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Good morning brothers and sisters. Um today's scripture is taken from the book of Galatians chapter 5 vers 6 to 15. And I would like to ask you to stand with me for the reading of the word. Galatians chapter 5 verse 6. For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. You were running a good race. Who cutting on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. A
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little yeast works through the whole batch of dough. I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case, the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves. You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free, but do not use your
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freedom to indulge the flesh. Rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command. Love your neighbor as yourself. If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. Someone left a note here. Morning guys. Okay, one more time. Good morning, guys. That's better. Thank you so much. Yeah, because when you respond, it makes me a bit more relaxed. You know, otherwise I'll be very tense, you know,
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just like comedian when they're on the stage, you know, when they don't get response. They're wondering whether they are doing justice to the dollar that they pay. All right. So, uh this morning we have a interesting topic. Yeah. Um freedom of love. Yeah. And then next week uh William is going to talk about um freedom of spirit followed by John Lee on life in the spirit and then later also John Lee. Wow. Working very hard like Dr. Peter say life in the spirit. Yeah. So our topic this morning is um
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the freedom of love. Before I get down to the sermon I want to acknowledge those who are online. I always forget I was reminded to do that. So you know welcome online and if you cannot hear because online is usually quite soft yeah please contact our AV team you know uh to uh to turn up the volume so before we get down to it um start the clock has started you know so I'm feeling the pressure uh should we start the clock after I pray please I don't want to keep you waiting you know um shall we pray. Yeah, Lord. Um
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it's a wonderful morning, Lord. You know, thank you for this privilege to dwell in your presence and u bask in your word. And Lord, we ask that you prepare our hearts to receive your truth this morning about the freedom of love. You know, Father, what true faith looks like. Lord, we ask that you help us to internalize this and so that we can manifest this love in our life. And uh Lord, I am but a vessel. Uh I ask that father your spirit descend on me right here right now father so that whatever
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they speak forth from here on is your word lord you use me father you know so that um the word that I bring forth will glorify you and magnify you you know to god be the glory in Jesus name we ask amen all right question yeah all right thank you yeah uh the a team heard me so good have you ever felt like you cannot win as a Christian yes or no at the back. Can you hear me outside? Yeah. Okay. Now, I mean, you try, you really try. You do what is expected. You serve in the ministry and you give. Yeah. And you
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attend meetings and you lead and you try to hold your Christian faith together. And yet some point in time along the way, you don't feel that you have done enough and you feel tired, you know, and you feel like you are part of this system. They keep demanding more and more from you and doesn't give you any return you and you can't help wondering at some point is this what it means to follow Jesus. That's one side of the Christian trap. Yeah. Now on the other side you tell yourself grace cover me ma right
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why push myself you know yeah granted you still come to church on Sunday but God is no longer your lord he's just your safety net because he's reduced to your safety net you know so you make choices based on what feels good what is right in your mind you know so you tell yourself that uh you are actually free but deep down you feel trapped You're going nowhere and your life feels shallow and your relationship are strained and your conscience haunts you from time to time and so you ask yourself why does my
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freedom feels like a prison? So which side of the trap do you identify with? Yeah. Now no matter which side or both sides. Yeah. Now I want to assure you this morning that you are not alone. Yeah, the Galatians were caught in the same traps. They were caught by uh legalism. Oh, where's my clicker? Yeah. Okay, sorry. I was supposed to show you this slide and I forgot, you know. Uh they they were caught by legalism on the left side and then liberism, you know, on the on the other side. Yeah. And so this morning, yeah, the Apostle
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Paul is going to unpack for us how true faith looks like. Yeah. Jesus will revive your heart and my heart and set us free to love him like never before. Amen. Amen. Amen. First Amen. Yeah. There will be many more to come, you know. Now verses six. Uh so there are four points in my sermon this morning. Um you can take a 42 if you want to. Yeah. Up 3 second down. Yeah. Now verses uh 4-6 says this. Yeah. For in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing
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itself through love. Verse 14. Yeah. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Now the context here is the false teachers. Yeah. In Galatia insisted that circumcision was essential for salvation. So if you don't pong, you cannot be saved. Yeah. So Paul disputed otherwise. Yeah. He say no. He say no religious riches, external markers or even impressive spiritual credentials such as church attendance, you know, moral disciplines, theological knowledge, you know, degree or PhD
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otherwise or spiritual heritage. Many of us are born, you know, through generations of uh clergymen or pastors, you know, counts for absolutely nothing in your standing with God. And what truly matters then? And Paul says it very clear. It is faith. But not just any faith, brothers and sisters. You know, Paul is talking about true faith that expresses itself through love. And so to help you understand a little bit, you know, the English word here in the verse six, you know, expressing is actually taken from the Greek word ano.
