Mystery and Victory

Good morning, Watermark.

That's exactly how I felt this morning, very cold.

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Graham.

My 中文 means gum, so you can call me me gum in Chinese today.

I'm married to Irina, my better half, and we have two children,

Elijah, who's five, and Daniela, who's two.

Now, there's one thing that we do as a family which is either considered incredibly brave or incredibly stupid,

and that is we make a trip to Toys R Us.

Now, if you're a parent, you understand how brave or stupid that experience can be.

So, anyway, for my five-year-old, the other day I said to him, we're going to Toys R Us,

and his face lit up with excitement.

You know, for me, I'm thinking he's going into a den of lions, and he's just, this is joy, this is Disneyland on steroids,

we're going to Toys R Us.

And then I said to him, but we're going to buy a gift for someone else,

because we were going to a birthday party.

And his face just dropped.

It was this actual idea, why would we even do that?

Why would we even think about someone else, right?

And that is really kind of what happens to us when we come into the family of God, the kingdom of God, right?

It's Jesus comes along with this radical message, and he changes us so much that we not only begin to think of ourselves,

that over time we start thinking about others and their needs, right?

And that's exactly what happened.

This trip in Toys R Us, we're walking along, and everything about him at first is,

is I want that, I want that, and I didn't even know I wanted that, but I want it.

And then he began to change, and I said, okay, you really need to think about your friend, right?

What is he like?

And he began to change, and eventually when it came time to actually give the gift,

he was really excited to see what he would think of the gift he had chosen,

which was a Star Wars something or other, by the way.

But if we think about it in terms of us, Jesus comes in and he says to us,

he says, I want you to go out and make disciples of all nations.

Now, he didn't say, I want you to go out and make converts.

He said, I want you to go out and make disciples.

Now, to make a disciple is a lot harder than making a convert.

It means a lifetime of walking, of crying together, sharing your life together,

to be known by someone, to know other people.

And at Watermark, that is one of our really founding and guiding principles.

We exist because it is our desire as a church,

and we believe it is something that Jesus has placed on us,

to help people grow, help them in their next step on their spiritual journey, right?

Wherever you may be, we want you to grow.

And how you do that is by having people in your life,

people who know you, love you, care for you, want the best for you,

and you yourself are there to know other people, love other people,

and give to other people.

So we do that primarily through community groups.

We do it on a big day like this where we all get together and celebrate.

But it's also our desire that it's not just something that happens here.

We have a burning desire, God willing, to plant churches, right?

Other little communities of the kingdom in Hong Kong

and hopefully in other countries around the world.

And that doesn't happen unless we're investing in people.

We're training people, we're spending time with pastors and leaders

and helping them grow and see how God's gifted them.

So one of those is the Mandarin ministry, right?

So we're going to have a first at Watermark today,

not just the coldest day,

but it's going to be the first time we have a sermon in Mandarin.

Okay.

So you can go.

All right.

So just in case you think it's me, it's not me.

Because it would be a very, very short sermon.

Okay.

But anyway, so David is going to be preaching for us.

And David has been at Watermark for the past year and a half on staff.

And he's involved in the university outreach with the Mandarin ministry.

And he's also involved in starting a Mandarin community, CG, right?

But, you know, this doesn't happen alone.

It happens with a team of people.

So David's got a team around him of fantastic volunteers.

And they all help grow this thing.

And one of the volunteers is Karen.

And Karen is going to be our translator today.

So there's Karen.

Okay.

Karen's going to be our translator today for the message.

But it's also, it's a real team effort today

because we've got other members of the Mandarin CG

who are going to help us do the scripture reading today as well.

So could we welcome them up?

They're going to come up and read for us now.

Thank you.

questões

缺頔多前书15章50-58

1 Corinthians 15, verse 50 to 58.

1 Corinthians 15:50–58

I tell you this, brothers, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Behold, I tell you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.

In a moment, in the twinkling of a night, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound and the death will be raised imperishable.

And we shall be changed.

这必死坏的总要变成不死坏的。

这必死的总要变成不死的。

For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

这必死坏的即变成不死坏的。

这必死的即变成不死的。

那时经上所记,死被得胜脱灭的话就应验了。

死的独够就是罪。

死的独够就是罪。

死的独够就是律法。

死的独够就是罪。

死啊,你的独够在哪里。

死啊,你的独够在哪里。

O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?

