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00:00:00 today's scripture reading is taken from Matthew 15: 1-2 and Romans 10: 1-4 Matthew 15 then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders they don't wash their hands before they eat Jesus replied and why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition for God said honor your father and mother and anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death but you say that if anyone declares that what might
00:00:38 have been used to help their father or mother is devoted to God they are not to honor their father or mother with it tus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition you Hypocrites Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you these people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me they worship me in vain their teachings are merely human rules Jesus called the crowd to him and said listen and understand what goes into someone's mouth does not defile them but what comes out of their mouth that is
00:01:10 what defiles them then the disciples came to him and asked do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this he replied every plant that my heavenly father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots leave them they are blind guides if the blind Le the blind both will fall into a pit Peter said explain the parable to us are you still so D Jesus asked them don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body but the things that come out of
00:01:43 a person's mouth come from the heart and these defile them for out of the heart come evil thoughts murder adultery sexual immorality teft false testimony slender these are what defile a person but eating with unwashed hands does does not defile them Romans 10 brothers and sisters my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved for I can testify about them that they are zealous for God but their Zeal is not based on knowledge since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to
00:02:21 establish their own they did not submit to God's righteousness Christ is the combination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes this is the word of the Lord thank youy [Music] okay pray father Lord we come before you we thank you for your word we ask this morning that your word will percate through our hearts get through our and make [Music] this today we go into a topic which is um very controversial we're talking about religion Faith what sets the Fai in Jesus Christ what believe far apart from
00:03:38 every other fa in this world right so are these two passages one is taken from Matthew which is what true The Book of Matthew right that's what happens when you're unplugged let's make sure we're not unplugged from God all right I think right so uh the two passages and they're related because the first passage talks we're having a running battle if you look in the Book of Matthew and a lot of the gospels there's a running battle between the chief opponents of Jesus Christ which is the Pharisees the scribes the religious
00:04:31 authorities and that kind of influence goes into the rest of the people of Israel and you can find at the End of Time the people of Israel from which Jesus had come from he's a Jew there the ones who that don't actually believe in him if you look even today do you know that in today in the land of Israel in 1943 when they achieved 48 I think 43 48 when they achieved Independence there were only 43 Messianic Jews which means 43 Jews in the land of Israel actually believe in Jesus Christ today that number is 20,000 but
00:05:13 if you compare to 7 million Israelites it is like 0.28% that's a huge unbelief because they all focus on their religion of Judaism and that actually is a barrier and so therefore Paul addresses that which is why we're looking looking at Romans chap 10: 1-4 it tells us why the Pharisees and the scribes are so against Jesus so we look at this passage there are three things I want to address number one religion focus on the traditions of man but Faith rests only on God's word number two religion focuses on externals while
00:05:51 Faith actually comes from within and lastly Faith begins and ends with Jesus all right so let's start off with religion focuses on the traditions of man but Faith rests only on God's word all right definition religion which basically an organized system of beliefs and ceremonies and rules used to uh worship God or a group of gods that's definition from Miram Webster's Dictionary now let's put us in context in in in Matthew chapter 14 the end the chapter in this place called ganes if you look at the map it's the north part
00:06:28 of the Sea of G and you can see a picture of it over here which is still here today and here the scene ends with Jesus ministry flourishing he was healing people left right and Center better than any of our hospitals today all they had to do was have faith in Jesus and they were healed and suddenly the scene switches to the Pharisees and scribes the Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said why do you your disciples break the tradition of the elders for they do not wash their hands when they
00:07:07 eat can you see the irony here here is Jesus The Talk of the Town of ganare healing people left right and Center SLE TB covid-19 all healed and they come up there and tell him hey why you never wash Hanah I mean think about it what's wrong they come all the way from Jerusalem long ride and asking not about how you heal people whether you need a vaccine but why you didn't wash your hands it's like telling people why didn't wear a mask but there's something wrong here so Matthew is trying to show you the irony
