12+1 Core Values: Discipleship Focused | Pr Daniel Chong

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

We hope this message will light up your day.

Today. I have the privilege to bring the word of

the Lord that God has given to us as a church.

So why not you just open your books right now

for like classroom, you can turn your page to page

number sixteen. If I'm not mistaken, Yes, seventeen. And we're

going to dive deeper into our core value for today.

And the core value for today is disciple shape. Amen,

Praise the Lord. It's gonna be a topic that we're

going to explore together. It's definitely not an easy topic

to speak about because discipleship is not just a word,

but it's an action. It's a way of life. It's

a way that we live our lives. And sometimes in

discipleship we say we need to say things that may

make us not the most popular. Yeah, and uh, we

are going to I got a sub title side tight

side title subtitle there. It says walking together, growing together. Amen.

That's what church is, and that's who we are, and

that's what we are continue to do. Amen. So we're

gonna read a little bit from the book. You know,

I noticed we don't do this much. But in the

book it says this discipleship it's not a program. Yeah,

discipleship is not a program. It is a what if

you have your books, you already know the answer. It's

also in the slide says discipleship. Wow tmed tappa, All right,

that's discipleship too. Elder Shirley is in dim Dappa. It's

in Dappa right now, and we pray for them, bless them.

But the kind of right now is in x chang

my celebrating the anniversary. Uh. And we are going to

continue to bless them even as they are there together

a bus Sandra and Elder Ga. Amen. So back to

this discipleship is not a program. It is a relationship. Amen.

I don't know. Yeah. It also says it is walking

with someone committing to them, investing time and life into

their transformation. A relationship to experience change, to experience transformation.

That is what discipleship is. And as we prayed earlier,

from faith to faith, from strength to strength, and from

glory to glory. Amen, that is the purpose of discipleship.

Discipleship is not a term that is used to play play. No,

discipleship is serious. And today we're going to discover together

why it's so important to the Lord. Amen. So the

first guy of the next light, Oh I have a yeah, yeah,

I have something here. Just remember that's this out yeah

yeh ah, that's the testing all right, Okay, the first

teaching that we have for you. If you go into

your books, he says this or is a question, right,

maybe you can ask yourself this question as well. It says,

why is discipleship important? Why is discipleship important? It is

simply this, if you're taking notes, discipleship is important because Jesus,

our lot of Lords, our King of Kings, the Prince

of Peace, the Mighty One, he said, and he commanded it.

In fact, it was one of his last words before

he left the earth. It was one of his last

words before he left the earth. That's why it's important.

Mattew twenty eight verses nineteen twenty says, this goal before

and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the

name of the Father and of the Son and the

whole Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that

I have commanded you. This is Jesus speaking to his disciples,

just minutes before he has sent it into heaven. This

was one of his last words on this earth. The

ESV version says the same thing. It says, go there

for and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in

the name of the Father, and of the Son and

of the Holy Spirit. Now I want to I want

to encourage your church to notice something very important in

this verse. And it's called the word goal. It's urgent.

I don't know how many of you here when you

are about Maybe I can since evening is going to Singapore, right, uh,

and and and and uh. The parents Edward, Edward and Regina,

you know you know that this is your final week

to spend together physically at least for this season, with

your or daughter, and and and I know the urgency

can be as such. Right would you think that Edward

or Regina will engaged in small talk with Regina with

with with evenly small talk like a house to day. No,

it will be something serious like hey, have you packed

your bags? Do you have enough clothes? Do you have

enough days that you'll bring a passport? Not make sure

you bring this, make sure you bring that, make sure

you bring an application form. You'll be things that matter, imen,

You'll be things that are urgent, imen, I know, Anna

will be we're living soon. It's all set, all our

our young people leaving the temporarily for now better better

come or fine, husband over there. Okay, so praise the Lord.

But but but when it's urgent, you speak something that

is important. I mean, you don't just go like imagine

Jesus right before he has centered into heaven, he met

his disciples and this is the last have you heard

of this statement? Before? You have thirty seconds left in

this What will you do? What will you say? Who

will you call? What would be the culmination of your

entire life be in thirty seconds? Think about it, friends,

think about it? Church? What would be? What would it be?

Maybe from may to Megan you'd be like, and make

sure you, you know, wash the dishes. I don't know,

make sure you do this, make sure you do that.

You do you think it'd be as simple as that. No,

I believe if may H had had, you know, thirty

seconds to say whatever is left to Megan before me

goes to Korea uh and stays there for the next

ten years, I don't know he would say to Megan.

I wanted to say, Dega, Dega, Degga is you, right,

dega sarang heyo, he would say I love you. I

think it would be something that's important. And and and

notice this, this is what Jesus had to say. He

could say anything else, right, Jesus taught his disciples many things,

but he decided to say this sentence. And I'm gonna

introduce you the word go. But before that, above you

is an image. When you see this image, how do

you feel? Do you feel pleasure in your heart seeing

this image? Because I know of certain people that can

live with this. You know they can live with this.

