Letter to the Romans - A Thinking Faith | Elder Rosalind Ang

You're listening to a message to go from ex church. We hope this message

will light up your day. There's been a lot of things happening, and

I just want to just focus in on what happened yesterday. So yesterday we

have Victory Academy Sports Day. Okay, so x, we have our very

own church. They meet in this premise. What do I say? Yeah?

Church? Okay? So still like we got church, we got school,

We got Little Legends, which is our daycare, right, and so

in our school with our sports day. Okay, I'm one of you like

sports sports sports people. Yeah, it was so good to see all our

skinny little kids, right, go run because you know, never exercise lokis

correct? Not teenagers? Yeah, Vavia students here all soapatamka. You know

that means that you're like the steam chicken. If you're in Malaysia, you

must try steam chicken. Claudia okay, and no not Clodia Christ Okay.

We have a crystal from Netherlands, yay, So please introduce her. Introduce

her to our hei nanis chicken rice steam chicken, and then she will know

what it means. Okayamkai means very fairly late any body or very fairtorus never

see the sun. Okay, so yesterday, I think what's amazing is that

as the I'm now part of the management team of Victory Academy, and so

it's been a real pleasure to really work together with the school and support and

you know, one of the sports master who was overseeing the sports passa met

he shared with us on Tuesday and od meeting that oh your weather predictioner understorm

and rain every day until Saturday yesterday. Okay, so that's the facts,

all right, but how many you actually believe where the prediction? Okay,

never mind, that's a side story. But as it is right, it

has been raining in the mornings. Correct. So but what do we do?

Right? Do we yell? Look correct? Lah? Thank you Graham.

So the natural thing is to pray, correct, because we are people

of facts of faith, were people of faith. So it's okay, never

mind, whatever the facts say is right. We will just pray by faith.

Okay. So we prayed and then we just went on with our lives.

Right came Friday, came Saturday. We had to be there at seven

o'clock. Okay, what your start supposed very early or okay, started at

seven point thirty when we were driving all the way. It was somewhere in

Kotakamuning site rim by you that silie I always called a sa kotta commoning la

rhm BYU side. Uh. Clouds dark clouds all the way as we were

driving there, correct, how many of you were there? It was dark

clouds all the way. So we're like, it's okay, it's gonna be

okay. We prayed again and we say, God, you take care of

all the weather. Uh. And do you know when we had our first

and I was kind of like charing for the little kids who were doing your

obstacle, cause you know, all the little kids running doing burpies and hello,

your six and seven years were doing burpies, okay, And and it

was just nice weather, cloudy but not sunny. Wah. So we're like,

okay, great, that was a great start, right, And then

they had indoor games and then they came out again whah so hot. After

that, We're like, okay, I don't think it's gonna rain today.

Right, it was clear skies. It was just beautiful. It was hord

but we were like, thank God, it's hot and it's not raining.

We went we went, and then all the way until almost tough something.

Right, they had their last game. You was a relay relay match,

right, U. And right after the last team went off and then everyone

came out. I was probably the last few people. And as I was

walking into the hall, guess what, the rain drops started And I was

like, praise Jesus man, Hey, hello, I think God, this

is praise. Laugh, He's the god that controls the weather. You never

believed it. Tryprain, you know, He's this is amazing. God is

just so amazing. And sometimes we we we don't even come to him for

simple things like that, right, and and so that was just an exciting

part. And and so when we were there, they had three colored houses.

Right, so bureau, where's bureau any bureau here? Oh? Yeah,

I got bureau? Got any good nang nunang way good? Nag?

All right, teacher Jana, is that good? Nag? And then Amera

got amea all right, okay, Mera was good. It was a very

very good time together with the students and the teachers. But there was something

that struck me. Okay, So there was a teacher h and he's the

house teacher for gunning gunning house right. And okay, y'all know who y'all

know who I TJ. T. Okay, I'll call him TJ T I

h okla so reveal a ready teacher team. Okay uh, And this teacher

writes some mangaed okay, so manga means he's passionate on fire. Right.

He rallied the students and he said one cheering, you know when you're playing

frisbee, are here? He cheered until he lost his voice. He cheered,

and he was up and until you know, at one point he was

walking like that course course his shoe open up. He was running around so

much that the shoe flapped open up. You know that the base. I

say, are you, teacher, you're losing your shoe. He's like,

it's worded, it's worthed. And he went around running around cheering the team.

But you know what, they did not win the championship. How you?

How you? How you? But what I really like and what I

called from him was he was confident of his team the entire time. Amen.

