What would the life of a person who is a Disciple First be? | Pr Stephen Kong

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

We hope this message will light up your day.

One day, I was just sitting and I was just reflecting,

and it pointed upon me this question, and a question

is as simple as this is a slide.

Wassay.

I asked myself, how would the life of a person

who is a disciple first be?

Okay? Or in other words, what would it look like? Okay?

And since our team is on disciple first, I had

to ask myself that question. You know, what would a

person who is a disciple first? What would life look like?

Okay? What would he be? Okay?

And so I think in that moment I begin the

down from the Lord. A few phrases that came to

my mind. Some of you may be very familiar with it,

but I'm gonna I'm gonna share with you again anyway

today okay. But before that, so it came to my

mind that a disciple is who you are, okay.

Put it as simply as is your identity or your image? Okay?

And you and I will know that the Bible tells

us that we ought to imitate Paul. She says, imitate

me as an imitate Christ. Right, So what the disciple

is supposed to do is it's supposed to follow or

supposed to imitate, right, And so to imitate and to

follow is what we are supposed to do.

Okay.

That's our influence or that's our impact, all on the

same letters I okay, identity or image, influence or impact.

So to be a disciple is our identity. That's who

we are, okay, who you are okay? And to imitate

or to follow is what you ought to do, okay,

which is what a disciple is supposed to do, supposed

to imitate after the discipler, who will also in return

imitate after Christ, so the Bible tells us. And so

a disciple first would simply mean that we ought to

be first a disciple before even a student, okay, or

before even a parent, before even a spouse, before even

an employee, before even a boss. Okay, because that is

what we do. You know, and say what when I

say that's what we do? Meaning that if you're a student,

you're supposed to study, right, So that's that's what you do.

Actually that's a.

Quote unquote your job or your role or your responsibility

at this point in time. But I must say to

us that our identity comes first before what we do right,

because if you don't get your identity right, you will

not do what it's right according to you, to your identity.

So our identity comes before our job, before our vocation,

before our roles, our responsibility, our tasks, because identity mix

us who we are, and it's important. It's more important

than your job because you and I will understand as

we live our lives that we can change our job

some time to time to time. Right, you know, you

can change your nationality, Yes, you can.

You can.

Actually people actually do my grade and change nationality. You

can change your job. You can change your season in

life where you graduate from a student, from a secondary

school student to a university student. From a student, you

graduate to an adult in a working world, and then

you quote unquote graduate into from singlehood to marriage and

then to become a parent, you know, and then become

a grandparent and maybe a great grandparent. I don't know,

you know, but our seasons in life would change. Our

jobs can change, our nationality can change, but our identity

will remain the same. That's why our our identity in

the lord it's more important. Just imagine, like your surname,

you will carry it for the rest of your life.

If you're a male, you know your surname carries on

for the rest of your life. Of course, female you

once you get married, you take on your husband's surname,

you know.

And so our identity is important.

And I want to remind all of us that we

are made in the image of God.

Can I hear a good amen?

We are made in the image of God, and so

we carry an identity first as children of God.

So important.

So I'm reminded by a story in the Bible whereby

I think there was the disciples or the Pharisees question

Jesus about paying taxes, you know, remember the story, And

I think Jesus said to them, you know, they asked you,

they pay taxes you know, to Caesar, you know, And

he says, give me a coin, you know, and whose

face you see on a coin? You know? So you say,

if you if you see Caesar's face on the coin,

then pay taxes to Caesar. Right, I want to remind us,

and on all our lives we have God's image, honus,

and hence our life actually belongs to him. We ought

to give our entire life, our entire being back to him.

Because God's image is on us. We are created in

God's image, immen. And so I begin to download from

the Lord of how our lives ought to be as

a disciple. First, what would it look like? So I'm

just gonna give you a few phrases. It's not a

slight Okay, it goes like this. One who lives by

priority and not pressure. Sounds femiliar. If you've been in

actious long enough, you will notice live by priority and

not pressure. We ought to live by conviction and not convenience.

We ought to live by faith and not fear. We

ought to seek God and not just seek good. There's

a difference.

Okay. We ought to seek the.

Word of God and not the world.

Okay.

We ought to live by love and not legalism. So

I just shat with you about six points, which today

I only cover two points.