死的独够就是罪。

罪的全是就是律法。

死的独够就是罪。

死的独够就是罪。

死的独够就是罪。

死的独够就是罪。

死的独够就是罪。

感谢神使我们可以借着我们的主耶稣基督得胜。

但祝福是罪。

但祝福是罪。

祝福是罪。

祝福是罪。

祝福是罪。

祝福是罪。

所以,我亲爱的弟兄们,

你们物要兼顾,不可摇动。

常常竭力多做主功。

因为知道你们的劳苦在主里面不是突然的。

祝福是罪。

祝福是罪。

祝福是罪。

永远的书。

永远的书。

永远的书。

永远的书。

永远的书。

永远的书。

永远的书。

弟兄姐妹们,平安。

弟兄姐妹们,平安。

弟兄姐妹们,平安。

弟兄姐妹们,平安。

我们一直在讲哥林多前书。

哥林多前书。

哥林多教会呢,我们知道他们有一个特点,

就是他们有能说方言的恩词。

哥林多教会呢,我们知道他们有一个特点,

他们能说方言的恩词。

跟他们相比我们在说方言方面呢,

我们也是很有恩赐的。

今天呢,我说的话可能很多人听不明白。

可能很多人可能不明白我说的,

因为我说的就是这个世界上最大的方言。

但今天我们在说方言的通常是通常的通常。

但说方言呢,并没有什么。

最难的是翻方言。

其实,其实,他们也不太难说或者在讲。

并没有那么难说。

而且保罗说。

如果你能说方言但是别人听不懂,你就不要说。

其实,他说了,如果你是可以说方言,

但是别人听不懂你要说话。

并没有认识。

并无法认识。

并无法认识。

感谢神赐给我们有翻方言恩赐的。

但是我们相信他会成为方言的方言。

have an interpreter of tongues.

Today, not only do we bring you tongues,

but we have this cold weather.

Actually, I was born in the coldest part of China.

So maybe I brought the snow.

But we know that when we're together,

maybe it doesn't feel so cold.

What's coldest is a coldness in the heart.

Of course, it helps also if we're working out

as we did stretches earlier,

and then your heart is pumping,

you feel warmer.

You know, if you go to the gym often,

not only do you feel warmer,

but you can build some muscle.

The men can even develop six-pack or even eight-pack.

The men can even develop six-pack or even eight-pack.

As for sisters, the women,

perhaps they do other exercises

that can also make them healthier.

We all work very hard to make ourselves healthier.

We would like to live a little longer,

live a little better.

We want to protect our lives

and protect our bodies.

But actually, no matter how hard we try,

actually, our physical bodies are wasting away.

So we read the Bible.