He was confident of the corning team from the beginning of the week.

Okay, I heard different. You're like this teacher you I'm talking about his

rumakuting, you know, and all the way to the end he still believed

it. Now, my question to you this morning is this, Are you

as confident as teacher team in his roomak couting? Are you fully confident of

the gospel? Yes? Would you have that much excitement and energy to continue

cheering on people of faith, to continue cheering yourself as you walk through your

journey of it? Are you fully confident? And are you confident enough to

share this gospel with someone else who have never heard of this gospel? Okay,

that's what I told my message. Are you fully confident? Are you

actually, that's not the message that is opening on you. Are you confident?

Now? I want to go to scripture and this is gonna be taken

from the Letter to the Romans. All right, How many of you are

familiar with the Letter to the Romans? Okay? Only one persona a never

mind. For the rest of you, we will learn. Okay, let's

learn the Word of God together? Is that okay? All right? So

there's something called the Letter to the Romans, and I would encourage you to

open your bibles. All right. So, ex church, we are on

a campaign right now to encourage everyone to bring a Bible, especially when you

come to church, can can and now everything will all all right your Bible,

you're not little bookmarks and all that. But let's go away from Let's

disconnect from our phones for a little bit, okay, because sometimes right I

realized, you know, when we're doing homes and devotion, homes is our

cell group. We call it live group, right, we call it homes.

But we realize that many people, what are the distractions from your devotion?

It's all your notifications. I know, something is very convenient to bring

your phone around. But if you really want to do a proper quiet time

and focusing on the Lord, guess what, your ten thousand things are not

going to help you. It's going to distract you, right, And that's

why we say, when you seek the Lord, just remove distraction. Law.

Right, what does the Bible say, flee from temptation? Correct?

And then when you bring your temptation into your quiet time, now, okay,

leave you the side, find a physical Bible and open the Word of

God. All right, So we're going to be reading from the Book of

Romans or it's actually a letter. Do you all know who wrote the Book

of Romans? The letter Paul Okay, not bad, not bad of it.

Okay, so you'll know a little bitter. So it was written by

Paul, and it's actually one of the longest letters in the New Testament.

Did you know that one of the longest. In fact, it is the

longest letter in the New Testament written by Paul. Do you know that those

days to write a letter is very expensive? So this, this book to

a lot of money to write. Okay, it's not like you you just

write. And you know in those days they had to have scrolls and and

it's very costly to get paper. All these things you cannot identify with,

right, Okay, never mind. So it is a letter written by Paul

to a church, right, because it says to the church in Rome,

to those who are in Rome. Okay, so we know that it was

directed to the people in Rome. But guess what, even though Paul had

planted many many churches, this was not a church that he planted. Then

you're like, hey, why this Paul is? You know, is the

words like why you're so busy body? This is not even a church that

you planted. Why are you writing a letter to this church? There was

a significance for it, and there's a reason for it, all right.

What was happening, let me give you a context of what's happening at the

Church of Rome at the time. Was in that Roman Empire, there was

a time where the Caesar he kicked out all the Jewish Christians. It's like,

okay, I don't like your face off, you go, all right.

So at that time the Roman Church had the Jewish Church, who are

Messianic believers. That means Jewish people who believed in Jesus. Okay, ken

some terms are some terminology. So but they were there. And after a

while the Emperor didn't like Jewish Christians. Is that you're giving too much new

theology, new knowledge, you know, and it's very foreign to all of

us. And so then he says, okay, let me ship you out

into the exile. And so what was left then was the gentle Christians.

Because guess what, the Jewish Christians were also sharing the good news, right,

that's what it's supposed to do, right, tell your neighbor, share

the good news. That is the purpose why we're still here today. Okay,

share the good news. So they did, and so they were now

gentle believers who are now in the Church okay, So can you imagine we

are now gentle believers in a church which is all of us. Any Jewish

people here? Ada, look around. I have not met a Jew.

I would like to have a Jewish friend. Anyone, If you have a

friend, can you introduce a Jewish friend to me? I really would love

to get to know them, because there is so much about the Bible.

Actually, the Bible is all about the Jewish people. Do you know that

it's written by Jews for the Jews and then for the gentiles. Okay,

so to understand the Bible, that's worry. We find it so hard to

understand the Bible right because it's written in a very Jewish culture and context all

right, side note anyways, So then after a while, then the next

emperor says, okay, I think we can bring the Jewish people back,

all right. So they came back. And then now they came back to

the synagogues or the churches, and there was tension, tension because people they

came from the Jewish culture is very different. Right. Do you know kosher?

