New Creation | Pr Steven Soon

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

will light up your day today's topic, all right, or today's sermon.

It's called very uply new creation. All right. This is something that is

not new to Christians. We know about new creation, we know about the

theology of new creation. But we're gonna dive deeper what it means to be

a new creation. So who here is already a new creation? Can you

raise your hand? We're not very confident. Okay, if you let me

clarify, if you have accepted Jesus you are new creations? Or how many

here you are a new creation? Amen? Hallelujah. Now I'm gonna read

a portion of scripture. I'm gonna start off. If Romans talk, want

to do and this will be our key scripture. So they says, yeah,

I beseech you. Therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that

you present your body is a living sacrifice wholly acceptable to God, which is

your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be

transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that

good and acceptable and perfect way of God. Hellelia, This is the key

scripture. Also, many of us have read this scripture many times. I'm

gonna allow this to bake in your minds for a little bit as you let

the scripture sink in. And I'm gonna share some updates about my mission trip.

All right, So last week I missed you guys. I wasn't here

because I was over in Lectober, Indonesia for a four day mission trip from

seven to ten Thursday to Sunday. And I just want to share some pictures

if you, thanks ned for helping. So this is the team. Yeah,

so team of ten. That is Puck France, the coordinator of ex

Indonesia. This guy here, this is Puck Jeffrey, puck friend's brother,

order brother who is the coordinator for Toba. In the area of Lake Toba

and the rest of us. We had the teamler. As you can see,

it's mostly girls, two guys. Too much, too much, but

but it was good. It was good. We had a really good time.

This was at the Maydland Airport, just to share even or the travel

there was crazy. We landed in Medan and we had to drive for five

hours to Lake Toba. I always thought I have no motion sickness. I

was proven wrong that day. Man Puck Jeffrey, the way he drives,

I think he can be a stunman. But I got singing and I had

to take some motion sickness pills. But it was good. There's the first

day. The first day we arrived, we immediately got ready for the night

rally. Okay, so this is Thursday night. There were a total three

rallies and different towns in Lake Toba that we traveled to. So Thursday night

was a rally, Friday night was a rally, Saturday night was a rally,

and Sunday was the worship service, and in between we had some other

things, house visitations. I'm gonna share a little bit more so this was

the first night I had the privilege to preach. Uh there in Basa,

Indonesia. Oh my goodness, it's in Basa, Indonesia. I'm gonna share

testam me on that later, so I don't want to to spoil it for

you. But yeah, that's a first night. And then next one Elder

Rose also preach, and uh, it's both of us. If you can

see the Indonesia's the way, It's very funny. They asked for a portraits

at first I'm like, why do you ask for a portrait? You see

this? They put us there on the poster. It was a little bit

embarrassing, but but yeah, Yeah, Elder Rose and I sort of like,

uh, share out the Lord of preaching through the different sessions we have,

ministry time and outer alter. Every night was packed. You know,

you have mom's, dad's children, the youths coming out to be prayed for.

It was amazing. Uh. Elder Rose also preached in Basa, Indonesia.

Okay, next photo, this is their team. Uh. This one

here is lays Its Jeffrey's daughter. She's very anointed worship leader. We were

blown away and I was just so refreshed being in worship. Very young,

I think she is twenty three, but such maturity and annoying thing. I

think this is a God's blessing and heritage for the family's faith. And the

team was there to minister for worship trout all the days right and the next

we have. Yeah, so we prayed. This was during one of the

Sunday we were at two churches. We broke the team up and this was

one of the churches and we prayed for them during service. Next. Yeah,

we also visited different ones to pray for them. So it was a

really really good time of praying for different families, different inve individuals that weren't

well. Next, yeah, and then this guy here owns a hotel,

the only five star hotel in Laketoba and he's a believer. So he invited

us over and man, this is gonna go live. But he gave us

free breakfast, hotel breakfast. We were shocking, this is not a mission

trip. We thought we had breakfast. Very nice of him, but we

prayed for him, ministered to him and the wife and not young. I

think there are eighty five and eighty nine. Yeah, yeah, but still

going strong in their faith. Right. Next, Okay, this is our

morning devotion. You can tell we are not awake. You know why five

am was our devotion. We finished the first day and we reached home about

twelve something and then we woke up at five for devotion. It's just the

schedule that the people that wake up early. Yeah, so there is the

devotion that we had. Next, and yeah, of course mission trip,

we have to eat food. There's duran. That's me and your phone opening

Duran. There's a serf to us by the church, and that was our

last dinner together before we went to the airport. All right, okay,

anything else I want to share a little bit about this. Okay, So

this year it's a leprosy village. So it's a leprosy community that has been

excommunicated from the world, meaning they have been cut off from society, and

we had an opportunity to go and minister to them. Truly egg of faith,

and really scripture taught us, right, Jesus said, and we use

this for tieson offering scripture. You know, Jesus said, heal the sick,

cleanse the lepers, raise the dad freely. You have received freely give.