And so when we read to this,

when we get to this passage in 1 Corinthians,

when we read Paul saying

flesh and blood

cannot inherit the kingdom of God

that means no matter how hard we try

to maintain our physical bodies

flesh and blood

cannot inherit the kingdom of God

one more rep with that dumbbell

that cannot accomplish something

and sometimes it seems like

everything we do is in vain

I don't know how you see your lives

some people they say

oh another day has just passed

as though they've lost another day

now some people think

wow I've lived another day

I just gained one more day

but when we do stop and ponder death

sometimes we do think

we are so small

our lives are so small

and when we focus on ourselves

suddenly we find

we don't have much hope

we can work really hard

but it seems like

it may all be in vain

but thanks be to our Lord Jesus Christ

he's rose from the dead

and he's given us

an eternal hope

so all our labor

doesn't have to be in vain

so all our labor doesn't have to be in vain

actually for myself

I was once in a zombie-like state

in the time

in the time

I don't know if any of you

have experienced death

of someone very close to you

in the time

in the time

my mother and my sister

just went to the dead

actually when I was quite young

both my mother and sister passed away

at that time

I had a deep experience

a deep taste of death

I had such a warm embrace with them

and then suddenly

it's cold to the touch

physically they're so close to you

but actually they're so far away

and my whole world became very dark

you know when you're so close to death

suddenly you think that

everything you're working for

no matter how much money you have

no matter what you've accomplished

it doesn't mean very much

in that moment

so when I was reading

the book of Ecclesiastes

I resonated with it saying

meaningless, meaningless

everything is meaningless

but then I came to know Christ

and I discovered

there can be great meaning in life

He was crucified

and then He rose from the dead

and He's given us

a new hope in life

after I experienced death

I waxed philosophical

I thought

you know

seven billion people

in this world

and they're all just plunging

to their deaths

as though there's this huge gate

which is death

and it's swallowing up everybody

what hope was there

what hope was there in that

but the Lord Jesus Christ

He has opened up a new door

this is a door of life

so we can see

and we have hope

and all of our labor

in the Lord Jesus Christ

is not in vain

I don't know if people feel afraid

if we're talking about death up here

but only in Jesus Christ

you can have victory

when you think about death

Everyone who dies

in Jesus Christ

we know they are just sleeping

Actually

last year

I experienced another loss

but it brought greater richness

to my life

I had an American teacher

and mentor

He spent many years in China

going from city to city

preaching the gospel

and training up leaders

This American finally passed away

in the city of Xi'an

As we thought back over his life

we thought of so many lives he touched

so many people

whose lives were transformed

because of this man's teaching

and ministry

in his life

in his life

in his life

in his life

in his life

in his life

in his life

people看到

the people看到

the people

they看到

the people看到

the people看到

of his

and when we thought

about his life

actually we didn't even

think that much about him

but we saw

Jesus Christ

in his life

when he was still living

a friend of his

had cancer

He asked his friends

when you found out

that you had cancer

how did you respond

how did you feel

His friends said

actually at that moment

I felt that

I came to a new

understanding of life

You suddenly realize

what is important

and what is not important

You know

you should do

and you know

where your priorities

should lie

What things have eternal value

and what things do not

I don't know

what difficulties

everyone is encountering

in their own lives

There could be difficulties

at work

or just different burdens

in your personal lives

For students

obviously your studies

your GPAs

In this world

actually when we focus

on ourselves

often we lose hope

You don't know

this whole thing

and we don't know

if everything

is just random

and when we measure it

by death

then we think

what is the value

of all that we do

says that

that those who are in Christ

that they are sleeping

People in this world

we see someone

and we think

oh he's dead

but for Christians

we think

he's sleeping

because Jesus says

he who believes in

everyone who believes

with me

even if he dies

he will live

he will rise

from the dead

But our current bodies

cannot receive

the imperishable

One day

when Christ comes again

we'll all be changed

In the twinkling of an eye

in a moment

Everyone

we shall all be changed

The dead will rise

And we'll receive

a new body

that Christ has prepared

for us

This is a glorious body

Not a perishable body

This perishable body

will put on

the imperishable

When we talked about

there's a door of death

and it's swallowing up

so many people

Swallowing up

so many souls

How do we feel

about this?

Do we feel

compassion

toward all

Do we feel pity

toward all these people

Or do we think

oh well

that's just how it goes

Do you perhaps

feel a sense of urgency

as though

you see there's a building

on fire

and you think

oh how can we save

the people in it?

Actually

every Christian

has a responsibility

We should awaken

those who are sleeping

and help them

to see

what is the true state

that they are in

and bring them

into an eternal kingdom

Before I came

to know the Lord Jesus

Actually I changed

a lot

and I didn't even

realize it

after I accepted Christ

A friend suddenly

said to me

Do you know

you're very different

from before?

He said

you smile now

You never smiled

before

But now you smile

And I think of a Christian

I once knew

When I was attracted

to this person's smile

Because that smile

It was a feeling

that was

a joy

This smile came out

of a joy

that was bubbling

out of this person's heart

That was from the world

This is not a happiness

that you just see

around you in the world

I didn't see this

on anybody else's face

And I wondered

how can this person

have this joy

And then I came to know

Oh, it's because

he's a Christian

He has a vibrant hope

in the Lord Jesus Christ

There's nothing

that he would be afraid of

Here Paul says

Oh, death

where is your sting?

Oh, death

where is your victory?

