Disciple First | Eld Wong Kien Yiak

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to a message to go from acts Church.
We hope this message will light up your day.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Hope you guys understand why is it so important for
us to be a disciple? First, I think many times
in our history and our journey as believers, right, we
get taken up a different season of Christianity for example,
like you know, it could be a year of missions,
and you know it's one program after another program, and
maybe and perhaps after a while as you begin to age,

(00:32):
as you get to grow older and wiser, and you
find out, we can find ourselves to a place whereby
I've been before, I've done this, my journey as a
believer has stagnanted, not grow not you know. Let we
pick and choose what we want and what we don't want,

(00:53):
like a buffet line, right, you know, buffet is always
very tricky. I've heard of one person say that when
I go to Buffay, what I look forward to is
the rise. Look you okay, whatever, like your fire, What
I look forward for the is not really the mere
but the fright rise that's in Okay, then just next time,

(01:15):
let me know, right cheaper? Uh? But yeah, so we
pick and choose. After a while, don't we right. As
you grow older, you realize you have more liberty to
pick and choose what you like, what you don't like.
When you're much younger, your parents pick up the clothes
for you. I'm not sure whether the case is now
or not, but back in my days whereby you Nicholo

(01:36):
wasn't birth yet. Uh, we have brands whereby not no
longer in existence, but parents buy clothes for us, whether
we like it or not. That's how much we hit
like design, the cut and the color. We we paraded
during Chinese year when we were young, and we get

(01:57):
reminded at our weddings that this are our without ages.
But as you grow older, you realize that you know
that you have the film to choose where you want
to eat, what you car you want to drive, whyever car?
You know where you want to invest your money and
where you want to stay. And sometimes that applies to
our Christian faith as well. We pick and choose. Not
say it's not wrong, but we pick and choose where

(02:19):
we think that we want to grow or whatever we
want to serve at and maybe and perhaps what likes
your fire and interest sometimes right, but after a while
we look at it right as you begin to pass
one season or one age to another age. The choice
of you know, of picking and choosing that it's only

(02:40):
so much in the Christian world. It's either worship team
hosts that you know what I mean that, the serving capacity,
the serving avenue. There's only so many avenues you have,
right then the question here is this that? So what's next?
What do you look forward to? And many types of

(03:01):
our own life, what we don't look look forward to
is what exactly we need. What we don't look forward
to is exactly what we need. Friends, And if you
really are honest enough with our life, we find ourselves
sometimes indulging in dessert more than what's really important. Because dessert, friends,

(03:27):
you know, one bite of the nice pastry put a
smile on your face, so I know you're sugar conscious here,
and extraras a right, so slim and tea and this
stuff like that. Maybe this applies more to other church bloods,
but anyway, but doesn't it You pick that dessert whatever

(03:48):
you like to find you the one bite into it, right,
it seals the deal, cause you to be happy for
season and for a moment. That's why if you I'm
not sure whether you know recently doing the X the
chinup recording. Right, So after we do the life recording,
we past it. Every Thursday, the team will go for Nasikanda,

(04:10):
right because you know they work two days and the
pass said, let's let's go on. And it's always the
NASA country because our use usual chat you and see
your place close beside the close of all this Thursday,
I have never heard of places and sells roast chicken
and pork and Susie closes on Thursday. Friends, But maybe
it's a sign the law saying that I want you

(04:30):
guys to to be healthier. But that's that's open, okay now,
mind right, So each tithing they protect the food. Right.
What happens is this is that Alex Martin and shed
that he finds it hard to work because of food
comma somehow, whether the rise will hit this stomach. He

(04:52):
says that between two thirty to treat thirty, driving back
to Summit Subanjaya is one of the most challenging time
because the driver may fall asleep and the passenger is
most probably Alex beside him. Okay, both of them once
eron very vig and they're Alex right, say they'll fall asleep.

(05:14):
And this is what happens. Friends, if we continue to
allow ourselves what we don't want, our Christianity, our faith
and it woun't believe in the Lord will be stagnated. Right.
And the worst thing about tagnician is is that by
the time you realize that how do we get here,

(05:36):
by the time you discover that why am I here,
it's maybe five years too late. Sometimes it takes fifty
years to realize you are here. Sometimes you think like
twenty years were like guy married, because you're in that mindset. Really,

(05:57):
so this morning, I pray you open your heart, you
open your mind to hear what I have to share
for you from the Lord. Right, So if you know
about discipleship, it's believe from the scripture of First Courtage,
chapter eleven, verse one AE. First Courritage, chapter eleven, verse one. Right,
you know this scripture by heart. I'm gonna get xtivate
to show the scripture on the screen and just leave

(06:18):
the scripture there. So First Currentage chapter eleven was once
to imitate me as I also imitate Christ. Now I
want you to think for a moment, friends, Let's look
at the first part of the scripture imitate me the
challenge and the question is this in our Christian world,
is there something in your life that people would like

