Disciple First | Pr Sandra

You're listening to a passage to go from AXTS church.

We hope this message will light up your day.

Discipleship is not a competition. Meaning many times we feel like,

how much more do I have to pray? Is it?

You know? Some of the people ask you, Leona, have

you prayed enough or not? You're not enough? Right? We

should say not enough? Have you done enough or not?

You know? Have you done this enough? And we feel

like I have to read the Bible enough? You know

when it is enough? Is there a word enough? When

you are in a relationship with Jesus. Amen. So it's

more of a consciousness of being rather than just doing so.

So we compete thing I pray more ten times more

than you. I pray three times a day every day.

It's not a competition. God did not call us into

a competition. God has called us into a relationship with him. Amen.

He calls us and he draws us near to him. Amen,

and so ah this discipleship. Discipleship means to be disciple,

to be a student, to be learning under somebody, to

walk with somebody. That's the meaning in the Greek, the

Greek language the original language mathatis is to come under

to be learning from someone. So discipleship is not a competition.

We must in your heart and mind. Remember it's not

like you gain more brownie points. Okay, it's not. It's

God takes us as we are, and what He really

desires is that we pursue him with all of our hearts.

And it's a love relationship. It's a relationship that He

gives us as we give to him our hearts, Amen,

our lives. Amen. So it doesn't make discipleship difficult, it

makes it possible. Amen. Hallelujah. All right. Now, the reason

why sometimes we struggle with discipleship, whether we choose to

be a disciple or choose to or to disciple somebody,

which is really something that Christ has told us to do,

is because there needs to be a transformation of our minds. Amen. Church.

Oh my, it's very silent. I hope you did not

choose extras because we're a silent church. I need some amen.

I did not leave a big church to start the church,

and then's silent. Okay, all right. I don't know where

you come from, but in Christ, all of heaven is rejoicing,

So please some rejoicing. Amen. I'm gonna teach you to Amen,

I don't come here once in ten years. So amen,

all right, hallelujah, right, it feels like ten years. Right. Amen. Hey.

The need is to have a transform mind, and that's

found in Romans chapter twelve, Verse one to two. Romans

Chapter twelve. Why do I say that? Why is it important?

Because when you go to Romans twelve, here's what has written.

Paul rites to the church in Rome and speaking to

us as well. It says, so if you have your bible,

so you can turn to it, or if help from

spo XTV, thank you, dias. I beseech you. Therefore, Amen,

I'm owning my Bible. I'm having it. Own your own bible,

by your own bible, and read it. Amen, this is

the truth. This is the word of God. Let's read it.

I beseech you. Therefore, come on, 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 then verse two, 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. Amen to the reading of

God's word. Amen. So you know, Paul is beseeching, He's

really rallying the believers and say, hey, come on, guys,

it is true, by the mercies of God that we

present ourselves to the Lord as living sacrifice and even

living sacrifices here this morning. Yes, yes, are you dead

or living? Living? Amen? All right, living sacrifice. That's why

there's life in us. Amen. Jesus came to give us

life and full stop. Now life and life more abundantly

in every way, in that you may be well in

your soul. Amen, in your in your heart, in your

your soul, your spirit, your body, you be well. And

so Paul is saying to us, hey, I you know,

really employ you to present your bodies as living sacrifice

that is holy, that is acceptable to the Lord, because

this is reasonable, reasonable service or reasonable worship. The service

is worship. Give it to the Lord. And then he says,

don't be conformed to this world, but be transfer by

the renewing of your mind. Brother and sisters. All of

us need renewing in our minds. And it takes a journey.

It's time as we come into the Lord. It is

the reading of God's word. As you read God's word.

It is like water and it washes us and it

renews us day by day by day. Amen. And that's

why he says, don't be confirmed, don't live and think

like the way the world thinks, because this is past.

The world is passing. But when you think God's way

of thinking, then it's eternal. Then it's life, it's life giving. Amen.

It transforms the way we ought to think. Because as

we know, and you know we've shed this nightman again,

you've heard the unrenewed mind will say everything is say

you know, die die? Are you I didn't study it? Die?

Are you I forgot to read it? Die? You know?

Everything is so like that's it, you know. But in

the Lord, when we change, when our minds are renewed,

our tongue is renewed as well. So the words that

we speak become life. Amen. Instead of speaking negativity to

our children, we begin to speak life to them. And

you know, the last time we used to laugh and

say that you know, you know, dog and cow, but

the Chinese bag grunda. And then you know our parents

who will just say all kinds say they did. But

as we declare that, it is what we become. Because

there's power in our tongue. There's power, there's life and

death in our tongue. So as we renew our minds, Oh,

our minds are renewed through God's word. I'm sorry. The

only way to renew is to God's word. Amen. As

you read this wonderful, life giving word of God is living.

It's a double edged sword. It's not dead, and he

renews us. And as we are renewed in our minds,

therefore we become conscious of our relationship with the lot. Amen.

We become conscious as how how to live and how

to be, not just to do because you get tired doing.