I experienced it first, and that scripture came to life, and then

next one. See the whole group, and you can see actually most of

them ninety nine percent are actually Muslims. And we got to minister to them,

We got to pray for them, and we went there to send them

supplies. There's this guy here over here. You can't really see. He's

he has been having leprosy for thirty years, so I believe no longer contagious.

But his nose has fell off, his ears has fell off, normal

things, all fingers well, there's one of the things that leprosy can do

in serious cases. And of course a lot of the ladies actually because they

cover up, you can't really see, but they went to the end.

Amount of loneliness they feel is actually very overwhelming when we were there, so

it was it was great that we can spend just one one morning with them,

praying with them and talking to them and just ministering to them. So

this was definitely one of the highlights for you can see again dur Ran in

front of friends. So it's not as it's not as black friends. Okay,

moving on, Yeah, I think that's it right, More pictures them

more. Yeah, all right, So that's all quick update. And I

would encourage you if you have an opportunity to go for missions, do go.

It's life changing. It really changes your perspective. And my sister I

have a sister ten years younger than me, and she recently went for a

first mission trip in May and she say this, she say, she calls

me cock suddenly after I went for missions, troops, everything that I read

in the Bible makes sense. Wow, such a profound thought. And I

encourage you you've never been to missions, sign up for missions, and next

year we're gonna have a lot more mission opportunities because there's a direction of our

church next year. And crush you to sign up. If you feel alone,

You're like, I want to go, but it seems like nobody else

with me. Let me know, I'll get someone to go with you.

Yeah, a challenge. Grace recently when to chang my as well, her

first mission trip to to to ex chang MYI to minister there, and it's

a great opportunity for your faith to grow. Amen. I'm gonna share a

little bit more testimonies later. Okay, So again, just now we talk

about this key scripture and we all know this scripture. I'm gonna read it

again, Kate. Romans one to two. It says, I be seech

you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your

bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable

service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by

the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and

acceptable and perfect will of God. The first point I want to bring across

is this, when you accept Christ, there's a paradigm shift you cannot be

the same. Impossible. It is impossible to be the same after you accept

Christ. When God touches something or someone, that thing is transformed forever,

just like how fire is leamitless. Can you imagine you start with a spark,

but the fire can grow into a forest fire. That is like the

touch of God and the fire. And the thing about one of the key

characteristics of fire is the fire never leaves something the same. Everything that the

fire touches, something happens, and that is our faith. When we accept

Jesus, something happens, and it has to happen right the word of God.

One of the things that happen is there's the Word of God, and

the Holy Spirit has given us a conscience to be able to tell right from

wrong, holy and unholy. The Christians that you know what I'm talking about.

You know that there are things in this world that are perfectly acceptable,

but enough if we know deep in our hearts that is wrong. But you

can't explain there's no way, no matter how you explain, the world has

a better explanation for their stuns correct. It's something that's given to us by

the Holy Spirit. It's a conscience of being able to recognize what is holy

wise unholy, wise right, and why is wrong. It changes the way

you think I'm going to share a personal story and going to the next light.

You see a picture of me when I was fifteen, a class monitor.

But I'm the class monitor that bring people go up on TENK classes and

so, and that's me when I was fifteen. I came so a few

two months ago, you guys heard me pretty sure about my legacy of faith.

Right, how I'm a fourth generation Christian, But I actually only accepted

Christ for myself at the age of fifteen. Okay, at that point you

look at this boilers the face so easy to bully. So I was bullied

for many years. Actually, throughout my schooling years, I was someone who

can't do anything. Well really, everything I touched was cursed. You know,

I don't know if I shared this story before. I think I may

have. Last time my dad's computer, right, I do not think I

touched got virus or no. Then my dad was called me, what do

you do? I did nothing. I just Microsoft word virus. So everything

I touched that's just an illustration. But it did happen. But I felt

I felt like I'm I'm very useless. I felt like I was. There

was no meaning, there was no place for me in this world. I

felt that, Okay, everyone has their girl friends, I didn't have.

