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As a church we are looking through the Bible and we are coming to Matthew chapter 10 this morning so if you have your Bibles, will be great if you could turn with me to Matthew chapter 10.

Last week in my care group, we had a question that was asked.  What would you do if someone forces you to deny Jesus Christ?  What would you do if someone puts a gun to your head and say “Deny Christ or Die”?  What would be the wise thing to do?  Kill him, die?  What would you do?   What would be the wise thing to do?  Let me ask…. what would you do, alright?  We have some time, the sermon is not very long so what would you do?  How many of you will deny Christ, no one?  Serious or you don't dare to raise your hand?  How many of you will say let me die, a few hands, the rest of you?  Fight?  He has a gun Daniel it's to your head!

Well, it's not an easy question to answer.  I asked my kids what they would do.  I asked Shawn and Shawn said well, I would say I'm a Christian lah [singlish exclamation].  I said Shawn, do you know that he's going to shoot you if you say you are a Christian.  He says it's okay what… I'm going to heaven anyway.

Well, that's what, what you say is very different from what you will actually do alright but that's what he said and he says, I'm not afraid, I'm going to heaven and the younger one, Matthias immediately says yah, Mr. Lum also not scared of dying, he's going to heaven so then I asked Matthias, Matthias, then what would you do?  He paused for a while.  He looked at me and says, huh, huh, huh, huh, I will kill him, similar to Daniel.

Well, we think about such questions but we quickly brush them off and think that it's not very relevant because we are living in Singapore, no one is going to put a gun to our head isn't it so we think it's something very far, very distant, maybe quite irrelevant.

Well, three years ago in 2015 October, there was a mass shooting that took place at Oregon Community College.  It's known today as the deadliest mass shooting in that region. Basically a young man, a 26-year-old young man got a gun, got in the classroom and shot in total nine people to death, many others were injured, an assistant professor was shot dead, 8 other students were shot dead but the accounts were something like this…. he would ask the people, do you believe in God?  Are you a Christian and for those who say yes, he would say to them, good, you will see your God in a second and he fires a shot at them, killing them.

In fact, it is said that he fired more shots at Christians who say they are followers of Jesus Christ and because of this incident people then began to talk about what it means to be not ashamed of the Gospel.  People talked about what it means to deny Christ and there was this lady on Internet, she says I thought about this question many times in the past but in my mind, the situation always took place in another faraway country and not here at home.  I thought these things happened far, far away, in lands where there is no religious freedom, in lands where persecution is prevalent but I never thought it would be here, right here in my hometown, in US but because of this, I've been thinking about it a lot more.

I want to maybe ask you to think about what you would do because it's not just a theoretical situation you may be in but this draws out what is within your heart.  How much is Christ worth to you?  What is your faith worth to you and Christianity does not offer a simple easy answer to this question, “Deny Christ or Die”?

Anyone of you familiar with this word [Taqiyya] what is this word?  Where is this from?  From?  Koran?  Who, who say that?  Wow how do you know it's from the Koran?  Very good!  You guys don't study the Bible, study Koran, ah?  Just asking?  Huh how do you know about this?   What is this word, Taqiyya which, which is actually an Islamic doctrine so the Islamic doctrine of Taqiyya teaches that a Muslim can temporarily deny his faith if his life is in danger provided this is not a heartfelt objection so they have a way out of a very difficult, challenging situation but the Bible does not offer such an easy way out.

The Bible does not say you can temporarily deny Christ, deny your faith even if your life is in danger and even if this is not a heartfelt objection, there's no Taqiyya in the Christian faith so when this question is asked on cyberspace these are the typical response I found.

People would say - would I lie to save lives?  Sure I would… and I’d be wary, I'll be careful of anyone who says they won't.  This kind of a devotion is seldom the sign of someone who’s rational - he's probably crazy so I would lie.

Another person says I like to think I would have lied in order to save the other people so priority for me is to save lives.  This person “hardly ever” says, looking back on the first 20 years of my life as a devout Christian, I think I can safely and happily say that I would have lied to save the other people but I also am quite certain I would have thought it was the absolutely wrong thing to do and would have spent the rest of my life feeling extremely guilty for having denied Christ for any reason.

