Disciple First : Submission | Elder Rosalind Ang

You're listening to a message to go from X Church.

We hope this message will light up your day.

Hey, so let's start. Let's start with this. Okay. Now,

let's go to this very interesting question that I want

to put out for you. If you're new with us,

I just want to introduce to you that this year

X we are going on the theme of disciple first,

so it's all about discipleship and I want to just

go into this question and help me activate with this question,

what has been some of the most challenging aspects of discipleship?

All Right, we hear about it, we talk about it,

we preach about it, but really let's get real. Okay,

let's get real and tell me. Now, what do you

think has been some of the really challenging part about discipleship? Okay,

so think about it, think about it, and give me

a response. Again, I'm a person to talk to the crowd. Okay,

so tell me what do you think is very very

challenging about discipleship. I see you're thinking hard. Everybody is quiet,

that's right, because this is a very difficult question. Noah,

Noah's from Umfunk, so love them being here. Okay, so

tell me tell me honestly, Lou, Okay, don't have to

give me all the beautiful answers because we are not

here about beautiful answers. We are here about being real. Okay,

making time Okay, I heard time. Thank you for that?

Time consuming? Right? Yeah, it is time consuming. It takes

up a lot of that. What else, commit man, commit man. Yes,

it's a commitment that you will have to you know,

carry through. Yeah, that's real. What else? What else? Having

to wake up early? Yeah, because when you're in a

disciple shit relationship, right, your discipler will say, hey, hello,

why are you laid the church? Ah? And so that's

why you have to wake up early. What a challenge, right,

And for our young men here, you know, ready school

everyday nine to five o'clock, you know, and Monday to Fridays,

I have to wake up early. Saturday cannot sleep in

gratus Sunday, have to wake up early for church. Ah.

You're so challenging, right, thank you, Thank you for that?

What else? What else? Accountability? Whoa Okay, looks like we're

going deeper being vulnerable. Wow, that's that's hard, right. I

think it's hard because to be vulnerable you have to

expose yourself, and nobody likes exposing ourselves. We all like

to high and that's why, you know, on a Sunday

like this, well it's good and it's you know, in

obedience to the Lord that we meet this way many times.

What I see of you, what you see of me,

is just the front. Everybody dressed up beautifully make up,

spot on, right, hey also spot on. But without disciple

ship and without being able to be vulnerable to one another,

it will just remain face value. You don't really know

what that person is right more? When more? What else

is challenging? So we know it's time consuming, there's commitment involved,

you've got to be vulnerable, there is accountability involved in that.

We think it's lordship over someone. Okay, thank you all

the Terrans for that. By the way, all the Terran's

supposed to preach at ampang Noso today, he's here. He's

off of duty of duty. But thank you for that,

because that's exactly where I'm gonna lead to. And and

I recognize this. And one of the greatest challenge in

functional disciple ship is submission. Yeh, I know this is

you know other people who asking me a your your

message today is it kid friendly or not. I'm like, huh, submissioner,

maybe not okay, friendlier, but I shall preach the true

of their men because we need to hear this. And

you know, when I was praying what to what to share,

this thing just came. And it's such a difficult message

to prepare because nobody likes to talk about submission. Yeah,

let let's go to the next idea. Right, what is submission?

And can we agree? You have you heard of this

word submission before? Only in church? Right? I was like Church,

you got here people submit a oh no, no God? Submit

your income? Texts that one God or no God here

or not submitting your application for income. By the way,

if you're earning income, pleae pay your taxes. That is

a very Christian duty to do. So, you know, submission.

Let's go to the next light. It says that it's

it's about this idea of yielding and surrendering. Do we

agree with this? Yes? Okay? At face value, it seems like, yeah,

yielding and surrendering seems the idea of submission. And how

many of you know that this is not easy? Yeah?

Hey knowledge, Yeah, I know what it means that what

dictionary yieldings. And you know, surrendering seems to be what

we sing about. But in actual fact, how is it done?

In actual fact, how is it? How does it even

look like? Right now? I want to tell you that

this idea of submission didn't come from men. It's not

a human leader sort of idea. It's not like a

bad king's idea of submission. Whose idea was this? Whose idea?

Whose idea? Some of you're not convinced the front half convinced,

black and half you're like, God, what do you mean?

Can I prove to you? From Genesis one? Let's go

to Genesis one. Genesis one, when God had given the commandment.

Let's go to the next light. When God had given

the commandment to Adam and if he had created them,

he said, beautiful, right, everything was very good, Everything was

very good. Right. And so this is what God said.

And I want all of us to read this together, okay,

one to treat Then God bless them. And God said

to them, be fruitful and multiply feel the earth and

subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea,

over the birds of the air, and over every living

thing that moves on the earth. So who gave this

idea of submission having dominion. God said to Adam and Eve, Okay,

so if you have this idea, like this submission thing,

I don't know it is from God. Can I tell

you that it is in Genesis chapter one itself? From

the beginning. God had this idea that this should be

how the people govern each other and the earth. Now,

when you think about the word subdue and dominion, what

is the first thing that comes to your mind? Take over?

