The Persecuted Church | Pastor Matthew Chang

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Revelations chapter two. Okay, Revelation chapter two. Turn with me

to verse eight. Chapter two, verse eight. Okay, I will

skip some things, but I will share some paths.

Okay.

Chapter two, verse eight. And the title of these verses

here it's about a church. It's called the Church of Smyrna.

I mean, if you heard the Church of Smyrna before. Yeah, okay,

let's read. Okay, there are seven churches, and this is

the second church. It's called the Church of Smyrna.

Verse eight.

Now he says, and to the Angel of the church

in Smyrna, right, these things, says the first and the

last who was dead and came to life. Okay, then Jesus,

Jesus him saying, he says, I know your words, your

tribulation and poverty bracket, but you are rich. And I

know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews

and are not okay, but are a Synagogue of Satan.

Do not fear any of those things which you are

about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw

some of you into prison. That you may be tested

and when and you will have tribulation ten days. Be

faithful until death, and I will give you the crown

of life. He who has an ear, let him hear

what the spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes

shall not be hurt by the second death.

Wow.

Now not an easy scripture to read. There's many, many

different things here. Now I want to start off with

the nowt there's a few things you want to understand.

Context and I'll explain and you can start to like

piece things together.

Now, the first thing the town of Smna. I have a.

Slighter but you don't have to play it by just

play the but only play in a short round.

Now the Smanna. What is Smana?

The cities there is all around in modern day Turkey,

to grease and even room. Most of the cities have

a meaning. Okay, then just some some random name. Now

Smyrna actually comes from a material, a compound or what

you call it, like a gum that comes from a

specific tree. Okay, you can show that slife. You can

on the on the first slide. Okay, it's a gum.

And then it's like you know, you go to rubber tapping.

You're going cut through the tree and a step will

come out and they will draw depth step and then

they will process it and it hardens and becomes like

rock sugar like that.

Okay.

Now in some times of the other words, some people

will call it mirth. Uh. And you know, if you

talk about mirth, right, it's one of It's actually a

very expensive compound. It's one of the tree gifts, including

Frankinson's mirth and gold given to Jesus. So Jesus when

he was borner, he got very expensive give one and all.

And actually the men could survive of that, and God

provides one, you know. Okay, So this thing but and

and it's and the city small nar city is actually

a very rich city, a very very rich city. It's

not poor city. You know, the Christians were poor, but

the city is actually very rich because they were selling this. Okay,

they were known for this. But interesting thing is that

this compound, if you take it like that, you smell it.

There's nothing, you smell nothing. The only way you can

smell it is that you have to crush it. Once

you crush or you put it with oil.

Then you can smell it.

So it is something that needs to be released released. Okay,

you have to crush it before you smell all the

value of it gets released to the purchaser as well.

So and then that's funny that when Jesus talks about

this church, he says that I know your works, your

tribulation and poverty, but you are rich because the church,

the Christians in Smyrna, they were actually very very poor.

It's very hard to be a very very poor community

in a very very rich city. You know, you know

what I'm saying. No, it's like completely contrast. You know,

a lot of things will come into your mind. You know,

you'd be like, what's wrong with me? Did I believe

something wrong? Did I do something wrong? Some of you

come into church ready and it's a Sunday. You gave up

a faby of your timer. Some people are going pickabawling.

Some people go ba but eat the best bakut. You

go and eat the left of a bakte ah. Some

people go and all can take their children to swimming

classes while they feel that their family is ahead and

stuff like that. But you pay the price to come

on a Sunday morning and you come, you know, because

like you see a direct benefit. You come and only

one thing, one thing on it. You came by faith.

Every Sunday it's a faith exercise. You can all see,

you can all help.

What will God do?

God?

Well, God say with the preacher preach, no.

It all is only by faith. Consider yourself actually very blessed.

Ready. You know Noah had.

To wait to build the I think for about four

hundred years before the flood came in. On God say

it's coming radio. Four hundred years you waited. He built

the ark.

You know how many are you willing to do that?

Do you know what I mean? Right?

Go, We'll not tell you when is it? But he

says soon, but be faithful Noah, for four hundred.

Years he built the art.