Some more chats went on and then “hardly ever” became a bit more concrete in his position when he said lie, lie, lie, to save someone else to save myself or my dog or your dog or my favorite pair of shoes, lie, lie, lie so he became clearer that he would do so, he will lie.  “Clare45” says I think the obvious action would be to deny Christ even if you were a believer and then lastly “insanitybytes22” I had a conversation with a Christian over the weekend who told me he would deny Christ in a second if someone pointed a gun at him because to not do so would be stupid so let me ask you, what would you do?  We have no Taqiyya.  You can't fight this guy, you have to make a choice, deny Christ or die?

We have heard about what people say they would do but I think what's important is not what the majority would choose to do.  What's important is what does God say - we should do isn't it and that's why we come to this passage in Matthew chapter 10.   Jesus sent out His apostles, sends out His messengers on the dangerous mission to preach the Gospel and He told them they will be like sheep in the midst of wolves, they will persecute you, they will haul you up to the court, they will flog you before men, they may kill you and in the light of such obvious, clear and present danger, what should be your response?

Verse 32 so everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.  I suppose this is as clear as daylight.  I suppose to all of us, we think about this strong, clear, concrete statement and we are uneasy about it because we have a sense of fear.  We say, alright I think Jesus is saying we must not deny Him.  We must not say we have no association with Him.  We must be willing to say we are followers of Jesus but I'm not so sure if that would be what I will do on that day because I may be too scared to admit and to profess Christ so I want to say there's a difference between what I should do and understanding that, that may not be what I would do because of fear, because of weakness but nevertheless we must be clear that should, should not be confused with would and because I fear I would not or may not doesn't mean I do not want to know what I should do.  We need the grace of God to help us to do what I should do but first of all we need to know what I should be doing in the first place.

Now I suppose this could be applied in many other ways besides a gun to the head.  It can be applied to a simple decision like should I be baptized because there are people today who say, I, I, I'm a follower of Jesus Christ but I don't really want to publicly profess my faith.  It may refer to someone who does not want others to know that they are followers of Jesus.  They say they believe but they keep it so secret, so quiet, they don't want anyone to know and the reason is because they are ashamed, they are afraid of what others think about them.

Perhaps it applies to some of you in your workplace. People ask you about your position, your, your outlook about some values and principles of life and you don't really want to say too much because you're ashamed that the principles you adhere to are Christian values and you don't want them to know.

Well, Jesus tells us that if we publicly confess Him, He will publicly confess us before the Father and if we publicly deny Him, he will deny us before the Father.  It’s not an easy thing to do, especially when real life is in danger and if I were to make it even more difficult, not a gun to your head, but a gun to your children's head, that's even tougher, what would you do, so let's look at what Jesus says to help us understand how can you and I be better prepared to face such trials or tests in due course.

He tells us in verses 34 to 39 that's the basis of our thinking today - do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth - I have not come to bring peace but a sword.  For I have come to set a man, a son against his father and a daughter against her mother and her daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and a person's enemies will be those of his own household.  Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me and whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Whoever finds his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it so within this text, I want to share with you three simple observations.

Number one Jesus is saying, if you are to face such persecutions and trials well, then realize, number one, that your home will be divided.  It's not to say every Christian home will be broken up.  It's not to say that every Christian's family will persecute him as such but that may be the extent it may come to and you've got to be prepared for this.

One of the reasons why disasters, calamities, tragedies are so difficult for people to accept is because they come suddenly.  You are caught off guard, you are shocked, you don't have time to come around it and one of the difficulties about persecution is that you may be surprised, it has come to you from your own home so Jesus says one of the preparations, one of the perspectives you need to be armed with is to realize persecution can come from home, your home will be divided because of the Gospel so He says, do not think I've come to bring peace to the earth, I've not come to bring peace but a sword and because of me, I have come to set a son against his father, a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, your enemies will be from your own household. Are you surprised by this, well, Jesus says don't be, they're going to be coming from people who are nearest and dearest to you.

Now Jesus says I have not come to bring peace.  You scratch your head and say, wait a minute, I, I thought, Jesus is called the Prince of Peace. Hey, why does He say this and do you remember on the day Jesus is born, there was a choir in heaven and the angels said what - Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men so what is Jesus here for, peace!  He’s got the Prince of Peace, peace on earth, goodwill toward men, then why did Jesus Himself said, no, no, no, no, no, I did not come to bring peace.  Is He contradicting the angels and Isaiah, oh no, no He's not but you got to understand what is this peace all about?  Jesus came because He's going to bring peace between man and God.