What else? Rule? Is it bad or not? If you

think about it, ruling not bad. It's neutral. Can I

say it's neutral because you can have good rulers and

you can have bad rulers. Right, So ruling in itself

is not bad. There needs to be a governance, all right.

So God established this from the beginning. Now, usually when

we think about this word submission or subduing something and

having dominan what is the feeling that you get? Tell

me how do you feel about it? Honest honest one,

tell me, how do you really feel about this? You

smile at me because you don't want to say, right,

because it's like, honestly, nobody likes this true or not.

Nobody likes this idea of like what you know after

I'm eighteen years old, we got our campus students here.

All I want is my freedom, Mom, I want my freedom.

Why am I being subjected to someone else again? But

you see this whole rebelling. You see this is Genesis

chapter one, right, and then you know what happened in

Genesis chapter three? Hello, good morning, it's still morning. What

happened in Genesis chapter three? The sin? Now? You see,

the thing is when God gave the commandment to Adam

and eat to not eat of the fruit. That was

a commandment, right, and what did they do? They disobeyed it.

They say. In fact, what they are saying is God,

you will not rule over me. No, because you think

about it, because it's God says this is my rule.

My rule is don't eat the fruit. And then there's

this desire planted by the serpent that says, no, I

want to rule because I think your rule, Eh, God,

I don't think your rural rocks. I want to have

my rule. And so there's this uprising. There's a rebellion.

I would say it as it is. It's a rebellion

against God's rule. And therefore today when you see originally

it was all beautiful. God says, I will rule over

you know, you are under my rule and you are

ruling over everything else. Fish of the sea, you know,

everything but off the air, all the creatures. Because what

the idea that God has in terms of sub doing

and dominant is this, let's go to the next life.

What God wants was to have a sense of stewardship. Stewardship.

You're like the word yeah, because it's like positive, right, yeah, stewardship.

It's to have control and rule. This is still not bad,

all right, stewardship, control and rule is not that because ultimately,

in God's mind, when I give you the authority for

rule and control and stewardship, it's for you to care.

It's for you to be responsible over it. And like

what el the terrans say, is not for you to

laud it over others. Can you say it's a very

very different connotation from what we think it is because

of our experience with the negative parts of this world,

because of sin. Right, And you know when I was

searching an image, I was looking for an image of submission. Lah, okay, submission, okay,

if you tell me, if I ask you, what is

the image of a submission. What would you describe how

would you describe that to me? Image of submission as

an idea? What is it? A king and a subject? Yep,

a king and a subject? Okay, what else? Don't mean? Shure,

I don't don't be afray, come come, let's just learn together.

Huh oh, husband and wife. So actually I put a

picture of us, right. The idea of submission is why

submit to husband? Okay, now I know what he's thinking.

H my beloved husband. Okay, the picture of submission, yeah,

first thing that you think about. And so I was

looking for this, you know, an image that depicts it.

And guess what I found. I found that there is

a real sport called submission wrestling. And this is the

this thought submission that came into the world after sin.

And you know what happens is this, right? So what

they are so they engage together in battle. This is real,

by the way, you can google it. It's on Wikipedia.

So you know, they engage each other, and what they're

trying to do is they're trying to grapple each other

and exert power until you cannot move right and until

you give up. And so the submission technique is this

you know if someone's choking you and strangling you, what

happens right in wrestling? Have you seen wrestling before you're away?

Holy people, you don't know what's wrestling right, so I know,

let me explain to you. So you're wrestling and then

you know you're on the ground and you're trying to overpower.

And that's what we think about submission is someone trying

to take control and someone trying to overpower you until

you say I give up. You know that the tap

the tree taps are that one you're Noah is saying

I give up. So this is what submission wrestling is.

You know, I give up and then okay, I lose.

You win. In the world's idea of submission and dominion,

there's always a winner and a loser. But can I

tell you that this is not God's original plan And

that's why many of us when we come to church

it there's a matter where you come from, what experience

you come from. You know, we carry with the same

negative idea of submission because we think that it's all

about someone trying to control my life, someone trying to

overpower me until I lose, until I say, okay, I

give up. Lah you know, and that is not God's

idea at all. Can we move on? Let's move on

to the next thought. Now, you see the thing is

right God, And I want to say this right because

we all agree, at least as believers in the Church

of God, we all subscribe to the idea that we

must submit to God. Yes, can I see a show

of hands that you believe that we must submit to God? Okay, okay,

I'm seeing sing eighty percent? You know, so you see her.

That's the thing right. Even the idea of submitting to

God is hot because we don't like that. We're saying, God,

you know, how come things that I pray for didn't happen?

How come? You know my life is in such a mess?

Where you God? When I'm in my deepest respect. So

this idea of even amongst believers in the Church, submitting

to God is difficult. What more submitting to men? Can

I tell you that if I look across the Bible,

what I see is men and women, true or not.

It's all about the stories of human beings just like

you and me, men and women whom God had used,

whom God had appointed, whom God had chosen. So you

think God just kind of goes around, you know, appointing people.

