True Freedom | Pr Matthew Chang

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

will light up your day. And I prepared this message earlier, and he's

covering from ED chapter sixteen, so you know, for the benefit for those

of you who are not familiar, I prepared some slides to sort of guide

on a few recap of what is what has happened on the previous chapters as

well. So let's have a quick recap, can you guys see? Okay,

so we have gone through the Paul's first missionary trip. Okay, So

altogether he has done how many missionary trips? Three? Okay, so he

has done through the first one, and he is being sent from the church

in Antioch again, not from Jerusalem. From Antioch, on his way,

he was apposed by many Jews okay, and other also other temple leaders in

various cities. In his journey, he's also planted many various churches. He

has raised disciples and appointed elders and leaders to UH to really oversee the different

churches as well. And in his UH and as he heads home, UH,

he reports to the sending church in Antioch, and he also comes down

to the Jerusalem to attend a conference or the Jerusalem Council. I know I've

not I don't think I've covered this part, but I'm going to skip the

Jerusalem Council for for a while, and if I do have time, I'll

come back with it. But basically it is a conference or important council to

discuss about how the Gentiles would become Christians. Okay. So there was a

big debate whether the Gentiles, okay, Gentiles on one side, okay,

the Gentiles meaning non Jews, how they will become a Christian. Do they

need to become a Jew first before they become a Christian or they can immediately

become a Christian. And so some of the uh what they call it Jews

or the leaders, they believe that you need to become a Jew first and

hence the requirement for you to be circumcised as well, okay, and so

comes it's so it's not just the requirement of the circumcision. And it because

when you start to open one one can, right, you start to open

up a lot of different cans as well. And so people because what is

the true meaning of circumcision? What is circumcision about? If circumcision is not

needed, then why did God give it to Abraham. You know what I

mean? Right, So it's like, oh why why then? But so

people do not understand the meaning of what circumcision is about. It's not just

about hey, so that you can physically identify as a Jew or a non

Jew. But the circumcision, it has a has a very important meaning and

that has stood from the Old Testament and to the New Testament. Okay,

so what is circumcision about? If we want to understand very quickly, what

is circumcision about, It's about what it's about the all has gone and the

new has come. Okay, it's about it all has gone and the New

has come. Okay, Abraham was made righteous before he was circumcianced. Okay.

It's like I'm going to the wedding not because I just suddenly fall in

love with you. I'm going to marry you because I'm already in love with

you and I want to make a commitment. This wedding ring that I wear

is a symbol of my commitment. This wedding that we're attending, this official

wedding is a symbol of our commitment and our stage as well. It didn't

I just didn't come up here and suddenly fall in love, you know,

okay, before already ready, So Abraham was already made righteous. So to

symbolize that Abraham has passed, okay, from just a normal person into someone

favored by God and appointed by God and made righteous by God, God gave

him the sign of the circumcision. Now this concept is also carried through in

the New Testament. Okay, when I must understand that in the olden times

the circumcision was performed by the Father, okay, and by the Father okay.

Now in the New Testament, okay, we are no longer safe,

not true or fulfillment of the law, but by the work of Jesus Christ

on the cross. Okay. But there is also a circumcision happening as well.

Did you know that we have a new righteousness, not from the law,

but the righteousness of Jesus giving into our lives. We receive the righteousness

of Jesus. Okay, But there must be a circumcision as well. But

the circumcision is not on the outward but on the inward heart. It's a

circumcision of our heart. All heart has gone and the new heart has come

in. And it's not performed by a physical father, but by the Holy

Spirit. You know what I'm saying here. So you are you not because

you have circumcisions. You are a you when your heart, inner heart is

circumciance. That has always been the true and meaning of circumcision. It is

not for people just because I'm physically I'm a Jew. No, you are

a Jew because you're all has gone. You no longer follow the all nature.

You don't no longer follow the ways of your forefathers who follow the idols.

You now follow the true and Living God, and you follow his commandments.

You are a Jew inward and inward when you when you believe in the

world of God and you walk the word, the Word of God. There's

always been the case one, you know, but they focus on the outwards.

But God says, there has gone ready. So now the Holy Spirit

is going to circumcise your heart, and we're going to bear for new sons

and daughters who will know my word and who will walk in my word.

And that's what I'm saying now. So you are you not because you are

circumcised hour, but you you're a circumcised inward. You are a son of

Abraham, not because you are a circumcised You are a son and daughter of

Abraham when you believe like Abraham believes. Makes sense. So because of that,

so the emphasis is not on the hour is emphasis is about the renewal

of the Holy Spirit living. So if the Holy Spirit is evident in you,

who are we to decide that you are not a Christian? Ah?

I mean right, we can all decide, so we are not the arbita.