Now the Christians were very, very poor. Now there's a

reason why.

They were poor. With this.

I need for volunteers, for volunteers. Come on, man, lead away,

come on. Need four men can just come up here.

I need foe men come come, Julian Jays, three men.

We need one more more John John, Okay, just come

in line up on my left. Okay, right, you call you.

Max Max Max? All right?

Cool?

Okay. So in SMYRNA and in most of the cities.

In the Book of Acts or the Book of Revelations,

you will have four major communities or four representations that

major ones. Okay, start with Jason. Uh So you are

the Romans, so you are the power of the authority.

Okay. So the group, the second group, max will be

the Greeks.

Okay, the Greeks, both of them, actually they are different religion.

They have their gods.

They have just Zeus, then he has his Apollos and

stuff like that. But actually if you study their religion,

they are almost the same. It's just that they have

different names on it. But they have you know, their

deities are achieved quem similar. But Rome has power of

the over the Greeks. The third group of people and

the four group are actually brothers. Lah So Julian are

the Jews, Okay, the Jewish. But but they are not many. Okay,

they are not many. Okay, there are a small community.

But they are very unique because they don't share the

same religion with either the Greeks or the Romans. Okay,

they believe in how many gods, one God. They have

one God. They don't go to their temple, they have

their own synagogues. Okay, their own education system and all

their own beliefs as well. The Jews and they ware

the last one John here.

Who is that?

The Christians which is a root outcoming out from the

Jewish people as well. Okay, so we have four groups

of people here. Now, the city of Smyrna has all

these different religions faith. But Rome decides to do something

very unique. On top of worshiping all these temples, causing

this temple, they decide to implement one. You think, what

is it called. It's called emperor worship. If you go

to Jipit or you go to Wikipedia, you can type

this cut. It's called the imperial cult.

Okay.

The imperial cult means you start to treat the emperor

as God himself. Makes sense, and not all the cities

around in the Roman empires will do that, but they

will start with the newer cities or the cities willing

to do. And Smarna happens to be one of the

newer cities. It's like a cyber Jaya. Saba is not

as all as pj or k or Malaca. Malaca is

really oh right, is considered quite new. And so when

you're starting new you can clan your town and you can,

you know, that's why you go to or so many landscaping,

you know, so many green you come here, hey go greener,

cannot not highly any green?

I mean God last two.

But so what happens in Sperna is that the emperor

decides to institute this imperial worship. He builds a statue

for himself and he requires everyone to worship him. How

how do they? How do how do they? How did

they impose this? You must understand that for an ancient times,

date is no giagrocer, no grab uh, no shopping, no

lada da Okay. Most of their activities centered around the

city square and their market all in one place.

Okay.

So it's like if you go to gigrocer, there is

where your post office is. There is where you get

your building license. There is where how you get your

license for your cow or your house, to get a boat,

to buy food. Everything is one place, and a lot

of times that place is the temple itself. Okay, Mary Comedy.

So if he is a Christian, or he's a Jew,

or he is a great when he comes or the

Romans when they come to the entrance of the marketplace,

there will be an altar something like this. The tool

tool one will have incense. The incense is not the sticker,

it's powdered incense, okay. And then the other one will

be Korean barbecue around No, not Korean Barbic. It's basically chako.

So what do they do. They will walk up there

before the soldiers before you take a pinch of the incense,

and then you put it into the chaco and then you.

And then you say Caesar is God. Then you walk in.

You watch some of the old ancient shows that you

if you catch it, if they if they go into

that detail, you actually go in. So this is your

pleasure allegience and you can go in permission to go.

Okay.

So the Romans got no problem doing that, true or not.

No problem.

The Greeks no problem doing that. You know you want

to call holdla. But the Jew, starting with the Jew,

they've got.

A big problem with that. You got big problem with that.

You know why because the only wish one god neither

your god, not your god, not emperor as well.

So how they're in a political problem.

Just start politically, you know, leaving you're a minority living

in a foreign land. That is requiring you to comply

different things, okay, And so what did they.

Do, Joseph?

Very smart, they saw they survive every way in us,

very powerful.

They struck a deal with the Roman emperor. What can

I deal?