The sting of death

is sin

And the power of sin

is the law

Sometimes people say

Oh, death

that's caused by Satan

But actually we know

that death

is a result of sin

because we have all

sinned and offended God

We owe a huge debt

to God

And a great function

of the law

is it shows us

that we are sinners

But through the Lord Jesus Christ

We have hope

because he has fulfilled the law

And we don't need to face

eternal judgment

He's life

He's also brought

to us

and as the Lord Jesus Christ

rose from the dead

His life

gives our lives hope

So we ask ourselves

a question

Am I living?

I'm in the Lord

I'm in the Lord

And who am I living for?

I'm in the Lord

I'm in the Lord

I'm in the Lord

I'm in the Lord

I'm in the Lord

I'm in the Lord

Are my hopes

in this temporal life

or do I have

an eternal hope?

Paul reminds us here

He says

You must be steadfast

immovable

What does it mean

to be steadfast

immovable?

And in what situation

would you be steadfast

and immovable?

In 1 Corinthians 15 verse 1

1 Corinthians 15:1

it tells us that

we need to be steadfast

in the gospel

The gospel is that

the Lord Jesus Christ

has risen from the dead

and gives us a hope

in our lives today

We can't for ourselves

We can't for ourselves

We can't for ourselves

We can't for ourselves

We can't for the Lord

Some people feel

life is hard

In fact, it's too hard

And they cry out to God

Why do I have to go through

so much?

This makes me think

of a sculptor

an artist

He sees a piece of granite

And then he goes

and he chisels at it

And then slowly

you see a shape emerge

And then he continues

to chisel piece by piece

Now if this piece

of granite

had fillings

Every time he goes

at it with that chisel

and hammer

it hurts

But actually

every time he feels

like he's losing something

he is gaining something

He's gaining a new shape

a new form

It hurts

It hurts

And this is also something

that God is doing

in our lives

Every time we're going

through a difficulty

a heartbreak

God is changing us

He wants to use us

He wants to change

our heart of stone

And give us a heart

like the heart

of the Lord Jesus Christ

Paul exhorts us

have the same heart

that is in Christ Jesus

that the same mind

And the apostle Paul

also says

Today

It is not I who live

but Christ lives in me

And here

Paul exhorts us

Be steadfast

Immovable

Now what does it mean

to be steadfast

or immovable

Actually

in the NIV translation

it says

stand firm

We see

and they stand up

And they stand back up again

And this is what it means

to stand firm

There is a story

Actually there is another story

It is about a Soviet spy

It is about a Soviet spy

He was captured in the US

He was captured in the US

and he was interrogated by the CIA

And he was interrogated by the CIA

And you know that America is a very rule of law kind of a country.

And so they arranged a lawyer to defend him.

Now, actually, this lawyer wasn't even a criminal defense lawyer.

He was an insurance lawyer.

And so everyone knew what the outcome was going to be of this court case.

When this lawyer saw the Soviet spy, he said,

Do you know what is going to happen to you?

You are probably going to be electrocuted.

Yes.

But there didn't seem to be any response in the Soviet spy.

So he asked him, Aren't you afraid?

And the spy replied, How does that help to be afraid?

And this lawyer, he poured himself out and really tried to defend the spy.

But everyone, the entire American public, wanted to electrocute him.

So he said, And one day, when the lawyer was asking questions of the Soviet spy, he was standing there.

And it reminded the Soviet spy of someone.

He said, You're a standing man.

And so the lawyer said, What are you talking about?

What do you mean?

And this is the case.

And the Soviet spy said, You remind me of someone I saw when I was young.

He was a friend of my father's.

He was a friend of my father's.

He often came to our house.

And every time he came, my father would say, Hey, you watch this man.

And so he would try to observe and watch this man.

And he always tried to carefully observe and watch this man.

And he didn't see anything special about this man, this uncle.

But one day, the border police came to their house.

And they beat up his mom and dad.

His dad's friend was over their house that day.

And so they beat him up too.

And they beat him to the ground.

But then he stood back up.

And then so they beat him again, brutally.

After struggling, he stood back up.

And they beat him again.

And then he stood back up.

So they were still there.

Finally, the guards, the police, they were very tired.

And they saw something in this person's life.

That struck them.

He wasn't someone who could be beat down.

He's a standing man.

They said, He's a standing man.

In our lives, we can think, you know, what are the things that beat us down?

Is it your work?

Is it your marriage?

Is it your marriage?

Is it something else?

Is it your marriage?

