The Divine Mercy Of God | Elder Rosalind Ang

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

We hope this message will light up your day.

We're gonna go to the very first reference when God

actually talks about himself.

Do you know, right?

You know, you can know someone right, like like you

know Anti Julie, right, like Auntie Julie.

She's kind, she's generous.

You know, da da da da da dada, all that, right,

but nothing like until she says, oh, this is who

I am?

Right? God always says I am who I am? Right.

So we want to go to the very first reference

of God talking about himself. Do you want to know

what God thinks about himself?

You do, right?

I mean, we can have all kinds of ideas about

how God thinks about him but I think you'd be

more interesting to know what God thinks about himself.

All right? Okay, So where do you think would be

the first reference?

You know, where in the Bible will God talk about himself?

Do you know where.

Genesis is where he talks about the creation and all that,

But he hasn't really described himself to a human person

in a conversation.

Where would that be? Where would that be? Exodus? Right? Okay?

So Exodus So let's go to Exodus chapter thirty four.

If you have your Bibles and we encourage you and

you will hear every time the preacher is gonna tell

you this. Now, before we go into this, I want

us to know a bit of the context. You know,

what's the context of Exodus thirty four. Of course you

have to go to X thirty three right and thirty

two and before that. So what happened was the children

of Israel they were given So Moses was given the

two tablets. Correct, So he The joke is, who's the

first tablet user in the world.

Moses? Okay, lame Joe, lame Joe.

So so he's the first tablet user. And of course

the tablet broke. Why why why are you why? Why

did the tablet break? Why was it broken?

You know?

He was angry because of why. So they So Moses

was there having a great time. He got on the

mountain right forty days and then he heard some sound

music and dancing, and they're like, hey, what's happening down there?

Are right?

So he came down and then he saw that the

children of Israel they were hungry to worship, but because

Moses was away, they turned to worship something else. So

do you know that one thing that you realize about men,

you and I is that we all made to worship.

Everyone is made to worship.

There's this longing within us to worship something right, and

if we don't worship the one trend living God will

be worshiping everything else that's false, all right.

So that's one thing that's very clear.

So they told Aaron or not our eron. Aaron, wait, waitship,

that's our eron. He went, not already, Oh, don't make any

golden calf. Okay ah, So he told Aaron to go in.

You know, the people told him like, give us something

to worship. And he threw all the ear rings and

all that gold walking imagency gold earringe right, melted it

down and made this calf and then they worship it.

So so that was the sound of singing and dancing.

And so when Moses came down, he was like, what's this?

You know, can you imagine.

If if that's how Moses felt angry at the people's rebel,

and how the God feel.

Think about it? Huh? So, so of course he broke it,

and then God said, okay, that's how you want to

play that's not the Bible. Yeah, God's a paraphrase.

Paraphrase, God says, Okay, since the children of Israel do

not want to listen to me, Y'll go hey without me,

without my presence, Go go, go, go go. It's okay,

and I'm gonna be fine. No, this is not passive aggressive, Okay.

God was just saying, go hey without me. And of

course Moses said, God, I will not move without your presence.

How many of us would actually say that in our

daily decisions, God, I will not move if you don't

go with me. Many of us go ahead of God, right,

And after we walk three thousand miles readly like, hey, God,

where are you?

Right? I think that's something to learn that.

Before we go anywhere, we say, God, I will not

step into this without your presence, without your presence going

with me. I think that's the most important thing, right,

God's presence in all life. So so Moses said that,

and God told him that, Okay, I'm gonna show you

my goodness.

Wow, God is so good. God is so good to Moses.

I'm gonna show you. And and of course Moses said,

show me your glory. What is Moses?

You know very he's so good friends with God. He

dared to ask God, show me your glory, show me

your glory. And God says, Okay, my glory is gonna

kill you because you cannot take it right. My glory

is just too glorious for you.

But what I will do is.

I will pass you by, and I will close your

your eyes.

With my hands. But when you when I pass you by,

you look at my glory. Right.

And this this is how I'm gonna show you who

I am. So that is the context to come to

Versus chapter thirty four. Now, okay, so we're there now, right,

and so this is what God said to him.

Okay, shall we read this together? Can can? You'll see that?

All right?

So one, two, three, And the Lord passed before him,

and proclaim the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious,

long suffering and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy

for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin by no

means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers

upon the children and the children's children to the third

and the fourth generation.

Amen.

Out of the six characteristics and a thousand million words

sets out there to describe himself. What's the first word

that God used to describe himself?

Mercyful? Mercyful? Why with God? He do you see love? There?

Do you see? Okay? There is goodness?

