12+1 Core Values: Discipleship-Focused | Pr Dr Daniel Kong

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

We hope this message will light up your day.

And so today we are at actually count already took

some time, but call value number five. All right, so

and if I'm going to flash it up on the screen.

In short, it's disciplesh It focus. But the big idea

is that we are saved. Oh it's more than just

being saved. It's a short it's a short conclusion, but yeah,

why are we saved? There must be a reason that

we are saved because He's designed this as such that

we are to then, you know, be disciplesh It focused.

And of course today we will focus on what this

actually means. All right, now before we begin, you know,

I always like to ask questions, Oh you found, thanks

for thanks for serving? And if I was first time guys,

So if I mess up here, it's not because of her,

it's because of me anyway. Yeah, so I'll sort of

a first question over here. Now, when somebody when you

when you when you see somebody, sometimes you may actually

get this question from time to time. You know, what

makes someone a good Christian? Right? And sometimes you have

preconceived ideas, right, But if someone asked that question, right now,

what would you say? What makes someone a good Christian?

Not just any Christian, but a good Christian, a model Christian? Right?

So what would you say? And he thoughts follow well, yeah,

last last week's material? Anyway, Yes, you know would it?

Would you say something like along the lines you know,

someone who maybe comes to church on Sunday? That makes

a person a good Christian? Right? Church at Tennis? Is that?

Is that? Is that what is required? Maybe? Maybe? Or

someone who knows the Bible reads the Bible, Bible knowledge

very very I guess, does a lot of study, reads

a lot? Or is it somebody who serves regularly in

any ministry within church outside church, or maybe somebody who's

been giving faithfully their time, their talents, their treasures, finances,

et cetera. Or is it a leader who serves in

small groups here here we call it homes. If someone's

in leadership, is that a good Christian? All? Right? Now,

let me say those are all wonderful things to say,

and there are probably some traits of a good Christian,

right But don't get me wrong, these are not just

the only things that define a Christian or a good Christian.

Because you probably have people that you know, I know

people maybe I know people that have come to church

regularly for many years, right, who have also given faithfully

quote scriptures right, and even lift up their hands very

high up higher than anybody else in service, have been

doing this for ten years and still probably can easily

get offended, can you know, be a little bit unforgiving,

perhaps even maybe gossiping a little bit or even anxious

in all things right, and maybe even making decisions that

somebody from the outside world will look at it, Oh,

this is actually very quote unquote worldly, okay, or how

others would do. And again, honestly that is the case,

right more often than not. Yes, you have all these things.

All those are very nice things to have, but it

doesn't actually mean or at least maybe looking at this,

it doesn't actually mean the person is a good Christian. Okay,

it doesn't stop there. There are traits. But then beyond that,

so I guess for us a good Christian we are

to then find out what it is to then become

a good Christian? Right, how to mature lack of a better word,

to grow into something? Now, what do you mean by grow?

If if you thought about that, how do you then grow

a good Christian for beal water, you know, honestly, how

do you grow a great Christian? Or how do you

become a good Christian? And that's the main focus today.

It is true. If they didn't really guess it's true,

disciplesh it all right, Discipleship is not just filling our

heads or even our lives with all these good things.

It's about actually forming or giving a blueprint of how

we ought to live. And then that sort of translate

to I guess good living or good behavior or output

of that. Right, So just keep that sentence in your

heart for now. So discipleship is not about filling our

hits or lives with activities, with things, et cetera. But

it's about forming our lives. Okay, and it'll make more

sense at the end of today's message. Okay, we'll come

back to this. So again, the core value today is discipleship.

It's not just a program. Some of the things a

programm here discipleship like, oh it's a program. Here we

go again, they're trying to recruit more people to disciples

et cetera. Ah No, but it's actually just beyond that.

It's relational, right, it's the relationship. It's about walking with somebody, right,

committing to somebody, right to someone, investing or the words

that sometimes like, oh wow, investing. You know, when you

invest your maybe your resources or even your finances in something,

you would look at how that particular investment progresses or

moves and all that. Right, and you invest in somebody,

do you do the same? Probably probably, because why you

spend quite a fair bit, not just monetary but time effort,

you want to see it and and why are we

investing is to then see lives transform, lives grow, And

this is what ultimately we want to do, because that's

the Jesus model. All right. So in a nutshell, all

those things are good, but another way of saying, helping

them is really just helping them become more like Jesus

bottom line, right, So that is how you can then

make somebody or somebody someone a good Christian again, not

just merely saving up. But sometimes we often feel that, right,

it's often just getting them across the line, get them safe.

That's it. My job is done. But no, we are

to do beyond that. Remember we talked about you know,

maturing sons and daughters, right, what's that? Becoming more and

more christ like. Right, So this is what we ought

to ought to focus on. Now, before I go any further,

let me just draw you to some scripture, because there's

a church, we need to go through scriptures as well.

