Tremble at His Word | Francis Chan

Man, it was so awesome worshiping with you tonight. I you guys I I shared this when we did that big thing in the field, but uh I mean I I used to speak here like 30 years ago. 30 years ago I used to speak and there was nothing like this.

In fact, there was a lot of antagonism towards God's word which I'm sure there's still some of that on campus. But to see this, you got to understand, you're you're very privileged right now. You're a part of something so special that I really believe God is doing. >> That this isn't just a another gathering or whatever.

It really feels like some sort of movement of God on this campus. >> And and I I was over there just praying for you. And I'm I was thinking back to my college days cuz that's when everything started coming together. I was getting rid of my hypocrisy. I was starting to fear the Lord.

I mean, it was it was it was it was an ugly time because you you just see all the sin in your life and everything else. But something started then. And I'm I'm over there praying during worship like, "God, what did you do to me during those years?

Cuz whatever you did to me, I want you to do to them tonight." like because I didn't hear like an awesome speaker or whatever, but something just started happening in my heart where I just wanted to be alone with God. In fact, it felt weird. So, I I had this relationship with him that pretty soon I just felt like, does anyone else feel what I'm feeling right now?

Because I just kept growing more and more in love with him. You guys, I'm I'm almost 60 years old now. I I fell in love with Jesus as a teenager and I just kept growing and growing in love and I got seven kids, five grand kids. Like I've lived a lot of life, but I feel like every year it got better.

It It really did. Like I I I But that's why I'm so frustrated right now cuz I have like a thousand things I want to say, but I'm going God, it just doesn't matter. You did a miracle. >> Yeah. >> And I can't like talk you into something. >> If I talked you into it, someone else will talk you out of it.

It's got to be something mysterious tonight. There's a verse in Romans 1 11 and Paul says,"I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you." Why is that significant? Because it's in the book of Romans. Okay, Romans, if any of you have read, I hope you've all read it.

It's maybe the most important book of the Bible. Um, some would say, I don't know that you can really say it, but it it it it is okay. IT JUST THERE'S JUST SO much theology. Like, it's it's the the best like EXPLANATION OF THE GOSPEL, the good news. 16 chapters of strong, rich, thick theology.

You want to know God, understand the book of Romans. But in that letter that Paul is delivering to them, he goes, "But I can't wait till I see you because I want to impart something spiritual to you." Do you understand the significance of that? There was something he couldn't write down cuz he wrote 16 chapters.

He imparted that to them. He goes, "No, no, no. Something happens when I show up." I think we've lost this in our culture. I believe tonight you could have watched a video of me preaching a sermon. It wouldn't be the same. I could have written something and had someone read it.

It's not the same. Paul says, "I wrote these 16 chapters, but I can't wait to see you cuz when I see you, I want to impart something spiritual to you." That's what I was praying for. God is mysterious and there is something that he can do from one human being to another through the spirit in me to the spirit in you where it just something happens that you may not see you you don't walk out of here going oh I know exactly I could write it on a piece no something mysterious happen it's it's like remember the story when uh Mary and Elizabeth see each other and They're pregnant like woo woo.

There's like this ah a baby was jumping AND ME. YEAH. YEAH. YOU KNOW THERE'S THERE'S something in that where I'm just praying God whatever you did to me can I impart that to them cuz I've watched so many of my friends maybe they were fired up in in college because everyone else was fired up but then once we were on our own it seemed like over the years I'm left going where where did everyone go? what happened to them?

And meanwhile, I'm just going, man, this fire in me is like burning, you know, more brightly and hotter than ever. Like, God, I can't get enough of you. I can't wait to to go to bed tonight and wake up early and just and just just get into his presence again.

Like, it it's it doesn't dissipate. Relationships really can be like that. And that's what I'm praying for for you. There's a passage I want us to look at first. It's Isaiah 66:es 1 and 2. God says, "Thus says the Lord, heaven is my throne and the earth is my foottool.

What is the house that you would build for me and what is the place of my rest?" So, first thing he says, he goes, "Look, heaven is my throne. The earth is my foottool." Okay, picture this earth that we're all on and we're this little speck at Pepperdine is that whole earth is like my foottool.

Heaven's in is my throne. He goes, "Do you think that a God who sits in heaven on his throne with the earth as his foottool is looking at these humans in this room and going, "Do you really think I need you to do anything for me? I need you to build me a temple.

I need you to do this. I need you to do that." Really? Then in verse two, he says, "All these things my hand is made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord, but this is the one to whom I will look, he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word."

So God isn't here tonight going, "Okay, who's the gifted one? cuz I need the gifted ones. I I need the ones with a lot of money. Who's got a lot? Oh, you're Pepperdine. You know where are we? We We need them. We need them. We need the beautiful ones.

We need this. We need God doesn't think that way. He goes, "What are you thinking? I'm sitting on my throne in heaven and the earth is my foottool, but I need the talented humans to build me something." He goes, "Here's the one I look to who's humble, who's contrite in spirit."

And he says, "Who trembles at my word?" Who trembles at God's word anymore? See, I was part of a generation, and that's why I'm like, "Okay, God, is this too much for these guys?" But it's like, "No, I was part of a generation that kind of messed things up.