But it was not the first word because I always

believed in the principle of first right, the very first

thing that you would describe yourself is kind of like

the core of who you are. Right, So we want

to understand God's mercy and what it means right now

in the Hebrew word, this word mercy comes from.

It is this word called rahum. Can you pronounce that

ra that right? Rahum?

Okay, now this this word merciful Rahum. There's another word

called rahamim, which is okay, suddenly I sound like like Hebrew, right.

Rahum?

And raham one is the word one is a now,

but it simply means being compassionate, all right. Now, if

you study Hebrew, this is a true let a tree.

Hebrew letter word.

It actually is actually very closely related to this word

called rackham. Rack Ham is actually the word called the womb,

the womb of a woman, right, and it's trying to

convey the meaning of the sense of protectiveness of a

mom towards her vulnerable child. That that's what it means, right,

that that the mercy of God when he's talking about

him being merciful God first of all before anything else,

he's talking about this sense.

Of compassion for his creation. Do you see that, right?

Moms, if there are moms here, you know, it's nothing

like you having you know, when you're pregnant and you're

carrying that child. Right, that that sense of protectiveness over

this unborn child, it is there. It's very strong, right.

And it's not just an emotion. It's not just like

a feel so protect it.

Moves you to action. Right.

Our leaders probably have heard this, you know, because we're

actually doing this series and I saw our leader's training. Uh,

and so we just went through this right being merciful

and anzella mercy but correct.

Otherwise you wouldn't think.

About this, right, And so it's it's it's it's how

God if you look for if you look at the Bible.

From beginning to the end, from beginning to the end.

You would see God's mercy through Do you see this

as a threat from Genesis all the way to Revelation,

God's mercies I play right? You can see it in

the lives of the children of Israel, right when they

were there walking in the desert, even though actually, how

long does it take to go into the Promised Land

from where they were in Egypt?

How many days? Do you know?

How long does it take to walk from where they

were in Egypt? You know, after they left Egypt to

the Promised Land? How long does it take?

Huh?

Okay, okay, what we know is it took them forty years, right,

but in actual fact, how many day how long does

it actually take to reach there the most direct route?

Soit speak how many days? Eleven days? Journey only eleven days?

My dear friends, Yeah, what happened when you were supposed

to get from where you are to the promise that

in eleven days? And I give you grades like even

if you walk super slower twenty two days, But.

It took them forty years? What happened? Way's gone wrong? Okay,

don't follow these ways, because if you follow your own way. Ooh,

that's what happens. Forty years of this obedience, and yet

in their rebellion continued to show the mercy He provided food, right,

otherwise they would not have lasted forty years in the desert.

There is. Hey, guys, you think about it.

It's a miracle, you know, to survive forty days in

the desert with no water, no food, with clothes that

never wear out, sandals that never wear out.

Forty days, forty forty years. You are any shoes that

not can tana? You wish? Yeah, our shoe here.

Four years you never wear you can throw already, okay,

come firm after COVID.

Or four months?

Oh no, the qualities were bettera four months as okay,

not the Henry day. So that's how God continued to

show compassion to a very good people.

Is it rebellious? Rebellious non stop?

Again and again and again they were rebellious against him? Right,

and you see the thing is right? I love this

in Isiah forty nine, So I don't know whether I

have it in my slat Isiah forty nine, verse fifteen

to sixteen.

It continues to convey.

This idea of how God, you know, is he uses

this term again and again towards the people.

So he says, here can.

A woman can actually a woman forget her nursing child

and not have compassion on the.

Soun of a womb? Right? This is Isaiah the prophet

saying this, surely, surely they may forget, Yet I will

not forget you. This is God's saying, I will not

forget you.

See I have inscribed you on the palm of my hands.

Your walls are continually before me. Did you catch a

bit of God's heart?

Now?

A little bit more of how this sense of compassion

is just throughout the Bible. There's many other references that

talks about how God, you know, is so compassionate towards

his people write compassion and compassion. And you know, even

if you moms, he says, forget about your own child.

God says, I will not forget you. I don't know

how many of us might feel that. You know, we

may not have the best relationship with our own parents, saying.

I have not forgotten you.

I have not forgotten you, even though everyone else seems

to have desaid that I will not forget you.

So so this is the character of God. Do we

get this now? So God's character is like that, He's

continuously like that.

And so when we share through others, would that be

your first sense of who God is? God is a

god of mercy. God is a God of mercy. Now

of course we have the contrasted to usla. Right, and

so I call this point the calculativeness of men. Okay,

So who do you see in this picture? Donna?

All right, okay, how many of you know the story

of Jonah? Can I see a raise of hands? Okay?