God is the judge. God pours out his Holy Spirit to the Gentiles,

to the Samaritans, to the Greeks, to the Romans. Who are

you to decide? It is God who has given liberally so that all may

enter into his family. Okay, so there was decided. Really, you

don't need to be ourly Jew to become a Christian ready, so there was

decided. Okay, that's summarized theology. Everybody understand that there's a very important

teaching for their part. Okay. So now, okay, so the Jerusalem

was decided. So Paul takes this news back home up to Antioch and also

with two other persons. I think it's a barnerbas and certain they cannot remember

not a letter. I think I will to go into Paul and there was

a poem silas no Silas and one more person I remember, mmm, okay,

okay, apologies, my brain is kind of scrambed. Okay. So

they brought the news up because they cannot witness to themselves. They need to

have a witness from Jerusalem who heads up north with them as well. Okay,

So we take off from there then, as they Paul has decided,

Wow, I have this now, this new news of how in order to

share with the gent house about how they can enter into this Christian faith as

well. So he's so excited to go on his second missionary trip. Okay,

so very very excited. And we're gonna go through a few stops okay.

It's like we're heading from KL to B nine Okay. And along the

way, we're gonna make a few pit stops along the way, maybe like

Beidor or maybe Ipo, who will stop buying for a while. We will

talk about a few things. But when we reached B nine, I will

tell you, talk to you, joshell with you the main important highlight,

which is poor and silence being in the prison. Okay, So turn with

me to X chapter sixteen, and yeah, verse one, and he says

here. Then he came to Derby and Lystra, and behold, a certain

disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed,

but his father was Greek. He was well spoken of by the brethren

who were at Lestra and Iconium. Paul wanted to have him go on with

him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were

in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek. And

as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep,

which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. So the churches

were strengthened in their faith and increased in the numbers daily. Okay, So

now first stop Derby and Lestra a pair, our first stop. So as

they went there, apologize, I don't have the map here. Okay.

I think the map would have done helped be very useful. Okay. Imagine

you're just going up north, so Derby Distra. Oh I have a map

there is it mine? Oh? Yeah? Okay? Cool? Okay.

So they're from from from Antioch. There you head on to the middle,

you see Derby and Distra. Okay, so from they make their word,

they're away from westwards. Okay, So Derby and Distra the first stop.

So it is at this time, at this area there are very likely that

Paul wrote the Book of Gallations. Okay, wrote the Book of Galations.

So just for you to know, the Book of the New Testament is not

chronologically order one, okay, it is, It doesn't so the first book

is supposed to be the Book of Galatians. And there he met a very

important person and his name is Timothy. And you must understand, Derby and

Listra is not the first time that Paul has visited. It's actually his second

time, okay, his first met there, and he actually met the grandmother

and the mother of Timothy. Firstly, Timothy was very young, okay,

and you must understand how okay, how many of you want to guess what

is the age of Timothy? When Paul made him for the second time,

kind of gave a few hints. Ready, who says thirty, who says

forty? Huh? He's most people agree that he's probably in his twenty not

twenties, you know, early teens and twenty Okay, such a very young

age. Mother is a Greek. The father is Jewish. Okay, but

at this age, right, this guy has been has already get quite a

reputation for himself. Okay, Paul calls him, you know, my true

son in the faith in you know, in the book of Timothy, and

you know even the elders and the leaders in the church are already No,

no, we're very encouraged by the maturity and the wisdom that he displayed.

And he eventually was appointed to become a leader, a representative on behalf of

Paul, and a pastor for a church in Ephesus as well. Okay,

So you don't need to be thirties or forties to become a leader in God's

annointing is upon you, and God's call is upon you. You can be

a teen. You can write some any teens here, I tell you name.

If you have a teen son and daughter, go and talk to them.

Oh their teens there. Okay, you feel very and I was like,

oh no, okay, good, okay, don't be shy. And

God God has called you. Okay, even the disciples their call, but

justices, a lot of them were very very young. Okay, so this

is the first thing that we know. Okay, let's move on. To

go to the second part. Okay. Now, let's read the scripture verse

six now, and when they had gone through Pharigia and the region of Galicia,

they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the Word in Asia.

After they had come to Mayesia, not Malaysia. Okay, they tried to

go to Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. So passing by

Maysia, they came down to Singapore and okay, that's okay. And this

vision appeared to Paul in the ninth okay, okay, a man of Macedonia

stood and pleaded with him, saying, come over to Macedonia and help us.

Now after he has seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to

Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Aymn. Now, this is a very interesting because we learn a few

things, Okay, that God is definitely at work in guiding and leading the

apostle's journey. Okay. And a lot of times we always pray for God

show me the way, you know, if you say yes and it's not,

maybe God, you know, can you gently tell me if that really

nice, lady, that I met, you know in homes or in this

cell group or in officer. You nicely tell me if she is the one

you know? But God does lead. Okay, but a lot of times

with one year so much there is like you know, we see a bit

of him. Oh, they must be God ready we God. I want

this job so much the moment the person give you an interview, there must

be God. You not giving me favor already. I'll tell you you gotta

be more patient. Okay, doesn't mean there's an opening that missus. God

will want to know a lot if you read the Bible. Actually a lot

of times and God just keeps silent. He allows an opening to come into

your life, not because he's saying this is my way or this is the

blessed way. He opens it up so that what you go into a place

of conflict, true or not. You run to a conflict, you're like,

God, is this your will? And when God keeps silent, right,

you have no choice but to strain and to struggle and to start to

search through your own heart and desire true not. That's the hard part,

isn't it, which we all don't want to do by just go just don't

spare me, spare me the nine months pregnancy, you know, just give

me the boy, you get me right, just give me. I don't

want to go through a nine month and the ladies say, yeah, I

know why the guys don't have enough. But it's difficult because when you go

through the self reflection, is this really God? Is this in line with

his word? Am I? You know it's God gonna it's got playing chess

with me. If I make a wrong move, my whole life is gonna

be messed up. Ready, you get me right? And you know what

what if what if suddenly I made a wrong move, I might end up

being checkmated. You know, you get me right, then then we say,

like, because of that, then my life will always be supper,

you know. And then because of that I will not live life with the

fullest. When you have that thought in your mind, you know what you

are literally saying. You are saying, God you are not enough. Yeah,

I mean right, you don't realize that enough? You actually saying God,

you are not enough. I need all this and a per certain way.