In fact, the high day pile it up, the more

satisfied they get. I don't know about the sponge being

over there. The sponge is meant to wash, but now

the sponge has become part of the mess. And sometimes

that can be said about our life as well. Christians.

We are meant to speak sot and light, but sometimes

we are part of the mess, and we are saying,

come and save me, Come and save me. When you

are supposed to be the one shining the glory of

the Lord, because you are as a mirror a man.

I believe you said it enough that you know that

you are good enough. Not by your own might, not

by your own strength, but because the Lord has called

you his sons and his daughters. Imen. So when you

see this image, perhaps you're feeling right. I know my wife,

and she sees this image, she gets a bit like

right now, I don't know how many of your mother's

in this place will stand seeing this. You will say,

maybe my wife would say, dear, please do the dishes. Now.

My wife Rachelle may say this once. Do you think

she will say the second time? No, if you say

it once, and my answer is like, all right, I

will get it done. All right, dear, I will get

it done. And by the end of the day it's

still the same. And when I go back to the

sing and I see, how come emp, dear ready, how

come cleanly? I know I am in. I know I

am in. Hallelujah. Praised it a lot. But so far

that's not happened because I always listened to my wife,

and I always wash the dishes. I always wash the dishes.

I just didn't say when I washed the dishes, amen.

Because when you live something there it developed slime and

its just so disgusting. So the urgency of the word

goal is that when your wife husbands or children. When

your parents ask you to go and wash the dishes,

it means now, can just mouth the word now now.

The urgency of the word goal Strongs g. Four one

ninety eight. The word Greek is the word po rio

for your It says to pursue the journey on which

one has entered, or to continue on one's journey. So

Jesus is saying, hey, Peter, Hey James, hey John, poor rio,

poor you O. You've seen the work that I have done.

You don't need me to name each in every item.

But you are to take whatever that I have taught

you and go in sue this earth. Go and do

what to pleasure yourself, to do do do do to

seek fame. No, it says, to go and make disciples

of all nations, teaching them to observe everything that come

under you. So you're taking over the beathen from a

Lord and savior. And as the beathen is being passed

to the disciples, the disciples are passing the bathen to

the other and he goes on from there. And today

we are here by the grace of the Lord. And

it is our privilege to carry the gospel that is

of Jesus Christ, Amen, the urgency of the word go.

You know I I read this online. He says, a

sculptor doesn't just admire a block of marble. A very

famous sculptor by the name of michael Angelo. What a name, right,

Michael Angelo is he has a coulte And he said

that in the block of marble. I don't know how

many of you knows how sculptors sculpting works. Do you

think sculpting works by by that, by that sculptor being

given an angel already, or a horse or an object

and he just has to fine tune. No, it actually

starts with a block of marne. And do you know

how hard a brock of marble is? Did you know

that you need a cheesel, you need a hammer. You

need to put the chisel onto the brock of marble

and need to start hammering. And it sometimes it takes days,

and sometimes it take wis months years to get to

the final product. And michael Angelo say this. He says,

I saw the angel in the marble and carved it

until I set him free. Wow, Praise the Lord and

friends and family. I want to introduce something to you.

This is discipleship. This is discipleship. Discipleship is seeing someone

not being there yet, but yet being coughed into the

image that you have seen for this person. And before

we get there, I want to us all the reflect

before we get there. We need to also get there

before or we disciple someone. We need to be discipled. Amen,

raise a lot? Anybody agree in this place? Can you

teach someone before you are being taught? No, the disciples

have to be first be discipled by Jesus before they

can disciple others. They needed someone to follow. Amen, Jesus said,

follow me. Fal said to Timothy, follow me as I

follow Christ. Jesus said to his disciples, drop everything and

follow me. Pick up your cross, follow me. That she's command.

And I want to encourage us all right now to reflect,

no matter how old you are, no matter how young

you are, no matter what journey you are in your life,

think about the first person who discipled you to be

your parents. Could be a leader in church, could be

a pastor that told you something that didn't sit well

by you at that time. Could be someone who loves

you so much that he doesn't he or she does

not want to see you for but yet had to

say something that made him or her very very, very

disliked by you. Think about someone the one who called

you when you didn't pick up. How many of you

have done that? Daniel calling close the Poe or Daniel

called sure something sure, something bad? One sure something better?

One Hello? Maybe I just want to I jar you

out for godfeeler. Maybe I just want to I jar

you out for teel let me use, let me not

use my my name? Maybe maybe Buster kens I call you?

Who's this? I don't know how Elbert will feel? And

when he gets a call from us, the Kennef? What

will the first time to come? What do I do wrong?

Why can't why can't they be like? They just want

a fellowship you right? They just want to spend time

with you. Think about the first person who decided you,

who kept showing up even when you weren't easy to love.

He or she kept showing up even when you were

not easy to love. Friends and family. I don't know

how many of you feel this, But do you think

that you as a person is a very nice person?

Do you think we are nice people? Do you think

we are very easy to deal with? Because if we

think that we are very easy to deal with, God,

he's with you, good for you. But I don't think

I was a very good person, a very easy person

to deal with, you know, ask my wife. Not not easy,

not easy. My wife just said it was. She is

just implying that it's not. It's umbresdent. They kept showing

up for you, even though you weren't easy to love.