Not not everyone? Not everyone? Okay, So I guess I

can tell the story a little bit.

No, So if you've been to any form of Sunday

school in X case or at least, they would know

this story very well. Right, So what what what do

you know about the story of Jonah?

Okay? He ran away?

And then there's a fish involved somewhere, right you come,

ban gang?

Oh? No, okay, no, this sounds like the Konga goong goong.

I don't know what this is. A big fish, A

big fish ai Ai. Yeah, I don't know what big

fish is this? Okay. So it didn't say it's like

whatever fish are, dolphine or jaws or whale. I don't know.

It just says a big fish.

Okay, yeah, okay, So so let's learn a little bit

because I think it's very interesting that that his story

is in the Bible. You think about it, Why didn't

you know this book write whom we we believe to

be the truth. Why isn't it all about perfect men

and women?

Because we're not perfect exactly, Because in it it's a

reflection of all of us.

Right, And it's always good to check ourselves with the

word of God, because I really believe, right, the best

mirror that you'll ever need is not the mirror that

you go and see in the toilet every day. The

best mirror that we need to look into every day

is the word of God because when we see ourselves

as we really are, and then we need God to mercy,

and then we go and say.

God, I really need your mercy. All right?

Now, what's Jonah a bad guy? Let me ask you

that question.

No, why not define that old shit? You going to that? Right? Okay?

Do you know that Jonah is a prophet? Right?

He's a prophet and he had actually had been prophesying

for God. He's not a bad guy. Why do we

always think him as a bad guy. He's not a

bad guy. In fact, if you want to think about

it in a modern day he's probably a pastor or

evangelist in modern day church. Oh, Selena, okay, okay, like Selena, Okay, okay, okay,

like Selena, like Selena okay ah, okay, okay, change name

after this, so let's read a little bit and and

and read from.

The Word of God. Like okay, So turn to your bible. Jonah.

Do you know where Jonah is? After Obadiah, before my God?

Oh?

Where is that? Let's sing the song? Okay, go go,

It's almost towards the An already before Habakuk and before guy.

You're like, where's all this? And now my name next

time we do quez?

Okay? Of how well you know your old Testament? All right?

So turn to the book of Jonah. I'm gonna read

the first three verses of chapter one first.

Are you there? Yeah, okay, let's go. Now. The word

of the Lord.

Came to Jonah, the son of amy Thai, saying, arise,

go to Nivare that great city, and cry against it,

for their wickedness has come up before me. But Jonah

arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

He went down to Joppa and found a ship going

to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down

into it to go with them to Tarshish. All right,

so I just to give you a little bit of context.

Naniwhere is northeast okay? North southeast Okay? So for example,

where you are in peninsula, it's maybe Saba Sarawah Okay.

So Jonah, you're supposed to go to northeast Saba Sarawa

and preach to the city there.

But guess what where did Jonna go? He went west?

All right?

So he flew on, he fled Okay. Now I want

you to to really pick up what was Jonah fleeing from?

Look at your Bible? What what does what does your

boys say? What was Jonah fleeing from.

Presence of the Lord?

Did you That one really struck me this time around

as I was studying this. You know, sometimes we can

just say, oh, Jonah ran away, right, Jonah ran away

from his calleing. Jonna just you know, disobeyed God. But

he says he.

Ran away, he fled from the presence of the Lord. Wow.

Do you know what that means to me? Is that

when you run away from.

A clear mission that God has given you.

You're actually running away from the presence of God. Wow.

Do you know all of us have a mission from

the from the Lord. God has said the word and

many of us. Sometimes we say, oh, I don't know

what God said. God says, arise and go.

That's it.

Where is a question that you will just go and

find along the way, because the wood is very clear

to us.

Arise and go. Hey, guys, exampang, get up and go?

What are you waiting for? No? Really, what are you

waiting for? Are you waiting for a great big storm?

I don't know. Are you waiting for holiday? Are you

waiting for a great financial breakthrough?

What?

What are you waiting for?

God says, get up and go now, not next year,

not in two years time. Now, arise and go. I

think this is a word for some of you here,

Arise and go. It's time to go. E. Sometimes it's

time to step.

Up and go and not remain where you are.

Right, And so he says a rise and go, And

he fled from the presence of the Lord?

Right? Can you flee from the presence of the Lord?

My dear friends? You can? You can? Yeah?

You know, God is omnipresent, right, you know that term

means God is everywhere. And of course there's another word

that says, you know, where can you hide from the

presence of the Lord? Yes, that's true. But do you

know that God can be present there? And yet if

you flee from his presence, you're no longer to be

found in his presence. So it's possible, it's possible to

not be in God's presence. And then you go like,

but I don't know why my life is in a mess.