But when you are, then you just live naturally. You

are this living sacrifice of the Lord. You are the

son and daughter of the living God. You make choices,

right choices, not compromise choices. You make the choices that

please the Lord. You make choices that open the windows

of heaven and the blessing. Pause forth, Amen, do I

hear an? Amen? Come on, the more you amen, I

will have more better preaching. All right, If you are quiet,

that's why maybe the preachers come and you're quiet, and

they die and I send them to you every week. Right,

So if you say amen, Selina will do even more

bombard bombarding you all right, come on, come on church.

We celebrate God's word. We celebrate God's word. So, friends,

when you are renewed in our minds by how you

ask me how I'm telling you? You have to get

into this word. Not read one line the day. Maybe

start with one lineer but one passage a day. Maybe,

then into one chapter a day, and then move on

in you know, slowly, slowly, all of us start from somewhere, slowly,

slowly we develop our hunger and a love for God's

word because his word is like water. It transforms us.

God's word does not condemn us. His word convicts us

of righteousness. And then we say, hey, Lord, I want

to do what you are teaching me to do. Thank

you for calling me out and saying, hey, this is

don't feel down. Don't let the enemy say hey, you

know you know you're down, You're out. No, it's the

word of God that lifts us up as we come

into his presence. Amen, day by day. Amen, don't don't know.

Need talk to Jesus on Sunday. Amen, turn the Bible

more than Sunday. Okay, maybe don't turn. Nowadays we have

a e Bible, so it's just yeah, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe,

all right, So this is important for us for some reason.

My thing he doesn't want to come out. It is

no what is it? My teve? Okay, my slides, but

the slides are there, right, Okay, So I want to

encourage us to be aware. Therefore, that discipleship is it's

only possible when our minds are renewed. And if we

haven't been renewed, we needed We need to renew. The

renewed believer, the renewed child of God takes on the

things that God has for him. Amen. And when we

are not renewed, then we will be conformed to the

ways of this world. And many of us were not

always in Christ. I came from a non Christian family,

So for that amount of years I lived like that.

I thought like that, and I did things like that,

I spoke that way. But when Jesus came into my life,

he he the Lord by the Holy Spirit, began to

transform my life and so that I would not conform

to this world. But being transformed day by day, and

then I'm able to actually prove God's word and life

for me, meaning the good will of God, the acceptable

will of God, and the perfect will of God. We

want to live the perfect will of God for us,

good acceptable, perfect will of God. But we need time.

God also doesn't rush on us. He works patiently with us.

So I want to encourage us. Allow the Holy Spirit

to work in you, and as he speaks, as you

read his word. This is how God speaks to you,

firstly through his written word, and then from his written word,

the inspired word will come for you at the time

of need. Amen. And you know what, all of our

growth and our foundation lies in no one else and

nothing else except Christ, our firm foundation. Everything and anything

you know in our faith is founded on Jesus Christ alone. Amen.

So when we are being transformed and we are being changed,

we are all founded upon Jesus Christ our foundation. First Corinthians,

Chapter two, verse one to five. First Corinthians, Chapter two,

Verse one to five. Amen. What does Paul say to

the Church of Chrinth. Now the church in Corinth was

the church that he planted, and they were having trouble

and different problems were happening within the church, and he

had to write this letter to speak to them, to

guide them. And so he says to them in First Corinthians,

chapter two, verse one to five. First Corinthians, Chapter two,

Verse one to five. He says, yeah, I brethren, when

I came to you, I did not come with excellence

of speech or wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of God.

For I determine, said Paul, not to know anything among

you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with

you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And

my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words

or human wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and

of power. That your faith should not be in the

wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Amen,

that our confidence, all of our confidence, lie not in

our flesh, not in our accolades, but our confidence lies

in Christ alone, who is our firm foundation. And as

you are founded in Christ. Therefore that's why I say,

we then are being able to be renewed in our

minds true the reading of God's Word, and the challenge

for many believers is that we are not giving enough

time to the living Word of God. There is there

has to be a hunger, There has to be a

thirst for the Word for prayer for us to experience

the revival of God. It doesn't come just by sitting

and twiddling your fingers or watching Netflix. As I said

before burn Netflix. Yeah, because our children's minds are being

eaten up by the things in Netflix, the language that

they use, the vision, the things that they see. Oh

my goodness. The first time I watched Netflix in somebody's house,

I thought I was seeing things. I had to turn

my eyes away, you know, because I see niked man,

nicked man. I mean, I don't know this person put

on this thing. And I was just talking and I

I see what kind of channel is this? By the way,

but not my house, or I didn't there say anything.

I just found out, Oh it's Netflix. Oh it's it's

Oh my word, dear, oh thing. Never go to fild

Malaysia Cup Company, never go through you know, our Malaysian

Censorship board. And our children are being exposed to that

if we didn't know what they were doing on their

handphones or whatever, and and so their minds. So I

say no, no, our confidence cannot be in anything that

the world has to offer. Because everything in the world

is passing away. Only thing in Christ will remain. And

we need to trust that the Lord will bring us

through this Amen. Our foundation has to be in Christ alone.