Who saw a leader in you long before you saw

it in yourself? A bread that filled his spm will

now be standing in front of you, pushing the word

of God. Wouldn't it be possible if someone did not

see it? Disciple with me shaped me, saw the angel

in me even before, even when I represented the devil. Yeah,

saw the angel. Everything I did pointed to the other side.

But the person saw an angel as I'm going to

carve it out of you until we set free. Hallelujah.

How many of us here wants to be carved by

Lord Jesus Christ. He sees us. He's like the potter,

and he's given a clay, and he's molding us. He's

shaving us good. Read the Book of Jeremiah, wonderful book,

the Potter's Clay. We're being shaped day by day from

faith to faith from strength to strength, and from glory

to glory. Amen? How many will you believe in this place?

Why not he Praise the Lord? Amen, hallelujah. To think

about a person, right, I hope you have been reflecting

the person pray paid up by price of time and

patience that you may not have fully appreciated until maybe

years later. Now remember that person. Someone else is waiting

for you to be that person for them, someone else Riley, Oh,

Emily going younger now merrily? Or the lisla thank you roder,

Just for give me three examples. You want to give

me a fough, I wonder what the nexte everly? All right,

so praise the Lord. They're all waiting for us. Some

of them are waiting. Some of them are scared to us.

Notice that it was Jesus they went to his disciples

and said, follow me. Have you ever thought about you?

Why leaders? In this place? Sometimes we are just waiting

that pride, that ego. Oh I want to be want,

I want to be chosen. No, it's not about who

we are. It's all about what we want. It's about

what they need. Amen. And sometimes it takes us just

going into the depths of the pits of generation ZEC

and getting them out of that six seven. You know

it is sticking them out and say that, hey you

stop six seven sixty seven. Why don't you memorize Philippines

for six seven? Amen? Come on, praise the Lord. The

peace of the Lord there surpasses all understanding of God,

your hearts and mind in Christ Jesus, that is the

six seven that all of you should memorize and should

live by. Amen. So how would our response be today? Ah? Yes,

next what we say yes to the cost? The same

way Jesus said yes to the cross? Amen, will we

say yes to the cost of discipleship? Because discipleship comes

with a cost. There is a price to pay. You

can ask Rogers when he said yes to discipling the

young people of X Church through the Alpha program. There

was a court, there was a cost, and what's that cost? Time?

Effort after week of soving tirelessly into the lives of

young people. And true that today we have two young

people coming joining us for our twins Start Back program.

Praise the Lord. They accept the Christ, our young teenagers,

they accept the Christ twelve of them in X Youth

ex Teen's Victory cam. And today we have the privilege

of journing with them, explain to start the back of them.

But it wouldn't have happened if Rogers did not say

yes to the cost. I don't know, Rogers. Were you tired?

Were you tired? But you just do it right. You

just do it right because you say yes to the cost.

Do you think Jesus was tired? Do you think Jesus

you know, he was so tired, he was so much

in pain. But yet the joy that was set before

him he endured. So it's okay to be tired, friends,

It's okay to be worn out. It's okay to think

that you need a break, but endure. And you can't

endure without being filled by the Holy Spirit. But you

and and and going along the same lines, you can't

endure if you don't have someone to journey with you. Amen,

Let's do this together, Church, Let's grow together. Let's walk together.

So what our responds me today when we say yes

to the cost the same way Jesus said yes? The

cross Eficians for the teen says, until we all attain

to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of

the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure

of the stature of the fullness of Christ. And that's

what discipleship is. Salvation is the door. Discipleship is the

house that we are being built in. Two. You know,

discipleship is costly, precisely because it is love that refuses

to stop at the first years to Jesus. You know,

the first years to Jesus is what we know as salvation,

the door to Him. But it is costly because discipleship

keeps us slavering until Christ is visibly formed in the

person we love. Visibly formed. That means you go to

the mirror and you see a mirror. Is that so? No,

you go to the mirror and you see you, right,

you see you, And if you are created in the

image of Christ, you see Christ. I'm gonna share you

a testimony or story of when I was younger and

my fear of swimming. I don't know how many of

you notice, but I can't swim. I can't swim to

save my life. I often think that if Rachelle were

ever to be thrown, I you know, I saw this

skary drama, right, I'll be like in the boat and

Sally Rachelle she followed into the into the ocean and

I always think in my heart, right, I will straight

away dive in the ocean one wonderfully, miraculously, I'll be

able to walk on water and save her. Uh and uh,

I will be well. But when I try to just

even put my nose in water, I will go see

Jesus in heaven. You know, I just can't. I just can't.

There's this fear, so much so that when I shower,

I also feel scared. I'll be shivering. Now, last time

I was growing, Umma, growing up, we don't have the

preiss of having shower. Okay, I don't know how many

of you live in this era where the toilet is

just a black color tongue and a red color I'll yeah,

and that's how you shower. Yeah, the black color tongue

with the red color baldy. My sister, being my sister

seven years older, used to take me the little kuchi

and throw it at the black color baldy black color tongue,

you know, the black color and the big black color

one that I can fit into and you can close

the cover. Yeah, that's what she used to do. And

I thought like, hey, why am I so scared of water?

