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00:00:00 a very good morning to all of you is can I still say Happy Chinese New Year cuz chap gome was yesterday so I got a very affirming yes so Happy Chinese New Year for those who celebrate and of course uh Malaysia muba we all celebrate right together so thank you again for um allowing me to share from the word this morning it's always very special for me to be back in Malaysia and I always tell people when I was living in Singapore that I'm still full-blown Malaysian because I hold my Malaysian passport very proudly despite
00:00:36 all that happening in our country so thank you for having me and uh I bring greetings from om as Pari has shared we both are colleagues and good friends uh bring greetings from om and just from all my colleagues around the world and we want to say thank you as well for your support in the different ways that you have supported workers and missionaries and of course support towards Pari in omom now even though I do work for a mission organization this morning what I'm going to share is not directly
00:01:10 related to missions but somehow it's very crucial as we think about Mission and the Great Commission and it is about discipleship now of course when we think about discipleship is something that okay been there done that you know how much more is there to talk about and I think it's good for us to be reminded of what discipleship is and this morning we will look at the fact that we all have a role in discipling each other you know when we think about discipleship often we think about the more mature Christian
00:01:42 discipling us who are younger right and I'm going to say and argue that that's not always the case in fact that's not the case at all and that's the question that we'll look at this morning but before we begin let us just pray father I want to thank you for the opportunity that we can come before you and worship you with such Freedom oh Lord we do not want to take this for granted even as we recognize that in many parts of the world there's not as much freedom to come together and worship you and I just pray even as we
00:02:16 have that with uh that freedom oh Lord that we will not take that for granted and that we would use that freedom For Your Glory oh lord and God this morning even as um I share from the word Lord I ask that you speak to to our hearts I Ask of your spirit to speak to us individually as well as corporately oh Lord may you be glorified this morning and may your will be done in the name of Jesus I pray amen so a former mentor of mine used to joke quite often he said you know it's very easy for someone to
00:02:51 say that I am a very holy person and I am fully transformed into the image of Christ if he lived in a cave by himself why because there's no one to annoy him there's no one to irritate him there's no spouse to neck him right it's easy for him to say I'm a very holy person because I don't sin right but the true test the true test of our transformation to christlikeness is when we have to interact with others and when we have to relate to other people especially those who who are different from us especially
00:03:32 those who disagree with us and especially those who are just you know just annoying and irritating right there are some people out there like that you know that's the true test right that's when you say are you holy or not are you able to hold your tongue when somebody says makes an annoying remark or not the test of whether we bear the fruit of the Spirit happens only when we live in community when we interact with people in other words even though the pursuit of spiritual formation is personal the fruit or the evidence of
00:04:18 our transformation is obvious only when we are in community how can you tell whether you bear the fruit of the spirit unless there someone to test your patients right according to a writer by the name of James wilhold he said the outcome of Christian discipleship is both personal and corporate it affects the person and the church spiritual transformation must extend beyond the individual to the church the family and Society in God's gospel the outcome is not not merely Sanctified individuals but a holy people the bride of Christ in
00:05:09 other words we are saved for a purpose we are saved for God's purpose and you know this is interesting if you think about it because this is what differentiates the biblical Faith from other religions right other religions talk about Enlightenment other religions talk about um how after you die you go to paradise where you enjoy all kinds of pleasure other religions talk about rebirth into a better life but Christianity the biblical Faith talks about reconciliation talks about the building of a church which ultimately does God's
00:05:52 purpose in all of creation it's not about us it's about God and that's a key difference because that key difference is going to shape the way we think about our life is going to shape the way we think about our discipleship you know what we when we read about the early Believers in uh in the uh in the New Testament we see life was lived and seen through what we call collectivistic Lens that means is is very group oriented and I think to a large extent I think the society in Malaysia is still quite group
00:06:33 oriented right in the book of Acts especially we see beautiful examples of the Christian communal life right where the Believers would devote themselves to Fellowship they would break bread together and they would pray for one another and we saw as you read in the book of Acts and of course further on even in the letters that Paul writes um that they shared not just their spiritual lives but also the material possessions and they demonstrated a real sense of unity and care for one another you know if you if you if you look at
