I Am Not Ashamed Of The Gospel | Elder Rosalind Ang

You're listening to a message to go from at church. We hope this message

will light up your day. I want to bring us through the word of

God. Okay, we go with delving into the Word of God. Yeah,

and you know that we have been on this campaign of wanting everyone to

bring a physical Bible. Do you have your Bible with you? Okay?

No, never mind, I forgive you okay, up to seventy seven times,

so by the time I hope you will already remember to bring your Bible

Kenna. No. I think it's something special, not just just like how

you wake up in the morning, right, you get ready and you go

like, I am actually there going to church to read God's word. I'm

going to church to learn about God. And as much as we are in

a digital age, did errive I understand what that is. Okay, I

also have handful and I fact and all that, but there's nothing like really

taking out the Word of God and being intentional to say God, I just

want to focus on you. Do you know what happens when you read the

e Bible. Your notifications come up and then you have like oh someone just

said shad and instat post and then your mind gets shifted. Do you know?

We live in an era of distraction and this distraction is even more real

than before, right, and so what we need to fight is we need

to fight these distractions right right, and they appointing to each other. I

don't know whether they are distracting each other now or we need to remove them

from each other. But yeah, okay, by the way, they are

married there, it's okay, and it's okay. We cut your them so

so you know, and so we will to find ways to be able to

focus on God. And if it's a case of just going cold turkey without

your phone as you're trying to study the world or got them, go call

Turkey can can I? In fact, if you have your physical bibley al

say, put your phones into your bags or you know, into your pocket,

don't look at it for the next forty minutes, canna can The world

will pass us by, but you will still be with God. Amen.

You will not miss out too much. Okay, really want really forty minutes

just in the presence and in the world of God. It's gonna do you

good, all right, Okay, So we want to continue encouraging that you

know and things that you can do is make sure your Bible is really you

know, you use it every day from Monday to Saturday. Don't just leave

it for Sunday and then something. You live in the county, right o,

then I will never forget, but please cor it not ah ah,

Okay, there is a laughter of truth there. Okay, you live it

in the cast like, yeah, I never forget, No do I always

bring to church. Then Monday to Saturday is just sitting in your car.

No, unless you're reading it. You don't read when you're driving, Okay,

don't don't. I don't encourage you that. So so yeah, okay,

we want to continue for you to just make it a habit, make

it a habit, to be intentional. Of course yourself is secure, it's

okay on really, but but we just want to make it helpful for us

as human beings. Okay, we are people of the spirit, but we

are also very flesh people, and so we got to do things to kind

of kill the flesh a little bit loud, not not easy, okay,

all right. I wanted to go into the letter, the letter called Romans.

Romans you know where this is New Testament or Old Testament? Oh,

thank god, you know this, okay, very good. So which book

is this in the New Testament? Book number one? Oh? No,

someone's been reading the Bible. Okay, let's go through the first six books.

What are the first six books in the New Testament? Someone's that Mark?

I am Matthew Mark, look and John Dan ex Romance World. Actually,

you ac should go to Excus training. When when you know how I

learned the books of the Bible is when I was an excus teacher myself and

we had to sing the song singing something works marvelous. Until now I still

remember the books of the Bible. Sometimes you're like, where's Ezekilla? Then

you like, then you start singing. Okay. Anyways, So so it's

a letter. So it's one of the books of the Bible, but it's

actually a letter. Do you know who wrote this letter? Who wrote the

Letter of Romance? Paul? Paul? All right, so it's one of

his It's he wrote the Thirteen Epistles, which is also the letters, and

this is one of the first ones that's put there. It's the longest one

as well. All right, it's the longest letter that Paul had written.

Now, who who was Paul writing to the Roman Church? Now did Paul

planned this church? Don't know, don't know? Right, So you know,

Paul was a missionary that was sent out by God, right, and

he went around planting a lot of churches, but this was this particular church,

was the church that he did not plant, right, But then he's

writing to them. Are some of the longest letter and some scholars say this

letter is one of the most doctrines, like a theological summary of all that

Poor believed in. Of course it's not the whole breath of it, but

it's very systematic. And some of the scholars have said that this is written

in the most beautiful Greek ever, right, Like, you know, Greek

is the language of literature, and so this is one of the best literature.

Even scholars in the world who you know, who are not believers,

they say it's so well written. Right, So it's crafted in a beautiful

way. So so let's read Romans. How many of you like the Book

of Romans? Okay? How many of you have ever read the Book of

Romans? Okay? Re read God loud like or don't like? Maybe not

should? How many of you find it difficult? Romans a little bit hard,

right, because there's a lot of philosophy around it. Okay, but

we won't go through the whole Book of Romans because there's too much. In

fact, there's so much in it, but we will just go through the

first chapter. Will be okay, Okay, let's read. Let's read.