I felt like an alien in the midst of everyone. Everyone was able to

do on their studies and this and that. But at that point I have

not discovered my talent. I felt that I can't do anything right. But

when I was fifteen years old, I had a personal encounter with God at

a church conference, and I remember crying out to God and say, God,

if you are the God that I read about for the past fifteen years

of my life. In Sunday School, I member a scripture and get free

stickers. I did all that. I was the top student. Okay,

that one thing. I did well in Sunday School. I was able to

get a lot of prizes. But the scripture was never real to me.

It felt like a story. So I prated to God. I said,

God, if you are real, as how I've studied for the past fifteen

years proved to me. Now, this is a very dangerous thing to do.

I don't encourage you to do that. You're testing the Lord. But

at that time I was young, I had no relationship with God, and

I was experate. So I say, God, you show me that you're

real, And God appeared and touched me. There's a long story shot And

after that what happened was my situations did not change. I was still bullying

in school. I was bullying church. Yeah, Christians can bully or so

and you know young people, they can be nasty. Yeah, so I

was bullying in church. I was still not doing well in my studies.

Things were still bad. But something inside me changed. My view of self

worth was completely shifted. My view of self worth previously was I'm only a

vailable person if I can contribute, if I have talent, if I am

good in the things that I do. And at the time I wasn't good

at anything right, so I felt that I was a nobody. But when

God touched my heart and I accepted Jesus for myself, I saw my off

through the eyes of God, just merely being a child of God. I'm

precious And though all these things are raging around me, I was calm and

collected because I knew who I am in Christ. When God comes into your

life then needs to be a paradigm shift. The second story and there.

It will be the second picture. Uh a drinker. If you look closer,

you seven up. I want to share a little story. I found

this picture. I found it interesting in a trip down memory lane. So

when I was in college, God one day just put into my heart Stephen,

don't drink alcohol anymore. I was someone who enjoyed drinking wine. Right.

Uh, my dad taught me, how age your six? Funny story?

Sorry that I have to share age of six. My dad told me,

now rabina there was wine separate story. Beer present them t Chinese New

Year. So they found it really funny. But but nothing happened to me

idea become an alcoholic storry. But God, I remember at that time,

told me Steven, I want you to abstain from alcohol beverages. I asked

him why. He didn't give me an answer. Actually I did today.

I don't know why God asked me to abstain. Uh. Scripture they say

you can drink, just don't get drunk, right, don't get carried away?

So I as got why? What reason? He quiet? He never

told me why. But I believe I believe that it's it's in this personal

conviction, not saying all of you should not drink. Okay, it's a

personal and I believe it is an opportunity for me to share the gospel and

just to share with you. Uh, it's harm for the Muslims, right,

and this gives me a foot in to share the gospel with them.

Oh fucking up, then you can share. That's for me. That's what

I believe. This could be one of the reasons why God asked me to

I've stayed any reason, no reason. Is it wrong to drink? It's

not wrong, But yet something changed when I accepted Christ and when God spoke

to me. Does that make any sense in the eyes of the world.

But it was instructed by the lot and I obey and obay. So something

has to change when God comes into your life. The third story, this

one very recent, and this one very Sakya say, may have seen my

story on this? This happened on Where was this was it today? I

think so? So my cars. You may know my car just got major

major fakes. I changed all my absorbers, my lower arms. It's expensively,

it's expensive. So I felt excited coming back from missions. Right,

I'm like, yes, I get to drive like a new car. First

day of driving the car, I went over a hole and then I heard

a very light, scretchy metal sound that appears on it, a very very

very soft So I'm like, okay, this doesn't seem like severe dimension checked

the tires. The tire did not explored. Everything is still balanced, the

cars all right, like in third, but the noise will come back on

and off. In that forty five minutes I was driving, I thought,

okay, I'm very busy. I was unwell, so I thought, okay,

this car check next week. But then I felt an uneasiness in my

heart, and I believe it's the Lord saying go and get it checked today.

So during lunch hour, when I had a break from work, I

wan and get it checked. And they were looking for it. At first.

At first the mechanic also driving the car, okay, what, okay,

what? But then I'm like, do you hear that? You hear

it? He didn't hear, so I say, but I heard it,

So I say, okay, it's definitely in the left front tire. So

they took out the whale. They didn't take out the breck caliper because it's

a lot of work for hybrid car h but they found this rock in it.

