Disciple First | Eld Wong Kien Yiak

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

We hope this message will light up your day.

Hope you guys understand why is it so important for

us to be a disciple? First, I think many times

in our history and our journey as believers, right, we

get taken up a different season of Christianity for example,

like you know, it could be a year of missions,

and you know it's one program after another program, and

maybe and perhaps after a while as you begin to age,

as you get to grow older and wiser, and you

find out, we can find ourselves to a place whereby

I've been before, I've done this, my journey as a

believer has stagnanted, not grow not you know. Let we

pick and choose what we want and what we don't want,

like a buffet line, right, you know, buffet is always

very tricky. I've heard of one person say that when

I go to Buffay, what I look forward to is

the rise. Look you okay, whatever, like your fire, What

I look forward for the is not really the mere

but the fright rise that's in Okay, then just next time,

let me know, right cheaper? Uh? But yeah, so we

pick and choose. After a while, don't we right. As

you grow older, you realize you have more liberty to

pick and choose what you like, what you don't like.

When you're much younger, your parents pick up the clothes

for you. I'm not sure whether the case is now

or not, but back in my days whereby you Nicholo

wasn't birth yet. Uh, we have brands whereby not no

longer in existence, but parents buy clothes for us, whether

we like it or not. That's how much we hit

like design, the cut and the color. We we paraded

during Chinese year when we were young, and we get

reminded at our weddings that this are our without ages.

But as you grow older, you realize that you know

that you have the film to choose where you want

to eat, what you car you want to drive, whyever car?

You know where you want to invest your money and

where you want to stay. And sometimes that applies to

our Christian faith as well. We pick and choose. Not

say it's not wrong, but we pick and choose where

we think that we want to grow or whatever we

want to serve at and maybe and perhaps what likes

your fire and interest sometimes right, but after a while

we look at it right as you begin to pass

one season or one age to another age. The choice

of you know, of picking and choosing that it's only

so much in the Christian world. It's either worship team

hosts that you know what I mean that, the serving capacity,

the serving avenue. There's only so many avenues you have,

right then the question here is this that? So what's next?

What do you look forward to? And many types of

our own life, what we don't look look forward to

is what exactly we need. What we don't look forward

to is exactly what we need. Friends, And if you

really are honest enough with our life, we find ourselves

sometimes indulging in dessert more than what's really important. Because dessert, friends,

you know, one bite of the nice pastry put a

smile on your face, so I know you're sugar conscious here,

and extraras a right, so slim and tea and this

stuff like that. Maybe this applies more to other church bloods,

but anyway, but doesn't it You pick that dessert whatever

you like to find you the one bite into it, right,

it seals the deal, cause you to be happy for

season and for a moment. That's why if you I'm

not sure whether you know recently doing the X the

chinup recording. Right, So after we do the life recording,

we past it. Every Thursday, the team will go for Nasikanda,

right because you know they work two days and the

pass said, let's let's go on. And it's always the

NASA country because our use usual chat you and see

your place close beside the close of all this Thursday,

I have never heard of places and sells roast chicken

and pork and Susie closes on Thursday. Friends, But maybe

it's a sign the law saying that I want you

guys to to be healthier. But that's that's open, okay now,

mind right, So each tithing they protect the food. Right.

What happens is this is that Alex Martin and shed

that he finds it hard to work because of food

comma somehow, whether the rise will hit this stomach. He

says that between two thirty to treat thirty, driving back

to Summit Subanjaya is one of the most challenging time

because the driver may fall asleep and the passenger is

most probably Alex beside him. Okay, both of them once

eron very vig and they're Alex right, say they'll fall asleep.

And this is what happens. Friends, if we continue to

allow ourselves what we don't want, our Christianity, our faith

and it woun't believe in the Lord will be stagnated. Right.

And the worst thing about tagnician is is that by

the time you realize that how do we get here,

by the time you discover that why am I here,

it's maybe five years too late. Sometimes it takes fifty

years to realize you are here. Sometimes you think like

twenty years were like guy married, because you're in that mindset. Really,

so this morning, I pray you open your heart, you

open your mind to hear what I have to share

for you from the Lord. Right, So if you know

about discipleship, it's believe from the scripture of First Courtage,

chapter eleven, verse one AE. First Courritage, chapter eleven, verse one. Right,

you know this scripture by heart. I'm gonna get xtivate

to show the scripture on the screen and just leave

the scripture there. So First Currentage chapter eleven was once

to imitate me as I also imitate Christ. Now I

want you to think for a moment, friends, Let's look

at the first part of the scripture imitate me the

challenge and the question is this in our Christian world,

is there something in your life that people would like

to imitate? To follow? The word imitate means to follow, friends,

is there something in your Christian life that people will

like to follow? Now? If you tell me, altho, I

like to follow this, get the way he shake hands

and everything else. If you notice, right, it's always the

external expression. So Paul wasn't asking us to imitate just

on the external expression, because externally we can achieve something.