00:07:45 between the two they've lost the plot if you look at Ma Mark chapter 7 they actually uh gives you a background and I want to read to you for the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly holding to the tradition of the elders when they came to the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash there are many other Traditions they observe such as washing of Cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches so this is their tradition and the handwashing tradition
00:08:15 actually you look in Exodus study it only applies to priests but what they have done oh if what's good enough for the priest is good enough for everybody right so therefore they apply this to all the Jews right so you've got the Mosaic law based on Exodus the and at the side there's Fise tradition wisdom of the elders oral tradition which is then summarized the mishna or the babon talmud and that becomes authoritative and this brings us to the irony which Matthew is trying to point out today Jesus is healing people right
00:08:50 left and center and you are coming and talking to me about washing your hands there's something wrong right so what they're doing is they ring fencing the law they're building a fence we like to build fences around what we don't want to commit and so therefore they put this as an extra burden on people and if you look at the Sabbath laws they prohibit you can't even walk 1,000 yards all right th1 you're in sin even you take a bath you can't take a bath on a Sabbath day because the water splashes
00:09:24 out it touches the floor it cleans the floor that means you're cleaning the floor if you're attacked or on the Sabbath day and they love to attack Jews on the Sabbath day choose that Sabbath day and they will not defend themselves see this is not breaking the Sabbath by actually breaking their traditions and they've got whole 39 categories of prohibited work which goes into fastidious details protecting the law now the trouble is Jesus points out that the tradition contradicts the word let me read and he answered them why do you
00:09:57 break the Commandments of God for for the sake of your tradition for God commanded honor your father and your mother and whoever reviles the father or mother and will surely die you may say if anyone tells his father or his mother what you would have gained from me to be given to God and they did not honor the father for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God you see the Ten Commandments State very clearly you are to honor your father father and mother and this applies even
00:10:31 to us today and what they've done is like a special provision it says okay this is all my lands and all my money I I I did it to the church right so therefore in the end the father mother is starving you know pandemic no food or flooded out and they ask you for money they say no no gone money all given to church already you want you ask yam all right if he G you maybe he give you but actually even though they've dedicated to the religious institution they still can use the money so in that way they actually
00:11:10 defrauded their father and mother they use a tradition to defraud the father and mother and so therefore they make void the word of God the lesson here is that we could be very careful when we have traditions and things we add on because these are the things that actually can make void the word of God here we actually have the word of God you've got tradition man's Wisdom ceremony ritual all of these What's Happening Here is that we've elevated it to the level of the word of God and this has happened we are in an Evangelical
00:11:49 Church a Protestant church and the only reason we are here is that we don't Elevate all these things to the same level the word of God which means we although we have differences with other denominations we love them as Believers in Christ but we respectfully disagree and the trouble is when you elevate these things somehow they will contradict or make void the word of God now I can say these things because I was a Catholic from the age of 2 three years old right up to 17 years I've been through the whole system and the problem
00:12:21 at the Catholic church is that they actually elevated tradition and magisterium which is the leadership up to the level of the word of God okay I don't mind if you elevated but if you contradict the word of God you got a problem isn't it all right now if you look at their theology they've got this idea of purgatory where when you die you don't go into the presence of the Lord you actually go to a very unpleasant very hot place it's not inia all right and you actually suffer because when you die you're not
00:12:55 perfectly sinless and so therefore you have to pay for your sins so the part punishment is not only punitive but so it basically you atone for your sin that mean you pay for all the sins there a story told one of the popes called Gregory he knew of one Abbott in a monastery when he died actually you know before he died he actually knew that he had embezzled funds some gold coins so this fellow died and then what GRE Gregory did was he felt sorry for him so he held Mass every day for him for a couple of months at the end of it the
00:13:31 spirit of Gregory so that this Abbott who died actually appeared to his brother and he told him you know I was in a very hot place and suddenly I got released and went straight to heaven and from there they started praying for the dead because there's this area called Purgatory you know go for Heaven to Earth and and this is airmed even to today this is the second Vatican Council and they write catechism clearly affirms the church believe in purgatory and the purification of the Soul after death
00:14:02 which you need to be purified before you can enter Heaven and so therefore how do you purify you've got that terrible place and then you can actually have time off like parole from prison by having indulgences which is why Cardinal titel in history abused this and used it exchange for money you want time off from purgatory you pay some money and that's why Reformation came about because of these practices but today there's still there they're called plinary indulgences you want time off perg well you must