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Yeah. Which means to energize or to power. So true faith according to Paul in verse six is powered by love. And therefore true faith is not a static faith. You know you sit and do nothing. Yeah. You just embrace it. But it is an active and dynamic faith which means that you have to do something. And that something Paul say is love. But yet Paul also say true faith is not about trying harder to follow the rules. True faith is about manifesting our genuine love to others in obedience to the call of the
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Lord Jesus Christ. We heard this before, isn't it? Yeah. Many brothers, honor, you know, all the speaker like Dr. Peter, William has spoke about this lengthy, you know, but it's easier said to be done, isn't it? Yeah. How are we able to love genuinely given that humanity nature is so downright sinful? So downright wrong, isn't it? Yeah, I see a lot of faces don't agree. Yeah. Now, let me let me let me help you. Yeah. The this question actually when I was doing this sermon reminds me of a
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classic Chinese proverbs, you know, that has served as a primer for generations of Chinese student. It says now most Chinese educated grow up believing this. It is the cornerstone of confusion philosophy you know and it claims yeah for those who doesn't understand Chinese it claims that human beings are born inherently good with a moral compass and a natural inclination to do the right thing do you agree I used oh no very loud no thank you I used to sing about this in primary school you know and you as you sing so
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many years that you believe know that's part of the truth yeah but really Well, not according to the Bible. The Bible tells us a very different story. Yeah. Because ever since Adam and Eve uh disobeyed God in the garden of Eden, sin enter the human heart. Yeah. And from that moment onwards, we became inherently sinful to the core from generation and generation. Let me tell you that the transmission rate is 100%. There's no exception. That's why the Bible say no one is worthy. Yeah. To
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God. Now, case in point, you don't have to teach your children how to lie to you, isn't it? Do we? No. Absolutely not. It is already in them. And if you are honest this morning, it is in every one of us too. No, including yours truly. Yeah. So, let me take you back to the 20th century Britain to the story of this woman named Betrice Web. Now, Betrice and her husband Sydney were brilliant social reformers. They were the architects of the Britain modern welfare system. They passionately dedicate their life committing to
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lifting the poor and bringing justice to the society. And British was betric was raised in the church. But she later abandoned her faith. And like many secular people, she believed that people are naturally good and if given the right education, the opportunity, they would respondse with love and cooperations. in so in 1890 she wrote in a diary you know she said I stake everything on the essential goodness of human nature but 35 years later nearing the end of her life in 1925 she looked back and she wrote again but
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this time with a very different tune she said I realized how permanent yeah and the evil impulses and instincts of men and women and how little we can change this especially the greeds for wealth and power. Now we keep asking for better responses for human nature but we get absolutely nothing. You know and then she follow up with a very interesting question. She say can this even be done without yeah the authoritative ethics associated with faith and a spirit of love at work in the universe. So you understood what she's writing.
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She stopped short of calling on God. Yeah. The name of God, isn't it? Yeah. After a lifetime of believing in the goodness of men, she finally admitted that we cannot fix ourself. Can we? We cannot stop stop short of saying that we need God Jesus. You now no amount of education, ladies and gentlemen, you know, brothers and sisters in Christ can help us, yeah, to change this uh inherent sinfulnesses in us. No amount education, no amount of government policy, no amount of science can change the heart of men and women because there
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is pride deep down. Ask yourself this morning, you know, is there pride in your heart? Yes. I'm the only one I marry. The rest all don't have selfishness. You know, violence and lust for power, isn't it? Who doesn't love power here? Everybody loves power. Yeah. And they are deeply rooted in the human's heart whether you uh you admit it or not. Yeah. Now I want you to look at this slide. You know the devastating state of our world today in specific Gaza and Ukraine and the war has expanded to other areas.