My friends, you know what I mean. For example, maybe

you watch a YouTube video or exercising that you begin

to follow. But after a while, I'm not sure whether

you ever caught yourself asking this question, like why am

I doing all this touching myself at five am in

the morning, waking up right? The world is sticking out

by the five am book club to wake up at

five them, to plan your day at five am, to

do everything earlier and stuff like that. I thought fantastic,

because I wake up about five to three in the

morning as well without alarm clock. It does not know

I want to go and sleep earlier, but sep later.

But I don't know why my body systems like five

to three wake up. Really, my aim is to beat

the alarm clock. And my first achievement of the day

I beat the alarm clock. Anyway, So if everybody say

that folding your bait or folding your blanket and making

your bait is the first thing that you achieved your

your day, right minds or beat alarm clock?

Right?

So if you if after a while you ever catch

yourself like, why am I doing all this? Because externally

we could follow, but internally right, we don't know what

we're following. And many times when we talk to people,

when we counsel people, do this, don't do this right,

this is the way, This is not the way. It's

really the external thing, but not dealing with the internal issue.

You can tell a person to stop spending in this way,

but after three months, after six months, get themselves into

dead situation again. I know of a person whereby after

you clear some one dead a couple of years, say

that another dead comes about not talking about spending in

terms of buying branded clothes, but just taking care of family.

And the question here is is that why is it

that you could follow for a season and not follow

for long? We tell people always is that you know,

following Christ, you have to take up your cross. Everybody

knows it, and everybody does take up their own cross.

But after a while, have you ever caught yourself whereby

you'd rather just let go of the cross because it's

easier to walk without a weight. So the question by

Paul is this is this that not just to imitate

me externally? Friends, like coming to church external expression, right,

like dressing up for the Lord, external expression. But what's

our real motivation of imitating Christ? What's what's our motivation?

And we want to follow the conviction. If you look

at the earlier days of church, people do mission people

the word leave the family as in the immediate family,

or take a whole family to go to another country,

another land by boat for a few months to get

to a place where by different culture, different food. Well,

it's not because of a brochure that says that come

stay in Banas why long you can see Kelsey c

ten minutes. It's not because of a brochure that people

get excited for friends, it's because of the conviction of Christ.

And that's the reason. That's a real motivation of why

people do what they do. Friends. So when Paul is

asking us to imitate me, just as I imitate Christ. Trends,

we have to ask ourselves what motivates us to follow Christ?

What motivates us to follow Christ? Because the day will come,

you'll be challenged. I'm going to show you from scripture

after us. The day you come, friends, you'll be challenged

right by do we still take up the cross hold

onto this? Or do we? Therefore? God understands, God knows,

and we use God's name to justify our choices. Think

about it for a moment. How need I to say this?

Because I've been in leadership for almost thirty years to read,

friends have dealt with so many people, and they say

that God told me so. God said this only to

let up sometime. Their lives, right, friends, is in a

place whereby not very good, not very healthy. So I

pray that this morning that you open your heart. All right, friends,

So how do we follow there? For friends? Therefore, if

pauls imitate me, so how do we imitate friends? You know,

if you buy any form of imitation products. Mm hmmm,

all right, you would know that copying on the outside

is not sufficient. You know what I mean? Slapping a

brand name on any form of cloth will make it

a levice, true or not? Right? Come on, okay, I

don't know whether you see we levis not, but my

januartion was levice. I'm sorry my references are a bit

all right, please forgive me. All right, So I'm not

sure what you wear these days. But anyway, but you understand,

all right, by putting a name on a particular cloth

doesn't make it a device. But you have to begin

to follow through with the steachers the buttons. So how

do we therefore imitate? Friends? Let me show to you

from First Currentage, chapter ten, First Coritian chapter ten, going

read from verse one to four my old bedroom. I

do not want you to be unaware. So Paul was

writing this to the Critian church by saying that he

doesn't want us to be in a place where I

caught surprise. I didn't know. Why not one tell me one?

These are the famous is that a lot of people use.

Why did you tell me? I didn't know? If I

slept with the guy, I can get pregnant. I hurt before.