Don't worry. Okay, won't cover six points.

But yes, let me begin by saying that as a disciple, first,

we ought to live by priority and not pressure. That's

my first point. Live by priority and not pressure. So

there's no better person to learn from in the Bible

than Jesus himself. Do you agree? So let me point

you to the scripture. Let's look to Luke chapter four.

If you have your bibles with you, which you should have,

I encourage you to bring your physical Bible to church.

Let's all turn to Luke chapter four, a man, I

encourage you to bring your physical bibley church. Okay, not

just your handfuone, not just your digital phone digital bible,

but bring your physical Bible because end times are coming.

End times are here, and there are people who are

trying to rewrite the Bible. And you never know what

wild happen on your app. So sometimes I look at

the app and I need to check back the Bible

it is true or not, because I'm afraid they may

have changed it. But my physical Bible will always be

the same even so. Luke chapter four. Luke chapter four,

verse forty two. Okay, just three verses Luke chapter four,

verse forty two. If you're there, say yeah, yeah, okay,

half of the hog got it. Okay, here we go.

Look for forty two says now when it was day,

he departed and went into a deserted place. Who is

this he Jesus? Okay, this is Jesus. Are capital h

So he departed and went into a deserted place, and

the crowd sought him and came to him and tried

to keep him from leaving them. But he said to them,

I must preach the Kingdom of God to the other

cities also because for this purpose I have been sent,

And he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee. So

when you read this three versus right, what is the

first thing that immediately comes to your mind? Do you

notice something? Do you see that even Jesus had priorities,

even Jesus had privately? Oh, I think the answer is

really there highlighted. I forgot even Jesus had priorities. First

of all, it tells us that Jesus went to a

deserted place. I don't know for sure whether in this

portion of scripture he went to a deserted place to pray.

But we know in a scripture that Jesus always drew

from the crowd to pray. He always spent time with

the Father. He never neglected his quiet time. That's the

word we use today, our quiet time, our devotion time

where we eat of our daily bread from the Lord.

So Jesus always had that. You read the time and

time again you'll never neglect that. So that's the first

thing I'm gonna say to us. We must privertize our

time with the Lord. You know, if you can't do

it in the morning, if you can, because that's the

best time where we receive our daily bread from the Lord.

And I can assure you that even in my life

I have had many times that my quiet time in

the morning, the scriptures spoke to me right for the

day that I needed on the day itself. And if

you have not experienced it, maybe you have not read

enough in the morning. I want to encourage you to

do that. And until you experience it, it will be different.

It will the Lord will give you insight or I

call it our daily bread, you know, and what you

should do for the day, and you will. It will

help you in your day. And so Jesus always did that.

So he went to a deserted place, and then the

next the following verse says, and the crowd sought him.

And what did they try to do? They tried to

keep him. So where was Jesus. Jesus was actually at

I believe he was at Nazareth. He was at Yes,

I believe he was preaching at Nazareth. And I think

that's there's a posture of cripture wherever you say, you know,

the profet is never welcome in his own city, in

his own place, you know. And of course there were

some people who rejected him, but there were some who

loved him. They wanted him to stay. Stay as long

as you can. Jesus, don't leave us, don't go to

that other place. We want you. So it's not one,

not two people, not three people. It's a crowd. And

they tried to keep him from leaving. Don't go away,

stay with us. But what did Jesus say? He said

to them, I must preach the Kingdom of God to

the others cities. Also basically what he's saying, right, I've

already preached to you. You already have the Word in you.

All we need to do is to work your faith,

continue growing in it. But I must continue to preach

the word of God to many more cities who have

yet to hear. Because God loves all of them. He

died for all. He loves everyone. And he says, because

for this purpose I have been sent friends. Our identity

gives us purpose. So Jesus knew exactly he knew his

identity in the Lord.

He knew his purpose.

Even when Jesus lived on earth, he had a divine priority.

He knew what he was supposed to do, and he

was not pressured by the crowd, no matter how big

the crowd was. I don't know how big the crowd was,

maybe one hundred, maybe a thousand, I don't know, but

the Bible says he was a crowd. And clearly Jesus

himself lived by priority and not by the pressure of

the world or the pressure of people. And so I

want to say to us God is first in all things,

and he must be the center of our lives. He

must take priority in our lives. He must not just

be number one on a checklist, but he has got

to be in the center of our lives, where it

touches every avia of our lives. So I remember sharing

this before, you know, like, although when we say that

God is number one in our lives, and that is correct,

there is theologically correct. But I'd already have been in

this situation, which I have been, whereby sometimes I can

start my day with the Lord. So I checked my

first checklist, God right at the top before my job.