00:14:34 take communion all right you must have confession you must have pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady Fatima you need to pray the rosary make the sign of the cross receive paper blessing even by radio and I live for many years of my life as a Young Man all the way up to 17 fastidiously obeying every single one because I believe they provided me and escape from Purgatory it won't be quite so hot there the temperature comes down a little bit more and and it's true they actually believe you go to Rome you did
00:15:08 organizing trip to Rome if you might get time off prison if you visit any of these four basilicas and if you go to this particular Basilica called the uh see my things okay AR the arch Basilica of St John the lerine there's a steps there if you climb this on your hands and knees you get seven years off and that's true you can look in the Catholic literature it's there you get seven years off who would want seven years off the hot place if you go through the holy door in Rome all right you actually once in the
00:15:44 Jubilee year right you get time off the present Pope is very good he says you don't have to come to Rome there are 25 places all over the world a holy door and you can go through that all right uh you know nowadays everybody's very uh Keen on getting followers on social media these are the most followed people the entire world I think Obama is number one so now the Catholic Church joins that too he has 40 million followers and if you follow the Twitter feed of the Pope you actually get an Indulgence and
00:16:17 that is in black and white it is a published article you actually get time off the very hot place all right if you pray for the dead which mean when you die this the game is not ended when you die you can have your relatives come around and pray for you and they will actually ensure you have less time of purgatory now Romans chapter 5 says therefore we have been justified by faith we have Shalom we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ you do not need to be per F further perfected because Jesus is our righteousness Jesus
00:16:55 is our peace Galatians Paul deals with this because they're bringing back Jewish tradition into the lives of the Believers and he says oh foolish Galatians who has Bewitched you it was before your eyes that Christ Jesus was publicly portrayed as crucified let me ask you only this did you receive the Spirit by works of law or by hearing with faith are you so foolish having begun in the spirit now you're being perfected In the Flesh having begun at the foot of the cross you are now doing collecting indulgences that they put it
00:17:27 like a sergeant stripes on your shoulders so that you reduce your time in purgatory some people misinterpret the Bible for example Jehovah Witnesses if you go to the Lord supper Jehovah Witnesses you know they hold the Lord Supper once a year you know why because they believe only 144,000 will be saved and by now all the seats are like booking for church all full no there's only 3,000 places left so the only people who can take the the the the Lost supper is the 3,000 I hope you you're one of them you see this is when they
00:18:02 misinterpret theology when you bring up and that can happen to any one of us now I don't think tradition ceremony or men's wisdom wrong it is only wrong when it contradicts scripture but it must always remain below scripture when you come to church we also have tradition don't you think you start off with a call to worship then you got confession and all that and then now they changed the the tradition you know instead of sermon at the end we are now sermon at the beginning and some of you upset I always waiting for I cannot
00:18:39 go off early I want the sermon to the end or something I mean but these are good tradition but as long as they don't contradict God's word God God's word remains Supreme there's a church in the United States called the born assembly and what they did in their lord supper the lot of problems the Lord's Supper all right when they give distribute the elements of Lord's Supper The Lord's Supper the bread is given to the man then the man gives to his wife if the Man fight with his wife you think he'll
00:19:10 give to his wife he said ah darling you're too sinful you disagreed with me you didn't show me respect so therefore no bread for you and now what's the problem with that the problem with that is that now you are making a mediator between man and his wife man and God sorry God and man and you put the the husband in between again it contradicts scripture and we got all this now the problem of putting this up is also hypocrisy if you look at the scribes and Pharisees he says you Hypocrites well did Isaiah prophesy of
00:19:44 you when he said these people honor me with their lips but their heart is far from me in vain do they worship me teaching me teaching as doctrines the Commandments of men when you teach as Doctrine commandment and they all this superficially obeying the letter of law but not the spirit of the law which is why when Jesus entered the the the temple or healed people in the synagogue and this man with withed hand they got very upset here he was doing something good on the Sabbath day and he was condemned for healing someone what is
00:20:17 the basis of all this religion it's actually religious Pride there are is a huge section in Matthew 23 it goes into seven details why the Pharisees were wrong and why and that those apply to most religions and I will read to you in 235 they do all these Deeds to be seen by others they make their fies for Broad and fringes long they love the place of honor at feast and the best seats in the synagogue and greetings in the marketplaces and being called Rabbi Rabbi right it's like leader Elder Pastor you know they love these things
