Expected King

Today's scripture is found in Isaiah 9, 1-7.

Please follow along in your bulletin as we read this passage.

But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish.

In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali.

But in the latter time, he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.

Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

You have multiplied the nations.

You have increased its joy.

They rejoice before you as with the joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

For the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.

For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult, and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.

For to us a child is born.

To us a son is given.

And the government shall be upon his shoulder.

And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor.

Mighty God.

Everlasting Father.

Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end on the throne of David and over his kingdom.

To establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

This is the reading of God's word.

Good morning.

My name is Eric.

If you don't know me, I'm the youth guy here at Watermark.

And as you can tell, I'm a guy, which by necessity means that I love all things war-related and battle-related.

And movies with guns and knives and swords and explosions are awesome.

And so when I was a kid, my friends and I, we would play a game called paintball.

If you don't know what paintball is, basically everyone gets a gun.

Only instead of shooting real bullets, they shoot little balls of paint.

And when you get hit, it feels like you're being punched and then paint splatters on you and you're out.

And so this one day we were playing a game.

It's called Storm the Castle.

A small group of guys gets a little fortress.

They have to get down and defend.

And the rest of the guys go out somewhere and they don't know where the castle is.

And their goal is to get in and take over the castle by shooting everyone who's guarding the castle.

So I was on the team that was attacking the castle.

And we're coming up and the guys in the castle had spread themselves out around the castle to try and pick us off as we came.

But we stuck together as a group and we ended up taking them out one by one by one.

We found the castle and we got there and realized there were only about two guys left inside the castle.

And there were about 10 or 15 of us.

They had no chance.

And so there's this little, short, scrawny kid.

He's running in front of our group.

He's actually, yeah, he runs in, up, and says, surrender!

And the guys in the castle, they're like, we have no chance.

We're out. We're done. It's over.

But the funny thing is, the kid who ran in there, this little, short, scrawny kid who told him to surrender,

actually had no ammo left in his gun.

They didn't know that, of course.

But if they had turned around, there would have been nothing that he could have done to stop them from shooting him.

But they knew they were surrounded.

They knew they were outnumbered.

They knew even if they got this one kid out, the rest of us were going to be in there in five seconds and they were going to be done.

And as we come to today's passage, the nation of Israel is in a similar state to those two guys in that fort.

There is a world superpower on its way to take them out.

And no matter how hard they try, no matter how hard they fight, they've got no chance.

And they recognize this.

And they say, what are we going to do?

Now, throughout the Old Testament, there's a theme that occurs again and again and again and again.

And this theme is, God will fight his battles for the nation of Israel.

You see this all the way throughout the Bible.

You see Joshua comes into the land, the promised land, to take it over.

And he looks at the walls of the city and he says, whoa, we can't take that.

And God says, here's what you do.

Just walk in circles for a few days around the city.

On the seventh day, blow some trumpets.

Walls go down.

You're good.

And sure enough, God fights the battles for Joshua.

The nation takes over the promised land.

Or there's a man named Gideon.

Gideon raises up an army because this country called Midian is oppressing the Israelites.

And Gideon raises up the army to go fight against them.

And God says, hey, Gideon, you've got too many guys in your army.

You need to shrink it down.

God shrinks down Gideon's army to a mere 300 men to go up against tens, if not hundreds of thousands.

But again, God fights the battles for his people.

And Gideon's able to be successful in this battle.

Or look at David, young little boy going against a huge nine-foot-tall giant.

And oh yeah, he doesn't have any armor.

He doesn't have a sword.

He has a sling and a few rocks.

Woo!

But what happens?

God fights his battles.

And because God is fighting the battles for David, David's able to defeat this giant.

And this theme comes up again and again and again.

But here's the problem.

Israel has stopped worshiping God.

Israel has turned away from God.

And Israel does not trust God to fight their battle for them.

And so what do they do?

They turn to the nation to their north, a nation called Syria.

And they say, hey, let's get together.

Let's combine forces so that when this world superpower comes, we can fight against them together.

And Syria says, okay, that sounds like a good plan to us.

So Israel and Syria combine forces, but there's a third country they want in their alliance.

It's down in the south.

It's called Judah.

When Israel split off, it became Israel and Judah.

And Israel wants Judah in this alliance too.

Judah's not interested.

So Israel and Syria say, we know how to get Judah on our side.

We'll go down there and attack them and take them over.

And then they'll be on our side.