Our confidence all that we're doing is in Christ alone.

So we as we've taken this year and will continue

to go onto discipleship. It doesn't matter next year a

different theme. We will always growing our discipleship because EXS

Church is founded on discipleship. The day we started, we

started what we call a huddle system, a discipleship, a

relational how a relation, a relational discipleship system that we do.

And today the elders that you see, our leaders, our

key elders, are what we call them as deacons and

elders are the people that we discipled over the last

many years. And today they don't need me anymore because

their leaders on their own right right because of the

discipleship we have handed over leadership to them. So Passa

and I are a to go on to other things,

as as you send us out to plant churches and

to minister elsewhere. But our leaders here, the ones who

plant churches, the ones who lead others, because the only

foundation is Christ. Amen. And so discipleship is so important.

And I want to say to us discipleship the words

of the experience of discipleship is only is found only

in two words two wards. What do you think it is?

The shampoo? Follow me? Discipleship is found only in two

words follow me, follow me, follow me? Okay, follow me?

All right? Because in Mark one seventeen, Jesus came by,

you know, the sea, and he and and and the

fishermen were there, and he and he and he said, hey, guys,

follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

So this is Jesus and say, hey, follow me, all right.

He did not have followed me shampoo, but he was

the Lord of lords. They didn't know who is this

crazy guy? Right? I mean, they didn't know him, but

they heard about him from John the Baptist, and he

saw him, you know, doing miracles and healing people. And

so when he said follow me, they dropped everything and

they followed him. Whoa, oh, can we drop everything and

follow all the way so towards friends discipleship. Discipleship is

not ex church idea. It's not anybody's idea. Is Christ?

I preach Christ to you because this is the word

of God. This is not my words, this is Jesus.

Follow me, amen, follow me, he says, and So our

first step is to believe that we follow Christ. And

many here have said yes to Jesus, and you're following him. Amen.

Then we go on to Matthew twenty eight, verse nineteen

to twenty and partners. You know this inundated over many

years we've said, is I go to every church, it's

the same themes. Just this past week I went to

different church and on the walls. Wow, we're saying them, Yeah,

what does Matthew twenty eight nineteen twenty says, go and

make disciples of all nations and then teaching them to

observe all things that I have commanded you A reminder again,

church that make disciples was not you know, Selina's idea.

All right, it's make disciples, not Leona's idea. It is

Jesus' idea, the last commandment. Our first priority is to

go and reach out and make disciples of all nations. Amen.

Baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son,

and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Foundations of our faith. We

call on the name of Jesus and are safe. We

are baptized by immersion, Amen, and we are born again. Hallelujah.

These are our foundations. So we are to make disciples.

We are to reach out to someone, be a disciple ourselves,

and then we make disciples. So it's a commandment of

the Lord. And in acts we say Jesus's last commandment

our first priority. What's our first priority? To make disciples?

And that's why the theme says disciple first. Hey, why

you say like dead? What you say it? Well, because

I'm a disciple, Good on you. But are you making disciples?

The only way the world will be rich for Jesus

is if you and I continue to reach out and

make disciples. They may not yet be there where they are,

they may not know Christ, but our connection to them,

our friendship with them. Oh we manduky book it we climb.

What you do you do hiking right? You make friends

with people, You are discipling them by your you know.

Oh you need to use words. Then you use words,

otherwise your actions will speak and shine who you are

being rather than just doing. San Francis of Sis said,

you know, speak the gospel, declare the gospel, share the gospel.

If necessary, use words. So our lives should speak. So

I have to remind myself how am I being? If

I miss being? If I miss being then nobody wants

to follow Jesus luck. Okay, but cannot I cannot be

the only right. I gotta continue to grow. So I

want to say to us church encouragement. To us who

are already following a disciple of Christ. I also want

to say, we need to disciple. So when you look

at X chapter two, verse forty two, X chapter two,

verse forty two. Now in X chapter two is the

X chapter three? Sorry I may have I think it's

three X chapter three and verse it's two. It's three,

it's three three. Sorry I wrote the wrong one. So

it's X chapter two. Oh no, no, yes, it's X

chapter two forty two. So this one says when the

first church was planted and they all gathered, there were

three thousand of them. I think Chapter two forty two

says three thousand were three thousand souls were added to them.

And then what did they do? They continued steadfastly in

the apostles, doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread,

and in press. This very verse from Acts chapter two,

verse forty to forty seven is the foundation of which

as church plant our church on that we practice these

we have to learn to continue to practice them to

steadfastly follow the apostles doctrine, the Word of God, Amen,

and fellowship and breaking of bread and press a man

praying hallelujah. So the church was born on the apostles doctrine, hallelujah.

And they fellowship, they broke bread, and they said, and

they had press. Now this continues because somebody was discipling somebody.

You can't pass on without anyone being disciple to do that.

