Now, in GLCC we have been going through the book of Romans for the past 2 1/2 years. Today, we come to the final mini-series in this long series and is about “The Pastor’s Heart”.  That's why you see all the balloons.  It's not because is Valentine's Day, that's still a long way to come.  But it's about “The Pastor's Heart” and that's revealed to us in Romans chapters 15 and 16.  But before we look into the sermon proper, let's have a short little video clip to introduce the series, “From Your Pastor's Heart”.

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This is “From Your Pastor's Heart”, alright.  And this is really a reminder, that the book of Romans is a very heartfelt; personal warm letter from the apostle Paul.

I've been married for 13 years. I've known my wife for 21 years, more than half my life.  And in the early years of our courtship, we would write letters.  In those days we write letters, you don't have the ICQ.  You don't have the SMS, Facebook and all these stuff. So you use the snail mail, the traditional style. Today, of course, you message people by very rapid and immediate means.  But I think you lose something. There's something special about writing letters, isn't it? I think my wife still keeps, but I don't keep.  My wife still keeps those letters.  There's something personal, very warm, very tender about writing letters.

And the book of Romans, while we say, “It's a book.” Really, is a letter.  It's a letter from Paul, the apostle to the Roman Christians.  And it displays his heart; his love for them.  And so as we come to the conclusion of the book of Romans, Paul once again opens his heart to share what is within.  He is sharing with them, what is really his concern; his desire for his people in a loving way.

And one of the first thing you address in Romans 15 to 16, is this possible question, people will have. You say, “Paul, you have given us a long writing of chapters 1 to 15, about the doctrines, about the Gospel. So, Paul, what's your point?”  “Why, why do you write so much to us?  What's your reason?  What's the point?” And so, right here, Paul says, “This is my heart for you. I wrote all these, I wrote the heavy-going truths, for a very simple reason.”

And in our first sermon, in this series on “From Your Pastor's Heart”, it is a reminder from Paul to us, “I wrote all these things so that you may obey.”  I know this is not a very popular word today, obedience, obey.  We almost think that this is a very sad, very restrictive, very dirty word. Don't talk to me about obedience.  I want freedom! I want individualism!  But Paul says, “This is my desire. My desire is that you will obey, obey the Lord Jesus Christ.  Obey God, obey His Word. I want you to obey.”

And you realize that Paul actually did not shift his goalpost.  Right from the beginning, he says, “This is my reason for writing this epistle to you, so that you may obey. He says in Romans chapter 1 verse 5, “I wrote this and I'm writing this so that you may come to the obedience of faith.”

Through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,
(Romans 1:5 ESV)

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Don't miss it! It's about obedience!  And right in the middle of Romans, he says that, "Thanks be to God, that you were once slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching.”

But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,
(Romans 6:17 ESV)

His concern was that the Romans will obey. And when he comes now to the end of the book of Romans, he says, “For I would venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience.” [Romans 15:18]

“Paul, what's your point?  Why did you write 15 chapters of doctrine?”  So that you may obey.  “It's not good enough that you hear them.  It's not good enough that you know them.  It's not good enough that you understand them or teach them, or even talk about them. I want you to do them.”  The key is to obey.

Can I tell you why you came this morning?  Maybe you came out of ritual.  Every Sunday morning, alarm clock is set and being a good Christian, I need to come to church. I need to attend the service.  I may be late for the singing but I have to be there for the sermon.

You say, “Why?” Because there is a sermon.  I want to hear. But let me tell you a higher reason why you should be here - to hear the Word of God? The reason is so that you may hear, in order to … wah, very good, the teacher has spoken.  Hah huh heh, when you are teacher, you teach the students to obey. Let me do this again, you are here to hear the Word of God, so that you may .... Obey. That's right!