So it's it is what it is, friends? Right, do

we live in a place whereby we did? We deal

with people all the time? Whereby like I didn't know

that the cars go to break at the rad traffic

light happened. All this old reason comes about because something

else that happened. So Paul said, I do not want

you to be unaware. So pauls right, play, I want

you guys to know. I want you guys to know

that all our fathers ware under the cloud and passed

through the sea. What it means, there was a covering,

friends that everybody went through. Everyone went to the same teaching.

Everyone have the same Bible. There's no different Bible, no

different version. Verse two. Always were baptized in the Moses,

into the cloud and in the sea. All of us

friends were given apportunity to understand, to learn to read

God's word. All of us went through the same hard ship,

right words, treat it the same spirit your food. Come on,

every one of you ate the same spiritual food. Here,

the same message every Sunday. Right hang on to God's

word at homes. All of us right now are trying.

The reason why we went through the book is this

that because after a while we realized that we want

to go deeper with our homies. We want to go

deeper at homes and the word and deeper doesn't mean friends.

To take your concordance to homes because a lot of

times doesn't mean that you go to a library if

you know what a library is by putting up all

the tick references on your table, mix your scholar. I

have these takes, you know in the exam hall of

which I like to do. I like to play psychological

warfare with my friends of the after first thirty minutes,

I asked for extra people to write, really just to

psychop my friends. Well, this guy get right very fast

and stuff like that. Right, doesn't mean friends you have

you have all the references, right, it makes you a

scholar and pause reminding us again all but at the

same spiritual food. So you have to just pause for more. Interestingly, Sorry,

why did the misteries of oh leave the place they

were born and go to another country? Was that message

that was spoken to this individual of let's say, for example,

right individual. Was it a different message or was a

message from the stage went forth to the entire crowd

and someone believed? Someone believe because a lot of times

you think it's some secret sauce somewhere that this guy

got a sneak picked into some revelation. No, friends, I

think we have to exit the mindset and Brigade embrace

that every Sunday, every word spoken from the puppet is

an apportunity for us to go on adventurely with the Lord,

if we choose to believe it. So the missions of

all Friends didn't go to a private session. There was

no extra zoom class on the site there or exactly

coaxing at the site is when the preachers say, who

will go for the Lord? Who want to be sent

out by the Lord? Reach our verse here once say Lord, here,

I am send me taken up by that scripture and

by the word mission beginning to say that I will

go for your name. Friends, none of us here were

born with a star over like Jesus or the Manger right.

The only stars we see is the operation data lights. Wait,

we wake up? Right and so Pause writings that verse

four all drank the same spiritual drink. For all drank

from the spiriture rock that followed them, and the rock

was Christ. So what Paul is saying that every one

of them, the thousands of people that came up from Egypt,

have the same experience. Come on, including Josha and Killop

who's part of the children of Israel. They came up

from Egypt. Why is it that the rest of them

couldn't enter the Promised Land? And Joshow and Kilob could

think about it for a moment? Why is it that

sometimes people shared a break tough and other some of

us are still dealing with some things in our life

that for years rants that we are still struggling with

and many times in our lives, friends, that we don't

get this brickchos because we fail to understand, we fail

to understand what's really important. Let me just show you

tru this right, look at one verse, one verse for

everyone under the same cloud passion the seed. Right, you

know that were baptizing the most the same cloud in

the seed. Now I want to look at first Curtis ten,

verse five, after the experience everything, friends, here's what the

Lord says, But most of them God was not well pleased.

Here this you ate the same spiritual food experience the cloud.

Come on, What an amazing sight. I just want to

imagine right now, the pill of cloud and the pillar

of fire. Reminds me again, although we could have experienced

a spiritual encounter, doesn't mean our hearts come on our hearts.

Our hearts are discipled to follow Christ. The Bible says

that God provided manna from heaven. Come on, what the amazing?

I just wanted to think for a moment, God provided

manna from heaven. If you were living in the eighties,

we have a ROTI man will come by your street,

will put the loaf of bread at your pillar, house pillar, right,

because you paid money. Right, you put the house pillar

right and just said they do right. That's almost our

version of manna from heaven. Right. Also, you come out

with there's a loaf of bread there. You know what

I mean? Right? You know back the seven eleven didn't

existed family, but nothing at all, and that was the

version of friends. Could you imagine manna from heaven supernatural

in the desert, right, craving for me because they want

to meet so much God. I was just trying to

imagine what and how would they look like? The sight

of quail dropping from heaven. Think about it for a moment.