Initially, I just wanted to take up to verse eighteen, but I thought,

yeah, why not read the word I've got mola so that when we

hear it, then faith comes by hearing. Okay, right, So I'm

gonna read from the New King's New King, New New King James version okay,

n K JV and whatever version that you have, you follow along,

all right, So I'm going to read the whole of chapter one, and

yes, all right, let's go. Okay. So if you have your

e Bible, so so so I encourage you to read that instead of looking

at the screen. Don't be lazy, okay, do something like do something,

okay, so that you're reading it for yourself. Okay, I'm gonna

read from verse one. It starts here Paul, a bond servant of Jesus

Christ called to be an apostle separated to the Gospel of God, which he

promised before true is prophets in the Holy Scriptures concerning his son Jesus Christ,

our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,

and declared to be the son of God with power according to the spirit

of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through him, we have

received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name,

among whom you also are. The call of Jesus Christ to all who

are in Rome or Exampang, be loved of God, called to be saints.

All right, Exambang, you're called to be saints. Grace to you

and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First,

I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all. Okay, this is

me speaking of I thank God for all of you, that your faith is

spoken of throughout the whole world. Wow. One day the faith of Exampanites

will be spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness,

whom I serve with my spirit in the Gospel of His Son, that without

seizing I make mention of you always in my prayers making requests. If by

some means now at last I may find a way in the will of God

to come to you, for I long to see you, that I may

impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established a man

God wants to establish your example. That is, I may be encouraged together

with you by the mutual faith both of you and me Verse thirteen. Now

I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often plan

to come to you, but was hindered until now that I might have some

fruit among you. Also, just as among the other gentles, I am

a debtor, both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to wise and to

unwise. So as much as is in me, I am ready to preach

the Gospel to you who are in Rome. Also, for I am not

a shame of the Gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God

to salvation for everyone who believes, for the jew first and also for the

Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.

As it is written, the just shall live by faith, For the

wrath of God is revealed from Heaven itself against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men

who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Because what may be known of God is

manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the

creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by

the things that are made. Even His eternal power and God hit so that

they are with us without excuse. The world is without excuse verse to ney

one. Because although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God,

nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish

hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools and changed the

glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible men and birds and

four footed animals and creeping things. Therefore, God also gave them up to

uncleanness in the last of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,

who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped the served and

served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever a man.

For this reason, God gave them up to vol possessed passions. For even

their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise, also

the men living the natural use of the women burned in their lust for one

another, men with men, committing what is shameful and receiving in themselves the

penalty of their error, which was due. And even as they did not

like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debate's

mind to do things which are not fitting. Being filled with all unrighteousness,

sexual, immorality, wickedness, coveteousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder,

strife, deceit, evil mindedness. They are whisperers, bagbiters, haters

of God, violent, proud boasters, inventors of evil things. This obedient

to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful, who,

knowing the righteous judgment of God, those who practice such things are deserving of

death. Not only do the same, but also approof of those who practice

them. Amen. Amen, what a lot, right, Wow, so

much to unpack. And I pray that when we read God's what we will

not switch off our minds and say, oh what is God trying to say?

Yeah? Okay, So let's focus a little bit on just the first

part of romance, And what we can learn from the life of Paul is

that, Okay, would you like to learn from this man of God,

because I think that he's received so much revelation and the truth that if we

can apply this truth to our lives, we will be more effective for the

Kingdom of God. Amen. Amen. First of all, right, one

of the things that you will notice about Paul is he's a Remember this is

a church that he did not plan. Okay, so you might think all

this, Paul, very very Capaul. Why he going border to write a

latter to a church that he did not plan? You should just watch out

for all your own. But I think he recognized at that time that Rome

was the seed of power, and he recognized that the church in the central

of the seed of power had the potential to either do good for God or

be lost in significance. Do you know why in those days the churches or

the synagogues are always placed in the middle of the city. Do you know

that because it was always the source of authority. It was God's plan that

the church should be the authority for the world. And nowadays you see churches

and thank God, Exampank is here right, You're right in the heart of

town. You're right where you know the pulse is. And you now as

a church has the potential and the authority to speak God's truth that all may

know. Sometimes we don't take our position or where we are and say,

yeah, church, we can meet anyway, but do you know it's very

significant where God has placed us, and so we want to kind of be

obedient to God to say, God, you place us in the middle of

a place of a th and that's why our you know, putray Jia experience

was so powerful because God was exactly reminding us of this that if God wants

to change this nation, he's got to start with the seed of power that's

in Putrajaya. Did you understand this? You know we are doing church.

I want to give you a bigger perspective of what why we believe what we

believe in ex Church exists not just for us to be comfortable as Christians.

We want to impact the nation of Malaysia. A man, can I hear

an imaen? You you have to catch this heart that whatever that we are

doing, right, it's always with our heart of how can we reach this

nation. It's not so much of like, okay, you know, we

want to do things just for our own comfort, just to be you know,

happy and growing deep, but they're not reaching the nations because Jesus says

we are to make nations that make disciples of all the nations. But we

got to start with ours, right, and so nation is what God's heart

is after. And sometimes we get so small minded, we get so lost

in the small details. I don't like this. I don't like that,

you know. I think we gotta just quickly learn to get it the flow

and remember that all that we are trying to do was always to touch the

nation of Malaysia. It's a much bigger vision. You know. It's not

just Umpunk. It's really Malaysia. And because when I say Malaysia, it

means our brothers and sisters, our cousins of a different faith. Think about

that, Think about how can we you know, let let's get on with

it. You know. The you know, Paul in the Letter to the

is like enough of feeding or milk? How many times I must remind you

to read the Word of God? How many times every time I come here?