This rock, small little rock they took. It took them half and

hour just to find this is to remove that rock. And I don't know

if you know cars, but you look at this damage here. This is

a drive shaft. This small little rock messed up the whole drive shoft.

The mechanic at first they didn't even see it. I'm like, this doesn't

look right, and the mechanicis are, oh yeah, rather you have to

change your drive shoft. I'm like, oh, I just fixed my car.

But at that point, and the funny thing was the mechanic was even

saying, you know this thing that happened, This rock, like go into

your brick caliper is one in a million chants. I don't know how lucky

you are to get this one in a million chants to get into. If

you know brick calipers, they have tiny holes for this size rock to get

in precisely into the whole. I'm like, I'm imler and I'm low.

But why do I share this story? Is because of this the world's thinking,

well, tell me to blame God. Hey, just fix your car,

just went from missions way come back. This happened to you and you

have to pay money to fix this again. The world will tell me to

think that way, but in my heart, I can't tell you very honestly,

at that time, I was totally at peace, completely at peace.

It was yes, it was annoying that this happened, but was completely at

peace because something in my head has shifted. And what is that that shifted?

It was a renewal of my mind. Does not make sense in the

eyes of the world. Something just happened. You gotta fix the car.

It's gonna take work, take money. But my renewed mind through the Holy

Spirit, tells me that everything's gonna be okay. If the Lord has protected

me thus far, he will continue to protect me. And the truth is

right. If I didn't get the car checked out that day, you will

have damage. I breke caliper. I would have to change the breaks as

lightly. I have a feeling, but that was something that shifted in my

mind, and it does not make any sense in the thoughts of the world.

Something bad just happened. You can still praise God. My renewed mind

has taught me that I can still praise God even in times of trial.

There are some things just not shared it. There are some things that are

acceptable and perfectly reasonable in the side of the world. Yet Scripture says that

by being transformed through the renewing of our mind, we may recognize and prove

the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. And friends, I've

got bad news to share with you all. It's gonna get tougher of Christian

work, it's gonna get tougher. And if we don't cultivate the culture of

constantly renewing our minds true scripture, we will find ourselves caught in the wave

of the thoughts of the world. Very easy, very easy. This whole

way. I was unwell, right, I was like, oh God,

I got so many things to do. I got to prepare the word to

preach while all these things happened happened to me. I could go that direction

very easily. But there's something in me tells me, no praisecott anyways.

God's gracious enough, And that was just not in the team briefing and prayer.

That's something we pray. God gracious enough, and that can only come

from where a renewed mind. And that's what the scripture teaches us. Do

we have a renewed mind this morning? And if we don't have a renewed

mind. It's time to do a little hard check and ask God for a

little help. All right, moving on to my second point. I hope

everyone's okay. Sorry, I have today. I can't ranch out my voice

to hype you up. But it is a word of God, and the

world of God will speak on its own. The second point is this,

that's no halfway. This is not an easy scripture to digest or accept or

hear, but it is the word of God. When Paul mentioned about being

transformed by the renewing of our mind, he's talking about all our mind.

It's not parts of our mind can be transformed. Oh the way we view

better not Dutch drugs. But then everything else can still do. Oh I

cannot murder people, but I can still lie. Doesn't work that way,

right, When we have a renewal of our mind, it's a whole of

our mind and just a little Bible study. The word transformed that was used

in this scripture in Roman soft is the same word. It's the word metamorpho.

Okay, it's a great word for metamorphosis. You know. It's the

same word used to describe Jesus in his transfiguration. When we are renewed and

transforming Christ. We actually are going through the same thing as Jesus. You

know, transfiguration. If you rescripture is a glorious thing that happened to Jesus.

He was shining. The disciples were at all of what was happening.

When we go through a renewer of our mind and we are transformed by that,

this is what happens. People will not be able to deny the light

that's coming out of you. There's another encouragement going to give you. They

cannot deny what you say. May not make sense to them, but they

cannot deny it. There's just something about this person, they will say,

even though I don't agree, but there's just something about this person. And

that's a testimony that we can have marked off. The d says this,

and you should love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all

your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This

is the first commanment. John just now mention this scripture. It does not

say you shall love the Lord your God with part of your heart, part

of your soul, part of your mind, and part of your strength.