I don't know why when.

I pray it seems that it's hitting ceilings. I don't

know why I don't feel God's presence.

But it's not really just a feeling, right, it's a

knowledge that you have been running away from what God

asked you to do. Right, So he flped, He tried,

He tried to flee from the presence of the Lord,

all right, And of course you know, the story goes

that there was a great, big storm that happened.

You see.

I think what's very amazing to me is that despite

us running away, how many of us are Many of

you here are very young people, you know, twenty thirty

years of your life. If you had been running away

from the call of God, from the mission of God,

God is still pursuing you. He's not given up yet,

and he will not give up until you turn to

him and spit him in.

The face, and yet he will to show you grace.

So God is this God who pursues people. He pursues him,

and you know he sends him the storm? Who sends

the storm? By the way verse fall? But the Lord

sent out a great win on the sea? Who send

the storm? The Lord? Do you know?

Sometimes the storms in our life, right, you can be like, oh, God,

why is this happening to me?

Right?

God?

Why is my life so difficult? God saying, oh, I

send it to you. Don't you get the message? Hello?

Wake up? Are you not getting it yet?

I have to send a great, big storm into your life,

and yet you still won't turn back to me.

How come? What else does God need to do to

wake you up? You know, to joke you back into

your senses? What else does God need to do? Guys?

Right?

And so classic case, right, Jonah went into he was

thrown overboard into the sea, and he was in the

depths of the sea, in the belly of the fish

for three days, three nighte and and you know sometimes

when we are at our lowest point, actually that's when

we wake up, right, And so you can see, now, okay,

in let's go to chapter two. So now Jonah, after

he had been swallowed by the fish three days inside

the belly, then he came through your census and then

he says this. Then Jonah prayed to the Lord he's

got from the fish's belly, and he said, I cried

out to the Lord because of my affliction.

Guys, Ah, I pray.

I pray that we will never only cry out to

God when we are in fiction. I pray that when

the times are good way you are right now, you

will give thanks to God. Don't only run through God

when your life is difficult. Where you are Contie knew

to put it and practice to say, God, I want

to be in your presence no matter what.

Right daily I will give you thanks.

So he says, because of my affliction, and he answered

me right. And in verse seven he says, when my

soul fainted within me, I remember the Lord right, and

my prayer went up into you, up to you, into

your holy tempo. Those who regard worthless idols for sake

their own mercy. But I will sacrifice to you with

the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay what I vowed.

Salvation is of the Lord.

Amen.

Do you see the word mercy kept coming up again,

Jonnah knew what it was like to be safe, and

that what that's what salvation means, right, to be saved

right from his almost like you know, if you read

further on, he says, you know I was down there,

you know I had seen it's right around my head.

You know, that's a new fashion if you want to

have to see it around your head. He was really

gonna die heady, right, and in his last breath he

remembered God, and God of course saved him out and

spit him out from the belly of the fish. All right, now, okay,

so end of story, right, No, not yet, Okay, you're

only in chapter two, got to watch chapters to go.

So you see.

The thing is right, God is so relentless in his

pursuit of people that he's not gonna give you up,

you know. And therefore you will hear this message again

and again every time you come to church. I pray

it will stir you so much that you're like God,

you're speaking to me, right, and until I go, you

will keep ringing that message again and again and again

until you obey.

Right.

So now, Jonah now was the wiser right after being

one time? How many times you want to be in

the fish to get awakening. I think once it's enough, right,

So so second time? All right, it says in chapter

three it says, now the word of the Lord came

to Jonah the second time.

Wow, got a lot of chances. Second time he.

Said, arise, go to niniawhere that great city, and preach

to it the message that I tell you, right, okay,

clear enough?

Right?

So now Jonnah arose and went to Ninived according to

the word of the Lord. Now Ninived was an exceedingly

great city. Are a three day journey in extent? Okay,

Now I want you to observe carefully. What did Jonah say?

Right?

So this is his message? Now I know we're supposed

to go. Daniel doesn't say we're supposed to go and

preach the word of God.

Right, yeah. And usually usually what we will say is, oh,

God loves.

You so much, brother, repent, God loves you so much. Right,

we will say, God is so good and faithful. You know,

God will heal you and save you.

Right.

So these are all the things that we say. Now,

look at what Jonna said.

He said, he.

Cried out and saying this is in verse four. He

says in forty days. Yet in forty days and Nineveh

shall be overthrown.

That's it.

Yet, forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

Eight words. He only had eight words for the city

of Nineveh. That's it. And then he said that and watch, Wow,

what a great profit. Right.

Can you imagine if you go and tell your friend yet,

in how many days you will be overthrown, and then

you left it at death?