But sometimes I realize in my own personal life, I

go about my day not thinking about Him at all

except for thank you, Lord Jesus for the food. You

know what I'm talking about, right, I'm sure you know

what I'm talking about. And so Jesus should not just

be number one on our checklist, but He's got to

be in the center of our lives. That means that

when you go to school, when you go to your work,

when you're spending time with your family, you know, when

you are just working about going about your life, do

you involve God in your decisions, in your life, in

throughout your day.

You know is a present in your life. And so

I asked myself of them.

You know, God must be involved in my life in

every area of my life. He must be able to

touch every aspect of my life, even in my work,

in my finances, in my health, in my relationships, in

every decision that I make. And so that's why I

like to put it that God has to be in

the center of it all, so that He touches every

area of our lives. One thing our cautionness is that

in our lives we need to be careful. There cannot

be any excepts in our life. Accept and it's God.

You can touch every area of my life except this

one thing.

You know how dangerous that is. That's got an idle

to put it simply, that's goite.

Either.

God, you can touch every aspect in my life, but

just don't touch the one aspect. Just don't touch my wife,

or don't touch my husband my spouse, or don't touch

my my finances, or don't touch my time. God you

can take everything else, but just don't touch this one thing.

And I'm going to show you in a scripture. So

if you look at a book of kings right, there

are many kings at a Bible. In first Kings, we can

see me. Let me show you the scripture of us

Onst Kings fifteen. I think it's on a slide. So

in the twelfth year of Jerlbal king of Isia, Aesa

became over Judah and he reigned forty one years in Jerusalem.

His grandmother's name was Maka, the granddaughter of Abi Shalom.

So Aesa did what was right in the eyes of

the Lord. Sounds good right. Aysa did what was right

in the eyes of the Lord, as did his father David,

and he banished the perverted persons of the land from

the land and removed all the idols that his father's

had made. Well, that's very good. And he removed Macca,

his grandmother from being queen mother because she made an

obscene image of Ashirah. And Asa cut down her obscene

image and burned it by the brook Kidron. But well,

we always get stuck in his word. But but the

high places were not removed. Nevertheless, Aesa's heart was loyal

to the Lord all his days. So he's not the

only king. You can read in the Book of Kings

that many other kings were similar like him. I think

as King, Jehosh, King Amasiah, King as Abya, many of

these other kings. You can read it time and time again.

The Bible says they did what was right in the

eyes of the Lord. But but they did not remove

the high places. They had some excepts in their life. God,

I will remove everything. I'll do everything right in your eyes.

Just this one thing. Don't touch this one thing. That's

quite idle. To be very careful, friends, if you're gonna

live by priority and not by pressure, God has to

be able to touch every area of our lives. So

let me point in to you to another king called

King Josiah. Bible says in Second Kings twenty tew twenty five.

Now before him there was no king like him who

turned to the.

Lord with all his heart.

That's the key word, all his heart, with all his soul,

with all his might, according to all the law of Moses.

Now after him did no nor after him did any

advice like him.

So King Josiah.

Gave his all to the Lord, not some, not even

most of it, but all of it. And so passor Kenneph.

As a code, he says, this God is Lord over all.

Or not at all.

God is Lord over all or not at all. Think

about it, because if there are certain accepts in our

lives that God cannot touch, then he is reading on God.

We are issue to God. We control it.

So I want to caution us because I love you

and we ought to as disciples. We ought to live

by priority. And in order to live by priority, we

need to get our identity, our purpose right. And we

cannot have accepts, we can have any other ideas in

our life that God cannot touch. So Matthew twenty two,

verse thirty seven says to us, Jesus said to him,

you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

with all your soul, with all your mind. This is

the first and great commandment. And when I read this verse,

what is simply means to me is this God will

have the first and the final say. That's why it

simply means to me, because I will love the Lord

my God with my all. For some of us, sometimes

we can ask God for the first say, but we

will have the final say, or we could be on

the reverse side. We only ask God right at the end.