I remind you? Right, And you're like, oh, you're convicted.

Hey. When we cannot get the reading of the Word of God right,

we cannot mature. We're still feeding on the milk, And then we're

still saying, how come the teaching not deep? Or you know I'm not

growing? Hey, Hello, hello, Hello, Time to grow up?

Lah? If you are too many your old baby there, I understand.

I feed your milk, But how long do you want to be a two

month old baby? Are you a two year old? Already? A two

years old also can feed themselves, are you right? Correct? How come

we are so dependent on others to feed us? Because when we don't feed

ourselves with the word of God, we cannot grow, we won't obey,

and we won't get to see the heart of God. Right, And so

we are at the stage where the church. I believe the season that we're

in as a church is a season of maturity. X. You're twenty four

years already, right, and it's time that we grow up, Lah,

grow up, grow up. Let us begin to eat meat, chew a

little bit, thank Gods, and chew it, meditate on it and say,

God, what is it that you're trying to teach me? What is

it that you want me to do? What is my purpose right now in

my current job, my school, my campus. What is the purpose God

that you have placed me there? And that's something that we really need to

get into our spirits. Right. We want to be strong Christians? Amen?

And strong Christians means I am fed with the word of God, meaning

I can then feed others. Right many of us? Do you like?

Hey, feed me law, come and meet my niece La. You know

me, me, me me. But I want to challenge us that you've

been in the faith for even six months a year already, I think you

can receive enough to say now I can even begin to share with someone.

But what I've received? Making disciples, That's what it's all about. You

know how many of you are making disciples trying? Good? I like it.

We are trying because you remember God's commandment. Make it your mission every

day. Who am I discipling today? Who am I discipling this week?

Make that your core mission in life, make disciples. When you have that

as your focus, then everything else will line up your priority. How you

spend your time, how you spend your money when you go on holidays?

Right, So, so, let time is shot, guys. I cannot

emphasize that time is shot. That you know, if you are twenty years

old, you only have fifty years left, you know, which is not

long. Some you're like, I think very long. I was thinking to

someone here and then she's like, oh, I just started working nine months.

Who feels very long. It's like, oh, there is no more

holidays, no summer break, you know, when you're working, Cory not,

there's no summer break when you're working on It's it's constantly working. I

was talking to another friend and she's like, she's a medical doctor, emo,

and you're on calls and you're working. She's like, I'm just constantly

working. Tired, working, tired. Wow. I think life is more

than that, right, Life is more than just working making ends meet.

And then at the end of the day, you're like, what am I

doing all this for? What is the bigger purpose? Right? And so

Paul is here trying to remind the church that there is a bigger call to

all of us. Amen, And so he remembered them. Right. So

one of the things that I believe that we can learn from Paul is he

made intercessions. See in verse eighties. I thank my God to Jesus Christ

for you all. I wonder how many of you, in your prayer time

before God you pray for other people. Many times we just pray for our

own needs, right, I pray for myself, my dog, my fish,

my cat, and my family. Did you remember to pray for the

church? Did you remember the pray for your leaders? Did you remember to

pray for the other church plans, the other family? But Paul always had

this. He always remembered the brethren, which means the Christians, right,

and knowing that they are going through challenges and troubles. He's like, I

remember God, I thank God, and without seizing I make mention of you

always in my prayer's war. He's never met them before. He's never met

this group of people, and that's why he wrote this, you know.

And he's like, I really pray for you every day. Will we make

that a habit now? To think of others in our prayer? Really will

explain your prayer life, all right? So he makes intercession. That's number

one we can learn from Paul. Second thing that we can learn from Paul

is when he wrote this, he wanted to give encouragement, right, do

you see that? Okay, So let's go to that. In verse eleven,

he says, for I long to see you. So that's this heart,

that's this desire of Paul to want to see this church in Rome.

He says that I may impart to you some s spiritual gift so that you

may be established. He's desired is that he wants the church to be strong,

and how many of us are. Sometimes everything that we said about the

church is like very critical and it's like I see more wrong than I see

right. But he's like, no, no, no, I want to

come and encourage you because I want to see you established. It's a very

different mindset than Paul has. He's like, whatever that I do, I

want to see you grow stronger. Do you know the human nature is right?

I hope that you don't do so well so that I don't look so

bad. Correct? Is we put people down so that we automatically uplift ourselves

and we feel better about ourselves. It's human nature, guys, trust me,

you know why because I do it as well. Confess first on to

confess that is very easy to put others down so that we can elevate ourselves

and feel a bit better about ourselves, and then we can go on our

life pretending that everything's okay. But what God is saying is stop looking at

the floors of other people, look at yourself. In the mirror, look

at ourselves in the mirror and say, God, I think you want to

the person that you want to work almost is that person in the mirror.

Can so, so let's focus on the right things, Lah say God,

if there's anyone to correct, is that person in the mirror. But everything

everyone else, I want to be there to encourage and to uplift and to

see them do well. That is Paul's heart. Can you see It's it's

so beautiful. I I you know when whenever I read this, it's like

wow, some some preacher even saying, read the Book of Romans once a

week is good for your soul. Try and do that really, really,

it just reminds you of what's the most important thing. Amen, And he

says, I want to see you establish that I may be encouraged together with

you by the mutual faith both of you and me. Now, Paul has

this ambition that every time he meets people, he wants to encourage them.