Try try, I want you to try.

Okay, So let's take this as a social experiment. Okay,

so you try tell your friend yet, in how many days?

Okay, you will be overthrown and then you.

Full stop and then you silent bye, drop my, drop

my hand, go, drop my and go okay, And that's

what JOHNA did.

He dropped my end. He just left. Now you see

the days, right, it's it's it's very funny that I I.

You know, if you think about it, this.

Is the great prophet, right, and God sent him a mission,

and that's what God wanted him to say to this

great city. Okay, fine, but you know what, when you

obey God, right, it doesn't matter your disposition or your attitude,

because God is gonna use the words we are a vessel. Right,

And when we speak the truth, was that the truth

or not truth?

Right? Was it nice to hear? Truth? Hurts? You know?

And sometimes we do not like to wield the sort

of truth because we are like, yo, I scared offend you.

I don't offend you, right, And we are so fearful

And I am the first one to say I'm so

afraid to offend somebody.

We we are we.

Are because you know, I think sometimes we probably had

this mindset where, you know, we should preserve relationships, you know,

and maintain our friendships and things like that.

Yes, there is that. I'm not saying being nasty, be cruel.

I'm not saying that.

But sometimes I think we need to be emboldened to

speak with courage and to speak the truth in love.

Okay, but this is a hard message. Now, if you

tell this, you think about it.

The person that is most persecuting you right now in

terms of your faith anything, Can you have a person

in mine?

Now?

Think of this person that right now persecutes you because

of your faith?

You have a person in mine? God on, don't have

all of you live in a happy blah blah, very

nice friends and family?

Okay, I encourage you to go out and make friends

who will be your enemy.

Okay, so.

Ah, go out right, go out and preach an offensive message.

Ah, you show me your hot.

Right and and so you know, and we're afraid of

offending others and not daring enough to tell the truth.

Right.

And but this is Jonah right. So now his next

level is like from Jonah who ran away. Now he's like, okay,

I'm just gonna tell you the.

Truth, all right.

And and see God could use what he meant for

evil and turn it into good because you know, right

after that what happened in chapter three, verse ten, it says,

you know, when he just still said those eight words,

and guess what. The whole city repented, even the king

proclaim a part a fast, and he says, let us

put on our sackcloth and ashes.

You know, maybe God will relent. Maybe they don't know.

Maybe maybe, And in verse ten he says, then God

saw their works, so they actually did something. You know,

when you repent, then to be shown one, you know,

the fruit of your repentance. Can I share that with you?

Don't just say I'm sorry, sorry, it's not gonna cut it.

Your life has to change there's gotta.

Be works worthy of repentance, right, A sorrow that produces

the fruit of repentance.

Right, that's what the Bible says. A sorrow than this,

a real sorrow.

You know. Repentance means sorry enough until you want to change.

That's what repentance is. Right. So then God saw their

works and that they had turned from the evil way.

So the turning away, you know, is what repentance is.

And God relented from the disaster that he has said

he will bring upon them, and he did not do it.

Praise the Lord. Amen.

Now, if I tell you, guys, inn example, right, Okay,

say you know this Sunday we have ten salvations.

How you react? Okay? Ten salvations? Who rejoicing? Right? Right?

And if I tell you one hundred souls, hundred sauce,

we will rejoice.

We'll be glad. You know.

They're like, wow, God, you're moving now. Do you know

that in that day, one hundred and twenty thousand of

the Nina vice repented. One hundred and twenty thousand guys,

that's a lot.

Right.

Well, if I have news for you, means there's another

church plans.

Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you are you

ready to plan? Yeah, a new soulce war.

We always pray for new soulce and God brings you

one hundred and twenty thousand time to get ready, guys,

And that's why we are in a season of preparation.

If you don't know, you don't be encouraging others to

deepen in your faith, to deepen your wall, to take

up leadership, because we need to get ready for the

harvest of souls, right, and if we are not ready,

God's not going to bring the horvest of souls right,

and so so you know, any other normal, good Christian

people like us, we will rejoice.

But let's look at Jonah's response, the man of God,

Man of God. Okay, let's go to chapter four. But

it displeased Jannah exceedingly. Wow, I don't know how else

you want to say, exceedingly, And he became angry. Hey,

I just know we're all rejoicinger. What's wrong with this Jonah?

What is wrong with this fellow?

And so he prayed to the Lord and he said, Oh, Lord,

was not this what I said when I was still

in my country?

Therefore I fled. Well, no, he's making excuses, Okay, for

his anger.

Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish for I know and

get this right, get this, I know that you are

a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, and abundance

in loving kindness, one who realms from doing harm. Does

this sound familiar? Does this description sound very familiar to you?