X two forty two. Okay, this is the fellowship believers, right,

So let's read here. They devoted themselves. I've purposely highlighted

this word get devoted themselves to the apostles, teaching, and

to the fellowship. So the position is learning the word

fellowship means coming together, breaking a bread. Okay, they do

communion every day. They also pray together. Now, of course,

the Late Letter parts of it talks about then how

God expanded the church and it grew and it continued

to grow until today. And this is what it is.

But the key thing here, right is the people they

devoted themselves. Devoted. Devotion is actually a very big word.

Right When you say somebody is a devoted sports fan,

what do you think what comes to mind? The person

is like Mark morning, afternoon, evening, nighttime, even when he's sleeping,

he's often you know, thinking about his sports, talking about

his club, et cetera, etcetera. That's devotion. So devotion is

not just attending, not just checking in, not just visiting,

not just playing a fool. They are devoting themselves. And

that if you if you didn't really catch that, that's

actually discipleship language, because for somebody to do all those

things right every single day of their lives, right, that

goes into the discipleship kind of a mindset. Do you

catch it? Yeah? Devotion? Devotion? Okay, so I'm gonna be

jump sting to the three points. You already have three

points there anyway in your book that's on page Let

me just get this right seventeen. Thank you. Uh. So

the three key points is why is that discipleship important?

Or simply why discipleship? What gives? What's this business of discipleship? Right? Uh?

Short answers because Jesus commanded it? Okay, if you canna

write it down, you can. Second question is what is

the focus, well, you know, or what actually changes through

this process? What is the end game? All right? And

if you want the short answer, because some people just

like to check this in and you can just leave

straight away. Yeah, it's transformation. Transformation is what we're after.

That's what discipleship does. It transformed specifically through the renewing

of minds. Okay, and I'll get I'll get to that

in a bit. Last one is how do we express

discipleship in acts in church in general or simply how

do we do it? How do we do it effectively?

And short answer to this is just two words, not

just discipleship, but relational discipleship. Okay, and it will make

more sense later on. Okay, So point one, let's get

back to point um one. So where do we begin? Right?

So the question is why is discipleship important? Like I said,

short answer was because you just said sola right he

said it where Matthew train it? And this I think

we all know because I think we spend quite a

fabar time in one of the years talking about uh

making disciples? Right, So this is the great commission? And

what what does it say here? Okay, all authority has

been given to me in heaven and on earth nineteen

go go all right, and therefore go, sorry, go therefore

and make disciples. Go and make disciples, not go and

build a larger building. Of course that's also good. Not

go and organize more amazing teens conferences. We had amazing

things on her By the way, don't get me wrong.

Those are good things as well. But that's not just

the endgame. Don't go and get the crowds. Don't go

and bring more attendees. Don't even go and make more

believers believe only right, new believers believe only I think

it's beyond that right, because that's why he said, go

therefore and make disciples, make people that are devoted. If

I could replace the word discipleship, right. So that's Jesus'

final and last command. You know, when somebody is going

for good, the last words right are usually the most important. No,

nothing else to say it right, no time already, and

then he has to say this, go therefore and make disciples.

So why is it important? It's because he said that.

He said to himself, Jesus said, go and make disciples.

I can not go and make converts, but go and

make disciples. Now, if you focus on the work goal,

it's pretty interesting. Why do you think he used to

work goal not? Why not just say make disciples? Have

you thought about that? Why didn't you just to say

make disciples? Could also work? Right? And game it's the same,

But why do you say go we'll talk about that action? Right?

He again, this is just a guest, right, he probably

knows right, our nature is to stay put, is to

not move, because if he hadn't, we probably wouldn't literally go, right,

we are what's the expression creatures? Is the creature comfort

or creatures of comfort? I'm not sure? Yeah, all right,

my England a lay good okay anyway, but honestly that's

the truth, right. We love comfort, We love things that

are familiar. I've done this for quite some time. I

like convenience, or we love convenience, right, So it's it's

sometimes even let's see what it's convenience. It's easy for

me to say i'll pray for you, you know, if

I get a call or Joe, I'll pray for you, Dorry,

I'll pray for you. But it takes a bit more

effort to then go get the car keys, go meet

up with my brother, talk true things, pray to you know,

just connect. It's more right A text nowadays is I

wouldn't say it's not effective. It's good, it's convenient, but

it's not the going part, right, And this is it,

Like I said, often it would take a bit more

than just say i'll pray for you. Let's have coffee.

Every fortnight. That is commitment that is going right. Or

it could also be easy to say, okay, let me

find a passion subscripture that will be applied to your life.