So Israel and Syria start coming down towards Judah.

And they're ready to launch this attack.

And Israel says, maybe before we launch this attack, we should find out whether we'll win or lose.

Seems reasonable.

So what do they do?

They turn to fortune tellers.

They turn to people who consult with the dead and ask them, are we going to win?

Do we have any chance?

And God's not blind.

God's not deaf.

He hears what's going on.

He sees what's going on.

And he steps in and he says to Israel, why are you asking dead people whether you're going to win or lose?

Why don't you ask me?

And he says, because you've rejected me,

you're going to become like these dead people that you're consulting.

Your bones are going to be buried next to theirs.

You're going to be destroyed.

And sure enough, when Judah saw Israel and Syria coming down to attack,

Judah's king went into the temple, took all the gold out of the temple,

and sent it to the king of Assyria.

Don't get that mixed up with Syria.

Who was the world's superpower.

And he said, here's a huge gift.

Please do me a favor.

Go and attack Israel and Syria.

And since he had gotten lots of gold, the king of Assyria was happy to help out.

And he went in and attacked Israel and Syria,

took over the capital of Syria,

made Israel his subjects,

and they had to pay him every year.

And Israel and Syria had to pull out of their attack on Judah

and go back to defend their homes.

Judah was saved.

Israel became servants.

And a few years later,

made the king of Assyria upset,

and the land got wiped out.

The land got completely destroyed.

The people who survived were sent off to live in foreign lands.

Foreigners were brought in to live in the land of Israel.

It was a time of darkness and gloom for the nation,

just like God had said it would be.

But before this time of darkness came,

there was a promise that was made to Israel.

A promise that although darkness is coming,

it will be followed by light.

Although it's as bad as it's going to get,

it's not going to stay this way forever.

And God gave them this promise,

and then the foreign armies came in.

And in this passage today,

we have this promise.

We have the promise that light will come,

that Zebulun and Naphtali,

those are the places in the north of Israel,

the first ones that would have fallen to the invading armies.

He says,

yeah,

they're brought into contempt.

They're being destroyed.

But one day,

I'm going to raise them up again.

I'm going to make them glorious again.

And he makes a promise of a king that's going to come,

who's going to change the fortunes of the nation.

He's going to bring peace.

He's going to bring victory.

He's going to overthrow the nations that are invading them.

When it says in verse 4 of Isaiah 9,

the yoke of his burden will be broken.

The Assyrians,

the nation that came in,

literally were known to take a yoke,

a thing that held two farm animals together so they could work,

and put it on the necks of the people they took captive,

and force them to work like animals.

And there's a promise.

This yoke will be broken.

The oppressors will be overthrown.

You will be free.

But first,

there's this time of darkness.

And this time of darkness was not a short thing.

Israel was waiting for this king,

waiting for this salvation.

And yet,

for the next 600 years or so,

they were captive

to one nation,

after another,

after another,

after another.

About 600 years after this captivity began,

they were under the rule of Greece.

The Greek ruler came in

in an attempt to try and get everyone in Israel

to adopt the Greek way of life.

He completely defiled the temple,

and the Israelites said,

that's it.

We've had enough.

They rose up,

started a rebellion,

and actually were able to kick the Greeks out of Israel.

And a lot of people thought,

this is it.

The time has come.

The nation is being restored.

But within 100 years,

they were back under the control of the Romans.

And this promise still stood.

But I think people started to doubt.

Is it ever going to happen?

Is this light ever going to come?

And then one night,

this baby is born.

In a small town,

in the middle of nowhere.

Seems pretty insignificant.

But he grows up.

He starts gathering a group of people around himself,

teaching them.

He goes around doing miracles,

and people start saying,

could this be the one?

The one we've been waiting for.

Even his enemies,

who want to disprove him,

and say that he's not,

have to admit,

this guy does so many miracles.

Like,

there's no way that the guy we're waiting for,

this promised one,

will do more miracles than this guy himself does.

And there's a hope.

This guy brings new teaching about God

that makes so much clearer

everything they've understood before.

And there's this excitement growing,

and crowds start coming to him,

and start following him.

And right as the excitement reaches its peak,

he turns to his closest group of friends,

and says,

hey,

by the way,

the thing that you expect of me,

you know how you expect me to rise up,

and restore our nation to power,

and take over as king,

and kick out Rome,

and take over Caesar's throne,

that's not what I'm doing.