Right? How you prepare your meals? It cannot just be anything,

you know, it has to be washed. I don't know how many times

seven times, and it has to be separated. So there's this cultural tension

that's happening in the church, and Paul the Apostle, the sentth one,

he had to address the issues that's there. Okay, So that's why the

church, the book was the letter was written to the church at that time.

I'll be okay, so far, do you know that the Letter of

the Romans have changed many theologians understanding and doctrine. You know, people like

Martin Luther. Do you know him? He read two verses in the Book

of Romans and it changed his entire life, and that's how the Reformation happened.

Can you imagine how powerful this letter is. Saint Augustine some of you

may know him, he had read some portions of the Scriptures and also changed

his entire life. So maybe advice and encouragement to you is try and read

the Book of Romans once a week. Can it will change your life?

Trust me. So I'm gonna read to you now the first sixteen chapters.

I've given you the background is that, okay, So let's let's read together.

Let's read together. Open your Bibles if you can, okay, like

if you have e Bibles, also open it up. I want you to

really follow through with us. Okay, So I'm gonna read from the NKJV

version, and I believe actually might help me with that. But let's go.

Okay, So he says here from verse one, we're gonna read until

verse Let's see seventeen. Okay, let's go. So Paul, all right,

Paul introduction to the writer of the letter. Paul, a bond servant

of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle separated to the Gospel of God,

which he promised before through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures concerning his son

Jesus Christ, our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according

to the flesh, and declared to be the son of God with power according

to the Spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through him,

we have received grace an apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations

for his name, among whom you also are called of Jesus Christ. To

all who are in Rome be loved of God called saints. Grace to you

and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First,

I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all that your faith is spoken

of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness whom I serve with

my spirit in the Gospel of His Son, that without seizing I make mention

of you always in my prayers. Wow, how many of us I'm just

gonna pass for a bit, how many of us actually make mention of prayers

for our brothers and sisters other churches? For for Torah verse tent making requests

if by some means now at last I might find a way in the will

of God to come to you, For I long to see you, that

I may impart to you some spiritual gift so that you may be established.

That is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith

both of you and me. Now, I don't want you to be unaware,

brethren, that I often plan to come to you, but was hindered

until now that I might have some fruit among you. Also, just as

among the other gentles, I am a debtor, both to Greeks and to

Barbarians, both to wise and the unwise. So as much as is in

me, I am ready to preach the Gospel to you who are in Rome.

Also, this is the famous verse that you are known for. I

am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of

God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the jew first, and then

also for the Greek. For it is in the righteousness of God is revealed

from faith to faith, as it is written that just shall live by faith.

Amen. May the Lord add to the reading of his word. It's

so good. Right. Do you know that if I just continue reading of

the Word, right, I think I would have done my job. We

can go home. Ready, I believe God is speaking to some of you

already, right, That is how powerful God God's word is. And sometimes

you know, I just wish and I pray and I hope that all of

us would have the passion for God's word. Come on, you cannot live

just on what I'm telling you or what I'm preaching whoever is preaching for you.

You gotta look for God. You have to seek God's Word on your

own, right. I just want to anchor in again. Personal devotion is

so important, otherwise we will not grow. You can be in church for

thirty years and never grow in your spirit. That's a fact, all right.

So let's take charge. Take charge. Okay, take charge about spiritual

growth. Now, there are some things that is very interesting about this letter,

and I'll give you a bit of overview. Do you know that the

first part, right from verses one all the way to verse seven, Paul

is always talking about them and he never addresses himself as I. Do you

notice that you see any I in your first seven verses? No rights?

Like he describes himself as a third person, Paul a bons of age.

Hello, I the bonds of a no right. It's like Paul the bonds

of as always talking about someone else, right, and he uses the word

bond servant and actually right if you go back to the original Greek word,

it means slave. How many of you like the whole notion of slavery?

No right? In fact, as a nation, as human you know,

humankind, we have abolish slavery, correct, and because we think it's not

right. But do you know, can I give you another fact is that

we're all slaves how comer? According to my Bibola, Paul says, when

you were born, you were a slave to sin. Agree, there's a

sin nature in us. We are slaves to sin. But when we have

entered into the kingdom, of righteousness unto God. We are set free from

the slavery to sin. Catch this, but we have now become slaves unto

God. A few amensa. The rest of you is like, huh,

slave again from one slavery to another? Would you rather be a slave to

sin or slave to God? Slave to God? And what that means?