(06:44):
to imitate? To follow? The word imitate means to follow, friends,
is there something in your Christian life that people will
like to follow? Now? If you tell me, altho, I
like to follow this, get the way he shake hands

(07:04):
and everything else. If you notice, right, it's always the
external expression. So Paul wasn't asking us to imitate just
on the external expression, because externally we can achieve something.
My friends, you know what I mean. For example, maybe
you watch a YouTube video or exercising that you begin
to follow. But after a while, I'm not sure whether

(07:28):
you ever caught yourself asking this question, like why am
I doing all this touching myself at five am in
the morning, waking up right? The world is sticking out
by the five am book club to wake up at
five them, to plan your day at five am, to
do everything earlier and stuff like that. I thought fantastic,
because I wake up about five to three in the
morning as well without alarm clock. It does not know

(07:50):
I want to go and sleep earlier, but sep later.
But I don't know why my body systems like five
to three wake up. Really, my aim is to beat
the alarm clock. And my first achievement of the day
I beat the alarm clock. Anyway, So if everybody say
that folding your bait or folding your blanket and making
your bait is the first thing that you achieved your
your day, right minds or beat alarm clock?

Speaker 3 (08:12):
Right?

Speaker 2 (08:13):
So if you if after a while you ever catch
yourself like, why am I doing all this? Because externally
we could follow, but internally right, we don't know what
we're following. And many times when we talk to people,
when we counsel people, do this, don't do this right,
this is the way, This is not the way. It's

(08:34):
really the external thing, but not dealing with the internal issue.
You can tell a person to stop spending in this way,
but after three months, after six months, get themselves into
dead situation again. I know of a person whereby after
you clear some one dead a couple of years, say
that another dead comes about not talking about spending in

(08:56):
terms of buying branded clothes, but just taking care of family.
And the question here is is that why is it
that you could follow for a season and not follow
for long? We tell people always is that you know,
following Christ, you have to take up your cross. Everybody

(09:16):
knows it, and everybody does take up their own cross.
But after a while, have you ever caught yourself whereby
you'd rather just let go of the cross because it's
easier to walk without a weight. So the question by
Paul is this is this that not just to imitate
me externally? Friends, like coming to church external expression, right,

(09:39):
like dressing up for the Lord, external expression. But what's
our real motivation of imitating Christ? What's what's our motivation?
And we want to follow the conviction. If you look
at the earlier days of church, people do mission people

(09:59):
the word leave the family as in the immediate family,
or take a whole family to go to another country,
another land by boat for a few months to get
to a place where by different culture, different food. Well,
it's not because of a brochure that says that come
stay in Banas why long you can see Kelsey c

(10:20):
ten minutes. It's not because of a brochure that people
get excited for friends, it's because of the conviction of Christ.
And that's the reason. That's a real motivation of why
people do what they do. Friends. So when Paul is
asking us to imitate me, just as I imitate Christ. Trends,
we have to ask ourselves what motivates us to follow Christ?

(10:44):
What motivates us to follow Christ? Because the day will come,
you'll be challenged. I'm going to show you from scripture
after us. The day you come, friends, you'll be challenged
right by do we still take up the cross hold
onto this? Or do we? Therefore? God understands, God knows,

(11:04):
and we use God's name to justify our choices. Think
about it for a moment. How need I to say this?
Because I've been in leadership for almost thirty years to read,
friends have dealt with so many people, and they say
that God told me so. God said this only to
let up sometime. Their lives, right, friends, is in a

(11:28):
place whereby not very good, not very healthy. So I
pray that this morning that you open your heart. All right, friends,
So how do we follow there? For friends? Therefore, if
pauls imitate me, so how do we imitate friends? You know,
if you buy any form of imitation products. Mm hmmm,

(11:50):
all right, you would know that copying on the outside
is not sufficient. You know what I mean? Slapping a
brand name on any form of cloth will make it
a levice, true or not? Right? Come on, okay, I
don't know whether you see we levis not, but my
januartion was levice. I'm sorry my references are a bit

(12:11):
all right, please forgive me. All right, So I'm not
sure what you wear these days. But anyway, but you understand,
all right, by putting a name on a particular cloth
doesn't make it a device. But you have to begin
to follow through with the steachers the buttons. So how
do we therefore imitate? Friends? Let me show to you

(12:35):
from First Currentage, chapter ten, First Coritian chapter ten, going
read from verse one to four my old bedroom. I
do not want you to be unaware. So Paul was
writing this to the Critian church by saying that he
doesn't want us to be in a place where I
caught surprise. I didn't know. Why not one tell me one?