We will make all our decisions, and we say, God

will to bless this decision I made. Got to encourage

you that in order to I've got without all, he

should have the first and the final say in our lives. Amen,

God must have the first say, and he must also

have the final say in our lives. And so now

let me point you to a story in a Bible,

a parable called a Great Supper Luke chapter fourteen. Let's

altern our Bibles to Luke chapter fourteen. This is quite

a long passage. It's a parable of the Great Supper

verse fifteen. So Luke fourteen fifteen. I don't have the

verse on the slide, So Lily might need to search

for the scripture Luke, Chapter fourteen, verse fifteen. Okay, let's

read this parable.

Now.

When one of those who sat at the table with

him with Jesus heard these things, he said to them,

blessed is he who shall eat great in the Kingdom

of God. Then he said to him, Jesus basically said

to him, a certain man gave a great supper and

invited many, and send his servant at supper time to

say to those who were invited, come, for all things

are now ready.

Okay.

So the powable talks about a man who had a supper. Okay,

great supper. Many pupposed to come, and he invited many

people and says, now come, everything is ready verse eighteen.

But they're all in one accord began to make excuses,

or even in excuses can come in unison. All in

one accord began to make excuses. The first say to him,

I have brought I have bought a piece of ground,

and I must go and see it. I asked that

you have me excused. Think about it for a moment.

If you bought a piece of land, wouldn't you have

went and seed the land before you bought it?

Right, wouldn't you.

But this guy is saying I bought a land, now

I must go and see it. So I'm not sure

whether he saw it before or not. But all of

us know before you buy something, you will see it.

Even when you score shoppee and buy something, why would

you go and click? Yes, exactly how many of you

when you buy a shoppy you're going to click the review?

You're going to read them. I don't know about you,

but that's why I do. Not only when I read it,

I go check the I checked the photo, some book,

a show video. I'm going to look at it right,

So we understand that. But this guy or this man

in the Bible, in the Powerber says I bought a land,

I must go and see it verse nineteen, and another

said I bought five yoke of oxen and I'm going

to test them. I asked that you have me excuse.

That's the second excuse there in the Bible. This other

guy bought five oxen and I'm going to test them.

So this guy didn't say I must go and test them,

but it basically speaks about his priority because it may

not be urgent at the point in time, but it

speaks of where your heart is, what is really important

in your heart? What's really in your heart? Because the

way I look at it, when you buy five oxen,

what do you think he'll do with it?

I think he'll make wealth out of it. Do you

think so? Maybe make money out of it? You know,

maybe it's to tall the land.

Maybe it's for food, or maybe not for food, Maybe

it's for milk, whatever it is, you know, to tall

and to work the land, and talks about bring increase right,

And so maybe this person's heart is in the wrong place.

He has other things more important in his heart than

coming to this supper. Verse T in DC is still

another said, I have married a wife. Out I shouldn't

say after that, and therefore I cannot come. So out

so I've married a wife, I cannot come. So I

ask myself what went wrong? Did the wife not allow

him to go? Our wife became the excuse, or maybe himself,

you don't want to go by us his wife as an excuse.

So when we get married, it ought to be a

marriage with where it becomes two in one and we

become stronger, we get to do great experts together. Right,

But how come a marriage began to stop this person.

So he became questionable, really questionable verse to any one.

So then so the servant came and reported these things

to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry,

said to the servant, go out quickly into the streets

and the lanes of the city, and bring in here

the poor and the man, and the lame, and the blind.

And the servants said, Master, it is done as you

have commanded, and still there is room. Then the master

said to the servant, go out into the highways, and

he just and compel them to come in that my

house may be feeled. For I say to you that

none of those men who invited shall taste my supper. So, friends,

if we don't live by a priority, we will live

by pressures of the world. That's exactly what the scripture

is telling us. And you realize that those people who

had a lot were very distracted. And who are those

who in the end who came, if you read it,

it's those who had little. So I've come to realize

that godliness with contentment is great gain. Actually the Bible

tells us that. And so people who have a lot

tend to get very distracted. That's what the story actually

tells us, and the people who have little will focus

more on God because they have less distractions. So every

day of my life, I'm beginning to learn how to

be content, not to compare and look at others.

Because the Bible reminds us once again.