But can you see the pattern that's happening there, Because

when God wanted to establish a pattern of governance, he

uses people. As much as you hate people, God uses people.

Can we acknowledge that? And can we acknowledge that the

whole Bible is about people that we can see, and

God wants to work through people. You know you'll be

I think I'll tell God, God, it'd be easier if

all of us just submit to you. Don't use Untie

Mabel here, elder Mabel, don't use Daniel, don't use Elie.

Don't use my husband elping hole because I think I

can sumit to you beautifully, God, But when I submit

to my husband, that's hard. God, it's hard. But you

can see from the Old Testament that it's it's it's there.

It's evident. God spoke and call and gave the commandment

to one person, right, his name is Adam. Why would

God have this thought of wanting to use individuals, human beings?

One person Adam? And can you see throughout the Old

Testament there is a pattern. First, he started with the patriarchs.

You know what the patriarchs are, The father's right. You

know about Abraham being called. You know about Abraham, Isaac

and Jacob. These are the fathers. And so you can

see the whole Bible didn't talk about philosophies of the world,

didn't talk about just you know, what is right and right?

It uses people God's attention. Can you see that the

whole Bible is just a record of what's important to God.

And what seems to be very important to God is

my engagement with people. Can you see? God is always

engaging people, and he's calling one by one from the

patriarchs all the way to say all like Moses, yeah

he was a prophet, but you see God spoke to

him and God gave him the authority and the leadership. Yes,

do we agree with that? So there seems to be

a pattern that God is showing us right all the

way to the kings. Okay, Now, kings is another way

of governing, right governance. So now you have although okay,

so can I say something or so? Were the kings

good or bad? Mostly bad? If you read your book

of Kings, you read chronicles, you will notice that majority

is bad. There are only a few good kings all right,

which is gonna say, right, never mind. But you see,

God still use people, and he's recorded in a Bible

for us to learn something from this. And finally, you

know that when the children of Israel rebel against God

time and time again, God says, I'm going to kick

you out of the Promised Land. Is that true? That's

all in our Bible and that's what we believe in,

and that's foundational. And so God is using all these

people just to show us there is a system of

governance for his people. Yes, okay, so we agree with this.

Let's move on. Let's move on. Now, let me ask

you has this pattern changed in the New Testament? All right,

so we have we don't have the patriarchs anymore. There

is no Abraham, Isaac or Jacob or Joseph. Right, we

don't really have the prophets. We don't have men of

God like Moses leading us. There's no more priests and

prophet as we know it. But has a pattern changed

in the New Testament? What do you think? No? Why?

Because our God never changes? Right? So, when let me

say our God never changes, He's the same yesterday, today,

and forever more means God's design has not changed. Hello, people,

God's design has not changed. And what is this design?

God is still using people, amen. God is still using

you and me. Hallelujah. That is our purpose. You know

somebody is asking us what is our purpose in life? Hey?

God wants to use us. God wants to use us. Amen.

So let's go to this New Testament. Now some of

the common misconception. Can I tackle some of these very

real issues about us being able to submit to one another,

being submitting to a leader in discipleship, being submitted to

our parents' children. Are you listening and this is very real? Okay?

So number one, humans are imperfect and fallible. Yes, agree,

one hundred percent, all of us here we have fallen,

shot off the glory of God. Okay, can I can

you tell me besides Jesus, besides Jesus, who is the

perfect person in the Bible? Tell me supper, Oh, elet,

elet it's not a person, okay. Elet means don't have

thank you, John. No one is perfect. In fact, if

you look at all the heroes that I painted for

you just now right, Moses, Joshua, Caleb, I, Abraham, Isaac Adam,

they will all fallen people. And so the question is

how come God still use fallen people. That's exactly the plan.

God wants to use fallen people. That is part of

the plan. Hello, God's plan is to use fallen people. Next.

Next common misconception. Okay, this one I have to tread

with a little bit of caution because sometimes within the

church structure, within you know, the governance of the church,

we say, oh, but I disagree, Lah. You know, this

eloping hole is always cracking jokes on how can he

should be serious men of God? You know I disagree

with that, you know, and he's always talking nonsense. La.

So if you know elopan hole, right, he will thought

nonsense as well. But yeah, you say, yeah, I cannot

submit to this kind of leadership or somewhat eppie you know,

executive pastor. How can so unholy on? Oh okay, I

can see this, la, White Ma, I'm submittered to him,

Las submit to after you rebuked me at home their mind. So,

you know, we have some of these thoughts, especially when

we talk about discipleship within a church setting, that there's

just all this real hard question that you know, you

will never tell us when and you will say I

don't need discipleship, but actually I don't agree with you. Lah, right,

I don't agree with certain things that you do. But

can I just tell you that we need to just

check where these differences comes from. Okay? And I want

to paint to you an example which the Lord reminded me.

And let's go to read. Okay, we're reading the Word

of God. Let's go. Let's go to numbers, chapter twelve.