Send that to you. Don't get me wrong, those are

all good things as well. But to walk through or

walk with a person through a season that they're in

is the going part. So you see when my parents

say it going takes a bit more right and discipleship again,

it's next level stuff like devoted devotion. Okay, and if

you didn't really catch that, right, I think I've spoken

about discipleship. It definitely will cost you something, man, whether

it's finances, time, energy, even emotions. It requires time, right,

because walking with them require time, not yea literally walking

with them it requires trust. Right, How do you build

a relationship? Spend time. When you spend time, you build trust.

When you build trust, relationship then begins to flourish, and

then you can be more effective in this discipleship stuff. Oh,

by the way, right, if you can go back to

the previous light, I've got the three things at the

bottom there. First one is actually all embedded larky, he

didn't he didn't makeey all, I don't know. So first

one is time, right, time, Second one is trust, as

I mentioned to you, last one right is actually vision.

We're a vision because you want the best in that person,

and that requires a bit of foresight and vision. And

then of course, with that vision in mind, there's also

the commitment part. Okay, that's the goal of discipleship, because

we are trying to get everyone to be more more

like Jesus, and that is the three ingredients. Time, building

that trust, having that vision for the other initial being

less of yourself and more of that person. How do

we then nurture that person wanting the best in them?

And that's what discipleship calls for. Why again, so that

they can become sons and daughters of the Kingdom of God,

as we've shared a few weeks ago. All right, now,

let me tell you a personal story. Ah. Some of

you may know that I started running not too long

ago this year, this year mid life crisis. Mid life crisis.

I didn't get a motorcycle, right anyway, Yeah, I know

some people did. Anyway, I'll come later. Anyway, many of

you know that I started running. And when I first

started to run, then a lot of pop gave me

advice those seasoned people you do this, do that? You

need new shoes you need no, no, not this shoes,

but that shoe. You know you have to uh, you

need things like electrolytes and what energy energy gel and

whatnots and training apps. You need to get a watch

that is synced up to this and that. And of

course being an engineer, I would naturally okay, where's the

signs behind this? Uh? What? What? Why? So? I researched

to death. Uh. In short, even before I ventured into it, right,

I read articles, even research articles, all right, to see

what's the correlation between things. And of course there's so

some days I will spend time watching people's experiences on

some maybe some YouTube on certain aspects of doing this

compact training plans. Ah. So yeah, it's it's a rabbit hole.

I went to uh talk, learned about you know, heart

rate zones and uh you know what type of shoes,

what type of plating, and even got myself a heart

rate monitor chest strap just to make sure that I

know whether my left lick is uh, I use my

left lick more my right lick. Model kind the kind

of thing this is crazy? Uh, Piti for Strava as

well anyway, yeah, but again jokes aside, how many of

you know all this knowledge? Right? Does it improve my running? No? No, no,

seriously seriously now if I if no, No, he's right,

he's right, he's right. Right if I do not get out,

what's the point? Cover line, good, cover line? No, but

true true, true, true, Yeah. I can just be very knowledgeable, right,

very knowledgeable. I can even write a write a entire whatever,

but it doesn't improve anything. I can read about running,

but it will never make me a runner. That makes sense.

I can be watching YouTube clocking how many hours I don't,

by the way, but let's say, if I do, will

it improve my fitness? Probably? Negative? Right, negative sense right, yeah,

or owning the latest garment I know some of you

garment watches, but yeah, doesn't improve my running pace? No, no,

nothing of this changes things. Now you know what change

things around? I can tell you for those of you

who know what I do. I get up at five

in the morning and I was really shaking and hit

really yeah. I still do my quiet time, I short prayer,

I have some breakfast, then I start running. Now people say,

why sol you? Because I still don't interrupt my life.

I still want to be able to, you know, do

things with my kids, send them to school, et cetera,

et cetera. So this is what I do. Don't ask

me how I do, but there's a do so, but

that's what's what I do. You do that wake up early,

put on your shoes, start running again and again and again,

day after day, week after week, month after month, okay.

And that's how change happened. And that's how quote unquote

transformation happened. I didn't us to do this, right. It's

a process. It's not just knowledge, because information alone is

very limiting. Right. And if you didn't catch all that right,

there is discipleship. Also. Why do I say that? It's

because discipleship right. The route would also share with the

word discipline right in Latin, it's deserr okay, which is

learned okay, and disciplus pullus sorry is student or pupil okay.

And the two together is always talk talk about things

like training and instruction, and of course you know you

test meal about the learner, right the pupil. You know,

spiritual practices or spiritual disciplines, that is disciplesh it right.

Disciples talks about self control, you know, not eating certain

things because I know and I practice right. And lastly, accountability.