So it's important for us to consider our disciples. Am

I a disciple of Price? So I want to ask you,

whose disciple are you? Are you? Are you? Are you

K Pop's disciple? Disciple? Disciple? By that's how you dress,

that's how you wear your hair. I mean some of

us are like, yeah, we just followed that. We feel

like their disciples. You know you you follow the trend

and everything, But but whose disciple are you? Truly? If

you are disciple of Price, If I am a disciple

of Price and I'm speaking this message to my own heart,

then I would follow him, follow him, right. I just

want to encourage us as as as you've come in

to ask some of you could be new and how

you're gonna grow? I give you a little cycle first

before I get into some stuff. I don't know where

your journey has been. We've all been through journeys. We've

all been through hard times. We've all been through challenges,

whether it be in our faith, in our family life,

in our work. I want to say something to us.

The next diagram. I drew a diagram. Oh my goodness,

I can't draw. I just did this law. Okay, friends,

and you come into the Lord. When you come into

a new place, we need to unpack. A lot of

people don't unpack. When you don't unpack, you're never really

ready to stay. Then this place, this community of believers

become like hotel. I know some people, when you go

to hotel, they take out everything and arrange like this's

their house. Now. I'm quite shocked because I think so

much trouble to hang up all the clothes, take out

all the shoe I'm like, just everything in the bag

when I need it. No, but they are here to

stay like for five days lack right, oh, one week?

I don't know. We have to learn to unpack whatever

you carry from wherever you come from, whether you just

became a Christian or a follow up crist or you

want to know Christ or you come from different places,

different nations. You come in you're here with us. Now

we have to unpack. We have to I just spoke

to a couple yesterday. I said, we say you have

to unpack and know where God is leading you, and

then you need to root down. Even if it's not

with acts, it doesn't matter. You need to unpack and

root down in a house of God. Amen and Amy

know this couple and they finally knew that where they

were going to root down. And I said, it's okay

that it's not here. We need you to unpack and

route down because then you will flourish. And when the

husband decided this is the place, then I could see

the blessing flow. So we need to unpack and we

need to root down you while we are passing by

this planet, but while we're still here. There needs to

be a unpacking and stabilizer a bit. Yeah, route down.

We have to take off, unpacked, take out everything. You

come with your burdens, You come with the expectations, but

take time to route down in the house of God.

Because Jesus had the you know, gave the commission to

his disciples and the first Church was planted and people

came from all walks of life. But they had to unpack,

they had to route down. And I would say, it

takes time to go through different things. It takes time

be patient with one another. It takes time to heal

from different things that you have experienced, whether it be family,

from your workplace in ministry, it takes time. But as

you heal to different circumstances, your trust must grow. Your

trust must grow with the team here, with the leadership here.

If you don't have a trust, you will never grow

because the next thing is to grow too mature. Amen,

as we grow, as we mature, it is very automatic

that we serve. We're serving God's house, God's heart, and

then the cycle repeat again. You help someone else unpack,

help someone else route down, and then repeat again. That

is the formula. So many many people go through such

hard time, such challenges that we've lost. You know, I

don't trust this, I don't trust that. I don't trust

a lot of people. So we come in and out

of the House of God without unpacking, without routing down,

and then we don't give time and we just hope

that you grow. We need time. Anything needs time, even

we fall down. Like my husband took six months for

the fracture. It's still healing. But for the time that

he had to sit still and not more was killing

him right, just he couldn't walk, said, I had to

do everything for him. But in the waiting, the new

bone was growing and healing, and the gaps were closing,

and all those little gaps, the fracture began to close up.

And when you see in the X ray, there's no

more gap. So we need even the physical is parallel

with our spiritual. We need time. But you see, if

he never unpacked and he just wanted to keep doing

his thing with a broken leg, he ain't gonna root

down anywhere and he ain't gonna heal right, So say

you just stay up there, don't come down right, just

stay up there, and I will have to do everything

for you until you can walk down the stairs again.

So our Christian faith, wherever you're walking, wherever you're going,

we need to unpack, even your pains, even your fears.

You don't trust anybody, fine, I'm not asking you trust us.

Trust the Lord first, really renew your minds. In order

to get into a discipleship or to disciple someone, you

need to renew yourself in the Lord. Amen, and begin

to root down, go through with people who would walk

with you. And this whole cycle is a discipleship kind

of walk with somebody. Church doesn't just happen. Any church

you go to doesn't just happen with strangers. Work with

people who want to root down and do life together.

No church can exist without people routing down because otherwise

we all are just yes. And then we say, by

the House of God is men for people to grow.

It also has place. It also causes pain. Sometimes the

amount of pain we might go to should should not

rob you of the trust that you have in Jesus

and that you would trust Him to lead you to

the people that will walk with you and that will

help you through. Amen. In hard times, I tell you, friends,

you may think you don't need a church. You may

think you don't need anybody, and you can just run

your own walk. But the Bible says, we're not an

island island in the sun. We're not an island. He

called us to be disciples together in the hardest of times.

