HEAVEN RULES IN OUR PERSEVERANCE - ENDURANCE & FAITHFULNESS | Elder Ang Peng Hoe

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

will light up your day. I'm going to be sharing. I was just

thinking, how do I how do I give a title to the message.

And since we are on Heaven Rules the team overall team for this year,

I've just simply entitled the message Heaven rules in our perseverance. Heaven rules in

our perseverance, endurance and faithfulness. Okay, that's the longer version, and

I'm going to be sharing from a portion of scripture taken from First Peter First

Peitter, chapter one, verses one to nine, and in it there's going

to be a lot of things that you will see. I'll try to weave

it all together so that we have a clearer picture how Heaven really rules in

our perseverance. And I want to start it off by telling you that it's

really it really boils down to our relationships in God. It's something that you

will realize now, how you perseverly, how you live your life, how

you end your how you carry on being faithful, it has got to do

with the relationships in God. And I'll explain it. You'll see some teams

as I'm sharing the word and teaching today. You'll see, of course,

father Son and Holy Spirit at work. That's the Holy Trinity. You'll see

faith, hope, and love at work. It's another trinity if you ask

me something that is always in scripture, and you will also see past,

present, and future at work. And this generally mix up our entire life.

You know, Father Son, Holy Spirit, Faith, hope and love

and past, present and future. And let me see if I can try

to help you see in the clearer picture that that those are all the fundamentals,

the reradiments of our faith. We need all of those things. All

of those make up who we are, and how who we are determines how

we finish in all honesty is something that's very very important for us to know.

And so I'm going to be sharing again from first Peter. So if

you have your scriptures, your Bibles, you can just keep it at verses

one to nine. But I want to start off with a little bit of

background. I think it's always important that we understand a little bit of background,

especially now that we're talking about Peter and Peter's letters. Of course,

I think that's first and second Peter. There are two letters that the apostle

Peter wrote, He's really an interesting character. I know. Peter is one

of those people that we always go to whenever we fumble and make mistakes,

because he's just a reminder that we're all human. And Peter was as human

as it gets in terms of his behavior, in terms of his decision making,

in terms of all that he was. But it's also amazing what happened

in his life. So some background to Peter's letter. You got to realize

this, No, the early Christians were hated, okay, hated them is

the people generally hated Christians for just being themselves because they were. They were,

right from the very start, accused of doing very shameful things. Okay.

So firstly you have to you have to understand it's not the founder of

their religion, okay, for the early Christians, founder of the religion,

of course, it's no other than Jesus Christ. But how did he die?

How did he die? He was executed by Pontius Pilot Okay, executed

by a Roman Uh governor. Uh, not very cool, no, to

to start the way of to begin with, but that's the reality of it.

So they were accused of shameful things. They found the founder was executed

by Ponteus Pilot, and then the public opinion of most Christians back then is

they used to accuse Christians of being cannibals, cannibalism because people started hearing that

they ate someone's body and drank someone's blood whenever they met. No, I'm

serious. Historically, if you studies Christian history, you will see all of

this. And they were also actually accused of some people say they always held

this kind of love feasts like org sessions, because they saluted one another with

holy kisses. You see that actually in scripture, how Paul writes his greetings.

You know, in Romans, in Corinthians, they always greeted one another

with holy kisses. But it's not what the people were accusing them of.

It was something really really affectionate and loving and spiritual at the same time.

So they were accused of immoral actions. They were also accused of preaching that

the world was going to be dissolved in fire. You usually see that in

Second Peter itself. Basically, of course, that's eschatology, the doctrine of

heaven, hell, judgment, all those things. Somehow the pits of fire

is somewhere there, like okay, you don't always see a preatures sharing about

it, but it is part of our scripture, and the early believers believed

it. They shared it with all their hearts. And of course because of

that, they were accused of always preaching damnation and condemnation and judgment and you

know, apocalypse, and it was like all doom and gloom. Okay.

So in the year eighties sixty four, there was this really big fire that

started in Rome, which actually lasted for about three days, and it devastated

much of the city. So this fire started, it engulfed the whole of

Rome, It destroyed temples, it destroyed houses, and of course, naturally

the citizens were looking for escape good and actually they found one. They found

it in the ruler Emperor Nero. Because they knew somehow this this Emperor Nero,

who is quite a bad dude, okay, not a very nice person.