00:07:09 the context of the New Testament between the Jews and the Gentiles this is major major break through and I can think of today so many examples of the hostility of two groups that is very similar to the Jews and Gentiles actually same part of the world right and for them to be in a room and to share that kind of life together that was Major breakthrough but yet they demonstrated deep love for each other of a life together not perfect again if you read the book of Acts you remember there were people complaining some people
00:07:46 getting more food some people not getting enough you know and therefore we need to set up a setting that everybody gets equally not perfect but nonetheless it happened and I don't think this was because the culture of the followers of Jesus in the early church was strongly communal or collectivistic but I think it is also because Jesus himself when you read the gospels Jesus himself a affirmed and chose to use the word family as a metaphor to describe the interpersonal relationships between him and his
00:08:25 disciples and his followers which includes all of us you know we read in Mark 3:20 um and all of you are familiar this is basically the part where Jesus has been very and and a few of his followers have been very busy with Ministry that they don't even have time to eat right and his family his blood family found out about it you know Jesus and his disciples were crowded out by people who want all wanted to be healed and so his family decided to do something about it and I I I put myself in a position of
00:08:58 let's say if I'm the mother of Jesus and my son is like so busy doing Ministry and everyone's crowding him and he's not got time to eat I also would do something about it right those of you who are moms who like a why no time to eat this is crazy and that's exactly what they thought right this is crazy well let's do something about it right and then in Mark 3: 31-35 you see how Jesus's brothers and and his mom wanted to go see him and basically I think like you know just get him out for a while
00:09:30 let him eat some food right and we read this and his mother as in Jesus's mother and his brothers came and standing outside they sent to him and called him basically like tell tell Jesus his mother and brothers are here to see him and a crowd was sitting around him and they said to him your mother and your brothers are outside seeking you do you remember what he answered them Jesus answered them who are my mother and my brothers and looking about at those who sat around him he said here are my mother
00:10:06 and my brothers for whoever does the will of God he is my brother and sister and mother imagine that you know the ancient near East culture the time of Jesus's uh time the value of kinship and familiar relationship is very similar to our Asian culture and there I say Chinese since I'm Chinese I can identify with that so imagine your firstborn son says that to his mother and his family who is my mother who is my brothers you know your mother is looking for you right he's like who I'll be so heartbroken but clearly Jesus was making
00:10:53 a very important Point here right he was making a point that was going against conventional understanding that he had to make it so pical and so strong when a person makes the decision to follow Jesus he or she is also born relationally not just to God but he or she is also Born Again into a new family and that's why you hear the language of adoption you read that right because when a child is adopted into a family when it's done properly the child it is part of the family will not always be reminded that you are a daughter and
00:11:38 you're different right I think sometimes we forget the communal aspect of our Salvation because we have just focused so much on the fact that to receive Jesus we have to make that decision is an individual decision it's not something that your parents can make for you just because you go to church doesn't make you a Christian or follower of Jesus it's a personal decision however it's personal salvation but is pretty much all that is personal in the Christian faith I would say why because everything else about our discipleship
00:12:17 everything else about our walk with Jesus involves other followers of Jesus right because if salvation is Reon is of course you know saving us from our sins but Salvation is also reconciling us to the father it is a restoring of relationship right and at the same time it also restores our relationship with others salvation therefore you can say that salvation is what we call a community creating event right because not only are you restored and reconciled to the father you are also Recon out to each other the
00:13:00 Jews and the Gentiles you and the person that you've who cheated on you or you are the person who who Did You Wrong salvation becomes a community creating event Jesus's death did not just restore our relationship with God but it also welcomes us into his family we're saved into a family we're not saved into isolation we cannot become a Christian on our own in isolation we cannot grow spiritual growth happens within this community where we support encourage and hold each other accountable like it or not you are a