Paul is saying, “Don't miss this! I want you to obey.” It's so important that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, would have echoed the same things.  Indeed, He did! In one of the greatest sermons or indeed the greatest sermon ever preached in this world, the sermon on the Mount in Matthew, chapters 5 to 7. Jesus gave tremendous teachings.  They were mind blowing, revolutionary teaching.  When Jesus says to them, “Except your righteousness exceeds that of the religious teachers, you cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

I mean, that is mind blowing! Jesus was saying, “You know the 6th commandment - thou shall not kill. It has always been taught in a very limited, external way.  But let me tell you what it really means.  It's about murder in the heart.”  “Whoa!  We have never heard anything like that before!”  The people were amazed! They were shocked!

And as the sermon was coming to an end, the people might have been just packing up their stuff, and going to leave.  And they were saying to themselves, “Wow! That was a great sermon! Wow, we heard new things!  Wow, we understood fresh insight!  Wow, I am going to teach this to my children and to my village! I am going to tell them about it.”  Jesus then says, “Hey, listen up, I am not done. It's great that you hear these things, but the key is not what you know, what you understand.  The key is if you will obey.”

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The key, is if you will hear these words and do these words.  And Jesus is a great teacher because He gave great illustrations.  And He gave a beautiful simple story to encapsulate the importance of obedience. He tells of two men.  Two men who are out to build a house. One man, He calls it, He calls him, the wise man. He says, “The wise man is someone who hears My Words and does My Words.  And he is someone who is likened to building a house upon a solid rock.”

Then He says, “Contrasts that wise man, there's a fool.”  Huh, what is a fool? “A fool is someone who hears My Words, but does not do My Words.  And he is likened to a man who built his house upon sand.”  Maybe he thinks it's difficult to build on rocks.  Maybe he thinks it's quicker to build on sand.  Nevertheless, this fool heard the Word, and does not do the Word.

And when you look at it initially,  it didn't make much, much of a difference.  Both built the house. The difference comes when the storms of life come.  You know the Sunday school’s  song, right? “And the rains came down, and the floods came up…”

And so Jesus says, “There will come storms in your life.  Rain is going to come, flood is going to come up.  Winds will beat upon the house and now you see the difference between a wise man and a fool.  When the storms come, the wise man's house stands.  But the fool, who built his house on shifting sand, is swept away. “

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You say, “What's the difference between a wise man and a fool?” “Pastor, I know.  The wise man goes to church and hears the sermon.” No, no, no, no! Jesus says, “The wise man is the man who went to the Word of God, heard the Word of God and did the Word of God.”  What is the fool?  The fool is the one who heard the Word of God, but did not do the Word of God.”

You see, we often think that a fool is someone who didn't know.  No, the fool is someone who knew and didn't do.  And you will be found wanting when the storms of life come. Let me tell you something, the fool and the wise man both had the same storm.  And I say to you, “You will have the same storms.”  Life is full of storms.  It may be a relationship storm.  It may be a health storm.  It may be a financial storm.  But be sure about it, there will be storms in your life.

And the difference when storms come is - Have I laid a foundation that is strong enough?  Have I been obeying God's Word?  Sometimes when storms comes, you say, “Jialat”! (colloquial for very difficult) I wished I had listened earlier.”  You know why you said that?  Because you know it's too late to do anything now.  You did not lay, you did not build upon the right foundation.  It's now just too late!  So, Jesus says, “Don't miss this! I know I've said many things that blew your mind away.  But just don't be interested in it only.  But do it, be like that wise man.”

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So Paul says, “You got to obey.  That's the key!” Jesus says, “You've got to obey! That’s the key.” And James or Jesus Himself at the end of His ministry, He emphasized the same thing.  In case, right at the beginning, He said at the sermon on the Mount, “Obey!” You don't get it?  Before He leaves again, He says in Matthew 28:19-20a, in a great commission.  Don't miss this, “You've got to make disciples.”  That's the central command!  But the key of making disciples, is that, “We must teach them to observe everything.”  You must enable them and help them, to?   Can I hear the word again? Help them to?  Obey.