They knew he had ambitions to pull down all buildings and he wanted to

build new structures, new magnificent structures, and so they assume that it was

Nero who started the fire, and of course uh Nero in return realized that

I can't be bearing this, so I'm going to shift the blame, and

he decided to shift the blame onto Christians, and so it began this big

persecution of the Church. And already with all the existing bad perception that people

had about Christians, this did not really help the cause whatsoever. So they

faced a really awful time. They were tortured, they were brutally persecuted.

If you read the histories of what took place in those early years, really

you think about it, how many of the disciples actually live until the Old

Age, actually, probably only Apostle John. The rest of them didn't die

normal natural depths. The rest of them died believing, died for their faith,

died executed or persecuted. And that's the reality of it. And so

the news of all these bad things happening to God's people started spreading throughout the

entire Roman Empire and started spreading from church to church, and of course,

naturally there was fear that enveloped the believers, because it's almost like as though

being a believer or cause us our lives. But that is the reality of

it. And so this is the situation that this letter was written. Actually,

and this letter came from Peter, and Peter most likely actually perished in

the first outbreak of persecution in Rome. History has it that we know that

he was actually crucified. Peter was crucified, and he felt, I'm not

worthy to be crucified the way Jesus was crucified, so he requested to be

crucified upside down. Again. This is history. Okay, not so much

in the Bible per se, but if you read historical information you will find

some all these things. You know, imagine that Peter, big fisherman.

You know, all his life he had this big heart. He loved people.

He paid for all of it with his faith. But he was sympathetic

to the people that he preached because he preached an amazing gospel. If you

go back and read x chapter two, Peter preach an amazing gospel, the

Good News. He shared it. And we know that on that day,

I think three thousand came to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So from that day that he preached, that was actually Pentecost, when the

Holy Spirit came. There were people all over in that congregation, people who

came from all over the world and they were there. So there were people

from Pontos, from Cappadocia, from Asia, from Bithynia, and Peter realized

that the persecution started by Nero would eventually spread out to the furthermost shows of

the entire Roman Empire. And what he wanted to do is that he wanted

to prepare Christians for suffering. That is what this letter is about. And

so his heart actually went out towards those whom he had led to the Lord.

And Peter was that kind of a person, and he didn't just want

to lead people to the Lord, but he followed through even years later,

to help them through the problems that they were facing and the eventual problems that

they will face. And then he wrote this first letter from Rome to two

ponters, to Cappadocia, to Asia, to Betinia, to his own converts,

to get them ready for suffering. So this is the atmosphere and this

is the team of It's a short letter, it's not a very long letter

for spitter, but it's a letter that prepares believers for suffering. And it's

hardly ever preached. But I love to preach on suffering seriously because that is

again the fundamentals of our faith. So realize this note. There's always going

to be a confrontation between the forces of light and the forces of darkness.

And Christians are going to suffer more and more if you really stick to doing

what we are called to do. And so Peter writes to strengthen Christians and

to get them right in their relationships. And we learn that a strong Christian

life consists of right relationships. And you will see that Peppard across his letter.

Your relationship with Jesus is so important, that's the subject matter of the

first chapter. That your relationship with the Church is so important, that's the

second chapter. And he even talks about your relationship with your rulers, the

Emperor. He talks about relationships with local authorities, he talks about relationships with

employers, he talks about relationships your husband and wife. That's why you see

all of those things mentioned in First Peter. And as we go to the

first letter, you will see how we can get relationships right so that when

trials come, when tribulation come, your faith is so refined that it's like

pure goal that can withstand the challenges that comes its way. Of course,

I'm not going to be teaching the whole First Peter, to they just the

first few verses that I mentioned, And so basically Peter wrote to the Christians

with whom he had a special connection with to warn them and to prepare them

for persecution. That's the context of first Peter, everyone's doing me okay,

So Peter himself, we know, of course we're eventually die in the hands

of Nero. Actually, and you can actually see that it was predicted in

John chapter twenty one, verse nineteen. And we know that when it was

time to be executed, he requested to be executed upside down. And Peter

doesn't tell the believers know how to escape persecution. So if you read the

scripture, you realize he's not telling you how to escape. He's telling you

how to endal, how to persevere, how to remain faithful. So the

focus is on conducting themselves in a godly fashion in a hostile world and not

trying to avoid trouble. Sometimes we are like, hey, give us the

answers on how to evade all these problems that you're going to face. No,

he doesn't have. He's not talking about that. He's telling you that

you're going to go through it, and this is how you're going to go

through it. So he wants to remind his readers of the salvation, which

is the foundation of their attitude to suffering. Remember this, your salvation is