And so we talked about the great Moses, the Moses

who did amazing miracles part of the sea. You know,

he actually overcame the ten plagues of Egypt. This is

a man who stumbled before God and say, God, not me,

I don't want to be your leader. Can you see that?

Even someone who whom God called directly, he says I

don't want to do this God, And God says you

better do it all right? So of course Moses obeyed, submitted,

and then over time, you see, Moses was leading about

two million men in the desert. That's a lot, right,

two million? Have you let one person? Have you let

one person difficult or not? Yeah? One person also difficult?

Hay Dick, You know, can you think that Haydack? And

time say, by two million, that's Moses' job right. And

so when he was leading the people, suddenly amongst his

group of leaders, and in fact these are his brother's

brother and sister, the one who's supposed to be his

right hand and left hand. Okay, but you know that's

a funny thing, right, And this is true. So this

sanction always happens in the family. Yep. Some of us

have been in church long enough, or we have our

own families, we know that this sanction always starts within

the family. It's not even outsiders, you know, but what

we stir out is within the family itself. And this

is really within the family. And let's look at what

Miriam and Aaron said. Okay, so let's read this together, okay, One, two, three.

Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the

Ethiopian woman whom he had married. For he had married

an Ethiopian woman. So they say, has the Lord indeed

spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?

And the Lord heard it. Now, the man Moses was

very humble, more than all men who were on the

face of the earth. Let's pause there. Now, what do

you think was the main complaint of Miriam and Aaron

against Moses? Do you know a little bit of Jewish history. Okay, now,

just reading from this text, what do you think seems

to be something wrong here? Racism? It's true actually when

you try and research about why Miriam brought up this

case and then there was this whole rabbitic teaching about

how they were dark skin and then Moses was not

and then racism are basically but can you see that

basically they're from different tribes Ethiopians are not Israelized, right,

different parts of the Middle East? And so what did

God command to the children Israel about marriage? Can you

remember something that God told the children is always to

remember when you go into this new land? What must

you not do? Intermary? God, you don't like intermarriage? Is it?

How are all of you in intermarriage? No? No, really,

at that point we must understand the heart of this

right now, do you think it was wrong for Miriam

and Aaron to complain against it because it seemed obvious

that Moses had violated something? Right? Does it seem that

Moses has violated something that God commanded not to do? Yep,

So we established that God had said to the children,

is that don't marry the people of the land because

of what why did God give the commandment because of

different faith? And it's not just his differences in faith.

What he knows and has been proven true again and again,

is that the people of the land will stray you

away from God. That's the heart of it. It's not

about differences of it. It's about that I'm straying you

away from the one, true and Living God. And God

wanted to guard his people against that. And that's why

he says, don't intermarry, because you will be straight away.

And it's true. We see in the Bible. It's been

proven again and again that the people straight away. And

so for those of you who are looking for a

life partner, don't intermarry. Don't intermarry, not race, not language,

but don't intermarry faith, because if you don't have the

same faith, you will be straight away. Don't think that, oh, yeah,

I'm a very strong Christian. I'm so faithful, i will

bring this person to Christ. Sorry, because the weight is heavy.

And do you know that the life of a believer

of faith person is always up here right? And when

you're walking after you, can you imagine if you have

someone who is walking the opposite end, who will win

you will go up faster, or you will go down faster.

You go down faster. One it's gravity. It's called gravity

of faith. Whether it's someone who will walk along with

you upwards in a difficult, challenging journey called faith, or

someone will easily ensnare you. It's so easy to be ensnared. Right,

So now, so we know that actually right good intention

are not miriam and aarm good intention? Right, Hey, I'm

telling you you shouldn't do this. You know, sometimes right

you realize that decisions made it may seem as though

it was not of God. It may seem like this, right,

it looks like it like, hey, hello, don't you know

better than to marry an Ethiopian woman? She's causing disgrace

to you? Right? And you see, but you see that

there is something that God is displeased with in this picture?

What is it? What do you think it is? Gossip?

The murmuring, the complaints? And so, dear brothers and sisters,

can I lovingly warn you what are the murmurings in

our hearts? Why are the subtle complaints? On a right principle?

It can be a right principle, But can you see

that there was a murmuring against this man of God.

And can I tell you even more than every murmur

every thought that you entertain, God knows. Can you see

the word of God? What did it say? And the

Lord heard it? Wow? You mean God, even in my

private conversation, you hear. He hears everything. So now we

have to ask ourselves. Man, this God is very serious.

He's very serious about righteousness. What he is more serious

about was let's go to the next Let's let's go

to the next light. So when God heard it, he

didn't keep quiet. Suddenly, this is what the word of

God says. The Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miram,

come out, you three to the tabernacle, meeting, face down,

submission wrestling. Who's gonna win? So the tree came out,

and the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud

and stood in the door of the tabernacle and called Iriam,

Aaron and Miriam, and they both went forward. Let's move on.

Then he said this, this is God saying, now hear

my words. If there is a prophet among you, I

the Lord, make myself known to him in a vision.