00:20:56 titles John 5:42 says how can you believe when you receive glory for one another and you do not seek the glory that comes only from God the underlying motive is you want to receive Glory from other people Rabbi PhD doctor don't laugh it affects every single one of us including myself confession Matthew 23 says but you are not to be called Rabbi you have only one teacher you're all Brothers call no man your father on Earth you have only one father who is in he itn't doesn't apply to your family family father's father
00:21:34 what I'm talking about if you got certain churches they call the priest father all right neither call instructors for you have one instructor the Christ the greatest among you shall be your servant whoever exalts himself will be humble whoever humbles himself will be exalted that is the Theology of servant leadership and and the Jews the Pharisees and the scribes used it to control other people the whole idea is control all right and it causes burdens chapter 23:1 and Jesus said to the crowds of disciples the scribes and
00:22:06 Pharisees sit on Moses seat so do and observe what they tell you but not what the works they do they preach but do not practice they tie up heavy burdens hard to bear and lay them on people's shoulder and they themselves are not willing to move them with a finger you see the problem with legalism in religion is that they tie burdens you have got to do this and this and this and in this way they they basically control people what do we pass a law in the church cannot come unless you got jeans worse all you got torn
00:22:40 jeans right that's a human tradition all right I've got remember it was a parisher I think some of you will know in the past who actually came to the church and not only that he didn't wear shoes he was barefoot when you ask him why you wear no no shoes is oh you say you know Exodus chapter 3 when the burning bush is dead Moses took off his shoes so all of you should take off your shoes no shoes Church okay you could Elevate these Traditions to the level of the word of God there was also a I was remembering in my last Church
00:23:15 they actually wanted to pass a law that says all pastors must wear suit and you also get budget for suit hopefully UL love doesn't do this if you're in Malaysia why you a wear suit you should put budget for bate isn't it right because bate is our tradition all right it's a whole trouble elevating human Traditions to the level of the word of God isn't it all right there was another leader of a Bible study Institute in this country they actually told me your spirituality is inversely proportional to your waistline
00:23:51 all the Bible study leaders are never fat I mean this is your idea you can't you can't you can't actually apply it and and how do the people use this to control other people they'll say oh you don't do this if you're fat you don't honor God that's what religious leaders do whenever they tell you to do something they always end if you don't do this you don't honor God then I if I if I hear them say that I get really upset and I say show me in the Bible where it doesn't honor God now all of you should be able to in First Baptist
00:24:22 Church we drill you in the Bible all the time we always go with exegetical preaching expository all the way if anybody says that to you how do you know this order God God show me it is the word of God that must reign supreme otherwise it's human wisdom human ceremony is denominational it cannot be all right we've got worship Wars you know you sing him doesn't honor God because you're all dead sleepy sleepy sleepy or you you you you worship God jumping up and down then that's called worshiping God or what
00:24:52 about raising hands my god there so many people here frightened to put hand up people frighten to put your hand up oh charismatic hello if you want to put your hands up your legs up your toes up I don't care as long as your outside behavior is a reflection of your inward heart isn't it and what we have done with human tradition we have said this glorifies God this doesn't honor God and we use this to control each other and this is false religion what about when I of and on I get asked to go to your
00:25:25 house some of you to to go and bless your house and you know why I get so upset when that happens you know why because the Hindus also ask you to go and bless the house okay and then you've got the the the the the ties they actually put an altar what you ask the Elder to come you put altar God sits there bless your house you become rich and all this is based Some People based this on on Genesis if you look very carefully in Genesis his master saw the Lord was with him and the Lord caused all that he did
00:25:56 to Succeed In His Hands So Joseph found favor in his side and attended him and made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had from the time that he made him Overseer in his house and over all that he had the Lord blessed the Egyptians house for Joseph's sake the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in his house and the field the house here is actually what not the physical house it is actually the family and why was the family blessed because of whom was it because of the house it was because of
00:26:29 Joseph in fact Joseph was so blessed you w up in prison ah better be careful when you pray you might wind up in prison and that actually was one of the greatest blessings that actually propelled him to the number two spot in the whole of Egypt you have to see the story to the end there's no biblical injunction it's a tradition right and in fact if you look real Faith actually reduces the details when they ask Jesus you know what's the most important law he just said You shall love the Lord your God