(12:58):
These are the famous is that a lot of people use.
Why did you tell me? I didn't know? If I
slept with the guy, I can get pregnant. I hurt before.
So it's it is what it is, friends? Right, do
we live in a place whereby we did? We deal

(13:19):
with people all the time? Whereby like I didn't know
that the cars go to break at the rad traffic
light happened. All this old reason comes about because something
else that happened. So Paul said, I do not want
you to be unaware. So pauls right, play, I want
you guys to know. I want you guys to know

(13:41):
that all our fathers ware under the cloud and passed
through the sea. What it means, there was a covering,
friends that everybody went through. Everyone went to the same teaching.
Everyone have the same Bible. There's no different Bible, no
different version. Verse two. Always were baptized in the Moses,
into the cloud and in the sea. All of us

(14:04):
friends were given apportunity to understand, to learn to read
God's word. All of us went through the same hard ship,
right words, treat it the same spirit your food. Come on,
every one of you ate the same spiritual food. Here,
the same message every Sunday. Right hang on to God's

(14:26):
word at homes. All of us right now are trying.
The reason why we went through the book is this
that because after a while we realized that we want
to go deeper with our homies. We want to go
deeper at homes and the word and deeper doesn't mean friends.
To take your concordance to homes because a lot of

(14:48):
times doesn't mean that you go to a library if
you know what a library is by putting up all
the tick references on your table, mix your scholar. I
have these takes, you know in the exam hall of
which I like to do. I like to play psychological
warfare with my friends of the after first thirty minutes,

(15:10):
I asked for extra people to write, really just to
psychop my friends. Well, this guy get right very fast
and stuff like that. Right, doesn't mean friends you have
you have all the references, right, it makes you a
scholar and pause reminding us again all but at the
same spiritual food. So you have to just pause for more. Interestingly, Sorry,

(15:32):
why did the misteries of oh leave the place they
were born and go to another country? Was that message
that was spoken to this individual of let's say, for example,
right individual. Was it a different message or was a
message from the stage went forth to the entire crowd

(15:55):
and someone believed? Someone believe because a lot of times
you think it's some secret sauce somewhere that this guy
got a sneak picked into some revelation. No, friends, I
think we have to exit the mindset and Brigade embrace
that every Sunday, every word spoken from the puppet is

(16:18):
an apportunity for us to go on adventurely with the Lord,
if we choose to believe it. So the missions of
all Friends didn't go to a private session. There was
no extra zoom class on the site there or exactly
coaxing at the site is when the preachers say, who
will go for the Lord? Who want to be sent

(16:43):
out by the Lord? Reach our verse here once say Lord, here,
I am send me taken up by that scripture and
by the word mission beginning to say that I will
go for your name. Friends, none of us here were
born with a star over like Jesus or the Manger right.

(17:04):
The only stars we see is the operation data lights. Wait,
we wake up? Right and so Pause writings that verse
four all drank the same spiritual drink. For all drank
from the spiriture rock that followed them, and the rock
was Christ. So what Paul is saying that every one
of them, the thousands of people that came up from Egypt,

(17:27):
have the same experience. Come on, including Josha and Killop
who's part of the children of Israel. They came up
from Egypt. Why is it that the rest of them
couldn't enter the Promised Land? And Joshow and Kilob could
think about it for a moment? Why is it that

(17:48):
sometimes people shared a break tough and other some of
us are still dealing with some things in our life
that for years rants that we are still struggling with
and many times in our lives, friends, that we don't
get this brickchos because we fail to understand, we fail

(18:10):
to understand what's really important. Let me just show you
tru this right, look at one verse, one verse for
everyone under the same cloud passion the seed. Right, you
know that were baptizing the most the same cloud in
the seed. Now I want to look at first Curtis ten,
verse five, after the experience everything, friends, here's what the

(18:33):
Lord says, But most of them God was not well pleased.
Here this you ate the same spiritual food experience the cloud.
Come on, What an amazing sight. I just want to
imagine right now, the pill of cloud and the pillar
of fire. Reminds me again, although we could have experienced

(18:58):
a spiritual encounter, doesn't mean our hearts come on our hearts.
Our hearts are discipled to follow Christ. The Bible says
that God provided manna from heaven. Come on, what the amazing?

(19:19):
I just wanted to think for a moment, God provided
manna from heaven. If you were living in the eighties,
we have a ROTI man will come by your street,
will put the loaf of bread at your pillar, house pillar, right,
because you paid money. Right, you put the house pillar
right and just said they do right. That's almost our
version of manna from heaven. Right. Also, you come out

(19:42):
with there's a loaf of bread there. You know what
I mean? Right? You know back the seven eleven didn't
existed family, but nothing at all, and that was the
version of friends. Could you imagine manna from heaven supernatural
in the desert, right, craving for me because they want
to meet so much God. I was just trying to

(20:03):
imagine what and how would they look like? The sight
of quail dropping from heaven. Think about it for a moment.
You just got to imagine how would it look like
raining kraill millions of creole friends in a particular area.
I'm not sure whether it will be more shocked, it