00:13:51 member of this Jesus family in fact the Christian Community serves to testify to the reconcil ation power of the Gospel the uniting power of the Gospel as we le as we seek to live as a family in the midst of a world that is so broken and fragmented when enemies eat together when Jews and Gentiles eat together and serve together that is powerful and this morning's text is from taken from Hebrews 10: 19 to 25 let me read that for you but if you have your Bible you can turn to that Hebrews um 10: 19-2 therefore brothers and sisters
00:14:41 since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus by the New and Living Way that he opened for us through the curtain that is through his flesh and since we have a great priest over the house of of God let us draw near with a True Heart in full Assurance of Faith with a heart sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water let us hold fast to the confession of Our Hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and
00:15:23 good works not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day Drawing Near so whether to Annoy Us or to encourage us I think we can safely conclude that the local christian community that the family of God that is immediate to us must play a vital role in our ongoing discipleship Journey as we conform to the image of Christ the question and one we will look at this morning is what is that role what is that role what is the role of Christian
00:16:06 Community in our ongoing discipleship to Jesus this morning I'll talk about three aspects at least this more but three firstly Christian Community serves as a safe relational space for Christian discipleship Christian Community serves as a safe relational SP space for Christian discipleship Community is where we can be vulnerable where we can share our struggles and find encouragement from other believers who are also seeking to follow Jesus in the gospels we find many anti- family passages right uh you will
00:16:51 remember in in uh the one that we just read in Mark like what is he doing like he's you know he's like sort of shaming his mother right who asked ask for him right and say who is my mother right and of course in Luke 14:26 you also read and most of you will remember this where where where Jesus says if anyone comes to me and does not hate it's very strong words here if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters all the family members all named right yes
00:17:24 even his own life he cannot be my disciple those are very strong anti-am passages right at least on the surface it seems that way Joe Helman a new testament writer he writes this and I agree with him he says these passages were not first and foremost meant to urge jesus' followers to prioritize their personal relationship with God over their commitments to the Natural family because how can Jesus ask us to hate our mother and father when you know the one of the old uh Ten Commandments is to honor your
00:18:02 father and mother right how how can there's no way he can be going against him you know himself right but rather Joe Helman continues he said these passages were meant for them and also for us to choose between one group of people and another and in this case between their natural family and their family in the kingdom of God you see you see what's happening there basically if you want to follow Jesus your primary loyalty switches now the statements that Jesus made sounded very harsh and strong precisely because they
00:18:46 challenge their common beliefs about the natural family because you would think your priority is your natural family right therefore what Jesus is saying saying is that as his followers we would be expected to switch our primary loyalty from one family to another of our brothers and sisters in the family of God and he models that for us when he says who is my mother who is my brothers those who do the will of the father you know I think our common understanding of our priorities is this right God my family church and then
00:19:28 others right but what is saying here is perhaps God God's family that means all of us my blood family and then others can you see the flip around and how that is going to change the way we live our lives the way we relate to each other I mean look around you these all of you are supposed to be closer to me and my blood I mean not closer to me but you have my primary loyalty over my blood family you know in our Malaysian context where family ties are so highly valued the concept of spiritual family resonates very deeply
00:20:14 with us we understand that right because you see an older man you call him Uncle you know even though he may not be related to you kind of thing so we understand that so just as Jesus redefin familiar relationship when he said whoever does the will of the F of God he is my brother and sister we are also called to prioritize our spiritual family the body of Christ above all other Earthly relationships because we are all part of Jesus's family you know this membership in God's family is very significant especially
00:20:53 for followers of Jesus in in context or setting where they're hostile to the Christian faith Faith because if you are a follower of Jesus and you you are disowned or rejected or arrested you know this means a lot to you like the early Believers where they were persecuted many followers of Jesus in the majority religion world and a lot of them are actually friends of par and I they are persecuted for their faith and rejected by their families their faith family is their primary family now who will now offer practical help who will