God, You're not enough. We don't realize what we imply. GEA,

yours are communication A lot of times it is implied one enough, it's

implied enough by virtue or what you think, what you struggle, you imply

something with our heavenly Father God. You are not enough, not contented,

don't want to go through this, so be very careful as well. But

we see that that of course Paul wants to do and minister in certain places.

The Holy Spirit also says no doesn't mean that you have ministry goals and

means that God must bless you. Want to know, okay, doesn't mean

that you this is doing for God means God will bless you. And God

can say no, one, no, no, So ministry is not above

God and all very important. And now hearing and knowing the word of God

and perfect obedience is always higher and supreme over every adult work of God.

You get mean right, knowing and hearing, even if it's a good thing.

But God says no, no, And that's where that's that is why

God know is as important as his goal. Okay, right this now,

God know is as important as his goal. Understand what I'm saying. No,

Christians, A lot of times times we cannot think Lord Christians, and

now this we see her cannot take no one for an answering now, but

I'm doing this for God. No listen, but because you think you are

doing good, don't set off for good. And she is a lot of

times good is the worst enemy of God. Get me right, settle for

God. And this is what you should be praying for and asking for in

your fast and your prayer. But then God shows him another path and shows

him in the vision the vision of a Macedonian person calling up for help.

And Paul takes this okay as a God's and call and you and plan for

them. So he goes there. Now take this and then we're gonna see

where it takes Paul to Okay, we're going to our next stop, says

here in verse eleven, therefore selling from troas we ran straight call, we

ran a straight cost to some more threats. Okay, Now you notice that

in this verse or in the verse before, the narrative has changed from there

to wei. What does that mean? You notice some of you sons a

bit different. He's using wi. Who is we? We is the author?

And who is the author? Luke? So from here onwards, okay,

Luke is not writing from another person perspective. He is writing from his

own personal account. Right now. It's very powerful. You know, Luke

has joined them in their journey. He jumped on bottom there, he joined

them from the from Epo, he went to be next with them. Radio.

Okay, so he is narrating his own personal encounter with them along that

journey. Okay, So let's move on from there, and says there and

from there to Philli Pie, which is the foremost city of that part of

Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days,

and on the sabbath day we went out out of the city to the

riverside where prayer was customarily made, and we sat down and spoke to the

women who we met there. Now, a certain woman named Lydia heard us,

and she was a seller of purple from the city of Thai Tira,

Thaya Tira, who worshiped God the law. Opened her heart to heed the

things spoken by Paul, and when she and her household were baptized, she

begged us, saying, if you have judged me to be faithful to the

Lord, come to my house and stay. So she persuaded us. All

right, now, very interesting. Paul had just seen a vision come to

Macedonia. And when he arrived at Philippi, he does what he'd commonly do,

is that he goes to the temple. He goes to the synagogue,

as has always he does, hoping to be able to find common men like

him who has the same common mind to talk to share. Okay, he

always starts with the jew because the background is easier. Okay. But he

goes there, he couldn't find a temple. Okay. Now why does this

happen? Why aren't there any temple? Typically it requires at least ten men

to be present, okay, to form a small synagogue okay, or a

small temple okay where all the Jewish men. Maybe they don't have Jewish men

okay. And this is unique because remember Paul has just been called but he

comes to Philip but he expects a big harvest, great opportunity. How many

of you when you feel like you've been called by God to do something,

you expect like, hey, maybe God's God com me to preaching the office.

God has called me to take hold of this marketplace, you know,

all this area, my neighbor. When I go in, I expect people

has to be open or people the harvests will be there already and you rather.

There's no one there. You know, it's not placed before you,

like a nice buffet. You know, you can just take and take,

take and take, and then oh, praise the Lord, leading so many

souls. But it didn't. It wasn't there. So funny, but God

called me to be here. Okay, it's like, did I hear wrongly?

This is where I tell you again? You know you go through a

lot of self examination. But Paul did not waver. Okay, Paul did

not waiver. What did he do? He went to the river side.

Turn to your neighbor, okay, right now and say to them, are

you ready to go to the riverside? Okay, it's a very important thing.

Are you ready to go to the riverside? Now? This how you

used to go to the riverside? I said, you know, old schools,

so here, you know, before they were before the advent of internet

or social media. All the all the people hang around the I mean the

riverside or the explanade, because this was all the happening places. You know,

you're like, guys are thinking like what is going on? Man?

You know now people go there just to you know, take a picture or

do some funny TikTok video you know, okay, but the rivers are used

to be the happening places. You know, all the markets were there,

you know. You know, people find their future boyfriend girlfriend, you know.

