Walking with God: Lessons from a Pastor's Heart - Chapter 1: Eternal Perspective | Pastor Pablo Morales

Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is

an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,

with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.

We invite you to connect with us from wherever

you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our

mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed

by this week's sermon. As a space that is very

intimate and very close as if we are sitting

across each other sharing a cup of coffee. And

we are having a conversation about, so how are

you doing? How was your summer? What do you do?

What is the Lord teaching you? Where are you

at? I want to take this time to share some reflections.

As we're walking with the Lord in this season,

especially as we're coming out of this stage

of traveling and all the things that happen.

And it doesn't matter whether you don't drink

coffee. That's okay. You can pick another drink

if you want. But my cup is going to be dark,

strong coffee, no sugar. And as we reflect, today

what I want... you to get and to remember is

simply this. Don't lose your perspective. And

what do I mean by perspective? See, during this

time, we went to the US, the state of Texas,

we were there, and then we went to Kansas for

the sole purpose of leading the burial and the

memorial service for my mother -in -law, who

passed away in April, 95 years of age, widow,

former missionary here in Thailand. Then we moved

to Guatemala for maybe 10 days or so to spend

time with my parents, whom I hadn't seen for

over two years, to celebrate the 60th anniversary.

Who would have imagined that? And then we came

back to Thailand for one day and then we flew

to England to spend time in London and Oxford

with the ACB team that took the trip with our

class on apologetics crossroads. And then we

just came back this week. It's like very intense

time. And in these spaces, this idea of perspective

has become more and more intense. Because we

can follow God and lose our perspective and then

everything becomes misaligned. But when we follow

Christ and we follow him with the right perspective,

everything changes. And it is very important.

That as we are walking with the Lord, we do not

lose the right perspective. Let me put it this

way. I'm going to show you three pictures. And

I want you to pick the one you identify with

the most. No particular reason. Just pick one.

Done? Okay. So if I were to ask the prophet Isaiah.

Pick one of these three. Which one do you identify

the most with? He will pick this one. He's like,

what? Grass? I didn't imagine that. What are

you, like, spiky hair or something? Why grass?

He says, oh, let me tell you why. All people

are like grass, says the prophet. Faithfulness

is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers

and the flowers fall because the breath of the

Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass.

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the

word of our God endures forever. Pablo, you're

grass. You are here today, you will be gone tomorrow.

Don't forget that. Don't forget that you are

just passing by and that this life is not it.

This is part of the experience of being a human.

But life is more than this. And one day, the

grave is coming. And I started the trip with

the realization that my mother -in -law is gone,

Charlotte. And to see, realize that now she's

in this thing and we're going to bury her and

enter into her home and she's not there anymore

and the absence being so present. And then we

conclude the trip going to... England and we

visited a couple of places and we started in

London. We went to the British Library to talk

about the Bible and the text. And we went to

the British Museum and we talked about the history

and archaeology and all of that. And we visited

a couple of churches and then we went to Oxford

to also talk about C .S. Lewis and and his life,

and understand all of that stuff. And we went

to Darwin's home in London to talk about Darwinian

evolution. And we had lectures with scientists

on the fallacies of evolution based on science.

And it was really a very intense trip. But there's

something very unique about visiting England

and going to the Church of England or the Anglican

churches. And that is something that you do not

see here. If you have been shaped in your Christian

experience by the average evangelical experience,

which is kind of like coming to ECB today to

worship, you see people, then you go home. It's

not like that. Let me show you this picture.

What do you see? Well, you see a cemetery, right?

You see a graveyard. Well, this is the entrance

to the church. Can you imagine driving here into

ECB and the first thing you see is like all these

dead people places, you know. And then you walk

into the church to worship. It's like death is

right there on your face. And this place is not

just any church. This is the church that C .S.