You just got to imagine how would it look like

raining kraill millions of creole friends in a particular area.

I'm not sure whether it will be more shocked, it

will be a current horror movie. You got to imagine

this because friends, quill is not like you know, it's

not one one of those pieces of people falling down slowly.

Even it's a heavy thing just right, and it's a

tense Could you imagine if it's a ten and you

are there, would you believe God a bit more? In

the desert whereby you know that it was not just

another path that all a suddenly a group of birds

flew past this area. God caused a thunderstorm. Then after

they went they came up like roach chicken. After that,

you got to imagine that God caused a creell to

go there. But take the area and I don't know

how many days the quill will supply. Think about it

for a moment. I don't know how many quells had

to be supplied to the turd of vision for how

many days. But the question here is is that even

with a supernatural experience, and some of us here do

experience supernaturally. During worship, you felt God's presence right, you

prayed for you felped him. But worse five reminds us

again that God was not well pleased with them, meaning

you say that after everything he has done all the

tune of is your experience. God was not pleased with them,

and he really got me thinking of a moment. Could

you imagine right now, forty years in the wilderness, they

couldn't enter the promised land. Forty years in the wilderness, friends,

some of us, he had the privilege to visit desert

before for holiday. You gold. And when you go desert holiday, friends,

it's only for maximum week. None of you sell out

for forty days, forty for forty years in the desert

for a lifetime experience. Could you imagine, right now, friends,

forty years in the wilderness, and they could not enter

the promised land. A desert, the place of dryness, a

place whereby every send looks the same. Think about it.

Every cloud, if there's a cloud, formation looks the same.

So the place of repeats is a place of like mundane,

the same old, same again. Reminds us of our work place.

Every day you go in there. That the table is

to the same the one before you said that, the

one after. You can see that it st the same

table after that for forty years, paying the price of

heat and coldness at night, for forty years, going to that,

marching through the desert friends, but not entering the Promised Land.

And that really got me thinking because in our life, friends,

we could be going to so much in our life, thinking,

our friends, you got to catch this, thinking we are

following the Lord only to arrive to a place whereby

we miss the map. It Liza forty years, cloud fire

manner Quail right, Moses is still there? Right fourteen years friends,

going to all this and not entering the Promise Land later,

it's like saving up for something only discovery and that

what did I just put myself into? And God was

the reminds us this morning, friends that God wasn't after

the external following only he had to bring a tune

of Isuel from Egypt. But even dealing out from Egypt,

it was a wilderness, friends, it was a wilderness that

God wants to use in our life to be really

to reveal if you have your Bible as well. Turned

to me to do you tell me? Chapter eight? I

think you try me? Chapter eight verse four. Let me

just show you you tru me? Chapter eight verse four, uhh,

I think it's there. Then go to worse three. I

think names yeah, ourse two words two words to worse

two words two tea, and you shall remember that the Lord,

your God let you out from all this forty years

in the wilderness. Come on, all these in the wilderness.

Even though you could be in the wilderness, friends, God

was still in the picture. You know, after a while,

for forty years, we can take his presence for granted.

Think about that, for forty years, even though there's a

cloud and a fire, manna and quail, we can kept

the place whereby yeah, this cloud again give a different

formation or something like that, the fire again. After all,

the site becomes common true, not manna. There was excitement

for the initial manna, but mana for forty years. Friends,

the moment we graduate from a particular place, I was asking,

I was so bad there? I went one just planting.

I see that? I think, was it near?

Like?

Yeah, I say you're neili right, Hume, after you graduate,

want to come back here and eat lunch y? And

majority of the say no. And after wild friends, afterwards,

it's true. After a while, right, you find ourselves like

I want I want something new, I want something new,

I want something new. And Bible says that God led

them for forty years. So imagine right now, President of

God leading them for forty years. Come on, who else

you want to lead? Right? God himself led to Moses

and his presence so evident. Right, it says it works

two as well. Let you for forty years in the wilderness.

Come on to Humber you. What does God do with

the wilderness? Friends? First of all, he says to Humber you. Now, friends,

God doesn't use the wilderness to talture us, because you're

thinking that to Humber you means to be poor, to

be to be in the place by your desperate No,

I truly believe why the word humber was used, because

isn't it obvious? Sometimes we are so stubborn, right, so rigid?

So I want my way. I don't want to change.

I want to follow up my friends. Where are you

going to go? In the viewers? You tell me you

try running off from the camra You major right now,

you try running of them from the camera, would you go?

Most probably would be lost? Isn't it so? In the viewers?