00:26:58 with with all your heart with all your soul all your mind this is the great and first commandment and the second one is like this you shall love your neighbor as yourself and these are two Commandments depend on all the law and the prophets would you ask Paul which day is Holy say I don't care if this man regards Monday holy you come to church on Monday you Tuesday you come Romans 14 the real spirituality comes from a scale down law it goes down to do you what in what you do do you love God and
00:27:28 do you love your neighbor because right now we actually have the Holy Spirit the holy spirit is in our hearts and he guides Us in these two now the second thing that comes out is that religion focuses on externals while the faith comes from within all right we have got food loss and here and he called the people to himself and said to them hear and understand it is not what goes into your mouth that defiles a person but what comes out of your mouth this defiles a person all right and we've got a whole slew of economy that's based on
00:27:59 kosher food isn't it and kosher food is very similar because you got Isaac ishma same uh line you can can't you know eat things you can eat things which have got clothing Hooves and chew the card and you say why can eat the cow because the cow chews the cut same thing like you chewing on the God's word so after this service you go outside you Chew Chew Chew Chew what P said you know right you're meditating on the word of God so therefore we can eat the cow except you're Indian you canot eat the
00:28:29 cow all right but all sorts of reasons they Med on why certain animals can you can you know uh sheep you can eat goat you can eat but very unfair for Chinese because the pig we cannot eat all right so obviously why why why can't you eat the pig well various theories have come out maybe it's hygiene the pig very dirty eat crap all over the place right but if you cook the the pig it's very nice Su nice and crispy no more B Bia I challenge you to find bacteria in suok right some of the animals could be used
00:29:03 by Pagan religions but the problem is the pagans use the bull and yet the bull is used to sacrifice on the temple so it can't be used by Pagan religious what about meat eaters oh we don't want meat eating animals because they are the ones which are unclean you know so all these theories but actually the real reason is symbolism when the Jew sits down at the meal of all the foods in the world he only eats this as set by God to be clean what means he consecrates that all right the same thing God is trying to tell the
00:29:41 Jews of all the people in the world I only choose you I will set my set self apart for me a special people and that is Holiness trying to convey the idea of Holiness which is cleanliness clean and unclean but that Holiness is actually moral not physical right then the disciples came to him and said do you know that the Pharisees are offended when they heard this and he answered them every plant that my father has not planted will be rooted up let them alone they are blind guides and if the blind will lead the blind both will
00:30:20 fall into a pit they're saying this is because all Israelites believe that God's planting you know all the Israelites are you know God's plants when want to plant they're the ones who will flourish and now he's actually actually contradicting them because when you actually contradict when Jesus contradict the food loss is actually striking the heart of the Jewish religion which is basically food laws Matthew 15 15 Peter said to explain the parable to us and he said are you also still without understanding do you not
00:30:50 see that whatever goes to the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled but what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart and this defiles a person and you understand that is whatever go you can doesn't matter what you go you eat the best burger in the world I think it's $780 you can get the one in New York City okay or you can go to kajang and have the best saté in the world I actually know the owner of the kajang uh uh shop he's actually my patient all right you whatever it is you can eat the
00:31:23 best sushi in the world you know it comes out like what crap isn't it that's the the problem is what's in the heart that comes out which is crap if that is the issue then you're in trouble not what you take in that's what actually Jesus saying so there's no intrinsic spiritual value in any food food laws Express Holiness but out of the heart comes evil thoughts murder adultery sexual immorality theft false witness slander and these are what defile a person but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anybody so here
00:31:56 you have a ironical picture of the Jew festigious avoiding pork no you yoke for them wash hands before and yet commit murder lie and cheat that is the contradiction that has come out and that is for all of us too we can come and look good and you you don't have to wear G come in three piece suit four piece suit five piece suit I don't care but if you actually have immorality in your heart a loss of Integrity that is what matters you know Paul says in one Corinthians ch six do you do you not know that your body is a
00:32:31 temple of the Holy Spirit within you whom you have from God you not your own you are bought with a price so glorify God in your body the Dynamics have changed in fact Matthew chapter Mark chapter 7 Jesus says since it enters not his heart but his stomach and is expelled thus he declared all foods clean and this is a huge declaration all right Jesus is setting it right he declares all foods clean his change what the Old Testament has dictated which brings us to the last Point Faith begins and ends with Jesus Christ we
00:33:08 have a confrontation between Jews religion and Faith all the time and uh I want to bring us to the three chapters of the book of Romans which actually Define why is it that the Jews for all being chosen by God and yet they don't believe in Jesus Christ it's the Gentiles who come to know Jesus Christ I mean if you look what Ro Paul writes what shall we say then that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it that is a righteousness that is by faith but the Israel who pursued a