So scared of water? You know, because I then found

out that it was my lovely father. They decided one

day there is a good idea to throw a six

month year old child into the swimming pool, a doubt

swimming pool at one of my mother's best friend's wedding.

He said, the only way to teach his shoe experience,

so let him experience. So he took me up and

offered me, like Isaac, into the waters of the swimming

pool in one of the hotels in kl which I

don't know where toe exist or not me in. And

I remember this was by the recollection of my mother's testimony,

not me, because all I know is I can't touch

water right And by the grace of God, now I

guess shall wordy praise a lot, hallelujah, thank you. But

my mom came running in a high heels. It's like,

where is thatanel? And then it's a like I want

to die. I think I think I stopped reading for

what she can't She jam jam jumm into the swimming

pool and took me out, and I think she had

a silent war with my dad for the next six months.

She told me, she told me, if I didn't say

you you'll be dead by now. But my dad was

still I say, I tell you what, see, because you

did that that asian deasa and the words sorrier does

not exist in the same sentence. He never said sorry

to my mom because he now blames my mom. I

hope not now, because he's not here anymore. And until

the day, as far as I am aware, he blames

my mom for me not being able to swim, because

you say, if you were just left that boy in

the pool today, he will be Michael Phelps, he will

be swimmer. But because you decided to take things into

your own hands, now he can't swim. So my mom

and my dad had a disagreement. Huh So I don't know.

Now she can't resolve the disagreement. I hope and they

get to heaven they would will resolve it finally. Okay,

so praise the Lord. I want to introduce you three

points time, trust, and vision. So think about a young

child trying to swim. In the beginning, a parent does

not need to stand in the pool that shouting instructions

of a distance. What does the parentyd to do when

you start to get your child in the water, which

now Rochelle had to play that role. You know, I'll

be swimming and I'll be paddling and Rachel be holding

my tummy and said, hey, God better batter better and

I cannot cannot can. I'm gonna sing. I'm gonna sing.

You think what you think. Rochelle will will stand out

saying say, hey, put your stomach on the water, keep

your ears above the water. Hello, I'm there pannicking. Oh

my God, to swiam. No, Rochelle will need to take

the time to get into the water. Imen. And that's

what discipleship is. Some of us, we disciples from Afar.

We're just like, hey, boy, you're struggling. Uh, all right,

this is what you should do. One text message. No,

if Gabriel is struggling, we're filling the blanks. I hope

Albert will come beside Gabriel put her hand on his

shoulder and say, boy, if you're struggling with fulfilling your

your your your commitments, bro, I'm here for you, bro.

And you're taking the time you're taking. You're putting your

hand on the belly off your brother. In the context

of swimming. Don't see bit touch people's belly, Okay, not

kind not rude, now, I mean very rude. But in

the context of swimming, you're supporting, you're supporting the brother,

and he's peddling over there, and you're going like you

need to get wet. Some of us we don't want

to get wet. We don't get in trouble. We don't

want to get our hands dirty. Oh, praise the Lord.

Jesus got his hands dirty, Jesus. What do you think

Jesus washed the feet of his disciples because he got

his hands to do the work. And that's how discipleship

is going to quickly run through. His presence is important time,

not just advice from a distance. And then when the

child sally feels the trust, he begins to trust. Right,

he's a trust the parent. Okay, I can tell you

what now. I think me and Rochelle we got a

trust issue because no matter what she does with me

on the swiam pool, I can't see the trust. I

haven't broke broken through there yet. We haven't yet, haven't yet,

because I still feel I'm gonna die. But when you

spend enough time, maybe there's the thing. We don't spend

enough time in the swim pool. Maybe we should because

when I visited my house, my house back now like, oh,

this swiam pool. I tell you, what is the reason

why I'm going to buy this apartment. I tell you what. Friends,

In five years, I have gone in the swimpool twice. Yes,

it's being under utilized, so so so because I don't

assume yet, because I haven't spent enough time. But but

when I eventually learned to trust Rachelle, I'll go like,

I tell you what I can be like Titanic. I

can lift up my hands and I tell you what

I will not sink. And that's what your child will

begin to do. And that's when they begin to start

learning how to swim. Sometimes we spend one time two meetings,

and then we go like, are you're this person? I

tell you what I know, hope on, Like Albert, I

tell you this brother brother. I tell you how many

times did I spend him? But by the way, only

twice him two Mama sessions of the year. But yet

still got this boy girl problem la hoo la. Albert.

Elbert will be like, hey, Daniel, have you spent enough

time with this person? Not? Does he even trust you?

Has he even reviewed? Sorry, Jaden, has he even reviewed

enough to you that he that he try not to

tell you the actual problems of his heart. You can

only develop that true time spend and begin to trust.