Before He came, if there is no Jesus, man will always be at war with God. There is no chance we can get back to God there's no chance, we can be spared hell, there is no chance we can be saved but because Jesus came and died for us on the cross, we who believe in Him can now be reconciled with God, there is peace with God but when you have peace with God, men will hate you because men hate God. We love our sins, we love darkness and we reject the Light, that's what the Bible says so when Jesus came, He indeed brought peace between man and God but also He will bring division between man and you because now you are at peace with God, not with men, get that so Jesus says, I've also come to bring a sword.  Some people are offended, upset, what do you mean Jesus brought a sword, does Jesus kill people when He was here on in His first coming, no, not at all so what do you mean by He brought a sword?  Did He bring a sword, first coming, second coming He will, by the way.  First coming, no, He did not!  His Kingdom was not established with a sword.  Remember one of His disciples?  He was caught, Jesus was caught by the soldiers and the disciple, “siang” took out a sword and “tuituituituitui” what did he do?  He chopped off one soldier's ear, his sword skills, excellent, you know I mean, I watch all the kungfu shows, never chop off ear one! [Singlish].  Where got so skillful but he was so skillful, he chopped off the ear and Jesus says, well done?  Did Jesus say that, no?  What did Jesus say?  They who take the sword shall perish by the sword, put back your sword.  He did not come to bring a sword.  He did not come to kill people so when He said I came to bring a sword, He's not saying that my followers would take the sword but that others will take the sword against you so I hope you see this context.

What He's saying really is when you follow Jesus, when you preach the Gospel, when you represent me with the message of the Gospel, well, realize this, men will not be at peace with you, they will war against you, they will take the sword against you, don't be surprised, even when they come from people who are nearest and dearest to you.

I've often mentioned this name.  He is known as the greatest pastor in America, not now, but throughout history, popularly known as the most well-known or influential pastor of America.  You know his name, Billy Graham, no?  He's the, he's the preacher who preached to the most people, that's true, but not the most influential pastor in America's history, not Donald Trump, anyone knows his name, DL Moody, nope, Martin Lloyd Jones is from UK. Jonathan Edwards!

Jonathan Edwards pastored in Massachusetts faithfully for a quarter of a century, 25 years.  His writings are phenomenal.  He's an extremely God-centered, intelligent man by the grace of God but do you know that Jonathan Edwards was kicked out of his own church which he pastored after 25 years. He was, his appointment in the church was put to a vote and 230 out of I think 253 members voted against him. Now as far as we read in his preaching, he is absolutely right on theologically but yet the people rejected him.

Sometimes opposition comes closest from those who are closest to home and Jesus is saying when you want to face persecution or when you are going to face persecution or even at peace times, realize this, that your home will be divided because of the sake of the Gospel, son may turn against you, daughter-in-law may turn against you. I'm not saying this will happen in every home but this is the extent to which you may go to, people will deliver you up over because of the name of Jesus.

Second thing Jesus spoke about in the face of persecution is that your heart must be devoted. Many years ago, 20 over years ago, before I came to church or before I was a Christian, I came to church for the first time, I heard the preaching of God's Word for several months and one of the most unbelievable things I thought, I was not a Christian then, of course.  One of the most unbelievable things I thought was when Pastor Paul says a Christian should love God more than anybody else.  A Christian should love God more than his father, his mother, his children.  I thought to myself that is the most ridiculous statement I've ever heard in my life.  I mean, do you know how much your parents have given for you, sacrificed for you, how could you say you love God more than anything else aren't you teaching people not to be filial?

Well, until I read the Bible and it’s not Pastor Paul's words but the Bible's words that says whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.  Whoever loves son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.  In fact you don't love God more than your father, your mother, your son, your daughter alone, you, you love Me so much that you're willing to take up your cross.  In other words, take up the guilt or take up the shame and the suffering and the dying to self that is emblematic of the cross.  In other words, your love for me must be supreme.

I did not understand all that when I was not a believer but I must say by the grace of God, God worked in my heart, just as I believe He has worked in your heart, He's saved me, saved you and the miracle of the Christian faith, the miracle of the Gospel is not that I make myself to love God, make myself more acceptable to God but the Christian faith is that God has done a great work in me, He has given me a heart transplant. The Bible calls this to be born again and some 20 over years ago, I repented and believed in Jesus, I'm still believing in Jesus today but that was the time God gave me a new heart.  I was born again, I was saved and today for all these years I could say one thing, I do love God.  I don't love Him perfectly, I don't but I do want to.