00:33:41 law that would lead to righteous did not succeed in reaching that law it's ironic isn't it it's like the proverbial story of the the the hair and the toris the hair is like the Israel pursue the law pursue righteousness a law given by God himself to the hands of Moses they didn't get it and the Gentiles like usapa China man all from sitting around eating pork we didn't pursue righteousness and yet we got righteousness and Paul said well this is irony isn't it it's the ttis and the hair the people whom we
00:34:21 least expect actually have come to Faith and if you can see it is a Messianic Jews today even today they only 200 200 about 350,000 all over the world out of 15 million Jews who actually believe in Jesus as the Messiah which is a sad thing isn't it why Romans Paul tells you well my brothers my heart's desire and prayer for God is for them that they may be saved for I bear witness that they have Zeal for God but not according to knowledge being ignorant of the righteousness of God seeking to establish their own
00:34:58 they did not submit to God's righteousness that is the Crux of the matter you see you could see a lot of religious zealotry Zeal doesn't equal love you could have tell the difference we've got a lot of zealous people just at the back of this church if you go to Seafield people fighting over religion at Temple somebody cat out the temple and then they blow up cars I think one fire man was killed if you look at religious conflict there was a study done looking at uh military campaigns from 8700 to 1700 84% of them were
00:35:41 religiously motivated you see that's why you're non-Christian say religion got got pizza no religion is the cause of war look at the Crusades and the Muslim first tell you you talk about peace and then you come here with the sword right so religious con conflict shows you the extent of the Zeal and in the last 30 years you can see on this graph what's on the rise religious conflict everything else is going down but religious conflict is rising Zeal and love is two different things Romans chapter
00:36:15 5 verse three they seek to establish their own righteousness because they did not to submit to God's righteousness and then he ends for Christ is the end and the end means the end of the law for righteousness for everyone who believes and this is basically the word end in Greek is called TS TS means it is the the the goal the goal of the law is Jesus Christ which means when the people of Israel you look at Exodus 19 they were saved and then because they were saved they got the law they didn't obey
00:36:54 the law in order to be saved they got the law because they were saved I saved you with the Eagle's Wings and because you are saved therefore he gave them the law and the law is a reflection of who God is and what he is like and the final reflection of who he is and what he's like is what Jesus Christ so if they actually the goal of the law is to become like the son because who is the perfect reflection of God Jesus Christ and so therefore the whole idea of the law was to conform to the image of the
00:37:28 son and so therefore if they misunderstood the law they would have misunderstood the goal of the law if you had misunderstand the law of course you you misunderstand the goal of law which is why they were stumbl how do we know we love God John 542 is very very clear but I know that you do not have the love of God within you I've come in my father's name and you do not receive me whatever you can say how you love God willing to die for God you blow yourself up whatever you want to do if you don't
00:38:04 believe in Jesus Christ you don't have faith in Jesus Christ you do not love God and that's what the Gospel of John says very simple you love God that mean you have Jesus Christ and that's why the Jews stumbl many people stumble when you talk to me about faith I talk to you about Jesus I don't want talk to you about my religion I talk to you about Jesus and the Jews of all people let me read in Isaiah 8:14 says he will become a sanctuary a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to the both houses of
00:38:36 Israel trap a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for many will stumble on it they will fall and be broken they be snared and taken when Jesus Christ comes you can either be a stepping stone or a stumbling block there's no middle ground let me see let me think let me decide no you are understand wow this is the righteousness of God this is whom I should live my life for or this is terrible oh my goodness he get so upset you Paul typical example it Pharisee you know what he did he actually stumbled when
00:39:15 they persecuted and stoned Steven he was there carrying the the clothes of the people who were stoning so they wouldn't get blood stain other cisi will go for them you either stumble or it's a stepping stone you either realize that Jesus Christ is the radiance the beauty of the glory of God exact imprint of his nature and he upholds the word the universe with his word of his power so you got only two choice you either pursue what you perceive as God with your own righteousness building up your CV
00:39:52 building up how you feel about yourself or you actually give all that up and say look whatever I have is nothing what I need is Jesus Christ you see you cannot see God's glory until you stop pursuing your own righteousness and even as a Christian I've seen so many of us even my own walk with our Lord Jesus Christ that I pursue my own righteousness the things that I do for God in church or at work they build up my confidence if I've done something I Shar the gospel somebody then W that day are fantastic very on I pray to God very