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You know can you not see brother and sister in Christ friends and family the insidious act of evil in our heart in humans heart blinding us to love and empathy isn't it I don't care which side of the political divide you are on you know this is crazy and the bottom line is this no we cannot love as God has called you and I to by relying on our own strength absolutely Absolutely no. You know, think about it. Yeah. I want you to think about it. How have you not been terrified by the fact that how close you have come to hatred?
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You have come to revenge or even cursing somebody die. You know, you sailor, you know. Yeah. When you are deeply wounded or offended, yes or no? Yeah. Somebody calls you, you know, a a big shock. Your first thing is you curse the person. Yeah. And if not because of the restraint by law we are absolutely capable of horror stuff even murder isn't it? How many time have you cursed somebody dead in your heart you know if you have a gun you will use it. Yeah if not for the restraint of the law now only when we are connected totally
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connected to Jesus rooted in his grace can his spirit energize you and I to love because apart from Jesus we are like dry branches. Yeah. in the winter. Apart from Jesus, our faith is tainted at best by the evil impulses and instincts in men and women. Yeah, just to be fair. Now, if I may put this bluntly, sometimes know even our love for our flesh and blood could fall short if we were not abiding in Jesus truly. Think about it. Many of times our love can become laced with conditions. Doesn't your love come with conditions?
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Expectations. You better not disappoint me, you know, and hidden motives. And that's because there's brokenness in every one of us without exception. Yeah. And so I want to call you to a moment of reflection. Yeah. Are you leaving out your faith by loving people genuinely even when it is inconvenient or uncomfortable to you? to the people that you meet on daily basis feels the love of Jesus Christ coming through you coming through your action in your tone of voice and your choices the choices that you make
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doesn't matter where you are you know and when was the last time brothers and sisters you did something for God not out of uh you know the desire to impress other people or you want something from God because you done something really wrong. You know, it could be, you know, you cheated on your electricity. It could be you cheated, you know, on your taxes, selfish motivation, not because you love him. Now I know that these are difficult questions but they are necessary ones you know because I want to tell you from the beginning
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that only faith expressed in love is true living faith. Amen. Amen. Oh you are so weak. Amen. Amen. Yeah. Only faith expressed in love is true living faith. The rest allang. Now one of the distinctive quality or distinct qualities of true favor is that it is anchor in the truth. Because in verses 7 to8 Paul says this that you were running a good race who cut in on you. He says no and kept you from obeying the truth. That kind of persuasion or motivation does not come from the one who calls you.
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So Paul is clearing spelling out that we must obey the truth. Yeah. He never say that you can you can now not obey the obey the truth. Ironically uh the false teacher in Galatia say exactly the same thing. They also say to the Jews you know don't commit adultery don't lie and don't live an immoral life you know. But Paul say their persuasion or their motivation were twisted. And Paul says you know that motivation is everything. So I want you to remember your motivation of your action is
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everything. Now under influence of the false teachers the Galatians actually thought they are becoming more obedience to God's law. No because they were about to commit to a meticulous and pain painstaking adherent to every detail of the Mosaic law. not only the 613 that was given to them, all the rest that they have added on to the Mosaic law. And yet Paul tells them they were being cut in and pulled away from obeying the truth. So simply put, he's saying that if you were to obey God's law, you obey God for
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the wrong motivation or persuasion, it is as bad as disobeying God. So even if our outward behavior conforms to God's law, but if our heart is filled with evil and unrighteousness, God sees it as disobedience. You get the drift. Yes. Okay. Very few. Yeah. Not doing a good job. Now, in other words, a Christian can obey the law, but not necessarily obeying the truth. Very important. Yeah. Paul deliberately choose the the words you know he say obey the truth. He could have said obey the law but he didn't. He
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say obey the truth because ultimately true faith is not about following the law only. It is about obeying the truth. And who is the truth? The person of Jesus Christ. Yeah. So like many preacher has come before me you know they say you have to obey the spirit of the law and not the letters of the law. Yeah. So to make it vivid to you many years ago I faced a new challenge at work and I was asked to take on an additional portfolio you know and I agree to it only on one condition I say I need additional headcount
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and my CEO understanding the necessity you know so told my colleagues you know implore them to assist me in securing the headc count. So you might be feeling funny why you say that because there are two ways of recruitment. Those who are in corporate world right you can ID someone in between and you transfer you know that will be the fastest way and you know yeah the person that you work with the other way is to hire from outside you call the hey hunters. Yeah. Now I remember it vividly right after
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that meeting one self-professed Christian director approached me and asked hey Brandon is there anyone in my department that you're interested in and appreciating her willingness to step forward to lend a helping hand I told her I say yes you know if you could release this person that I used to work with I would be incredibly thankful but how naive could I be you know what happened next okay it doesn't just happen in the Korean drama. Yeah. What happened next was nothing short of an act of co-calculated
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betrayal. You know, she went back and quietly quietly she gave that person a big raise and additional responsibility making the person unreachable to me. This is what we call we obey the law but not obeying the truth. You know, on the surface, she complied with the instruction, but beneath that veneer of compliance, she completely disobeyed the instruction, the truth. She didn't care about helping me. Absolutely not. You know, her obedience was a profound act of hidden disobedience. Now, many of us have this in our heart.