Some people say it's a tax, the form of tax,

so okay, you exclude us, but you can collect texts

from the synagogue and collect texts from the Jewish Temple

as well. Ah, that's why when you read the Bible

right a lot of times? How come suddenly at the

temple called this money exchange every thing? Because because when

you became the high priest, the high price at that

time was not elected by God. They changed the system.

The high priest was chosen by the Roman emperor. Ah,

so Caia first and then who's that? The son in

law were actually under the romans pockets. But they pay

a bunch of money to the Romans. So they recovery.

They do it through the currency exchange and the sacrifices

through the temple. So Jesus when he saw that he

was upset, you can minize, like how can you do that?

But they text the people, and they text beyond say

I can pay you one million, but our collect two million.

Right, So the whole system was rigged, you know.

Okay, So anyway, so there was the rumor, so the

Jews got exempted. Now we've got the Christians now.

Very convenient.

So this guy, the Jews were already sticking out a

bit like a sore thumb ready because they don't do them,

and then they get exempted. So not too happy ready, okay,

But the Christians were not only disliked by the Romans

and the they were also disliked and hated by their

own brothers and sisters.

They were hated.

You must understand that it's not Facebook, no instagrammar words

traveled by mouth all the way from the south, from Jurusalem,

all the way up north, and they hear and the

people were spreading rumors about Christians, saying them there were

cannibals because they eat, they take communion. This is my

body given to you, this is my blood. And then

they're saying they're cannibals. Oh, they were saying that these

people were like what they call it committing what they

call it murdered people because they go to the river

and they drown the feather. But it's actually called baptism.

And then there were clouds because every every week they

will gathered a bunch of them in somebody's house, and

then a lot of sound come out as well.

It's called homes, you know.

So they were coming up with all sorts of things

spreading out until it really seems like the Christians were

really no good and not like a bane and a

curse and a thorn to the society, you know, you

know what I'm saying.

No, they were the exceptions.

But the Christians and then the christ and then the

Jewish brothers hated the Christians because they defy the teachings

of Moses and all these things. And Paul just came

in there and then doing all these things as well, teaching,

and then you got cast out as well. So the

Christians were hated and all the Christians because they couldn't

they couldn't do the incense, and they didn't.

Get the exemption by the Jews.

How are they going to go to the market to

get their food, to farm their land, to go fishing,

to travel anywhere?

Where do they go? Nowhere? And so what did the

Christians at that time depend on?

They were completely dependent on the mercy of the community.

And so as the Christians walking around, they couldn't trust anyone.

They were scared the people were finding out they were Christians.

They couldn't trust the Romans, they couldn't trust the Greeks,

especially the Jews, because the Jews were trying to find

out who they are and they will report them to them.

They were actually reporting the Jews to the Romans. You know,

hey there's a Christian going and catch him. You know,

they were actively reporting. You know. That is why you

just said they were called they are a synagogue of

Satan because of what they did to persecute them. You

get mean, right, it's a whole entire institution and building

trying to wreck them out.

You know, tough, tough, and the thing you have very tough.

Now, those were really tough times, you know, really really

tough times, you know, and so the Christians they walked out.

They couldn't trust their Jewish brothers, Romans and Greeks. They

were like, but I got to feed my family, and

they were like.

Figure out how to do.

And so there were some groups of people who had

compassion on them, but they couldn't be a scene associating

with a potential Christian. So what Johnny is to come up?

Maybe you come up here. Maybe you pretend that I'm

the Christian, I'm the secret good Samaritana. So what you

will do? You will come up there, you don't look

at me. You don't look at me.

You look at me and people associate me.

You look away, and then you pretend to draws something

on the floor with your feet. Okay, then you walk away,

and then it walks away there. I will walk here

and then I will begin to use my feet to draw,

and then I'll walk away. And then as he sees it,

he will recognize that I'm also helping him or in

good faith of Christian as well. You can see the slight.

I don't know you're the slight. Cant can I still

can know?

What is it?

I know? You know the you know the Christian symbol,

the fish sign. That is the sign used to communicate cryptography.