Right? And this will change you the way you live your life. You

know why? Because I'm no longer serving my flesh, my last, my

desires, but I'm serving God's will, God's desires, God's plan. That's

what being a Christian is a slave to God. It means what Okay,

God says, I want your time, Okay, God, it's all yours

anyway, I'm not giving you ten percent. You know the ten percent mindset,

right, It's really really, really just the minimal. In fact,

if you understand fully right, everything belongs to God. Got you are my

time? Okayler? My time is all yours hundred percent? You want my

finances one hundred percent? God is yours? He guess what it came from

him? Do we know that? Do we even acknowledge it? Our very

own breath, our life? Do you know? I just read this very

interesting fact about our hearts. Do you know how many of you can squeeze

a tennis ball? Have you tried squeezing a tennis ball? Try imagine that's

a tennis ball's hot, right, you squeeze it right? That's how much

your heart is squeezing with one heart beat because it needs to fill up.

I don't know one cup of blood to flow through your body with one hot

beat. And you have so much energy, you know, can you can

you? Can you do anything about it? Start it? Stop it?

Slow down? Kenna breathing technic? Canla meditate? Then you come down your

heart beat a little bit. Don't put so much pressure on your heart.

But that's how amazing it is. The very fact that you're all sitting here

is God? Otherwise? I mean, I have encountered so many recent deaths

that I'm thinking, God, actually life is very short. Life is uncertain

in our eyes, but life is certain in his hands. And that's what

I'm thinking. Okay, Godla, you know that's it. Whatever days you

gave me, thank you Jesus. It means I have a job to do.

Correct. We don't take it for granted. Amen. So So there

is this this whole part how do I get here anyways? So so that's

that's this Paul who understood all this right, and he oh servant hood slavery,

not servant hood slavery. It means that, Okay, if there is

a need, I just issued you the need. God, what can I

give? What can I do with my little biloaves and two fish? God?

You can do the miracle? And I want to give. Lord,

I want to give because I recognize that everything came from you. Wow.

This book of Romano is so power that on one one versa a bondserver,

I can preach a whole message, but I will not. Okay today it's

not a message for slavery. But I want to move on to something else.

Okay, Now, then we move on to verse eight. Okay.

Now, then he says, I so now now, so the initial part

of it, right, it was the greeting part of it, but it

was more of his sort of like his mandate and his mission. He wrote

that first part is like, you know, I'm telling you this is my

mission. But then now with verse seven of what he's telling you this is

my motivation, I'm now opening up my heart to you. Just now I

open up my mind to you right, I'm telling you what I want to

do. The first seven verses. Now, the second part of it is

he saying, now I want to share with you my heart, write the

heart of a father. And let's see what he says. He says,

I thank my God to Jesus Christ for all of you. Hey, when

was the last time we thank God for each other? Oh? I know

the husband look at the wife like, oh, I think I forgot to

thank God for you today? Can you please thank God for someone next to

you today? Thank God for another believer, thank God for your parents.

Hey, there's a lot of things we can learn from from Paul. Okay.

He always started with the heart of gratitude. It's like, thank God

for all of you. Thank God for all of you. Okay. And

then he says that I remember you any pre for them. So that was

his intercession. Okay, So that's one part. He says, I remember

you. So I've also made it a point to now try to remember people,

remember their names. Okay, remember what was the last conversation I had

with them. I'm not good at it, but I have the Holy Spirit.

Okay. So we asked the Holy Spirit, like the desire is there

right, the memory not already there, but help, but forgive us.

Forgive me. If I ask you many times? He where you're from her?

Okay, this is very embarrassing situation. No, ask this person where

you're from her. He's like, I'm from a. Like I'm like,

oh my gosh, I'm from Alecta. And I asked him like at least

three times. Really, you know, I cannot connect that he's from like,

I don't know why. Please help me, Holy Spirit, forgive me.

Forgive me if I ask your name and I cannot remember and ask you

again, what's your nama? Sorry? Okay? I try, I try,

I try. I remember you. Okay. And in fact, the

next time he prayed for them, right, he prayed for them. Now,

so there's the intercession. Now what was the ambition? What was Paul

trying to do with the church of the room? Right, So there's too

prone to it. One is encouragement. Correct? Do you see that he

says I came to impart to you some spiritual gift. Correct? Okay.

I don't know how many times, how many of us when we see each

other, it's like I came with a purpose to impart onto you some spiritual

gift. Wow, some word of encouragement to uplift you, to fan into

flame whatever spiritual gift that you already have. Hey, that's the whole idea

of gathering. Lah. If you just want to tune into the word of

God, then you can just see it at home. But the reason why

we gather like that is to fan into flame the spiritual gift that God has

imparted to each one of us. So I pray that you will never ever

ever miss the gathering of the people of God. Imen your brothers, and

you say, your long lost brothers. He said, just all right,

hey, no long man, no see, come and fellowship together in men.