Will happen? There's no other way but the trust a lot.

Come on, there is no other way but the trust

a lot. Friends, But our hearts do not want to trust.

I say, come on, after the hell, there must be

a better place out there after the hill. There must

be a shopping all there after the heal. There must

be always is there? Why must it be this direction?

Why cannot be that direction? That's us don't say, don't look,

there's a so far first even to come to a

particy the location for holiday friends. Always you've got different

ways how to get their one. I don't trust wrays.

I'm better than rays because Rais is not trustable God,

people like me, I don't trust fully gonna a few times,

you need lead me to a gem? So what's the lead? People?

After the world friends, we say we want to Oh

that's what the word because said to humber us, or

to get to a place of just prove, but a

place where, by God, I'm ready right now to receive.

Do you know it's hard to teach someone who knows everything.

Think about it for a moment. Always have been to

some sort of education before, right, It's hard to teach

someone who knows everything, especially if your text will got

all the answers, you won't receive because you just want

to give the answer to show people that you're smarter.

Just give you another point of what a desert will

look like. In today's morning and context, our workplace could

be a desert. It's not like you could just change

you up like just like that. Maybe something can praise hallelujah. Right,

but majority of us, you know, I mean, you know,

I mean, it's not like I don't like this workplace.

I've gotta leave right now, right, you see, have the

self one month notice minimum to three months notice. Right,

you've got three more months to quit this placer. Think

about it for a moment, right Sometimes okay, I'm gonna

use this, all right, please shoot me, and I'm gon

use this example. Sometimes our marriage, you're not mar Yeah

you you say so long ago that you come in reading,

but wh if I'm walking out? Okay? Sometimes our marriage,

you think about it for a moment, same person until

the day you die. If you can make it there,

who's that? Who's something of revelation? Sorry, it's not because

the other. But God will always use what where we

are to reveal what's really on our hearts. Come on,

God doesn't turn your spouse to be a bad person. Okay,

and my mom is Lord, No, God doesn't use that

very But God always allows us to go through a

process process because our hearts sometimes like go bet you

got God? Okay, and many times in our life friends, right,

you think about it that it's it's it's us. It's

us who that that wake you up with it? It

is us, isn't it true? Let me just show you

after after our hearts is really after our hearts. Imagine

the heart is like a ground. The word humidity is

like a hammer, and God hammers our hearts to be sold.

Come on and to ham I to test us. Come

on to really at the end of the day, to

reveal what's really in our hearts. Come on true to

the fact that I know that sometimes as angelic we

look here in church, we have a dark side. We do,

and God wants us to understand where we are. That's

why to test when the test is not to fail

every test, because every time we look at the test

result I pass or I fail. But true test is

just to reveal where we are friends, where we are

after you've finished your academic years, Really you go to

a health tests. I've not seen any doctor saying you

felt the test. Terrible person, you feel the test, it's

just the doctor just look at the results, just say, hey,

this is your result. Come on, this is your result,

what are you gonna do about it? And that's why

God is reminding us again to scripture, to test you.

Come on, so that you know what's in your hearts,

not in your bank account, not in how much you have,

what you start your freege, but to test you know

what's in your hearts. In other words, God used the wilderness.

Come on as a hammer as to work on our ground,

which is super hard. It only gets reviewed when we

go to the wilderness, so that we know the problem.

Sometimes with Christians that we do not know, we think

it is all right, and that's why he don't know

the more minus okay, see that you give me the

t more minutes, so I got the wrap up soon.

Really this kid kidding, this kidding, okay, I'm enjoying myself

right right to know what's in our hearts. Come on,

and I find this a real test. Friends, even after

God review what's in our hearts? Come on? After the reviewer,

we say this is not us. I got no problem

with did not me the other brother God not me.

I don't have a problem. And sometimes the words it

becomes part of us so much, so much we can't

see our blind sighte Come on, I'm just gonna do

ask that. How ma you think it's all right to

arrive five mini late for appointment? Obviously here agreed, mini

late is not good for appointment?

Right?

How many of you are perpetually personal? Then you never

ride for any appointment on time? Onent come on, be

honest now, it cannot be one hundred percent extras getting

correct one because you're dealing with humans here, however, is

here you know you you us? Okay, don't have to

put up your hands again. I'm not here their best

because I really know some of your but they need

true friends even like just now, like you know, like

you you you're out with your friends. It's saying nine,

you can push it nine ten on the way right

out on the ways on every way. Friends on the way.

