Citizens of Heaven Rules | Elder Ang Peng Hoe

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

will light up your day. I'm going to be sharing from the Book of

Philippians, and so I've been going on a bit of a series. Of

course. The team for this year, all of y'all know is Heaven Rules.

And I've been tying in the message of Heaven Rules into the different well

epistles of Paul that I've been teaching from. So I've started off with Galatians,

I've gone into Philippians now and I'm going to be sharing from Philippines.

I won't go into all four chapters of Philippines, so I'm just going to

choose one portion today and I've just simply entitled the message Citizens of Heaven Rules.

Okay, we'll make sense of it as we go along. Case,

stay with me, Stay with me. I'm going to read from Philippines,

chapter one, verses twenty seven to thirty. And you're going to hear a

lot of this world city seasons. You're going to hear about kingdom. You're

going to hear about colonization. Okay, you'll be like one in the world

is you're going to be talking about Okay, but I hope to be able

to tie all this in together. I'm reading from the n LT verse twenty

seven of Chapter one of Philippines. It says this. The title of it

is called live as citizens of Heaven a birth all. You must live as

citizens of Heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the good news about

Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about

you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one

purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the good news. Verse

twenty eight. Don't be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will

be assigned to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you

are going to be saved, even by God himself. Verse twenty nine for

God, for you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ,

but also the privilege of suffering for Him. Verse thirty. We are

in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and

you know that I am still in the midst of it. The Lord blessed

the reading of his word. And as you can see, I don't always

preach a nice, comfortable message. Today I want to talk to you all

about suffering and how much you should look forward to it. Okay, some

contexts to help us unlock the meaning of Paul's letter to the Church in Philippi.

So it's good to understand a bit of context. And then we go

a little bit deeper into the world and I'm going to go line by line

and help us to I hope, by the end of today see it from

Paul's point of view. And what is Paul trying to get? What is

he trying to pass on to the church in Philippi. Okay, So how

to unlock this meaning of Paul's letter? Firstly, we got to realize this

pause letter to the Philippians is basically a letter from an apostle to a church.

Okay, that's one key that you can use to unlock the entire meaning

of the epistle. The second key is this, You've got to realize that

he is writing as a very Jewish jew okay, as Jewish as you can

get to a group of gentile believers. And that's a second key that you

need to unlock this letter to the Philippie Church. And then there is a

third key, and this is probably the most important key for our portion of

scripture. Today because I'm going to be going quite deep into this understanding.

Basically, we got to realize that it's coming from a Roman citizen to a

Roman colony. Basically, he's writing the letter as a Roman citizen and writing

it to a Roman colony. Does that make sense so far? Okay,

hold that thought in my I'm not sure if you realize or you know that

actually the Roman Empire and the Christian Church grew quite simultaneously. It was because

of Roman colonies that had been established everywhere, with a Roman way of life,

with Roman roads leading to all sorts of different places, with Roman customs,

that Paul was actually able as a Roman citizen to travel from one place

to another place to establish colonies for Christ. I don't know whether you realize

that when you read the scripture, but that is the reality of it.

You know, last time they used to say all roads lead to Rome.

It's literally true because the Roman Empire actually built a lot of roads and transportation

was at its most advance, and that was how the Gospel of Jesus Christ

actually moved from one place to the other place so effectively and efficiently. But

somehow true, the Ages Empire build and missionary work have nearly always gone hand

in hand one and it's not just something that we realize from scripture. You

think about you think about the mission's work here in Malaysia. You look at

the churches, the schools. How many of you all come from mission schools?

I was from a mission school. Book had been tongue, it was

Gospel Hall. Where were you from Winning Catholic Catholic High School? Or you

from Pjo and okay, I thought you Malacca and Noah, Okay, Sister

kat where are you from Assunta? My mom was from Assunta. They used

to have a singing nun as well as a principal. Her name is Sister

Enda. Really vibrant, irish nun. If I'm not mistaken, Gabe,

where you're from San Saint Columbus? Is it Anglican? Anglican? Okay,

there you go. I mean, if you ever had the chance to visit

Setiawan, anyone from Sittawan. Stawan Daniel is pseudos the Taiwan. If you

go to Taiwan, there's actually a church or a museum there that actually explains

the history of Methodism in Malaysia. And it's really really, really interesting how

basically it came together with the British Empire. And there's the reality of it.

Here in Malaysia, churches, schools, hospitals, we have a lot

to reflect upon colonial powers that actually shaped our own nation. No, we

have been colonized by the Portuguese and then the Dutch and of course finally the

English. And that's the reality of it. And do you know one of

the reasons that missionary interests in Europe and England has declined is precisely that both

the European and the British empires have also declined. That is the reality of

it. They are not as powerful as they used to be in the fifteen

hundred sixteen hundred seventy. In those centuries, they were traveling. They were

travelers. They were going everywhere around the world, looking for spies, looking

for people, trading slaves or whatever they were doing, they were doing it.