I speak to him in a dream. Not so with

my servant Moses he's faithful in all my house. I

speak with him face to face, even plainly and not

in the dark, sayings, and he sees the form of

the Lord. Why then, were you not afraid to speak

against my servant, Moses? Is that the word of the Lord? Yeah?

And you can see that God wasn't so much really

about keeping the law per se, but he was more

concerned about the law of our hearts. Where is the

purity of our hearts? Because you can keep all the

laws right, you can keep all the laws and still

miss the mark. Is that true? You can still keep

all the six hundred and thirteen mosaic laws in the

Old Testament and still miss God. You can. Recently I

was talking to a colleague and then she said she

heard an interview with Pasakonhi. I'm not sure whether you

know him. He was a senior pastor in Singapore. He's

gone through a very high journey. And you know, he

says right that God brought him through this journey when

he was at the peak of his success in ministry. Ministry,

and he said, you know, what is there not to

be successful? Four hundred salvations every week? Hello, we all

want salvations, So let praise the Lord. His ministry was

reaping salvations every week, you know. But it became so

much that it became very performance, very outcome driven. Right,

and you can be doing all this for the Lord

and still, mister Mark, because he said I was too busy.

We can be too busy for the Lord. We can

be so busy keeping everything else looking at everyone else

that we ourselves. Mister Mark, can you see this? I

think this is a solemn morning for all of us

to just really God ourselves. Church. We need to guide

ourselves and we need to recognize that there is why

God was so angry at this at Miriam was because

he knew outwardly she used the law. Inwardly she was

jealous of Moses. She just like, how come you know?

Did God only speak to you? I also have the

Holy Spirit? What I also have the word of God?

How come I must submit to you? Right? And so

God was more angry at the part of insubmission to

his servant, the leader. Can you see this? I know, someone,

you're getting very uncomfortable now, but this is the word

of the Lord, and we have to check ourselves. Is

this a really difficult thing for us to slow it is.

It is, but I pray that the word of God

will cut through your heart and bring them. Do you

believe this? Do you know? We learn in homes right,

homes is our small group. We learn about the Word

of God that is settled, and the principle is settled.

God appoints men and women above us, and what he

wants us to do is to submit to that authority.

Not when you like it, because submission is it's not easy.

It's not when I like it and then I submit. Right,

It's only when I love my husband that day, you know,

because he gave me roses and you know he cooked

for me. Then I submit. On other days that he forgets,

then I choose like, oh yeah, you forgot all about

my birthday. Therefore I do not submit. Submission is not

depending on the performance of the other person. Can I

say that, because we think if you do this, then

I submit husbands and wife, that doesn't work. Submission is

commanded by the Lord. You submit, And can I say,

it's not just submitting husbands wives to husbands. You submit

to one another. That's in the world of God. Now

let's move on. Okay, another concept you know of why

we find it very hard to submit, especially in this church, right,

in any church as well, right, especially when you have

young leaders. You know you're probably thinking this, like, even

though you won't, you will never say it, So I

will say it out. They are younger than me, What

can they speak into my life? I've eaten more salt,

I've eaten more grains, you know, so what can you

possibly add on to me? How can you add value

to my life? We're always looking for people who who

are older than us, right, And I speak this humbly,

not to say that just because you know a person

has that place of authority, they are not here to

laud it over you. The heart of it is to

be in that position so that they can lead you.

I know it takes great grace and humility to be

able to submit to someone younger. I know it's not easy,

really not easy. Do you know that Moses was the

youngest of his siblings. He was, and maybe that's why.

Also Miriam felt like, hey, how coma Why the youngest

one get this lot? It should be me. I'm the

older sister, I'm the takata. I'm the one who save

you from the now. Okay, Without me, you will not

be born, But God has a very different way, and

maybe he's using that younger leader to teach us humility.

Submission not easy, but we can see many many examples

young pastors like Pastor Timothy. In the Book of Timothy,

he was leading a congregation of believers and he was

a young man, a youth young man. But you see,

authority of God doesn't coincide with age. Can I say

that if all of us have a trouble with submission

to someone younger, then all of us thirty three years Oh,

we cannot submit to Jesus? Really true? Right? Jesus was

thirty three years old when he completed the work on Earth,

and I believe it will be forever they tree, So

all of us, if we are forty three, then we

cannot submit to Jesus love because it's forever they tree.

You know, think about that one more. Let's go ah,

this one. The leaders want to control my life. Hey, hello,

actually we got a oh what to do a Seriously,

we are not here to control over your life. You're

not here to lord it over your life. The desires

of discipleship is to to not keep ge Okay, this

is not trying to keep on in your life. Ah,

you didn't do your quiet time. Ah, it's not that.

It's to say hey, hello, are you following Jesus or not?

That's the role of the disciples right to guard you

in the way of the Lord. Okay, let's move let's

move on. Ah. Oh, this one I've been heard before.

What guarantees that I won't be hurt again? If I

submit to it? This imperfect, vollible, veryffical, sometimes disciples discipler. Right,

we already establish that God will use anyone, and he

uses all broken people. In fact, if you're a person,

you're broken. Law. Okay, that's it. But no, no yet,

no yet, no yet. Is there any guarantee that you

won't be hurt again? Guarantee? Okay, my husband say, I

guarantee you will be hurt again? Wow? Why? Because we

are both imperfect people trying to live our lives like Christ.