Discipleship will continue. And the last point is vision. The

discipler will see in Rochelle someone that she has not

seen yet. And husbands, that's what you should do with

your wife as well. You know when they are down,

encourage that because you know that she's going to be

the best marketer. I'm going to declare now that the

company that she's working for will one day be top sales. Hallelujah,

Praised the Lot. So you may if you know the context,

you you may go like, oh what, I don't think

I tell you what. Nobody thought David would be defeat

God life too. Nobody thought David would defeat life too.

But he did by the grace of the Lord. So

if that's the will of God, Eva that's the will

of the Lot, he shall be done. Hallelujah, Praised the Lord.

If not all is well, time trust vision. The goal

of discipleship. You can write this down, is to make

everyone become more like Jesus, so they they become sons

and daughters of the Kingdom of God. So What is

the focus? Friends? What is the focus? What should be

our focus? That's the second question as the church, as

the body of Christ, what should be our focus romans

travel toesday is this, Do not be conformed to this world,

but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that

by testing you may discern what is that will of God?

How do you discern the will of God? By testing?

By trials, you can discern what's the will of God?

What is good and acceptable? And per fact? Amen, Now

share with you another story today, A lot of learnings

from my apartment. When I visited my apartment show unit.

There are a few things that I saw. I'm going

to say, like I tell you what, I am going

to buy this unit because wonderful gym. Albert has been

to my gym before. He has used it more than

I used it. And by the way, I'm the one

that's staying there. He just has in loader, stays there.

But yet he used to pool more the gym, more

than yours. Truly, I can say this for a fact.

So this is the gym, not my apartment gym. I

didn't have time to take the picture of my gym,

because you know, I never really stepped into the gym.

So I don't have a picture of gym. So this

is a gym from Kanva. Looks nice, right, looks nice right?

The gym the oh by the way, Eya has a

beautiful gym by name of the village gym. Right, and

I can see growing from glory to glory, strength to strength,

from faith to faith, all Louiah, praise the Lord. So

much new equipment over there, But what is the use

of the equipment? Albert? Can I ask you a question?

A gym can have the newest equipment, the loudest pumping music.

When you pump your new music right more, I don't

know what's the music for. Actually, I feel so distracting,

you know. When I leave with I often listen to sonata.

That explains why I don't live right, because there's no

bait to pump tou. You can have the loudest music,

the best looking building, maybe the best looking bodybuilder, but

if nobody is actually training, nobody gets stronger. True activity

is not the same as formation. I repeat that activity

is not the same as formation. You can have a program,

but until and unless you start the program, then you

see your muscles being starting the form a church can

be busy and immature at the same time. You can

attend every service, you can shout your amens, your halley lujahs,

you can sing every song with your hands raised. Still

go home to the same exact anger, the same exact compromise,

the same exact habits that you walked in with, naming

some not washing the dishes. True story, bro true story.

And you now I still can't. I like to, you know,

I like to leave one spoon in the sing you know,

like like like treasure hunt, one spoon, one one one

small cub, you know. Sometimes when I opened the milk

cutton and the milkuton got a small little plastic I

like to put it there. And one day in the

morning I'll find out Rachel Bereci, what is this doing?

Oh yeah, And then she'll blame my cat. But is

she not know that is my cat? They decided to

do the cleaning for me. I was the one who

put the plastic thing in the sink. I'm trying to

play a treasure hunt with my cat struggles and she'll

find it, she'll clean it, she'll pick it up, But

you don't want to throw my she she threw it

find out room. So yeah, we'll get that storted one day.

You can. You can still go home to the same

exact habits. Attendance to church is not the same as transformation.

Presence in the room is not the same as progress

in the heart. So what is the focus? Let me

ask you plainly this morning. Has anything actually changed just

because you've been coming to church? My question is not

do you feel closer to God today? Because it's very

easy to come to church and feel closer to God,

because maybe the preacher did a good job and you

feel closer to him because he encouraged you, he convicted you.

It's very easy to be convicted on a Sunday. But

the challenge is what you remember on a Tuesday. Some

of us can remember the title what then? What did

I cannot push about last Sunday? Do you remember without

taking notes, without referring to your notes, Because I can

tell you what if it was my last instruction or

last sentence that was issued to me by my father,

I will remember for what he said. I don't need notes,

I don't need books, I don't need memory. I know

because it's important and I believe the disciples carried the

mandate that was given to them because they knew it

was important, so much so that each and every one

of them besides John, lost their life in such a very,

very gruesome and cruel manner. And John did a lot

too spared, maybe, but that doesn't mean he did not

suffer to carry that many day because they knew it

was important. Amen. So the goal here was never just together.

The goal of discipleship is never just together. The goal

of discipleship is always to become Amen, not just together.

And say, Gabel, we're having a good time. You're having

nice hair, but your hair is fantastic. The curl is

like amazing. But if that's all we're doing now, gathering,

just marveling over one another's hair, then nothing would change.

But if we get it, we go like a Gabriel,

the hell yours nice lot, but getting a bit. Let's

see you and Deela, maybe you should get it srimmed.