Lewis attended and this is the place where he

is buried. A little bit more about that later

today. We also visited Christ Church College

and Christ Church Chapel. And as you came there,

it's the same thing. Same thing. It's that you

have people that have died. Some of them are

buried inside. And some others are not buried

inside, but there's these places. dedicated for

them to honor their lives because they studied

there or they contributed to society in a meaningful

way. And two, very meaningful people there, or

actually I should say three, famous philosopher

John Locke. That's right here. Right there. Imagine

you are sitting on your chair and you are stepping

on the tomb of somebody or a plaque of somebody

or something that reminds you that, They lived

here and now they're dead. And the other one

was John Wesley and Charles Wesley. John Wesley

was the founder of the Methodist Church. That's

where he studied. And once again, inside the

church, you have all these places that are reminding

you, you are just grass. You are here today and

gone tomorrow. And when Jesus talked about that,

he asked a very poignant question to all of us.

And he says, look, if any of you wants to be

my follower, you must give up your own way, take

up your cross and follow me. If you try to hang

on to your life, you will lose it. But if you

give up your life for my sake, you will save

it. And then he says, really, think about it.

What do you benefit? If you gain the whole world,

but you lose your own soul. In fact, is anything

worth more than your soul? And he gets to the

core to remind us that we are these spiritual

beings. We have these bodies that are part of

being a human, but one day this body will be

in the grave, will become dust, and our soul

will continue. And then we'll just await our

glorification of our bodies and the final resurrection.

This is our future. This is what's going to happen,

and that's why Jesus says at the end of this

section, For the Son of Man will come with his

angels in the glory of his Father and will judge

all people according to their deeds. So don't

lose your perspective. If you are going to follow

me, the only way to follow me well is by having

eternal perspective. Remember that you are grass,

that you are here today, gone tomorrow, and because

that's the reality, make sure that you are living.

With eternal perspective. And what does this

look like is very specific. What does it look

like to follow Jesus with eternal perspective?

First thing is that to follow Jesus with eternal

perspective is a life that is characterized by

prioritizing God. God is the highest priority,

is the most important thing. And there's such

an awareness that we belong to him and that we

are accountable to him that everything we do,

even the most private spaces and the deepest

motives of our heart that only you are aware

of are always under that awareness. And this

is very important because as we are living life,

We are so busy with everything and all the things

that we have to do. But when we forget that this

is temporary, then we think that this life is

all there is. And therefore, it matters more

than it really does. And when we start having

that wrong perspective, we become fearful and

controlling. And when we become controlling,

we have really lost our perspective. There was

a guy that was very famous. He had succeeded

in his life. He had all the money he could have.

He had all the women that he could ever have.

He had all the fame he could ever dream of. He

had all the power to do everything he wanted.

You know his name? Solomon. King Solomon. And

at the end of his life, after he pursued every

single thing he could pursue in his life, he

wrote this book, Ecclesiastes, which is in the

Old Testament. And at the very end of the book,

after he has said everything, he says, you know

what I realize? This is what matters most. Now

all has been heard. I've written everything already,

so let me conclude like this. Here is the conclusion

of the matter. Fear God and keep his commandments

for this is the duty of all mankind. Fear the

Lord and obey him. Simple. Why? Well, because

you are accountable to him and one day you will

give an account to him. Jesus said it. And Solomon,

after he had done all the things he did, which

some of them were not good, now he realizes,

oops, now that I've tasted this and that and

this and that, I realize that all of that is

worthless. Because the only thing that matters

most is God. And he says at the end, for God

will bring every deed into judgment, including

every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

As we are following the Lord, I realize in this

time of reflection that what matters most is

God. And us being honest to Him. Because when

we're honest to Him, and that flows in how we

follow the Lord and the things we do, things

are different. The deepest motives of the heart

are brought to the light. Because one day truth,

truth will reign. And one day you will be seen

for what you truly were and not for what you

pretended to be. So as we serve the Lord together

and as we follow him together, this matters.