You know, it's called a version of cryptography. You draw

one side half down and then the person will complete

it and it actually means Jesus, Christ, god Son and Savior.

Take this.

It doesn't mean jeez, we are the fisher men. We

keep thinking, no, no, no, it's a cryptography.

Quite amazing.

Okay, thank you so much. People, thank you so much,

keep it on my hand. They didn't have you know, encrypto,

whatsapped or whatever messaging, you know, encrypted email to send

to one another. You know nowadays are people government now

that will forced people hand now to go and open

the email or check you on your email ornot.

But the time they really.

Got nowhere, so they were figuring out how to communicate

and who are the Christians and to share them all

these things, and so they really survive on the mercy

and the kindness of strangers and fellow other Christians as well.

That is why Jesus says that you are you think

that you are poor, but in fact that you are rich.

Live in faith, not really really by faith. How many

of you know about charlicut controversial? And then some people say,

how can you you know the difference between Charlicate between

you and some of you, you and minor? What's the

cause of it? You know what's the difference? Tell the

difference is because of this. I can tell you now,

if you open all your phones, I can tell you

you go to YouTube, your Facebook, your Instagram, different ones

of you will show different things. I guarantee you. I

guarantee you what you press on what you like and

what's that completely different. You're being fed different things, push

different things, different narratives, different stories.

You know what I'm saying.

No, you try for one way, don't type any scriptures

that okay, just type whatever they show you. Just cick,

I can tell you why you look at your ear

your phone and hey, how come they're feeding me all

these funny, funny things right now? They just feed you

based on what you like, what do you want to hear?

And then after a while they give it to you

what they want you to hear, and you start to realize, Hey,

what they want for me is actually what I want

as well, I'm saying, you know, and you start to compare, say,

why it's my understanding or my information so different from

that because of this thing the phone really really the

form and I wanted to check and then today I

really and when you talk about baby baby, they get

the educational and talk about Christianity. At the end of

the days, we have to do all the due diligence

and care to make sure that we raise our family

and protect our Christian faith to the core, to the core.

Coming to towards the ends of the days, you know

how christian Christianity will be looked at. You know, I

put up the slight. Christianity will be looked at as

maybe slight number. The next ye, next one, because I'm

jumping some slights, the next one.

Next one, next one.

Okay, Christianity will I tell you not very long in years,

Christianity will be seen as the group that will be hated,

will be the one that is suspicious, that people will

be very suspicious about. People will say Christianity are exclusive,

not inclusive Christianity. People will say Christians are judging. They

will say they will look at you, they won't think

about they won't think about what you do. They will

think about what you did wrong, that you are corrupt.

They will think that you are unlerving, unexcempting, and then

you are actually the curse and the rule of the

problem with what is.

Happening in this world.

The next light, he says John chapter six, John sixteen,

verse one to verse four. He says, these things I

have spoken to you, that you should not be made

to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogue.

It's already happening in that time. Okay, Yes, the time

is coming that whoever kills, you will think that he

offers God's service. They must understand this very important thing.

Are bad people rarely think they're a bad one. They

actually think they are good, and they actually think they

are a better and moral.

Person than you are.

Most of the time, she ninety nine percent of the

time they think they're actually doing good. Turn they are wrong.

Now I'm not wrong, you are wrong. They actually think

they are good, and they are at thinking they are gone.

And these things they will do to you because they

have not known the Father nor me. But these things

I've told you that when the time comes, you may

remember that I told you of them. And as I

reflect all these things right, you must understand that a

lot of people will start off as Christians like my

Homer teacher. Some of them will fall away because they

got discouraged. Some will fall away because not because they

get discouraged, but they get deceived. Discouragement and deception. And

it's any deception now happens not just outside your house.

Are Actually it happens in the house, not because the

parents didn't teach the right thing, not because like anything,

but because we lost our guard. Let me, as I

draw to a closer, I will bring up two issues

as an example, two common issues that I want to

do example that a lot of families and schools are

not equipped to address and to guide. But we leave

it to Netflix, we leave it to Disney, we leave

it to YouTube, we leave it to TikTok to influence

what we think and arrive at about these subjects. Okay, Kennah,

Two common topics okay, first one or additional to show

for you the idea.