I'm actually going to die.

And this is shocking to his followers.

One of them turns to him,

and he says,

no, no, no,

you can't do that.

You're the Messiah.

You're the promised one.

You're the king.

You have to save us.

You have to overthrow Rome.

And Jesus says to him,

no,

that's not what I'm here for.

Another one of his followers

feels so betrayed

by this news

that Jesus is not going to overthrow Rome,

that he actually turns to the governing authorities,

and says,

hey,

I'll sell him to you.

I know you're out to get him.

I know where you can find him.

Give me some money.

I'll connect you with him.

You come in.

You arrest him.

Done.

They felt betrayed.

They felt shocked.

They felt sad

because they thought

this man

who we put all of our hope in

is not the one

that we thought he was.

The problem is not

that they had wrongly identified him

as the one who came to fulfill

these prophecies in Isaiah 9.

The problem

is that they were looking for Jesus to rule

as a king

in a different way

than he had come to rule.

They looked around

and they defined

their greatest problem as a nation

as being the fact

that they were under oppression

from a foreign country.

Rome is here.

Rome causes us problems.

Rome needs to be gone.

You deal with that.

Go for it.

Have fun.

And Jesus looked at them

and he said,

yeah, Rome,

very real,

very big problem.

But you got a bigger problem.

Because, yeah,

Rome is big and powerful,

but God is bigger

and more powerful.

And having Rome

as an enemy sucks.

Having God

as an enemy

is worse.

And because of our disobedience,

we've made ourselves

enemies of God.

And I can fix the problem

with Rome,

but that's not going to fix

the problem with God.

So before

we deal with Rome,

let's deal with God.

You know,

the nation

looked at this passage

in Isaiah 9

and they had

amazing expectations

of what Jesus would do.

they looked at

the promise

that the land

that walked in darkness

would see a great light

and they were like,

oh,

the land went into darkness

when we were taken

into captivity.

The light

must mean

that we'll be free.

They looked

at the promise

that he would

multiply the nation

and increase the joy.

They would rejoice

and they'd be glad

and divide the spoil.

They were like,

well,

when we were slaves

in Egypt

and we left there,

they gave us lots of gold

as we left.

I guess when we overthrow Rome,

we'll take all their treasures

to us.

They're getting pretty excited.

They look at the promise

that the battle supplies,

the garments rolled in blood

would be burned

as fuel for the fire.

They said,

that means

if we don't need

this equipment for battle,

peace is coming.

They looked at the promise

of the child

that would be born,

the son that would be given

and would have the government

upon his shoulders

and they said,

that's the royal robes.

He'll be wearing them

because he will be a king.

He'll be a wonderful counselor.

They would have looked at that

and seen that he would be

a wise military strategist.

He will be mighty God.

Apparently,

this term had connotations

of like superhuman strength

in battle.

They expected him

to be like Thor.

Come in with your hammer

and bam!

It's over.

All the enemies are defeated

right there.

This superhuman might

that could just destroy

everything and everyone

that stood in the path

of them as a nation

being restored.

They looked at the promise

that he would be

the everlasting father.

They thought,

he'll be here.

He will reign forever

and he will care for us

and he will be good

and he will be

a prince of peace.

Our nation won't be

filled with war

and violence.

We'll have peace,

finally,

after all these hundreds

of years of war

and captivity

and violence.

Of his increase

in his government,

there will be no end.

On the throne of David

and over his kingdom,

now David was Israel's

greatest king historically

and they're saying

he's going to be

just like David.

He's going to be

like our greatest king.

He's going to restore

the greatness

that we once had

as a nation

and he'll establish

justice and righteousness

from this time forth

and forevermore.

He's going to bring it,

it's going to be good

and it's going to last forever.

It will be rejoicing forever.

And they identified this

as their hope

and they looked for this

from Jesus.

But as Jesus came,

he saw a different problem.

He says,

you're walking in darkness

because you don't know God.

And the light that you need

is a proper understanding

of who God is

and I'm here as God

to show that to you.

He said,

yeah,

if we divide the spoil of Rome,

if we overthrow them

and take all their treasures,

that'll be great.

But eventually,

those treasures will run out

or eventually we'll die

and won't be able

to use them anymore.

We need treasures

that will last longer

than that.

He said,

yeah,

we can be free

from the oppression of Rome.

We can be free

from this yoke

that is on us.