Where did we just read this.

Exodus? Can you see the linkage? Now? Now? You see? Right?

As humans, right, we love to receive the mercy of God. Correct,

We're like, God, be.

Merciful to me. I'm just human. I'm just a weak person,

you know, be merciful to me.

And yet when God says go and preach the same

message of mercy, we're like, no, God, And they're wicked people.

Do you know why Jonah ran away?

It's because they were wicked people, right, And the Jewish

people had this sense you know, see Yah, when we

look into the mirror of God's wood, right, first thing

you realize is that the Jewish people have always been stiff.

Necked towards God.

Do you know that? Do you know what I means?

Stiff knick means they're stubborn, right, stubborn people. Tell your neighbor,

I don't want to be stubborn. Oh, we had to

say her. We have to say it right. I don't

want to be stubborn, but we are right. We are stubborn.

We hold on to what we think is truth. Right,

and God continues to lead them and says, don't be

stiff knick so many times, don't.

Be stiff knick.

And yet the people again, you know, the reason why

we say don't do that is because you are like that, correct,

and so God says, don't be stif knie.

But there are Steve Knick. You know what's worse than

being stiff knick towards God is being self righteous towards others.

Ooh, the Pharisees were like that. And if you are

not careful, we can be like that as well. You

know what self righteous means. It means I'm better than you.

Therefore you go and live your own life. I have

nothing to do with you. You want to see your

sea line. It's okay, right, As.

Long as my life is good before God, I'm okay.

Do you know the parable that Jesus told They were

in the temple like today in church, and then there

was a Pharisee that was in front worshiping God, you know,

and says God, I thank you that I'm such a

good person.

I'm really good. God, I give you my thides.

I'm going to give you the fppy first parity pledge

a lot. I tied my herbs and offerings. You know,

I fast toys await you go fast and not toys

a week? Hey the Pharisee did no, So I'm I'm

I'm really good la wow, pretty all right? And then

there came a lit comer behind don't even dare to

come to the frien and right, a sinner, and he

was there on his knees and he was.

Beating his heart. He just says, God, forgive me for

I am a sinner. That's it.

Forgive me God, I'm a sinner. I'm not worthy, I'm

not worthy. How many of us think that we are

not worthy?

Before the Lord? Right?

And he was just there beating his chest, you know,

and Jesus thought that they both went back, But it

was the sinner that was justified, justified, meaning forgiven of

his sins. Do you know that if you're well, you

don't need to see a doctor, right, But if you

know that you are sick, and then you come to

the physician and he says, I need healing. Do you

know that that act of humility is what Christians need?

That I was saying, God, I am a sick I

need you. Do you know when you acknowledge that you

are sick, right, and then God can extend his hand

of mercy upon you. And then when you get well,

you begin to see others who are sick as well.

Do you know what? You begin to recognize the symptoms.

If you think that you're always well right, you don't

know when It's only when you've gone through.

That battle with that disease. You know, if you can

a chicken pox before? Have how many have you had

chicken pox before? And you can go and see the

basaho I think you got chicken poxer? This is what

you need to do. Rap meme leaves all over your face.

I don't know some remedy, sleep on it. I tell you, you know,

I went through it. It's only when you have gone through

the sickness right that you will recognize that sickness in others.

And when you recognize the sickness of sin in our lives,

you begin to see that in others as well. And

that's what moves us right, and so we we we

become very calculative, okay, and I'm extra calculative.

Consent in coompting. Everything need to balance. One.

If you do right, you get right, you get reward.

If you do bad, punishment right. This is a sense

of justice is within us. Right, and I always teaches

right that we as human beings, we like justice.

Do you like the idea of just God? Right?

Just God means Selena, you do well, I give you

ten rewards, right, Eddie? You also you get a bigger

mention right for coming back to Malaysia. Whah got mission

now mission field right combssion now? Okay, this on he

need to I heard this actually right? Quite true? No,

he says, sir that whatever you do on earth, whatever

works you do, are however how you spend your time,

your energy and all that right, And it is what

you set up to heaven that builds your mension. Do

you know that if you build on things that is

on earth? You can build your physical house here, but

you never sent anything up there? Us word your mention

one room, Manila. Eddie's mentioned at ten rooms? Why because

he's been sending up materials, good works. Okay, I'm not

saying our salvation is of good works. Okay, this is

this is.

An expression of your faith of your salvation. The good

works is and outworking of your faith your salvation. Right.

It's not that you do it to get safe, all right,

So that's very clear. Okay, salvation is not true works,

but it's by faith in Jesus Christ.

Amen. So you know.