So every time you go to homes, can you bring that spirit? Hey?

I want to go there not to compare. I want to go there

to encourage. I want to go there to serve, to add value,

to contribute, not saying it's in it for me. La? How come

the food not nice? One? How come the worship singer sing out of

June? Are you how come the word like that? Hey? No,

no, no, You encourage what you are good at. You add la,

you add your own flavor to it. Build up the church, guys,

we are here to build each other up. Can can we have the

mindset that whenever we meet together as fellow brothers and sisters, we are there

to encourage. And that's why I learned from from Passercanadad. One of the

things that he his principle is I will never say anything bad about another pastor

another church. It's a principle. Okay, teaching is different, but in

the sense that I will not put another person down for just because it's a

personal thing. We never attack people. It's always the issue that we're trying

to address. But people see it as the same thing, like right,

But no, you know, let's think about the issue at hand. What

is it that God is trying to address? And we don't attack people?

Can we learn that principle? Never have it in your mouth to say something

bad about person, but to say what actually what is the issue? And

then to cover that brother or their sister in prayer. How about that.

I think that's a better way to live, right, It's a better way

to live by principles of God. And so he's like, there, I

want to encourage you, but you see the things right, Paul's ambition is

always two hands. Whenever he talks to the church, he's always talking about

encouragement. But there's another part that he's always desired. Okay, what is

that? Now, let's go, He says inverse thirty. Now I do

not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often plan to come

to you, but was hindered until not, but that I might also have

some fruit among you, just as among the other gentiles. What is this

fruit that Paul is talking about? Think about it? What is this fruit

that Paul is always seeing? So the first one is encouragement, right,

he's there to encourage the church. You know, I want to see you

established, I want to see you do well. What's the second part of

it? What is this fruit that Paul is talking about? And he guesses,

what is this fruit? Furu of the spirit, not in this context,

not in this context, anyone salvation who said that, well done,

Thank you, when yeah, yeah, boom boom, when when Paul see,

Paul's mindset is always like that encouragement, evangelism, this that he was

talking about, He's like, I want to also reap the fruit of salvation

even amongst you, as amongst the gentiles. So his heart is always more

people needs to know this good news. He is the chief evangelist for Christ

and he's like, everybody needs to know this. This is the fruit that

we are talking about. Do we have that in our minds? Is that

at the very core of our being, right, we we can focus on

one thing and sometimes we are always lopsided or no. We can focus on

the whole encouragement part, the discipleship part about but we forget the disciple,

the evangelistic part. They're reaching out to new souls, and sometimes we focus

so much about here, then we forget about the encouragement and discipleship and growing

deep. So it's a tough balance, guys. It is a tough balance

to do this well and to both to do both well and not be lopsided.

Right. You know, like a like a bird, you need two

wings, and for a church to fly, we need both. We cannot

just focus on one side flapping like that, then you always go like it,

stay it wrong, right, and then if you go decide that you

will go one side. But to be able to fly straight is to to

be able to do both well. And that's what we're trying to achieve in

church. We are not get we're not perfect. Yeah, there's a lot

of things to work on, but can you just catch the heart? The

heart is we want to do both because both is needed. And so don't

don't despise that the theme they see that, oh you know, it's what

are we talking about? Evangelism money? You know, let's let's focus on

just the discipleship. But we need both. I'm saying both is important,

all right, because after you reach them and you evangelize them, ready,

then what then they need to be disciples? Right? But then what do

you do with the disciples? Then you send them out to continue to preach?

Do you know? Then it becomes a cycle, a very healthy cycle.

Then we are not stuck. Then we are not in maintenance mode.

Right, then we can fill up all these seeds that's empty next to you,

declare just touch it and say there shall be a new soul there,

right, and then we can fill up this hall and then you can plan

another service. Amen. Hey, that's what makes church exciting, la when

there are new babies to nurture, new souls to disciple, that's what makes

it exciting in your church life. Amen, that's the purpose of it.

So if you've been you know you feel like my spiritual life very dry?

Right? Can I give you a secret to revive it? Disciple, someone

go and share the Gospel with someone you know and just pray for the person's

salvation. I guarantee you your spiritual life will be revived like never before.

Really, really, that's the key. That's the key to be revived.

And on the goal and with the spirit flowing, with the Spirit walking with

him. You know, we're supposed to walk with the Holy Spirit, meaning

every day when you walk to work, you're not walking by yourself. You're

walking with the Spirit. And what is the spirit? Holy Spirit's job is

to always point us to Christ, point others to Christ. Correct not think

about it. Then you you have the Holy Spirit for what or Lord for

my promotion, Lord for my health, for my You know, it's really

me me, me, me me and Holy Spirit like him him him.

Holy Spirit is there to remind us that our job, your promotion is to

point to give God glory. You know, your healing is to point to

give God glory. Whatever that you have is always to point back to God

to give him the glory as he diesus can I hear good? Amen?