If I had my phone here with you and we were across

the table from each other, I would be showing

you the pictures, you know. Look at this one

and you will show me some and I'll show you another

one. Well, I cannot show you my phone, but I

can show you better than the phone, the screen

here. When we arrived to the town of Chanute,

which is the town in Kansas where my in -laws

came from, that's where they are buried. In order

to do the burial service, we first met at a church,

a small church that was right there in the town,

and they opened their place for us to be able

to host all the guests and the family and the

friends that gathered. And as I was walking in

the building, I noticed the meeting room, the

boardroom, where the elders or leaders of the

church would meet. And I saw something that was

written on the wall, and I thought, I need to

take a picture of this. Because it captures this

in essence. Now, this is very informal English

that Americans can understand. But it says, if

it ain't kingdom, it ain't worth it. If this

is not for God, it's not worth it. If it's not

born from him and for him, you're wasting your

time. Why waste your time in pursuing things

that you know God is not in? Why try to push

your agenda instead of serving God's? Don't lose

your perspective. If you are single, if you are

young, the world is telling you that you need

to live for you to be happy. Pursue who you truly

are. Follow your feelings. Follow your heart.

And God says, no, that's not true. Do not follow

your feelings. Do not follow your heart because

you are a sinner and you have a sinful heart.

And things that you desire that are contrary

to me are not going to lead you to a good place.

Do not buy the lie. Do not lose your perspective.

If it's not for me or from me, you're going to

waste your time. Don't go that route. Have you

lost your perspective? And suddenly God is no

longer the priority? But you are? Yeah, it gets

personal, doesn't it? These are things that the

Lord uses to remind you of what is foundational.

So yeah, if we're going to follow Jesus with

eternal perspective, we must follow him by making

God and the awareness of God in every space of

our lives the priority. And if God is a priority,

the second thing follows. Is that we are following

God with eternal perspective. Then we prioritize

people. And I'll tell you why. If my soul matters

so much to God. Hey, those people are also a

soul. And they matter to God that much too. In

fact, God loves them so much that he sent Jesus

to die for them. And if I love God so much, then

I'm going to love people too because he loves

them. And that love and that care for people

comes not from them being lovable or from me

being a nice person. It comes from this connection

with God where I start loving what God loves

because I love God first. And it flows. And this.

Means that if we are serving God. We are living

our lives. Following God with eternal perspective.

The way that our lives are going to be characterized.

As is by being people who love people. Let me

show you another picture. This is my in -laws.

Dick and Charlotte Worley. Right now. They're

with the Lord. And many years ago, the Lord led

them here to Thailand to work as missionaries

here. They work with an organization called American

Baptists. They were part of a church called Matrachet

Baptist Church here in Bangkok. And they started

a school here in Thailand called Samuk Christian

Academy. And they invested decades of their lives

for that, the Thais and loving the Thai people.

And I noticed a couple of things now when we

did the funeral and the memorial. In those moments,

we always give people the opportunity to share,

share a memory, share a word of encouragement,

anything. And you know what I've noticed in all

the funerals that I've led in my pastoral ministry?

I never heard somebody say something like, oh,

yeah, she dressed so nicely. Or, oh, he had a

nice car. Their house was beautiful. No one ever

says things like that at a funeral. You know

what they say? They say things like, you know

what? One time I needed help, and he showed up

to help me. Oh, you know, one time I was going

through some struggles and no one really cared,

but she listened to me. And she changed her plans

to make me a priority. You know what people say?

People say, this person loved me. And that is

what they remember. And that is what they celebrate

because that is what matters most. And in 2017,

when my father -in -law, Dick, was diagnosed

already with cancer, they were coming here to

celebrate an anniversary with Maitre Chit. And

we thought, you know what? We do not know if

this is the last time we can take a trip together

or not. So we decided, let's just go. So we came

to Thailand in 2017. By the way, that's the first

time I stopped by ECB and I came to know ECB.