00:21:29 take them in their Refuge give them guidance pray for them encourage them as they band together to live out their new Faith you know when I lived in Turkey I remember meeting a lady her name was um Isa Hanam uh she her story is pretty amazing because she uh when she was a young lady she was somehow given a a new testament and uh after reading the New Testament she wanted to follow Jesus you know and basically say I want to follow you Jesus but she never grew uh because she didn't find other believers in her immediate surrounding
00:22:03 or in her setting so many years later one day um what she does is she looks through rubbish dump and you know find things like bottles and cans and then she'll sell them that's how she makes some money right so one day while she was rumaging through a rubbish dump she found a copy of the New Testament with the stamp of a local church address on it so she was very excited she's like there's a church near me you know and so she hunted down where the church was a very small Turkish Church she sought out
00:22:34 the church and started to attend the small church and as she grew in her faith her husband and her children grew very hostile of her and threw her out of her house and so she was homeless she was homeless and she was rejected by her family and AA Hanam was taken in by a family in the church she lived with them and was provided for by them like she was their own Auntie like their own family they became her surrogate family and they became family for her now there's nothing romantic about this because it's not easy living with AA
00:23:13 Hanam she's not an easy person to live with cuz I know her she can be very strong willed and you know her job is rumaging through rubbish so she'll come home all stinky and dirty you know having her in your house is not easy but yet she was accepted into this family despite how challenging it was all this to say there's nothing romantic about having another you know family member in the house but that's what we're called to despite how difficult and challenging it is the safe relational space of the Christian
00:23:52 Community serves as a conducive setting for us also for accountability correction encouragement help Etc I think we do quite well right in our small groups in the small groups that you all attend that we help um some degree of encouragement Hospitality very good right every time small group good food no problem right but I think we are a little poor when it comes to correction and rebuke especially in the Malaysian context we want to keep Harmony we don't want to rock the boat you know or we say you know we're all
00:24:30 Sinners you know how can I have this rock in my eye and try to take out you know help judge cannot be judgmental right but often that ex is an excuse for us to not want to confront when clearly there is sin in another person's life right so we do very well in some areas but I think in some areas we need to do better small groups are effective and that's why huge Church churches like you guys have small groups and I would encourage every one of you to be part of a small group right they are effective because
00:25:10 they are safe it's easier and quicker to build trust with a small number of people and it's secure it's a secure place for honest conversation for confession and like I say for rebuke even in some instances where the honor of the individual is guarded and not shamed or gossiped about you know the covid-19 pandemic has significantly changed our church experience hasn't it it seems like a distance distant memory now but it not what two years ago right many uh Sunday services and small group meetings moved
00:25:53 online and that was good it was great that we were able to adapt and still sort of meet right online while these adaptations were necessary during the pandemic they were never intended to become the norm for discipleship and worship you know my um some of you might know him elt jaia chandran who used to be my uh former colleague you know he used to say and this is way back before there were a lot of these things he would say you know if um if it was so easy God would have just sent a PowerPoint presid presentation to show
00:26:29 us to tell us about his son and his love for us and I say I guess today's version is God would just send us a Tik Tok video right to tell us about his love but rather he sent his son in flesh to live among us right you know our membership in church life isn't like our membership in a country club life of discipleship to Jesus isn't consumeristic we're not we're not meant to come to church on a Sunday or even go to small group to just consume right it's not about listening to a great sermon and going back and say
00:27:04 wow that was great it was entertaining we may not use those words entertaining but it was a great sermon right life of discipleship isn't consumeristic we are not passive consumers at church rather it is about self-denial and service it involves sacrificing our own desires for the good of our brothers and sisters and I was really convicted by that recently because as Pari said we recently moved back to the us and we were looking for a church so we visited different churches you know and I remember there were a
00:27:40 couple of churches uh there something there was always something not right right oh the worship too long the song's not great you know or the pastor the message not so fun not funny whatever there was always something like not right so we got to a point where we attend we got to this church and you know there was a sense of community and we really likeed that but the preaching wasn't so great you know because the guy you know this is in the south at that time um and very strong accent you know I don't understand I'm like I don't like