Of course.

That's what we were thinking.

We were thinking, how are the last life?

Now, some of you might be thinking, so what happened to the Soviet spy?

Because this lawyer would not be beat down either, because he too was a standing man, there was one glimmer of hope.

So everyone was saying, to the electric chair with the Soviet spy, the American lawyer was trying to figure out every way to save his life.

This lawyer went to the judge's home.

One night, the lawyer went to the judge's home.

The judge had already decided that this man would be receiving the death penalty.

But the lawyer said to the judge,

He's just trying to do his job.

From a human perspective, why are we trying to kill him?

We can imagine, if there's a day that our friend's friend's hand is in his hand.

Now, consider this.

What if one day, our U.S. spy falls in the hands of the Soviets?

Actually, this man has greater value to us alive.

Who knows if one day our spy falls into their hands, then we can do an exchange.

Nice speech.

So the judge, he listened to everything the lawyer said and said, nice speech.

And actually, he sentenced the man to life imprisonment instead of the death penalty.

Actually, we're all like that.

We're all like that.

We're all like that.

We're all like that.

We're all like that.

We're all like that.

We're all like that.

Now, an analogy is that in heaven, we too have a lawyer and advocate who is pleading for us.

Because of a standing man.

But we know that our Lord Jesus Christ is not only a standing man.

But not only is our Lord Jesus Christ a standing man,

He has actually risen from the dead.

He is a resurrected man.

And he is now standing at the right hand of God our Father, pleading for our lives.

So we don't know what we do in our lives.

If we do in our lives, this is not going to be in vain.

And in our lives, all that we do for the Lord is not going to be in vain.

We can also advocate for people around us in our lives.

So they may also be able to receive the life.

That we can pray for them that they too will receive life.

In our lives, we obviously all go through many struggles.

There may be internal struggles.

There may be external hardships.

There may be external hardships.

Actually, sometimes we're struggling all together.

Even brothers and sisters struggling in the church.

Sometimes persecution from outside of a church.

But we can gain the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ has already conquered death.

And one day, He will gain a complete victory.

The darkness of death will be completely overcome.

We will see many big wars of war.

Often in movies, we see grand landscapes of battles.

Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of soldiers lined up with their spears and swords and shields.

And at that moment when the trumpet sounds,

Everybody says, attack!

And then we see a great victory.

One day, we will experience that as well.

That victory in the war, you can see that many people died.

Obviously, on a battlefield, you see that many people are losing their lives, are dying.

But in that last day, when the Lord Jesus Christ comes, we see people rising from the dead.

And he comes to give us an imperishable life.

And this body will be our resurrected body.

So, what are we living for today?

Are we just wasting our lives away?

No, let's live for Christ.

We are still in the same place.

And can we be steadfast, immovable?

And do the meaningful things in each of our lives.

Things that have eternal value.

You know, many brothers and sisters, we said, they go to the gym.

They work that six-pack or eight-pack.

But if you're, you know, looking at death, there's no hope in that.

But Paul says, many things, everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial.

But maybe you can go to the gym with brothers and sisters and fellowship and have eternal value in that.

And sisters too.

You can do things together with your other sisters.

Even to strangers, we can be friendly to them.

We can share the gospel with them.

That people will become your friends.

We can even experience strangers becoming friends.

And from friends to family.

And this is the great family of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you're serving in your community groups.

Stand firm.

Be steadfast.

Immmovable.

Love those around you.

Bring that joy.

Live it out.

And others will be able to see something different and see our Lord Jesus Christ.

Knowing that in the Lord, your labor is not in vain.

No matter how hard life sometimes gets.

You are that standing man.

Nothing will beat you down.

Thank you.

That's the next message.

Let's pray.

Let's thank you.

Let's bow in prayer.

Our dear Heavenly Father.

Your kingdom is forever.

We are all unworthy.

But you have promised to raise us from the dead.

You've given us.

You've preached to us this gospel.

So we can gain such a wonderful life.

God, help us to live a life that reflects the Lord Jesus Christ.

We must be faithful.

We must be faithful.

We must be faithful.

We must be faithful.

We must be faithful.

And to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.

We must be faithful.

Knowing that in the Lord, our labor is not in vain.

We must be faithful.

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.