Without realizing that God would call me several

years later to lead the ministry here. But at

that time, I noticed something. It was very interesting

with my in -laws. Everybody just loved them.

And they were just spending time with them. You

could see the attitude of gratitude. And I could

see it. When my mother -in -law died. Here in

Thailand, they did a memorial service. It was

beautiful. Even though she wasn't here, her body

wasn't here, she died in the U .S. What church

does that? Only a place that has been impacted

by love and laughs back. It was a very meaningful

time for the family. But the testimonies were

all about this. They loved me. When I was a kid,

they loved me. She was like a mother to me. He

was like a father to me. They loved me. And what

is interesting is that the Bible talks about

this very clearly. In fact, when the Bible is

going to quote Prophet Isaiah, it's going to

quote Isaiah, you know, this imagery of being

grass. He's going to, the Apostle Peter is going

to quote this in the context of this. It's like,

look, remember you are grass, so go and love

people. Remember you are here temporarily, so

people matter most. He's going to say that. And

this is how he says it. Now that you have been

purified yourselves by obeying the truth, so

that you have sincere love for each other, and

love one another deeply from the heart. For you

have been born again. Not of perishable seed

but of imperishable. Through the living and enduring

word of God. Love people because now you have

a new nature in you. The love that you need is

not born from you. It's born in God through you.

Because now that you are following Christ, if

you are a follower of Jesus, he's your savior,

you have the Holy Spirit in you. And now that

you have the Holy Spirit in you, the fruit of

the Spirit is what? Love, joy, peace, and all

of these things from him. So love people deeply

because you are born again. You have what it

takes. And then he says this. Can you read it

with me out loud? For all people are like grass.

And all their glory is like the flowers of the

field. The grass withers and the flowers fall.

But the word of the Lord endures forever. And

this is the word that was preached to you. Don't

forget. You are grass. Here today. gone tomorrow.

Therefore, love people. And you know, for those

of us who are in leadership, this matters so

much because when you are leading, whether you

are leading a team or an organization, leading

is about mobilizing people to accomplish certain

things. So you have due dates, you have projects

that need to happen, you have plans that need

to be accomplished, and the emphasis can become

so much in the doing that needs to happen and

the numbers and the things, the next thing and

then the next thing, that we forget that the

accomplishing is not the most important thing,

but is the loving of the people that we are leading

in order to accomplish the things. And if you

are entrusted by God, With the gift of leadership

and the position to lead people, whether it be

in your company, whether it be in your ministry,

whether it be at home. Remember that these people

that the Lord has placed under your leadership

have one primary need and that is to be loved.

And if you lose your perspective, rather than

loving them as you lead them, you are going to

be annoyed by them as you lead them. And they're

going to not feel loved, but they're going to

feel your annoyance. And you have lost your perspective.

So are we loving the people? Or we have lost

our perspective and make things or accomplishments

or goals more important. I remember a professor

that would tell us, his name was Howard Hendricks

at Dallas Theological Seminary. He would tell

us, students, you have to remember, people don't

care what you know until they know that you care.

That's easy to remember, right? People don't

care what you know until they know that you care.

And that's it. God is my priority. Make loving

people your priority. And then from that, what

follows is this. If we're going to live with

eternal perspective, We're going to prioritize

serving God. We realize that who we are is not

an accident. I'm not here just because of the

will of people. I'm here because God created

me. He designed me. He gave me gifts and abilities.

And he didn't give me some gifts and some abilities

that I don't have. And that's good. I'm good

for something and I'm not good for some others.