He wanted to bring encouragement, but you see, uh, paula very

he is so amazing that he always balances it well. He at one point

he just wanted to encourage the brothers and sisters correct, bringing spanning into famed

spiritual gifts. On the other hand, he also says, but I also

want to read some harvests the next light. I want to have some fruit.

He wants his media. He wants douren is it? Did Paul say

he wants do en or nanka or mango? What kind of fruit? Is

this? What kind of fruit is this? Spiritual fruit? Try again,

look at your verse, look at the Bible. What what kind of fruit

is Paul trying to harve us fruit of the Holy Spirit? No, try

again? Where is it? Can you see it in your Bible? I

give you a clue. What's the thing? What's the thing? The end

of life? Verse? The thing? What is the fruit that Paul is

looking for? Answer? Answer? Come on, you can read, just

read not spiritual gift? What is the sorry? Spiritual fruits? No?

The NKGV version says this right, that I might have some fruit among you

also, just as among the other gentiles. What does that mean? Anyone

can give a guess. Yes, personal lies, Thank you very much.

Souls the harvest of souls. Evangelism. Paul constantly had these two things.

Right. Whenever I go to some place, I pray that. Whenever you

go to I know, Endy Weela. After this you go for your lunch.

You're double minded, in double mission minded. First, if I see

a fellow brethren or you know, brother or sister in Christ, I will

give encouragement. But then you see heah, Actually the vast majority are they

have not met Jesus yet. And he's saying, I might have some fruit

the harvest of souls among the Jewish people and also the gentiles. The gentles

are us. He's always looking at that. That's his mission, his ambition,

all right, and then he says his obligation. All right, now,

I'm gonna go straight into this because I think this is the crux of

the matter. Right, we move on to verse sixteen. Okay, he

says this, for I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for

it is the power of God to salvation. Okay, that's gonna pause that

for a bit. I am not a shame of the gospel. Say that.

All right, let's do this together in three two one, I am

not a shame of the gospel. Really, then are you sharing it?

Let's go. I like it rough, let's go, let's do it right,

and actually, honestly, when I have to really do a self reflection

as well, and I personally find it it's not easy to share the gospel.

I know, we preach it, right, we teach it. There's

this false spiritual truth. There are many things around it. But if I

can be very honest with you, it's difficult. It's difficult, and I

realized that as the Lord has revealed to me that I have built my theology

my theology. Right, it's not a big scary word. Right. Theo

means God's logy, means that you got your biology. You study about the

bio. Right, so you have psychology, you study about the psychosis.

Theology means you study about God. All of us have our own theology.

Yes, you may not have a Bible degree, but we all have our

own theology. And it is your theology that will determine how you live the

rest of your life. Okay, think about ith. Think about it.

So the theology that I received, you know, and had a revelation of,

was that I had a theology of Jesus plus meaning meaning to say,

I want to pray for someone. I want to share gospel with this pre

believing friend. Right then, at the back of my mind, my operating

system is that, but what if I pray for this person and then and

the mom dies? What if I pray, you know, I want to

ask for maybe a job, a breakthrough in your job provision financially, right,

and then everything goes down, door shut, things become worse. Correct?

Am I the only one? Maybe I am? And that is the

very fact that causes me to like shrink back and say, you know,

God, God, really, how how do I pray for this person?

Do I pray or not pray? Do you know I'm not fully convinced of

the gospel. I am very honest the very reason. Think about what other

reasons that stops you from sharing Christ to a person that is very nasty to

you. I'm sure we all can think about that someone like that. We

have someone like that, very nasty boss because you're saying, oh my gosh,

God, I don't think he can change his person ever never I had.

I had to meet up recently be two of my best friends from high

school, and they were just telling me about neighbors from hell. Oh can

you use that word can? Because hell is in the Bible can and we

don't like to talk about it, right, And so they were telling me

about all kinds of petty things, paty things. I tell you, I

want to. I feel for my friend, Okay, I think I want

to. I would have warned me the blood, you know, until my

friend had to say, oh, okay, my husband better not go over

to my neighbor's house because I think he will be jail for murder. It

is that can't extent. Okay, It's like, oh, you try,

you try to be nice and all that are, and then they still demand

demand demand posts on Facebook that kind of nasty stuff, that kind of neighbor

la h okay. And then she said, but I still have to love

my neighbor. I still have to love my neighbor because that's who I am.