We know and we understand that friends, but we make

that as a reason and why we wom shouldn't be

there early. So I always pick a sent pass to

the airport and PASSIL know this about me. My track

record is this that by passes say it's ten, keck

up the mouse by nine o'clock, I'll be there by

eight forty five, fifteen minutes earlier, and parse dominally, if

it's out before nine. But if fifty five or if

fifty is already it, it's BacT track record. But it's

hard because it's part of us, part of our DNA,

part of our lifestyle power belief system. Even though someone

reviewed to you, friends review to you, you could like,

it's okay on it's a world standard. They accept it.

That's why I'm going to say this. I really sometimes

question people's wedding dinner at seven pm? Come on dinner

at seven pm? What time dinner is supposed to start?

Come seven right? Seven forty by eight o'clock one time,

one hour? And I also sell then why I ask

people to come at seven oh, because so by the

time we start, everyone is there. Ma, I want you

just think of for a moment. That's why Paul is

writing here in this scripture. I'm using the esset example.

I'm not pointing it. Now you have to say you're wedingly.

I'm just sorry, but thank god, there's no ex wedding,

no to us wedding yet. Well, just what you think

for a moment. It became acceptable after a while, right,

it's okay, people understand after no wedding starts on time

on no, not true that our wedding starts on timeline. Friends,

they're always late one. And because of that we make adjustment.

Come on, we make adjustment to the way we want

to follow God. And this is the danger. That's why

Paul is pointing out to us, because it's because after

going through forty years in the wilderness, don't you want

to see the promised land? Don't you want to enter

the promised land? Think about it. After forty years. It's

not forty days or four weeks in no, friends, forty

years is very long. You want to see and enter

the Promised land. But they could not. And that's why

God is speaking to our church here say that there

are people in that needs to go a bit deeper

because I have great plans for the church. It's not

because we want to explain the chation. Because every one

of us here who are believers in Christ, God has

a plan for you. God, that's an amazing plan for us. Friends,

if we choose to believe it in regardless of how

you're how old, whether you're reaching away, you're poor, educator

or educator, it's not about that. It's really our hearts

wather wane to enter the Promised Land. Or not at

the end of the day. So Paul is reminding us

again to worse two, to know what's in our hearts,

whether or not you keep his commandments. Come on, at

the end of the day. Would you keep on to

your convictions for the Lord? Or will we say that

it's okay, it is all right? Will we hold on

to our convictions to God? Or will we allow other

people to tell us how to live our life for

the Lord? Word three says, so they humber you, allow

you to hunger. Come on and feed you with men

which you do not know. All your fathers know. God

always used circumsensus. God always plays people to rob us

the wrong way, to tell us don't do it, to

re really the words, so that our hearts reveal. So

the heart knows. One of the hardest things we have

to do in leadership is to guide people in the

area of relationship. Is hard. I like a girl. Nothing

wrong with liking a girl or liking a guy. Nothing

wrong with nothing wrong friends, But we say, hang on first,

you're only fifteen. But although you understand, I can see

her in the wedding gown. Really, and God gave me

a vision. Oh yo, holda hollola like that. God give

me a vision, God spoke to me. God give me

the name friends with me.

Laugh.

But it's true. That's what people say all the time

when you're in love. Every anything is a sign. Anything

is a sign from God to affirm that relationship. And

we say, you're only fifteen, Hang on first our test?

Can you wait? Come on? Okay? Nothing wrong? Great? Did

you let a girl? Can you wait until you finish

your secondary school?

Not?

Cannot? I want now so I can south childhood, sweetheart. See,

God will always use the wilderness then, knowing our life

to test what's really in our hearts at the end

of the day. Come on. And many times we hate

the word no, true or not. We don't like the

word no. We like the word yes. Could you imagine

if whiteya come up with itself? Yes, it's no, no Fiji,

what God Brendan? Would it be right? It's no anyway

and maybe too much fun. I got to close soon

and be reminded again No, no, no, she did, she

did again. I got to go to the circ will

score me? After that was Trea was Trea after the man.

I think he said that to make you know that

man shall not live by bread alone by but every

word that puts it out on the mouth of the Lord.

Why disciplesh it first is because we want to train

people to know God, to depend on God. You come

to a place fere by in your life. You may

not know it now, but in the coming days, whereby

God is the only one that you have. God is

the only one that you have, not your connections, not

your bank account, nor your education level. God is the

only one that you have. He is a giver of dreams.

He is our purpose, our life, our mission. And you

come to a place whereby nothing else really is truly satisfied. Yes,

the ability to buy new clothes is nice, it's fun.