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Hey, this is important! A disciple of Jesus Christ is not just someone who theorizes about God.  It's not someone who hears about God, but someone who follows God, in the path of obedience.  Don't miss that!  “I'm leaving you, I'm coming back for you.  But in the meanwhile, teach them to obey.”  Now like I said, Paul said this, Jesus said this, and James said this.  James says in James 1, “Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only.”

But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
(James 1:25 ESV)

It's not good enough to acquire truth, you must apply truth. Information is not enough, transformation is the key.  That's why he says, “Be doers and not hearers.” And, and, and he says, let me give an example, he says, “The Bible is like a mirror.”

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The Bible is like a mirror that shows you up.  Shows myself so that I can see my flaws, see my ugliness and rectify it.  And he says that illustration somewhat to this effect, I modernize it if I may. A lady wakes up early in the morning and she goes to the toilet. She looks at herself in the mirror and she walks out of the house. When she got out of the house, her neighbour saw her and says, "Hey Jane, morning.  Hey Jane, Jane, can I talk to you for a while?"
“Sure.”
"Hey Jane, did you realise your hair is in a mess?"
She says, "Yah, yah, I know."
“Hey Jane, Jane, by the way, not only your hair, do you know your mascara is running?”
“Yah, yah, I know.”
“Hey, Jane, Jane, wait, wait.  Do you realize that there is a big piece of vegetable stuck between your teeth?”
“Yes, I know.”
“Hey, hey, Jane, Jane, lastly, lastly.  Do you know that your nose hair is sticking out of your nostrils.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Hey, Jane, when you know this?”
“I knew this morning.  I mean, before I came out. I, I looked at myself in the mirror.”

“And Jane, you saw that?”
“Yes, I saw that very clearly. I, I, I saw absolutely all my flaws.”
“And Jane, why didn't you do anything about it?”
“Because, I thought all I needed to do was to know that I have these flaws.”

You say, “Where in the world is there a Jane like that?”  There's never a Jane like that! I mean, every one of us who wakes up in the morning, looks at ourselves in the mirror.  We do it for the purpose of ‘hiau tam po lah’ (colloquial for making ourselves attractive, or even flirtatious in a joking manner), we do it for the purpose of rectifying what is ugly, what is out of order.  We trim nose hair, we comb our hair.  We, we wash away the mascara.  We do all these things.

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But when it comes to the Christian life, we are like the fictitious Jane, I shared with you. We, we wake up in the morning, we read our Bible and all we are satisfied with is, “I just want to see how ugly I am.” I just want to see, “Aiyah, God talks about my sin.” “But you know what, I am just going to walk out and let that continue and not do anything about it.”  So James says, “Don't be deceived.”  Reading the Bible is about being doers of the Word, and not hearers only.  And he continues to say, “It is a doer who acts, that will be blessed in his doing.”

But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
(James 1:25 ESV)

We often think that a doer or a reader is blessed in his reading.  Whilst that is true to a certain degree, it is for the intent that we may do God's Word.  That we will really have the blessings. So Paul is saying, “Change!” Jesus is saying, “Change!”  When you read the Bible, change your life.  James is saying, “When you read the Bible, change.”  And even Obama says, “Change!”

The key in reading the Scriptures, is that we would do God's Word, change our lives. You see, at the end of the day, like I said it's not about acquiring truth.  It's about applying truth.  It is not about information, it is about transformation.  Is about getting the Word of God into your life, by obeying it.  So, what is the pastor's heart for his church? Is it my goal for you, every Sunday to wah, give you chim, chim (colloquial for deep meaning ) stuff?  Interest you with trivia and facts?

No!  The heart of any good pastor, the heart of any pastor who follows the Scriptures, is that they wish, they pray, they labour towards a people will be transformed by the Word of God, a people will obey God's Word.
So Paul says, “This is my goal. I wrote to you extensively, so that I may bring you to obedience.”