But that doesn't free us

from our greatest enemy,

from death,

from the sin

that alienates us from God.

And when he looks

at the passage

about the government

being on his shoulder,

he knows

that's not referring

right now

to a kingly robe.

It's referring to the cross.

It's not the glory

of the government

that awaits him right now.

It's the wrath

of the government.

The nation was correct

in assuming

that the Messiah,

the promised one,

would come to deal

with their greatest problem.

But they incorrectly

identified Rome

as their greatest problem.

Jesus did come

to deal with

their greatest problem.

But he saw

that their greatest problem

was a broken relationship

with God.

And he came to deal

with that

first and foremost.

See,

they expected

a traditional king.

They expected

someone who would come in,

who would rule,

who would reign.

And Jesus brought

what we call

an inverted kingdom.

He didn't start

at the top

and work his way down.

He started

in the hearts

of individuals.

He started

in the lives

of common people

like you and me

and let his kingdom

spread from there.

And because

Israel and Jesus

had different understandings

of what their greatest need

as a nation was,

they ended up

rejecting him

as their savior

and as their king.

even though

he was the one

who had been promised.

Even though

he was the one

who was coming

for them.

But that's them.

We're here.

We know that

Jesus came

to die for us

so we don't need

to worry about that,

right?

Like,

we're not gonna miss him

because we have

wrong expectations,

are we?

Maybe.

Maybe we will.

I think the problem

of confusing

our greatest need

is one that goes

throughout history.

We can see it

in the example

of Israel.

We can see it

in ancient Greek mythology,

right?

You've got King Midas.

He's given one wish

for anything

that he wants.

What does he ask for?

He asks,

anything that I touch,

let it be turned

into gold.

If you get one wish,

you think to yourself,

what is my greatest problem?

What's the one thing

that would fix that problem?

I'm asking for that.

When Midas is asked,

what's your one wish?

He thinks to himself,

what's my greatest problem?

I could use more money,

I could use more power,

what will fix that?

Everything I touch

turns into gold.

Boom.

Gold.

But what happens to him?

He starts to try to eat

and all this food

turns into gold.

He realizes,

oh no,

now I have a bigger

problem.

He tries to hug his daughter

and she turns into gold.

Uh-oh.

He goes back

to the Greek God

who he had made

the wish from

and he says,

please,

let me undo that one.

And the Greek God

says, okay.

And Midas is allowed

to reverse that wish.

But look what happens.

Midas confuses

his greatest need

and when he gets

what he thinks

is his greatest need

taken care of,

it creates bigger

problems for him.

Because he wrongly

identified his greatest need,

receiving his greatest desire

didn't satisfy him,

it left him in despair.

And it's the same for us.

when we wrongly identify

our greatest needs in life.

Receiving what we think

is our greatest need

doesn't satisfy us.

It leads us to despair.

And I think for people

in this room,

we have a lot of different

definitions we would give

of what is

our greatest need.

For some of us,

I just need my kids

to obey.

If my kids would obey,

life would be happy.

For some of us,

we just want to be happy.

You know,

as long as I'm happy,

everything can go wrong

in life,

but at the end of the day,

it's all good.

For some of us,

we want security.

You know,

as long as I have

my millions in the bank,

I can lose my job

and it's okay

because I can still

support myself.

For some of us,

we just want this feeling

of peace inside us.

For some of us,

we just want to be able

to go to bed at night

and know that we are

good people.

And no matter what

wrong stuff happens

in the world,

I can sleep well

because I know

that I did the right thing.

And as we look

at these things,

we identify them

as our greatest needs.

And while all of these things

are good things,

when we identify them

as our greatest need,

it creates problems.

When we wrongly identify

our greatest need,

it leads to despair

because either

we get that thing

that we think

is our greatest need

and realize that

it can't really satisfy us

like we thought it could.

Or we beg and plead

with God,

please give this to me

and we don't get it

and we think that God

is weak or withholding

from us.

So whether we get

what we want

or we don't get it,

we end up in despair

because either

we have what we want

and we're not satisfied

or we don't have it

and we blame God.

And if we take

a passage like this one

in Isaiah 9

and approach it

with a wrong understanding

of what our need is,

it's not going to give us hope.

It's going to make us confused.

It's going to make us angry.

Right?

We look,

he's going to be

the wonderful counselor.

Yeah.

Well, why don't you fix me?

Come on, God.

If you're this wonderful counselor,

why don't you fix my problems?

