DFC Weekly

“I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace. I saw a dream and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the visions in my mind kept alarming me. So I gave orders to bring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.” Daniel 4:4-6

Have you ever had a dream where it seem so real that it didn’t seem like a dream? Where you couldn’t discern reality from the dream and then you decide to take the red pill (i.e., The Matrix) and you wake up and then you see the real world…

King Neuchadnezzar had such a dream. So perplexed was he that his dream troubled him greatly and he searched his entire kingdom to find an answer. He had a dream where a great tree, which was huge in size, reaching heaven and whose beauty was incomparable, provided shade and fruit for all. Suddenly an angel came from heaven and ordered it to be cut down and its stump to be left in the ground. He asked Daniel what the dream could mean.

In a time of peace and prosperity, “Nebuchadnezzar was at his ease,” God sent this dream to the king as a warning for him to repent of his sins and give all glory to God. The king lived in security, false security, similar to the one Jesus pictured in the Parable of the Rich Farmer (Luke 12:15-21). It is when the world is resting in “peace and safety” that God’s judgment will fall (1 Thess. 5:3). The only safety and rest one can find is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

I recently was witnessing to a young man who dared to say, “Where is God? If He is real, why doesn’t He just strike me dead?” Later on he said to me, “I know there is a god, maybe the real God you are talking about but right now, I am having too much fun and when I am ready, then maybe I’ll go to church.” I wish God gave me a dollar for every person who told me that. And yet, this young man reminded me of King Nebuchadnezzar.

The king decided to take the blue pill and continue on as before… “Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. The king reflected and said, “Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?” (Dan. 4:28-30) Nebuchadnezzar walked the grounds of his palace marveling his work which we should never do… When we think that we are responsible for what we do and achieve, and we do not recognize that even when we achieve great things it is due to God, we have taken His glory and that is a sin God will not tolerate.

“While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven” (4:31) “he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.” (v.33) The king awoke from his dream of security and found himself to be a beast of the field. But that is not the end of the story. “The Lord is patient, not slow in keeping promises as some might think, but desiring that all men will not perish but come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) “At that time my reason returned to me… Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways are just and he is able to humble those who walk in pride.” (vv. 36-37) The king then took the red pill.

Beloved, live in reality and not your sense of false security. Walk humbly and offer your life as a living sacrifice to Him (Rom. 12:1). And for those who believe you are king of the world, don’t take the blue pill and continue on as before, take the red pill and wake up- there is a God who loves you but He will not share His glory of this life. May God bless you.

Pastor Sung

“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock.”  – Isaiah 26:3-4

What is your peace-o-meter reading today? You’re familiar with those guys who work for the electric company who randomly show up at your house to read your electric meter. If God could read your meter, what would your peace-o-meter be reading today?

As I was driving home, I merged to the right hand lane to pass a truck. As I did so, a car in the far right lane merged left into the lane I was merging. I had to hit the brakes not to rear end the car. I could see that I startled the driver, so much so that he gave me the finger in his rear view mirror. I merged into the left lane to pass him and as I did so, he adamantly expressed his displeasure, emphatically giving me the finger. I wonder what his peace-o-meter was reading…

The prophet Isaiah is praying to God during turbulent times. His king, King Ahaz, has turned to the king of Assyria for assistance rather than turning to God for help, which ultimately leads to the exile of Judah into Babylon. But Isaiah is not rattled, his peace-o-meter is quite high- because by trusting in the Lord, it yields a settled purpose, “a steadfast mind.” A steadfast mind is one set on the purpose of pleasing God. Many times we encounter turbulence because we expend so much energy in seeking solutions apart from God.

But a “steadfast mind” is one God keeps for us, “You will keep in perfect peace.” The perfect peace is God’s “shalom.” This perfection is both in quantity and quality. Paul said the same thing in the NT, “let the peace of God which transcends all understanding guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6). How many of you are experiencing the perfect peace of God or are you trying to fabricate your own peace through cheap imitations?

Isaiah then exhorts all to do the same- “Trust in the LORD!” And why? Because as our circumstances change so will the cheap things we try to find refuge. Everything changes. Possessions fade away, people disappoint and die… as Peter said, “Man is like the grass, the glory of man is like the flower of the grass, the flower falls off and the grass withers but the Word of the Lord abides forever.” (1 Peter 1:24-25) But the One who keeps our peace, He is eternal, He is our Rock!

There is a story of Martin Luther, while going through a period of discouragement, would day after day bring his long face to the dinner table. One day his wife wore a black dress as if she was going to a funeral. He asked her, “Who died?” She replied, “Martin, as you have been behaving, I thought God had died, so I prepared myself to attend His funeral.” Her rebuke drove right through his heart. The great reformer decided that he would never allow his worldly care, discouragement or frustration to ever defeat him. By God’s grace he would vow to submit his life to his Savior and reflect the grace of God in a spirit of rejoicing always.

When was the last time you rejoiced God in a time of despair? Has someone replaced God from His throne? Then why let life beat you down? The LORD is our Rock and He is the keeper of our perfect peace. Trust in Him today. What is your peace-o-meter reading today?

May God bless you in your rejoicing of the victory we have in His Son!!!

Pastor Sung

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” – Romans 12:1

As football season begins, school pride also swells. There is a strong rivalry here in Southern California, USC vs UCLA. Some will be quick to differentiate the fan base between USC and UCLA. There is a saying, “You are a Bruin for four years, a Trojan for life.” If you ever met a USC alum, you have had a taste of the fanaticism, I don’t know what they put in the water on that campus.

But the point I want to make is that for a Bruin (or any other alum) there is beginning and end. It begins with day one and ends with graduation. This identity is consistent with most all things in life, our work, our club affiliations, etc. We are the postman, the lawyer, the teacher, as we go to work and our identity as such ends when work is over.

Unfortunately for many, our worship as Christians also cease at the end of worship service. Well, doesn’t it? I mean after service, isn’t our worship over? We go out to eat, play basketball, go see a movie, go study for school. After service, other aspects of our lives take over and our lives continue on until next Sunday. This is the mentality that fosters the lifestyle of the “Sunday Christian.” This perpetuates the inconsistency of the behavior, attitudes and actions of Christians that fluctuates from day to day, from one circumstance to another.

But not according to the Apostle Paul- “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

Paul has finished with the theological explanation (ch. 1-11) and now asserts the application of the theology- therefore… Because Jesus has died for our sins, “therefore, present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God.” In other words, because Jesus has died for us, we continue to worship God by living holy lives!

As our Sunday worship comes to an end, our worship to God continues on. It continues on to whatever we go on to do… we worship God in our breaking of bread, in our play, in our study, in our work, we continue on in our worship to God in living our holy lives (1 Cor. 10:31). We as Christians cannot think of worship on terms of the 1 1/2 hours we give to God on Sundays- that is our corporate worship, the zenith of worship for the believer’s week as we all join together in vocal worship and praise, but that is not the starting point and the ending point of our worship! We continue to worship God every minute, every day in everything we do. Our lives is worship to the Lord!

How does God view your worship of Him? Live your life to please Him in all things. May God bless you.

Pastor Sung