That's who I am. It's difficult, it's challenging. There are many,

There's gonna be many, very many challenges in your lives, challenging people.

I think issues are very small. People are very big. It's always

the people issue. Know, It's not about how big the project is.

It's about how difficult it is to rally the people to come. And you

asks to come, the want to come, ask rs VP, the want

the RSVP closing that their only one, the rs VP. Aye O.

Leaders you feel me? Are you feel me? Are hey? Same la?

Your assignment, your colleagues all same, same correct, Always say sea

fash see what law the sorry, I feel your grame, I feel you

see ya see ya my sea cany deala. So it's people. People challenges

as always the hardest, right and so then when we we we feel shame

because then sometimes the other part of it is we look at our own lives.

My life not the greater right? Correct? Correct? Hey, my

life. I also got no job, But how can I pray for you?

I also have knee pains. Do I believe in healing or not?

True? Then all these things in my at the back of my operating system

causes me to say, I think I need to wait. I need to

wait until i'm fully I can see the evidence. Then only I say,

let me tell you now after you receive your healing, I say, it's

Jesus who heals you? Correct? Hey, am I the only one?

So so we have all this operating system, I would say our theology at

the back of our mind, I call it Jesus plus because it must be

if I share Jesus with you, it must be plastic. It must be

plus that healing, It must be plus that breakthrough. It must be plast

that relationship. It must be plast that husband. It must be plast that

very rich husband. And go looking right. If you don't get it now,

Jesus is not real. Ooh, I'm touching real deep stuff now because

I realize if I continue to have a Jesus plus mentality, I will not

share the gospel. If you look at the world today, it's not pretty,

right, it's not pretty. The escalation and of tension of the war

in the Middle East, it's not funny. Okay. Really, if you

watch Israel, what's happening there, you recognize what God is doing because God's

eyes are always on the nation of Israel, and He's going to redeem the

whole world through this nation. You just watch Israel, So don't watch all

your other news are make some time to read about what's happening in the Middle

East. Watch Israel and you will see God move. Amen. So there

is this Jesus and this basis of shame. Right, I think all of

us have we have experienced shame and what do we do with it? You

know, sometimes you share the gospel. What do you do with shame and

rejection? Guys? I'm sure all of us have tried one way or another

to reach out right, reach out to our friends, family, attempted la

right to say I can I pray for you? You do with shame and

rejection? Can I get some response? What do you do? Swallow?

Okay? For passa John he swallows it, very good. Find a comforter

or find a carpet, very true, right, even if it's the smallest

carpet. You try, and I don't know whether you want to sweep the

thing or you want to hide an inside. For me, I think I

want to hide insight so that no one sees me. Right. So we've

all experienced shame and rejection in trying to do what God has commanded us to

do, right, and so the natural thing is to either hide swallow it,

but swallow like when you swallow bit of your that your bank son,

right, you faint and you're like, okay, I don't think I want

to do this anymore. Ever, you know, your parents ask you to

eat something really okay, nice healthy, but very horrible tasting like bit the

guard, You're like, I will never eat it again ever. But so

that's that's the thing with shame, right. And I can teach a lot

about shame, but do you know that shame was essentially what the devil used

on Adam and Eve the very first sin. Shame started there, you know,

So don't think that you're whatever shame that you feel right now, right,

Malu and A. It's like something new. It's not. It's since

Adam's day. Shame has been around and it's been a tactic used by the

devil to stop us from experiencing the fullness of God. Shame. That's why

they covered themselves, they hit their nakedness right. Shame. But why did

Paul says, I'm not a shame? Do you know what the gospel does?

It does two things. The gospel when I talk about the Gospel of

Jesus Christ and when you look at the slights, right, I purposely chose

this image of the empty tomb rather than just the Sometimes, as Christians,

we preach Christ right crucified. Jesus went to the cross to die for your

sins and my sins, full stop, correct again, a theology, a

theology that we have, but we never went on to say, actually Jesus

rose up again. Amen. Hey, hello, that's a complete gospel,

and that's why it's called good news. Can you imagine if you just say,

are you Jesus is still on the crossland, He's still hanging. You're

like hanging. It's not done yet, it's done, it's finished. And

the gospel is the empty tomb. And I pray that you will catch it

in your spirit, not just your theology in your head, but you catch

it in your spirit to say, when I talk to someone who is not

of the Lord, I'm here to bring you good news because Jesus has come

to save you. Save you not from your troubles, save you from your

sins. Can I emphasize that, save you not from your troubles, but

save you from your sins. And that's why it doesn't matter whether there is

healing or not. I'm telling myself, it doesn't matter whether there's a breakthrough

or not. God is saving you from your sin. We cannot see.