(20:24):
will be a current horror movie. You got to imagine
this because friends, quill is not like you know, it's
not one one of those pieces of people falling down slowly.
Even it's a heavy thing just right, and it's a
tense Could you imagine if it's a ten and you
are there, would you believe God a bit more? In

(20:48):
the desert whereby you know that it was not just
another path that all a suddenly a group of birds
flew past this area. God caused a thunderstorm. Then after
they went they came up like roach chicken. After that,
you got to imagine that God caused a creell to
go there. But take the area and I don't know

(21:12):
how many days the quill will supply. Think about it
for a moment. I don't know how many quells had
to be supplied to the turd of vision for how
many days. But the question here is is that even
with a supernatural experience, and some of us here do
experience supernaturally. During worship, you felt God's presence right, you
prayed for you felped him. But worse five reminds us

(21:35):
again that God was not well pleased with them, meaning
you say that after everything he has done all the
tune of is your experience. God was not pleased with them,
and he really got me thinking of a moment. Could
you imagine right now, forty years in the wilderness, they

(21:57):
couldn't enter the promised land. Forty years in the wilderness, friends,
some of us, he had the privilege to visit desert
before for holiday. You gold. And when you go desert holiday, friends,
it's only for maximum week. None of you sell out
for forty days, forty for forty years in the desert

(22:24):
for a lifetime experience. Could you imagine, right now, friends,
forty years in the wilderness, and they could not enter
the promised land. A desert, the place of dryness, a
place whereby every send looks the same. Think about it.

(22:46):
Every cloud, if there's a cloud, formation looks the same.
So the place of repeats is a place of like mundane,
the same old, same again. Reminds us of our work place.
Every day you go in there. That the table is
to the same the one before you said that, the
one after. You can see that it st the same
table after that for forty years, paying the price of

(23:11):
heat and coldness at night, for forty years, going to that,
marching through the desert friends, but not entering the Promised Land.
And that really got me thinking because in our life, friends,
we could be going to so much in our life, thinking,
our friends, you got to catch this, thinking we are

(23:32):
following the Lord only to arrive to a place whereby
we miss the map. It Liza forty years, cloud fire
manner Quail right, Moses is still there? Right fourteen years friends,

(23:52):
going to all this and not entering the Promise Land later,
it's like saving up for something only discovery and that
what did I just put myself into? And God was
the reminds us this morning, friends that God wasn't after

(24:15):
the external following only he had to bring a tune
of Isuel from Egypt. But even dealing out from Egypt,
it was a wilderness, friends, it was a wilderness that
God wants to use in our life to be really
to reveal if you have your Bible as well. Turned
to me to do you tell me? Chapter eight? I

(24:36):
think you try me? Chapter eight verse four. Let me
just show you you tru me? Chapter eight verse four, uhh,
I think it's there. Then go to worse three. I
think names yeah, ourse two words two words to worse
two words two tea, and you shall remember that the Lord,

(24:57):
your God let you out from all this forty years
in the wilderness. Come on, all these in the wilderness.
Even though you could be in the wilderness, friends, God
was still in the picture. You know, after a while,
for forty years, we can take his presence for granted.
Think about that, for forty years, even though there's a

(25:19):
cloud and a fire, manna and quail, we can kept
the place whereby yeah, this cloud again give a different
formation or something like that, the fire again. After all,
the site becomes common true, not manna. There was excitement
for the initial manna, but mana for forty years. Friends,

(25:43):
the moment we graduate from a particular place, I was asking,
I was so bad there? I went one just planting.
I see that? I think, was it near?

Speaker 3 (25:52):
Like?

Speaker 2 (25:52):
Yeah, I say you're neili right, Hume, after you graduate,
want to come back here and eat lunch y? And
majority of the say no. And after wild friends, afterwards,
it's true. After a while, right, you find ourselves like

(26:13):
I want I want something new, I want something new,
I want something new. And Bible says that God led
them for forty years. So imagine right now, President of
God leading them for forty years. Come on, who else
you want to lead? Right? God himself led to Moses
and his presence so evident. Right, it says it works

(26:35):
two as well. Let you for forty years in the wilderness.
Come on to Humber you. What does God do with
the wilderness? Friends? First of all, he says to Humber you. Now, friends,
God doesn't use the wilderness to talture us, because you're
thinking that to Humber you means to be poor, to
be to be in the place by your desperate No,
I truly believe why the word humber was used, because

(26:58):
isn't it obvious? Sometimes we are so stubborn, right, so rigid?
So I want my way. I don't want to change.
I want to follow up my friends. Where are you
going to go? In the viewers? You tell me you
try running off from the camra You major right now,

(27:19):
you try running of them from the camera, would you go?
Most probably would be lost? Isn't it so? In the viewers?
Will happen? There's no other way but the trust a lot.
Come on, there is no other way but the trust
a lot. Friends, But our hearts do not want to trust.
I say, come on, after the hell, there must be