We didn't tremble at God's word, but I feel like there could be a new generation that changes that." I was part of the generation that that that wanted when we were getting into ministry, it's like, okay, I want to be an awesome speaker. I want to tell stories.

I want to be funny. I want to be this. I want to be that. I I JUST WANT TO BE THE BEST. I WANT TO SPEAK AT THE BEST CAMPS AND THE BIGGEST STADIUMS and everything else. I'M GOING TO BE THAT TYPE of communicator. And so when people show up to a gathering, I would get a I would read a couple verses and then I would like just get into it and talk you into understanding that, doing something about it, moving you to some point of decision.

And so then became almost like a competition. Who's the best speaker? And those are the people we'll flock to see. And we'll flock to their churches. and I'll pick a church based upon who's the best speaker. That's not trembling at his word. See, my sermons used to be, "Let me read a verse real quick and now let me let me preach to you for the next half hour."

Rather than putting a verse up there and us going, "God said that. God said that and we should tremble at that. See, I think you guys have an opportunity to change the trajectory of the church where you go, I don't really need an awesome preacher up there. just put a couple verses on the screen and remind me that God said those things and I need to deal with it because that came from the voice of God.

See, if I give a sermon, you kind of it it it's almost like depending on how I do, I might talk you into doing something, but at the end of the day, those are my words. I I'm dreaming of a day when Christians show up to gather and they can just look at God's word and literally tremble at it and go, "Did he really say that?

Did he really command that? Did he really promise that? That's insane. That came from God. I mean, you guys are college students. You don't you don't need someone explaining everything, but we need to learn how to tremble. I believe there could come a day when the pastor isn't the best teacher, but he's the best trembler where he just reads a word of God and he's just like, "Oh my gosh, that came out of the mouth of God.

I got to change something. I got to do something or I'm going to rejoice in that. And because people going into ministry don't tremble at his word. That's why some of the greatest sermons I've heard, some of the greatest sermons out there on purity were preached by guys who were having affairs.

They preached it great though. They nailed it. They were convicting and everything else. Meanwhile, they're cheating on their wives. Why? Cuz they never trembled at it. They preached it without trembling at it. And God says, "This is the one I'm going to look to. The one who just trembles when I speak at my word.

That's what I'm after. I just want to throw some verses on the screen tonight from first John 1 John chapter 3. And again, I'm not going to insult you. You know what it says. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning. No one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.

Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil. For the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

Just stop there for now. Let's go back. Let's go back to the no one who abides. So if I'm abiding in God right now, are you abiding in him right now? See, a lot of times we think about God abiding in us, which he does, but also think about the that you're abiding in him.

But he says, "No one who abides in him keeps on sinning." Like if you're really in God, you don't just keep practicing your sins. This is God's word. Doesn't mean we don't sin. It's just we can't continue in this sin. Not if we're not if we're in him.

No one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. It's just the word. This is the word of God. See, some of you guys grew up in a church culture that said just pray this prayer. Okay, you're good now. You're going to heaven. It's said.

And what the Bible says though is no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. These are my words. Tremble at that. Little children, let no one deceive you. Don't let anyone fool you. That's the thing is sometimes you can have a scholar come and and grab the Bible say, "Well, it doesn't really mean this."

H it doesn't really mean this. No, that verse doesn't really mean that. No, you you can read. Okay, you guys made it this far in your education. You can read this. And what does it say? Let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous as he is righteous.

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil. Is there any part of that verse you don't understand? Right. It's just like if you can just go on, he just says you're of the devil. Some of you saying, "Well, what are you saying, Francis? Are you saying that if I just continue on saying I'm I'm of the devil?

No, I'm not saying that John is. The Bible is. So that's where you go, "Ooh, wow. That's intense." Because, you know, we we just live in a time where we're listening to these other words and we're not staring that and trembling at that going, "Wow, he says he's of the devil.

The devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. Now you can go to the next verse. Look at this. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning. For God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.

By this it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. It's just black and white. See, if you've been born of God, you can't make a practice of sitting.

You know why? Because God's seed is in you. This the same thing it teaches in Romans that he says when the spirit enters into you, he makes you a slave to righteousness. That's exactly what he's saying here. He goes, God's seed is in you and and and if his seed is in you, you you just you start becoming like him.

That's why he says, "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning." This is great news. God's saying, "I'll put my spirit in you, my seed, me, so that you can't keep on sinning." That is such great news. It gives us power over this. He changes us.

See, this is what happened to me. That that's why I'm saying I can't talk you into this. You know, I know in church we have accountability groups and call, hey, did you look at porn today? Hey, did you you know, and we're just checking in on each other and everything else, but I'm going, what's going on inside of here?

Is it just all the you need all these external things to keep you on the right path? Why? Because nothing's happening inside. And that's the mystery. God says, "There's a day when I'll put the fear of me in your heart. There's going to come a day when I'll actually pour my love into your heart and I'll actually have my spirit dwell inside of you to where you don't need everyone else and all these external voices begging you to read his word, begging you to walk away from your sin.