the foundation to your attitude towards suffering is and Peter is henceforth actually urging them

to think back to the central truths of their faith. That's why it's important

that we understand what is it that we believe in. You know, Christianity

sometimes can be a very emotional religion for many people. How you respond,

how you first came to know the Lord, it can be a very emotional

thing. Or I felt something, goosebumps, you know, something happened.

It's not it's not. It's not just merely emotions. It's a lot of

will, It's a lot of intent. You have to understand that. And

how sometimes I explain that when I explain to married couples what is it that

they are undertaking moving forward at holy matrimony, I always tell them that since

marriage is a reflection of what we have between the Church and Christ, you

know, it's not it's not a union of based on emotions, and it's

not a I'm marrying you because I love you and I feel good about you,

and I wake up one morning and I thought, Okay, this is

the best thing that I can do. I always tell them that marriage is

not a decision of emotions. It's not because your emotions can go up,

your emotions can go down. There will be days when you wake up next

to the person and you're like, why in the world am I doing next

to this person? On the meriti bit, that's the reality of it.

But marriage is a union of intention. It's a union of wills. That

means you're saying that I will every how you respond to the vowels in good

times, in bad times, in sickness, in health, for richer,

for poorer, and you end up saying I will, not I when I

feel like it, It's always I will. And that is what this is

all about, because ultimately it's the centrality of your faith that will cause you

to say, I will follow you Jesus all the days of our lives.

Amen. So this is how Peter starts off his greeting. It's a letter,

okay, so I'm just gonna read the first couple of verses. So

he says, greetings from Peter. I'm reading it from the New Living Translation.

This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. I am

writing to God's chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus,

Galicia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bethinia. Verse two. God the

Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his spirit has made you

holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by

the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and

peace. Just in the first few verses is loaded with a lot of things.

Okay, and I want to first highlight this. How did Peter introduce

himself? If you read the scripture in the original language, he actually introduces

himself as this is a letter from Petros. Petross is actually the Greek name

for Peter uh. And just by saying that, that's a miracle in its

own right. Why do I say that? Because remember this, No,

what was Peter? What was Peter's name before he became Peter Simon? You

know, the meaning of simon is is basically read is lalang r e ed

is. It's a kind of grass basically someone. And that that was what

Peter was like. Okay, he was like a lalang he he moved.

If someone said this, he will follow. He will go this way.

If someone pressures him this this way, he will move that way. And

you know from from La Lang when he first met Jesus, he would he

wouldn't even step feet into a person's house, a person who is who is

not a Jew. He will not step into a gentile's home. He wouldn't

sit down and have a meal with anyone who is not Jew. But yet,

right at this point, he's introducing himself using a Greek name. That

is mind blowing. Actually that's a miracle. And then another thing that happens

is he's actually giving himself a gentle title, because apostle is a gentle title,

and he refers to someone who has been sent on a navel or a

military expedition to conquer territory for the emperor. So this is not your normal

Jewish titles notes. So think about it. Now, here's a fisherman claiming

to be a conqueror, claiming to come and capture territory for his lord and

master and king. And when a Palestinian Jew calls himself a gentle name,

goes on to live in a gentle city, gives himself a gentle title.

A miracle has happened, and a miracle has taken place. And I know

sometimes when you read the Book of XS, you realize, oh, the

first twelve chapters is about Peter. The next until twenty eight is about Paul.

And Peter was the apostle to the Jews, and he didn't think of

the Gentiles. Paul was the apostle to the General's note. But remember this

is Peter and he is writing, and he's writing to gent towns as well.