I tell you we are there. We're not perfect. I

have to say as leaders, I'm not perfect, as you're

senior minister of this church. I'm not perfect, but that

doesn't mean I can't continue to grow and serve God

and to walk with you. Amen, to walk with you

or Selina, jo or Leone or the leaders here, Eddie,

whoever the leaders are in this house. John, We're not perfect,

but God is transforming us, Amen, and we must so. Church. Remember,

wherever you are, you must unpack, you must root down,

give yourself time to heal. If you came from a

difficult place, will trust again that one person, that two

persons may be, and then grow in your faith. Too many,

too many people, you know, just crash and burn and

then give up. We need to grow. Thank you for

sticking on. Thank you for not throwing in the towel.

Friends here, thank you for sticking on and allowing time

for healing, time to hear again what God is saying

and doing in your life and in the life of

our church. And as we mature, maturity is very important.

Ya Hey, how many of you moms and heads here,

If your child is twenty five is still drinking milk,

you will be worried that person could be undeveloped, underdeveloped.

So sue, you know, drink mail or me cannot twenty

five years or no, even if he's seven and just

drinking milk or so cannot. Right, Little Noah'm so tall

because he ain't just drinking mal he's eating neat. He's

tall for his age. If it's parallel, what happens in

the natural happens in the spiritual. Amen. So we must

not only grow, we must mature, and the roots will

When you dig dig deep roots, then the tree can

be strong and the tree cannot cannot be shaken when

the roots are deep and able to draw from the

water that is in the earth. Amen. Same like us,

we need to dig deep and our roots into the

world of God, into what he's saying to us. And

you know what, Friends, when we disciple someone, it is

not so that they become like, hey, I tell you

what to do. No, right, John, No, we don't do that.

I think my first thing is I disciple somebody. The

first thing I wanted is to point you back to Jesus,

because only Jesus is your foundation. Only Jesus is the

one who can do everything for you. I'm just pointing

you to him. But because I went a bit ahead

of you, I'm just showing you a little bit of

the way and again because you might say you're imperfect,

But can I say to you, Jesus use twelve imperfect men.

So go ahead and say that I am imperfect and

allows a woman. Fine, but Jesus chose twelve imperfect men,

one who gave up on him, and he turned him,

turned him over, one blaber mouth. Sometimes I feel like

a Peter. They are too always fighting who greater, who bigger?

Sons of the thunder right, Hey, I best you best

you best you hear you know I don't know Peter

and chopping people's head, chopping people's ears off right, they

were not perfect. So I think sometimes we're not reading

our bibles to know that God takes the imperfect and

perfects us but he needs time and he needs people

to walk with. If Selena did not stand alongside with

me long enough, she would have left. You know how

gangster she is. Right, I'm scared of her. Okay that

we're all scared of her. But we've met Selena that

many years ago. When I asked her, please, would you

do ex kids with us? She took it up. I

was scared to ask her, but I asked her, did

she go to highs and lows. Yes, she did. We

just sang the song every high, every load, write that song. Yeah.

But I know that, I know that Jesus is in

this boat with me. He's my foundation. So I want

to tell us, if you're gonna grow you first as

a disciple, you need to unpack your route down. You

give time, We give you time. You need to build

trust again. Trust God again, because if you have a

problem with God, then you will have problem with all

of us. Trust God again, Trust one person at least

whom you can trust. Grow mature and maturing sometimes means

taking some hard knocks or sola. It cannot be so

you know, like ha ha ha, No, sometimes you cry

sometimes like whont you say me? Won't you say me? Right?

It's so hard, you know. I tell my twelve ladies

before I saw in the early days, say doctor Juli,

I remember she said, so would you decipe for me? Yes? Yes,

and yes years ago? And I said, sure, but can

I speak into your life? Would you allow me to

do that if I find something not really aligning? They

all bravely said Yesler, okay. And there were times when

you had to address matters and issues, but not out

of evil heart, but because because I care enough to

tell you, and once I don't care and don't want

to care, then I don't tell you and I walk away.

And I said, what's the point. But we spent twenty

years or more with so many ones, and that's where

where we are. But that's difficult, and so people don't

like that. Some people don't like discipleship, so they leave

X because you think we're going to take over your lives.

I don't have time to take over your lives. Really

we don't. We're here to lead you and release you

so that the cycle goes over and again. All right,

Discipleship is not our plan, not men's thoughts. It is

Christ says, follow me, and then this is where you are. Disciple. First,

we used to have to disciple someone. So first go

in this Jeft eleven, verse one, the one verse we

never want to use. There you use it. I don't dare,

but now I have to dare. Imitate me, imitate me

as I imitate Christ. Very hard to say, very hot,

because you look at yourself and go, I'm so flawed,

I'm so much aflaw in me, I make so much mistakes.

Who am I? Why am I saying that. Paul says,

imitate me, as I imitate Christ? Can I say it there?

I even say it? Oh very hard, No, we're hard,

very hard. Wow. So we have to hide behind behind

We have to hide in Christ, you know, and say

imitate me, Paul says, as I imitate Christ? So how

are we gonna do it? I want to encourage you

that you can discipher someone even though you feel. You

must be rooted first, and so so my first diagram

very important. You must take root, You must take you

must route down first. You must be willing to have

that one person in your life to speak into your life.

You must at least trust that person, that one person,

or do take root. We're here. We're here for you.