I'll say to you, godliness with contentment is great gain

Firstivty sixty six.

You can find it there.

So in life, there's a difference between important and urgent.

Not everything that we do in our life is urgent

and important. Sometimes it's urgent, sometimes it's important, but just

because it's urgent doesn't mean that it's important. It may

something that is important may not be urgent, but it

has to take priority in our life because it is important.

You and I understand if you make time for things

that are important, even though they may not be urgent

at that point of time. And so I order just

really command all of our students here because you made

it to a Sunday worship service despite your exams. Give

yourself a hand, give yourself a pace on your back,

because that's one example of how you live by priority

and not by pressure. In the ex church, we always

encourage our students to come to church on a Sunday,

even though you're having exams. And I stand before you

to tell you that I've never missed a single on

my Sunday. So I'm not preaching a message just out

of the Bible or out of tin air. But many

of us here have lived out their life, and I

want to say to you that it is possible to

live by priority and not by pressure. Despite of all

your exams, your assignments, your work. I have never skipped

a Sunday unless I was bad ridden for some form

of sickness. You know, and you've asked me, way I

kept cash that principle for me, I actually call it

for my parents.

You know.

When I was growing up, I I was born in

a Christian family. And of course, even though I'm born

in a Christian family, it does not make me Christen.

I had to make my own personal choice because Christianity

is a relationship we got. It's not a religion that

you passed on from one generation to the other. You

have to make a personal choice. So I made my

personal choice. But one thing I learned from my parents

is that they will never allowed me to skip Sunday

worship when I was growing up, never unless I was

sick and I caught that from young and every time

my parents and my family would go to travel, when

we travel Europe or wherever we go, we would.

Take the trouble.

I put quote unquote the trouble to go to a

church service on a Sunday. I say trauble, because actually,

when you're traveling is quite troublesome, to be very honest

with you. So we've been in places whereby we have travel,

and I think that's one time we were in we

were in Russia. Hey, maybe you ask me why am

I doing that? My sister studied medicin in Russia. There

was many years ago, came many many years ago, at

least ten years ago, something like that. Uh, And so

we went there for her graduation. So my whole family

went for a graduation, and we were there also touring

the country and different different places. And I still remember

on a Sunday we took the trouble. I think my

family had some argument because we had to take some

cab or something like that. It was very inconvenient, very inconvenient,

but we took the trouble to be at church on

Sunday and we walked into a service and it was

all in Russian. Friends, I did not understand a single word.

But all I know I was in the presence of God.

So you and I, even as we live our lives

and revolve our decisions around the House of God. Even

on a holiday, you can find a church on Sunday.

I remember traveling with my wife's family in China, so

we also went to a church on Sunday. And also

I didn't understand a single thing. Everything was hing chong.

But it's okay, it's okay. So thank God for translations. Okay,

translations help us to connect and understand better. But sometimes

you can be in a situation where I don't understand.

It's okay.

The songs sound familiar, so I was singing anyway. I

was singing in my heart praise the Lord. So all

of us can live by priority. And I still remember

when I was a student, I would always go to

per service on a Tuesday. We travel the super all

the way for per service. Even though I had assignments.

I had a good assignment out the time. My friends, look,

I just need to be at per service. I'll go

there for three hours, I'll come back, I'll catch up

my work. Don't know it I will definitely catch up

my work, and then I will fail to catch up

back with my work. And I have friends that I

studied with and they always took at me. This guy

is crazy. You're aways spending time in church, like does

he ever study?

Yes? I do. I study into midnight.

And when I do well, you look at me and say, like,

what in the world how do you do it? And

I say to them, look, even as we prioritize God first,

he will take care of us and your honor. God first,

he will take care of you, because God is no

man's debtor. So Matthew sixth Terry three reminds us sick first,

the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these

things shall be added to you. So that's my first point.

Live by priority and not by pressure. Even though the

world tell us it's not possible. They'll tell you, don't

do this, don't spend so much time in church. Yes,

I want to say to your students your role as

possibility to study. Yes, please do well our studies please,

because that's your testimony. But I want to say to

you also, don't just graduate with the paper. Graduate with

the testimony where you can serve the Lord with all

your mind, with all your strength, but yet also do

well in your studies, because God will also bless you

in both of the areas even as you trust him. Amen.