And so that's the miracle that has taken place in Peter's life. Has

a miracle like that taken place in our lives? Have you ever asked yourself

that question? And you know, when I used to ask myself that has

a miracle taken place in my life? I realized that salvation, my salvation

is a miracle. It's called the miracle of being safe. A miracle that

takes you right out of your natural setting, right out of any social limitations

of any group that you belong to, and it enables you to go and

be all things to all men. That is a miracle. And only by

the grace of God, by the grace of Jesus, can and turn assignment

into a bitter and send him out to do something like this. And this

is what salvation does to us. It takes a broken vessel, it takes

an imperfect person, it takes someone who is full of mistics and full of

wrongs and full of blemishes, and then it transforms us into God's children.

That's that is a miracle. You know, I recently shared this message as

well at the Death with the to the deaf community because I had the privilege

of being there with them in their reason camp. And you know, it's

amazing what the deaf community hopes to do. They are hoping to plan a

church, an ex church, and when they indicated to us, we alselves

are trying to figure out, okay, how do we even do this?

No, because we don't have someone on the senior leadership that can communicate with

them to begin with, it's not the easiest. We need to get the

translators to come in. And even the translators they are not deaf, they

are hearing, so sometimes they don't fully understand the nuancers and the things that

are going on. So even when you come to our bim, which is

actually Basa Isharad Malaysia, Malaysian Sign language translation. In the Mandarin service,

they do a double translation. That means the hearing translator will hear the message

translates it to the death translator who would then help break it down even more

so that the community can actually understand the message. It's a double translation only

because again not all of our hearing translators fully understand what they're going through.

Don't really understand where they are in terms of their faith because it's different.

No, they are, they are learning or well they're re think the Bible

true sign languages. And even if they're reading the Bible, uh not in

the oral sense, in the in the in the literal sense or the legible

sense. Okay, when they look and because the way they study language is

very different, uh, they they don't study in entirety like how we hear

hearing people do. And so basically they are they are their language. They're

English or Bassa is either English or Bassa. Saw them actually study more in

BASAs. So when you talk to them and you type to them, Bassa

is something that they understand more than English. But even the language that they

study is it's a little bit more truncated, it's a little bit more uh

concise, maybe it'll be more pigeon, it's it's it's yeah. And the

sentence structures are all a little bit different as well. And so you you,

if you don't fully understand all that they are going to is hard to

get them to know what is it that you're trying to say to them?

So that is who they are. I mean they are really taken out from

the normal settings having to understand all these different things. But yet they actually

had the boldness to want to start a death church. I think that's amazing.

Know when they when they approach us, they were asking also, I

mean they're really aligned in terms of their spirit. They want to do it

right. No, they want to know how can they be part of extreme?

And I was scratching my head on the other day when they say how

can we be part of extreme? Of course we're like, they don't really

play instruments in that sense, but they have worship. They signed their worship.

Uh and of late they started actually using percussions because bats is something that

they can feel. And so I told them, no, look, if

you have a drama, I'm sure you be. They actually write their own

songs. It's quite amazing. They write their own songs. But when you

read the songs as a normal reader, the sentences, it's in verse.

Okay, so it's a bit like basa. It's inverse from the English.

So when they write songs, it's also a little bit in verse. But

it's amazing. You know. When they told us that, we thought,

ohow, really, this is what Salvation does because they have a heart for

their community. They keep telling me that there are four hundred thousand deaf people

here in Malaysia, and only about four thousand are believers. So I think

that's what about one percent, So about one percent of the deaf community are

believers, and they really want to help their own community experience the miracle that

they have experienced. Amen, that's that's amazing. So take not all these

notes. Take note that Peter is writing a letter to ordinary people. It

includes husbands, wives, slaves, employees, citizens of the Roman Empire.

Basically, you and I, whoever we are, however we look, no

matter how much we have or how little we have. Peter was writing to

US's normal folk. And then Peter goes on to call them God's chosen people

living as foreign ers. Basically, he's saying that they are far from home,

even if they live at home. What does that mean. It means

that every Christian and every believer is a social misfit. You are not a

right fit in society, and you will continue to be reminded of that.

Every Christian must come to terms with the fact that they will never fit in

this world. We're not called to fit in this world. That there is

something different deep within earth that just on we won't jive with this world.

And somehow, as Christians we do not belong anymore. And I want to

tell us, as believers of Jesus, all of us, including me,

including you, we will not fit and we will always stand out. We

will stick out like a sore thumb. That's the reality of it. What

makes us Christian different from other people? Well again, salvation, it's being

safe. The fact that we are safe, the miracle of being saved,

is what makes the difference. And our salvation can actually be seen in these

three things. And I'm going into the whatever that Peter was sharing just now.