00:28:11 the way he speaks and then I was really convicted of that like is this about you you know is it is it about just going and listening to a great sermon merely or is it about participating in worship so we ended up attending that church still didn't like the message but I realized it wasn't about me about me con merely consuming the message it was about building community in that church you know an acquaintance uh recently uh was talking to me about her experience in Ministry and it's quite heartbreaking she left
00:28:52 her job as a lawyer over 5 years ago to join a Christian Ministry but her time in Ministry in this particular Ministry has left her wounded and disillusioned and these are her exact words he said this I entered Ministry with so much Zeal anticipation and joy I knew that it was going to be tough or even bad but not this bad because she was very badly treated and there was a lot of toxic uh the office environment was very toxic so she wasn't idealistic about work in Ministry but as she said it was
00:29:31 much worse than she had expected it's quite sad when we hear that right but you know what is sadder this is quite common that we hear right I have friends whove told us to told me like I rather work outside than work be in Ministry or work in the church it's sad and I can safely speculate that the people who heard my friends so deeply were the ones that no one has ever spoken to them honestly about their issues right not our business where Chinese people like that right don't get involved not our business no lie don't
00:30:12 don't don't tell him let somebody else do it but I can say those who are closely connected with their brothers and sisters in the local church or Community or in your small group are often the ones who experience growth in Sou self awareness and these are the ones who mature in the ability to Foster healthy relationship with God and with others but again this is a challenge to us because we value Harmony and you know we are afraid to have honest conversation but this is where we ask our ask ourselves where does our
00:30:49 priority lie right do we does a priority lie in us that people will not be angry at us or does a priority lie in the good of our brother or our sister that we need to correct right long-term interpersonal connections is the testing ground of genuine progress in the Christian life because Beyond depending on the power of the Holy Spirit we must be intentional in our discipleship where we approach it with the posture of humility and desire that means you allow others as you allow God to speak truth into
00:31:30 your life and to keep you accountable you know before covid I think that it was probably much more practiced is where there will be people who you know there'll be just some people who just hop from church to church right they'll come here for two months and then they get boring like boring already let's let's look for another church is looking for the ideal church right but ends up happening is if you don't stay you don't grow right because when you stay that's when you Foster long-term relationships are long-term
00:32:12 relationships easy no but that's when you grow when iron sharpens iron right so first first aspect is Christian Community serves as a safe relational space for Christian discipleship secondly Christian Community enhances our learning and growth in the word as well as hearing from God you know we live in a fallen world and that means it will be we will constantly face things that are hostile to our spiritual formation we cannot let our guard down you know just when you think oh okay things are okay we cannot let our God down that's
00:32:56 why relying on discipleship ship programs courses or events alone will not bring ongoing transformation just because you have graduated or done I don't know how many discipleship courses or BSF or whatever it does not mean that your spiritual transformation is complete or you are sufficiently discipled because I I hear I hear a lot of people who have done of how many Bible studies that they go to or how many discipleship courses or discipleship conferences that they go go to you know but you don't see a
00:33:30 difference in their life because Christian discipleship is organic and relational it is not programmatic so it's not according to courses now of course discipleship courses Bible studies sermons and all kinds of teaching deepen our understanding of God's word so we can apply it in our lives but that alone will not do because when we do it only when we do it in community it offers us a chance to learn from the experiences and wisdom of others so you cannot be a Christian and say I'm growing as a follower of Jesus
00:34:12 I'm sitting at home I'm watching Sunday service on YouTube okay and I'm reading the Bible every day because we we need each other we need each other to hold one another accountable in living out God's truth and to Spur us on when we fail because all of us know that we can fail you know in the book called The Listening life it says hearing and listening to God is a communal exercise because one of the tests of the authenticity of what is heard is by filtering what we hear through others in a community you know have you met people
00:34:56 who say like the Lord SP SP to me about this and I need to do this you know I'm always a little hesitant when I hear people say that because did you confirm it with other people who also heard the same thing you know this is important because when one is seeking for direction or guidance on major decisions in life God often speaks to individuals not only for their own sake but also for the community Let me Give an example you know a church I used to attend here in KL this is many years ago this man is