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You know, I call it a betrayal cloak in corporate propriety. You can also call some behavior cloak in religious propriety. So brothers and sisters in Christ, you know where I want you to think where in your life are you maintaining a veneer of obedience while resisting God's will underneath you know hidden cannot be seen. Is there an area in your life where you are technically you're complying with God but your heart is resenting it or perhaps even sometimes you know you act or scheme against it.
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Now to help you imagine that for example you have just sung this worship song praising and celebrating Jesus know both hands up yeah wow you can be withholding forgiveness to or from someone isn't it yes or no thank you for being honest how have you thanked God you know for his provision and mercy and yet you hesitated said, "Should I part with a cash in my pocket?" And even if you tithe, but you tithe with an unveiling heart, not a joyful heart. God loves a joyful giver. Another characteristic underpinning true
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faith is the freedom from fear. I don't know about you, I have fear too. Yeah. And many people live with fear as a Christian. Now in verse 11, Paul asks, why is he still being persecuted if he's preaching circumcision? Because if he was, then the offense of the cross would have been abolished. It's a bit hard to understand, comprehend. Yeah. But if I may paraphrase Paul, Paul is saying that the gospel is always offensive. Is the gospel offensive, brothers and sisters in Christ? Yes or no?
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Yes. Right. Yeah. A lot. Keep quiet. So if you have not been offended by the gospel, then I would tell you in love. Yeah. You probably have not truly understood the gospel true and true. Now you see on the outside the false teacher looks extremely affirming, looks extremely positive. Why? Because they told the Jew, be good. Yeah. Don't be rude, be noble. And nobody is ever offended by such a imploration message you know in fact yeah is you can even feel that is enobbling but on the inside brother and
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sisters in Christ it is incredible demanding and negative why because their motivation and their persuasion is rooted in fear they are telling the Jews that look if you don't obey the law God will punish you no salvation for you. Yeah. Whereas the gospel on the other side, on the outside, I beg a pardon, is anchored in so much of meekness and humility and vulnerability that it come across as extremely extremely offensive because it says, you know, you are so sinful that only the death, nothing less
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than the death of the son of God, Jesus Christ, can save you. Try say that to a non-believer. Yeah. See what happened. Yeah. And in fact the gospel is so offensive that I once shared the gospel with a classmate know in my secondary school and before I could finish the sharing he raised his hand and he showed me the door literally because he was utterly offended when I told him we are all sinners in need of a savior the Lord Jesus Christ. that loser. Come on. You know, how dare you call me a sinner? I make an honest
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living. You know, I pay my taxes. If the government don't compel us to pay taxes, yeah, auto deduction, we'll fall into the same trap. And I'm not a saint either, brothers and sisters. I used to show Christian evangel evangelis evangelist. Yeah. Can't twist my tongue this morning. Yeah. When I was in university, you know, I show them the door also. Yeah. Because the gospel exposes the darkness and the pride, the evil in my heart. Isn't it? Yeah. How many of you accept the gospel lying down? Hands up.