And the mission's work actually rode along with that. So the concept of

having something to give other countries and the concept of going elsewhere to establish the

way of life has in a way, it died for both these empires,

the European Empire and also the British Empire. And this maybe why now today,

of course, actually not today. Today is slightly different when maybe people

like me and Daniel were growing up. The reality of it is majority and

the missionaries actually came from North America because there was this whole land export out

the American way of life, and that was what America was doing. Americans

were establishing their way of life all over the world through their music, through

their pop culture, through Hollywood, and at the same time, American missionaries

were also going out quite agressively. Uh So that's the reality of it today.

I think there's there's there's a big there's there's another reverse. I believe

today most mission work is actually coming out of Asia and even Africa. You'd

be surprised because I see a lot of reverse missions work actually happening. And

you actually see uh not so much Asians and Africans going out and colonizing other

countries. But really we are doing that with our people because of the sheer

numbers of Miami, most or you look like Chinese, so you come from

the majority. Yeah, basically there are too many of us. Uh,

there's a reality of it. I mean we we also technically got sent out

here on at least our ancestry Okay, anyway, that is what Paul was

doing when he wrote as a Roman citizen to a Roman colony in Philippi.

He was using language, he was using a thought process, pictures ideas which

actually belong to a colonized empire. So leonizing is very much today is frown

upon. The attempt to take away one's way of life and plant it in

another country is regarded as a little bit out of date. That's why you

can see a lot of stand up comedians are awaking colonization today. Whether he's

travel Noah Russell Peters al also colonized list. Okay, but that's the reality

of it. There's a lot of more cream made about it. But as

Christians, we must be committed to colonizing. For Jesus Christ, we are

committed to building an empire or a kingdom of Heaven here on earth. That

is our mandate, whether you like it or not, that is the reality

of our call and our purpose. We are actually imperialists in the deeper sense

of the word, and our task is actually to establish colonies of Christ with

a lifestyle that belongs to Heaven wherever we can. And we make no apologies

for that kind of colonizing. We shouldn't make any apologies. This is our

purpose. And so Paul actually planted a colony of Heaven in Philippi because that

was a key place for a colony. That is why the Romans went there.

Paul planted a colony for Christ within the Roman colony somewhere in Greece.

That's where Philippi is increased. Actually, and his fears for the colony are

exactly the same as the fears for any colony. And let's go through it.

No, we will see it as I continue to share. You know,

whenever there is a colony planted, there are two things that can happen

which can destroy and those two dangers are seen in these verses when we studied

a little bit deeper. Okay, So one is this one is an internal

danger that the colony can actually start cracking from the insight, and the other

one is an external danger that it can actually be attacked from the outside and

destroyed. So two things you realize about colonies, Okay, internal danger,

external. Have this in mind, and let us think about the Roman colony.

Okay, think about the Roman colony. It was a group of people,

a community who lived entirely as if they were in the city of Rome

itself. Does that make sense? Basically, their dress, their food,

their sport, their leiger activities, their law courts, they are justice.

Every single part of their life was identical with the life of those who live

in the capital itself. That means if you were living in Rome, Philippi

was basically a miniature Rome. That's essentially what it is. So once you

got into one of these colonies, it felt no different from back home.

Okay, the second thing is this. The second thing that kept in the

colony was that there would be soldiers who were noted for their courage and their

bravery, their ability basically to stand against any overwhelming odds against them. You

have ever seen pictures of Romans making a stand against a large alien army,

you will see a picture of what kept those colonies going. Basically, they

too um and they close ranks. That's what the meaning closed ranks mean.

They stand very closely with one another. So what makes a colony is basically

this, It's it's correct and its defenses. That's what makes a colony.

It's citizens living the way Roman citizens did and it's so just fighting courageously to

preserve that little colony, and the result was that these Roman colonies established all

over Europe and North Africa were actually able to hold the empire. Now,

those are the two things. And then when you think about those two things,

you realize that are too dangerous. That is related to these two things,

and I'll share, Okay, the first danger is this um I'm not

sure if you'll ever heard this term called you win native or you start going

native. And was the first danger that the Roman citizens suddenly when native.

So he tried tried to imagine is if you're an officer of the British Empire,

officer of the British Empire, send all the way to the jungles of

Africa, and then you know you're bringing in your way of life. So

in the middle of the jungle you usually have your afternoon tea with brown braid

scones and butter, and then you dress up for dinner. And you did

that because you wanted to preserve the way of life. And actually they actually

literally did that. If the officer when native, he just basically means he

stopped being British. He tossed the Union jack flag away, say goodbye to

it. Took a nice local wife and say I'm going to take on all

your customs, and in so doing, what he loses is his British correcter.