You're the mighty God.

Why aren't you dealing

with this stuff in my life?

Why can't I find

the contentment

in the things that I want?

Are you really that mighty?

Is it all just a big joke?

Are you actually pretty weak

and you're just afraid

to tell us?

You look at things

like everlasting father.

I mean, for me,

if I go based on feelings,

a lot of times

it feels more like

I'm an orphan of God

than a son of God.

And in those times,

I look at a passage like this,

I'm like,

Everlasting Father,

what is this?

Why aren't you there?

Why don't I feel you?

I look at the example

that my earthly father

has given

of taking care of me

and being there for me

when I need him.

And I say,

God,

I can see my earthly father.

He's there when I need him.

He takes care of stuff

if he's able to.

Where are you

during this time?

And then I look at this promise

that he's the prince of peace

and I'm like,

why am I so anxious?

Why am I so restless?

Where's this peace

that you're promising?

In the darkest moments,

I even start to question

is peace even possible

in such a messed up

and broken world?

I'm guessing

that I'm not the only one

who ever feels this way.

I'm guessing

I'm not the only one

who ever looks

at a passage like this

and says,

I see these amazing promises

but where are they

in my life?

I think it's a pretty

common thing actually.

And as I look at the passage

like this

in this way,

I realize that my problem

is the same problem

as Israel, right?

Israel in Jesus' day

wanted Rome gone

instead of wanting

to deal with their biggest problem

in their life.

I look at these things

like having peace inside

or feeling good

about my relationship

with God,

having warm fuzzy feelings

in my heart

and I say,

those are my Rome's.

I want them gone.

I don't want to deal

with the deeper stuff.

But God looks at me

and he says,

no Eric,

I love you.

I'm not going to deal

with these secondary issues

until we've dealt

with the primary stuff first.

And as we look

at this passage,

when God starts

to deal with the problems

of the nation

and of us,

at the start

of the solution,

it's in verse 6.

It says,

to us,

a child is born.

To us,

a son is given.

There's a baby.

It's a simple thing.

Babies are born every day.

There's something special

about this one.

A child is born.

A son is given.

And like Paul Tripp

said last week,

you know,

we can look at this

and see that a child is born.

We can see that a son is given.

But there's a couple

important words

that we miss

if we say that.

Because if you look

at the verse,

it says,

to us,

a child is born.

To us,

a son is given.

This baby that was born

was born for us.

He wasn't just sent

into the world

to deal with an abstract problem.

He was sent to us.

He was sent for us.

God knows that the problem

starts in our hearts.

So he sent a savior

that could deal with our sin.

God knows that our problem

is an intensely personal

problem of sin.

And so he sends

an intensely personal savior

for that,

for us.

God knows that the things

that I struggle with

are not just abstract

sins out there.

He knows that there are sins

in me.

And so he sends

a savior for me.

God knows that the problems

in the world

that bother us

aren't just problems

out there abstract.

They're our problems.

And so he sends

a savior for us.

He sends a baby

for us.

Jesus isn't out there

as this abstract

wonderful counselor,

as this abstract

mighty God,

an abstract everlasting

father,

an abstract prince of peace.

He sent for us

and that makes him

our wonderful counselor.

It makes him

our mighty God,

our everlasting father,

our prince of peace.

And as long as I

am focused on myself,

on my expectations

of God,

I miss this.

The way I finally

am freed

from these feelings

of despair

and of feeling lost

isn't by continually

focusing on me

and my need

and what I think

is wrong in my life,

but by turning

and looking at God

and looking at the ways

that he has said

he's going to work.

As long as the focus

is on me,

I can't see God.

But when I focus

on God,

I'm able to see him.

I'm able to see

who I am

in light of him.

And it's only

when I put my focus

on God

that I'm able

to experience

what he's doing

in my life.

Just like Israel,

there is a promise,

yes,

that one day he will come,

that one day

he will literally

rule the nations.

He will literally

bring a kingdom

and reign of peace.

He will literally

reign forever

and bring joy

and glory

and it's going

to be awesome.

But when Jesus

first came,

when he was first born

as this baby,

he didn't come

for royal robes.

He came for a cross.

He didn't come

to overthrow Rome

right then and there.

He came to deal

with bigger problems.

He came to deal

with the fact

that you and me

are sinners.

That you and me

are separated from God.

That you and me

have started a rebellion

against God

in our hearts.