But that's a fact. That's a reality, that's a spiritual fact, and

we find it very hard to grasp. It's like, so sin was the

implication of it. We don't know. It's there, it's there. We

will have to face a second death, but I pray that we will never

face the second death. We will have to face a first death, but

we will I pray that all of us will never face a second death.

That's what sinned does to us. And that's why we preach Christ crucified and

resurrected Amen that of you know the song, you know there's Friday, but

Sunday is coming. Don't stop a Friday, go to Sunday because Jesus is

a life today. Right now? Amen, Holy Spirit sit next to you.

You know, do you know that you just never acknowledge you money?

Holy Spirit is here with us. Did we choose to listen to his voice?

I'll be sensitive to him. So we shouldn't be living undercoming Christian lives.

We should be living overcoming Christian lives. Amen. We overcome us believe

us. Amen. Amen. You know in Second Corinthian's policies, right,

I have gone through more trouble than all of you. Correct, because the

Gospel does two things right. Firstly, for those who do not believe it,

what does the gospel do? They will call shame on you. It

brings out the shaming behavior. Ha you Christian noso lerettra right. I'm sure

we've all experienced it. Christians also like that marriage also broken? What's this

shaming behavior? People who do not believe in the gospel will shame others.

That's why we encounter so much challenge. La. Right. I'm telling you,

please, when you are bringing the gospel, please expect that others will

shame you. La. Expect it. I tell you already. Okay,

don't be surprised. I give you warning, warning, pre warning that when

you try, you'll be ridiculed. I don't think we'll put in prison yet.

But I don't think all of us have experienced any beating, right.

I know of burning of bibles, persecution from your family, Yes, kick

you out of the house. I've heard also being chased around with the machete,

a param I've also heard before some of my friends for believing in the

gospel. Yes. And Paul says, I've gone through it all. I've

been whipped thirty nine times. Have you been whipped thirty nine times? I've

been shipwrecked, I've gone through countless days hungry co I have been beaten.

And then he says, I am not a shame of the gospel. I

am not ashamed of the gospel, because you know, I think by the

end of all that be thing, you would have said, Okay, enough

enough God, enough, how long? How long more? But then he

comes and says, for I am not ashame of the gospel. Why why?

Let me give you the three reasons why, and we will close up.

Firstly, it is the power of God unto salvation Amen. The power

of God. That's what Paul says. I that's the whole verse, right,

So let's read the verse again. He says, for I am not

a sh shame of the Gospel of Christ. For it is the power of

God to salvation for everyone who for everyone who believes, for the jew first,

and then also for the Greek. This salvation thing. I think we

have to get it right in our head because when we preach to someone of

a different faith, we are saying, Jesus is the only one who can

save. You. May not get the breakthrough, you may not be delivered

from the sickness by Jesus saves you from your sin. That is the gospel.

Be careful of Jesus plus okay, because it's very dangerous because then that

stops us from saying, Jesus is enough. Is Jesus enough for you?

Say ony? After that one wife, after that one, the promotion,

after that, I won the first million in my bank account. Correct,

we say anela, very easy to say, lipservice, Jesus, You're enough.

In worship, you know, we sing the songs and then after that,

Jesus the a. In all my exams, I see a lot and

p students here right, Ah, Jesus the plus plus plus in the assignment.

Okay, best assignment ever. But until we get to a point where

we say Jesus is enough, all those other things serves as a distraction from

the true gospel. Amen. Amen, harah hard to heart talk, Okay,

hard to talk. I'm not scolding you. It's the power of God

into salvation. The second one was this, Paul had a purpose, he

had a mission. Right. He says, I am not ashamed of the

gospel because he says, I am a debtor to you. Hey, you

know who thang who tang? Who thang? Okay, that's in Bahasa Malaysia.

I have a debt and you know he will. We will all live

our entire lives until we complete this debt. And what is that dead?

The death of telling others about Jesus Christ, Oh, no, one,

nothing except to love one another. And the greatest form of love you can

show to your parents, your brothers, your sisters is to tell them about

Jesus Love. That's the best way you show them love. Amen, because

that's the best. Give. Hey, hello, you want to give second

hand things, up, give the first hand things. Love, give the

best. And what is the best that you have, Jesus. That's the

best that you have. Give them Jesus. Because Paul says, I'm a

debtor both to Greeks, any Greeks here, only two get the right.