Our lives are a glory unto God. Amen. So so that is the

whole point. That's the point of our lives, you know. And thank

God we have a church like that to continue to spur us on, to

continue to encourage us on to walk down path. Is that clear enough for

you? The picture that I've painted? That's it? No, And we

do well to remind each other because why we're very forgetful. It's very easy

to forget. By the next twenty four hours, you probably forget eighty percent

of Why is it? It's okay? I won't get offended on seriously,

because why it's called the forgetting cuff. And you know, in learning and

teaching, right, we always have to fight this forgetting cuff because we're so

forgetful with human and that's why, you know, the apossible always says I

have to remind you again and again and again, how many times I must

remind you that this is what it's all about. Right by its ka.

We keep reminding, keep reminding until Jesus comes back, all right, so

that we will keep to the narrow path. Because again, like I said,

the world is fighting for you. The devil wants you. And when

he has worn you over, then there's no expansion of the Kingdom of God.

Is every day it's a fight, right, It's either the Kingdom of

light, winds or the Kingdom of darkness. Pick your sites each day,

pick your battles. Where would you stand? Where would you land in the

Kingdom of light or in the Kingdom of darkness? Right? And so so

this this battle is very, very real. So he's always thinking about evangelism.

Eventually he says, I'm bound. Okay. You see the word and

the terminology that Paul uses, right, you think, okay, look at

the first the very first verse, verse one, Romans one one. He

says, Paul a bond servant of Jesus Christ. What other translations do you

have? What other words does it say other than bonds? What a slave?

Okay? Thank you Jesus. How many of you want to be slaves?

Here? You know? I thought we ban slavery, right and in

fact, we celebrate that there is no more slavery in this world. But

Paul says, I'm a slave. Why did he use this word because the

truth of the method. Can I tell you this? We are all slaves

and he says so. In the Book of Romans, he says that before

this we were all slaves too sin. Correct? Do we agree? Can

can I see? Do you agree to this? That sound theology? Anthology?

We are all slaves to sin? But now we have been set free

from the slavery to sin, so that we can be slaves too Jesus Christ,

like here or not? Your stillious slave? Right? And we all

always fight against this notion. I'm a free man, you know, I'm

a free woman. I can do whatever I want because God has set me

free. Say so, right, I'm free to do whatever I want.

But Paul says, not everything's good for you. La Yeah, you can

do anything you want, but not everything is beneficial. And so there's this

thing within the church as well. Now I'm free to come as I am.

No, but you think about it. You came as a slave to

Christ. How would you dress before your king, your master? How would

you show up? Is it with reverence and also, so can you say

that it's not religious. I'm free to do whatever I want anymore. I

am free from sin, yes, but now I'm free to obey God.

Before this, you could not obey God because you were chained. You were

bound to one master. Okay, Selena is not sin, but I'm bound

to her. When I'm bound to this person, i cannot be free to

do God's will and to obey him. And so now we are dense slaves

to God. Which is freedom and which is live freedom from one not freedom

to do anything you want? Freedom from sin? Can we get that in

our head? Right? It's freedom from sin that we're talking about. And

Jesus came to die on a cross to save us from sin. Okay,

I'm not pointing to sevena sin. Okay, somehow ray color right, ray

color our blood, blood, blood of Jesus right to save us from our

sins, and we often down please sin. You know that's that's the thing.

It's like, oh yeah, a little bit of sin, It's okay,

la, right, little bit of siny is okay? Do you know

that if you are really enraptured and captured by God, right, every sin

will break your heart? No serious one. Every sin will break your heart,

just as every sin broke God's heart. And you know it's not just

a matter of white liar. You know it's God is holy and righteous and

he cannot bear to see his people be us. The penalty of scene is

what is dead, and what breaks God's heart is death in people, spiritual

death in people. And God is saying that that breaks my heart. And

if we want to really be serious and pursue God, it means we want

to be serious about pursuing holiness. It means guarding what you're watching, guarding

what you're hearing, guarding what you are saying. You know, because out

of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks man. So when you

look at the things that you write, look at the things that you post,

is this really life or death? Are we speaking life or death?

Is this is this bringing glory to God or not? Oh? I'm so

like trying to be careful with what I say, you know, what I

and what I allow myself to to see and read as well, And if

I think I cannot handle it, And that's why I've been kind of like

distancing myself from social media, not because of whatever's there but just because I

think I can't handle how I would respond to it. I weak. Yeah,

maybe I am weak, but I'm like I need to guard myself because

if it's not going to be helpful for me, then then why why do

I debble myself into something that is not helpful for me? And I just

want to be like, God, God, just help me filter some of

these things because I'm weak. I am really weak, you know, I

used to you know, say, the guidance for using social media, right

is like if you can be really happy for that person when they're doing well,

then you're okay. But if you find yourself like, you know what

the person go, I don't have yoh why the person can do? Then

you begin to like, oh God, how come you know bless me like

you blessed that person? Oh why John can go holiday, go Australia,

go Vietnam, Thailand and all h ah. Then then then here in my

my job, you know, stuck and I work so hard missions missions it

real, right, you think about how you respond whenever you go on social

media. What is your response? Is it a place of like what I

want to encourage them? Yeah you know, I'm so happy for you?