So, so he's sending up all these materials to heaven.

And you know, sometimes we go on this notion that

you know, my life needs to work something. Then can

I say the best investment and young working adults, it's

not in your big coins, it's not in your the

big big five AI companies.

And all that, right, and Nvidia and all that.

It's not that your greatest investment is for your afterlife.

It's after this. It's what's gonna matter most. Your life

on earth is eighty years max. Okay, maybe up to

now one hundred years. Hundred is very short in comparison

to eternal eternity. Right, So think about what what are

you investing in, young people, What are you investing in

what's most important?

Why? Why get away?

That's an investment that you must not miss. Okay, yes,

you're gonna send up some gold material to your house,

all right, so you know. And and that's the thing,

right when when we realize that we are so calculative

with other people. And maybe that's why people are not

going up to missions because we always say Selena can go,

Eddie can go, Uncle Bonnie, until Julie can go because

they're freema, right, they got a lot of free time.

Yeah, they got a lot of money or so therefore

they can go, right, I don't.

I cannot go because I have other priorities, right like

my three hour.

Netflix bane every day. I need that metime, me time.

I need to preserve myself.

Right, health, happy me, healthy me. Then only I can

be helping others, right, No, but what is stopping you?

Just yesterday I was talking to Eloping Hole if you

don't know, that's my husband. He's the executive faster of

the church in Malaysia, and and he was just talking

about this, how do.

We get people to serve?

You know, all of us are working, right, we show

up at work Monday till Friday. And how motivated are

we actually you think about it, how motivated are we?

Even if companies are paying you money? We get this

sense of this connectedness. There's a whole bunch of working

force in the entirele this engaged in your workplace. So

money also cannot engage you. What else, right, and then

me ask you to.

Serve, go give within a church. This is all voluntary war.

I'm not paying you anything. I'm not paying Selina anything

to be CPC. Okay your reward and having okay, extra

mention for you, double story, double story. Right that this

is not paid, but it's giving her money, gonna motivate

her to go and do this. No money in the

war would accept the compassion of Christ. Right.

And so now I want to draw towards so so

we recognize where we are are we okay, this is

who we are. We are calculative people. We calculate everything

before we say I will go right. Uh. And you

know I have been personally convicted in this, you know,

actually right, I from my you know, being one of

the church leaders for so long. You know, in the

earlier days we brought the kids out for some mission

trip away mission trip. But that was like once in

a long time. Now, you know, at the end of

twenty twenty two, I felt a strong conviction in my

heart and says, I cannot be preaching this and not.

Doing it myself. Right, you gotta walk the toddler right.

And so the end of twenty three I actually went

to oktober right, my first international mission trip. That all right, okay,

now mine at least I went right.

This year.

I recently went for a trip to Chang Mai, right,

And man, you guys should go ast. Seriously, I'm saying

that you should go not because of you know, sometimes

we go with like oh wow, what a what a

ministry that will give to the poor people, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,

casine and right, people got no food, we always look clean, right,

all the children no sleeper, you know, that kind of thing.

But it's not that mission trip right, doesn't do as

much for the people that it does for you.

It's for your own heart. It's for your own heart

to keep it soft and supple and say God, you

can use me even though you don't know the language.

Do you know.

One of the challenges that we went to Changwai was

the language barrier. Many of them do not speak English.

So we are all of that now, yeah, But what

bonded us was the unity in the spirit of Christ

right the Holy Spirit where where we cannot.

So one of the.

Highlight for me personally was visiting one of our sisters

that her name is ice Pis. If you know, she's

visited Malaysia before, she's one of the leaders there. And

for seven months she has not been able to seven weeks,

she has not been able to.

Go to church.

She's got diabetics. She's diabetes and her organs are failing.

So her body is swollen up, right, and it's very

painful to stand to sit, to do anything. And yet

when we were there, right.

She was just so encouraged just by all presents.

You know, she has not been able to cook, but

in that visit she cooked a stone for us.

Despite her pain and all that.

Right, she stood up and she says, well, thank you

for honoring me by coming to my humble house, right

and just being with me. Do you know That's what

mission is, right, is being with people. It's just being

with people.

And the greatest missionary is of course Jesus himself, that.

He would leave his heavenly dwelling to come to earth

to be with us. That's what Immanuel means, God with us.

So when you go out for mission. You are going

there to be with people.

That's it.

You don't need the great story like why I hear

a person from the day if there is praise God?

But do you know the greatest ministry that people need

is just to be with someone else who believes, and

so I can land on your faith when I have none.

You know, we just encouraged her, prayed for her. And

on Sunday on the tenth anniversary or extra where she

actually came. She was all dressed up nicely, you know,

and her continence was different, very different.