Accountability is also a big thing. And again that it's

not just historical, it's also biliblical. Yeah, because why you

know that if you go through a proper sort of

program or a coach that watch over you, then you

start to move toward the right direction. Right. So yeah, again,

it's not just simply learning something new, because if you

just learn something new, you it's allowing truth to come in,

but not allowing the truth to actually start shaping you. Okay,

so yeah, time trust vision. I mentioned that already walking

in somebody, trusting somebody. Let's just impactice a little bit more. Okay,

time now, when you walk the person, right, you definitely

have to take some time to to see that person.

It's not a microwave kind of Uh. You put something in,

push some buttons, and then straight away the maturity kicks in. Right.

You can't grow a treat overnight. Parents, you notice, right,

or even uh those that are in uh teachers or coaches.

You know, growth is slow. Growth takes time, but that

slow progress actually gets you stronger, faster, replace it whatever, Okay,

much more mature. That's why I'm when you commit to

this discipleship program program you have to invest and the

person also has to reciprocate that h investment in the

time as well. And trust I mentioned this rebuilding relationship.

How many of you would start speaking or allowing people

to speak into your life when there's no tree us right,

or even let's say back to Sportsland, you think if

that person has no relationship in me, eating whatever he says,

I listen to him. And so sometimes all those things

I read so like I don't know the guy, but

somebody I know walk before you know. I think I

can take it a bit more openly. And of course

vision I mentioned to you is really helping people, the

person becoming more more like Jesus. Now let me transia

to my second point. The second point is important because

if discipleship is so important, like we just said, and

we sort of talked a little bit about how what

discipleship is trying to produce, but because if we don't

know what the goal is, right, uh, we also may

be celebrating the wrong things as as a church. Okay,

what I mean by that? Sometimes you hear this right? Oh,

last time I said this was earlier teens. We had

the biggest attendance. Ever, don't get me wrong, those good things,

but sometimes we celebrate that kind of a stats more

than how many you know our disciples or or you

know last week we had a record breaking attendance. Here,

not saying last week, but let's say again it's not important.

I mean, it's good, but it's not the most important thing.

And that's what the core values reminded discipleship. It's actually

deeper than these quote unquote surface st because we're talking

about transformation. Now, why is this important? Romans twelve? Okay,

it says here NKJV, do not be conformed to this world,

but be quote unquote transformed by the renewing of mine,

that you may prove what is what is that good

and acceptable and perfect will of God. Now I like

the NLT version better because it's easier to understand because

it's more local sorry native or simple English. Okay. It says,

don't copy the behavior and custom of this world, all right,

but let God transform you into a new person. Now

what does this mean by new person? By changing the

way you think? Changing the way you think again, knowledge,

Like it's not using the example knowledge if it doesn't

change the way you think what's the point you just

store on me. But when you think it, you live it.

It's a different thing. And that's what we of course

the last bit talks about then, you know, being in

line with God's will, and we sing so much about

being in line God's will, et cetera. This is what

it is. Allow God to transform you how by renewing

your mind? How? Yeah, the side push it, SI push it? Now.

I love this worst because Paul doesn't simply tell us

what God wants, only he tells us how God changes this.

How transformation ex how signing the words won't come any more.

Transformation but specifically that's right, comes through the renewing of

your mind. Not merely changing or our behavior or change

our routines, but really changing the way we think first

before all those things come. Now, if you think that

you discipleship is only like a program you subscribe to it,

let me ask you to re rephrase that thinking a

little bit again, because why someone or something is already

discipling you every day of your life. What I mean

by that what you consume so question is who's discipling you?

It's social media discipling you targeted ads, Netflix. Now this

is even more beyond Netflix. Right, there's so many TikTok

You know, a lot of kids are actually discipled by TikTok? Right.

Are the news, whether it's good or bad, discipling you.

It's your workplace discipling you, or your schools, your universities,

all your friends, your peer You hear this peer pressure stuff?

Are they discipling you? The world constantly disciple you, whether

you like it or not, whether you realize it or not. Right,

what success looks like. They will tell you what happiness

looks like, what your relationship should look like, what your

marriage look like, what money is for, or even what

your identity should be like. That is discipleship by the world.

Every single day you're bombarded by voices shaping the way

we think, isn't it. That's why Paul, even in this

wisdom many years ago, before all these things came into

the picture, don't be confirmed. In other words, don't let

allow the world to squeeze you into this mode that

this is the right way to live. Right, Because once

you're thinking is shaped, your life will follow simple scripture. Right.

But somehow, yeah, we overlook it now again, engineering head right, engineering,

teach me this right structural engineering. Right, when you want

to build something, what does it start off with? Okay,

even before that, it starts off with the blueprint. Right,

You don't just go im poor the concrete or poorer

or whatever. You begin with the blueprint. Yeah, of course

he has the foundation and then the building, et cetera.

