If you weren’t able to make it to the memorial services and are interested in what I spoke about, you can read the text here. If you were there, and have any questions at all about Brian’s God, please feel free to email me at samshin (at) wccc.net.

Meet Brian’s God
Philippians 2:5-11

Introduction
The last conversation with Brian that I had was on the evening of July 4th. Our church was having a picnic and since the spot to reserve the place was first come first serve, we decided the best way to make sure we nailed down that spot was by holding a soccer game at 7am. We played for about 3 hours in the morning and then later in the afternoon, we played for an hour and a half. Brian’s family told me that the next day, he couldn’t walk up his stairs without pulling each leg up to help it along.

Well after that picnic, my wife and I invited him over to our place and had dinner together. As some of you know about Brian, he was such a good eater. He scarfed that food down with such joy. He was one of those eaters that when he ate, he made the cook extremely happy because he seemed to love the food so much. We peppered him with questions about his future, his newborn child that he would be visiting soon, his work, but most of all, his faith in His Lord.

I began to see a very different Brian not long ago. When his dad was dying, he had shared with many some of the struggles he had had with God, with his family, and even some friends. But in the end, they really did stem from his view of God Himself. But after certain happenings, I saw how God moved tremendously in Brian’s life the past few months. Brian, in an extraordinary way, began to seek reconciliation with his broken relationships. He bought a Bible for himself, for his brother Daniel, and for a friend of his in prison that he wanted to share the Gospel with. And he wanted to go to LA to marry Tina so that he could be her husband and Jayden’s father in a way that was pleasing to the Lord. I saw a heart that more than anything, wanted to resemble the God he worshipped, Jesus Christ. If you will allow me, I’d like you to meet Brian’s God, the Savior who now has called Brian home to be with Him eternally.

Humble Like a Servant
First, Brian’s God was humble like a servant. Philippians 2:5-7 says: “Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.� Too many people in our world think falsely that to gain status, respect, reputation means that you need to be proud and stronger than the rest. Our generation of Asian-Americans has been taught that only if you study hard, sacrifice all things including our faith which is of secondary importance, only then will a person succeed in life. Or some have come to believe that if someone should cut you off the road or if someone stares at you wrongly or bumps into you, you need to push back or you’ll be disrespected. But I can’t think of more short-sighted, powerless, and weak thinking than this. Brian was murdered horribly, and for what purpose, to what end? Because some guys thought that he had disrespected them by trying to leave an altercation behind? Brian was not a coward. He stood up to his would-be murderers by serving and protecting his friends. But in his attempts to defuse the situation, to try to play peacemaker, to leave the scene without trouble regardless of the perpetrators scoffing and spitting and threatening gestures, he was horribly murdered.

Jesus also was horribly murdered as He was scoffed at, spat on, threatened and abused. Was Jesus too weak to defend Himself? Of course not! Jesus was the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He could call a legion of angels to aid him at a mere thought if he so desired. No army on the earth, no technological weaponry, and certainly no gang of kids could ever withstand the powerful might of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. And yet, He chose to humble Himself to save even the most wretched and foulest of sinners, sinners like me, sinners like Brian, and sinners like all of us.

Obedient to Death
Second, Brian’s God was obedient to death. The apostle Paul writes in verse 8: “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.� The ultimate humility on this earth is death. That’s why Paul writes that Jesus Christ, God’s beloved and gracious Son humbled himself to even death on a cross.

I have to admit, I could not stop thinking about the parallels between Brian’s death and the death of our Lord. Please do not think I am trying to picture Brian as a Messiah figure. I certainly am not doing such a thing. But when I think of Brian’s horrific death, his stab wounds, his being left to die alone, I can’t help but think of my Lord Jesus. He too was stabbed in his side with blood pouring out. Jesus was left alone to die in shame. His body was broken and bloodied at the hands of cruel and diabolical people. But Jesus was perfectly righteous, innocent and sinless. The reason why Jesus had to die such a death was for sinners like Brian, like me, and like all of you.

The question that some might be asking is, “Why?� Why did Brian have to die in such a way at such a time as this? Before we answer that question, I want to share with you about my conversation with Brian a few months ago. He asked me back then, “Why did Jesus have to die in such a way as this?� And let me tell you the answer that I gave to Brian. Every person rejects God. All people turn away from Him and ultimately want nothing to do with Him. God, who is perfectly just, must punish all who turn away from Him. We all deserve hell. And yet, by the free gift of grace, to anyone who would believe in the name of His Son Jesus, He gives eternal life with Him. Such a person is marked no longer as a sinner who rejects God, but instead is now a son or daughter of the heavenly Father. How does God do this? Through the obedience of His only beloved Son, Jesus, perfect God and perfect man. Those who believe in Jesus are now saved from judgment and eternal punishment. It took His brutal death on a cross for this new relationship to be possible.

But why the cross? The cross in our day is a nice gold trinket people wear around their necks, or they cap church steeples. But in Jesus’ day, the cross was a horrific torture and execution chamber. It was the Roman’s way of inflicting the slowest and most agonizing death possible to criminals of the state. Romans in Jesus’ day would be horrified to see a cross on a necklace. It would be similar to wearing a hangman’s noose or an electric chair on your neck. So the cross was horrific. This was how terrible the penalty of sin was. The only person who could pay this penalty for our sin was God’s Son, the only perfect and sinless human being to ever walk this earth. He became sin for you and me. He sacrificed His life for you and me.