Everything inside of you craves what's right. And when you start dabbling in sin, it makes you sick. You're just like, "This isn't right. This isn't right. God, I I hate this. I hate this about myself. I can't I don't want There's just this I can't keep living this way."

Why? He says, "Because his seeds in you." Yeah, I have one of my daughters here now. You know, you can just sit there. Don't worry. Don't worry. I won't even talk about you. Okay. her older sister, one of her older sister, uh, her older sister, Mercy when she was born, it was freaky because her face looked exactly like mine.

No, this is my second daughter. Right when she was born, I was like, whoa. I mean, it really it really bothered me. it just because I knew she was a girl and I thought, "Oh my gosh, a girl with my face." You know, she ended up fine, but it was like it was just it was it was weird.

When she was a kid, everyone would say to her, "You look just like your dad." And she WOULD BALL. NO, cuz as a 5-year-old kid, you're just thinking, "What are you talking about?" Like, it's just to her it was horrible. And I'm like, "I'm so sorry, honey. I I I mean, I didn't They don't mean like you look like me, like a guy.

You just You just stand my feet, but it just nothing would comfort her." And I said, "I'm sorry. I I You're going to look no matter what you do, you'll always look like me." Why? Because my seed is in you. I'm in you. You're going to look like me.

And that's what this passage is saying is when God's seed is in you, you're just going to start becoming like him, desiring the things that he desires. And that's why tonight I'm just going, God, whatever you did to me and how the spirit entered into me. And again, it's not like this thing.

I didn't have this emotional moment where I fell on the ground, started chewing on the carpet, drooling, and like, you know, it I felt nothing. Seriously. And I and and sorry if you did that. I mean that that's awesome. I kind of wish it happened to me and I do see it happen like that.

I mean not the chewing that was exaggeration but but I've seen that where people fall over have these experiences. I'm not mocking that. I believe that actually happened. I'm just saying it didn't happen to me. But something happened to me because 40 years later I'm still crazy about him. >> Amen. 40 years later, LIKE ANY LITTLE LIKE SIN, I'M JUST LIKE I I DON'T WANT ANY OF THAT, GOD. >> 40 years later, I still get excited to to come ON A CAMPUS AND GO, GOD, TONIGHT, could I impart something, God, could I could I experience you tonight?

Could something spiritual actually happen and people's lives are transformed? And it's not just, oh, that was a good talk. But like, no, for years, for decades to come, you can look back and go, no, something happened. Because now the fire was inside of me. It wasn't my parents talking me into anything.

It wasn't my youth pastor talking me into anything. There was like it was something happened inside where now I just want to be in his presence so badly. I don't want anything else. the things of the earth just seem like whatever. I just want to experience him. I just want to be with him and I just want to get all of the things that displease him out of my life.

I'm telling you guys, it can happen and it can last. It's just like and and I'm telling you like my relationship with my wife I after 32 years we've been together 33 years and it's like I honestly don't want to be with anyone else on the earth. She doesn't get here till tomorrow night and I'm just like gosh I I miss her.

I just saw her this morning. I just miss her though. And it's it's like but that's these things grow in God. And I I just want this for you and I want to pray this for you. I'm going to have the worship team come up. But as they come up, I just want to invite the Holy Spirit to come into your lives.

Some of you, you know exactly what I'm talking about because there's a fire in you and you're going, "Yes, finally someone understands." You hear me and you're like, "Yes, that's like me. I don't need all this." It's like I've got to have him. I hate sin. >> Amen. >> You know, it's like, wow.

Thank you, Lord. But there's some of you in this room that you're going, "Ah, I don't feel that." In fact, maybe some of you trembled when you read some of those words going, "Oh, shoot. I'm in ongoing sin. It's to the point where I don't even feel it that much.

And that concerns cuz you're going, "Wait, am I the one who practices sin regularly? Am I of the devil? Cuz I don't have this conviction inside of me. I don't have this desire inside of me. That could change tonight. That could all change in a moment. I'm going to be praying for you.

I know the response team around the edges. They're going to be praying for you. you tonight as people are worshiping, you can just tell God, God, I want to be your child. I want your seed to come into me. I want to do the things I want to be like you practicing righteousness.

Would you come into me tonight and change me? Make me a slave to righteousness. Make me hate sin. Make me like you. So, why don't we just bow our heads right now? One of my favorite verses is in Ephesians 2 where it says God being rich in mercy.

Rich in mercy. God being rich in mercy. Like that's who he is. He's just rich when it comes to mercy. That means no matter what sin you've been committing, God is here tonight going, "I just want to forgive. I want to forgive. I want to forgive. That's who I am.

So just tell me, just confess it because I want to forgive you. I'm rich in mercy." So just start confessing your sins to a God who is begging you right now. Please tell me Tell me your sin. Cuz Jesus died for that. Just tell him you don't want to live like the devil.

But you need his power, his spirit, and ask him to abide in you. And I'm just going to continue praying for you all through this room as we continue to worship him. And if you need to talk to someone, pray with someone, confess to someone, you've got brothers and sisters all along the edge of the room.

Just go to one of them.