And that as long

as we are fighting

in this rebellion,

we won't have freedom.

And he came

and looked at you and me.

And he said,

yeah,

you have lots of problems.

But this is the big one.

This is where it starts.

I'm going to deal

with this one first.

And then we'll deal

with the rest.

As he did that,

as he came,

as the government

fell upon his shoulders,

as he was hung

on the cross,

as he bled

and died,

he accomplished

a victory

greater than any victory

over Rome

he could have ever won.

And as a son

was given to us,

as he died

on that cross,

as he rose again,

we were given proof,

tangible proof

rooted in historical fact

that God does love us,

that God is for us,

that even when

I can't feel it,

that even when

I read this passage

and I think,

where are you?

Why can I not feel it?

That God's there.

That God's for us.

That God has shown

his love for us

once for all

in the cross.

That the blood of Jesus

speaks way louder

than any feelings

in my heart

of lostness.

That when I look

and I can't feel him,

I know he hasn't

abandoned me.

I know he hasn't

abandoned us.

because for us,

a child has been born.

For us,

a son has been given.

And he's probably

not going to work

in the ways

that most of us

would want him to work.

It's not always

going to be warm

and fuzzy.

At times,

it's going to be painful

because he's dealing

with our deepest issues

in our hearts.

And at least for me,

having to recognize

how messed up I am

so that he can deal

with my brokenness

is never a fun experience.

It's never easy.

It's never comfortable.

But it's always good.

It always brings life.

So back in the day,

Israel missed Jesus

because they were

expecting a king

who would work

according to their definition.

They were expecting

a king who would come in

and rule

and deal with

what they thought

was their greatest issues.

But they had identified

their greatest issues wrongly.

And today,

we have this promise

and we see the fulfillment

partially

of this promise

and we still wait

for the day

when Jesus is going

to come back

and he's going to fix

everything once for all

fully.

But we have

the assurance

that a baby

has been born,

that a son

has been born

and not just born

but born for us.

And that he has

borne our sin,

our sin

on his shoulders.

And that he is

our wonderful counselor,

our mighty God,

our everlasting father,

our prince of peace.

watermark,

let's not miss him

because we're looking

for what we want

rather than what he wants

for us.

Let's pray.

Father,

we thank you

for your word.

We thank you

for your promises

and for hope

and for this promise

that the darkness

will not reign forever

but that light

will shine.

we thank you

for this baby,

for Jesus

who was born,

who came,

who had the government

laid upon his shoulders

and who willingly

bore that for us.

We pray that

as we go throughout

our weeks

and lives

that we would have

a proper understanding

of the work

that he's doing

in our lives,

that we wouldn't

try and fit him

into our expectations,

but that we would

see clearly

who you are,

what you're doing

through him

and rely on him

and his work

in our lives.

Thank you, God.

We love you.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

God has been

taking us

on a journey

of what it means

to connect

what we do here

on a Sunday morning.

Again,

the worship

the music,

the singing,

the sermon,

the reading

of God's word,

connecting that

with what we do

outside the walls

of this room.

Some people call it

a lifestyle of worship,

worship as a way

of living.

And something

that struck me

that was shared recently,

I think it was

Paul Tripp,

he said,

worship,

in its essence,

is finding our identity

and being so closely

aligned to God

that our day-to-day,

our breathing,

our living

is all worship

to him.

It's being so aligned

to God

that we begin

to see

how he sees

the city of Hong Kong,

sees the people

around us,

that we're not

blind

to the needs,

that we can see

the social brokenness,

we can see

the children

that are hurting,

and we can know

his heartbeat

and his love

for all of Hong Kong,

no matter how unlovable

someone is next to me.

And out of our community here,

out of Watermark Community Church,

we've seen grassroots movements

of people

who've heard that

resounding call

to be an agent

of justice and love

throughout Hong Kong.

And the amazing thing

is that even within our church,

we have ambassadors.

You might have seen

these maybe 15,

20 kids

that,

to be completely honest,

in a church like this

sometimes stick out

like a sore thumb,

but God doesn't see

any sore thumbs.

He sees children

no matter where

they're from.

And these 15 or 20 kids,

they're from

the South Asian community

in Hong Kong,

more specifically,

mainly the Nepali community.

They,

in Hong Kong,

this community

has been very much

marginalized.

They've been subject

to be a lot of

disempowerment,

just chronic poverty

and a cycle of poverty

that's really oppressed them.