If the blueprint or the plans is not right, the

foundation will not be right, the building will not be right,

and then everything will eventually be will fail. The same

goes for spiritual You know your spiritual life as well. Right,

If our lives are not built on the foundation of actual, proper,

godly thinking, that blueprint is not right, everything else will

not be right. If my thinking is wrong, my decisions

will eventually be wrong. Right, And if my decisions are wrong,

my direct direction long term direction will also go off. Tangent.

I think I'm going to share what I think I'm

going to Panang by going down south to Joho, But

I just don't realize it because I follow ways. His

ways are higher than my ways. No bad Joe, bad

Joe anyway anyway, Yeah, okay, side joke. That's why discipleship

begins really in the mind. It is important right now,

point number two. What is the focus now? I said

this already, right, Knowledge alone never changes anybody. No, we

all know this, right. Smoking kills, sugars are healthy. What else?

Exercise is good, sleep is important. Guilty as well? I

sleep four hours a day. Yeah, so knowledge alone doesn't

change behavior. Right. So if you see this here, right,

I purposely put this here knowledge transformation And this is

the missing piece most of the time, renew of the mind,

the gap of how the renew your mind, This sipuship.

So the gap is always or the bridge is always

the sipleship. Now you've probably heard of this thing, this

this word, or maybe not. You know repentance, right. The

Greek word for repentance is meta noia right, ah, meta noia? Okay?

What does it mean? Or most of the time we think, oh,

I'm sorry, so sorry, or I'm feeling very emotional. God

spoke to me crying during worship, coming to the altar,

sobbing again. Those are all beautiful moments, but it's not

the whole picture, right, because repentance actually literally means, at

least the Greek definition, a change of mind and a

change of heart, okay, or expelciitis is a fundamental change

in the thinking and mindset. So again somebody came and

come to the altar crying and still leave thinking the

same way five minutes later. Right, I can feel emotional

about when I go home, I continue to live how

I lived before? Why? Because no transformation happened here. But

sometimes we think, oh repentance, a lord, I repent what

I give you my heart? Go home when somewhere else ready? Right? Yeah,

so Pastor, can I sit this right? Taken for some

of his material repentance isn't proven when somebody someone prays

for you. Sometimes I need I need help pray for me.

Repentance is revealed when somebody walks away and refused to

live the same way. Again. It's not in his book

of quotes yet, but I think it's very powerful because

it really is when you do a U turn or

when you change the way you live. That's what true

repentance is. Right. Why because again root work, you know

in Greek change of thinking, and when you change your thinking,

you also change your behavior. But when there's no change

in thinking, you get start a previous like place, previous life.

You don't have this because you didn't do this. Simple

but powerful. Let me give you a simplistic illustration. Okay,

I just recently when I saw a doctor, so it's

very fresh one two months ago. Although although all the

results are actually pretty okay. But you know, doctor can

tell you this, Oh you know your high BLO pressures

is a little bit high, dangerously high. Or you need

to stop smoking, or you need to do some weight,

you need more excise, et cetera, et cetera. Now the

patient right can be crying, uh and they say, oh,

thank you doctor, thank you that you've changed my life.

You've revealed to me what is wrong. And let's say

you found a Christian doctor. The doctor came and pray

for you, right, pray for the patient before the patient

leaves next morning. If the patient decides to light a

cigarette or order nasilla mar tamba, you know at samba

at igabilis, et cetera, get three cans of coke Coca cola,

and never exercises. You see what happened there? Six months later,

what happens any change? Probably not probably get even not

so good report. Right, And that's the thing the questions here,

right is did he understand, Yes, he understood knowledge? Was

there was he emotional? Yeah? Probably conviction or so. Then

then but what's he transformed? Simple example? Right, But that's

sometimes how we approach God and everything else. And again,

information is only the beginning the new way of thinking

quote unquote, renewer our mind is the key here because

information or knowledge alone doesn't change your behavior. And as

I mentioned you, the get there is renewer renewer mind.

How true disciplesh it. That's what why discipleship matters, guys.

It's not just merely teaching us the truth. Is telling

us or asking or demanding us to then learn to

think differently. And you have that journey true discipleship, you

are one step closer to that transformation. And as I

mentioned earlier, in transformation is not a microwave kind of thing.

It takes time, right, even takes time to teach the

word I'm already like whoa you know, takes time, but

it takes even more time to model the word. You know,

some of the guys that have journeyed with, you know,

many years with like Joe, we spent many many years

with him. I think they see my life outside of

Sunday Ignite in my pajamas as well, you know, I

mean Joe Asideala you know it takes time, right to

even model it after somebody parents. You know this as well. Right,

you can say something and do something else, but that's

what they see most, not just your instruction or your

good advice. It's actually seeing the way you live. But

notice this, God didn't say you go figure out that,

and that's why he said disciples ship, right, So go

and rap shoulders learn figuring this out. Even Paul understood

this to say what they say, Paul, imitate me as

I imitate Christ. Not become another Paul. Not become another

you know, Daniel Kong or whatever. You imitate me as

I imitate Christ. Watch how I'm following Jesus and walk

with me and what like, Jesus don't walk like me.