So, but they went to the riverside. Okay, Paul, it's

not going there because for social activities. Okay, why the river side.

Now for a synagogue to be established, right, a temple, Jewish temple

to be established, what do they need? They need living water? What

do they mean by that? Okay? Every synagogue when you enter into it,

the Jewish men, they need to perform a custom, which is to

what to wash themselves. They need to present themselves before the Lord. So

they wash their hands, wash their face some more, then they come down

and then wash one And maybe you should do this in Churchill, Exampanga.

Put some water before you coll me. Please wash yourself, present yourself properly,

not washed before your shower. It come in. Okay, we should

do this. Oh, then don't have too much fun. But that was

what they did. But they're not only wash themselves. They prefer living water

source okay, not water from a river. Okay. And there was hardly

and different depending on the places they have don't have sewer riche one or water

is it? So they collect water water. Most of the houses they collect

water from where you know where. They collect water from from the rain,

and you see the rains in the ancient times. Side they actually have a

hole and the piping and normally like a dome, but they were actually dropping

down and coming down. And then most of the houses, the more well

to do houses, right, you will see a fountain, but the fountain

beneath the founder is an underground system where the rain water is collected. Makes

sense. This water from the rain is higher quality of water for most of

the people. It's called living water, even better than water from the river.

The highest, of course is the spring water from the mountain they drop

down, okay, So they collect the water from the mountain or from the

rain they come down. So when Jesus says I am the living water,

he says, I'm the water that comes down from heaven stort inside you and

every time you draw you will never dry. That was what he really means.

Oh makes a lot of sense right now, isn't it. Okay?

So they needed that living water, uh, and not to wash himself.

So if you cannot have living water. What do they do they will have

to all day. Is that the women or the men can actually go to

the river side, okay, to do the same exact thing, but without

a building. Okay, wash themselves and then they will do prayer. They

were reading the Bible at the riverside as well. So Paul when he comes

to this place, he didn't see what he imagined or he previously encountered.

But a person that is fully tuned with God will never be deterred by these

things. When you have to receive the call of God, you press even

harder. It's like a seed that is planted in the first grade layer ground.

You know, you know the first time you you germinate and then the

roots come out right the first that you cannot find. You don't stop there.

You just don't go sideways with it. You go deeper. You came

me in right. A lot of times if you find a heart surface or

a heart situation, it doesn't mean you immediately let go on and on.

You have to go deeper. You have to go to the riverside you came.

You have to get out of your comfort zone to really Gods, what

I want to go out, get out of the comfort zone. Go to

the riverside there and meet people. You get me. So a lot of

times in our in our evangelism, we're just hoping people will just walk through

the door and pastor whoever is preaching out, let them do their job done.

Ready, No, you gotta go to the riverside. Just now,

you guys say to each other, go to the riverside after service? Can

you go to the riverside? Can you say to your neighbor, are you

ready to go to the riverside? Learn something here to day? And so

Paul himself is showing to us how to evangelize. You know you you might

gotta go to the riverside. You kind of know where people are going.

You gotta go there and connect with them. You got to go there and

reach them where they Ah, okay, it's very important teaching. Okay.

So, and when he was there, who he met. He met Lydia

who was a seller of purple and she was coming from Tyro Thieteria. I

think, let me take it a Thia tea run is normal for a place

that was doing a lot of trade, but also a region that was very

known for the color purple and blue. When you sell purple and color and

blue. You are a rich person because purple and blue are the hardest color

to form at the time. Okay, is this the hardest color? Okay,

So when you sell into it, you are quite wealthy to do.

And she converted, okay, and she converted. And actually, if you

read the later some of the epieces, Paul has greetings to her as well.

And it was because for Lydia then she you know, the church in

philip I grew because she was wealthy. But she opened up her resources,

her household for people to come and join as well. You get mean right.

So God works in different ways. God can work through a singer God.

God can work in the marketplace. God can through work through one person

as well. You can. You don't know how God works, okay.

So the keys that we must not give up, we must be persistent,

you get mean right. Don't say oh immediately, No, you gotta go

a bit deeper, okay, gotta go a dee bit deeper. So and

then we will see the labors are not of faith being at work. It

is placed. Okay. Now let me go. Now we arrive in Benang,

I'm gonna talk about the main meaning. Okay. So all the appetizer's

gone, ready arrive in b nang okay, So let's go through the scripture.

Here says here Now it happened verse sixteen as we went to prayer,

that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who

brought her master's much profit by fortune. Telling this girl followed Paul and us

and cried out, saying, these men are the servants of the Most High

God, who proclaimed to us the way of salvation. And this she did

for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the

spirit, I command you, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come

out of her. And he came out that very hour. But when her

master saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas

and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. And they brought them to

the magistrate and said, these men, being Jews, exceedingly troubled our city,

and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans,

to receive or observe. Then the multitude rose up together against them, and

the magistrates told of their clothes and commanded them to be beaten. With rods,

and when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into

prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. And having received such a

charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the

stocks. Okay, So imagine you a paw, you're doing a good work.

You maybe see a vision. God has called you to this city,

and so so clearly there's a man calling out to you, as Oh,

God has given me a purpose, girl, has give me a plan.