Okay, In a Roman colony, this same thing could happen. Roman

citizens who became more attracted to the culture of the country in which they are

living in begin to dress in a different way and eating a different way,

and be interested in a different kind of spot. Then very quickly that colony

became less of an influence for the Empire. And that's the reality that takes

place most of the time with colonies if you start going native. Since it's

not recorded and somehow, Carrissa, you mentioned something about your Catholic friends.

This is one of the reasons why Catholicism spreads quite easily because what they usually

do is they take on the customs and the culture of the land in which

they're at, and in so doing they don't realize that they're actually diluting the

Gospel of the Bible. Do you realize that when you go to different places,

different countries, different Catholic nations have got different saints, they've got different

cultural practices. You go to South America and there are different things that they

celebrate that that you know, you shouldn't really be celebrating. Yea. It

is celebrated in the Catholics because tradition and culture is something that they embrace very

openly. But I don't think Paul wanted any of the believers to do something

like that in all honesty. Of course, I've also seen Catholics where they

stand firm to their doctrine of Bulie, but it is only because the Catholic

doctrine is not just based on Bible, not just the inherracy of Bible.

They will always tell you that tradition plays a very very important role in the

Catholic doctrine. That that's one of the reasons. Anyway, I digress,

Okay, I come back here only because you mentioned that. But we need

to stand firm. We need to stand firm, and so the other thing,

the other thing that could happen, the other danger that could happen besides

going native, is this that the moral amongst the soldiers could diminish. And

when it did, instead of Roman soldiers with their shields and spells lining up

shoulder to shoulder, closing ranks, putting those spears as barriers, they start

to panning. If they start to panning, they start to run, and

then of course the colony is at risk of being overrun without proper defense.

And so these are the two dangers in every Christian colony as well. And

one is a matter of character, the other is a matter of defense.

Okay, have that thought in mind, and then you realize that Paul's concern

is not about himself as he is writing this letter, but about the Church,

which is the Kingdom of Heaven established here on earth, God's colony,

ruling and reigning. That's what the church is. This is who we are.

Basically, we are a colony of Heaven here on earth. Does that

make sense? So Paul's two concerns were there is Okay, He's two concerns.

Firstly, that they were not compromise insight regarding their way of life.

That was something that he was hanging on to, and he he todd it

vehemanly. Secondly, his concern second concern that when they face the enemy together,

they will not be intimidated or frightened, that they will not panic,

but they will continue to hold firm. Go back to the four versus direct

and you will see this there. Okay, then only will they not lose

ground if they don't compromise on the inside and they won't be intimidated. Then

only will they not lose ground. If the correcter of the colony has gone

from within, it will be much more difficult for the moral of the troops

to actually defend it from the outside. And these things are really basically two

sides of the same coin. So you realize, if you don't hold firm

to what's on the inside, you will actually subject yourself to being attacked externally.

So Paul says this, and this is the scripture again, I'm going

to just reiterate this phrase. Only lead your way of life be worthy of

the Gospel. That's what he's essentially saying, Only let your way of life

be worthy of the Gospel. I know sometimes we read this over and over

again and we're like, what does it really mean? And that's the first

thing that he says. When you face enemies, do not be frightened in

anything, Never panic, don't go into a stamped mode, never run,

but stand firm together in one spirit, shoulder to shoulder, closed ranks like

Roman soldiers, actually defending the colony. And that's why in First Bitter three

fifteen there's a portion of scripture that tells us and remind us as believers that

we always have to be ready to defend our hope in the Lord. This

is the worse that a lot of apologies will use. And that's why apologies

go through all the pains, not to always come up with defense defenses to

defend their faith. We need to always be ready to defend our hope in

the Lord. And that is our situation in churches today, whether we realize

it or not. We are colonies of Heaven, citizens of heaven under heaven

rules. First, there was a danger of compromise from within, and Paul

is teaching the people that they must keep up the standards whether he is present

or not. Certainly not leaning on him. Again, I didn't say this,

Paul say this, and you will realize this. If you lean on

any human being in your in that manner, technically your experience is borrowed.

There is only one person to lean on for any believer. Who is that?

Who should we be leaning on? Mention Jesus Christ. That's who we

are supposed to be leaning on. I know that God often ministers to us

through other people, but if any colony of heaven is leaning on a single

person, then their experience is borrowed, and they will collapse if that person

collapses. And that's the reality of it. And this is why Paul is

saying, whether the apostle comes to see them or is absent, they are

to lean on Christ. And when Paul says he wants his readers to be

living a life that is worthy of the Gospel of Christ, he means that

there is to be no compromise within, that there is consistency between what they

talk about and how they live. That's essential. It is very important in

the colony of heaven that you are living as heaven is, living as if

you were already there, even though you might be a long way from it.