And the amazing thing

is that God has placed

these lights,

these little ambassadors

in our community

to be a part of

Watermark Church

and also to show us

how amazing God is

in doing this work

throughout Hong Kong.

So I want to invite

Edmund and Alan

up here.

And Edmund and Alan,

they've known each other

for a while.

Edmund's been serving

with a ministry

called Inner City Ministries

and they serve

this specific community group

within Hong Kong.

And Alan has also,

I guess,

been a beneficiary of that

but now he's also

an ambassador of that

because he's growing up

and he's seen

what God's been doing

through that.

So I don't want

to introduce you anymore.

I want to let you

do the talking.

Okay, buddy?

Maybe just tell everyone

your name,

your full name

and how old are you?

My name is Alan Grung

and I'm 13 years old.

So Alan,

how long have I

known you for?

For almost four years.

Okay,

and can you tell me

a little bit about

how you were like

when we first met you?

I used to be very naughty

and selfish.

I used to get caught

by the police

three or four times.

You got caught

by the police

three or four times.

How old were you?

Around eight or seven.

Seven or eight, right?

Yeah.

Okay,

and why did you get

caught by the police?

Fighting with others,

playing BB gun fights,

playing water balloon

when the city got

to not to play.

And can you tell me

how do you feel

when you got caught

by the police

at such a young age?

I didn't care.

I just wanted

to have fun.

That's it.

And how late

would you stay out?

I remember you stayed

out really late, right?

Yeah,

until three or four a.m.

So this is three

or four a.m.

when you were eight?

Yes.

Okay.

How did you come

to know about ICM?

I started knowing

Caroline and others

by my sister

because she knows

about Caroline and ICM

more better than me.

She started to know

Caroline and ICM

since she was really young.

So she taught me

how to go there

and know Caroline.

And can you tell me

more about Caroline and I?

Caroline,

she cares about us

and loves us.

And then sometimes

he gives some kind of

cards to hand in to others

to know about God

so they can come

in ICM with us.

And sometimes

he cooks for us also.

Cooks for us also

so when we don't have

enough parking money

or when we're hungry.

Okay.

And you still go to ICM

a lot right now, right?

Yes.

Why?

Because it's the safest place

I know.

There's so many friends

I can talk to,

talk about God

and plenty.

In my regular home

there's so many

gangsters and addicts

there.

That's why.

Okay.

And you talk to her

about Jesus, right?

Yes.

So why don't you

tell us about Jesus?

That Jesus is our Messiah.

He died for us

on the cross

and we are sinful

and

and he's the only hope

to go to heaven

and have good relationship

with him.

Thank you for sharing.

Okay.

Thanks.

Actually, Alan,

I have one more

question for you.

You were telling me

yesterday,

you're not off the hook

yet, man.

You told me yesterday

and it was really cool.

You were telling me

what,

you know,

where would you be

maybe today

on a Sunday morning

or this week

if you hadn't,

if God hadn't

touched you

and worked through you

through ICM.

Do you think you could tell

maybe share a little bit

about that?

What do you think?

Maybe I would win Jill.

Maybe in,

I don't know.

Higher, okay.

And I guess Edmund,

having been a part

of this ministry

and working with Alan

as little brother Aaron

and all the other kids,

what do you see

as ways

that we can respond

to what God's doing

through Inner City?

When I look at Watermark,

I see a church

that's very,

very abundantly blessed,

not just in our resources

but also

just how God has

sought each one of us out.

It's very obvious

from the character

of the people here

and just the family,

the family feel

that this church has.

I think one of the best ways

to respond to

our calling as Christians here

is to continue to respond

and expand this family

that we've built here,

which is also one

of the main reasons

why we felt God calling us

to bring all the kids

to Watermark

in the first place.

To expand the family,

to act as older brothers

and sisters,

mentors,

and even fathers

and mothers

to a lot of these kids.

In ICM,

there's actually

a really big need

for more committed mentors

who can come out weekly

just to seek them out

where they're at

to really seek

and save the loss.

To invest in relationships,

to care,

and to talk through life

with a lot of these guys

who just simply

don't have the chance

to talk to anybody.

And in terms of resources,

we know that ICM,

as Alan said,

is a home,

is a safe place

for a lot of these kids.

The staff there

are basically mothers

and fathers

to a lot of them.

and we need to be able

to empower them

with resources.