Let's deal with abortion for.

Your I'm not the next cholicat okay, Pista, Let's.

Still with abortion. Let no, don't show the slightly doll.

Show you slily, how shame it is?

Same time you're putting fear into me.

Did you know, by the way, did you know that

Charlica die at twelve o'clock at twenty four minutes? And

if you return to John chapter twelve, verse twenty four,

what does it say unless a grain of falls the

ground and.

Dies, it remains a seed. But if it dies, it

will pay much fruit the incidents. Hey, when we talk

about abortion, okay, what is the narrative? Okay?

You know why I talk about this because I have

a lot of friends who are Christians. Are a few

and some of them are really completely fit to the

other side. And know, I was like, this person used

to be so and so and so. I was like,

what happened? And on what happened? And on I was

like And then they were upset with me for a

certain belief that I have, not like I was imposing them.

They were just casually asking. And then they will got

really agitated, really upset.

Really not every They're trying to educate me and get

me right. You have to be you have to be upright.

You have to be an insane Christian to think that

about abortion is wrong. Have you think about the people

who were who got raved, who had incests, the people

who had medical problems and stuff like that. You you

know what it's abortion about. They will say abortion is

about women's rights. It's about women's right. It's about right

owning about our body. Ohkah, I get to decide what

happens to my body.

True or not. Everybody is writing right now, this is

the thing.

What they showed. What you tell, what the world tells you.

It's like one eye close you look at it were

one eye closed. It looks good, it looks empowering, it

looks like freedom. It looks like fighting for the women's cause.

It looks like you're protecting God's given right for you.

Coreer. Now it sounds horred, and your friends would probably

debate with you, and you feel defeated because.

They say all these things you watch, all the tiktokes influences.

Oh yeah, no, no, no, no, no, all this influence.

Oh my, I look at it, you know, I was like,

oh my goodness, what kind of brain rot are we

really introducing to people?

You know?

And we laugh at it, we ridicule it, but you

don't realize when you when you ridicul it, it has

incepted into your mind and you normalize it. You know,

I'm saying you not. People say, oh, it's empowering. But today,

let's open our second eye and see what the scripture

before you don't open it? What the scripture says to

this question? What in the Bible? What is the opposite

of abortion conceiving a child life?

What else?

What is the opposite abortion? Let me present to you

something different, Okay. The opposite of abortion is communion. I

knew you.

Communion. Think about it for a while, why communion?

Look at all the things the world is talking about abortion,

my right, my body fighting for me. But what is communion?

Let's show the slide now, let's open our second eye.

Wait next night.

Okay, abortion on the left of my right. Sorry, can

you guys see this on the left is the abortion

on the right. There as the left isle on the

rights community.

I didn't plan for this, Okay, I didn't plan for this. Okay, okay.

Abortion is saying it's my body, I decide for myself.

What does communion say. Jesus says, this is my body

given for you, and we take it every weekend. What

did Christ going? Is my body? You save yourself? Like,

why should I go to the cross? But Christ, when

the day we was born, he was born as a

lamb of sacrifice.

He showed the way. He say, you don't have to

do it, I will do it. I will show you.

My body is to give to people. But we are

so concerned about my rights, my body, my things. But

Jesus gave up his body so that you can have

a body ownership of body. The world says, my body

is mine, I have the right to control it. Jesus

gave his body selfless, this for others while they.

Were still sinners. While you don't even know him.

While you were still sinner, said, I offer it the

child not yet born. You say, my body first, the child.

Don't even get to say anything. You know, you see

completely opposite. Jesus gave his body before you even say anything.

You know, before you even repaenna. I offer it up

to you, but you decide. Abortion is completely different. There,

I decide for you. You don't get you to decide. You

don't even have the chance to decide, you know, but

you said no, I'll give it up, but I'll give

you all the opportunity to decide. Like I said, I

opened the other eye. Open the other eye, harder, open

the eye. Third one use a body. You say, oh,

all these insects and rape you go and do The

stats are less than one percent of all these cost

at the cost of abortion. Ninety nine percent of the

reason why they got abortion is avoiding inconvenience, economic, family,

and relational inconvenience.