...to bring the Gentiles to obedience…..
(Romans 15:18 ESV)

Now, that's, that's important.  But what's coming up next is even more important. You say, “Why should I obey?” Ha, ha, why should Christians obey? And Paul says, “I know why and I tell you why.” In verse 16. He says, “I am a minister of Jesus Christ, to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the Gospel of God.” He is saying that the obedience of the Gentiles is related to the Gospel of God.

…..to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God
...to bring the Gentiles to obedience…..
(Romans 15:16-18)

It is the Gospel of God that leads people to obedience if I may put it this way. It is the obedience, it is the Gospel that leads people to obedience and obedience flows from the Gospel. You say, “What's the Gospel?” The Gospel is about the good news. The good news of God loving us.  The good news of God loving us and giving us His Son to die for us.

It's the good news of God's amazing love for us, in giving His Son to die for us while we were yet sinners.  If I may put it in another way, it's about God's love for us while we were disobedient.  When we were enemies, when we hated God, when we have no desire, nor capability to obey, God's love broke through into my life.  That's the Gospel!  That’s the good news!  And it is this amazing, unconditional love for sinners.  When I received it, that would drive me and empower me and motivate me to obey my God.

You see, it is very important for you to grasp this!  It's about God's love before obedience.  It is not that you obey in order to earn God's love.  It's when you know God's love that you will obey Him.  In other words, you obey not because you are forced to, but because you want to.  You obey not because you are guilt-ridden, but because you are grateful.

You don't earn God's love by obedience.  You express God's love by obedience. “If you love Me, you keep My commandments.” You see, this is vital to grasp.  Churches that don't grasp this, has this kind of a message. “Hey, we are glad you came to church today, obey.  We do not know your names, but obey.  I do not know anything about you, but this is my message, obey, obey, obey.  And don't come back until you learn to obey, because it's all about obeying.”

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You know what?  Nobody is going to come back because nobody is able to fully obey before they can be accepted by God!  No one can do that!  It is not about obedience earning God's love. You know it is very interesting, just think about Israel, think about the nation.  It's a great nation. You know the story of Israel. They were in a very, very deep, difficult, in a very difficult situation when they were in Egypt.

They were slaves for 400 over years.  But one day, God said to them, “I will deliver you.” Why?  “Because I love you.” Why?  “Because I chose to love you.  I chose to set My love upon you, not because you were a great nation, you were a small little people.” ‘kuching kurak’ (colloquial for nothing).  “You were nobodies, but I chose you.  I set My love upon you.”

“But, but, but, but we didn't do anything first?” “But that's okay, I love you.” “But, but, but we have not obeyed.” “But that's okay, I haven't given you the 10 commandments. I love you.” And so right there in Egypt, God said to Israel, “I'm going to deliver you.” So right there in the crossing of the Red Sea, we have the story of salvation.  We have the story of rescue.  It's God's love put into action!

And so, God did everything for them.  God eliminated Ramesses and his Egyptian army.  God provided for them; protected them. He guided them all the way till this place called Mount Sinai.   Not near Holland ah (Note: There's a place in Singapore called, ‘Mount Sinai’ in the Holland Road area), Holland Road.  It's Mount Sinai in Middle East.  And it's on Mount Sinai that God now gave to them the.., the what? The Ten Commandments.

Wah, the Ten Commandments.  When we talk about church, everybody thinks about Ten Commandments.  And we think that being a Christian is about fulfilling the Ten Commandments to earn God's love. Now, we got it all wrong, we didn't read the Bible.  The Bible tells us the Ten Commandments, the law was given only after salvation.  It was not given before!  And Christians today, Churches today got it all wrong when we go around telling people you know, this is the way to be a Christian, you obey God and then God may in his kindness save you.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! God loves you, God loves you. He gave His Son while we were yet sinners, receive His love.  And when the Gospel is now received into your heart, it will come forth with obedience, with the observance of God's law. So, this is it, the Christian life is about us knowing deeply the Gospel of Jesus Christ.   His amazing, unconditional love for fallen, disobedient sinful people like as we are. And when the Gospel goes deep into your heart, you will want to obey God.