00:40:31 powerful sure can get answer and I sin terrible better not talk to God and then there's guilt and there's shame and actually you know what's happening we're actually taking the burden upon ourselves it's like we are working for righteousness we are working for righteousness that's why I feel guilt and shame that's why the guilt and shame I have whether I'm successful or not successful I did the operation went well or it didn't go well it impacts on how I feel about myself whether I wake up in the morning
00:41:04 whether I want to go to work I don't want to go to work or or the problems I have it feeds into my psyche because I'm still trying to gain the righteousness and that that the gaining the righteousness is a burden you got a stress why you got stress because I'm trying to earn my own righteousness I'm going to show people that I'm as good as doctor as I've deserve to be I've trained all these years and if you threaten I get upset with you like Paul I persecute you that is a subtle issue that seeps
00:41:33 into all our lives we cannot see his glory until we recognize that what we have whatever you've done is actually nothing for a long time in my life I never wanted confession because in as a Catholic confession means oh my goodness mother telling you must go at least once a month so you go to the confessional Booth then you tell then you sort of decide okay this one not so embarrassing sin I tell them the really bad stuff I keep myself and then the priest will say k you go and say five he Mary and and
00:42:07 three Al father cow cow no problem and to me that was very comforting you know but that was a lie isn't it that is absolute lie confession is included in our order worship you know why because Grace is more beautiful when we see and feel and experience the ugliness of our sin if you don't come with confession you don't realize how ugly you are you don't realize that all the stuff that You' done is actually nothing when we do so our hearts will be enraptured by his mercy and his love you know Moses Exodus 32 says God Show Me
00:42:48 Your Glory you know what God did God showed him his glory what is God's glory his mercy and his Gra Grace hey how are you going to experience mercy and Grace unless you realize you're a horrible sinner and so therefore when we come you see the nature of worship in worship theology is Redemptive we of all the attributes of God we can't see all his Brilliance his omniscience his omnipotence we can see to a certain extent but we cannot feel it the glory of God that which can feel which Moses can feel is what his mercy and his grace
00:43:26 and when that touches it you it en raptures you it touches you it elevates you and you say you fall on your knees and says God you are wonderful that's why in Luke chapter 7 prostitute comes to Jesus and she's beside herself she's hysterical with grief because she realizes her sin and she cries and takes a whole Alabaster Jar full of ointment and and wipes Jesus feet with it which is N9 months worth of pay and she wipes it uh drenches it with her tears and wipes it with her hair and Jesus said therefore I tell you her sins which are
00:44:04 many are forgiven for she love much but he who is Forgiven little loves little you want to experience the grace of God the extreme grace of God is we cry like The Prostitute because we realize how far we actually are from God with our own struggles for righteousness which is why Philippians 3:7 says whatever I gain I had I count as loss for the sake of Christ for indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus for my lord for his sake I've suffered the loss of all
00:44:38 things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ not being found in him not having a righteous that come from my own from the law but that which comes through faith in Christ the righteousness from God that depends on faith brothers and sisters Paul had two choices to either live based on his credentials and as far as the law is concerned he was almost perfect or he gives all that up and says in order for you to give all that then only you can see how beautiful Christ is in it if you don't you hang on then you
00:45:15 have the burden you have The Strife the anxiety and Christ doesn't deliver you it's all about Christ I mean I'm so hearted by the fact that so many of you actually helped out in the Food Kitchen feeding of the masses to come during the pandemic people who have raised the white flags they come to church they receive but I wonder when you actually feed them when you see the face do you see oh po fell no Mone I I am see so good man I I I come on I gave up my time I give this food Jesus says this and the King will
00:45:54 answer them I say to you as you did to one of the least of these you did to me the people whom you see in trouble in work whose face did you see if it's a religion you will see your own face if it's Faith you will see them not as poor thing flood victim you know what you'll see you will see the face of Jesus Christ that is the one that motivates you not the fact that you are a pretty good guy you know you gave your tiing you give this and you come and cook for them whose face did you see it's all about faith it's all about a
00:46:33 relationship let me end it was a a construction worker called Wesley ay who was in the New York subway one day 2007 January the 2nd I think it's 135th subway station and he saw a young man 19yearold um college student called uh uh Chris I think Chris uh hollow hollow Peter and he had his fit and after his fit he actually fell down onto the tracks still fitting away and then Wesley looked and saw the lights of the oncoming train and at that time he was with his two young girls I don't know what you would have done I know
00:47:24 what I would have done I don't know what you would have done but what he did was she left the two girls with a woman standing by and and he jumped onto the tracks and the man was fitting and he grabbed the man and put him into the groove between the two tracks and if you look in this graph the groove between the two tracks is only two feet and if he keeps fitting the hands and the legs will be cut off right but he covered him with his own body and the whole train passed right over them except the last two carriages and