By the way, I'm a bit injured, so I also

walk funny. But just like, yeah, that's discipleship. That's discipleship. Right.

So can I come back to running again because I've

stayed in that season one thing I discovered before I

had all this knowledge and you know, all that kind

of thing. I always thought that running was very simple.

How if you can be left right, left, right, left right,

and here right repeats and repeat, you get there, right.

But you know, every step I put forward. When I

started training, I realized one thing. It's more than just

the mechanics of left and right, the way you breathe,

whether you breathe out first or briefe in first, you're pacing.

Let means to say, if you need to hit this

particular distance, you need to start slow, which I don't like.

You know, and strong, those kind of things like cadence, repetition,

your stride, how long your distance, recovery, how much you

rests before your next one. I enjoy myself because I

didn't recover. Yeah, but did you know that the way

I thought aout running right, it was all wrong, you know,

before I went deep into it. But every time I

learned I tried it out, I learned something new. Because again,

all those knowledge, right is somebody else's experience. Everybody's build differently.

I'm also a bit older, so my experience will a

bit different. But you take those mutches and apply it right,

apply it. But if I kept just thinking the old way, firstly,

I will not be able to keep running you know better,

et cetera. So growth definitely not just in the physical.

You need to actually change your first the way you

apply certain things. And again, christian life is the same thing. Right,

You don't naturally want to become all like Jesus. On

let's put his way then, how many of you yeah, yeah,

I want to look out Jesus. No, you will serve yourself.

And that's very natural, right you. Naturally you want to

come more and more like yourself. What's convenient, et cetera.

But when your mindset is renewed, right, that's where the

power begins. So I wrote up here in a dangerous mistake.

I think one of the greatest dangers for Christianity today, right,

is that there's a con fusion between information and transformation.

Sometimes we think, Okay, I download more, I listen to

more good materials I find them, attend the best conferences

out there, pay top dollar, read the books and all

that kind of things. Subscribe to podcasts, you know, go

for courses and all that. Again, also not bad. They

are meant to help you. They are wonderful. But information

alone doesn't transform, never changes anybody. Now. I've met people

as well who knows the Bible better than me, but

struggle to maybe forgive people have more pride. I'm not

saying that I don't have pride. I have pride as well,

or have more fear in things you know, less trust

in God and you know struggle, et cetera. Sorry, you're

feel in the blanks. Why? Because information alone isn't sufficient transformation.

So the greatest I put here, the greatest enemy of

transformation is actually ignorance because we think that information is

sufficient or information is enough. That's it. I am there,

and I'm going to your pause for a while. Can

I just ask you all this one question? Do not

answer a lot? Okay, just think in your heads right,

think out loud, or answer God within yourself? How has

your thinking changed over the last twelve months? How has

your thinking change? Not your circumstances, not your job, not

your income, not your children, et cetera. How has your

thinking change when conflict comes? Do you think more like Jesus?

When you're angry or when somebody hurts you? Do you

think more like Jesus? When money is tight? Or when

you have an argument with your children or your children

disappoint you? Do you think more like Jesus? Why are

you looking at me? Is that that's kidding? Yeah? But true? True?

Has your thinking change? Has your thinking change? Because again,

discipleship is not measured by how much scripture we can quote.

The real assets are you transformed and you are behaving

like Jesus through all those things? Final point asked point h,

So if discipleship, if you didn't catch it's already it's

transformation right now, how do you actually then bring that transformation?

How do you make it happen? Jesus? Did he leave

us alone? He could have written multiple resources, books, et cetera,

come up with YouTube videos even and then you figure

out could have you know? Of cause sure you could,

like you wanted to just snap with fingers and design.

But no, he didn't, right, he didn't involves if you

don't catch that earlier that I gave you the thing,

right is relational discipleship. You walk, people, do life together,

learn from one another. Right, so we know that? Okay,

So just to recap why discipleship matters is because he

said so, right, what's the focus? Transformation? That's the main endgame.

The questions as how all right? All right? And again

let me just come to timer time alone. She's not

enough of zon. No, let me explain time alone. If

you do time alone, does it mature you? Probably not?

Some Christians, right, you know they've been living for thirty

years being a Christian, but they may me living year

one for thirty years of maturityaler, you know, like in

the in the schooling kind of life. Right, if you

do not finish the material in let's say standard for

if you keep on repeating standard force and the force

and the force and the force that four or thirty years,

are you at level thirty? No, you stay at level four.

So some Christians like that and you do it alone, right,

sometimes you know you have a help, right, you cannot

really progress reisally super analogy here. So yes, time alone

doesn't mature us because it can be repeating the same

thing away. So growth is not automatic. Right, and that's

where the core value, the third core value is, I

mean the fifth core value is important. So the next slide,

how do we express the cuboss access relational cybership? Right?