(27:40):
a better place out there after the hill. There must
be a shopping all there after the heal. There must
be always is there? Why must it be this direction?
Why cannot be that direction? That's us don't say, don't look,
there's a so far first even to come to a
particy the location for holiday friends. Always you've got different

(28:03):
ways how to get their one. I don't trust wrays.
I'm better than rays because Rais is not trustable God,
people like me, I don't trust fully gonna a few times,
you need lead me to a gem? So what's the lead? People?
After the world friends, we say we want to Oh
that's what the word because said to humber us, or

(28:25):
to get to a place of just prove, but a
place where, by God, I'm ready right now to receive.
Do you know it's hard to teach someone who knows everything.
Think about it for a moment. Always have been to
some sort of education before, right, It's hard to teach
someone who knows everything, especially if your text will got

(28:48):
all the answers, you won't receive because you just want
to give the answer to show people that you're smarter.
Just give you another point of what a desert will
look like. In today's morning and context, our workplace could
be a desert. It's not like you could just change
you up like just like that. Maybe something can praise hallelujah. Right,

(29:11):
but majority of us, you know, I mean, you know,
I mean, it's not like I don't like this workplace.
I've gotta leave right now, right, you see, have the
self one month notice minimum to three months notice. Right,
you've got three more months to quit this placer. Think
about it for a moment, right Sometimes okay, I'm gonna
use this, all right, please shoot me, and I'm gon

(29:32):
use this example. Sometimes our marriage, you're not mar Yeah
you you say so long ago that you come in reading,
but wh if I'm walking out? Okay? Sometimes our marriage,
you think about it for a moment, same person until
the day you die. If you can make it there,

(29:53):
who's that? Who's something of revelation? Sorry, it's not because
the other. But God will always use what where we
are to reveal what's really on our hearts. Come on,
God doesn't turn your spouse to be a bad person. Okay,
and my mom is Lord, No, God doesn't use that

(30:16):
very But God always allows us to go through a
process process because our hearts sometimes like go bet you
got God? Okay, and many times in our life friends, right,
you think about it that it's it's it's us. It's

(30:41):
us who that that wake you up with it? It
is us, isn't it true? Let me just show you
after after our hearts is really after our hearts. Imagine
the heart is like a ground. The word humidity is
like a hammer, and God hammers our hearts to be sold.
Come on and to ham I to test us. Come

(31:03):
on to really at the end of the day, to
reveal what's really in our hearts. Come on true to
the fact that I know that sometimes as angelic we
look here in church, we have a dark side. We do,
and God wants us to understand where we are. That's

(31:27):
why to test when the test is not to fail
every test, because every time we look at the test
result I pass or I fail. But true test is
just to reveal where we are friends, where we are
after you've finished your academic years, Really you go to
a health tests. I've not seen any doctor saying you

(31:49):
felt the test. Terrible person, you feel the test, it's
just the doctor just look at the results, just say, hey,
this is your result. Come on, this is your result,
what are you gonna do about it? And that's why
God is reminding us again to scripture, to test you.

(32:11):
Come on, so that you know what's in your hearts,
not in your bank account, not in how much you have,
what you start your freege, but to test you know
what's in your hearts. In other words, God used the wilderness.
Come on as a hammer as to work on our ground,

(32:34):
which is super hard. It only gets reviewed when we
go to the wilderness, so that we know the problem.
Sometimes with Christians that we do not know, we think
it is all right, and that's why he don't know
the more minus okay, see that you give me the

(32:57):
t more minutes, so I got the wrap up soon.
Really this kid kidding, this kidding, okay, I'm enjoying myself
right right to know what's in our hearts. Come on,
and I find this a real test. Friends, even after
God review what's in our hearts? Come on? After the reviewer,

(33:18):
we say this is not us. I got no problem
with did not me the other brother God not me.
I don't have a problem. And sometimes the words it
becomes part of us so much, so much we can't

(33:39):
see our blind sighte Come on, I'm just gonna do
ask that. How ma you think it's all right to
arrive five mini late for appointment? Obviously here agreed, mini
late is not good for appointment?

Speaker 3 (33:55):
Right?