You say how do you know you love God, Jason?  How do you know you really love God because every time we gather to sing Christian song you tear, is that how you know you love God?  Every time before you have your meals you…Lord thank you for the food I'm so touched, that's how you know you love God?  How do you know you love God?  What does Jesus say?  If you love me, keep my commandments.  Now your love for God is expressed in obedience to Him.  How do you know your kids love you as parents?  When you obey so how do I know if I love God, I genuinely obey Him, now not perfectly because I'm sinful, I'm wrestling with the old flesh in me but I must say over the course of these 20 years I think there is a mark of grace that makes me say I know I love God, I obey Him and I think that would be true for you and Jesus is saying, if you love me, if you want to face the persecutions well, then it is all about the devotion of the heart and we love Him because we realize that in the Gospel, Jesus came to die for me.  We love Him because He first loved us and the man who believes this message that God sent His Son to die for us receives this love and therefore will love God in return, makes sense and this love for God is great.

I read about this man, I think many of you would know his name is John Bunyan, heard of him?  Lived some hundreds of years ago, famous for Pilgrim's Progress which we’ve, we have shared before and I’ve explained a little before.  Well during his time, John Bunyan was a preacher.  He knows the Bible, he studies the Bible, he teaches people about the Bible but he was persecuted for preaching Christ and they tell him, you must stop preaching the Gospel or else you'll be thrown into prison. Now that time Bunyan was already married with some kids but he had to face a choice, do I still profess Christ, preach Christ or will I not do so and be spared prison.

He eventually made a choice to preach but it was no easy decision because this is what he wrote, let me read this to you….. the parting with my wife and poor children has often been to me in this place, prison, as the pulling of the flesh from my bones and that not only because I'm somewhat too fond of these great mercies but also because I would have often brought to my mind the many hardships, miseries and wants that my poor family was like to meet with, should I be taken from them, especially my poor blind child who lay nearer my heart than all I have besides. Oh, the thought of the hardship, I thought my blind one would, might go under would break my heart to pieces. Yet thought I, I must do it, I must do it.  Just a little snippet of his life and what he wrote in prison.  Now it would have been easy I think for John Bunyan to say, maybe I should not preach Christ so that I can be with my family, I can help my wife, I can take care of my kids but here was a man who says I must do it, I must do it because I think he believes what Jesus said.

Now again, I want to say should versus would, it's not an easy matter but for the Christian he understands that life is really not about enjoying the pleasures of this world but the Christian life is so devoted to God that he, this is his goal that I may know Him. Paul says that I may know Christ and the power of His resurrection and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death.

We live in a culture that is very adverse to sufferings isn't it?  Everything, actually what's good business today?  If you ask me, entertainment!  Entertainment is good business today because it seems like people are moving at least in successful cities like this, we move away from the necessities of life and now what we are living for is enjoyment, pleasures and comforts and even churches today in a prosperous city think like this, church people come to church because they think that if I am a Christian, I will be comfortable, I will be blessed, I'll be rich, I'll be successful, isn't this what many people think Christianity is all about but when you look at the Bible it's actually very different. The Bible is not about coming to be a Christian, so that all your problems in life are solved.  The Bible is not talking about the Christian coming to Christ and having all your prayers answered the exactly the way you want. Coming to Christ is not about enjoying the here and now.  Coming to Christ is to know Christ and to share what in His sufferings.  Coming to Christ is taking up the cross, denying yourself and we do that not because we, in Hokkien “bey kum guan” [unwilling, unhappy] but because there is a supreme satisfaction and joy and delight in God so the Christian comes to God for God and not for goodies and because we know Him, we love Him, we know His love for us, that even if all the goodies in life are stripped away like Job, we may be able to say it is God who gives, it is God who takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.

Paul, the Apostle, suffered many things, beaten, flocked, starved but he says I'm always rejoicing in my God.  You know that's what makes the Gospel look glorious before the world. The Gospel is not glorious because come to Jesus, He gives you the goodies, the Gospel is glorious because come to Jesus that even if life is stripped bare, you still have the joy and the satisfaction in the all-satisfying God so Jesus says if you want to face these sufferings well, realize, don't be caught off guard, your home will be divided, it's all about this, your heart must be devoted.

Finally, the third point which my son Shawn, highlighted, I asked him what would you do?  He says… I say I'm a Christian lah, huh, why because I'm going to heaven!  Why because he's sure, at least intellectually he's sure that his hope won't be disappointed and that's what Jesus said.  That's what Jesus said over and over and over again in the Bible. He says whoever finds his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.  You can be sure, temporarily you will suffer, you may even lose your life, hey but you will find it, you find eternal life.