They realize Roman colonies live in a particular way, even if they have

never visited Rome once in their life, but they live like as though they've

been living there all the wild. And so one of the most amazing things

Jesus said about himself is this now in John chapter three, verse the thing

he says, this are really slowly. No man has ascended into heaven,

but he who came down from heaven. Even the son of Man who is

in heaven Okay, you're stymy blankly when I first Readio, so I'm like,

on the world a ready again, No man has ascended into heaven,

but he who came down from heaven, even the son of Man who is

in heaven. Do you ever notice that last phrase, even the son of

man who is in heaven. In other words, for thirty three years,

Jesus is actually claiming that he lived in heaven on earth. He was a

little colony of heaven himself. And if you want to know what life in

heaven is, look at Jesus and you will see. That's what he's essentially

saying. It's an amazing thought. A colony of heaven on earth should so

live that people can say, if you want to know what heaven is,

like, go and live with these people and see how they live. That

is what the church is supposed to be. And as we think of living

a live worthy of the gospel. Now, let's look at some dimensions of

the gospel. I mean, sometimes we're like, okay, gospel, what's

the gospel about the good News of Jesus Christ. Okay, let's look at

a few dimensions. Okay, our share tree. First of all, is

this, It is the Gospel of liberty. I don't know how many of

us realize this, and it is good news about freedom. That's what the

gospel is, you know, the Gospel sets us free. We sing about

it, we preach about it, we talk about it. It is saying

you are now free, you are now redeemed, You no longer need to

live in slavery. Then, how do you live a live worthy of the

Gospel. Well, you live a life worthy of the Gospel by not falling

into any kind of slavery. Essentially, that's what it means. If there

is a colony of heaven that has fallen into bondage of any kind, it

is no longer demonstrating life of heaven. The Gospel of liberty demands that every

colony of the Gospel is living as free people. Are we living as free

people? It's a question that we have to ask. That means that we

have to avoid two forms of slavery. And these are the two most common

forms of slavery that we will here. One is the slavery of legalism.

Some of your I've heard that before. Basically, what does legalism do?

It brings you into the bondage too of rules and regulations, and Paul taught

a lot about that in the Book of Galatians. Another form of bondage is

this is called license, which brings you into the slavery to self and to

sin. And basically the Gospel teaches us that you have been set free from

both legalism and license. Basically, Christ redeemed us from the law. He

redeemed us also from sin. And therefore a colony of heaven is a place

of a free man, a free women who are living in the liberty of

the spirit, underneither kind of bondage. But yet until today we still go

back to the law, and we still go back to the license. No,

the law is this, there's rules, bomb or you must do this,

you must do this, you can only do this. If not,

you're a failure. No longer are we living under the law. But then

when we swing, we sing all the way to the other end. We

have the license to do whatever we want, because Jesus redeemed us really and

therefore we can do whatever we want. Well, Christ actually set us free

from both these bondages, and he's saying, now live free. The truth

sets you free. And then is one example how a church can fall out

of a live worthy of the Gospel when either they fall into legalism or they

fall into license, and both of these things are very very common. The

irony of it is these two things which are very opposite. It seems like

very opposite, and they are opposite actually very closely needed together. It's almost

like they are the same coin, two sides of the same coin. Because

if a church goes into license, basically you think about it, if you

come to this place where you can do whatever you want, free for all,

it is not long before legalism will come in and try to stamp out

license. Basically you realize, no, man, we need to introduce laws

and regulations, we need to stop this. If it goes into legalism,

then people will react against legalism and demand license. And neither of that is

liberty. Neither of that actually shows that we are living the Gospel of liberty,

Gospel of freedom. So we are preaching a gospel of freedom, and

the colony of heaven is free. That is the first dimension that we need

to understand what the gospel is. Another aspect of the colony of heaven is

this. The Gospel is the Gospel of life. So a live worthy of

the Gospel is basically full of life. Yet if you go into a church

and it feels dead, it feels dreary, it feels boring, and the

minister gets out and say, we offer abundant life here in the name of

Jesus Christ, no wonder people would be like, well, if that's abundant

life, I rather be dead. And there's the reality of it. A

lot of us don't see life in the church. If we are going to

live a life that is worthy of the Gospel, then it will be a

life that really is life. Basically, it has to be both abundant and

eternal. Both Again, I say that abundant and eternal. Do you know

I recently visited Oah Ministry because we are looking to connect with this pastor in

the outskirts of Parat, And you know, I drove three hours to get

to his place, which is in a small town and he runs the only

Bahassa speaking church in that area, in that small town. And what he

does is every weekend he brings his congregation into the interiors to reach out to

the local Aborigines. And he keeps telling me this, there are so many

more people, so many more people groups. No, we've got to go

further in because there are a lot more who are unreached. And he's telling

me, you know, on the first time, I'm there and I really

drove three hours to get to that town, and we need to drive another

three hours to reach the first village, which we did. And then he's

telling me, I want to go another two hours now, but I don't

know whether the car can take it, whether the fourwhey drive can take it.