You arrive there, you only do good things. You even cust out a

demon. Uh, you know, a spirit? From all this, lady,

Okay, then for a good worker, you get sent to prison.

You get bitten up and sent to prison. And you're not just a prison

You get to the last part of the prison in stocks. Your hands mound,

and your legs mound. So what does it tell you? So it

means that if you fast and prayer that you get good stuff. So if

you do, you know that the path of a Christian life will always be

filled with easy comfort. If there's a case that Paul will be in the

most comfortable Mann, give me right, he'll be. He'll be having a

mention I think he is like you know, you know, he's obedient.

He would lived a very comfortable life, have his retirement account settled ready,

you know. But his life is full of pain, suffering, anguish and

grief as well. Okay, it's not easy. So if you are finding

yourself in a similar situation predecament, you have done nothing wrong. Your heart

bears witness that your conscience is clear. God, I've only done what you've

asked. And you find yourself in a situation in the prison and in the

stocking where your hands and your feet are bound. Okay, and speaking symbolism

here doesn't mean that you're done wrong enough. It's not about you, you

know, seriously, there's nothing about you. The world can do a lot

of things. It's not something wrong with you. You know a lot of

times that people will say there's something wrong with you. You need to clean

like no, no, necessarily, sometimes yeah, sometimes not. You don

mean right, I'm not giving you one medicine to cover all. You have

to watch and read and really observe. What is Why is God allowing this

to happen? Okay, now we're gonna examine what actually happens from here.

By the way, you want to have. I told you guys about how

you can get possessed by spirits. What it's like? What's the mess teaching?

This is how can you get possessed? I'm not asking you to get

possessor, don't okay? You want to not you want to learn, So

then you to that you can guid yourself, okay. Being okay, first

of all, when you read this and you're read it by but you must

be already convinced there is a spiritual realm. There are spirits at work.

Okay, they are evil spirits at work. And the evil spirits what did

they want? This scare you? What do they want? They are always

looking forward? Uh, host, always looking for a host. They're always

looking for a host they can influence and control so that they can affect the

world. So you see this, this is the Kingdom of God. This

is the kingdom. That's a battle. God wants to bring the Kingdom of

God here and he will. The evil the the morning spirit are doing the

same thing as well, the one they are kingdom here. But to affect

the kingdom, they need a host. Okay, and so that's where possession

comes in, Okay, very quickly. So possession can come in two ways.

Okay, whether it's a full possession, partial person, I don't know.

I don't want to go into that, Okay, but two main ways.

First, it's all but the same principle happens. Okay, same principle

happens. And I'm going to draw a parallel to even our Christian faith as

well by what one word invitation? Invitation? Okay, two ways you can

invite. You can invite, directly invite. You're sending email and give a

wedding cant with them, Hey can you come into my life and stuff like

that. You go and visit a shaman, you go and visit a witch

doctor, do whatever you want. And it's true. Why do you think

so many countries having all these rich doctors. You think that it's practiced by

just Turble country and can tell you you can go to the highest political offices.

You see happening because it's real. They know it's real. It has

power. They invite into their house, into their family. Okay, and

you direct invite and they will have not certainly you roll your eyes and stuff

for meaning and not, but they started. It can influence many ways you're

thinking, your thoughts, your feeling and your will. You start to doing

it, it can affect one. Okay, so there is the immediate invitation.

Second kind of invitation. You don't have the right email. You don't

have to do anything. Okay. It's what we call the indirect invitation.

How do you indirectly invite the influence of the demonic plane? You know?

How? Give you an example? Okay, said you're outlay. Maybe when

you were younger, I had two. You don't have to say anything.

Okay, maybe even a younger days. You know that he and I we

used to attend taylors in a college together before. I don't know that.

That's it. That's it, reay, no more, no moreready, no

more, no cut off. Ready, that's as far as we will go.

Okay. You know college lifestyle. We rented a room and he rented

a room. Then you know it's like he's just a studious No, he

always studied. No time to wash your dishes, you know, he ate

up fun, He ate all these chicken rice and his house and then go

one table full of the dirty stuff there. Okay. He locked his door

and he goes for a summer holiday for three months, he locks everything up

tightest door, I tell you. Even if he doesn't send an email invitation

to all the crocod and the rats when he comes back, do you think

there will be a party inside there? Yeah? Correct? Right? Why

am I saying here? This is great? Sounds a bit harsher, Okay,

but it's true. By virtue of your stinking life, you invite them

into your life. Sounds very harsher. By virtue of your stinking lifestyle,

you invite them into your life. So be careful of your lifestyle and your

sins. Doesn't mean you're be Christians are all like that. Your lifestyle,

what you see, what you hear, what you practice, what you constantly

choose to ignore. You care what I mean? Right? You can be

living in the richest house, but you still don't want to clean up your

room. The red was still find a way to go in there. The

corequature was to find a way in the night's house. You know what I

mean? Right? And you keep thinking, Heavenly Father will send a maid

to always clean up your room. He you are his son, not because

he senses man you eyes, because you will practice cleanliness like him. Ah

not, So please stop asking for spiritual maide to come and clean up after

you are. It doesn't work the way you want to know. You are

a son and daughter trying you practice all these things ready, you know,

GEAR mean right? So when you do like that, when you do have

this lifestyle nonsense like that, and you bring in this, God hurts.