Speaker 2 (33:56):
How many of you are perpetually personal? Then you never
ride for any appointment on time? Onent come on, be
honest now, it cannot be one hundred percent extras getting
correct one because you're dealing with humans here, however, is
here you know you you us? Okay, don't have to
put up your hands again. I'm not here their best

(34:17):
because I really know some of your but they need
true friends even like just now, like you know, like
you you you're out with your friends. It's saying nine,
you can push it nine ten on the way right
out on the ways on every way. Friends on the way.
We know and we understand that friends, but we make

(34:38):
that as a reason and why we wom shouldn't be
there early. So I always pick a sent pass to
the airport and PASSIL know this about me. My track
record is this that by passes say it's ten, keck
up the mouse by nine o'clock, I'll be there by
eight forty five, fifteen minutes earlier, and parse dominally, if
it's out before nine. But if fifty five or if
fifty is already it, it's BacT track record. But it's

(35:02):
hard because it's part of us, part of our DNA,
part of our lifestyle power belief system. Even though someone
reviewed to you, friends review to you, you could like,
it's okay on it's a world standard. They accept it.
That's why I'm going to say this. I really sometimes
question people's wedding dinner at seven pm? Come on dinner

(35:26):
at seven pm? What time dinner is supposed to start?
Come seven right? Seven forty by eight o'clock one time,
one hour? And I also sell then why I ask
people to come at seven oh, because so by the

(35:46):
time we start, everyone is there. Ma, I want you
just think of for a moment. That's why Paul is
writing here in this scripture. I'm using the esset example.
I'm not pointing it. Now you have to say you're wedingly.
I'm just sorry, but thank god, there's no ex wedding,
no to us wedding yet. Well, just what you think

(36:06):
for a moment. It became acceptable after a while, right,
it's okay, people understand after no wedding starts on time
on no, not true that our wedding starts on timeline. Friends,
they're always late one. And because of that we make adjustment.
Come on, we make adjustment to the way we want

(36:27):
to follow God. And this is the danger. That's why
Paul is pointing out to us, because it's because after
going through forty years in the wilderness, don't you want
to see the promised land? Don't you want to enter
the promised land? Think about it. After forty years. It's
not forty days or four weeks in no, friends, forty
years is very long. You want to see and enter

(36:49):
the Promised land. But they could not. And that's why
God is speaking to our church here say that there
are people in that needs to go a bit deeper
because I have great plans for the church. It's not
because we want to explain the chation. Because every one
of us here who are believers in Christ, God has

(37:11):
a plan for you. God, that's an amazing plan for us. Friends,
if we choose to believe it in regardless of how
you're how old, whether you're reaching away, you're poor, educator
or educator, it's not about that. It's really our hearts
wather wane to enter the Promised Land. Or not at
the end of the day. So Paul is reminding us
again to worse two, to know what's in our hearts,

(37:31):
whether or not you keep his commandments. Come on, at
the end of the day. Would you keep on to
your convictions for the Lord? Or will we say that
it's okay, it is all right? Will we hold on
to our convictions to God? Or will we allow other
people to tell us how to live our life for

(37:53):
the Lord? Word three says, so they humber you, allow
you to hunger. Come on and feed you with men
which you do not know. All your fathers know. God
always used circumsensus. God always plays people to rob us
the wrong way, to tell us don't do it, to

(38:13):
re really the words, so that our hearts reveal. So
the heart knows. One of the hardest things we have
to do in leadership is to guide people in the
area of relationship. Is hard. I like a girl. Nothing
wrong with liking a girl or liking a guy. Nothing

(38:34):
wrong with nothing wrong friends, But we say, hang on first,
you're only fifteen. But although you understand, I can see
her in the wedding gown. Really, and God gave me
a vision. Oh yo, holda hollola like that. God give

(38:54):
me a vision, God spoke to me. God give me
the name friends with me.

Speaker 3 (38:58):
Laugh.

Speaker 2 (38:58):
But it's true. That's what people say all the time
when you're in love. Every anything is a sign. Anything
is a sign from God to affirm that relationship. And
we say, you're only fifteen, Hang on first our test?

(39:20):
Can you wait? Come on? Okay? Nothing wrong? Great? Did
you let a girl? Can you wait until you finish
your secondary school?

Speaker 3 (39:29):
Not?

Speaker 2 (39:31):
Cannot? I want now so I can south childhood, sweetheart. See,
God will always use the wilderness then, knowing our life
to test what's really in our hearts at the end
of the day. Come on. And many times we hate

(39:55):
the word no, true or not. We don't like the
word no. We like the word yes. Could you imagine
if whiteya come up with itself? Yes, it's no, no Fiji,
what God Brendan? Would it be right? It's no anyway

(40:19):
and maybe too much fun. I got to close soon
and be reminded again No, no, no, she did, she
did again. I got to go to the circ will
score me? After that was Trea was Trea after the man.
I think he said that to make you know that

(40:41):
man shall not live by bread alone by but every
word that puts it out on the mouth of the Lord.
Why disciplesh it first is because we want to train
people to know God, to depend on God. You come
to a place fere by in your life. You may
not know it now, but in the coming days, whereby
God is the only one that you have. God is

(41:01):
the only one that you have, not your connections, not
your bank account, nor your education level. God is the
only one that you have. He is a giver of dreams.
He is our purpose, our life, our mission. And you
come to a place whereby nothing else really is truly satisfied. Yes,

(41:25):
the ability to buy new clothes is nice, it's fun.
The ability to new in places is good. But everything
else after a while, if we eat the same thing
over again, no matter how good the meat is, it
is still meet clothes still close. You understand, not trying
to be playing big big picture, but in life. You know,

(41:45):
in our life, after a while, the God is always
asking that what are you going to do with our life?
You know, besides going to work and this stuff like that,
there has to be a purpose. So I spoke to
a particularly you're working a doubt, and they say the elder.
My purpose here in this organization is to open doors
for Christian influence, to help my organization, To help my organization.