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Lying down, huh? No question asked. None. You're offended. Yeah. But on the inside, the gospel is incredibly affirming, lifegiving. Why? because it is driven you know by the unconditional love of the Lord Jesus Christ. He went to the cross for you and I before we even knew him who would do that for you in this life you know unconditionally. And because he love you and unconditionally he will never ever never ever stop loving you and me never unless you give up on him. So in essence, yeah, the false teachers
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motivation was rooted in fear. And that is also the danger for many of us in this room this morning. Now we may not talk about circumcision today. What circumcision talking about? Only the Muslim does that, you know. But some of us still living as though our salvation from the Lord Jesus Christ is still hanging in the balance. So how do we manifest that? Yeah. For example, I give you, we obey God not because we love him, but because we are driven by our personal motivation. Yeah. We come to serve God not out of
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joy, you know, out of obligation. Yeah. Or out of need. Yeah. If you are empty, maybe I serve, I'll find some fulfillment. We pray. How many times you how how often do you pray not to draw near to Jesus? No, we don't want to draw near to Jesus because with Jesus very mahan very very difficult you have to obey you know but to get us out of sticky situations you or to avoid punishment a secular friends on one asked me say Brendan yeah you say that your salvation is so secure so if your salvation is so
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secure what is your incentive to live a good Christian life why do you need how do you do good you're already saved ma you Now I I didn't have a good answer for him at that time but I want to tell you that Tim Keller answered this question immaculately you know he say if you have lost all your incentive to live a holy life because you have lost your fear of rejection by God that means you know that your salvation is secure then the only incentive you have for living a holy life was fear
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and obedience. powered by fear is not true faith. It because it produces people who are outwardly moral. Yeah. But inwardly, you know what? Insecure, inwardly anxious all the time and very prideful. Cannot be reprimanded on. Okay? And they may look pious, but they are often tired and exhausted and most importantly joyless inside. Yeah. No joy, you know, no peace, you know. Now God, I want you to know that God want us to live like sons and daughters. You sang the song just now. Yeah. The sons of daughters of Jesus Christ
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kingdom. And these sons and daughter are secured in his love, energized by his truth and compelled by his joy. Joyful to obey, joyful to serve, joyful to love others, joyful to embrace. our brothers and sisters. You know, I want to tell you that if your Christianity is powered or motivated by fear, then I have to tell you or even motivated by your own motivations, then I have to tell you that your Christian life is just a dog and pony show because you shall not show love and therefore it shall not bear any fruits
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of eternal significance. Then the next question will be what fuels your obedience in love. Now you can find the answer back in Galatians chapter 5:5 that Dr. Peter has presented last week. You know for through the uh for through the spirit by faith we ourselves eagerly wait for the the hope of righteousness. And as alluded to this translation to hope is a very weak translation because uh this hope is not that I hope it wouldn't rain tomorrow so I can go out and play. No, not that kind of hope. Yeah. No, this biblical hope is
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a certainty. And why is it a certainty? Because it is grounded in the immutable and unchanging promises of God. Yeah. Hebrew 11:1 say this. No, he says faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Yeah, only a true gospel believer, brother and sister in Christ can say this sentence with conviction or that is by faith I eagerly await for the days where I will stand before God holy, blameless and righteous. Can we work for our righteousness? No matter how much work we do, how much
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money we give away, how much of a service we give to God, you know, we cannot, God sees us as sinner. But because of the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross, it covers us. And when God looked at us, he saw his son right now as it is, he sees Jesus, Jesus's face in you. That's why we can stand before God one day and say that we are holy, blameless, and righteous, not by our efforts. And that is the hope and certainty that fuels our obedience, brothers and sisters in Christ. Yeah. So with this,
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yeah, we come to our first moment of truth. Yeah. Now, true faith expressed in love frees us to obey God without bondage to the law. Now, here's a story of Johan Sebastian Bang. Those who love classical music will know him. He's arguably one of the greatest composer of all time. Yeah. And Bach live in a time where music was often a performance for power. Yeah. And most musician back then wrote and play to impress the nobles. Yeah. Or to secure the next paycheck. Yeah. And their creativity was therefore
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know weighed down and chained by the pressure to be accepted to be perfect. Yeah. This guy not B. Yeah. He was different. How different? He wrote his music out of worship for God and not out of fear. And it show and how did it show? Yeah. In his manuscript, you will find the Latin acronyms of SDG which stands for solid your glory. What does it mean? It means to God alone be the glory. To God alone be the glory. Very specific, you know. Now from that place of freedom of Jesus Christ you know so Bach is able