But he's saying that you brought this upon yourself. Get your right, get

your life right. Stop saying sorry. You apologize, not because you're not,

not, not just to get You say sorry, not just to gain

apology. You say sorry to repent, you get I mean right. You

say sorry not to ask for forgess. God is forgiving you. But repentancy

is your responsibility. You mean, that is the most important thing we have

to do. So it is our lifestyle that invites all these things into our

lives, and the more that we ignore, the more they have an influence

over us. Makes sense, and this includes are the people that hang around

you. Some people you gotta cut off, no nonsense people, no nonsense.

You got a cut off means cut off one. You know you don't

owe them, you don't have You don't have to make them feel nice,

and you don't have to make them like you. You know, you got

a cut off one Okay, that's a side topic. Okay. Cool.

So we talked about Paul and Silas in the jail. Okay, so I

read through that that portion. Ready, let's read a bit more then I

will wrap this up verse twenty five. But at midnight Paul and Silas were

praying and singing hymns to God. Underlying that, Okay, at midnight,

now Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners

were listening to them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the

foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened,

and everyone's chains were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awakening from

sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners have fled, drew

his sword and was about to kill himself, but Paul caught with a loud

voice saying, do yourself no harm, for we are all here. Then

he caught for a light, ran in and fell down trembling before Paul and

siders, and he brought them out and said, sir, what must I

do to be saved? So they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,

and you will be saved. You and your household. Then they spoke

the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his household,

and he took them in the same hour of the night and washed their

stripes, and immediately he and all his family were baptized. Okay, let's

stop there for a while. Okay. Now, to know if I were

a title to this message, okay, I will titally true freedom okay with

ile to This message is not road trick, Okay to this message is about

true freedom. This is the main cause. Okay. So in my slide

here, there are two types of freedom. Okay. There is a spiritual

freedom and there is the physical freedom. Okay, spiritual freedom and physical freedom.

You can have an idea what I'm talking about, okay. And the

thing is, you can be physically free but still spiritually bound. Okay.

You can be physically free. I'm not talking about just hands out in your

circumstances of a situation or anything. You can be physically free but still spiritually

bound. Okay. Next line, Okay, Now, when you understand our

human makeup, right, we only most of the time we see our physical

body, but we know that we all have a soul, We have our

mind. No, we have our emotions and we have our will. Okay.

The mind is our intelligence, our soul represents our emotion, and our

will determines our our choice ability to choose. Okay, So what I can

give you an example? Okay, I know this morning, you know I

should go to church, But then your soul and your feelings like about I

feel so tired. Okay, But then in your mind set ah, it's

okaya, even you know I miss one church, it's not going to make

a difference. But then in your spirit, in your in your in your

will, despite how you think and how you feel, you can still say,

but yet I will still show up. Okay, you get me right.

It's very powerful one, you know. And when you make the choice,

your body responds to the soul again. Yeah, and I saw your

soul is actually basically your nervous system and your command center. You have your

of your thinking, you will, and your emotion. But before you were

saved by God, you before God came into your life, all you ever

knew, all how all that you have ever been taught to think, to

feel, and to decide is always based on the body. What you see,

what you can understand, what you can comprehend what people teach you,

what you observe science. You know what I mean? Right? Why?

Because your spirit is dead? When I say your spirit is there, why

it's the spirit for spirit is for you to interface with the spiritual, real

reality of God when you were spiritual, speak to there. God is not

real in your life. You got saying God is not real in your life.

You may think there is a God, but you will say that.

You may be agnostics saying God is there, but I don't think that we

need to, you know, concern yourself with him. Maybe he doesn't consilt

or we have is just our lives on it. God doesn't really have a

plan for me. You get me, right, God, it's not real.

You're real, but really real into you. You don't call him a

father, you don't call him someone whom you really come from and who has

to love you, who has who has given you a call and a purpose?

No, not real. It's like if you don't have a father,

and some of you might be in that condition. It's hard for you to

understand that reality. And because of that, you know you never need to

go back to your house or to pay respect or to acknowledge the reality or

someone or her father over your life as well. But when you became spiritually

made alive, something happened, Something pushed you to the edge where you really

have to ask God, are you there? And somehow God spoke or God

ministered to you. Your eyes opened. And when the moment when you say

that, God, come into my life right now, I need you.

What happened to your life? What did you sense? You open your eyes.

You're in the same room. Nothing has changed, but yet you see

God everywhere. Grant, nothing has changed. You still have got two legs,

two hands, but yet God is everywhere. You said they were God

when I was born, You were there. You're like, God, Actually

I ended up here. This is not a coincidence. This moment that I

arrived, there's not a coincidence. Your hand has always been upon me.

There's the reality of God. The fear of God came upon you. Whoa

It says you've been realized that you've been watching on by CCTV, or you've

been't realized that God is. You're not supporting it. You're like, WHOA.

God is real and nothing, no one can take that away from you.