And I'm like, you don't know whether the fourwheel drive can take it,

and you're in might tin me to go in with you. But what

I saw in him is just this desire to really bring the Gospel of life

to the people. It's amazing. I mean, he kept telling me,

he pastor, we need to go further in. What I'm doing with this

compongs that I'm reaching out now is I want to find a leader. I

want to build that person up so that this person can be a blessing to

his community and allow me to go in deeper and meet more people. And

that is essentially what the gospel of life is. That means a colony of

people who are excited at the possibility of death, those to whom death is

no tread because this guy is telling me the travel, the journey is super

treacherous, no signs that the car can be like floating in the water.

And I'm like now, and then he's telling me, and then his four

kids are and there with his wife. No, but he's just really nothing

seems to be holding him back, and his family supports him. So those

who rejoice at the saints already in glory, who belong to their fellowship,

and they're looking forward to joining them. No, that's what this guy reminds

me of someone who is like, Yeah, I will continue doing what I'm

calling to do, and I'll do it in a loving manner. There's another

dimension of the gospel, and this is the gospel in which we always preached.

It's called the gospel of love. How can you have a colony of

heaven in which people are not forgiving one another. How can you have a

colony of heaven where people are critical of one another, are backbiting, are

constantly gossiping. That is not the Gospel of love being portrayed in a colony.

So the whole thing just doesn't make sense. It is not a colony

of the gospel if the church does not live out these dimensions, do you

realize that that means the church needs to live out the Gospel of the Church,

needs to live out the Gospel of life. The church needs to live

out the Gospel of freedom. Then we are truly a colony of Heaven.

Ultimately, people must see the church as a colony of the Gospel and say

that's the life we want to live, just as people back then always wanted

to be Roman citizens. You know, if you're a Roman citizen, it

comes with a lot or writes a lot of privileges. Amen. So from

these three dimensions, stay with me. I will try to end in the

next twenty five minutes. From this three dimensions, let us now look at

three reminders highlighted by Paul when he says I want you to live a life

worthy of the Gospel. Take note of this. Firstly, the first reminder

is this there is a note of obligation. If you're going to have the

privileges of the Gospel, then responsibilities always come with it. The privilege is

that you have been forgiven and promise a place in heaven. The responsibility is

that you live as a citizen of heaven. There is an obligation here to

live a life worthy of the Gospel. The second thing is this, there

is this thought of demonstration, because how is the world going to believe if

they only hear about it and don't see it. And the reality is the

world believes what it sees rather than what it hears. So the world is

watching this community called Christians, called the church, called the Saints. Do

we see there the good News being lived out? Or not? Because when

they do, say, then the Church's appeal is irresistible. Because here comes

the third reminded the third not only is there an obligation to live a life

worthy of the Gospel, not only will it be a demonstration, but then

it will eventually be an attraction. Is the church attractive? Paul is concerned

that just as people's main ambition in the Roman Empire was to become Roman citizens

and get into one of those colonies, so the world should see the church

and then say that is the life. This is the life that I want,

and the people should want it. I don't know whether the church today

has got that kind of appeal and attraction or not. A Christian is called

concerned about the doctrine and teachings of Christ. The doctrine is what we preach,

and we must always practice what we preach. And Paul is saying he

wants the world to be attracted to this colony. He wants people to say,

can we get citizenship in this kingdom, this kingdom of Heaven here on

earth? Could we be a part of what Heaven rules really is Again reflection

for all of us as a church, and I reflect as well, because

and before we leave the phrase a way of life worthy of the Gospel,

we must realize that the way of life is not primarily an individual thing.

A lot of times we think always an individual thing. Well, a Roman

colony was not made out of was actually made up of a community of people

who were a Roman in their relationship with each other. Essentially, a colony

is a community, not just a bunch of individuals. A colony is relationships.

But Paul is actually saying he wants believers together to be the colony.

You cannot be a colony just by attending Sunday service. Neither can you just

be a Roman colony because you go and watch spots on a Sunday, which

they did a lot back then, because that was what they did. They

used to go into the arenas and watch people kill themselves in the name of

spot. That doesn't make you a colony if you do it once a week.

Neither does it make it earth a colony if we just come to church

once a week. They were a colony in the language that they spoke to

each other, which was Latin. They were a colony in the justice that

was meted out to each other. They were a colony in everything they shared

together. And when people saw the colony, they did not see individuals.