He says, Greeks and Barbarian. Are you a person who can Okay,

anyone here can speak Greek or Latin, show me your hand Greek or Latin.

Don't have then we're all barbarians. That's what Paul says. You're either

a Greek or you're a barbarian. Okay, now you look at your neighbor

barbarians. H let's have a barbarians lunch off the days. But he owed

it to every single person, every personal, to the Jews verst and then

to the Greek. And my final point is this right. The first one

is that it was the power of God. See the gospel. Right is

he's not a shame of the gospel, because once you get your theology right,

it's really just about the power of God to save and not us.

Okay. Number one is the power of God to save. Number two,

he had a debt. His purpose was to share with everyone. He will

not go to sleep until he paid off his debt. Do you know that

every time you live on earth until the very day you breathe your last you

have a dead. Say you have a dead, you have a dead to

your neighbor to share with them the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ.

Amen. And the final one is this. He is not a shame

of the gospel because he has received the righteousness from God. Do you see

that? Yes? Do you know? Righteousness? Eh? Is something that

I think it was. Who was it that was very afraid of this word?

Let me see? It was Martin Luther. Martin Luther was afraid of

a righteousness because what righteousness means? The word righteous means. Okay, what

does righteousness mean to you anyone? What does righteousness mean? Right? Right?

Right comes from the word right right, but it comes also from the

word just right justice. It comes from the word you know, fair correct.

Now, all of us won fairness in this world. Correct means correct,

correct, correct in mandarine, And when we want a just world,

it means all evil needs to be punished and all good will be rewarded.

Correct. Is this a fair justice system? Yes? Yes? Or no?

Fundamentally not not not trick question now not true question? All evil must

be punished, all good will be rewarded. Agree. Can we agree on

this system of justice? And we want a God who's like that right?

And then God sits from the heaven thrown and then he sees all of us

where we standing in the place of wickedness or good. All of us are

here in this bucket, and that means we want to just God right.

And God says, Okay, if I am just righteous, I'm gonna put

put everyone who is unrighteous into the pit of hell. I will throw you

away because you're useless to me wicked. The Bible is very strong in their

language. Okay, useless rubbish thrown away. That's how we are. And

the wood salvation actually comes from the wood salver, which means you're being recycled,

thrown for nothing. Right. How many of you got all closer?

Are You're like, oh, just want I don't use anymore? Right,

you throw away, you throw away things. But God is saying I can

pick this up, and I can recycle you to something good, to something

good. That's what salvation is, and that's where hope is. Can you

see that? Can you see that we are all in that bucket of trash,

ready to be thrown away, and God is saying, as you receive

this gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news, Thank you Jesus. You're

now being recycled for good We are off something good to God. God says,

Oh wow, renewed. Wow, Ellie, I can use you now

to reach and to fetch people for campus students that came to church this morning.

Yay. I think in our natural sell we'd be like a yeah,

who's it, don't care. But in the renewing of God, the spirit

of God, the heart for people, the love for people, we go

the extra ma right, you know, a worship thing. Come earlier here

to set up to sound check our estivaty team as well our expresso team.

You know, it's because we are being recycled. We're being recycled for good

use. Hey, you want to be recycled for good use or not?

Or you want to stay in the rubbish dumb don't wanna how long you want

to stay there? We came from there. God, the gospel gives us

the opportunity. So now it's not just the righteousness, it's the righteousness from

God. From God. Do you know? I love the verse in Hebrew.

He says the righteousness of God clothes us. Do you know that we

wear the rope of righteousness because it comes from God in our natural self,

God sees us is rubbish. But when we put on the Gospel of Jesus,

when we put on faith, we need to put on faith. Yeah,

it's not just saying okay, you know, I say the prayer and

that's it. You know, faith is believing and continuously believing. Those who

believe shall be safe to the end. Right, those who those who will

be safe, those who will be saved are those who believe until the end.

It doesn't mean that you believe twenty years ago. It that's enough.

You know, you got to believe until the day you live the earth.

It's a continuous verb. The Greek verb is a continuous verb. He says,

believing and go on believing, go on, go on, go on.

That's why we call it a journey of faith, right, because we

continue to step on, continue to step on. So now we have a

righteousness from God. And that's why Paul can say I am not ashamed of

the Gospel. Amen. We hope you've been blessed by this message. For

more information on our church, please visit ASTs Church the RG. We are

also active on Facebook and Instagram. We're believing that this week is going to

be a good week, a hit for you. God bless