(42:06):
There are people in my organization that need to know
who God is. Not just about pushing about God, but
there's this people in my organization that really need to
see and experience what God can do in their life,
in their marriage. And the only way to do it
is people like me in this in this position God
has given me to the person understands understand the reason
why God gave him the position in the first place.

(42:28):
Not because of the fat paycheck, which is fantastic and great,
but really to open doors. Come in, help my people,
Come in, help my staff. My staff right now is
going through this right Come in and be friends with them.
That's what purpose really stands. Well, that's why discipleship is first,
because at the end of the day, friends, God can

(42:50):
bring us through the wilderness to enter the promised land.
Because at the promised land, you know why, there are giants.
Think about it as I close right now, why the
promise is not Why to the wilderness, Because it takes
a wilderness to defeat the giants. If you can say
no to the wilderness. You can say no to a giant.
Come on. If you can say no to a wilderness,

(43:13):
you can say no to giants. Friends, we want come on,
we want the land all flourid with mill and honey.
True or not, none of us here work in a
place whereby is so run down. One we at least go.
And the word is that religious think that there is.
It's a good place to work. After you enter the
separate story altogether, but you understand try none of us

(43:36):
here attend something, be part of something that is so
run down, got no future. One. The future is in
the lot of friends, but God, friends who will always
use disciple like Joshaw and Caleb to go to a
land flow meal honey, filled with giants, to prove that

(44:01):
if you say yes in the wilderness, you can say
yes to taking down the giants. And this is how
I'm going to close many disciples. Many people follow Christ
say no to early. I won't do this, No, cannot

(44:23):
somebody use God God now tells me to. And the
worst part of Christianity I always try. Let me pray
about it first. Now, nothing wrong, I'm praying about things. Okay,
don't get me wrong. But when it's serving the Lord.
Think about it. I've never seen when Paul was asked

(44:44):
the serf, lord, let me pray about it. And many
times we like the statement because we just want to
buy time to say no later. Now I'm not asking
you us when a guy approached you and say could
you be my girlfriend? And you say let me pray
about but I would just say Lord, please, Okay, I'm
not saying those life charges very different. Okay, this this

(45:07):
is serving God. I have to I had to say
very clearly because I know sometimes my statements get they
can to a different engine. And I'll just say that
you do have to pray for life. Partners, just say yes, Tony,
dangerous this I'm going to close it the next time,
the next time, the next time, the next time. God

(45:29):
brings you to a place, bring you to a journey.
That's how difficult and how challenging it is. Don't say no,
but you don't understand. This is how I've been living
my life. I've been doing it. Don't say no because
God has a better plan for you. Because we are

(45:55):
so comfortable and doing one particular way. You know, life
this way, this way, and many times in our life,
friends actually We just want our way, our own convenience,
our own flexibility scope will always bring us up to
a place where oppen in life, you don't have everything

(46:18):
your own? How is wonderfriends, as like close? Why is
it that you know that acts right now at twenty
five years only achieved where see achieved or they get
to this place whereby we are planting, planting in different countries,
in different places. And I begin to understand a bit more.

(46:41):
If if by the third or fourth year, right, we
are planted in so many nations and planted in so
many cities, right, there's a certain price that will come in,
a certain price that will come in Look at us
where we achieved. But all these past twenty five years

(47:06):
of we just say this is a journey where I
got shaped and more earths and define our calling a
bit better. We know exactly what we want to do,
what we want to chief. No longer friends, we are
chasing after things. We are I was talking to one
particular pastor from another church. In my conversation just went

(47:26):
like this. You know, it's never easy to obtain a
place more than two hundred people, Never easy, you know,
I mean, if you organize any church can before the
cost goes higher, the culth system goes another level. I said,
I mean, I like all those, but it's never easy.

(47:48):
And to maintain a place like that you need a
lot of volunteers. You do, and sometimes after a while,
I'm not sure whether we are maintaining the place for
ourself or maintaining a place for the Lord. I'm not
saying big places is wrong. No praise go for I
say for us. God's given us a clear vision. We
know what one to do with the acts for the

(48:08):
next twenty five years. Our one mission is this that
we really our hearts and desire goes out to the
smaller teratrees in Malaysia whose every size is about twenty
five to thirty people, same size as your homes. Who's
the pastor has been serving for the past twenty to
thirty years, faithfully, fitfully, faithfully, without any excuse, without any reason.