And can I tell you that you can expect that

there will be conflicts. You can expect that there will

be challenges, because it is true, those challenges, that's when

the real stuff comes out. Do you know that challenges?

You know what fire does? Do you all like fire?

Play with fire? Before put your hand over fire all

the time that yeah, my husband, did you know, cooking

soap and then one block or soap fell into his head.

You know, one block of so onny, one bunker, so

highlighted blister for one week, soap pain, you know, one

block of soup. Play with fire. You know he didn't

play fire. He was cooking soup for me. So if

you play with fire, and do you know that in

the rubbing in the relationship that we have with one

another in discipleship, And so I'm gonna already pre warn

you as you you think about discipleship disciple making, and

this is God's commandment, right, God Lord Jesus has said,

go and make disciples, meaning we need we need to

be disciples and we need to be making disciples. Can

you already expect that things is not always smooth sailing?

It's never been smooth sailing, but you know that it

is when it's rocky, when there's fire that it you know,

when how do you know what is pure goal? Do

you know the process of purifying goal? It needs to

be heated up with very intense fire and so that

all the all the impurity in that goal is floated

up so that the master can scoop up all the draft,

all the mess, all the impurities within our lives. But

it needs fire. So if you want to go and say, God,

I don't need fire, I don't don't touch me. I'm solid,

I'm solid goal. But when you're solid, immovable, unbendable, you

will remain that rock that God cannot use. And God

wants us to be mal, to be fluid so that

he can shape us. You know, gold that is melt

that can be shaped. If it's a hot block of goal,

it will remain a block of goal, valuable, still valuable.

God loves you. God still loves you. But can God

use you? Not to shape according to what he has?

He can still use you, but you will forever be

that block of gold with all the impurities. Think about that. Now,

what does the New Testament teach us about this governance?

You know you think about discipleship as a way to govern.

Let's go on to this. Let's read this romance Chapter thirteen,

verses one to seven. Let's read this together, right, one,

two three. Let every person be subject to the governing authorities,

For there is no authority except from God, and those

that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists

the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who

resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror

to good conduct, but to bed. Would you have no

fear of the one who is in authority, then do

what is good and you will receive his approval. Let's

go on, for he is God's servant for your good.

But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does

not bear the sword in vain, for he is the

servant of God and avenger, who carries out God's wrath

on the wrongdoer. Therefore, one must be in subjection, not

only to avoid God's wrath, but also for the sake

of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes.

For the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this

very thing. Pay to all what is all to them, texas,

to whom taxes are old, revenue, to whom revenue is old, respect,

to whom respect is old, honor to whom honor is amen.

This is the word of God, and God's what clearly

teaches us that our role is to be in subjection,

to be in submission to those above us. I know

this is talking about the authorities in the marketplace, right,

so you hear about that, But this is also true

within the body. This is also true in your families. Yes,

God's way has never changed. In fact, he gave the

commandment to children to honor your parents, and if you

obey this you will read along full abundant life. That's

a promise, you know. So God's way has always been children,

subject yourself to parents. Wives, submit yourself, husbands, you submit

to the Lord. There is a pattern of submission all

the way. It's not just one person. Do you know

that submission happens in every part of our lives. When

you're at work, do you have bosses? Yeah, unless you're

the boss yourself. Love, But do you know that you

will also expect your stuff, your workers to be subjected

to the way, to the rule of doing things, to

your values, to the processes that say. Yes, we see

this happen in families, in governance, in corporate and this

is also true in the church. Yeah, I'm speaking to

believers here, let's check ourselves. Is this something that we

grapple with? You know, it's very easy to come and

you know WHOA. I'm not saying this to show power

that because I am a leader of this church, because

I'm an elder of this church that I'm here to

lord it over you. This is really this. This is

the word of God. And the more we can align

ourselves to the word of God, the more like Christ

will become. Amen. So let's go on. And this is

also true. And this is what Paul teaches to the churches.

And if we believe that we are followers of Jesus Christ,

we also subscribe to the teachings of Paul. And this

is what Paul wrote to Titus. Okay, Titus is one

of his sons, and he said this for this reason,

I left you in Creed. So this is Paul writing

in the Book of in the letter to Titus, he said,

I left you in Creed, this little place, so that

you should set in order. Can you see that God

wants thinks in order. This is the order of things.

That God is always thinking about things that are lacking,

and appoint elders in every city, as I commanded you.

So God wants leaders because he knows that leaders are

there to set things in order. I know some of us,

you know, we shun this whole idea like, oh, okay,

I can be servant. I can be disciple. I just

don't want to be a leader. Oh I know, so real, right,

But it seems that God has this way of order

in the House of God. He sets things in order.

Let's move on for many. Why why did God say

I need leaders? Is because of this? There's a reason

for it, because many are in subordinate? Is there in

subordination in the church? Both idle talk us and deceive us,

especially those of the circumcision. Wow, circumcision will be the

jew people? Right, aren't they the chosen one? How come

they are in subordinate because it doesn't matter your heritage.