So again, relational not a program, not a curriculum, not

a pyramid scheme, not a classroom even right, it's relationship.

Now let's break it down. I know the words are

a bit small down there, but let's break it down.

A or one is doing life together, doing life together? Huh?

Why doing life together. Why I'm happy myself. Jesus didn't

build a classroom, right, he he didn't write a book,

He didn't leave his child alone too long. Right. He

could have also opened the start up the biggest Bible college.

You know, he could if he wanted to. But instead

he chose twelve ordinary people. Walk with them, travel with them,

with them, bankside. I'm sorry they shouldn't go there, but

you know, laugh with them, corrected them, watch them fail,

and also picked them up and restored them when the

time it's right, for three whole years, every day, three

whole years. Let's discipleship. Sometimes we in the modern day

we think, oh, you know, it's a gathering a table

people or fellowship being laughing and that, Yeah, that's one

portion of it. Or it's a conversation after church, badminton,

after church, coffee, after homes what else? Uh, what's the

thing now? I am good? Or whatever it is you know,

or a phone call, you know, phone call, hey how

are you doing? Hospital visits? Or let's ride home together

during session m hmm, yeah, modern day, modern day, right,

those experiences, those live shed is one aspect of it.

But again it goes beyond just the time spent right,

transmission has to happen point number two. Now, one thing

I've learned over the years, especially leadership, whether it's leadership

and church or leadership at work. Okay, many people one

to communicate or give instructions, especially in leadership kind of capacity,

but they don't connect first. Parents, you know this, right?

What happens when you do that? You in your room? Uh,

finish your homework, you know, put this here or put

that there? You know, somehow those words are just bounce

off the wall and wouldn't go anywhere. Right, they cannot

hear you? Right? Why why why didn't hear I think

it's because the the connection, or rather the instruction comes

first before uh, the you know, spending time. That's sorry,

the connection didn't happen yet, but the communication when it hit.

So sometimes you know, I also guilty and I see something, Okay,

I missing encouraging word to that person. But if I

don't have a connection that person whatever, even though most

beautifully written encouragement doesn't go anywhere. In fact, some of

my lousiest communication, right is the is because for connection, right,

same spirituality, Right, someone receives encouragement or even correction a

bit more openly when there's firstly some relationship or connection there,

didn't I say that before time builds trust discipleshit takes time,

no shortguturn. Trust grows slowly. Man in the McDonald's mentality

these days a drive thru mentality. One thing's quick. Wait

five minutes, so you complain a day Netflix generation and

click on demand and I want it now. Yeah, it

takes time, guys. Trust cannot be microwave. Right, what do

you think you just spent three years and not three

hours or three minutes. It takes time. He wasn't in

a hurry either, actually, but sometimes we are more impatient

than Jesus himself. He wanted now. Second point, being real

part of relational discipleship, right, is just being authentic, being transparent,

being vulnerable, even confident in our weakness. Right? Can I

be honest? Sometimes Christians pretend that they're mature. They pretend

everything's okay. I'm blessed Luiah, thank you Jesus, I'm highly favored,

I'm doing great. Meanwhile, really they are struggling. Maybe the

marriage is struggling, Anxiety is overwhelming them, prayer life is dry,

faith doesn't seem to be there. They feel weak, But

it's okay to be real, guys, It's okay real. I

remember this one phrase ever since the beginning of time

that I know pass can if you always say this,

I don't mind washing what's experience? I don't mind washing

my dirty linen in front of people? And he said this.

Other words to follow later is so that others can

become clean, so that they can learn from it. What

a picture, right, Yeah, not because we are proud of failures,

you know, guys, don't get me wrong, don't don't. Don't

go and twist the thing a little bit. I'm not

proud of our failures, but because it may be able

to give somebody some hope. Hey, if you can happen

to you, it can happen to me. And if I

can persevere, I I can do it. You can do

it too, right, and I'm not immune to it as well,

et cetera. And as I mentioned to you, I've been

a leader for quite some time, right homes leader, church

plan pastor. I can tell that people rarely open up

right when when I speak to them, not because you know,

we impress them as leaders, et cetera, but they open

up because firstly, you're honest. First, hey, I've gone through

this even when you talk to people. People, but still,

what's your greatest achievement? Don't they don't it's not natural,

but the moment you share hey, I'm struggled through this

as well. Hey, I wrestled fear as well. All right,

I made mistakes, I messed up. Yeah, Suddenly everybody relaxes

and says, hey, I'm not the only one. And that's

when you can and then start to speaking too, and

both not just encouraged, but both also. But sure, that's

when healing can also begin. Right now, Paul understood this.