You know how you know I'm here for you? Sorry,

I have to bring it up like but that's twenty

five thirty years of doing church. I'm here for you.

When someone in your family dies, I'm the most important person.

Can you bury my dad? But not bury you? You know,

because you're alive, but your family members, because when your

parents get older, they cannot go to church anymore. They

don't have a church and they pastor can you can

you do it for me? My mom's church won't do

it for them? Would you do it for me? Do

you know why I would do it? Because it's one

of the hardest time in your life, and because I

know you, I won't even have a second thought. I'll

do it. You never think how important your church is

until you suddenly decide I need you to bury me.

I'm not just here to marry you and baptize you

and give you your baby's a blessing, dedicate your children

as past as. We also have to do the homegoings

with our stay and with you. You don't think it's

important yet, you don't think it's important, so you can

jump church and jump institutions, constitutions whatever. When this thing happens,

even the police will ask you manapuna padre, you're priests? Wow,

where where is your priest? La? Okay, it doesn't matter

Buddhist priest, Indo priests lama. They will ask. They will

ask because our country is ruts In and kada to hunt.

We believe in God, Thank God, formulation. Don't you condemn

this country and call it you know it's God, God

God for saken, it's not. They still have a constitution

that says to hunt. So the police will ask you

Manaun Padre, and so I become strangers Pa Padre, because

they don't know who else to turn to. Sometimes I

feel used la because before they they don't know me.

Now tell you, in all these times, you know we

are here for you. This is one of the hardest times.

As how you were here for me when my dad

passed on. His church was there for him for me

to do this friends discipleship, Bill's relationship. It's a relational

discipleship that we do. Root yourself and grow and mature.

Don't be offended so easily, Jesus say, already, offenses will

come left right center. How to live your life every

day offended? No needl just cuss it out or I

can see offense coming like an arrow, cuts it out.

Just give it a wind, fart at it or whatever

you want to do it all right, just get it off,

don't let it stick. I too have to do that

because I can get offended easily enough. You know, people

can say all kinds of things, do not do or do.

But this is when you want to start saying, imitate

me as imitate Christ. Oh dear, I don't think so

I want to encourage you today. Why we will be

able to say this because John fifteen four or five

says what John fifteen is about the vine, the true vine.

John chapter fifteen, verse four to five. Jesus says, abide

in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot

bare food of itself unless it abides in the vine.

Neither can you unless you abide in me. I am

the vine. You are the branches. He who abides in

Me and I in him bears much fruit. For without

me you can do nothing. If we don't have Jesus,

we can do nothing. So earlier I already say our

confidence lies in Christ, and so we want to abide

in Christ. Hang in with me. I'll get to my point.

That why, disciple firse. Okay, and I robbed this from

my husband, Okay, I mean the example. If he comes

appreciate you know where I took it from. Okay, he

does it way better than me. But I'm still the learner.

But I told him I'm taking a message abiding in Christ.

And then as you abiding Christ, you then say, hey,

imitate me as I imitate Christ. I'm gonna show you

a picture because when I saw it, I went blew

my mind. All right. So if you get to the

next one, oh, the yellow gloves, do you know that

I have to Then if you go and do all

this get the picture, you have to pay the free

pick and whatever pick and splash is splash okay, wow,

oh the nice yellow this one gloves have to pay.

So I get these ugly ones like they're hanging and

then like they're not very nice stuff. I had to

take it. I wanted a picture of it. There. It

costs money to get the nice glove, the yellow glove,

because everybody knows the yellow glove, the yellow man. Okay,

all right, so the glove. I want to show you

about the glove. And I brought the glove, and I

need somebody to be my demonstrator. But your hand, garnabies,

cannot be sweaty. It's an em size. Okay. Now, so

this is a glove, everybody exhibit a Is it of

any use at this time? Shake hands with me? Nothing

much to shake it. Come on, do it again, not

very lively, slep you, but nothing happens, right, okay, okay,

this this is the glove, and then this is the hand.

Don't show me the hand, right, show me the hand Okay,

here's the hand. What hand is this the right hand? Okay?

The glove is like us. You don't abide in crisis,

but the hen when you talk about abiding, why don't

you abide? Why don't you stay in the Lord? Oh

there's some feeling. Now Selena is abiding in Christ. What

do you see? You see Selena? But what's inside the

hand which represents this abiding in Christ? And she can

do a lot of things. Now there's life. Now there's feeling.

Imitate me as I immediate Christ, only because I'm abiding

in Christ, abiding in Christ. When you abide in Christ,

you dare say, with all humility, imitate me as I

imitate Christ. I'm only doing what Christ is leading me

to do. And we are so afraid to say imitate

me to disciple someone because you say I might lead

them astray. No, but you must be led first, and

you must abide. And this glove that goes into the

veriest foundation, Jesus Christ gives it, a body gives it,

you know, stability. And now there's a little finger. Just

now it was you know, just now it's just like this. Hello,

it's a limp, and our lives will be like this.