It can be seen through the fact that we have been selected by God

the Father, we have been sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and as a

result, we are now submitted to Jesus. Here we see the relationship of

Father's son and Spirit at work in our lives. Peter is saying, this

is what makes a Christian different. First of all, you have been chosen

by God, each and every one of you, chosen by God. To

think that God decided to have me first? Why why would he do that?

There is nothing in me that should make him want me. Now.

Of course, we do not realize all this at the beginning of our Christian

life. One, when you first became a believer, you don't realize all

this, but you think about it and why with God, the Father choose

us. But God is a father who decides to have children. Remember that

there are no unwanted children in his family. He says, I want you,

and I want you, and I want you. Of course, the

sad thing is that those who are not yet Christians sometimes take this whole idea.

And this idea is actually called predestination. I'm not going to go into

a message into it because we'll never finish talking about it. But some people

take this idea of predestined predestination and they're almost talking as if God should have

no free will at all, and man is the only free person in the

universe, and God must bow down to our wills. Because many people actually

use this as an excuse for not coming to Christ because they say, well,

he didn't choose me. God he shows me. That's worry. I

don't have to come, I don't need to believe. But how do you

know that He hasn't chosen you? If anybody tells me that I don't think

God wants me, I always tell them you're going to ask him. Go

and ask him if he wants you, as he shall, and see what

he says. Because I've never met anybody who comes to God and says,

do you want me? And actually God say I don't want you. I

I really believe that it was God's choice. The sense of being chosen by

God is overwhelming. It should not make us feel superior to others, know,

but it will always it must always make us feel grateful, eternally grateful

that God the Father chose us, chose me, chose you. That's powerful.

That's the first thing that we realized. And then secondly, how did

that choice of God begin to show in us as believers? And the answer

is the Holy Spirit. That's why I say this is where you see the

Trinity at work. If you notice the order of all these things. How

Peter actually wrote the greeting itself, it's quite surprising. No, it's Father

God first, then Holy Spirit than Jesus. I mean most of the time,

you know, Christians, we always think it's Jesus first, but not

always know in reality Father God first, second, the Holy Spirit than Jesus

in this context, and the Spirit started a new world in us after the

Father God chose us. That's the reality of it. The Spirit is the

one that sets us apart. The Spirit is the one that begins to speak

to you and me. If you didn't know that God wanted you as a

child. When the Holy Spirit is at work, things began to stir because

a lot of us don't know it. When I think back my own experience,

how do you know that God chose you? You wouldn't know that's his

divine plan, his divine intervention. But I know something happened, and I

know something was stirring in me. Curiosity was stirring within me. I wanted

to know more about who this God is. All of us would have that

That amazing encounters some because you don't suddenly wake up one day and elepar I

want to be a Christian. Having not known that you were chosen, and

you were selected and you're a child of God, you don't So something was

happening. And most times before we even trusted Jesus, the Spirit was already

telling us that we need Jesus. And I say, because this is my

own experience when I think back in hindsight, when I think back, I

realized that the Lord had an amazing plan after selection, and something was working

within my heart. As a young sixteen fifteen year old, fourteen fifteen year

old, I was a young person, no exposure, nothing whatsoever until someone

invited me to church and that started triggering a lot of questions. But that

I believe was the stirring of the spirit. And even before I say yes,

I want to follow Jesus, the Spirit already set me apart. And

that choice that I eventually it became so much more real. So the Spirit

sets me apart, and I knew that God was wanting me. Then only

comes number three submitted to Jesus, whose blurred has made us whole and clean.

You see that the trinity at work in our lives. Father God chose

me from the beginning, because we are all made in His image. That's

something that we need to always remember. You know, sometimes when I think

about that story about the woman not the woman who gave two mites, the

question that the was it the Pharisees or who they were asking? No,

whether they should pay taxes or not. And then Jesus says, he asked

them for a coin, and then when they presented a coin to him,

he asked, whose image is on that coin? Of course it was Caesar's

image, and he says, give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and

give to God what belongs to God. Ever thought of where God's image is

on It's on me, is on you, because we are all made in

God's image. So give to God what belongs to him is basically giving of

ourselves to him. Amen. So the Holy Spirit work in our lives to

point us to the direction of Jesus. And this is what the Spirit of

God always just tells us that our salvation is in Christ crucified and Christ resurrected.

