Sunday Service

We had some awesome testimonies today; Sarah led a friend to Christ through msn, John and several other Supernatural On Campus comrades encountered the Holy Spirit through wholehearted worship, and Amy took a leap of faith out of her comfort zone to pray for a waiter at Shakey's Pizza! I'm so encouraged by what John did at UCSD, I want to gather with other sisters and brothers in Christ in UCI as well!

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK (got it from Saturday's ministry meeting): 515. Meet 5 new friends this week and get their information. Share the gospel to at least 1 of the new friends. Stay in contact through whatever means (texting, emailing, calling, mailing an Impact postcard, and instant messaging) with the 5 new friends. Wow, this is what I call living a focused life!

Today Jack's topic is: "God is Our Foundation"

He Commanded us to GO: In Acts 21, the disciples traveled to different places. These Christ followers believe that everywhere they go, there are nonbelievers who need Jesus' salvation. The disciples' mission was simply to spread the gospel. God will do miracles through us, but only when we are willing to stand up and go. In Matthew28:19, Jesus gave His people the great commission; He didn't say, "stay and study my Word first," Jesus told them to "Go! Go out there and make disciples of all nations!" It is time to reap the harvest for God's kingdom, and we cannot afford to waste anymore time waiting until we are "ready" to do God's work.

Paul Declared That God Is His Foundation: So anyway, Paul wanted to go to Jerusalem, but all the disciples pleaded with him not to go. There are many people persecuting and attempting to kill the apostle. A prophet also urged Paul not to go to Jerusalem, yet Paul answered, "Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."(v.13) Paul was eager for His Lord to be known and he had already given everything up for God long ago. Paul is declaring, "My God is good! I build my faith upon the rock, the Lord is my foundation!"

Worshiping Him In The Wilderness: The name of our God is Foundation. In Isaiah28:16, God built the cornerstones on Zion. God loved that place so much because David worshiped Him there constantly. Though Zion is a deserted place, the Lord called it His dwelling place. Where is our Zion? God wants to meet us in our spiritual wilderness. The wilderness is God's invitation to us to encounter Him in the most intimate way. When we are most weak we'll hunger after the Lord more and God will respond to our cry.

God Is Smiling At Us: When we are dry in the spirit, when we are feeling hopeless, when depression is overwhelming us, God is there, shining His smile at us and trying to cheer us up. Such tender love! Imagine the Creator of heaven and earth, the Almighty God, the Holy One, kneeling down besides His fallen child and doing everything to let His beloved know that everything will be alright, that He will make the pain go away, and that He will never abandon the child. In Psalm42, the psalmist cries out to God in his distress and marvels at how kind the Lord's countenance is. When we fail in life, when others criticize us, when everything seems to be falling apart, we can turn to God, and find Him smiling down at us, comforting and encouraging us.

A Pastor's Dream: In heaven, the servants of God lined up and offered their sacrifices to God with their faces down. The Lord went from one servant to another, carrying a torch in His hand and setting each offering on fire. Some offerings got burnt to ashes completely, some only partly, and those servants wept with sorrow. When the Lord approached the pastor, he woke up from his dream, terrified. What kind of foundation are we building for our lives? Will it withstand the test in the end? Our lives need to be based on Jesus Christ, the foundation God laid down for us, or else we will be like fools building houses on sand, and when a tsunami comes the house will immediately crumble.

But as always, Jack "saved" the best for the last (we love you Jack!), here are his main points:

1. Foundation Provides Security: Jesus is our security. His insurance policy is forever free, forever guaranteed, and has the best service! God wants us to live a worry-free life. Worry is actually a sin because when we worry we are not trusting in God. The church in Redding proclaimed that Redding is a cancer-free city because in God's kingdom there is no illness! Let's proclaim that the cities we live in are worry-free zones! Long Beach, Bakersfield, Riverside, San Gabriel, Pasadena, Irvine, and San Diego are worry-free zones in the name of Jesus!

2. Foundation Brings Hope: God's unfailing love brings us hope. His love is patient, it endures, and it suffers long. God brings us new hope daily. He doesn't toss us a second hand or used hope, He always gives us brand new hope! We have hope in God, that whatever we build upon our foundation in Christ will stand firm to the end.

3. Foundation Never Fails: the world will fade away, but God's Word will remain. In Isaiah54:10~11, God declared that His unfailing love will never be shaken, and that He will build us with sapphire and stones of turquoise. Sapphire symbolizes love and longing! The Lord longs for us with great affection. Stones of turquoise stand for friendship and consistency in relationship. Wow, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords calls us His beloved friend! This is awesome!

God I want to build my life on this rock instead of sand, Lord be the fire in me, be the purpose of my life!