(48:32):
I heard of one pastor before one past his kid
was just shoving me out there. I couldn't go for
holidays during my growing up years, cannot every school holidays.
But whenever we make plans to go out stationed as
a child for school holidays, someone in our church will die.
One and my father, being the pastor, has to do

(48:54):
the funeral. Half way through the journey, he'll mix a
youth turn here has a pastor called hey, you tell
the child you understand. I hope you understand. Imagine growing
up every time you're looking forward just to enjoy the
hotel swimming pool gets canceled because someone choose to go home. No,

(49:19):
didn't choose. God called him home. The past is still
faithfully serving the Lord and our hearts for ex church
is this as I close is to help to be
part of the solution to the many many churches in Malaysia.
Who's that that size. Our heart goes out for them

(49:41):
because they are the true champion of what the church is.
The urban church had it easier, as I close, friends,
that's why it takes a disciple to go to places
whereby nobody wants to go. Every big name that, every
big name in the Christian community will come to color Lompo,
of course, is a city. It's lights, it's sound, big stage,

(50:03):
big influence. Praise God. Thank you for them. But we're
going to continue the path and the journey. Friends, we'll
really miss out on the Promised land. And when we
say Malaysia is blessed. And that's why God says in
the scripture, who will go before me? Who can I send?
We can't just send anyone, but we can only send

(50:26):
disciples who will actually emit it and follow not just
on the exterior, but on the inner conviction as well.
As I close, this is my challenge for all of
us here this morning, is this that would you allow
God to speak to you really not just on the
external but internally our conviction, your hearts. I'm not gonna

(50:49):
open for auto call, because the auto call of friends,
it's just a start. But at the end of the day,
when you leave extraas when you leave here, go back
to your own place where the conviction still hold on
Monday or would he just be another Sunday experience and
mondays back to the daily grind, back to the routine

(51:10):
for the next thirty years of your working life. You
can achieve your goal, but really miss out, miss out
or what God has for you. And God does the
one that that's why He used all these the Bible
says as an example as an example for you and me,
so that we'll finish our race here on earth and
finish it well. We hold on to God because he's

(51:33):
worth following. As I close, friends, get you to stand
right now, would you just allow God to con work
on your heart for a few more seconds. And I
just want to end with this prayer. I got to
go to Shrinkamangan. Thank you Lord when I was extreme
the leaders in the song as the assay leaders in

(51:54):
the song. Just I just want us to close our eyes.
Just look to God.

Speaker 3 (52:15):
Amen, Yes, Lord, yes, Jesus, help us, Holy Spirit, help us,

(52:39):
Holy Spirit, Yes Jesus, Yes, Lord.

Speaker 2 (53:06):
Amen, Just more of your Lord. And would you lift
up your hands right now, Father, in the name of Jesus,
thank you for your word this morning. Lord, we pray
Lord that you help us to understand where we are
right now in our journey with you, Lord, to know Lord,
what you're doing in our life. Lord, your word says

(53:29):
you shrug me. You are reminding us that you put
us to a place whereby it looks like the wilderness,
may seems like a date end, not to bring us
to a place of defeat or failure, but to bring
us a place whereby we know what you want to

(53:49):
do with our hearts. So I prayed our hearts, our spirit,
and our mind is open for what you're doing right now, Lord,
would you show us, Lord, what you want us to
learn through this wilderness. Would you help us to understand, Lord,
the reason why sometimes we always hit the dead end,

(54:12):
So that Father, we could come up from this wilderness victorious.
So then we can come up from this wilderness, Lord,
with the peace of God, knowing that you have a
future in your hands. Lord, the wilderness is not a
place of defeat, not a place of discouragement. But Lord,
the wilderness is really a tool that you allow us

(54:34):
to go to, so that you are preparing us to
take the giants that's in front of us. So I
pray right now, Lord that I know there are people
who hear Lord internally. Internally, they're exhausted internally, they ran
out of field, and like pray this morning, would you
refresh them? Would you cause them, Lord to stand on

(54:55):
solid ground. Would you enable them to hold onto you, Lord,
like before, Father, No matter what we're feeling externally, no
matter what we're going through externally, the matter what circumstances
or challenges it may be, Lord, I pray Lord that
you will help us to overcome to really know what's

(55:20):
holding our hearts. Father, I pray that none of us
here will be hijacked by our emotions that lead us
away from Christ. I pray now our verse will be
hijacked by our previous experience that lead us further away
from Christ. But Father, I pray, Lord, through this wilderness

(55:40):
we come closer to you. Lord. Your word says in
chapter eight, say, it is you that brought us into
the wilderness. It is you that provided manner and meet Lord. Father,
we thank you so much.

Speaker 1 (55:57):
We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more
information on our church, please visit as church Org. We
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this week is going to be a good week, a
hit for you. God bless