Your hope won't be disappointed you won't be ashamed.  You see the people who follow Jesus, must be a people of faith.  A people who believe that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, that God is, is a rewarder of those are sawn in two, stoned and burned on stakes, it is worthwhile because their hope won't be disappointed.  You know one thing about old Gospel hymns.  We as a church have endeavored to have a blend of songs in our worship singing right?   We used to be all-hymns, I love hymns by the way, I still love them but there are also good modern-day Christian songs.  There is strengths, there are weaknesses to either side and we hope to have a blend, a good balance of it all but one thing I think is very admirable in old Gospel hymns is this.  If you notice, I think most of the hymns of time past, speak or sing about?  Something that modern songs don't really sing about, about - suffering and about dying, do you realize that?  Usually stanza one about how Jesus died for our sins, the Gospel, stanza two, stanza three will be about how we are to serve Him, how we are to grow in Him, more of Jesus in us then stanza four about dying.

I sing every song’s like dying, dying, I was very young, I'm still young so I don't really identify with the dying part but I realize it's actually very important for a Christian to be mindful of death.  It's not a bad word, it's not a “eeeee” it's not a “pantang” [local: superstitious] word, that's right, how come the couple so familiar with this word huh, huh, it's not a “suay” [local bad or unlucky], it's not a “pantang” word, it's a, it's a necessary word and for the Christian, it's a great comma, to introduce us to the next chapter of our lives in heaven and in the glories to come and the Christian must learn not only to live well but also to die well and I think that's what the old hymns offered to us, for example, Richard Baxter, he write, this world is not my home, I’m just passing through and it's when you have such a vision, such a perspective that you can say, gun to my head, I will not deny Christ like John R. Rice, he would say you can't threaten me with heaven and so Jesus says everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven and whoever denies me, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.

How do you do that?  Well number one, remember your home will be divided, don’t be caught off guard, don’t be surprised and shocked.  Number two, it's all about the matter of the heart and your heart must be devoted and number three, be sure your hope is fixed in a life that is to come.  Christianity is not about the here and now.  Real life is not limited to the here and now but I would say this again, should and would, I know I should do this.   Would I do this?

Well, it’s not just what you know right?  We need the grace of God and the enablement by the Holy Spirit so I want to bring you back to verses 19 and 20 that says when they deliver you up, do not be anxious, how you’re to speak or what you’re to say for you’re to say for what you are to see will be given to you in that hour, for it is not you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you so you have to realize we depend on God, especially in that very hour, no grace in ourselves all because of Him so let me ask you one final question.  Christians will never deny Christ - true or false – so fast?  True Christians will never deny Christ.  In other words, if I am a follower of Jesus Christ, I would never deny Christ - that's this statement’s meaning right?

You know I remember, remember a guy who spoke like this.  By the way, good attempt, it’s not an easy question. I remember a guy who spoke like this.  Even if all of you, even if all of them deny You, I will never deny You!  Who?  Peter!  Peter was the one who said.  You know Jesus prayed for him.  Peter, I’ve prayed for you because Satan wants to sieve you like wheat.  Nevertheless, I prayed for you that your faith will not fail.  Peter says even if everyone denies You, I will never deny You, Lord.  He was so confident about himself and that's why he was so broken when he denied Christ three times before the cock crows so actually I think this question is to bring clarity to the understanding. Yes, we heard a sermon today.  Yes we understood what it means to acknowledge Christ or deny Christ but even if you have all this knowledge, you should never ever be complacent and say I will never deny Jesus because I’m such a godly man.  If Peter could deny so quickly but then again, the point of Peter's life is that he did not deny Christ as the pattern of life isn't it?  Yes he failed at that point, yes he sinned against God at that point but he did not carry on this pattern and lifestyle of denial for the rest of his life because he became a fearless preacher for the Gospel and I think this is the marvelous reality of the Gospel.  There is forgiveness in the Gospel when Jesus came to Peter and said Peter, stop, stop whatever you are doing, I know you're disappointed with yourself, in effect, He’s probably saying to Peter, you’re disappointed with yourself, you thought you’ve blown it, you’ve denied Me, you’ve acted in cowardice but stop returning to your ship, to your boat or your fishing net but come and feed my lambs, feed my sheep.   Peter, come back to serve Me.  God, Jesus brought him back so what do we learn from this?  Not, I hope, I hope, not many of us would have guns to our heads but I hope you’ve learnt a few things from a passage such as this that number one the Gospel is worth dying for.  Christianity is not just about living well, it’s also about dying well.