But yet we treat God this way. Sometimes in our lives. Ouch God,

you can touch this, but not that God. Uh career, I

you better not touch her this one. I have a goal, I have

a ten year plan. Don't touch my career. Everything else I follow myself

in church, but this one. Don't touch God. This one. Okay,

my finances I give her you ask me to give, But I don't

touch my relationships. But yet, Scripture here tells us that you shall love

your God with all your heart, soul, mine, and strength. And

it's the first commandment, the very first thing, the fundamental thing that we

should do. Don't talk about theology, don't talk about apologetics, don't talk

about all the crazy principles that in scripture. This is the first commandment.

Can we do it? Of course by our own strength is impossible. But

we have to come to God and say, God, I surrender all.

You gotta help me. God, God, I have trouble surrendering, surrendering

my finances. You gotta help me. God, God, I have trouble

trusting you in this area of relationships. You gotta help me. God.

We've got to get to a place to recognize that God is a God of

all. God is a God of all. He's not a God that just

demands part of the attention. Our God is a God that is jealous for

us. That's how much he loves us. And many times you think all

this is some obsessive God is not, because God recognizes that if you were

to love any other thing else we are in trouble. But if we were

to love God with all that we have, we will be okay. We

will be in the will of God. Amen. We have to go all

the way we've God. There's no halfway Matthew six twenty four. No one

can serve two masters, for either he will hit the one and love the

other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.

You cannot serve God and Memon. How many of you are okay with

having two boyfriends or two girlfriends, two husbands or two wives. I mean

some other religion they're okayla. But if you study right, there is actually

a reason why that particular religion allows polygamies. Because at the time it was

time of war and there are a lot of widows, so the command came

so that the widows would be taken care of. It's not to be used

forul last, but today it was twistellar. But you know that you wouldn't

want. I mean, even if you want, you know it's not sustainable,

right, How do you love both equally? Cannot? Right? So

you cann's the same way as creatures says, yeah, you cannot serve two

masters. And let me put it as plain as they you cannot serve God

and still serve the world. It's simple truth. And I know it's not

easy, but it's fundamental. It's common scriptural sense that we can only serve

one master. But yet sometimes we put ourselves in the situation that, Okay,

God, I do this, I can still do that. We end

up in a position of compromise and say that God, you can understand,

right, Lord, you understand right. If we hear from the Lord telling

us to do something, sometimes our human nature, our human flesh, will

go like, ah, God, you know I don't have that time,

right, I really do this for you, right, And we find ourselves

serving two masters without knowing it. And it's a slippery slope because once you

compromise on one thing, the second will come very soon and then the third,

and it gets bigger and bigger and bigger. That's why for me,

like in the area of alcohol. Even I have Christian friends who tell me,

hey, no, lie, when you're safe with us, we're just

drinking here. You can drink. But I choose not to because I know

one compromise will lead to that. That's me. That's me. I'm not

saying anybody else should follow, but that's my conviction. I choose not to

compromise because I know it will lead. If I can find a reason for

that, I'll be able to find other reasons to do other things. So

I stop myself. And so far I have served me well. Sure I

don't get to enjoy the aspect of life. I think God rewards me in

other ways. Yeah, revelation treats. I think, Oh, this is

very hard scripture. But I hope you can open your heart and receive this.

So then, because you are look warm and neither hold nor hot,

I will vomit you out of all of my mouth. Oh Jesus, say

that not my words are sorry you. I don't want to offer you,

but this is the word of God. We cannot say that we love God

and yet love the world. We cannot put one foot and do this with

the world, and then the other food the other one of the things I

during one of the summons I preached in Lake Toba, God revealed to me

that that particular group, that someone with a very toxic drinking behavior. I

don't know any of them prior to that Ah and there was and God at

that time just saw me, Stephen, just talk about it. If it's

the same scripture, talk about this and trust me to move on your behalf.

I did that, and I just said, some of you here say,

you love God, you come to church every week, but yet your

drinking habit is destroying your family. And you allow that one foot in God's

house, one foot in the world, in the pits of hell. And

to my amazement after that, but Jeffrey went up to the stage and Chard

went up to the friend and shared and he said, I did not share

it past to Stephen any of this. You guys know who you are.

It's got talking to you. Got move that cannot be compromised in our life.

And it's not easy. We will always find myself in compromising situations.

But we always have a choice to make. And if we have made mistakes,

it's okay. Thank God. God is a god of second chances.

As long as our hearts have the desire to return and repent. God will

give us a second chance. God will give us a redeeming story. And

I always believe. And you do a mistake and you repent, God will

allow maybe somewhat similar things to happen for you to make it right again.