You see the world no longer different because there is a reality of God

in your life. Okay, So that spirit has been made alive. Your

spirit has been has been put on because the Holy Spirit has come into your

life. You get I mean right? This is what happens when you when

you when you commit your life to Jesus, he said, come into my

life, be my Lord, and say is fill me with your Holy Spirit,

the same spirit that raised Jesus. It's gonna raise up that spirit mean

in you. You get mean right. It's not a different spirit, No,

same spirit are same work, same power working in you. Ah,

you doubt that all God can do? God has done it for Jesus.

What can I damned in you? You just need to invite. So now

I told you about possession, isn't it? It must be by in the

tation the same way it works in our lives with God as well is a

gentleman. They cannot pass into your life. You have a will want it

all. You get me right? When you come to You cannot say God

by default because I touched you know holy water. I'm a Christian. It

doesn't work that way. You want okay, doesn't mean you come into a

church. Are you in a Christian? Woe? No, No, you

become a Christian when you invite Okay, the spirit got into your life.

To take dwelling in your life makes sense the same way to take dwelling to

take when you it's like married, you and you're married, are It's like

you live in a house, but that person is also living in you,

dwelling in you. You get me right, I'm married, I have a

spouse. Everything I do, I cannot got mama too late because I need

to acknowledge there's another significant in my life also, I hope. So you

get me right. It's the same thing, same concept. So there is

an indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Okay. And so what happens is that

previously your mind and your soul and your will only responds to the body.

Ah, if I take this career, okay, when I see there as

a prof it's like, okay, I take it makes sense, makes sense,

Okay, everything is about making sense. But when you start working in

the spirit, it starts to hey, you kind of like have to make

choices a bit differently. You know why, you because you realize the presence

of another person in your life. Although I'm you know, I feel like

you know, you know I need to do certain things. You know.

Now I'm married. You know, it's Okayla go you know, hang out

in like you know all these dodgy clubs. Lin, it's okay. I

want to know. I'm not gonna touch anyone I do anything. You know,

but I'm married. You know I can't do this. When people observe

that about me, what did they observe? They don't do just me a

new man. They observe someone is in your life that you have to acknowledge.

You get me right. They may know I've seen my wife, but

then they recognize that I'm married. I behave differently. There's another person in

my life. I have to accompy in every decision they make. Man,

That's why it's trusting the law, if all, and lean not on your

own understanding in all in all, always a knowledge him. I'm married,

I have a maker right now. It's not about what I think it's best,

It's about what God thinks it's best. And so you start to think

differently. Your feeling is also different because what used to satisfies you, you

realize it kind of betrays you. They've always left you thirsty and hungry and

depressed. Nothing in this world seems to last. And because of that,

your desires have changed. Say, God has never left me, and my

feelings also change. And lastly, now I will decide, and I add

on accordance to the will, not based on the body, but based on

what God has done for me. I choose. I choose Him and him

and him again. That God is enough. You see what I'm saying.

So your whole soul becomes what transform when you become a new Christian Okay,

always only one version only, not meaning you new again. You gain a

new spirit, your spirits made alive, but your souler doesn't get a second

version. You know, your soul doesn't get new again. Your soul what

gets transform. That's why the Bible says be transformed by the renewing of your

my It didn't say it be alive again by none by your mind. Be

transformed because the spirit is opposed to influence and dominate your soul. Ah.

So it's top down, not bottoms up. There's always been the case.

Kingdom come from the spirit to your soul, and then we take over the

kingdom of this world here. Okay, tops down not bottoms are now because

of that, when we are in Christ. In spirit, we have a

spiritual free the You cannot earn it. On cannot earn it. This freedom

is paid for. Christ has paid it for you. You didn't die on

across Jesus died. He paid it. You like it or not, he

paid it. But it's for you to invite. It's not entitled. You

have to invite into it. You have to receive you to accept it.

But a lot of times Christians, although they are spiritually free, their soul

is still bound to the physical. Their soul, their minds, their feelings,

and their will is still bound because they are not transformed. They are

not freeing. You know what I mean. Right when Paul and Silas entered

into that was basically brought into that prison, they were already bound physically.

Did that Did you think that their songs of praise and thanksgiving came from the

physical or the spirit? Physical? Hey, we saw a vision, we

followed you, you know, we followed God. But then now we ended

up like that. You know, you think praise and thanksgiving came from that

source? No where did they came from from the spirit. So that even

though they were bound in stocks and chains. At the last part of the

of the the prison. Maybe yeah, maybe can go back to that diagram.

So they I can't. Really, they're so. Their mind, they

are so, and their will are still captive to the spiritual freedom. And

when you are able to be helped kept by the reality of the spiritual realm,

praise and thanks being continues to come out of your life. A lot

of Christians we can only praise and give thanks to God when our body and

our spiritual things get set free. And because of that, we pray different

prayer needs because we want spiritual we want physical freedoms. Today we cannot understand.

We pray God, change my job. God, you need to tell

that man or woman too, in order to turn around. You pray different

things you now because your prayer demand is formed by what you see an experience

in the body, not based on what you see an experience in the spirit.