Submission is a choice that you make today and every day.

Let's move on again. He closes off his letter. He says,

remind them again. So church, I'm reminding you. I'm reminding

the church to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey,

to be ready for every God. Well, are you ready

for every God? Work? Are you? We've got a lot

of what to do. To speak evil of no one

if you want to follow Christ. Hello, it's clearly written

out to speak evil of no one, To be peaceable, gentle,

showing all humility too. Oh men, that's what submission is right.

What submission is not? Let's move on. Submission is not

a difference in your worth, because even as God called

the wives to submit to their own husbands, it's not

saying you are lesser. Can I this spell that misconception

once and for all? You are not lesser when you submit.

It's a difference in roles. You see that? Do you

know how God said this pattern? And I know this

because the Holy Spirit submits to Jesus and Jesus submits

to God the Father. Hello, what more proof do we

need to say that? This is not God's idea of

understanding that there are rules and that they are you know,

principles that we must uphold in accordance to God's ways.

Let's go on. Submission is not used or power for

our own benefit. Yes, we agree with this. Submission is

not forced. It can never be forced. Okay, let's move on.

And I also want to say as a caveat, submission

is not blindly accepting ungodly leadership. Okay, I need to

say this because you say, well, what if someone you

know lead me astray? No, that's when you say, no,

I submit to God and not to men. Yes, there

is that as well, especially when you know that this

is ungodly, but you need to check whether this is

ungodly or not. And yet no Daniels still submitted to

nebucaneser ungodly men. But there was this order. Okay, So

I let you think about this. Okay. Now I want

to finally land at this which is the most important part. Firstly,

can I just say that number one, submission is just

accepting that there is the power and the authority of

another person. Yes, agree or on, because sometimes I need

to yield and surrender are very difficult a lot, but

just accept us. Yes, I accept. My husband is the

head of the home. I accept. It makes it easier

for me. I think. I just accept that God's way

says that the husband rules over the wife. I'm I

accept it and I work with that. Okay. Number two,

let's go on that the final true model of submission.

And we talk about Old Testament, we talk about New Testament.

Do you know that Jesus was the ultimate model of submission,

ultimate model And we say that we want to be

like Jesus Christ because what ultimately I recognize submission is

a bending of the will, bending of your will, and

this is always a difficult one. It's a posture of humility.

It's not saying I know more than you. It's saying,

this is the right thing to do. Do you know

how Jesus modeled this? Can we go to the next one?

Do you know Jesus when he is God? Right? Do

you believe that Jesus is god fully God? Yes? Amen,

Jesus who is fully God, He knows all things. In fact,

he creates everything right at twelve years old. If you look,

if you read Luke, chapter two, verse fifty one, it says,

and then you know, after he had a great debate

with all the scribes and the teachers in the temple,

he submitted to his earthly parents and went home with them.

What is that I'm bending? I am God, I am Jesus,

I know everything. And yet the right thing to do

was to submit to my parents. And so he submitted.

What else did he do? You know? Jesus met all

the creatures on heaven, on earth, all the money in

the world, all the cattles, and yet he said, well,

Caesar says that we need to pay taxes. I submitted

to the authority. I'm bending myself to do what's right.

I'm bending myself, pilots judgment, bring him to the cross.

You know I'm bending. Jesus is bending, and let's move

on ultimate authority. He submitted to God the Father, and

he's saying, Lord, my will is important right. And we

live in a current day and h where it's all

about my right. God, don't you care about me? I'm

your son, and you would ask me to go to

the cross for the people who despise me, who shame me,

who beat me, who deserted me, and you're asking me

to ben to go to the cross. In this position,

he says, not my will, but yours be done. Do

you know this position of being on your knees, it's

not an easy position because many times we want to

uphold ourselves and we say it's my right, it's my thought,

it's my way. And submission is say no, God, not

my way, not my thought, not my plans, but yours,

but yours be done. And do you know this is

how God wants to build his church. We say that

Jesus is the foundation of the church. Yes, Jesus laid

the foundation of the church. And do you know that

with every building that needs to be building blocks. Yes,

the bad cannot see me that mine. I'm still on

my knees and upon Jesus, upon this rock. He is

looking at men and women who will take on the

very same position that he has. This is Jesus position.

Can I show the pyramid next life? Can you see this?

That to build the church, he's gonna be needing men

and women like you and me. Who's gonna be willing

to bend? And when you ben is always the first layer? Right?

You need how do you build a pyramid like this?

I'm coming up because I need to see you. How

do you build a pyramid like this? You start with

the top person, No, you start with the base, right,

You start with Jesus and he models this position. And

so now Passa Kenneth, who laid the foundation for this

church because he was the Moses that God had appointed

for this church. He's following Jesus and he's on banded

knees and arms, and as he raises leaders, he's gonna say, oh, Elopeo,

do you wanna join me in building the church? Do

you know that I cannot force him Passa, cannot cannot

force him or me to come on top of this pyramid.