How to say imitate me as I imitate Christ. There's

nothing here, it's limp. But when you abide in Christ,

Christ is working through you and in you, and you

can't be the one to lead someone to disciple someone

because you're abiding in Him. And Jesus says, unless you

abide in Me, you can do nothing. Amen. It's a

powerful illustration when you think about it, because you're asking

how to abide Macha meanila like this lack abide in Christ.

Be in Christ, get into the stream of Christ's life.

He is the true vine. Abide in Him. That's why

I ask you who are you following? Firstly, are we

Christ follow us? Number two? Do you have a disciple,

disciple who disciples you, who's following Christ? Amen? Otherwise we

become these limb hands that try to serve and cannot serve.

Pleageitar hit the car horn, eh. Fuck. But when you

abiding Christ, you are solid and you have something to give. Amen.

It's powerful that when we abide, we can say, imitate

me as I imitate Christ, because I'm I'm in Christ. Amen.

Give selina hand. I hope you you catch something you need.

You need your life to be in Christ abiding. But

many of us don't abide. We don't abide either because

we didn't realize that this is who we are. We

are God's children. But you have to want to stay, stay,

no walk away and do our own thing and find out,

Oh that's the way to do life and follow everybody

else and every trend. But this is what paulses, there's

no other wisdom of man but the wisdom that comes

from God. That that I don't come with clever speech

or persuasive words. I just want the power of God

to move through me. That is the power of God

moving through that glove that was dead. And when Christ

is in you you abide, then his power, his life

is flowing through you. Amen, hallelujah. Can do you catch it? Why?

Because it's so hard you ask me. I also want

to say, Leona, immediate me as imitate Christ. Firstly, she

might say why okay? Or do I really have to

look at you? I don't know. But if we have

the confidence, the confidence comes with the clarity, the clarity

that Christ. I am in Christ. When there's clarity, there

is confidence. My is in Christ. And so when I

confidently walk up and rock up to her and say no, Nah,

imitate me is I imitiate Christ. I'm doing my bit.

Come along and bring the other one that you are leading,

come along, And so it repeats itself again. We can't

do it on our own. We can't disciple because we

feel we are weak. And the enemy will tell you

how horrible you are? Are you bad person? No devil

will repeat all these things. But when you abide in Christ,

it's never about us anymore. It's Him. It's Him in us,

the hope of glory. And that weakness is becoming being

strengthened as we abide in Christ. Amen, what a picture?

Can you catch? It? Do I hear? An? Amen? Is

there anybody still in the room? I've lost you? No,

you are here, yay. Amen, Abide in me and I

in you, and then the branch cannot bear fruit of

itself and it abides. So let's stay abiding in Christ.

I tell you church, I'm not here to give you

a nice message, as I told another church service, I'm

here to prepare you for the end times. You don't

want for me to tell you nice things and you

can go home and clap your hands feel good message.

I don't want to give you a feel good messages.

I want you to take a message that says I

have to abide in Christ. I am going to go

through this storm. You know what's going on in the world.

It is uncertain, it is so changing. And you know,

if you want to put your hope in one person,

that's also uncertain. If I only put my hope in

my husband, although he's an amazing man, but if I

just think that's it all my my salvations as if

on my husband Harvey Isla cannot then if he goes,

then now example adopt me. Ah. The confidence is only

to be in Christ and Christ alone. You get to

Heaven is because of Christ and Christ alone. Nothing else,

not our good works, not our accolades, nothing, not our

PhD nothing. It is Christ and Christ alone. So when

you are a disciple of Christ first and then on

planet Earth, we're still walking. Who who are you being

discipled by? And who are you discipling? That is the

sadness of the Church because so many of us don't

want to keep the word of Christ to make disciples,

one disciple at a time. The world can be changed.

We just need to make time for the things of God.

Because I tell you, our life is so amazingly impecting.

When you want something, you will do it. It's true.

My gang in got the comning. I say, got the communing.

Tell me no time, no time, But when it's pickable time,

everyone is at the court. I don't know. Was it

last Sunday or this Sunday? We're having a match interchurch.

We didn't even know there was an interchurch match? Who won?

I don't know? Is it this Sunday and next Sunday?

Do you know? Huh? We Sunday? Somebody knows today. Please

do not fight, okay, let them win, Let them win.

Why you lost because my pasterns said, let you win.

Do not fight nor feel okay, don't bring your real

colors out. Competitive spirit a gable. No. You know, when

we want something enough, we will make time for it.

That is life, and and and and then and the

whole story and the teaching. The Bible tells us it's priority.

What is your priority? Discipling someone takes time, it does.

I'm discipling a new person now. And you know what

if if if she didn't chase me, I will forget

because I'm busy. But she chases me every month, past

our meeting, past meeting. Now I'm like, I have no time,

especially when my as wells and well I couldn't leave

the house. So we missed quite a few months of

not meeting, and I just met her recently to catch

up again. What's happening discipling a new person just to

get just because she said I didn't want to be

disciples All these years, I didn't see the point. But

when I heard the message, I knew I had to

be discipled. I need to get into a disciple shit relationship.