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to write his music and his music is full of joy full of beauty and the power and the reflection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now similarly today in Jesus Christ we are free too brothers and sisters you know freedom in Christ freedom in love you know we have absolute freedom to serve and love and to obey Jesus like he obeyed his father and like he loves you and I yeah so can I gently just ask you to quiet down your heart take a moment to pause you know and chew on these reflections. Yeah. Is there an area in your life, brother and
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sister, where you are relying more on your own performance rather than resting in Jesus's love and freedom? Maybe it could be in your parentings. Yeah. Because most of us are parents here now. You feel this crushing need to be perfect. And so because of that, your children also must follow suit. Must be perfect. Yeah. And when they don't, you don't you don't just feel frustrated. No, you are destroyed. You feel defeated. Yeah. Even ashamed as if their temporary failure or imperfection
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is a reflection of your failure. And you have to ask yourself honestly, is that motivation really coming from Jesus? Or is it coming from your pride or your fear of not measuring up to the Joneses? You see, if fear and performance are what is driving your motivation to live a good Christian life, then you are still living under the crushing weight of the law despite your Sunday attendance in church, alpha, gamma, whatever activities under your veneer of obedience. But one question remains does this
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freedom in Jesus Christ means that we can now live an indulgent life. Yeah. So I don't have to tell you much because Paul answer it very clearly in this verses you know in this verse. Yeah. He say you my brothers and sister were caught to be free but do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh. You know rather serve one another humbly. He says in in love in love. Thank you. And let's be honest, we all love our freedom, don't we? Yes or no? Yes. Right. We love take to the street, you know, when someone restrict our
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freedom. Fre freedom, we demand freedom. We fight for freedom. But the word freedom seen through a circular lens can lead you and I down to the path of destructions. Because in our world today, freedom means total autonomy to one's life. Freedom means I get to choose my life, my truth. Yeah. My way and my life. There's no absolute truth as far as the secular world is concerned. Whatever I go through, if I live with a man and my experience is good and that is the truth. Yeah. Despite God saying that,
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you know, man, one man, one woman. Yeah. He didn't say man and man. He said man and woman. He created Adam and Eve. Not Adam and Robert. No one gets to tell me who to be, what to do, and how to live. You're above the law. I am. And this mindset sadly has quietly crept into many churches today, you know, perhaps even in FBC. And we say Jesus has set me free my soul. I don't have to prove myself anymore. Isn't it? I am accepted. Brendan, you say that, you know, forgiven and absolute secure. And that's
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the absolute truth. But then you take this truth right and tweak it and take it completely out of tangent and start thinking that grace give us the license to kill and do whatever we want to do know and therefore you start to indulge and worse you know not only indulge no you start to justify your ungodly indulgence you know have you ever come across that Christian trying to justify their indulgence and Paul says no that is not gospel freedom yeah that's slavery with a new labor Now in Greek um the word indulge means
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to set out a base or operation. So Paul is saying that don't let your freedom set out a base of operation and becomes a launchpad for indulgence. Yeah. Because if you do, you are not living in freedom. You are just running back to the same prison that the Lord Jesus Christ has just rescued you from. Freedom in Christ is not doing whatever you like to do or you want to do. It is about re living a renewed life in Christ Jesus once you are saved. You know alive for example you can love deeply. You can
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serve humbly you know and you can reflect the beauty of Jesus Christ. You know remember this. Yeah. Every day we are supposed to reflect the beauty of Jesus Christ. no matter where we go. No, for example, if you speak harshly or snapping at others when things don't go your way, that does not reflect the beauty of Jesus Christ. Yeah. Similarly, saying kind words, but underneath you're hatred, you know, and you know, vengeful is not reflecting the beauty of Jesus Christ. You know, holding grudges, retaliating against
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those who don't think like you or live out to your expectation or standards, including your children, does not reflect the beauty of Jesus Christ. And choosing selfish personal gains while pretending it is for God does not reflect the beauty of Jesus Christ either. And when we fail to reflect the beauty of Jesus Christ and you and I will, isn't it? Yeah. For the only perfect Christian is a very dead one six feet under. Yeah. And when we fail to reflect him, we shall run back to the cross in genuine
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repentance, seeking forgiveness and seeking strength of Jesus. And he will patiently reshape us to reflect him more and more with each passing day. So this takes us to another moment of truth that is without love brothers and sisters in Christ no freedom becomes bondage to the flesh. Now to illustrate this to you. Do you remember Jacob of the Old Testament? Do you? Yes. Jacob's a Romeo. Yeah. Now Genesis 29:20 says this, you know. So, Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but there seems like only a few days to him