Gibra's like, what you mean talking about my hair? Yes, boy,

I talk about your hair, not to say his hair

is a bad thing body order. If you really have it,

you have it. But do you think it's a nice

thing to go and say, hey, bro, you got be old?

Some of you leave church because pastors say you got bio,

But who if the passes are gonna value your bio?

There you wait for your future girlfriend to find out

you've got bio and and and walk away from you.

Sometimes you're gonna say things, by the way, gable, no bio,

you got older, you got Oh, I'll let you, I'll

let you your imagination run while okay, anyways, always oxygen. Okay,

So the goal was always to become become That's what

discipleship is. I'm gonna use the illustration of a mirror.

James goes on. From a verse. He says, but be

doers of the word and not hearers, only deceiving yourself.

Right after the verse he goes on to say this,

and have you on the slide. For if anyone is

a hero of the word and not a doer, he

is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror,

For he observes himself, goes away and emniately forgets what

kind of man he was. So you're going in front

of mirror and go like, whoa, this boy is so handsome,

and few seconds later you forgot how you look? Like

how many of us have done that with a sermon,

We hear a message on Sunday that pierces us. We

even say Amen out loud, We even write notes, and

then you go through your notes. You have plenty your

struggles in life, speaking to young people here, maybe even

the older ones. If you just take the time to

go through your notes, you'll find a solution. You don't

need no GANDHI. You tissue what to do? Yeah, you

already have it, but sometimes we just don't. That's why

James is saying, you're going for a mirror, but then

you see yourself. You walk away, and then you just

forgot he did I have one pimple year or one

more year? No? You forget everything. You forget that you

are a child of God. You forget that you are

a child of God. You go over the mirror and

go like, wow, I'm a child of God. You walk away,

I'm not a child of God anymore. On the church,

you receive a somewhere you go like, hey, what tell

you what? Hey, man, praise the Lord, take our shoe

and you wave in the air. Tell you why it's

so impactful in your life? And you walk away and

you go like he what did he just say? What

the pass. Then just say what the God? What did

God just say? What did God just say? That's a

mirror in a glance, not transformation. Disciple. Shape, friends, is

what turns a mirror glance into a genuine change of direction.

Because somebody is walking with you on a Monday and

Tuesday and not just Sunday. Somebody is challenging you, say, eveling.

Remember when you go to Singapore, don't forget what you

learn here. In ex Church, the punctuality is important. Evely

is where punctuality away. Don't just be punctual to university,

be punctual to church. Be punctual in your habits with

the Lord, your prayer, life, your discipline. Now I'm speaking

to you. I don't know whea you're doing all of that,

but just as an example, but an encouragement. Evening, you're

gonna do well in Singapore. You're gonna do well. Praise

the Lord. You believe it. Amen Edna, You're gonna do

well too. Don't forget, don't forget what you have learned here.

They just announced it. NNAs you know, I think many

of us know you. Okay, we'll give another illustration. I'm

gonna go close very quickly. All right, why is it?

I'm gonna give you an illustration or a parable of

redecoration versus renovating. Okay, there's the thing about the difference

between redecorating a house and renovating it. Redecoration is fast,

new curtains, a fresh court of pain, rearranging furniture. Tell

you a story about my door. I once had a

very very very big argument with my my my sister.

I was playing daughter. I was playing Defense of the

Ancient things of you are ancient enough. You may not

even know as that. Uh, the young people, especially nowadays,

the mobile legend, bank bank. Okay, anyways, last time it

was the defense of the ancient So I was playing

this game. It was some people don't understand that online

game cannot pause on Yeah. Sometimes they say, O, why

can't you just pause? I can't pause? And yeah, people

say they don't say, man, because nowadays all the games

can pass it. Okay, so cannot boss cannot pause. And

there's this thing called PEP. It stands for pool pluck.

I don't know how many you know land cable. Last

time I said, pulled in the red shut off. Right.

So my sister got sick and tired of me because

I'm shouting the room forward forward. I cannot repeat what

I shout back then because it's all uh past, past language,

past language. I learned Candonese. What the candoness I know

all listen on. Cannot cannot speak here, cannot can I

speak ever? Okay, So I was shouting, shouting, shouting. My

sister in the other room, just interesting to me. She

was like, oh, I tell you what. I'm so angry.

She pulled the plut, pull the pluck, and I tell

you what. Everything was anger built up. I get out

of the room. I punch the door, open the door.

Now that I was seventy years old, as I can,

you know, but it's supposed to be studying for ESPM.

But I was playing games, so spanging the door. She

ignored me, know me for the whole night, so I

just had to study. My paper was the next morning,

so I was ours, our dinner, sleep, and then I

went for the paper for math at math, and that's

why maybe I got very very low mark. But I

remember I got so angry, so angry, I punched the door.

I don't know enough. I punched my door. And when

I brought Rachel years later to visit my house. He's like, oh, welcome,

your dog. Got this Bible verse on a I took

out the Bible. I said, you know something, I took

out the Bible verse and blow and behold behind the

vib verse was a big hole. It's still there this day.