I personally have experienced that sometimes I do something that is not pleasing to God's

heart, but I repent that I felt bad, and God will allow another

similar situation happening to happen down the road, and to see how my response

is. So. God will always give you a second chance. All right,

but we have to be very careful how we leave our lives. We

look warm, and we neither call nor heart. God says that I've a

vomit you out of my mouth. Oh, really pain forwards to hear.

I pray that we will be able to Yes, we are not perfect.

We're not able to fully be like. Oh, I will have no sin,

I will make no mistakes. No, it's not possible, but we

can do it by the grace of God, with partnership with the Holy Spirit.

I got one more testimony to share, and then we will come almost

to the end. During my reason, there's this trip to Lake Toba.

So Elder Roles and I sort of like work there, like, okay,

we spread the loana for preaching. You take two, I take two.

So I'll take the first night, second night, Elder Rose will take second

night and the fourth morning. Okay, like good. So I thought,

I just have to prepare one message because they're going different towns. I can

reuse the message right right right, and then I prepare the message. And

even then, the funny thing was on the top person right, they need

to write myselone out like this one. I need structure it. But when

I was preparing that sermon, God to me, I'm just gonna give you

to scripture and you go, I'm Prescia. I'm like, couse hall Basa

Indonesia. You know it's not even Bassa Malaysia. Basa Indonesia. What I

did last year when I went to Bakassi, when I appreciate it, I

actually wrote everything work forward and I translated it to Basa Indonesia, and I

checked it with different ones. I read it. This time, RAM gonna

say, no, I give you to scripture, and you go up,

appacher, I'm like, okay, God, you're gonna come true for me.

I thought that was it, you know, I thought, okay,

that's the biggest faith step really. First day we landed, and then put

Jeffrey comes and say ooh, actually, uh, each if you have to

preach four sessions, oh my couse, hall, I only prepare one someone,

not even a script just do scripture. And then I thought, Okayla,

I can still recycle because it's different locations. But then after the first

night, I appreciate I ap preached her that first moment, but praise God,

he came through Bassade, Indonesia, float he was the Holy Spirit was

at me. Then second night we went to in our location, so I

get the rest elder roads preach. But then I notice caught on them same

group of people about JEF free you monony Aron Sama, yeah ka why,

I'm like, I cannot recycle. And then the road so Penny, She's

like, we cannot recycle our message, but actually if you want to,

they will allow. And actually at that time, God also the first night

got challenged my favorite. But first then she came up to me and say,

hey, we can guess. I want to translate for you if you

want. But I'm like, man, I sill forgot that can do all

things. I'm not gonna even though it was so uncomfortable preaching in Bassa,

Indonesia, but I went and really I allowed that room, and then Holy

Spirit just went forth. You saw the pictures how the hands were raised,

the miss Okay, they understood. So it was a Holy Spirit. It

wasn't me. I look bay sound the recordings. I'm like, that's not

me. That definitely wasn't me. But yeah, so I'm like, okay,

God, how I can recycle? Right? God said, no,

all for you have to preach different. Oh, God, I only prepare

to scripture, not even the full sermon. How then God say, don't

worry, I will give you your sermon. I'm like, great, I

was ready my phoning out Bible on the side. I'll give you to scripture

for you to preach this tomorrow. Oh. Then God challenged me again and

he's again to scripture. And I just have to preach and trust the Holy

Spirit to lead. Ah. And and I can tell you the amazing thing

was God really moved through my obedience, and uh what happened. Even but

Jeffrey was saying, at the end last day we were on the way to

the airport, he was saying, but Stephen, you coloran orangina. Oh,

I agree, thatst on the but that is the trick there. So

they are pout of the track. And the way they preach it is very

fire you it's not like that now that they all fall asleep. And I

hope you guys are not falling asleep, okay, but the way they preach

very They scream one and on Sunday there was what happened. I was shocked.

I'm like they say, and me, I'm screaming words I don't even

know existed. So it was definitely the Holy Spirit. And but Jeffrey say

that, now, why do I share this story? Because I had a

lot of opportunities to not choose what God wants me to do, and you

will still be reasonable. I could get a translator, I can preach my

heart, no problem, give me any scripture. I can try to preach

in English. I could event that me. I could have recycled my messages

and people would have understood they have a lot to do, understand that scripture.