Because you are not ready to have a child.

You are not ready, You were not ready to have

a chattached Why you aborted avoiding the burden Christ.

But Jesus do He came ready, and he bore the burden.

Of sin and suffering for all of us when we

were not ready, when we couldn't bear. He bore it,

but we abought because we were not ready. You see,

it looks so right out from the world. I tell

you all the thing, But yet when you open the

other eye, always so it's not quite. I really, when

I look at a lot of the discussions, a lot

of people try to fight more the world's moralty with

our own strength and our own wisdom.

No, look at Christ. Always look at Christ. You cat

mean right, But they were, But the world will saying

I don't see Christ.

I don't, but we see Christ. He go, I'm saying,

And all we see Christ. Christ is everything for us,

because there without Christ, there is no eternity for us.

You can mean right.

You have to decide whether you are really a Christian

or not. You ke'm saying or not the things that

we believe is incompatible, incompatible. You cannot tell me that

you are, and you still take communion incompatible. People about

the prior prioritizes personal autonomy over the life of the

umbund Christ sacrifices life or the others even but they believe.

Okay, almost the same. Does it make sense? Does it

make sense.

When you see what Christ is doing, it's the world

comes and tries to undo it, but in a very

nice packaging one. They will never do it outright and

tell you it's the wrong thing. No, they will always

packaging or not. Put some Netflix, pull some YouTube, sometimething,

put a superstar there, pull some demon whatever, demon hunted

it up up up in golden, golden, golden, golden, Ready, Actually, hunter,

you know what's the what's the message or not? It

is that even though I am a demon, I still

be okay. One, why not you watch the whole thing

or not? What are they teaching? Why are they really teaching?

They got no consequence. The only thing they have is

lower viewers. They don't care about morality about these things.

They want you to feel good and accept who you are,

which brings me to my next case workism. Ah, there's

the big giant, isn't it the biggest giant? You know?

There's a storier. There's a mother. I think I don't

know what that share before.

I think before the mother who brought his child who

was sick to a vatino because from young the son

told the mother, I think, mom, I think I'm a

cat I identify as a cat. And so the mom

talked about building resilient family. So the mom wanting to

not hurt or to offend the feelings and their rights

to identify if anything of their son complied and because

of that she completely rewrote the rules of the programming

of a logic and to the onto a vet.

And the vet so is like, where's the pet? Oh?

My son is the pet? Oh? Oh, okay, what pet?

He's a cat. He's called fever. Treat him? What would

you do? It's a vet? Oh?

You know?

What's the rules are? Any veternarance here? You need to

use the nicer pet. You need to check gogle rabies

or not. You need put that first time, bring them

and you put them in the case. You know, you

put your sign in the case. Your laver It sounds

good and nice. Identify with anything, you say anything you want,

your lave at it. But part of you, when you

love and ridicule, you are giving, You are showing acceptance.

You know, you are normalizing it.

That's why I tell young people don't ridicule, because when

you ridicule, when you laugh and you traw, you help

to normalize it. You help to settle it. What's the

So what's the response of a Christian when you hear this?

Ignore it, don't give an ear, don't give an inch.

You can, I'm saying not. When you silence it, you

don't give it anything. Don't give it any attention.

It goes away.

You can saying not so you you because you trow

and you when you laugh at it, it's about you.

How good are you at trolling? How good are you

a laughing? It's not about you. This is very very important.

This is why I tell young people don't throw and

go and laugh and normal lifely do no, just silence it,

so you do your part in quenching it.

It's a very very, very very important thing. Okay. That's

the thing about what is and what's the opposite of

being work? What is walk about? I want I identify

with anything.

That I feel. Whatever I decide, I will be. And

they believe in this one very cool thing that I

am not the problem. The world is the problem. I

don't have to change. You have to change the world

has to change. I can go to the toilet whichever

I want. I don't have to change.

The toilet's change. It's true or not.

I go to a plane for women on the I

identify so women with baby. Oh Sunday someone can come

to you identify as your father?

Is it how.

I cannot offend you? I accept your right? How the

doctor you know that's not the doctor?

How what what's it?