I don't know. You don't even know whether my mom

know that that thing is the whole? I said, why

do you call this random Bible verse in the middle

of nowhere? It's like in the middle you know all

CD people don't say, amen, you guys see my house,

you'll be all my wife's why is it? Lopside? Is

a design design? Interior design? Yeah, so that redecoration is

that sometimes, and discipleship is not about redecorating your life,

you know, it's not about redecorating. Sometimes it takes a

full on renovation because you can't fix something just by

covering it. The thing is still there, the heart is

still there, the pain is still there. And tell you

what if you if you don't allow someone to disciple

you enough to remove that, That's why time of the

time again you come back to church feel the same

with the same hurt, the same pain, the same issues.

You convicted, you set free and the next month, next week,

same thing, come back, same boy problem, same inconsistencies, same

struggles to procrastination, still struggling with watching something that you

shouldn't be watching, time and time again. Young people fall

into pornography. Why because they don't allow their minds to

be transformed, but the renewing of their mind. Their lives

be transformed. Because their mind is not renew their mind

stays all and they don't be accountable, and they don't

have someone to keep them accountable. So Jesus is interested

in renovating a life, and sometimes it takes tearing everything

that you know down. The room used to be here. No,

you just saying no, no more room here, washroom, No

no here anymore here all this world. You're so comfortable

you're sitting down on the toilet. Now I'm asking you

the squat. I'm going to remove that sitting toilet and

I'm gonna put a squatting toilet so you can learn

to build your ties and have strong ties. I tell

you what, I cannot squat well. And I wish that

I grew up with squatting toilet because now I will

reap the benefits of squatting in pickaball because now I

can't squat long one game. They can al squat anymore,

cannot be anymore. But imagine if I train with squatting.

Toilet jokes aside. Sometimes this is what the Lord wants

to do it first, and this is what discipleship as

well is. He removes everything, and he changes everything, and

he renovates early, and he looks ugly. Right, sometimes it

looks ugly. I don't know how many of you have

ever lived in the renovated house that is going on.

You know, I once had my auto gate being banged down,

and my mom decided to renovate the entire house and

we had nowhere to go, and we had to live

in the house there's being renovated. I tell your friends

and family. Not fun. The moree that does. Number two,

everything is plastic. We don't even have our living room

for three months. Time of the time again, delay of

the delay. Supposed to be done in one month, now

three months, still the same thing, every morning, every after

the comeback. I tell you what, it's not easy to

be renovated. Discipleship is not easy. It takes time, it

takes trust, it takes vision because you see you have

a vision to see the auto gate finally coming to fruition.

You're no longer. But now who's ripping the benefits? You

complain your renovation, but you are ripping the benefits. Becase

last time you have to come down the car, go

and open the door, open the legh and open the

get yourself now you are not orthor get it. That's

what renovation does. It gets ugly before it gets better. Amen,

God is interested in renovating your life. I'm gonna close

with this. How do we express discipleship with X four

very very simple points? Number one, we do life together.

We do life together, and they continuing daily we've won

a call in the temple and breaking bread from house

to house, from house to house. Eight their food with grettness,

in simplicity of hearts. The early Church didn't just meet

at church. They were in each other's houses, at each

other tables. Discipleship happens more often in kitchens than in classrooms. Yeah,

discipleship happens more often in kitchens than he does in classrooms.

This is what relational discipleship is is to do life together. Amen,

do life together. A curriculum has an answer, but real

discipleship means somebody has your phone number and actually uses it,

not just for a schedule check in, but for the

nine pm phone call when the marriage is falling apart.

I still remember receiving calls when I'm on the way

to missions about a family and we had the youth

turn and just get it done then. And then I

still remember getting calls at one am the at the

night saying, someone who takes take his own life and

you have to drop everything and go and do it now.

That's what your phone number is for friends, That's what

discipleship is. And I pray you all don't just for

nothing called me at three am. Okay please. Yesterday I

was up a til two am solving a problem. My

wife was sleeping in there. I receive a semes so

agend that I had to reply it and one the

t all the way had to do the tea. I

was having a chat with someone very important. Sorry for

but it was, it was, it was. It was. That's discipleship,

and that's just who we are, amen, we do life together.

The second bart of discipleship is to be real, not

just your phone. Take out your phone. I know, so

you are watching Messina. Uh yeah, yes, maybe he's called it.

You don't know, none of you know. That's good. So

James five sixteen says, confess your trespusses to one another

and pray for one another that you may be healed.

Discipleship is about being real. So this James doesn't just

say confess or seems to God alone and keep everyone

else in the dark. No, he says, confess to one another.

Why because healing was never designed to happen in isolation. Men,

I want to say something about shame. Shame trives in secrecy.

Being shameful is can imagine? Hey, imagine if you mess up,

I tell you go. There was one in extreme I

was supposed to play a song and the song was

in the key of C. For whatever reason, I decided

to play the entire song in the key of B flat,

and for the entire song I played it in B flat.