He didn't say, hey, look how strong I am. You know,

my son is trying to build up his muscles, so

I always think of him and I do this. He says,

he's going to walk through the doors side of ways

because you talked to him later. Yeah, it's a bit funny, Yeah, Paul,

he didn't look. He didn't say look how strong? And

he said when I'm weak right then? Yeah? Strong? Why

because confidence wasn't in himself, It's actually in God's grace.

So sometimes the greatest gift in short, even as he

disciples are, this a gift that can give somebody is

not just talk about success stories, but telling them, Hey,

this is how God met me when I was in

my struggling, in my weakness. Keep it real right. And

the last point in this section here is, you know,

relational discipleship always requires commitment. Hey, commitment, you know, big

time commitment. How time, maybe more finances? Right? You know

some of you may know we myself and my wife,

we also spend a lot of time with a lot

of people you know in our church, some young families,

some some some you know, young young working adults, even

camp more teens. Now, yeah, we don't just spend time

our leaders, by the way we do, but not just

our leaders. Why because I think we believe investing into

their leadership or rather to disciple them. Right, do you

think it's easy? I'm still doing it. But let's see

the same example we have to in the younger days.

You have to arrange for the kids what to do

with the kids, drive out sometimes you want to drag

the kids along. So a lot of you journey of us.

You know that life is messive the kids. That's how

now they're more independently. I want to stay home because

the adults, et cetera. But we do this drive out

making arrangements, the kids drag them along again and again

and again, just to spend a few hours with people. Yeap,

think about it, time kare context, stress to traffic, right,

coordination meals. Sometimes we do it when our kids are

not there, so away time away from our kids as well.

Cause the energy costs or rising petrol prices et cetera,

you know, not cheap these days. But we still do it.

Why because we realize that we're not just investing in

the meeting per se, We're investing in people. Because as

I already alluded to your disciplesh it will cost something time, energy, convenience,

even finances. So real discipleshit's expensive. By guys, it's expensive,

definitely take time on, right, But can I just tell

you doing it for quite some time, I think it's

worth it. As we do it again, I'll probably do

five more time just that I can't. So now we

also empower different ones to do this as well. Right,

so you haven't seen you yet or when time of

view yet, yeah, is coming right, That's why it's a commitment.

We want to commit to making strong men and women

of God here because the future of the church not

not extra, but just the kingdom realize on that. And

you know a lot of times right when we sit down,

we don't like of course, we catch up and it's

not coaching or helping you make decisions even it's really

just coaching or talking to you, hearing you are. Ultimately

we are just like a word, better word, equipped you

to then make the decisions in your life and hopefully

you make the right decisions. All right. So again, as

as the as their pastor, my job is in to

make decisions for them, but it's to prepare them when

they have to then make those decisions. Parents. You know

this very well, right. Our goal is not to decisions

for children forever, by is to shape them in such

a way that they would be able to make godly

decisions when it matters homeless leaders, same thing as well.

Your goal is to mature them to be mature followers

of Christ, not make decision for them, equip them. That's

what discipleship is. I'm done, guys, I'm done. Can I

ask you something? I'm gonna flash this last slide up

on the screen. These are just some questions that I

think you need to ask yourself as we close today. Otherwise, Yeah,

run and around again. No transformation. First question, right, ask

yourself this, Who in your life actually has permission to

challenge your thinking? Human law? Don't say Jesus lave? Who

can livingly tell you? I don't think there was a

wise decision? Who can really ask you honestly? Ah, how's

that relationship going, how's your marriage going? How's supurity? How's

your prayer life? How's your walk with Jesus? If the

answer is nobody's permission, perhaps you or I have been

isolated for a while. And if you didn't catch that earlier,

it's not God's plan. God didn't intend for us to

make isolation. He walked with them for three me let

me ask you another question, right, has anybody invested in

your life? Or another way that are you investing in

his life? Not just because you're a leader, or you're

a pastor, or you are you are a Christian, You're

already a believer, right, So who are you discipling? Is

there somebody younger in faith that you can encourage, that

you can pray with? Here? You got some teens here?

You know, the parent is not the only one that

can speaking to their life. You know, who are you

meeting regularly, who are you walking alongside with? Remember not words?

Are we want disciples? And if you didn't catch all

that disciple makes disciples. So if you do not, yeah,

I answer is no, then maybe it's something to revisit.

And the final question what part of my thinking still

needs to renewal? Which portion that you're wrestling with? If

you can be really honest, right, all of us has

something to put there in Remember I said earlier, information

or knowledge will only remain there, You'll never leave transformation.

So if there's something that even you are very knowledgeable

in but you do not come to the point of transformation, yeah,

something needs to happen, just as a reminder because discipleship

begins you sentence meta noia all right, change of mind

not change of emotion.

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

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this week is going to be a good week. I

hit for you. God bless