The ability to new in places is good. But everything

else after a while, if we eat the same thing

over again, no matter how good the meat is, it

is still meet clothes still close. You understand, not trying

to be playing big big picture, but in life. You know,

in our life, after a while, the God is always

asking that what are you going to do with our life?

You know, besides going to work and this stuff like that,

there has to be a purpose. So I spoke to

a particularly you're working a doubt, and they say the elder.

My purpose here in this organization is to open doors

for Christian influence, to help my organization, To help my organization.

There are people in my organization that need to know

who God is. Not just about pushing about God, but

there's this people in my organization that really need to

see and experience what God can do in their life,

in their marriage. And the only way to do it

is people like me in this in this position God

has given me to the person understands understand the reason

why God gave him the position in the first place.

Not because of the fat paycheck, which is fantastic and great,

but really to open doors. Come in, help my people,

Come in, help my staff. My staff right now is

going through this right Come in and be friends with them.

That's what purpose really stands. Well, that's why discipleship is first,

because at the end of the day, friends, God can

bring us through the wilderness to enter the promised land.

Because at the promised land, you know why, there are giants.

Think about it as I close right now, why the

promise is not Why to the wilderness, Because it takes

a wilderness to defeat the giants. If you can say

no to the wilderness. You can say no to a giant.

Come on. If you can say no to a wilderness,

you can say no to giants. Friends, we want come on,

we want the land all flourid with mill and honey.

True or not, none of us here work in a

place whereby is so run down. One we at least go.

And the word is that religious think that there is.

It's a good place to work. After you enter the

separate story altogether, but you understand try none of us

here attend something, be part of something that is so

run down, got no future. One. The future is in

the lot of friends, but God, friends who will always

use disciple like Joshaw and Caleb to go to a

land flow meal honey, filled with giants, to prove that

if you say yes in the wilderness, you can say

yes to taking down the giants. And this is how

I'm going to close many disciples. Many people follow Christ

say no to early. I won't do this, No, cannot

somebody use God God now tells me to. And the

worst part of Christianity I always try. Let me pray

about it first. Now, nothing wrong, I'm praying about things. Okay,

don't get me wrong. But when it's serving the Lord.

Think about it. I've never seen when Paul was asked

the serf, lord, let me pray about it. And many

times we like the statement because we just want to

buy time to say no later. Now I'm not asking

you us when a guy approached you and say could

you be my girlfriend? And you say let me pray

about but I would just say Lord, please, Okay, I'm

not saying those life charges very different. Okay, this this

is serving God. I have to I had to say

very clearly because I know sometimes my statements get they

can to a different engine. And I'll just say that

you do have to pray for life. Partners, just say yes, Tony,

dangerous this I'm going to close it the next time,

the next time, the next time, the next time. God

brings you to a place, bring you to a journey.

That's how difficult and how challenging it is. Don't say no,

but you don't understand. This is how I've been living

my life. I've been doing it. Don't say no because

God has a better plan for you. Because we are

so comfortable and doing one particular way. You know, life

this way, this way, and many times in our life,

friends actually We just want our way, our own convenience,

our own flexibility scope will always bring us up to

a place where oppen in life, you don't have everything

your own? How is wonderfriends, as like close? Why is

it that you know that acts right now at twenty

five years only achieved where see achieved or they get

to this place whereby we are planting, planting in different countries,

in different places. And I begin to understand a bit more.

If if by the third or fourth year, right, we

are planted in so many nations and planted in so

many cities, right, there's a certain price that will come in,

a certain price that will come in Look at us

where we achieved. But all these past twenty five years

of we just say this is a journey where I

got shaped and more earths and define our calling a

bit better. We know exactly what we want to do,

what we want to chief. No longer friends, we are

chasing after things. We are I was talking to one

particular pastor from another church. In my conversation just went

like this. You know, it's never easy to obtain a

place more than two hundred people, Never easy, you know,

I mean, if you organize any church can before the

cost goes higher, the culth system goes another level. I said,

I mean, I like all those, but it's never easy.

And to maintain a place like that you need a

lot of volunteers. You do, and sometimes after a while,

I'm not sure whether we are maintaining the place for

ourself or maintaining a place for the Lord. I'm not

saying big places is wrong. No praise go for I

say for us. God's given us a clear vision. We

know what one to do with the acts for the

next twenty five years. Our one mission is this that

we really our hearts and desire goes out to the

smaller teratrees in Malaysia whose every size is about twenty

five to thirty people, same size as your homes. Who's

the pastor has been serving for the past twenty to

thirty years, faithfully, fitfully, faithfully, without any excuse, without any reason.