You see, when Jesus died on the cross, He did all the work for those of us who believe in Him as our Savior. Therefore, we can never say, “I can by my good works gain favor with God now.� Going to church and reading the Bible doesn’t get me entrance with the Father. Studying hard or being a “good son or daughter� doesn’t gain you favor with God. Being an elder or a pastor in a church gains you no standing with God. The cross makes everyone stand on equal ground. We can’t do anything to earn our salvation. Jesus died as an outcast, as a criminal. He was poor. He was a carpenter’s son. He died naked and shamed, but He was never ashamed because He knew who He was. And so no matter what you have done in the past, no matter how far you have turned from God, no matter what crime you have ever committed, no matter how much you have been abused or have abused others, the God who loved you so much that He would send His Son to die on a cross, is calling you to come and turn to Him as you are, weak, poor, sinful, pitied, hard-hearted, etc.

So the Bible says with such reassurance in Hebrews 10:19-22: “Since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.� Brian heard these words and he believed that Jesus died on the cross for him. And so now he has drawn near to the Father in heaven with confidence that he is His son.

When I first spoke to my aunt the day Brian died, all she could do was only what a grieving mother could do in losing her child in such a way, wail and moan. All I could do was weep with her over the phone and say, “I’m so sorry,� over and over again. But as she grieved for her son, missing him terribly, she expressed through faith in Christ why she thinks God took her son from her at this time. To answer the question, “Why?� Why did Brian have to die in such a way at such a time as this? She said something like this to one of Brian’s friends, “I think God took Brian because he was ready to go to Jesus. But his friends who were with him that night were not prepared to meet God. God spared Brian’s friends so that they would have an opportunity to turn to Christ.� Knowing Brian’s heart in those last three months of his life, I know that he would have given his life in order for his son Jayden, his friends, and his family to hear the Gospel message so that they might trust in Jesus Christ His Savior, just as he had done.

Exalted Above All
Finally, Brian’s God is exalted above all. Verses 9-11 proclaims: “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.� If you think Jesus’ life ended on a cross, you are mistaken. Only one time in history will Jesus be made a mockery of people. But no longer is Jesus in such a position. He has been exalted by the Father and no person who ever lived will be able to stand before the Almighty Christ, but will automatically bow down before Him whether they like it or not. And for the Christian, for Brian, our great hope is that Brian is not this mere shell that we see. He is living eternally worshipping and enjoying the presence of the God who created Him.

So Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14: “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.� You see, we grieve and mourn but we do not do it in the same way as those who have no hope grieve and mourn. They mourn as though it is the end. Paul says since we believe Jesus rose again, and is now highly exalted, we grieve with hope because we know Brian is with Jesus in heaven. We as Christians grieve in saying goodbye to Brian, only to know that we will see him shortly. And when we do see him again, there will be no more goodbyes, no more tears, no more pain, no more sin. There will be joy unspeakable.

Also, because Christ is exalted, all will bow down to Him whether they like it or not. This past week, a number of people have been actively trying to get Brian’s story media attention. One of the purposes of this was to get the murderers apprehended due to the public’s attention. This feeling that these guys might escape without being apprehended is almost sickening. But at the same time, I know justice will be met. How do I know this? Because Paul tells us that all will bow down to Christ, whether we, or they, like it or not. Death is something that we will all face, maybe not now, but one day. And judgment is something we will all face as well. For those who trust in Christ, kneeling and bowing before the Son of God will be a joy, a privilege, an honor. But for those who reject Christ, bowing down to Christ, no longer as a suffering Christ, but now as Christ the Judge, will be a terror far greater than these criminals ever showed to Brian. And my friends, please do not face Jesus Christ as Judge while, like Brian, you still have some time left to face Jesus Christ as your Savior, your Lord, your Love.

Conclusion
Let me close with this. I do not grieve for Brian as those who have no hope. I know that in Christ, Brian is happier than the happiest person on earth. His joy is eternal and his peace is everlasting. Brian enjoyed good food. He enjoyed sports. He enjoyed his friends and family. He enjoyed caring for his mother, helping her in every way. And I know he would have enjoyed watching his son Jayden grow, to play ball with him, to teach him about his Lord. Brian said that after he and Tina married, he wanted to join our church and have Jayden dedicated before God. Brian had so much joy to look forward to. But as great as those joys are, the joy that he has right now enjoying the presence of His Savior is unmatchable.

A pastor long ago wrote these words, but right now I know Brian would give a hearty nod of agreement:

It is astonishing that I should so be one with Christ, that all that He is becomes mine; and all that I am becomes His! His glory mine; my humiliation His! His righteousness mine; my guilt His! His joy mine; my sorrow His! His riches mine; my poverty His! His life mine; my death His! His heaven mine; my hell His!…That in traveling to Him empty; I should return from Him full. That in going to Him weak; I should come away from Him strong.

This is Brian’s God who is now welcoming him home forever and ever. I hope you do not leave this place without meeting Him as well. You will never be the same not for a week, nor a few years, but for an eternity.