I didn't even know this. Maybe the crowd that was like,

how come nobody opening their mouth because I was playing

in a different key for the entire song. You made

it a shame and I would feel be like and

then I remember how I broke through was Diane Limb.

I don't know how many of you know Diane Limbis,

Diane Limmis and amazing keybodies. Used to now now where

she's in another church, but used to be my one

of my mentors in keyboard. She used to teach me

how to play. And she came to me and she said, Daniel,

let me assure you that I also played an entire

performance in the wrong key. I was like, wow, you

mean that happened to you too, You're dying could have.

It's really went like, I tell you what, I nah,

I'm I'm all good. I never did what you mean

you did? You did? You could easily do that, you know,

and I will feel even more ashamed. But discipleship is

also going to a person say I tell you what, Gabriel,

not that you struggled with pawn, but I struggled to

And I'm not saying you watch it, but I'm saying

that I also watched last time. I struggled. But I

kind of came to me and said, you know what,

I also struggled. I also struggled, but this is how,

this is how. And I go like, I want to

know how. I want to know how. And that's what

discipleships gleaning from one another, and like, how did you

get yourself out of this? My reclay, how do you

get yourself out of this place? And Paul is saying

to Timothy's saying, follow me as I follow Christ, because

I failed too, And this is what I did. This

is how I broke through this, I broke free. Amen,

So be real, be real to one another, for where

your treasure is, that your heart will be also. Third point,

commitment of time and finances. What we're willing to spend

time and money on reveals what we actually believe is important.

And discipleship done rightly will always cause us something real.

I want to just quickly quickly bring us to an

illustration about our bank statement. I don't know how many

of you check your bank statement. I do. I don't

know I spend on yeah, or how maybe some of

you you'll just pay your credit adbills. And because you

all don't really you know, it doesn't bother you, but

it bothers me. So every month I'll check my bank statement,

because when you see the summary, you go like, what

is this? So I'll check my bank stament. What did

I actually spend on? You know? The funny thing about

bank statement or your calendar at the end of the man.

Maybe some of you live with calenders. Yea, I go

by the fly. That's why I need a calendar. I

always double myself for that reason. But so you have calenders, right,

you scheduled meetings, scheduled appointments, right maybe yeah, my wife,

My wife does a fantastic shot in calenders. I share

a calendar my wife, and that's how I remember all

the birthdays and like, oh my wife amazing, right, because

there's so many birthdays to remember. Right, But you go like,

but one thing amazing or bank statements and calenders do's

not what? It does not lie? True. Bank statements will

not lie. You can say a million things about how

much you care about a certain someone or a certain something,

But if you go to your bank statement and you'll

find nothing that reflects what you just said you care

about because you keep on telling your wife. You keep

on telling your wife, I care for you so much

that I will buy you a bouquet of roses every week.

Your your wife may understand because you give reason A

busy people may not ask you. But when you reflect

on your bank statement, you will know what you truly, truly,

truly value. Amen. What your truly value. And in the

same manner, if discipleship never shows up on your calendar,

If discipleship never shows up on your calendar, it never

costs you an evening, a satur Day, a mail you

paid for a tribute to, then gently, may I just

challenge issue everyone of you. It may not be happening yet,

because if it's really happening, it will show. If it's

really happening, it will show. Amen. Paz Kenneth has a

commitment that he makes to his Singapore leaders. Once a month,

he will fly down to Singapore. You know that it's

actually very tiring to fly down to Singapore, come back

and then preach the day after. But he does it

because he's committed to leaders in Singapore. It costs a

lot as well, but they will show up on his calendar.

There were show up on his bank statement because he

committed his time and his finances. But we do we

do not need to play the Singapore to obey this.

He might just be simply giving up a Saturday morning

for coffee with someone younger in the faith, or covering

a course for someone's maal, so that conversations isn't rush.

You know what sometimes when you go out with someone

and you and you bring them out and you pay

for their meal, they no longer to think about their meal.

They can just think about the conversations. I'm not just saying, oh,

you stop paying for each I don't know. But that's

what discipleship is. That's what spending time is. Your commitment

of your time and your finances. And last last point

before we close, is commitment to make strong men and

women of God, the men second Timothy to Tuesdays and

the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses.

Commities to faithful men who will be able to teach artists.

Oh soul, we are committed. Amen. Some of us have

been running our leg of our race well strong with

our own walk with God. Some of you here are

saying I've been there, I've done that. Praise a lot

for you. But discipleship was never meant to stop with you.

Discipleship was never meant to stop with you. It was

always meant to multiply through you. Amen. This is a

picture of a race. And did you know that no

matter how fast you run, no matter how even if

you who's signed bad on your team? Who signing who's saying,

who's saying bad on your team? Who can run one

hundred meters in less than ten seconds? Even though you

have the fastest person on this earth, but he does

not pass through the baiten? Did you know that your

team will not win? And that's what discipleship. You may

be running yourling of the race well, but if your

child does not follow suit, you have failed. You failed

him because you have failed to focus on what truly matters,

which is Jesus's last command, our first priority on this

earth Amen, which is the main disciples.

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

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a hit for you.

God bless