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because of his love for her. Isn't that a beautiful love story? Yeah. It's reflective of you, isn't it, brothers and sisters? Yeah. When you fell for your spouse, oh my God, you know, you will do anything. You don't feel laborers at all. Now, seven years of backbreaking labor. Yeah. For who? For Lean, his uncle, you know, who is a slave driver and a conniving person, you know, and yet to Jacob, it felt like nothing. In fact, he worked another seven years because he was cheated out
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of the deal. Yeah. Given the other sister that he, you know, he he he didn't love. Why? Because Jacob loves Rachel. And that, my friend, is the power of love. Yeah. And that is how beautiful. and beyond beauty you know the love of the Lord Jesus Christ I want to tell you that once your heart is captured by Jesus on your eyes is open to his beauty you stop seeing services as duties isn't it you stop grinding through your Christian life with a clenched teeth you know and weary feet you know
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because Jesus's love changes everything Jesus changes your life if it's not changed you know You have to go back to the cross. Yeah. Because when you are in love with Jesus, you become a love seek. You don't count the hours, do you? No. When you were with your your fell in love with your spouse, you know, you don't count the hours. You can spend hours and days, you know, with no one around you. You don't measure the cost. Oh, yo, the cost the meal cost a lot of money just now. No, you will say, "Oh,
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I'm so happy, you know, I'm so joyful. Isn't it denying me?" you know. Yeah. If you can and you don't come to church to serve or to be seen, you know. Wow. This guy very pious. You know, you serve because your heart is already filled is full of the person of Jesus Christ of this love that he has sacrificially make for you. And when your heart is full of the love of Jesus Christ, freedom is no longer an excuse for the flesh. You serve him because you are willing. You serve him because you are joyful. No.
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Each time when you do something for God, you cannot explain the joyfulness in the heart. You know, and therefore it becomes the fuel for joyful services and surrender. So brothers and sisters, have you ever tasted this kind of love of being so captivated by the Lord Jesus Christ that obedience feels like delight and not duty? You know when my wife sent me in the middle of night when she was carrying my first child Yeah. to buy roti chana, I don't complain. It's joyful. Isn't it guys? Yeah. Same experience.
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Yeah. When she won durian, you know, I drop everything and I go. Yeah. Now, what would your life look like if your heart was overflowing with the love of Jesus Christ? That's a very good question. Yeah. Would it sweeten your words? Even you're reprimanding somebody, would it sweeten your words? give encouragement so the person can pick up and be better or you damage the person's life. Yeah. Would it transform your service? Yeah. For duty bound into love and would it move you to give joyfully
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rich or poor because your heart is already full with the riches of the Lord. cannot have better inheritance than the Lord Jesus Christ. And friends, you know what does your Christian freedom looks like this morning? Are you going to use it for indulgence or are you going to use it to surrender your life to the Lord Jesus Christ? To the one who loves you more than anyone else in this world could. Nobody can love you better than Jesus. Yeah. Our flesh and blood can disown us but the Lord Jesus will never ever
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disown you. Amen. So in closing 20 years ago when Jesus confronted me I used the word very strong because I ran from him for many years. I became a Christian but that conversion I have to confess was not a surrender at all because for many years that ensued I was legalistic. You know I come to serve in church you know and those who have been in the church for the last 20 years you will see me every now and then here and there you know but my heart was still cold you my heart was not in the church
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you know I showed up to feel good friends you know I serve to be seen not to love other people and therefore I complain yeah and I gossip you know when things doesn't go my way I grumble about the church I grumble about the people about ABC about anything I know that doesn't fit my expectations. That's not good. That's not beautiful. That's not Jesus. And I was when I was even serving, I thought I was doing God a favor. Can you believe that? Because there was no joy, no love, no
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just duty. And the fear of not measuring up to God's expectation. But I want to tell you that God will never leave us in that stump uh that slum. He met me where I was and over the years many years 20 years you through his words through my prayer through the prayers of uh you know you guys for me you know and most importantly through hardship you know Jesus began to sanctify me and he peels away layers and layers and layers of bitterness, layers and layers of pride, layers and layers of selfish ambitions one painful layer
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at a time. And so he softened slowly softened this stubborn prideful and performancedriven heart and he showed me he taught me what true freedoms look like. He showed me how other people does the service, how other people give without condition only love and joy in the heart you and today when I face difficulty you know in serving the Lord I don't complain I used to in fact I bite my tongue and I go to my knees you know and I pray Lord this is your ministry and I need workers and he doesn't disappoint us.