Or it makes you feel lousy about yourself. I don't know. You think

about it, and if it makes you feel lousy about you, then why

you open yourself up to things like that? I don't know. I don't

know. I mean, this is just my journey, my journey with things

of the world. And if it's not edifying and it makes me feel lousy,

and then like, stop doing that, just stop lah, right,

and then I find ways to like, Okay, let me find ways to

go and encourage someone else to edify someone else, you know, to encourage

them build their faith, to evangelize, share the gospel. Why don't I

just focus my time on doing things like that, lah, you know,

put myself in a healthy place. Yeah, okay, so just just a

bit of life lessons Lah. It's like yeah, and I think that's why

Paul gathered his life very well. You know, he never allowed the things

of the world to influence him, but he just allowed God to influence him.

And where you get God's influence is her law? Right, If you

can read two hours of TikTok, then I think two hours of this one

much better law. Huh. I don't know, La, I get starting

to you, and you know, it really when I start scrolling instagramma,

before I know it, half an hour gone. What do I do?

Nothing? He said, Oh this is very nice. Then after that I

want to go and buy things. After that I think I need this.

Oh I think I need that. Then I spent another half an hour shoppy,

trying to look for the things. I'm like, always gone, what

do I do? God? No time, no time, no time to

do other things? Really correct, time is your commodity, and the Devil's

very clever, stealing and robbing your time, stealing and killing your time,

your attention, your energy. Do you know? Sometimes I learned this truth.

You know, Before this it was just about, you know, time

management. We always talk about time management and time management and how you spend

your time. But there's this other school of thought now, is how you

spend your attention, your focus and your energy. I'm like, hey,

actually that's a better measure. You know. We can talk about time as

it is, but how about your attention and your focus and your energy level.

Where do you spend your energy on? Where do you spend your attention

on? That's a good gauge, you know, And saying God do I

did I give ten percent? To you already today, don't nolah, what

does it even mean? Because if you cannot allow God to have ten percent

of that, right, it's very hard for him to redeem the ninety percent.

I know you still to do other things when I eat and sleep,

all those things are important. But can you I understand this principle that when

you choose to give ten percent to God as a tide of your time to

God, you allow him to redeem the ninety percent to be able to do

that better than before. Amen. So that's Paul for you. Amen.

He says, I'm bound to preach. He's a slave of Jesus Christ,

you know. And he says, okay, now this is in verse fourteen.

So firstly, I told you that you know you're all slaves. I

don't know whether it's good news to you or not, but I hope that

you will choose to be slaves of Jesus Christ. The second thing that Paul

says that he is and he says he's a debtor. Now, how many

of you like deaths? Khutang Hu tang in Bahasama. You deaths? No,

we say, get rid of all your dads, right, financial deaths?

Yes, get rid of all your financial dads. But Paul is a

debtor. Let's read from verse fourteen. He says, I am a debtor,

both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to wise and unwise. Now

Paul has this obligation. Can you see that he's bound by an obligation?

He says, I am in debt. What kind of death is this?

This is the debt to preach the gospel. I wonder how many of you

have ever put yourself in a place, in the position that you are a

debtors. I owe John something when I see you, right. It's not

that I run away from you, but I see it. It's like,

hey, I think I owe you something. You know what that is?

Jesus Christ. I look at a friend. I owe you something although there

is nothing else owing right, Paul says, I owe each other nothing except

love. Right, And if you truly love God, you will love people.

Amen. The commandment is love God with all your heart, your mind,

your soul, your strength, and and love your neighbor. Sometimes,

as Christians, it's very easy to say I want to love God. Yeah,

I want to love God. I can do good. I can just

worship God, saying praises to him, and I don't need the church because

church is very messed up. Because messed up people go to church right right,

right, right, don't look at your neighbor. Now, don't look

at your neighbor. Now. I don't need that God, I just need

you. But they forget that. The whole essence of God's commandment is love

Him, yes, and love others, and it means right. Then you

go to a church and you meet messed up people and you love them.

Many of us just say, messy, run away, messy, run away.

Right, whoever's baby soiled the diaper? Run away first? Now,

not my baby. It's still not your baby. It's all right. Actually,

other church people, they're not your baby, they're not your mess actually.

But God says no, you go and clean up, get your hands

involved. As messy and as dirty and as chaotic it is to be in

the church and in the family of God, that's where you learn humility.

That's why you learn submission. That's where you learn how to serve others even

though you like and you know what. Ultimately, God is working something in

you. That is what God is after you know, He didn't just put

the church people together so that you can be comfortable. He put messy people

in the church so that when you are there willing to work it out,

you come out christ like without being involved in mass, right, God cannot

work the mess in you so that you can become like Christ. Do you

understand that? Can you see now how important it is to get your hands

dirty and to get your toe step on? Right? I know we don't

like it, like we really don't like mine. But but but pauses,

I have a debt. I have a debt owing to love you even though

it's hot. I need to do something about this because ultimately, what God

is after, he is after your character. Without the working of the hot

things, right, you will not be shaped. Do you know if you're

molding something you're trying to make? You know, rocks? You know?

With how diamonds are formed, right, It's it's true a lot of pressure

carbon ma right, It's true a lot. And if we don't allow the

full process of the pressure, they will not be the diamond form. And

it's it's very hot, very precious. You know, the small tiny diamond

takes thousands of years and so much pressure to form that little bit of diamond.