Then we humble ourselves and submit to Jesus and commit to following him the

journey of salvation. Amen. Now, when we are cleansed by the blood

of Jesus, we tend to be blessed in many ways, more grace and

more peace. That's what the scripture goes on to say. But what does

these blessings look like. Let's read on in the letter that Peter wrote,

because it goes on to say, and I'm going to quickly run through it,

but bear with me verse three. I'm going to read all the way

to verse nine, and we're gonna dissect it a little bit. It says

this the hope of eternal life. All praise to God, the father of

our lord, Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have

been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ. From the day. Now

we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance and inheritance that

is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefaulted, beyond the reach of

change and decay, and true your faith. God is protecting you by his

power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the

last day for all to see. So be truly glad. There is a

wonderful joy ahead. Even though you must endure many trials for a little while.

These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested

as fire tests and purifies goal. Though your faith is far more precious than

mere goal. So when your faith remains strong true many trials, it will

bring you much praise and glory and honor. On the day when Jesus Christ

is revealed to the whole world, you love him even though you have never

seen him. Though you do not see him, now, you trust him,

and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward of trusting

him will be the salvation of your souls. The first blessing is that we

have an inheritance coming to earth when we die. Now, normally when you

talk about inheritance, it comes to us when someone else's or someone else dies,

right, that is the law of inheritance. However, here is an

inheritance you get when you die, because this is the best inheritance of all,

the best thing that you can inherit on earth. You will lose it

and when you die and someone else will inherit. But here is an inheritance

you get when you die, because it will say reserve in heaven for you.

It has my name on it. It has your name on it,

as believers in Christ Jesus. Basically, there's a room in heaven with your

name on the door and inheritance reserved for you when you die. Not only

is that being kept for you, but Peter goes on to say that you

will be kept for it as well. It is reserved for you, and

when finally your salvation is complete, you will walk into the Lord's glory.

That's what it means. And this is the first blessing in Christ. That

and we bless God for that because there is a living hope. That's what

the scripture means. There is a living hope that keeps us looking forward and

gives us great confidence. And it came through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

In the past, you're going to see all the trinities at work.

Now, you're going to see hope. You're going to see past. Now.

The second great blessing is this and it comes in the blessing of a

tested faith. And I know many of us will probably not count this as

a blessing, blessing of a tested faith or a man that sounds like suffering,

but it's one of God's great blessing because when you have been born again,

you believe in God. But that faith is going to be tested.

I assure you it will be tested. It is not an easy life being

a Christian, being a believer. Never believe in anyone who tells you that

whenever you come to Jesus all your troubles will go away. That's a lie.

You will go through troubles. It's probably much truer to say that if

you come to Jesus, your troubles have just begun, because in this world

you will have big troubles. Say Jesus, you will go through it.

If you have not had that kind of tested faith, then you have missed

something. Because Peter is saying that faith is like goal. Fire makes it

purer, fire makes it better. You will have a tested faith and it

will go through fire. I don't know what fires your faith has had to

go through, but I'm sure all of y'all have your stories. But I

know that if if you have got a strong faith, it is because it

has been tested through trials and troubles. That is the reality of it.

And sometimes you could have given up, but you didn't ever wonder why,

because that little bit of faith that was still there hung on and God with

his great big hand hung on to you. It's your faith that connects you

to God. Your faith held on and that's why God held on to you.

You may have thought that money can see you through every trial, but

it is faith that will see you through every trial. Therefore, be glad

when your faith is tested and it comes out purer, it comes out stronger.

Amen. Faith, more precious than goal, is something that you can

tick with you when you go. You will leave every other thing here on

earth the minute you die, and none of your possessions you take with you,

but you take with you your faith. Jesus comes, he will say,

well done, thank you for hanging out all through the troubles. You

are my good and faithful servant. And that is the second thing you can

bless God for. And your faith only hangs on because of the return of

Jesus in the future. As your hope is built on the resurrection of Jesus

in the past, your faith hangs on on the return of Jesus in the

future. You see now faith and hope past and future. Therefore, we

have a leaving hope based on the resurrection of Jesus in the past, a

tested faith based on the return of Jesus in the future. And now we

will have a joyful love which is based on the relationship you have with Jesus

in the present. Jesus is not just past and future. Jesus is now

here and now. And I remember, you know, there's this story I

read of this mother who was trying her best not to train her teenage kid.