I heard of one pastor before one past his kid

was just shoving me out there. I couldn't go for

holidays during my growing up years, cannot every school holidays.

But whenever we make plans to go out stationed as

a child for school holidays, someone in our church will die.

One and my father, being the pastor, has to do

the funeral. Half way through the journey, he'll mix a

youth turn here has a pastor called hey, you tell

the child you understand. I hope you understand. Imagine growing

up every time you're looking forward just to enjoy the

hotel swimming pool gets canceled because someone choose to go home. No,

didn't choose. God called him home. The past is still

faithfully serving the Lord and our hearts for ex church

is this as I close is to help to be

part of the solution to the many many churches in Malaysia.

Who's that that size. Our heart goes out for them

because they are the true champion of what the church is.

The urban church had it easier, as I close, friends,

that's why it takes a disciple to go to places

whereby nobody wants to go. Every big name that, every

big name in the Christian community will come to color Lompo,

of course, is a city. It's lights, it's sound, big stage,

big influence. Praise God. Thank you for them. But we're

going to continue the path and the journey. Friends, we'll

really miss out on the Promised land. And when we

say Malaysia is blessed. And that's why God says in

the scripture, who will go before me? Who can I send?

We can't just send anyone, but we can only send

disciples who will actually emit it and follow not just

on the exterior, but on the inner conviction as well.

As I close, this is my challenge for all of

us here this morning, is this that would you allow

God to speak to you really not just on the

external but internally our conviction, your hearts. I'm not gonna

open for auto call, because the auto call of friends,

it's just a start. But at the end of the day,

when you leave extraas when you leave here, go back

to your own place where the conviction still hold on

Monday or would he just be another Sunday experience and

mondays back to the daily grind, back to the routine

for the next thirty years of your working life. You

can achieve your goal, but really miss out, miss out

or what God has for you. And God does the

one that that's why He used all these the Bible

says as an example as an example for you and me,

so that we'll finish our race here on earth and

finish it well. We hold on to God because he's

worth following. As I close, friends, get you to stand

right now, would you just allow God to con work

on your heart for a few more seconds. And I

just want to end with this prayer. I got to

go to Shrinkamangan. Thank you Lord when I was extreme

the leaders in the song as the assay leaders in

the song. Just I just want us to close our eyes.

Just look to God.

Amen, Yes, Lord, yes, Jesus, help us, Holy Spirit, help us,

Holy Spirit, Yes Jesus, Yes, Lord.

Amen, Just more of your Lord. And would you lift

up your hands right now, Father, in the name of Jesus,

thank you for your word this morning. Lord, we pray

Lord that you help us to understand where we are

right now in our journey with you, Lord, to know Lord,

what you're doing in our life. Lord, your word says

you shrug me. You are reminding us that you put

us to a place whereby it looks like the wilderness,

may seems like a date end, not to bring us

to a place of defeat or failure, but to bring

us a place whereby we know what you want to

do with our hearts. So I prayed our hearts, our spirit,

and our mind is open for what you're doing right now, Lord,

would you show us, Lord, what you want us to

learn through this wilderness. Would you help us to understand, Lord,

the reason why sometimes we always hit the dead end,

So that Father, we could come up from this wilderness victorious.

So then we can come up from this wilderness, Lord,

with the peace of God, knowing that you have a

future in your hands. Lord, the wilderness is not a

place of defeat, not a place of discouragement. But Lord,

the wilderness is really a tool that you allow us

to go to, so that you are preparing us to

take the giants that's in front of us. So I

pray right now, Lord that I know there are people

who hear Lord internally. Internally, they're exhausted internally, they ran

out of field, and like pray this morning, would you

refresh them? Would you cause them, Lord to stand on

solid ground. Would you enable them to hold onto you, Lord,

like before, Father, No matter what we're feeling externally, no

matter what we're going through externally, the matter what circumstances

or challenges it may be, Lord, I pray Lord that

you will help us to overcome to really know what's

holding our hearts. Father, I pray that none of us

here will be hijacked by our emotions that lead us

away from Christ. I pray now our verse will be

hijacked by our previous experience that lead us further away

from Christ. But Father, I pray, Lord, through this wilderness

we come closer to you. Lord. Your word says in

chapter eight, say, it is you that brought us into

the wilderness. It is you that provided manner and meet Lord. Father,

we thank you so much.

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

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this week is going to be a good week, a

hit for you. God bless