He said? Because if he doesn't treat the person, the person,

the mother will sue him. But if he treats he

doesn't know the anatomy of a man, of a human being.

How you can.

We we turn everything upside down? But what is let

me come back. What is the opposite of workism?

Work? Workism? Work? Anybody don't show yet? Why is the

opposite of work? They answers. What's the opposite of what

is dra clure? What? Gratefulness?

Who? Go?

Try? Who else?

It's something that we just we see every year. Want

to know? The opposite of work is baptism. Let's look

at the chat next life.

Look at her.

You see a work being worked out. It is very

empowering one. Not when you are not the problem and

everybody is the problem.

You live very free. You know you cannot leverage one.

You can win every argument. You know you know what

I mean? Right?

It's addictive one and all who doesn't want that kind

of identity When I walk into it, I don't have

to change. Everybody must change, my teacher change, my parents change,

everyone has to cater to me how I feel whenever

I want to be. You don't get to decide my

feelings astivema FREEINGM the eternal life to be Bema. Okay,

now I switched it. I don't know why I switch that.

I know it's the left and the right, lady, identity

in the work, I identify with my flesh and the world,

whatever I want, whatever my feelings are, I follow my

feelings and the or baptism.

I identify with Christ in his death, in.

His burial, and his resurrection. Before you go into the water,

you stand there. I met you Chang. I used to

be a singer.

I used to smoke blah blah blah, all this thing.

That's a funny video I saw this lady got so

many scenes. It's about ten minutes.

To listen down before you get baptized. Now it's what

I want to push you down?

Reready?

You know I usually be like that. No, I follow

I always, but this is the past.

But now when I enter into water, I know baptised

in Father and stand Holy Spirit. You go into the water,

signify you die to yourself and identify with Christ's death,

his burial and his power. Nothing about me, my feelings,

what I like, and whatever I ever met anymore, because

it doesn't gives me true life, It doesn't give me freedom.

I'm saying not. Actually, life is found by letting go

of myself. You. I'm saying, a.

View of myself, believes and living according to my flesh

and my desire. Some people, I fear said, some of

them go into it, so Jerida. But people, but they're

like people who give them truth, sometimes hard truth, sometimes

more importantly, not just you're doing wrong, but to tell

you that someone died for you.

You know what I mean. I love people say don't

know what's wrong? No, no, I'm not telling you're wrong.

You actually, when you stand against your flesh, you actually

have something greater for you. You know, don't just look

at the other side and all you can I'm saying not.

When you believe in yourself, even though in your saying

you look to the cross, you look to the one,

the Father who loves you.

What the world is telling you, you are rejecting yourself.

You're rejecting your feelings about blinding you to the love

of the Father that is always reaching down to you.

You know what I'm saying.

No, they always cover your one of your eyes. Identity

my in Wolveness, my identity is fluid. One they can

be a girl when they keep you a chicken, and

one can be a care when there can be a

tree whatever, based on my feelings, based on my perception.

Sometimes people can go overseas and then completely flip one

and on. Because people tell me a certain thing, I

buy into it, experience a different thing.

I know, I completely switch over. You don't be surprised.

Parents tell you these things that can happen now in

a month, one and all.

It's real. I'm telling you, it's very, very real. That's

why you gotta teach, you gotta you gotta.

Really take care of your or not to really protect

your family with the world of God, not with what

is trending. But identity in baptism is my identity is

fixed on the truth of Christ. When I go through baptism.

Do you do it every week? Do you do baptism

every month? You do it once?

Do you get married every week?

All the women and the other husbands are yeah, yeah,

you' on need ones on. Looka you don't matrimot dear

tomorrow we'll marry again. Okay, see how you feel that

it doesn't work that way. The most powerful institution the family,

the marriage. Once it's a covenant. Be I'm saying, but

the world wants to re engineer because just to cater

to your feelings and your flesh. You are not slaves

to that people. They won't tell you that you are slaves,

that you by following what your urgeneds is that that

you are free.

Know you're going back to slaves to become slaves. So

don't fall into that. Okay, next one, the next life.

On the most, I think there's the one most. I

think there's one most like If no, it's okay, ah, okay,

thank you. Source of the problem, the Warkerness says society

and religion.

