through life and eventually go to the 613 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:13,400 cross for us and then come back for three days later to show us 614 00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:19,400 that it's not the end. I'm going to wrap this up with a 615 00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:23,920 final story from one of my favorite Christian authors, name 616 00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:26,160 is Philip Yancey. He's not theologically deep, but 617 00:32:26,160 --> 00:32:29,160 he tells really great stories. And so here's one of the stories 618 00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:34,560 and we'll finish today. I quote, I remember few of the 619 00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:36,800 many sermons I have ever heard in my life. 620 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:40,040 An exception being the only sermon I heard preached by an 621 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:43,280 Ian Pitt Watson, a professor at Fuller Seminary. 622 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:48,160 His sermon had one point, not 3, which may explain why I still 623 00:32:48,160 --> 00:32:51,920 remember it. Some things are loved because 624 00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:55,440 they are worthy. Some things are worthy because 625 00:32:55,440 --> 00:33:00,120 they are loved. Pitt Watson began with examples 626 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:02,440 of things we love because of their inherent worth. 627 00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:06,480 Gorgeous supermodels, gifted athletes, brilliant scientists, 628 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:10,040 priceless works of art. Then he mentioned an object of 629 00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:13,280 no intrinsic worth that was greatly loved regardless. 630 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:16,280 He told of his daughter Rosemary's rag doll. 631 00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:21,520 Dirty, threadbare, but the most precious of all her possessions. 632 00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:25,880 Like Linus with his blanket, Rosemary could not bear to face 633 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:30,000 life without her rag doll. When the Pitt Watsons relocated 634 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:33,520 from Scotland across the ocean to America, each member of the 635 00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:36,440 family carefully selected what possessions to bring along. 636 00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:40,280 Rosemary chose just one article, her rag doll. 637 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:43,720 When she replaced misplaced the rag doll in the airport, 638 00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:47,360 Rosemary became so distraught that the family considered 639 00:33:47,360 --> 00:33:52,200 postponing their flight. Found at last, the doll had 640 00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:54,360 magical powers to calm the little girl. 641 00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:58,920 It had little worth in itself, but much worth in her eyes. 642 00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:02,360 Pitt Watson proceeded to make the biblical application. 643 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:06,680 God's love, thankfully, is not based on our intrinsic worth. 644 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:11,719 It comes by grace, a priceless yet free gift that bestows worth 645 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:16,120 on the most unlovable object. Some things are loved because 646 00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:20,080 they are worthy, and some are worthy because they are loved. 647 00:34:21,159 --> 00:34:24,120 Theologically, we fit the latter category. 648 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:29,120 In the words of Saint Augustine, by loving the unlovable, you 649 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:31,760 made me lovable. Let us pray. 650 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:46,719 And I want to give you guys just a few minutes to connect with 651 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:50,159 the the love that you have been waiting for your whole life. 652 00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:54,920 It is love of God in Christ Jesus. 653 00:34:56,080 --> 00:35:01,840 You are God's masterpiece. You are God's dearly beloved 654 00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:02,360 child.