What would you die for?  It’s not “pantang” to talk about death.  It’s necessary.  Don’t think about this as, wow this is really, Pastor you talking about something far, far away, no!  This is the Bible, it’s for all of us not for those living in persecuted nations alone, it's for all of us.   Let me ask you - do you believe the Gospel is worth your life, it’s worth even your death.  Do you think Jesus is worth it?

Some of you are living in sufferings.  Some of you are living in difficult situations and you say it's so difficult to live otherwise.  I mean it’s so difficult for me but let me ask you, is Jesus worth you're going through sufferings?   If that's what He calls you to, that's what it means to follow Jesus.  Following Jesus is not a deliberate attempt all the time to avoid difficulty.  I’m not asking you to court it but if that is what God wants, is it worth it for you?

Some of us today have denied Jesus with our lives probably the things we say, things we do not say and you are stricken with guilt, let me say this to you - there is wonderful forgiveness in the Gospel, even for a Peter who denied Jesus.  There is forgiveness even for him and I say to you, if you genuinely know Jesus, you love Him and yes, in the momentary grip of fear, you blew it, there is forgiveness still for you and finally, don't think of this persecution as a mad plan or mad mess that God has given because I think throughout history, we see that the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.  The red blood of Christians flowing upon darkened lands have resulted in the flourishing of the Gospel far beyond what we could imagine.  Think about the lives of the twelve Apostles, almost all of them died a martyr's death and as a result, because the seed dies, there is fruit that can come forth out of it so yes gun to my head.  I hope at that hour I would trust Christ to do what I should and there would be many questions that go through my head - what about my wife, what about my kids, what about my family, what a stupid waste of my life I would think to myself but let me believe at least that the Gospel is worth dying for and the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.

In a way unknown to us, we trust in God's sovereign plans but the Gospel holds us together.  May our hearts be anchored on the cross, may our hopes be anchored in the heavenly city that is to come.  Death is not a scary thing if Jesus is your Lord and Savior.

Let’s bow for a word of prayer together. Thank you for bearing with me in a difficult sermon, relevance, to many of us at the surfaces, at the beginning is not high I supposed but let me just ask you these closing questions. What is the Gospel worth to you today?  It’s so sad when people come to Christ for their comforts, for the conveniences, for their own prosperity and possessions but that’s not Christianity.

Christianity is about how God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. The Gospel is about God's radical lavish love in sacrificing His own Son that we who are His creation might be brought back to our Creator that we who are made by God and for God would finally, finally, find our satisfaction, our delight in Him and because we now know God, because we now know Jesus, we say the Gospel is worth dying for and if it means that I should go on the path of suffering, of loss, of shame, God's will be done.

My eyes are fixed on the rewarder of Him, of those who diligently seek Him. My eyes are fixed on the heavenly city that is to come.  I praise God Almighty for His grace and I’m going to lay down my life, take up the cross as He told me to.  Is the Gospel worth it all for you?

My friends, today I’m not telling you to die in order to be saved but I'm telling you those who are saved will have a heart that genuinely not perfectly but genuinely loves God and if you do not have the heart today, I say to you all you need to do, according to the Bible is to repent of your sins and believe in Jesus.

He who is thirsty, let him come and drink - drink from the Gospel fountain, drink from the grace of God that is seen in the cross of Jesus Christ.  I pray even this day you will turn from sin, believe and have a beautiful heart transplant that will love Him.

Would you today stand up for Jesus?  Would you today live your Christian life not in secrecy but in boldness and confidence before others?  Would you tell people around you the Good News of Jesus? Perhaps some of you have blown it.  You’ve denied Christ in your life and I want to say you there is forgiveness for you, humble yourself, come to Him and may He cleanse and wash you of all your sins.

Let us be a church that is joyful in sufferings, not that we enjoy sufferings but we are satisfied in God and when we have joy in sufferings, it makes God look glorious before our relatives, our neighbors, our friends, because God is real. He lives in me.

Father, thank You for this hour that we can study Your Word, bless these realities to our hearts not just to our heads but to our hearts. May many today come to know the Gospel, may many today live out the Gospel, may many today give out the Gospel.  We pray all these now in Jesus Name, Amen.

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