Are the problem. They blame religion or lot one. Now religion.

Now they got this back track record or this part

of Oh, I see they cannot be trusted. They throw

all the water together with the baby as well, isn't

it and everything together? These people need to change. But

bad business, says I'm the problem. I need to change,

I need to repent, I need to turn around. Transformation

not doesn't start with the world. Transformation starts with me.

Completely different.

I can tell you one one one don't I close,

and one one another I open and you look at Chrysler.

It's completely different than the picture. Okay, well, nurse is

about transforming outside. Okay, outward transformation based on societal trend.

I transform outside to validate what I feel inside. Huh,

transform the outside the external to validate what I feel inside.

In Christianity, we said that I transform the inside. It

starts with me, and then everything else will come through.

Let my good Let let people see your good works.

Understands not see your good works. You bare much cool fruit.

Lastly, the Wollner says, there's nothing wrong with me. We

should celebrate. They celebrate the most one. You know anything,

also celebrate in the office. My celebrate, corporate building, My

celebrate street, my celebrate every man must celebrate everything.

They are big celebrators.

Why not? But yeah, we come to church with a

problem celebrating one and.

It's true.

They really celebrate. They'll put it as a h all

as well. People, do you get me right? And they

want to go into your kids books. They want to

put me into every time you turn on the phone

as well.

They do that. But yet in.

Baptism, I repent of my always I celebrate Christ, not me.

So every day, what are we celebrating? What are we remembering?

What are we really really really rejoicing about?

Isn't it.

So?

I hope that we get to see that the worlds.

You know what I'm trying to say that you really

have to learn to not just look at the one eye,

especially young people, are things campus you.

Have the world.

The number one target of the enemy is the young people.

The young people. What you watch, what.

You play, the games, the movies you watch, every all

these things, these are the primary things when you go

to campus's skin. I tell you when the units are

different nowadays, lady, completely different. First thing they ask you,

why is your affiliation? Not what's your academy?

One?

What do you identify? What do you believe in? If

you're not, you're ostracized. You'll be like the people of Mna.

You don't belong to the Romans, you don't belong to

the Greeks, and in fact, some of your own people

will even reject you. And they will label you. They

will hunt you out, and you will find it very hard,

and you will think there's something wrong with you. You

will think like that you are poor. But remember the

word of God. You are not poor, but you are rich.

That's why Jesus closes and says why he closes us.

When Jesus addresses to the seven churches are, he always

closes up by revealing who he is one always. He

says that he who has an ear, let him hear

what the spirit says to the churches. He who always

comes should not be hurt by the second death.

Okay, yep, sorry.

He always reveals was in the in the in the

early bit in the earlier verses. So in the verse

in the in verse eight years, he says that these

things says the first and the last, who was dead

and came to life.

What does that mean? He says there.

What it means is that when you go through tribulations,

when you go through poverty, and you know sometimes there

is impending death. Put this into perspective. What happened to Christ?

He is the he is he is the first, and

he's the last. He is the one who died and

rose again. We must Remember that this life is not

the ultimate game. This life is just the shorter one.

The true game that we want, the true life, and

the true word that we want to enter into, is

the eternal life.

You know what I'm saying.

The eternal life is all that matters. Sometimes you had

the tough year because rejection and stuff like that are

But I may ask you when you look batter last year,

if I ask you remember the copy years, are you

remember a.

Bit but not as much, not as painful. That's why

I really like Wow.

Charlie Cook's saying no. He said one of the things

that he lived by, it's this saying very very well.

He says this, These two shall pass. It's not a

Bible verus. A lot of people think it's Bible's Bible.

These two shall pass. Every time you go through something good,

That's why something bad read challenging. Remember these two shall pass. Hurts, pains, losses, embarrassments,

These two shall pass. Even when you have good things,

remember as well, these two shall pass, so that you

humble yourself. Even you make money, you make fame or

successful or blessed, remember these two shall pass for a

moment and all, so that you never exhort yourself, that

you don't need God, that you stop helping people, stop

depending on God as well.

These two shall pass.

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

information on our church, please visit as church org. We

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this week is going to be a good week, a

hit for you. God bless