00:48:06 nothing happened except a little grease smudge on his baseball cap when they asked him why did you do this he said I did this you see Wesley ay is a sudden Baptist he could have said hey I did this because I sudden Baptist a FBC he didn't do it because he was sudden Baptist he did it because he had a relationship with Jesus Christ and he heard a voice he had a prompting the holy spirit that tells me go and save that life that life is worth saving don't worry about your own I'm not sure whether this is apply to every situation
00:48:44 right you have to look it Case by facee and that's what he did it is because of his walk with our Lord Jesus Christ not because he was sudden Baptist or First Baptist or Third Baptist and this is what he say is I truly believe now that he has something special for me to do and I'm going to let him guide me and wasley ay was a testimony for our Lord Jesus Christ I'm going to end this sermon soon because the red light came on we now have a red light system I have been crucified with Christ it is no longer I who live but Christ
00:49:25 who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me that is the secret to how you should live it's about letting Jesus live through you we're going to end with this most wonderful song which you have just been taught and that's been in this pandemic if there's anything that I take away from this pandemic is an increased worship life where God has actually introduced me to a couple of really riveting songs and I wanted you to highlight the words of
00:50:04 this song so when you actually meditate let it percolate through your heart I sing it almost every single day now and you know why I sing it because faith is about a person it's about Jesus Christ and you look at the first stanza he is my joy my righteousness and freedom my steadfast love my deep and boundless peace that is Faith Can you play thanks all right good thanks that you see you can't say he's your you have faith in him unless he becomes your joy your righteousness your freedom your steadfast love my deep and boundless
00:50:54 peace you say you can have faith in Christ but it doesn't trans translate to peace it doesn't translate to Joy it doesn't translate to to to excitement then I doubt whether you got faith I think you only got religion religion and Faith are two different things he is my joy he is my righteousness he is my fa open the Bible most of you oh my goodness sermon time or is it really joyful that is the beauty of faith when he is your faith he becomes your joy your righteousness your freedom and and this is the The Hope see to this I hold
00:51:28 my hope is only on Jesus for my life is wholly bound to his and yet is strange and divine why is it strange I can sing all is mine yet not I but Christ who live through me is paradoxical you live all you can for him but actually it's not you living it's actually Christ in me and when it comes to difficult times and he what the author writes the night is dark but I'm not forsaken for by my side the savior he will stay he won't go away I labor on in weakness and rejoicing for in my need his power is displayed to
00:52:04 this I hold my shepherd will defend me though the deepest valley he will lead oh the night has been one and I shall overcome yet not I but Christ within me in the deepest valley where you're struck with shame because you didn't do quite as well well or you compromise your faith and you feel terrible and I do feel terrible the times that I should have obeyed and I didn't obey and yet it is Christ who lives through me not myself I'm not accepted because of what I did or didn't do I'm accepted because
00:52:46 what he did and that's the fine difference and then I like this last verse with every breath I long to follow Jesus for years said he will bring me home and day by day I will know he will renew me until I stand with joy Before the Throne you know in my life especially in the last two years in pandemic I've seen so many of my patients and Friends die not very pleasant things to be exposed in in my profession you see it all the time you can either get terrified or you could let God speak to you you can let God speak to you there
00:53:29 was a man or a patient of mine who had cancer as they mitted about a week and he didn't have long to live and I knew he didn't have long to live and I told him you know you you you get your family we're all separated of children in Melbourne and all that in Australia or America and he actually managed to get his daughter back from Melbourne but she had to quarantine 7 days at home or somewhere else and not allowed to enter the hospital and there was a one of the daughters was a Christian from SS
00:54:06 Methodist Church and he brought the pastoring to see and he prayed with him okay was time for Great Joy but actually later on I had a talk to the patient's wife who actually said no he said yes but actually no I mean just to please somebody right it wasn't real faith and it's sad isn't it when you face the last walk of Last Mile of your life and you know the irony was 12:00 the quarantine is over 10:00 he dies if you live for your family and the last thing you want to see is the face of your loved
00:54:50 one 2 hours this 2 hours he was gone but if you live for Jesus Christ and I've seen so many of Believers in this church when you live for Jesus Christ it's different this I hold my hope is only Jesus all glory Evermore to him when the race is complete and my lips shall repeat yet not I see when you walk that last Mile and you complete that Journey yet it's not I it's Christ who lives in me so there is rise and declare this as our prayer to him today it is not I but Christ who lives me