And she's new to us, and her husband also said, yeah,

I want to be disciples. Unfortunately, he works across borders,

so it's a bit hard to stabilize. But maybe he'll

he'll ask one of our leaders wherever he's at to

disciple him. She's willing. I'm spending time with a new person.

A lot of y'all ways say pass, you're already busy

and not better to do it. Is the best thing

to do is to replicate yourself. Hopefully she will she

will disciple someone else. It takes time, life. I cannot

rush this job, right. I can't rush it, you know,

you just got to take it slowly, slowly and pour

in right. And I'm doing the best that I can

with the time that I have. But if I don't disciple,

I will die because I'm not life giving at all.

I'm not personally life giving. It can be serving and

doing all these things that dada, but life, you know,

speaking into another person's life. The twelve ladies under me

don't giving life to other people already they didn't need

my life anymore. Yeah, they're big people, they're big time.

So yeah, they're our elders. I have to bow down

to them. Okay, I'm not worthy, but and so we

release them to do that, but we catch up when

we hear each other, when their times are hard. I'm

there for them, but there are new people, so I

take on your people. It's like how you taking people

for hiking, right, you teach them how to hike, same principle,

or you hikers all your pickup all players, same principle.

You play pickaball and then you train someone else to play.

You are discipling them, but you're discipling them to something

that is not eternal. But when you disciple them into Christ,

it will be eternal. Their lives will be for the Lord,

for the kingdom. Amen. Amen. I want to encourage us.

If you're walking through a journey and no one and

sometimes you need someone to walk with you. I pray

that the Lord will show you the importance of disciple first.

I am first a disciple, and then I will disciple

first somebody. So who is that? Somebody pray that the

Lord will bring to you. It could be someone in

your office. It's not like, hey, come, I disciple you.

It's not like a head that I know in your

obviously book. Sometimes it's you're making friends with your colleagues.

They they are they don't know Christ yet. But your

your person your personality, your your your love, your kindness,

and they will turn their head and say why why

why are you so different? What is it you know?

And and you begin to you don't even preach to them.

You live, You be, You be the only reason why

people follow you fighting because you is do ease, not

your word, not your words. You ease and you hike.

You have something to give some all of us have

something to give because we is We're not a world,

we're not a wars. We are ease because Jesus is alive. Amen. Amen.

And God has a plan for each and every one

of us, like that glove he's there would you abide

in him like that glove. Would you choose to abide

in him and allow him to move you? Amen? Allow

him space in your heart. Amen. Because it's nice to sing,

I will make room for you, But it's something else

when you really make room for Jesus. I sing that

song and I think, oh, man, am I making room

for you? Lord. I'm trying to call it off. My

own time I don't I don't have. I don't have

all my time. I don't have free time. Friends, I

don't have. It's not like you're so bad you don't

have free time. If I have free time, I'm either

washing the clothes, a hanging the clothes, maybe baking. Maybe.

These days I have no time to beay because I'm studying.

Since eating all my time, I will be finished. Next year.

I will be finished. Then I'll start making again. Yah

you chay you. But time as the lot leads me

to do what I just do it. And yes, there's

time to rest and all that. I mean, we take breaks.

But I'm just saying, friends, renovate your minds. We need

our minds to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

You need to renovate your minds so that you can

see as Jesus sees Church. And the reason why we

don't want to be discipled, don't trust, or don't believe,

is because our minds are not renovated. Yet we are

still thinking in the way and conforming to the way

of the world. We are afraid that. You know, we

say people were users, and I don't like to be

say I'm using. I feel we are empowering people to

really step up into their destiny and their call that

God has for them. Discipling is the only way to go. See, friends,

if you're not discipling in the things of eternity, you're

being discipled for things that won't last anyways. You're already

paying money for training and to be coached and doing

all these other things. But it's not going to be

for eternity. But God wants to call you into eternity,

and he wants to poy his life. As you give

him room and you abide in him, and as you

abide in him, you bear fruit. You move as He

moves you to go Amen. That's why Scripture is there

for us. Said, you can say, imitate me as I

imitate Christ. Who are you imitating? First? So if I'm

imitating my leader, then my leader must be imitating Christ

at the best as the best as they can. We're

not perfect, but we are we are doing the best

that we can because God knows. We are all work

in progress. But we can be good examples to one another. Amen.

And we want to release us ourselves with the Lord

so that he can teach us. He can guide us. Amen. Friends,

you can say no and want to because at the

end of the day you will have to answer the

Lord when he said go and make disciples and you

said no, Lord, you'll have to answer him. So I

want to tell you better have an answer for the Lord.

You cannot say because it's Elena's fault. She made such

a hard time for me. Oh, Joel's fault. You can't

stand before the Lord. Said, I didn't want to go

make disciples because because maybe you stand before the Lord.

I pray we all eyes skettles. So I have to say,

am I doing what God is asking me to do?

Prepare for eternity? This is a very uncertain world, volatile,

uncertain things change, he said, That's the one that stabilizes

is Jesus. Amen, hallelujah. He stabilizes. He is our a

girl faith Allelujah.

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

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hit for you.

God bless