So my next point is this is connected Live by

conviction and not convenience. Live by conviction and not convenience.

What is the difference. Convenience is being able to do

something with little difficulty. In simple terms, it's easy, very

easy for us. Conviction is a deep personal belief and

is not based on emotion or feelings. It is a

deep personal belief. Another simple word for it will be

like a stance, like what do you very believe in?

What's your stance? It is deeply rooted in truth and

lived out in obedience. Because when chaos comes, when times

of confusion comes, when the world changes, when confusion arises,

your conviction will not change. It's the same. It stands

firm like a rock, even if you don't feel like it. Again,

it's not based on emotions. It's not based on feeling.

Even when you don't feel like it, your conviction will

still remain.

It's the same. It's not changed.

I look at it as a anchor that keeps a

ship grounded, and you will not be moved. And I

want to say to us, conviction is most needed during

your time of testing. It's in those times when you

are put in the fire, in trial and testing, where

your conviction is really put to the test.

Do you really believe what the Lord has said to you?

Do you really believe what the Bible says to you?

Are you truly convinced, It's another word for it, convinced.

Are you truly convinced? Because if you are truly convinced,

you will live by it. You will live by it.

And so the Bible reminds us that we ought to

be firm, right, we ought not to be like children.

Let me show it to you efficient chapter fourwards, this

is what this is what we ought not to be. Okay,

And in the second part of the Worse, he says,

and he himself gave something to be prophets, apostles, profets, evangelists,

some passes, and teachers tests of fire, for ministry, for

the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry,

for the edifying of the Body of Christ, till we

all come to the unity of the faith and of

the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man,

to the measure of the statue of the fullness of Christ.

Look at this, that we should no longer be children,

tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind

of doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning

craftiness of deceitful plotting. But speaking the truth in love

may grow up in all things into Him who is

the head Christ.

Amen.

So we ought not to be like children. That's why

we need conviction, not be tossed to and fro by

what people say. And one thing I realize about this

word is that as the world progresses, more and more

things that used to be wrong seem to now be

all right.

It's always a process.

You know, it used to be wrong, and then you'll

be not so okay, and then maybe it'll be like

borderline okay. Then it starts to become it's okay, and

then sunny becomes good. And so the words turning upside down.

Everything is turning upside down. And so you and I

need to have conviction. We need to have priority in

our life so that we will not be tossed to

and fro. Black will always be black, white always be white,

Black cannot be white, and vice versa, and so we

need conviction in our life so we can stand firm

and we will not be tossed to and fro fans

can is something that we need the most when the

times of testing come. But I tell you it's not

something easy to talk about. And I'm gonna talk about

some of it right now, is okay, And I pray

you will catch it with all your heart and you

will not shy away from it. I want to say

to us that in our lives we need boundaries. And

one of the area that we need boundaries in our

life is in our relationships, especially boy girl relationship. Can

I say that to you, because friends, you're not going

to get this anywhere else except in the church. I

want to say to us that we need to have boundaries.

In ext church, we have something called free courtship. Okay,

I'm sure you'll be familiar with the word called dating.

Dating is two weeople just trying to work out, work

things out, to see where they're it works up where

it is compatible. But courtship is the word that we

use in ex church. Courtship actually means two people working

towards marriage. That means even though we are quote unquote dating,

which we actually used the word courtship.

We are already working towards marriage.

So before courtship, we have actually something called pre courtship

in actually, let me introduce that concept to you. So

my wife and I and many of the some of

the leaders here also went to pre courtship because we

believe in the power of it. So when we had

feelings or liking for another person, we already told our

elders and our pastors, and they arrange elders or pastors

or married couples who had been in the marriage for

some time who have walked through life before, and they

will sit down with us and talk about it. And

if you know, one of the boundaries we had in

our pree courtship, okay, So prea courtship, it is a

time whereby we are getting to know each other deeper

before we make an informed decision to go into courtship,

because once we enter into we're working towards marriage already.

Okay.

So we had pre courtship the duation between three to

six months, and I still remember very clearly, right, some

of the boundaries that we set in our pre courtship, okay,

because we're not dating yet, right, we are still just

having a proper conversation, and the compinsation are very deep.