God can still use the same creature scriptures tool to touch people. But

reasonable, I could have went all that, I could have done all that

I think there's the So this was the Four Sessions. Yeah, I could

have done all that. So you see why I'm holding the Bible because that's

all I had. God gave me this scripture. So I just told my

but no script just the Bible and just preach. And I could have choose

to compromise in a way that's totally acceptable and reasonable by in everyone's eyes,

even the pastor's there totally the pastor himself come to say, you want translation

or offer off, would be dumb not to take that offer, right,

I say, no, God, if you ask me to do this,

I'm gonna go all the way. But you're gonna help me out. And

because of that, and you know how I was able to have that kind

of sensitivity to God, It's because my mind was renewed. I did not

conform. Just scripture says, to not conform to the patterns of the world.

The pattern of the world will cit this is totally fine. But because

my mind it's in this constant state of renewal, I knew exactly what God

wanted me to do. And I had to practice my faithline and say,

God, you know what, I'm going to just let go and trust you.

So I went up with just two scriptures almost all all the semons.

It's if you want to break through in life, if you're seeking God for

something, for answers, for solutions, I believe this is the way to

do it, that you have to follow God all the way. Their parents

here, So I'm going to use this analogy. I used to be quite

a wild kid, right, so I can share from my experience. If

you are a parent and your kid, right, there's everything possible to irk

you out. You know, they do it on a person. You know

your kid is just trying to annoy you and do everything they can to annoy

you. And then one day the kid comes the dam Can I eat ice

cream? Would you give? Some of you? Very gracious? Are Maybe

you give? But I believe the response would be, you don't even listen

to me to do what you need to do. Why should I reward you?

Correct? We will respond that way right as parents, we would discipline.

Right. Can you imagine now that parent is God and the kid is

us. Do everything God say, do this, trust me and do this

and when I know, like ah, do I know? And do my

thing? God? That is your business. I have my own business to

tend to and then one day something happened, the dear God, can you

give me a bit of mania? Help me out here? Of course I

was saying, God won't do it for you. I think God is gracious

and he has his own ways of working. But can you imagine God's heart?

Man, okayla, even if he does it right, he does it

out of a broken heart. Nos, this guy, he wasn't out of

a please pleased heart that he did. Can imagine if we were to be

faithful and obedient to God every step of the way, and then when they

we say God, God, it'd be nice if I can have this?

Don't you think God would be more pleased to do it? Nature? All

right? So why I say all this is because how we live our life

as Christians, we need to know this secret that if we want God to

be with us in the things that we do, we have to follow God

all the way. If we want God's blessings in the things that we do,

we need to trust God all the way and no compromise. It's a

tough thing to learn, and every day I'm learning that God is constantly challenging

me to do different things that he wants me to do. To step out

of comfort zone. But I thankfully I have learned enough to know that I

better obey and I don't want to live my life knowing than years down the

road I should have obeyed God that time, it'd be so sad. You

know by then if you realize this. I've known people who accepted Christ much

later in their life, in their fifties, say stuff like this, You

guys don't know how blessed you are to accept God. When you are young,

you get to see so much more of God moving in your life.

But yet many of us take it for granted. We have opportunities to see

great things happen, to see how God can use us. But yet we

chose the easy way out. We chose to do things that we think are

best. Lastly, I'm going to talk about the final point. It's called

living sacrifice. There is in verse one. I'm going to share a story

of this guy so under sink h he lived a short life. But this

guy, why do I share the story of this guy? He is actually

his origins are in sika as Ah, right, that was his family and

all that right, and one day he actually encountered God. He saw God,

he saw Jesus. That's his story. He saw Jesus and Jesus called

out to him, and he has accepted Christ. And he is actually the

first missionary to cross the Himalayan mountains barefoot, Okay, to take the gospel

to Nepal and Tibet. Where's this guy? And he has and when he

died, he is believed so his body was never found. Uh why his

belief around that time that he died, it is believed that he was marterred.

He was killed for his faith, all right, And I want to

share something for someone who died for his faith. He wrote this in his

diary, and the court says this. It is easy to die for Christ.