They saw a whole community. Do people see us as the church community like

that? Or are we just isolated again? Reflection police saying, I want

to hear that your living standards, your lifestyle is the lifestyle of those who

are already in heaven, already enjoying it in the life, living a new

lifestyle. That's why we keep on building homes, planting churches. There is

a reason, because we are a community of believers. We are not isolated

believers doing our own things for our own individual self and gain. It's not

that it's always been about a fellowship of believers. And so that's how he

moves on from that thought of the gospel to their relationships with each other in

unity, go back and read the scripture again. You will see he's now

talking about unity. He moves on to the next line because he says,

I want to hear that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving together

side by side, with one mind. That's what Paul says. And the

saddest thing you can ever hear about the church is that it is divided,

because a colony depends on its unity. As soon as a colony has divided,

it is wide open to the enemy's attack, and the soldiers who defend

it will start losing their moral because in their minds, and what's the point

of defending people who are constantly squabbling. So Paul's concern is that they live

a life worthy of the Gospel moves naturally into a concern that they remain united.

Not Manchester united, but united, remain united, that they stand firm

together, and that their unity has a common ambition doing the same things together.

That's why Jesus said in Matthew chapter twelve, verse twenty five, every

house and every city that is divided against itself willful. There is no quicker

way for a church to lose is correct as a colony of heaven than to

become divided. Whatever causes the division, or whatever is the ground of it.

No wonder that Jesus, on the night that he was betrayed, what

do you think his prayer was. His prayer was let them be one,

just as me and you, him and the Father are one. That's the

prayer in John chapter seventeen. And he was praying for unity in the church,

that man one in hard, one in mind, one in will.

If they had been divided, the church would never have got off the ground.

As Jesus was concerned that this little colony of heaven he had established to

remain united, so is Paul. And the believers are to stand firm.

And that expression is the same word use of soldiers in battle. That is

what Paul is concerned about. Unity at the local church level is very important.

Nothing damages a church's witness as quickly as division. Here is where we

will see that Paul is not interested in unity without a purpose. It is

a unity directed at something. It is a unity to a particular objective.

And you see, churches can be united over different things. You can be

united over a new building putting up a new building, and that's not wrong,

but that is not the main objective that really holds a colony together.

You can be united in social activities, you can be united in having the

same interest. You can be united in having political conversations and political concerns.

But there is only one reason big enough for a real unity of a church,

which is a true colony of heaven, and that is you are striving

and contending together for the faith of the Gospel. I keep you know that

should be our prime concern, and that is what Paul is saying, That

should be your prime concern as believers. That is why we are united shoulder

to shoulder, closing ranks. Paul is clearly saying this, No, he

wants us to do two things. Firstly, preserve the gospel. Secondly,

propagate the gospel. One is defensive, one is offensive. And that is

united for these dual purposes. Is a church that has found the secret of

unity, because what is needed is a unity that actually says, look,

we got to come together and preserve the Gospel. We must ensure that the

Gospel is not corrupted. We must hold to the truth that makes us a

colony of heaven and the gospel that gives us our character. Do you know

more and more often than not. The Bible is coming under attack and people

are starting to say a lot of things about the Bible. I can tell

you this, If the Bible has got an ounce of falseness in it,

our entire faith false apart. But we must not only preserve it from getting

corrupted, we must propagate it. What is propagated, basically, we got

to send it out, share it. Some churches that are only concerned with

preserving the Gospel, you will end up becoming dead. They have a unity

that is not a life environrant. You need to propagate it as well.

You keep preserving it and preserving it, at the end of the day,

you will become preservative for yourself. And that's the reality of what God says.

Paul is actually teaching. Don't just preserve it, propagate. If you

propagate without preserving, it's also dangerous because that's how you start teaching our Jarans.

So it goes hand in hand. Striving together for the faith of the

Gospel simply just means this standing firm for the truth and then bringing it out.

And that's why Paul is saying, No, I want you not to

panic, not to be shy, and not to go into this stampede mode.

There will be times when you find ourselves in a situation where fear can

actually take over, and that's the reality of it. Fear can take over.

But I believe the church is also changing in a very exciting way,

from being a very defensive community to being a little bit more aggressive today.

And there are many signs of this. No, I believe God's people in

this land are changing from just let's just keep the church going to challenging the

world. Now we are going to be speaking out, stepping out, colonizing.

That's what we need to do again. That is why we go out

planting churches the way we do, because you can just look at it from

an inward way. Let's just keep what we have, this little holy club,

and never see growth and never go out. That is not what the

church is supposed to be. We are supposed to preserve the Gospel and propagated

and I believe it's happening. Don't we want to take Malaysia for King Jesus.

If none of us have the desire to see more and more people come

to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, something is fundamentally not right

with our faith that is our mandate, and that must become our ambition,

and that is going to involve changing people's lifestyle. It is going to involve

set setting up communities of a new lifestyle all over this land in places where

there are no colonies, so that more and more people can actually have the

opportunity to become citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven rules here on earth. That

is why we go to different places. That is why we plan in different

locations, because it creates an opportunity for people to become citizens of God.

And the next reality is this, we cannot colonize any land for Christ without

opposition. And I keep you know, and this is where I'm going to

start talking about the Gospel of Suffering. Verse tone says, don't be afraid

of your enemies. Always be courageous. And this proves two things only that

the enemy they are going to lose and that you are going to win.