Canno notot. No, So what what does all the pet

who need to do now to build this pyramid? What

does he need to do? He needs to come on

top of me. Hello, he needs to climb on top

of me and be in the same posture. Can you

see that that as passa cannet lays this foundation, he

is carrying the leaders on his back, right, So he's

carrying and who in this pyramid, who has the most weight,

who's carrying the most weight? The bottom ones right, So

he is carrying the weight of this church. He cannot

do this alone. Can you build a pyramid alone? No?

So he's here, he's waiting. He's like, who's gonna come

join me? Build this church? Right? And praise God? There

has been many that has come to say, Pasta, I

believe in this, and I'm gonna climb on top of you.

Do you know sometimes we think the worldly leadership is

I you know, the boss is always at the top

and then all my conjoys, but them supporting me in

Christ's way, in Jesus' way is the other way around.

It's the leaders who are at the top at the bottom,

and he's carrying the weight of me. All the h ones,

all the elders or the pastors he's carrying, and he says, uh,

are you guys the same shame as me? Same shame

or not? Because if you're not in the same shape,

we cannot make this formation true. So so it's like, Okay,

I gotta be in this position. And do you know

it takes a lot for someone to climb out on

top of me, because not willing, not ready say I cannot,

I cannot never mind await until someone comes up. And

then do you know that I still have to be

in this position. I still have to be strong. In fact,

when I'm at the bottom level, I have to be

even stronger. Because as we build this pyramid, as we

build disciples on top of one another, we need to

be saying, are you looking more like Jesus or not?

Last week I share with exampung imitate me as I

emitted Christ. This is what it is, you know, a

model of submission, humility, grace, washing each other's feet. Are

we willing to do that? And that is the price

of discipleship to say I'm you know, when I'm climbing

on top of Pasic Kenneth, I don't recognize sometimes that

he has all this wait to carry second layer, third layer.

How do you build a taller, bigger pyramid? How do

you do that a wider base? And so that means

we need more not just disciples, we need leaders as well.

Leaders are disciples to be able to bear the weight.

So disciple ship, it's not just about having a good time,

you know, it's not just about spending time. Yes, there's

one challenge. It's not about just you know, prayer, encouragements

about it's all that, But the heart of it is

are you able to then ben to be like the

leaders above you? Ultimately that that is a hard question

to ask. Will I I think like what my leader thinks? Well,

I pray like how my leaders praise, you know. And

this model of on the knees prayer is what passed

the kennel himself models because why Jesus prayer like that?

So you see we always model after those above us.

And in that sense, do you know that another thing

I discovered about being in this position is I have

to trust whatever that's happening up there. You guys are

following the same pattern. You know, true or not true

or not? Because when I'm down here my visual side,

I can only see down, I can only look to

my leaders. I can look front, but to constantly look up.

Guess what happens? You get next train right? And so

you're always in that position. You're looking to your leaders,

who's below you? Holding your weight, carrying your burdens so

that you can carry burdens of others. Do you know

when I'm in this position, when I am trying to

follow after my leaders after like Jesus, I hope and

I pray that my children will be able to climb

out on top of me and hold that position. Parents,

if you are not in abandoned position, it's very hard

to expect your children to write. It's going to be

hard because they will see and they will model after

you and I there is no heart of humility and

submission even in your own life. Why do you think

they will submit to you in their own lives because

they have no model before them. Amen, submission is Southern leadership.

And I pray that as you think about this, I'm

gonna invite the worship team to come on stage. Think

about where are you in this pyramid? Some people think

that you know it's all good and well, but do

you know that this picture even just now when I

did it for three minutes, my knees are hurting. I'm

sweating because it takes a lot. It takes humility to

be able to bend. And Jesus is the model of humility. Amen.

Let's go to Philippians chapter two, and I want to

end with this. Philippians chapter two. What is a lot

speaking to you right now? Philippines chapter two say, is

this therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if

any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the spirit,

if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being

light minded, having the same love, being of one a

court of one mind. Do you know that that was

a picture of unity that you saw? The pyramid was

a picture of unity because everyone was in the same position.

Verse three, Let nothing be done through selfish ambition and conceit.

Do you know that you have to get rid of

yourself to be in part of that formation? But in

loneliness of mind? Huh? Is this in the word of God? Yeah,

in loneliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself.

You know this is a verse that I hold very

dearly to me. Is it because it's so nice? No,

it's because I know that I'm proud. I can very

easily be so proud, think that I'm better than others.

But the Word of God says, in loneliness of mind,

let each esteem others better than themselves. Look let each

one of you look out not only to his own interests,

but also for the interests of others. Let this mind

be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Remember again,

this position and posture of humility is in Christ Jesus.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in

Christ Jesus. Jesus, who being in the form of God,

did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,

but he made himself of no reputation. Do you know

that being down there is no reputation. Taking the form

of a bond servant, and coming in the likeness of men,

and being found in the appearance of a man, he

humbled himself and become obedient to the point of death,

even the death of the cross. Amen.

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hit for you, God bless