And that's fine. But God entrusted me the things

that I'm good at and the passions and the gifts

so that I can use them for his purposes. And

therefore, if there's anything that I have that

he has given me, even if it's insignificant in

my eyes, is an area that God means for me to

invest for his kingdom. And this was beautiful

to see as we were with our group from ECB visiting

Oxford and we went to C .S. Lewis' home and then

we went to his church and graveyard. If you do

not know who C .S. Lewis is, let me just give

you a short description. He was a man who lived

in England. who was an atheist. He was in the

academics, he taught at Cambridge, then he taught

at Oxford, at Magdalen College. And then, as

an adult, he became a follower of Jesus. And

the process from being an atheist to becoming

a follower of Jesus was a process in which he

had to wrestle with what was really true. And

because he was an intellectual, a lot of his

wrestling was about ideas and concepts and the

logic of things. So later when he became a Christian,

he started engaging with people and discussions

and things. And from that, he had the opportunity

to do some radio programs talking about why Christianity

was a reasonable faith, why it was true. And

from those programs, then he started writing

and he wrote a book. called Mere Christianity,

which was a summary of some of his talks. And

that book became very famous because in that

book, Mere Christianity, he was able to summarize

common questions that people had about, well,

but what about this and what about that? That

doesn't make sense. And he was able to give a

logical explanation for every single thing in

a way that was very gifted. And not only that,

he loved writing. And he had a gift for creativity,

so he became a prolific writer. If you watch

or your kids watch the movie, The Chronicles

of Narnia, well, that's actually a series of

books. And those books were written by C .S.

Lewis. And they are a metaphor of Christianity.

The lion that dies and gives his life for the

kid, that's a metaphor for Jesus. And he's using

all this creative writing as a way of portraying

Christian truths. And they became famous and

they became movies. But he loved writing. And

we went to his house. We were able to sit at

one of his desks and took pictures like C .S.

Lewis, you know, with the things he smokes, you

know, and all this stuff that he had. It was

funny. But we learned that actually he had written

so many letters that there were a whole collection.

Now you can have the book published with a collection

of his letters. He took time to answer people

that he did not know. This is before internet,

before emails. And he will write these letters

and he will send them to people. And when a person

receives the letter from a guy that took the

time to answer, they treasure those. And they

kept them. And before they even could realize,

those became a collection, and then they became

a book. That gift for writing. Hey, you're good

at writing. Yeah, I mean, well, it's not a big

thing. It's not, you know, there are other gifts

that are better, but writing? What can writing

do? Hey, you got a major in English. Yeah, English,

but what? What could that do? Do you realize

that when God gives you a gift, there's no gift

that you have that is insignificant? God can

use anything that you offer him and he will take

it and make an impact that you could never ever

imagine. But when you start realizing that everything

that you are, everything that you have is for

him, for his purpose, so you just start doing

it. Suddenly, your life takes a whole different

direction. And that's what happened to C .S.

Lewis. He was just an ordinary guy. He grew up

in a home where his mother died when he was a

kid. He only had a brother. Then his relationship

with his father was not good. It was emotionally

distant. He wasn't going to school. So he was

emotionally in a place that he did not connect

well. And then his father died. He only had his

brother. And then there's the rest of his life

that happened. You can read his biography or

look at the links in the study guide for this

study. When we visited the church, what was very

interesting is that not only were we able to

see the graveyard where he is, but we were able

to go inside the church. We had a time there

to pray together with the team and sing together.

And the people leading that time were telling

us, oh, you want to sit down at the bench where

C .S. Lewis used to sit? It's like, you know

where he used to sit? Yeah, he used to sit here.

And they have even a little plaque right there

with the name C .S. Lewis. It's like, before

you knew it, everybody wanted to sit there and

take a picture. And they would explain to us,

like, he was famous, but he didn't like people.

Like, he didn't like that. He was just a simple

guy, so he would sit here, because there's this

pillar right here, so it would cover him from

seeing people. And he would only see the preacher,

like that. He was an introvert. And he liked

it like that. We visited his home that we were

able now to do the tour to understand better

his life and everything. And that was my third

time for me doing that tour and being in Oxford.

But all of those moments are such a good reminder.

Sometimes you see people that have succeeded

or God has used tremendously and you think of

them as if they are like somewhere there. And

in reality, they were just normal people with

simple gifts that they made available for God.