Let us look at why we say these. First of all, you need

to know yourself that you belong to God and that you are going to have

the victory. Your enemies also need to know that that you are going to

win, so that they are moral can crumble. Now, these two things

happen when Christians are unafraid time and time again. You know, as you

read Church history, you find that those who persecuted the Church became afraid for

themselves because the Christians were not afraid. When you read of what the early

Christians went through, or they were thrown into the lions then, or and

on the way into the lions there now they're singing hymns joyfully. Who in

the world does then? This lack of fear is quite astonishing, no,

but it is a God given courage. And you see it even more,

particularly in the first three hundred years of Church history, when persecution was at

its peak and its worse. But yet they saw the Christians going to their

death joyfully, and they knew that they were up against God, and they

knew that the enemies knew they couldn't prevail. And this was true of Roman

colonies. Though when the enemies, however much they outnumbered the Roman soldiers,

saw the Roman defenders stand firm without fear, they knew in their hearts that

they lost ready. And it is true of Paul himself, as a young

man, he actually stood there. He held the jackets of those who actually

Stone Stephen and as Stephen was dying, he actually says his father, forgive

them, they don't know what they're doing. It's the same statement that Jesus

said when he was dying on the cross. There was no fear on Stephen's

face. And as the stones cut and bruised him and ultimately killed him,

he died saying, this is no lord. Jesus received my spirit, no

fear whatsoever. And Paul, who was then Saul, was there. He

witnessed everything, and he became him. He became a fanetical missionary against Christians.

No, but I believe while he was fanetical against Christians, he was

fearful because he knew he had already lost it. He knew he had his

life is bound for destruction. And that's why when Jesus appeared to Paul,

he just caved in, because he knew that there was a higher power beyond

what he could ever imagine. So not only do the enemies realize where they

are, but Christians were realized that you actually have the confidence only if you

have been in a situation where you are actually terrified and found that you are

not really have the assurance of what we're talking about now. And I think

I can identify with that. No, as a kid, I used to

be really afraid of heights, and there were a lot of things that was

afraid heights was one of the biggest things that I was afraid of. But

I used to do all the the stupidest things to sort of put myself in

the face of fear. No. I remember I joined this adventure club and

at the young age I went repelling down a waterfall just to overcome the fear

of heights. I remember as a sixteen year old, I climb Mount Y

Nabaloo just to overcome the fear of heights. No. I remember I used

to go to Team parks and I used to hate doing anything by where my

friends used to challenge me take the Solaro shot. I think the Solaro shot.

I'm like, okay, I'll just do it just to overcome the fear

of heights. Of course, I don't encourage you taking the solar shot more

than once. Not very good for the HUT. But the reality is,

after being in the situation of fear and then realizing actually I'm not dead afraid

of it was how I actually overcame the fear of heights, and I've believe

that's what it's saying here as well. They will realize, No, when

you are in a terrifying situation and then you found out that you are not

terrified, then you will have the assurance and the confidence. We are not

brave people, naturally. I am a coward at heart, honestly, and

I run from situations by nature, and perhaps that's the same for most of

us. But we will find that God is the one that gives us the

assurance. Did you know that it is God Almighty who not only enabled you

to believe in Christ, but who gave you the privilege of suffering for him,

of getting into the battle. That is how we should look at it

fearlessly. This is a privilege given to each and every one of us.

In all the stories of Christians suffering down the ages, the one thing that

you never hear Christians saying, and you won't find it on record, is

why should God let this happen to me? Those martyrs never complain like that

or And it's quite extraordinary, because really it's hard. It's hard to find

that kind of us statement, Team guy, while you let me go through

these kind of things, rather when suffering came to them in the cause of

Christ. This was the note that sounds every time they rejoice that they were

worthy to suffer in the name of Jesus and suffer for the name of Christ.

That is an astonishing thing, is remarkably astonishing. And let me know

when we are suffering. When when you're suffering is due to the fact that

you are fighting for Jesus. You will hardly ask those questions God, why

you allow this to happen to me? Why you allowed that to happen to

me? When you are in a battle, because you are a Christian,

because you are colonizing for Christ, you will know that God has granted you

to suffer for him. You will know it. You will know that it's

your privilege, and you will know that. You will know it because this

is the vilege He gave to all his citizens. And Paul is actually telling

his readers they will be in the same battle as they had seen and hurt

Jesus was in. They were having the privilege of suffering as Jesus suffered.