00:35:32 quite old now he used to be a Charming Pastor very handsome he sings very well as well you know and he was the most eligible bachelor in church and he shared he shared that you know often he had women single women in church who would go up to him and tell him God spoke to me that that I am going to marry you that I'm going to be your wife not one many you know many women and then he would respond to them and say if that was the case God would have spoken to me as well I didn't receive any message from God you know it's funny but
00:36:11 sometimes you hear that kind of thing right but this is where being in community helps you to filter that right it is very rare now I'm not saying that it doesn't happen but it is very rare that God would speak to just one individual because when God speaks to lead or to guide he usually confirms it through others in the community so when you have life in community it helps you to keep you in line as well thirdly and finally Christian Community facilitates our call to Mission and service Mission comes from
00:36:53 formation from spiritual formation you know as a community of followers of Jesus we are a family relationally relationally but we are like a body in terms of our function functionally right you read in First Corinthians about how we are a body of Christ and individually members of it and you know that familiar verse right we grow together we equip each other and we help one another Discover or find our calling and gifting in the Kingdom and The Great Commission our calling as Christians involve loving and serving others that
00:37:31 we know and it is only when we are in community that we are given opportunities to fulfill this purpose remember back to the point of we are saved for a purpose we're not saved for ourselves in today's individualistic culture society that we live in it is easy to think that we can discern our own gifting and calling you know have you ever met anyone who say I think I'm gifted to be a song leader or worship leader but Sing Out Of Tune right because we need others to confirm that for us right in truth is it is
00:38:11 often with others that are talents and purpose are discovered and confirmed I I mean for example if you know you would never realize you have the gift of hospitality if you didn't have the opportunity to serve the community that you're in right it is only in community that your gifting and your your calling is validated and affirmed and in this way we we all serve as a launching pad for Mission and service for each other the family of God is the place where we all join each other in community with our siblings in
00:38:51 Christ to engage in God's Great Commission we do it together the family of God is the place where you and I lose our lives in order to gain it so in closing let us remember that our Salvation is not merely an individual Affair but a communal event and therefore we all have a responsibility to disciple each other let us embrace our calling as to disciple one another to build each other up in faith to Bear witness to the transformative power of Jesus's love let us consider how to stir up one another
00:39:44 to love and good works not neglecting to meet together as in the habit of some but encouraging one another and all the more as we see the day Drawing Near father we ask oh God that you help us to be United and to participate in your family we thank you that our Salvation does not stop at the fact that we are your child our Salvation introduces us into your family and we're grateful for that help us oh Lord to hear from you and to know what is our role in your family what is our role and responsibility to
00:40:37 each other teach us oh Lord as we hear from you in Jesus name amen amen Church isn't it wonderful that we have a God who has blessed us with such a huge family and we are here as a spiritual family so sh I I invite all of you to rise at this time as we sing this song in response I lift my hands let us remember the Salvation the love the sense of belonging that we have in Christ and how he has blessed us with each other still there is a [Music] his love is deeper than the [Music] sea his Mercy is
00:41:41 unfailing his arms Fortress for the we let fade the let f eyes I lift my hands to believe again you are my refuge you are my strength as I pour out my heart these things I remember you are faithful God forever [Music] be still be still there is a river that flows from calvar tree a fountain for to see your grace that washes me let Faith arise let Faith arise and I lift my hands to again you are my refuge you are my strength as I pour out my heartest things I remember you are faithful God forever let
00:43:38 faise let faor rise open my eyes open my eyes let faor eyes let F the eyes open my eyes open my heart I lift my hands to believe again you are my refuge you my strength as I pour on my heart these things I remember you are faithful God forever I lift my hands to believe again you are my you are my strength as I pour out my heartest I remember you are faithful God forever [Music] [Music] the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases his mercies never come to an end they are new every morning great is his
00:45:25 faithfulness the Lord is our portion therefore we will hope in him go now with the assurance that he is our peace and through him the dividing wall of hostility has been dismantled we are his new creation built upon Christ the Cornerstone and Foundation created in him for good works let us now walk in them in the name of the father Son and Holy Spirit may we go in the peace and strength of God Amen