And that's what We're like, ooh rock, you know, yeah,

all the girls will be like oya, yeah, I look at my rock.

Right, Y're saying it's so funny. We were doing a training and

then one of the ladies that one of the wives, that she had a

pencil right with a fake rock, you know those plastic rot and she was

like trying to admire herself like that. And then she's like, you know,

looking at her husband, like, oh, this rock very nicer.

It's a huge rock that I told her husband it's okayskay, tell her that

I will give you the best rock. His name is Jesus Ah. And

then the wives no, but it's true. Right if you think about how

rocks and diamonds are formed, it's it's true. Lots of pressure and many

of us want to escape from that pressure, and then we don't allow the

full formation of the diamond that God is after in us. WHOA Okay.

I hope that kind of changes a little bit of how you view things now.

Challenges in your life, they are there for what to crush out you

so that you become diamond. All the challenges. Think about it, all

about the challenges. Don't just pray to God and say God remove all this.

Yeah. Sometimes our pray it's like, God, you remove all these

challenges in my life. But God never said I'm gonna remove everything for you.

He says, I will walk with you through the value of the shadow

of death. Yes, yes, are we tracking with the word of God.

He says, I will be with you as you walk through the value

of the shadow of that meaning what you still have to walk through it?

The value of the shadow of death. Do you like it? No,

it's dark, it's deem, it's dingy, it's dangerous. But guess what

God is with you, your shepherd, the shepherd of your life. He

is walking with you through the fire, not deliver you out of the fire,

but walking with you through the fire until you come out of the fire.

Amen. Can you not pray that God, I don't want to walk

through the fire at all? How La, God wants to work something in

you, and you will walk through it. You will be challenged, you

will cry and you cry out to God and say, God, I really

need I really need your help. Do you know that our life as believers

right is not being more and more independent of you know, being independent?

Like yeah, in the world is about like, oh, I don't need

my parents anymore. I got my own money. I'm working already, I

got my own car. I don't need you. But our life in God

as children of God is becoming more and more dependent on God. Do you

know that it's becoming more? It's in God? Small thing also, I

want to pray, Yes, small thing or so you want to pray?

Is this the right man for me? Yes? I want to pray.

Is this the right job for me? Yes? God, I need your

guidance. Is this the person that I should talk to you? Yes?

Pray. But we are saying no, no. I just want to do

my own things right, independence in all my but God is saying no,

no, you you. I am your full source. I am your full

resource as well. Wait wait, never come to me. I can give

you. The keys are with me, the resources with me, while you

go to every man except the one who holds the whole resources. Healing,

salvation, breakthroughth peace, joy, everything is in God. And so we

try looking for all these things everywhere except the one truth. Saur saymen,

Oh my gosh, time is running like crazy. Oh so much? Are

you getting something? I hope that you know? Kill this again. I'm

just going whatever God is just leading us to. And I want to just

say this as a closing, and so so Paul always had it in him

that my life goal is to pay off this debt. And what is this

debt to both Greeks and to Barbarians. Okay, how many of you are

Greeks here? Greeks Greeks? No nobody Greek here? Then you're Barbarian or

you Lama. But it's true and God, God is saying Paul, his

heart and his desire is that I am here to pay off my debt.

My dad is to show you and to tell you about God and God's love.

Amen. And that's why he says there in verse sixteen. He says

there in verse sixteen, for I am in verse fifteen. First, let's

read that so as much as in me, whatever is in Paul, I

am ready to preach the Gospel to you who are in Rome. Also,

this is his heart's desire, he says, for I am not a shamed

of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation

for everyone who believes, for the jew first and also for the Greek,

for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as

it is written that just shall live by faith? Do you know the things?

Right? When I was reading this, the thought that was impressed upon

me is why would Paul says I'm not a shame of the gospel. It's

because he must have been at first tempted to be a shame of the gospel?

Correct or not? You only say something like, let's say, you

know how we have interactions like this, we always say honestly, I tell

you honestly. Are actually because you're thinking that if I don't say this honestly,

what that means I'm not honest? Correct? Yeah? You think about

it, right and honestly? Yeah, okay, this tie looks good on

you. It's like if I didn't say the honest sleeper, you won't believe

me kind of thing. Right. So, so Paul must have been tempted

to say that I must have been a shame of the gospel at one point.

But now he's saying, for I am not ashamed of the gospel now.

And why it is that he had to come and deal with this,

right, Because whenever you share the Gospel to someone, right, it causes

a response true or not? Every time you hear the word of God.

Or you you preach the word of God, please expect a response and the

response is two for one number one. You will encounter this, I tell

you first. It will bring out shaming behavior. Can you imagine talking to

someone about Jesus and they're like, ah, yeah, I don't believe you.

Lah right? How can you believe in someone who died can save you?