Right, and she was limping all the way, but her

spirit was pure right.

And so you know, there's a matter what I say

at the end of the day, right is what you

are convicted by.

The word of God.

The word of God is a rise and go exampung

arise and go where would you go? We have many

expressions of it. Right there is the local outreaches. I

know there's a very faithful quist and a bell. I

didn't see Anabell today. She's traveling somewhere.

MC today.

Okay, pray for Annabelle, But I know she's one of

those who anchor faithfully the AMC right ams ams every Saturday,

every Saturday.

That's one expression. Have you been there anyone? Yeah, many

of you have. Great, It's an expression of it, you know.

And what next? What next?

If you've been faithful in that, then would you take

the next step and say going to one of the

orang Usli mission trips, the local trips.

If you feel that it's very hard to go very.

Far international in their mind, take one step out of

your comfort or a rise and go right ten as

the homes or you know whatever your wide world group

or your interest group in still just hanging.

Out by yourself having a good time. How about having

a good time with other people.

That needs your encouragement, you know that that needs just

some sense, you know, of knowing that they're careful, that

people are thinking about them, people want to pray with them,

you know, bring that word of God right and so

whatever it is, right, we wanna. I want to encourage

all of us to sign up for the Missions conference. Right,

maybe that is the very first step. Arise and go

for mission conference. If you've never been, don't have the

mindset that I've been there before. They're gonna tell me

to go, Yes, they will tell you to go, just

like God pursued Jonah, We're gonna pursue you until you go.

And you experience God for yourself. Do you know?

Mission trip doesn't transform so much of the people as

much as it transforms you. Do you want to experience

God's power? If you're like, oh, but I don't know

what God's real, you know, you see good, go on

a mission trip.

Exactly.

So there's planning going on around keep them uncomfortable. Okay,

so by the end of the year if they've not

gone for a mission trip, like, hey, guys, okay, this

is all recorded, by the way, Yeah, it's been recorded,

so so you're not already right, arise and go. You see,

the greatest act of mercy that we can show someone

is by sharing Jesus. No matter what else you can say, Alah,

you can say during mercy is being kind to the poor,

the lowly, the widow.

Yes, there's all that.

There's goodness and kindness you know, and generosity in giving them,

feeding them food, you know, running children's program with them,

and building their house, building toilets, all that good works.

But the greatest act of mercy is by sharing with

them the good news of Jesus.

That's the only thing that will save them, that's the

only thing that will make them right with their creator.

Do you know we can say God is a creator? Right,

it's you know, just not a little hurt.

God is creator? But so what So what if I

know God as creator, but.

I'm not right with my creator? So what if I

know God is love, but I don't experience his love?

So what if God is faithful but I don't see

his faithfulness in my life?

So why it all becomes just words? Right?

Philosophy? You live your own life. I live my own life,

and so I have this sense right that God wants

us to go on offense. Guys, so many times we

have been on the defense, like, okay, I don't dare

I don't you know what missions is? Missions means going

out right into your world. And so we are going

out with this offensive Gospel of Jesus Christ. Do you

know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is offensive to

the world? It is, it's written in the word of God.

It is offensive because you're saying, what I need to

surrender to a God who died on the cross doesn't

make sense?

Guys?

Can I tell you that the gospel does not make sense?

You're not there trying to make sense. You're there trying

to bring them the reality of God. And we do

that first by really helping them to see the sin

in their lives. That's what we don't do. That's what

we don't do. We say everything else good about God

except sorry, you have to repent of your sin. What

did Jesus first preach when he started his ministry? Did

he say God is love? The they say God is good?

And what did Jesus do.

First? What's he said? Repent?

Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. God's

kingdom is near if you really love the people around you.

We need to be that messenger to say you have

to repent. Not easy, not easy, guys, really not easy

at all.

And that's why we need God. What is impossible with

men is possible with God.

Amen.

What is impossible you're not showing mercy to someone else

who's hurt you, who betrayed you, who's your enemy, like

everyone of the soldiers who killed Jesus. Showing mercy to

them is impossible, impossible, but it is divine, which means

it's only possible with God.

Amen.

There's so many other scriptures that you can learn about

what it means to be merciful in you. Six thirty

six It says, therefore, after Jesus thought about loving your

enemies right, feed them, you know, if they ask you

for a tunic, give them your cloak as well. If

they slapt me on one chick, give the other ching also, wow.

Crazy, ah, Jesus? Are you crazy, Jesus? And then Jesus

is therefore be merciful just as your father is merciful. Oh,

Father is merciful a man.

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

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this week is going to be a good week, a

hit for you. God bless