Currently,

ICM uses about

130,000 every month

to run the family ministries,

to do parenting classes,

to run the vocational ministries,

as well as tutoring ministries

of the kids.

But each month,

we fall short

by about 50,000

each month

as a regular donation basis.

So anything really helps,

actually,

both financially

as well as just

expanding your hearts

towards these kids

and the families there.

Thanks, Edmund.

And the leaders have decided,

I mentioned this last week,

but basically,

leading up to

next Sunday,

December 8th,

and that entire week,

devoting all our tithes

and offerings,

everything that's received

by Watermark,

will go to

ministries like

St. Barnabas

that I brought up

last Sunday,

and inner city ministries,

as well as church planting.

So please be praying

about that

and just ask for God

to show you

even more of his heart

and his heartbeat

for the city of Hong Kong.

Join with me

as I pray for us

and for inner city.

Father, thank you.

Yeah, where do I start, God?

Thank you so much

for this ministry

and for giving us

not just biological children,

but spiritual children, Lord,

even from places

that we would least expect,

you know,

places like

the Nepali community

in Hong Kong

and people in the poorest

of places

and the most desperate

of places, Lord.

You bring them to us

and make them

our spiritual children, Lord.

So, God,

I pray for all the people here, Lord,

no matter, you know,

whether we're just so

caught up in our own

biological families

and just really

wanting obedience

in the family

and order, Lord,

I also pray that we would

open our eyes

to see the spiritual children.

God, I pray for those of us

who are yearning

for sons and daughters

in their family,

but for whatever reason,

they don't have it, Lord.

I pray that you would

open their eyes

to see spiritual children, Lord,

spiritual sons and daughters

that you put in our care.

God, I pray for singles, Lord.

I pray for all the 20, 25,

30-year-olds like me, Lord,

that, you know,

you just help me

to suck it up

and stop being

a 30-year-old adolescent

and be a 30-year-old father, Lord,

of a spiritual child.

So, God,

thank you for that privilege.

Thank you for what you're doing

through ICM.

Thank you that

no one is a sore thumb to you.

No one is beneath, Lord, you,

and you came to die for all.

You came for us

from the least

to the greatest, Lord.

We're all the same

in your sight.

Help us to see that,

to experience that,

and just know

how loving you are, Lord,

that we can be a church.

We can be parents, Lord,

to Alan and Aaron

and all the other kids, Lord,

and even more

and beyond Cyberport,

beyond Pauplem,

all throughout Hong Kong.

God, empower us

with your spirit.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

God.

When we started the church,

we asked ourselves

a lot of questions.

One of the questions

we asked ourselves was,

what would happen

if the church no longer existed?

If the church was not here

any longer,

would the community feel that?

Would they realize

there was once a group of people

who loved the Lord

and loved Hong Kong here,

but they're no longer here anymore?

We kept asking ourselves

the question,

what would it look like

to be missed?

When we started the church,

we got a lot of tension sometimes

because people would come in

and just be honest,

you know,

often we come in

and we're,

I'm a consumer.

We're consumers.

And we come in

and sometimes we say things like,

so where's the 20 mission trips

you're going to send me on this year?

And what are things

going to look like?

And how can I consume

what you're going to give me?

And that was a tension.

I think we all struggle

with that, right?

And we didn't do

the 20 mission trips

in the year

because we prayed

and we knew that God

had things in Hong Kong

that he wanted us to do

as the family of God.

And so we've spent

going on this journey

and praying

and asking God

to show us

to the community groups

and through individuals

who have a heart

for this amazing city.

And so we've been waiting

and looking

and praying

and community groups

have been going out

and doing things

and it's amazing to see

what they've been doing.

And so we've realized

that our mission trip

is Hong Kong right now.

Our workplace

and our families

and our homes

and where we eat dim sum

and the Nepalese kids

and all these places

we're hoping and praying

about planting churches in.

So next Sunday

when you come in

you'll see this red offering

this special offering envelope

and the elders

and the leaders

have caught together

and as a step of faith

we've done this a couple times

with church planners

and we've said

hey everything that comes in

we're

yeah we have a budget

we need to work

but we trust that God

is bigger than that.

So everything that comes in

next week

we will give out

to these missions

that we've been identifying.

So just so you think about that

and pray about

what has God called you to do?

What is it called to do

to not look like a consumer?

What does it look like

to be part of the family of God

and reaching out

to these amazing people

and opportunities

that God is bringing to us?

Watermark

as a church family.