We talk about identity, we talk about future, we talk

about children. Can imagine I haven't dated yet, but we're

already talking about real things in life, because the goal

is to take us to marriage and for the rest

of our lives, not not for fun, not not for

playing one.

Okay, And some of the boundaries that we had was

very clear.

You know. For example, we will never walk into each

other's room. Okay, we will never go to a movie together.

You may be wondering, huh, go to the movie is

so better? You know what? In the movies we can't

really talk in the movies. The mouth don't do the talking.

The hands do the talking. So we will never go

to the movie. We will always go to cafes and

restaurants in public. That's what me and my wife did

that time when we were not even together yet free courtship,

free courtship.

We had many boundaries. We will not go home past

is he eleven pm or tough?

But I think it's eleven pm because at night our

feelings are raging, So we go back earlier, and after

we meet we talked, we will tell our counselors, Okay,

we've gone back home. So there was safety in the boundary.

And I want to say to us this is I'm

not saying that you need to have this same conviction,

but I'm saying that we need to have boundaries in

our life, especially when it comes to boy girl relationship.

So I want to suggest to you, don't stay together.

If you're if you're in a dating relationship, because you

will put yourself in a place of temptation that you

won't be able to resist. And every other accident they

say also starts with this statement. Nothing will happen, It's

gonna be okay, right. Does that sound familiar to you.

I want to say to you, you know, I'm not

staying with your boyfriend or your girlfriend is a conviction

that will take you the long way because there is

safety in boundaries. I know it's not easy to swallow,

but it's important and I want to say to you

that's a better way to do it. That's all I'm

trying to say, there is a better way to do it.

You wouldn't get this anywhere else. And if the church

does not talk about this, I don't know who else

will talk about it. So I pray you hear it

from me, even though you may not like me. So

I want to say to you, don't have to stay

with your boyfriend or a girlfriend yet you will stay

with them for the rest.

Of your life after that.

I always tell people, if you get married at thirty

and live past sixty, you spend more of your life

is married than singer.

Why not?

And those marriage say yeah, so don't worry. You got

plenty of time to leave with them that time you

say you want to you want to stay outside. Just kidding,

just kidding. So I would say to my young students here,

should do it. There's plenty of time because you if

you get married at thirty and live past sixty, you

really spend more time married than single. Don't know, I

should do it. Seek the Lord first, you know, keep

your bodies pure, keep your bodies set.

Apart for your marriage. You know, do not get anymore

in premeried to sex the.

By way she talks about it, and I'm gonna say

it again, you got to hear it in the church

because this talks about conviction.

It's about conviction.

Do not be unequally yoked with the pre believer, because

when you get married, you know that there will be

a lot of trouble in the house.

Where would the children go.

I've heard many counter stories about this, and you to

give each other space and the time to just seek

the Lord first and to be a believer in the

lot before you come together.

So be patient.

So I want to say to us, boundaries keep us safe.

Conviction will keep us safe. Imagine playing football and there's.

No there's no rules. Can you try that?

You can take the ball with your hand. You can

kick the ball from the back of the golbos. Imagine

driving on the road with no signs and no rules,

and I know, I know traffic light. You know how

much chaos that will cost. So I want to say

to us God loves us so much that he set

boundaries for us. And likewise, when your parents set boundaries

for you, it's also for your own good. You may

not understand it at the point of time, but one

day you will. And so I always remind myself to

never put myself in a position to be tempted. Never,

because we every time tell ourselves, right, God, I'm very strong,

don't worry, I can handle this. That's actually the beginning

of your phone, because that's called pride. That's called pride.

So never put yourself in the position to be tempted.

So my conviction went on so deep, to the extent

when when we were courting, me and me and my

wife that ton not married yet courting that we will

never go on a holiday together. You know why, because

on holidays you put your guard down. So I think

there was friends work organizing some some trip I wanted

to go to. Some I think was friends reading or

something like that. Uh, And I said, look, I'm not

going to go. If they organize it, please go, but

I will sacrifice myself.

I wouldn't go.