And God used them beyond what they could ever

imagine or do on their own. And that's what you

see here in this picture. You come out of the

church, right there on the yard, the cemetery.

And there's his graveyard. And we're able to

stand around with our team as we're reflected.

On his life. And then we thank God together for

his life. You know what the Bible says about

this? Jesus said that he has entrusted people

with gifts. And he told this parable. He gave

gifts to this guy, to this guy, to this guy.

And then each one reacted to it differently.

And one of them decided not to do anything with

it. The other two did something with it. And

at the end of the story, Jesus says, well done,

good and faithful servant. You have been faithful

with a few things. I will put you in charge of

many things. Come, share your master's happiness.

And that's the end of the parable. And this is

the reminder that at the end of the day, When

everything is said and done, whether you have

become a person that is well known or someone

that very few people know, that really does not

matter. What matters is what God thinks and what

God says and God knows whether you are living

to serve him and you're investing what he has

entrusted you with for his purposes. And one

day, I do not know you, but me. If there's one

thing that I desire, it's to hear our Lord say,

well done, good and faithful servant. Just come

and share in your master's happiness. You finally

made it. You are here. Come in. Well done. That

will mean more than anything else. And that's

why in this role of leadership in which the Lord

entrusts us with, we have to be very well grounded

on this space. From a leader to a leader. Let

me tell you this. When you are leading, sometimes

you will say things or do things that people

will love. And sometimes you will do things or

say things that people will dislike. People will

love you and equally people will hate you. That's

the way of leadership. If you lose your perspective,

you're going to become a people -pleasing leader.

Manipulative, fake, you name it. You lost your

perspective. In reality, it doesn't matter whether

you liked the leadership, whether you liked the

sermon, whether you liked what was said or not

said. At the end of the day, if we are sitting

across from each other with a cup of coffee and

whatever you have in your cup, and I can tell

you, you know what I realize? I don't care. I

don't care what people think. I don't care what

you think. Because the only thing that matters

is what God thinks. And he knows the truth. And

one day we are going to stand in his presence.

Truth will be spoken. So leaders, if you are

leading, don't fall for the trap of leading to

please people. Lead. to please God. And when

you do that, so much freeing because you are

serving the Lord with eternal perspective. Live

for this day, not for Friday. So, is serving

God your priority? Is this part of the perspective

or you have lost that perspective? And I realized

as I conclude this reflection that if God is

going to become my priority, if loving people

is going to become a priority, and serving God

is going to become a priority, and that's how

we follow the Lord because that's what eternal

perspective is about. Sometimes that takes you

to places that are difficult because it costs

you. You have a higher price to pay than other

people. And sometimes that price is a relational

cost of separation. You will have to be separated

from people that you love. Your children grow

up. They're in other countries. You will never

see them. You will see them once a year. Grandkids

are born. You don't get to be with them. You

don't get to see them grow old because God placed

you somewhere else. You went and visited your

parents during this break, and when you say goodbye

to them, you wonder, is this the last time I'm

going to see them? How did you function in that

space? How does separation become manageable?

How do you carry that weight? There's only one

way. And that's with eternal perspective. Because

if we are going to be able to pay the price of

separation, it's because we understand that separation

is temporary. And we have to see it that way.

Otherwise the grieving becomes difficult. As

we were in Guatemala during our time there, it

was our first time as a family to be there in

a beautiful country. And we were there to celebrate

the 60th anniversary of my parents. And you can

see them right here in the middle. The white

hair, gray hair, that's dad. His name is Nelson.

And next to him, mom, Rebecca. Some of you have

asked us, how are your parents doing? Mom had

stomach cancer. Her stomach was removed. She

went through chemo. She's cancer -free today.

And she's stable. She's in a good place. How's

your dad doing? Well, dad is also stable. He's

in a place in which his memory issues with the

beginnings of Alzheimer's and all of that is

progressing but still functional. So we can still

talk, we can still joke, we can still do things,

but he's a fraction of what he used to be. And

that space of deeper conversation cannot happen.