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So in fact you know I count it a privilege now you know once what once felt like a burden to me you know coming to serve now feels like joy and I tell you you know I find joy doing this sermon typing out my sermon notes again and again and again preparing training materials you know weekly basis digging into God's word every day and I wouldn't trade this life for anything else you because I'm living my best life Now brother and sister in in Christ best life. Amen. To God be the glory.
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Because I have never felt so loved and I never felt so alive too. I belong to Jesus completely. I identify with him. He is my Lord and my father. Amen. Thank you. And I wouldn't trade this life not for gold, not even for diamonds. So you ask, are you totally free of this flesh and the law? Absolutely not. You must be kidding. You know, far from it because pride and and and unhealthy desire still creep up in my heart from time to time. But I want to tell you this, brother and sisters. No, when I
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fall, I run back to the cross to be washed again by Jesus's grace and his love again and again and again. At the cross, I only see the one who loved me. At my worst, when I was down in the valley of darkness and the valley of death, he saw me. He rescued. He is my Lord. He's the Lord of my life. Most importantly, he's my Abba father. and he's still loving me until today and he will never ever never ever let me go. So brothers and sisters, you if this kind of love is driving your heart to
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obey Jesus not out of guilt, not out of fear, but out of love, then my friends, you know, you are walking slowly but surely into the freedom of love. So to sum this up, yeah. Oh, that's my signal. My time is over. Faith expressed in love frees us to serve God. Yeah. Without bondage to the flesh and the law. And that, my friend, is true freedom. So let today be the day you stop living like God is just your boss. Yes, he is your boss. Make no mistake about that. But above all, he is your abba father
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and you are his beloved sons and cherished daughter. No. So don't serve him like you are a slave or a scared or fearful employees. You are not. Don't try to earn his approval or get rewards from him. You know, you already have his inheritance. You know, this life and the life to come is waiting for you in heaven as well. So serve him like a true son and a true daughter. Can you? Amen. Yeah. Because you are already truly deeply loved by him. He will never forsake you. So start living in the
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freedom of love. Start living the life in the love of Jesus that delights in Jesus Christ alone. To God be the glory. To God be the glory. Amen. Yeah. Thank you for tuning in. We have chosen a amazing song for you. So I want you to reflect on it and sing along. Yeah. Now receive the benediction. Yeah. Now may the Lord of peace Yeah. equip you with everything good for doing his will. Hebrew 13 20- 21. So I implore you to go now in the freedom that Jesus has given to you. Not to serve yourself, not
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to strive under the law, but to love. Yeah. Let your faith be real, expressed in humble service, grounded in grace and love, and led by the spirit. No, walk in the freedom. Yeah. Love with that freedom. Live for Jesus, brothers and sisters in Christ, the one who set you free. Yeah. In Jesus name we ask. And all God's people say, "Amen." Amen. Amen. And so with a moment of silence meditation, the service is over. Our elder and pastors Yeah. will be up here uh receiving your uh your request for
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prayer. So please do come forward if you feel that you are trapped. Yeah. And I'm happy to answer any question you have. I'll be here too and later in the connect corner. Thank you uh worship team for a wonderful um uh worship leading. Thank you guys.