That is white way you think. Sometimes your prayers are not uncertain because

you're sending the wrong message, asking the wrong things. You think that just

because you send a request to h H I will grant you everything some more,

you're laughing. I tried it before. Give me a promotion. Anytime

you think they're obliged to give you a promotion. You know it doesn't work

that way. You know what I mean? Right, You're asking for the

wrong things, but it comes. What do you see? What are you

praying? What are you requesting? And God will not entertain your request because

your your request is why flesh? God is spirit? What would God become

if he answers every every flesh request, You'll be undone. It doesn't make

sense, isn't it. Okay? So okay, yeah, maybe you can

go to the next night there. Okay. So praise and worship flow freely

from them while they were in the prison, while they were in Chaine.

Now let me ask you the question before and silence? Then why and how

they were there? They don't do they know what God is going to do

next? No, but that does not tell how free they are. A

lot of Christians, including myself, we only feel free when we can see

God's plan, when we can see how the nuts and bolts screw and unwine

and we see, yes, okay, they must be the will of God.

We must arrive first before we accept Funnier, if you travel, do

that, maybe arrives that I apply for VISAA. We travel, We don't

do that. We apply vis so then when we fly there we'll get accepted.

Now, but this is different. We have to see for us God

no good luck in your travel. But it doesn't work that way. Okay,

it doesn't work that way. So poor and silasts when they see in

the spiritual they only know one thing that God has done good in my life.

God has never abandoned me. He has never failed me. And even

if I cannot understand why things happen, how things will happen, and what

will happen to me, I will still say, because of what He has

done in my life that God is good. You praise because of wanting people.

God is good. It's nothing else you all you praise God. God

is good. Ultimate could even in all this thing, God is good.

When you don't praise God, you're saying God, I don't know if you're

good. No, I'm not even sure you're enough. That's why I praise.

It's so hard to come out of you. You are in comfort with

the flesh. You cannot see. You need to know why the urgent to

demand to know why you are. Look at the Bible, you look at

Job, you look at Joseph. Did they get their why? No?

Until the very end, and no I think the finance. I don't know

why, but I say that you are good and icknowledge, and my soul

rests in peace knowing you are good. Through property, to distress, through

cancer, true laws and grief. You are and I pray that will be

the same for you, all of you. You can't mean right that you

will never be rubbed away from you through all the circumensations. God, this

is good, even I don't understand it. Last part is as the closest

part. Okay, when the chains came undone, right, did they leave?

Why didn't they leave? Why didn't they leave? Suddainly, you can

see God's breakthrough seeing open door. I told you all times while everything you're

seeing open the means you have to go through with you know, open door.

And Ah, God myself hurt my ply you open the Did they leave?

No, you know why because they saw what was happening. They were

brought to prison, not because they were sinful. They were brought to prison

to save people because of their spiritual or because of their their their maturity and

their spiritual understanding. And they never saw their prison as truly a prison.

And no Ah, if you kept thinking that it's a prison, you will

get out. But they didn't see they're the person as a prison. They

saw their prison as a place of purpose. I'm here for a purpose sometimes

in a place where you're struggling instead, Oh God on God, this is

a prison. Did you stop to ask God? What is my purpose?

And when you start to ask that question and God opens her, it might

be the case that you stop leaving, leaving from your relationship, the people

you're committed to the job. Do you know what I mean? Right leaving

the ministry? You came in right, like I said again, doesn't mean

always all the time the prison door opened your head out and all but post

it on. Thank God he stayed on. He That's why I say,

because he's not a place of prison. It's not prison. It's a place

of a ministry or purpose. And more importantly, who did he see himself

as a lot of times when we're in prison. Now I'm a victim,

poor me o tama O tama He knows when he was spiritually fad. I

am not a prisoner. Even when my chains it was never there. I

was just temporarily put to be there. I'm not a prisoner, but I

am a soldier you see in the battlefield when for example, they left and

right they're fighting. Right, A victim will hide behind the cover and ladies,

why am I here? True? Not when you are a normal citizen

and you're victim, you're caught between the crosset, you will ask why am

I here? You cannot understand? You question everything. But a soldier asks

what how can I advance? How do I protect? Different mentality? The

questions you ask is now, it comes from what who you know? Who

you are? I'm not a victim, So I pray that the transformation happens

to ask you know, before we decide what to pray, before we decide

what to ask from God? And all you have been loved? But why

are you here? Don't pretty much they say? God? Me live?

I seem so many times people tell me, oh, because you have the

job. Another place they go, This place is God. I'm not saying

it's no, but I'm saying that if you if you go to that place,

you still have the same mindset. Another person offends you, another person

who fails to recognize you, You're still gonna leave again. And every place

that you place you have a purpersonal and and and the testimony. You have

missed out. Then you said, God, minister to me. But God,

come, God, well find it very difficult to minister. Of course,

there's nothing impossible for God, but it's gonna be a hard ground to

work in you because you still don't see it makes sense. This, this,

this miracle is about Paul staying in the prison rather than him leaving the

prison. Oh, it's a it's it's quite prophetic. You know that we

are well on earth and we are still on earth for a reason. One

and no, this earth is not a prison. You know. As much

as difficult your life is, it is not a prison. You know you've

got If this is is the prison God that we're taking you up reading nothing

in mass already is to this. This this, this event is to change

the mind of you and I as believers, to be transforming the renewing of

our mind, to be understanding true freedom and transform the role around us.

Amen. So they're all may no. So they're all may no. We

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

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believing that this week is going to be a good week, a hit for

you, God bless