Are? It brings out a response to shame you because they will not

accept it. So please do not be surprised if you receive shame that people

are trying to discourage you by saying, you know, whatever that you believe

in is foolishness. Do you know that whatever that we are doing right here

is foolishness to the world. Why you spend your time while you give money

to a church foolish? It's foolishness to believe it, says. For the

unsafe, it's foolishness. The gospel is foolishness. But for those who believe

it is salvation unto God. Imen So can you can you not be surprised

anymore that when you try to share the gospel to someone that their reaction to

it will be to put you down. Don't be surprised and just say,

God, give me a thick face. But I owe it to you to

tell you that Jesus Christ died for you. I owe it to you,

right, and God will give us the wisdom to and the right words to

say to that person and to minister to that person. That's why we need

the Holy Spirit. Right. You don't just go and follow a mantra or

a four step principle and just say do it as it is. I know

that's all these things, but can you can you understand that knowing the steps

is one thing, but to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in that moment

is even more critical because you need to know what God is wanting to speak

to that person. Right, And so you're you're there and you're like,

Okay, I know that. At the very heart of me, the very

core of me is I owe you. I owe I have an obligation to

you to share God's love to you. That is the obligation. And I

will not breathe and live easy until I paid my debt to everyone that God

brings into my you know, my circle of influence. It is a dead

think about it. I owe it to my dad, I owe it to

my brother. I owe it to my sister, I owe it to my

neighbors. They need to know this. I am a debtor to those And

I am not ashamed of the gospel. And I don't have time to go

into it, but I just want to say, in my own journey,

I also have been a shame of the gospel because sometimes when I feel that

I want to share the Gospel of Christ, right then I'm thinking, oh,

but I look at my own life, and my life is not that

great life honestly, right, I mean, if you want to compare to

all other people's life, who are way a here, who's successful in this

world, right then I look at my own life, I'm like, Okay,

I believe in Jesus, but it's not great. It's not best in

the world. You know. I'm not like the millionaire or billionaire of the

world. I'm not successful. And so we tend to become a shame.

It's like, yeah, I pray for someone and that person got worse.

How do I do I call you praying? Or what? How come I

pray and then the grandmother died? How you know? And then we become

a shame because then doesn't jive right, Like but the gospel is supposed to

say. If the gospel is supposed to bring healing and all that, and

then but the reality of things is very different. So we shrink back from

sharing the gospel Christ because we're like, actually, I so am dealing with

this doubt that I don't know if Jesus is real. I don't know if

it's Jesus is enough, And so I call it for myself. It's like

that Jesus. Plus, I can only share it with Jesus. If Jesus,

you know, answers all my prayers. I I can only share about

Jesus if I can see God working through you know, a provision that when

I pray well, you will get everything done. But we forget that God's

plan for that person is not in alignment to your prayer. No, it's

in alignment to his will and what he wants to do for that person.

And so I have to come back and say, God, I can't pray,

but I know that ultimately you want to do something else for this person,

and I need to. I want to learn what that is. Would

you reveal that to me? And then we begin to pray different prayers.

You know, our prayer sometimes like, can you pray for my healing?

And stay like we pray for healing, but who knows what God's plan is

for that person? Correct not? And so we just kind of like go

in the flesh. But I want to encourage us to go in the spirit

and say, God, God, actually, what is it that you really

want to do for this person even beyond just the healing and the provision?

And so is it Jesus plus for us? Is that why we're a shamed?

Think? Think about why? What could be the reasons that you are

ashamed? To share the gospel and learn to deal with and say God,

I I don't want to be ashamed. And I know that it says in

the world of God that it is the power of God to salvation and that

is all that we need. I believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ,

that he died on the cross and he rose on the third day, that

is the power of salvation to all who believe. And I just want to

believe that that is the truth that will set the person free. You got

to come to the place that is, but it's not about the then everything

else. God will answer all your prayers because if it goes with that,

then it'd be like I don't know whether God will unto all your prayers.

You know. You know what I'm saying that the basis of the Gospel,

the very core, is that I know that if you believe in the message

of the good News, which is Jesus Christ died or not, you have

to believe. It comes from belie. You either believe or you don't.

That's it, right, You believe that Jesus died for you on the cross,

and everything else will be on the day of judgment when Jesus comes back

and he will judge the righteous and the unrighteous. And what is the basis

is faith and what is faith? You believe. If you don't believe,

then you're on the side of unfaith, no faith. But if you believe,

it is the site of faith. That's it. That's only two choices

for us. It's either you believe or you don't believe, and everything else

will be worked out, you know what I'm saying. And so that's why

we have to be confident, like, yeah, my life is not perfect.

In fact, I think God is working in my life and that's why

I'm walking on this journey of being disciples and growing and maturing and falling down

and getting up again. But I believe that at the end because it says

right the just shall live by faith, Meaning if you have believed in the

Lord Jesus Christ, at the end of the day, when you are standing

before God, when you are standing before God, God will only look at

your faith. Did you believe or did you not believe? And how did

you live your life in accordance to what you believe in? Amen. I'll

invite the band to come out on stage, and I just want to encourage

us here that we need to set our belief system right, okay, because

if we don't get it right here, it will show in the way we

live our lives. It will show in the way we make decisions, It

will show in the way how we choose things in life. Right. So

I just want to leave this with you as a thought provoker because at the

end of the day, you need to go back to God's word and ask

him what is it that he wants to speak to you about. Amen,

God wants to speak to you, my friends, and this and sisters in

Christ, God God One's God's heart. I really sense this. This God's

hot, you know. And when we were worshiping this morning, I had

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

on our church, please visit exchurch dot org. We are also active on

Facebook and Instagram. We're believing that this week is going to be a good

week. I hit for you. God bless