It is hard to live for him. Dying takes only a few minutes

or at worse, an hour or two. But to live for Christ means

to die daily. To myself, we always question, I don't know,

Mela. Sometimes I think I'm mobit on. Oh God, when the persecution

com when the gun is pointed to my head, do you do you say,

say, Jesus is not What would my response be? I've been thinking

about that since my high school year. Is a very mobig guy, so

always thinking about that. How would my response be, And I always pray

that God, I pray that I would respond by saying that I believe in

the Lord Jesus Christ, and if I die, I die. But yet,

over here it is said, to die for Christ it's easy, But

to live for Christ that is difficult. And I hope that all of us,

before we die for Christ, let's live for him daily. Don't wait

until the final moments of your life you say, ah, now I die

for Christ. Why take that privilege at the end of your life when you

can experience it now, when you can leave for just a mention for a

limitless God that can do all things. And in conclusion, I just want

to share this in the battle between the physical and spiritual world, which we

are very in the thick of it every day, in the battle between flesh

and faith, heaven rules. Do you believe that it's heaven real to you?

Sometimes, as Christians, we forget there's a heaven. It feels very

far away. But know that everything, even at this instant, Heaven is

existing another layer over here, a layer where there are angels and principalities,

powers and principalities that our flesh the ice can't see. It's here. It's

just we can't see it. I pray that we can see. The heaven

is real, and I know that whatever however you live your life, when

you choose to follow Christ, know that you're not alone. When you make

decisions for him, know that you have whole of Heaven backing you up,

cheering you on. Scripture also says, right, just as we are so

surrounded, but by the multitudes of those that have gone before us, let

us finish the race. Well, we are surrounded. Do you know the

Abraham read here, the Moses read here, all the Prophets read here.

They're on heaven looking down on us, you know, waiting for us.

I don't know if that is a reality that you are allowed to sink in.

They're looking down and cheering us on. Come on, come on,

Jamie, you can make the right thing. We are here for you.

You'll be okay. I'm on, Eric, it's gonna be okay. Make

the right choice. I want Menna. It's okay, you know, do

it. We are behind you. This is the legacy and inheritance that we

have, and I pray that this will be a real reality in our lives

and not just something we read in a book, So do you believe that

Heaven rules in your life? And in verse one, if we can go

back to Romans to first one again past usa, if I beseech you okay,

besiegd it's a very fancy word of saying, I beg your or I

hope you will okay. What does this mean? That means the choice is

still yours to make. You can still choose not to live life like this.

So what choice will you make today? Is there something that is preventing

you from giving God your all? Is there an area of compromise that you

have in your life? And I always believe when we accept Jesus and the

A's a holy spirit that lives in us, we know where those areas of

compromise are. He's just we choose to ignore. And I'm speaking about myself.

I also have and I have to rely on the Holy Spirit to help

me daily. So is there something preventing you from giving God your alle?

Let the Lord search your heart and surrender it to him as a God.

Help me. I can't do this on my own. If it's unbelieved that

you have, you struggle to see Heaven around you, say God, help

me with unbelief. Open up the eyes of my heart, and I believe

God will come true for you. You do not have to rely on your

own strength. And again verse one says, by the mercies of God.

You know why there is place there cause God knows we can't do it on

our own. We need his mercies. And if you read Romans one to

eleven before chapter twelve, you will see the constant theme of God's mercy.

That is trying to tell the church, the Roman Church, God is mercyful

no matter where you're at, no matter what you're doing. What happens to

know that God's mercies are new every morning. And I'll be there for you,

But live for me came chapter twelve. Offer yourself in light of all

these mercies, offer yourself as a living sacrifice. And do you know when

it says reasonable service, sometimes you think are reasonable reasonable? Right? Actually

the word for it is I may butcher. The Greek word I'm thinking from

memory is something to do logic clothes or something like that. Basically it means

oh no, no, it's a I think, yeah, something that I

couldn't be very wrong. But it actually means the word of God. The

Greek word it also sends a word of God. So the word of God

tells us that we should present ourselves as a living sacrifice, thank God,

not as the date sacrifice. Lujah, Jesus done it. Really, we

don't have to die, We have to die daily in ourselves are but to

be a living sacrifice, to live for Christ. They pray that that will

be our choice today. Whatever has happened yesterday, the past year, it's

okay, it's okay. God's mercies are new every morning, and he wants

to renew you every day. There's the power of transformation. Transformation is not

at least in terms of accepting Christ. It's not an event or an instant,

but this transformation is a daily transformation. You have to be renewed daily.

Leaving sacrifice is burnt on the altar. Right when it's burned, the

impurities will come out. Every day we have more impurities coming out, and

we are becoming more and more like Christ. If we choose to be a

living sacrifice, isn't that what we want to be? More and more like

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

our church, please visit Exchurch do O r G. We are also active

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good week, a hit for you. God bless