You cannot go deeper because that's missing now.

But we were able to be together, and as you know,

I'm the fourth of seven kids. Six of the seven

were able to gather together, so the others arrived

as a surprise for my parents. We all gathered

there. And we live in different countries, different

places, and we know that then it's time to say

goodbye. And then our son Alex was able to join

us there as well, so it was good to be together.

Our kids love each other. They have a good relationship,

so they look forward to being together. and for

him to reconnect with the rest of the family.

And then we have to say goodbye to him, too,

because he lives in Oregon and graduated from

college already, and he's in a new season in

his life. So we are in this time in which it's

like we love people, we love family, we enjoy

a little bit, and then goodbye. And when do we

see each other? Would it be heaven? Would it

be here? We do not know. If you live in that

space, I understand. One of my brothers is not

a follower of Christ. So I also know what it's

like to feel at moments like, is this the last

time? And am I going to see him in heaven or

not? I don't know. And in those moments you intercede

and we intercede for you if you have loved ones

that do not know the Lord and that's heavy in

your heart and you say, Pastor Pablo, pray for

my father, pray for my sibling, pray for mom.

We understand. The only way we can live in this

space is with eternal perspective. So let me

conclude with this verse because this is what

The Apostle Paul says in Philippians and captures

it so well. He says, I have told you before.

And I say it again with tears in my eyes that

there are many whose conduct shows that they

are real enemies of the cross of Christ. They

are headed for destruction and their God is their

appetite. They brag about shameful things. They

think only about this life here on earth. they

do not have eternal perspective because they

do not know the Lord. So they live for here and

now by you, follower of Jesus. You and I are

not them. We are citizens of heaven where the

Lord Jesus Christ lives and we are eagerly waiting

for him to return as our Savior and he will take...

Our weak mortal bodies. And change them into

glorious bodies. Like his own. Using the same

power. With which he will bring everything under

his control. This is what is about to happen.

This is where we are going. So if God is calling

you to be separated. From people that you love.

It's worth it. For the cause of Christ. Because

the separation is temporary. The day is coming.

When the Lord will come back and everything that

we have lived for will be fulfilled. And that

is the beginning of the rest of our lives. So

we say goodbye with hope. And with perspective

that is eternal. That is the only way. So if

you are in that time of grieving, readjusting,

don't. Lose your perspective. Jesus says that

the only way to follow him is by keeping this

eternal perspective. So therefore, that is how

we're going to walk with God. We're not going

to lose our perspective. And we're going to stand

up together today and we're going to tell the

Lord, Lord, you are amazing. And if I have lost

my perspective, would you please reframe me again?

Let me walk with you with eternal perspective

because that is what my heart needs. If you have

lost your perspective, would you tell the Lord?

Will you recommit to him? Would you seek him

to strengthen you? Here, right now, in your own

words, as we worship the Lord. Father, You loved

us and you sent your son Jesus to die for us

so that all things can be made right again, reconciled

with you. And your word says that one day our

Lord Jesus will return and things will be fulfilled

and we'll live for that. So thank you, Lord,

for the experiences that have pointed us back

to you. And I want to intercede for my friends

here today, Lord, if there's anyone that have

lost their perspective, bring them back to you.

Empower them so that they will live for you first,

to serve you first, and to love you People with

your love. Even. When you have called them to

love. People that are hard to love. You empower

them. So intercede for them. And I ask you. Encounter

them in this space of worship. In Jesus name.

Amen. Whether near or far, if you are looking

for community or are in need of prayer, we welcome

you to engage by sending us an email to office

at ecb .asia. If God is calling you to support

our ministries, you will find giving options

on our website. And remember to join us next

week. God bless you. If God is calling you to

support our ministries, you will find giving

options on our website. And remember to join

us next week. God bless you.