And that's why Jesus actually saying in the Sermon of the Mount, he says

this no. In Matthew chapter five, verses eleven to twelve. God blesses

you when people mock you and persecute you, and lie about you and say

all sorts of evil things against you, because you are my followers, be

happy about it, Be very glad, for a great reward awaits you in

heaven. And remember the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way. This

is Jesus's teaching from the Sermon of the Mound, And so Paul is actually

encouraging believers, though he doesn't see. Now you are Christians, you can

have a nice, comfortable time. Nowhere do you catch him saying that or

anything like that. He says to you, God has granted to believe and

to suffer. Why is this privilege so important to us? Because the enemy

is the same. And Satan does not want any part of this will,

let alone Malaysia to be colonized for christ. Satan does not want the gospel

preserve or propagated. Satan does not want these colonies to be established, for

he knows when people see a colony of heaven, deep down they know they

have lost, and deep down they know that this is the way and this

is the righteous life. So Satan is going to stop that if he can.

He's going all out. That's why I say, when you are working

for Jesus, there will always be opposition. And Paul is telling believers basically,

don't be afraid, don't panic. God has granted you this, and

it is a privilege, a joy, and an honor that He should choose

you to suff for him sometimes, no, not even suffer with him,

per se, because I don't think any one of us can suffer the way

Jesus suffered. I don't think any of us has that right or that privilege.

So let's summarize this in a few words. And I must say this

is this may not be a teaching of how to live a comfortable life,

which in a way I've half given up preaching on ready, But basically this

is a teaching on how we should be anticipating how our life will be when

we declare that Heaven rules. Paul is encouraging their believers to ensure their lives

are lived within the standards of the Gospel, and that they must be a

community that is living up to what they preach. As a church, we

need to do that practice what we preach. He wants us all to be

united in the spirit and not divided in the flesh. He wants us to

carry on preserving and propagating the Gospel, and to not only be interested in

our selves or themselves and other things which are not related to the Gospel.

He does not want them to be afraid of conflict. He wants them to

remain encourage when suffering inevitably comes. Paul is actually concerned though, that they

should rightly relate to the next world and to this one. Let me explain

this. We pray this your kingdom come or will be done, and I

thought extensively on this in some of the services. But when we say God's

Kingdom is here today, what does it really mean to Basically, it means

there is His kingdom is here and now, and His Kingdom is also there.

And then I know he doesn't make sense, but that's the reality of

it. The Kingdom of God is actually started, it has already been established

here on earth. And some commentators use this. They actually say that the

Kingdom of God is inaugurated. That that means it has begun, but it

is not fully consumated yet, because we know that the Kingdom of God will

come and it will be completed when Jesus comes back again in the future.

That's when we actually read in revelations that it will be heaven on earth literally

the new heavens and the new Earth. But right now, that doesn't mean

that we are not experiencing heaven here because it has already begun. So we

got to live like that, knowing that it has already begun, but also

knowing that ultimately what to expect in the next and that is what it means.

We must relate to the next world by being a little colony now that

is already living that way, and we relate to this world by being ready

to fight and to defend this colony of heaven. That is why we are

here as a community of believers in this church. Many of us do not

care about either of these two things. We don't care about the kingdom that

we're living in. Neither do we care about what's to come. Why not?

I'm saying that this is the gospel, and the gospel teaches us that

we are to live as though we are living a piece of heaven here on

earth right now, and we are to live with the assurance that one day

we will not just have abundant life, which we can have now but we

will have eternal life, which we will have. Then does that make sense?

The beautiful thing is that the more we relate to the next world,

the more notice this world takes of us, and the more we are in

the front line of defending the kingdom of Jesus Christ. A lot of us

don't care about what's to come. But I tell you, if you are

concerned about the future of the kingdom, you will change the way you live

because you know what is to come and what to expect and how we should

respond in our living right now, right here. And therefore I pray,

may God relate us rightly to the next world and also to this world.

May we be living a life as a community which is different that Satan is

attacking, you know, and this bringing out your courage in defending the Gospel

of Christ. I tell you this, Satan won't attack those whom he doesn't

feel it's a threat. If you live a life that is comfortable and not

making any form or any sort of impact, why would Satan be opposing you

because you are already contributing to his kingdom. But if we live a life

one thing to preserve and to propagate the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Then you

will find opposition, I assure you, and I kid you not. But

the Lord sees us as an army standing for the defense of the Gospel.

And let us always respond to his word and ask him to equip us to

put on the whole armor of God so that we may stand firm. Then

know, whatever happens, we will continue to hold firm to our ground.

And that's why efficients chapter six it talks about that put on the whole armor

of God. Be ready to stand firm. Put on the truth as a

belt, ride around your waist, with righteousness as your breastplate, and as

your shoes, the readiness to announce the good news of the Gospel of Peace

at all times. Carry faith as a shield, for with it you will

be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by an evil one.

Accept salvation of the helmet and the word of God as the sword which the

Spirit gives you. And do all this in prayer, asking for God's help.

And this is how we are to live our this gospel. We hope

you've been blessed by this message. For more information on our church, please

visit x Church the RG. We are also active on Facebook, and Instagram.

We're believing that this week is going to be a good week. I

hit for you, God bless