Because it's doing the holidays that you let your guard down,

very very very dangerous. So I want to say to us,

never put yourself in a position to be tempted, because

we will fall We our nature in us we have fallen,

and our hearts are deceitful above all things, the Bible says,

So don't put yourself in that position. Come on, don't

ever put yourself in that position. Have some conviction. So

speaking about church and not missing church, I still remember

when I was in the US, I went to the

US for work and travel for three months. Before I

landed in the US, I had already searched for a

church to go to beg in Malaysia, alreadysearch Okay, I'm

going to go for this church. And when we landed

Dare on that Friday, I think Friday or Saturday, that

Sunday itself, we took the most expensive cap it was

in the US dollars, you know, I think it was

fifty dollars or something of that early in the morning

to the church. I paid the price. Me and the

two other friends went to church early in the morning.

And when I was in the US for three months,

I never skipped a single Sunday service. Never, even though

I was scheduled to work on a Sunday. I told

my manager, look, manager, I honor you. I understand that

I work, but may I requests. I just need to

be in church on a Sunday morning. And because my

manager was so pleased with the requests, nobody was asking

something that let the know. He said, look, no worries,

you can come in early in the morning. So I

were coming eight or sevent thirteen in the morning, set

up the store. I was working at the F and

B in the team park and then I will leave

for church and then I'll come back after that at

t in afternoon. And because I honored the lot first,

because I put him first, I never miss a single Sunday.

I prioritize him.

Within two weeks when I was in the US, I

became a supervisor in the in the in the FMB

plan FNB shop, you know, because the manager saw that's

something different about us. Frenzi is very very counterculture, you know.

But when the world sees is right, it's vertical and

they will see something different about you.

That is why.

We ought to leave by conviction and not by convenience.

That's how I look at it. That's how we become

first disciples before anything else, before even have jobs, before

even what we do. We ought to be first a disciple.

Are you really convinced that God has called you? If

you are, you will live by it.

Amen.

So let me close with this last verse from Proverbs

if the three verse nine to ten, I think we're

being read it earlier. During the tieson offering. This talks

about giving to the Lord, you know, tyson offering. He says,

honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first

ruse of all your increase, so your bonds will be

filled with plenty, and your words will overflow with new wine.

When I read these verse carefully, right, it says honor

the Lord with your possessions. This NKGV version uses the

word so sow your bonds. I think there is another version.

I'm not sure there's an ivy uses the word then,

so he goes it is honor the Love with your possessions.

Then your bonds will be filled with plenty, and your

warts will overload a new wine. So I say to

you again, God is no man's debtor. You can never

outgive God. I challenge you to outgive God.

Try.

We can never outgive God because God will always surpass

and will bless us in return, even as you honor

Him with your possessions. When I look at it, it

talks about honoring Him in every area of our lives,

our time, our talent, our treasure, everything. Even as we

honor the Lord first, he will honor you in return.

Amen.

So are there anyone whoorth struggling to prioritize God in

our lives? I pray it you'll be encouraged today. I

want to say to us in order for us to

live by priority and not by pressure. In order for

us to live by conviction and not convince onions, we

need to first live by the spirit. And this is

how I'm going to close. We ought to live by

the spirit so that we will not fulfill the lost

of the flesh. I'm just gonna read to you last

three verses and going to close. It's not on the slide.

It's found in Galatians chapter five, verse sixteen. I say, then,

walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfill the

last of the flesh.

For the flesh lust.

Against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and

these are contravy to one another. They're always fighting the last,

the spirit and the flesh the contrary to one another,

so that you do not do the things that you wish.

But if you are led by the spirit, you are

not under the law. So I'll say to us, walk

by the spirit, live by the spirit, and you will

not fulfilled the last of the flesh. Because as human

as we are, it's difficult to live by by by priorities.

It's difficult for us to live according to God's standard.

We need his grace, We need strength every day, and

I think The only way possible is that we need

the help of the Holy Spirit.

Not by power, not by mind.

The Bible says, but by my Spirit, says the Lord.

We can do all things to Christ, who strengthens us.

So are there anyone of us here today that you

are struggling. Maybe you're struggling to prioritize things in your life.

There are many things that we are distracted with. The

things of the world are always distracting us, the new

things by the day, things that are more exciting, things

that the enemy will always show at us and will

tempt us and will lure us away. But you and

I must stand strong, live by priority, so that you

never will have to live by pressure. The temptations and

the challenge of the world these days are getting greater

and greater by the day, and if we do not

strengthen our faith, we will eventually lose it.

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

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this week is going to be a good week ahead

for you. God bless