No, fifteen year old kid, she was trying to train him to

Can you comb your hair and wash your face? No? For many years,

know, this guy, probably a sloppy teenager, wakes up every day,

is out of bait look. And then one day he comes back and

his hand was all neat, and his clothes were straight, and he looked

all clean and all shiny. And then the mother realized that a fifteen year

old girl achieved to do that overnight what she could not do for years.

Falling in lover changes you quite radically, because there's a new affection within you.

And this is the third grade blessing that has come to you. When

you are submitted to Jesus. Think of all that he has done for you,

and you know what kind of person he is. You know the name

of Jesus. You can talk to him, you can thank him, you

can be grateful to him, you can learn to love him. But one

day you will see him. And you have not seen him now, but

you trust him. And because you trust someone you have never seen, you

know the blessedness that Thomas never knew, because Thomas saw Jesus, and Jesus

actually told Thomas, blessed at those who have not seen but yet trusted,

because that is an amazing blessing that will come upon those, And you'll be

a blessing of sheer, joyful happiness. There is nothing so wonderful as being

happy, being happy and loving Jesus. So here are the relationships in God

that every believer can share all the time. Remember, Father, God chose

us while we will yet still seen us. Holy Spirit set us apart so

that we are submitted to Jesus when we follow him. Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection

in the past has given us a living hope. Jesus's definite retturn in the

future enables us to hang on to our faith even and though it is tough,

and Jesus' relationship with us in the present fills us with love that you

just cannot put in two words on it's just too happy. And what is

the result of all that? The result is the salvation of your soul.

What is salvation? And it's this word that we use in the world,

It's called salvage. You know, nowadays, when we are maybe a bit

more affluent in our ways, we throw everything out that we think is useless

most of the time, unless you're hordest. Okay, that's a different story.

My reality is, you know, you think about it in no siense

the way I think about electrical appliances now nowadays, they actually they actually go

through the r and need to make sure that the appliances doesn't has a lifespan

and it doesn't last forever. And because they want you to buy new ones.

Back in my parents' days, they can buy a free say it can

go for thirty to forty years. As long as you can keep finding the

parts, it will continue to survive. No longer do you see any of

our electrical appliances like that, Because we just live in this society that becomes

useless, destroy it away by a new one. The truth is, most

things can be made useful, and we can make them serve a purpose.

Things can be needed. If things can be needed, what more humans?

Because when God looked down at the world, he could have said, no,

a man, this world. I want to wash my hands off.

This is a mess. I can't do anything with it. There's nothing.

They're all useless. No. But thank God that when he looked down he

said, I'm going to salvage these people, these useless people, these people

who can't do anything for anybody else. The people I'm made to serve me,

but they just can't serve me. They are no good at all.

Right, But yet he said, I am going to salvage them. I'm

going to give them a new hope, a new faith, and a new

love, and I will make them useful. I can use them because I

want them. And that is salvation. And God is doing this all over

the world. He will salvage people this very day. He has been salvaging

people right from the beginning. Because if you read your scriptures, write from

Genesis all the way to Revelation, the thread of redemption goes through it.

It's all about God reconciling with his people. He wants to make those who

are useless become useful in his service. You're gonna respond in that song faithful,

faithful? Is it faithful? The last song? Because everything, as

I was singing just now, the entire lyrics of that song is actually a

summary of my message today. He can do for you if only you will

let him do it by obeying his word to the very end. That is

why Heaven must rule in our perseverance, our endurance, our faithfulness. Heaven

must rule, because when Heaven rules, then you know you will have what

it takes to continue this journey of salvation. It's a journey because you've got

to rich the end where you actually hear the voice of God saying well done,

my good and faithful children. That means every day is a choice.

It's a choice for us, even though we have been selected by God.

I believe in predestination. I believe in divine sovereignty. I also believe in

human responsibility. We make choices every day. Choose you this day whom you

will serve, And I pray that faith, hope, and love, past,

present and future, father, son and Spirit will continue to envelope your

life because He's with you all the days up until the very end. We

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

please visit as church org. 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