You see, obedience doesn't make God love you more. You know why? Because God loves you in the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ. So obedience doesn't make God love you more.  He loves you, as in Jesus Christ, steadfastly, but it does show that you love God.  It's a key.  So Paul says, “I want you to obey.  But I want you to obey, not because I'm waving a baseball bat that whacks you when you don't.  I'm not telling you that God will kick you out of his family when you don't.”  I'm telling you this, “He already loves you so much. If you really know the Gospel, love Him and you love Him by obeying Him.”  That's how you show your love for your God!

So this is the Gospel driven obedience. Not one of slavish fear, but one of a joyful, grateful heart, in response to the great things Jesus has done for you. And the amazing thing about this, is that Paul is saying, “This is my heart, My heart for you is that you would know the Gospel, the love of God so deeply, that you will obey Him.  And this pleases God.”  Because Paul adds on,

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“I want to remind you, this is so important.” Paul says that.  “I am going to remind you. I am going to tell you this reality, over and over again.”  That's why he says in verse 16.

I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.

But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, ……
(Romans 15:14-16 ESV)

“But at some points, I written to you very boldly by way of reminder. I think this is really important, I want to tell you, over and over again.  I remind you, because you forget it, you may depart from it. Now I know you guys are great guys.”  In verse 14, he says,  “You are full of goodness, you are filled with all knowledge, you are able to instruct one another. I mean you guys are counsellors for one another.  You guys are really skilled in the Bible. You guys are good Christians.”

“But I am still bringing you back to the fundamentals.  I'm not here trying to reinvent, I'm not trying to be clever and creative.  I'm here to bring you back to the fundamentals.  Because this is the bottom line, the bottom line is my heart's desire is that you will know God's love, so much, so well that you will obey God.”

“So I put you to remembrance.” And then he says, “This is the, this is something beautiful, that when the Gentiles received the Gospel and are so deeply impacted by the Gospel to obey, they are an offering that is acceptable.” The word, ‘acceptable’ means well received.  It is something that pleases God. This is something that God is delighted with. Do you know that when you live that obedient life, your Father breaks out with a smile on His face?  He does!

Now, He loves you, that is clear.  He loves you unconditionally.  But when we walk in obedience, we bring a smile to our Father's face.  I have two sons, 5 and 1-year-old.  People always ask me, “How come I always talk about Shawn and not Matthias?” Because Matthias cannot give a lot of illustrations for me, cannot obey, cannot do anything.  But, I love my two sons, alright.  I love Shawn. I love Matthias, I love my two sons, and because I know God's love for me is, unconditional and steadfast, I endeavour by the grace of God to love my kids unconditionally and steadfastly.

If Shawn and Matthias are really, really naughty boys, you know what, I was still love them.  I won't say to them, “Eh, you naughty boys.  Get out of my house. I don't love you anymore.” You know those things, I hope I will never, ever say in my life.  And I will never, never think in my life because I want to know the love of the Father for me, to be reflected in my love for my kids.  It's an unconditional love!

But when my sons obey.  Now, the 1st one, still cannot obey.  No, I mean, the second one still cannot obey, one-year-old. The first one when he obeys, now, my love for him doesn't change.  But when he obeys, Wah, there is a big smile that will come out on my face and in my heart.

I mean, just recently my, my son was in the art class.  I was sitting, there, the conclusion of the art class, you have to wash his hands.  So I see him walk to the sink, together with a smaller little girl.  He goes there, he goes to the sink. He, he turns on the tap, washes his hands. The little girl, turns on the tap, washes her hands.  And then I see my son look at her.   Look back, look at her, look up, look at her and reached out for a piece of paper and then passes it to her.

Aiyoh, ho, ho, ho, aiyoh, as a daddy, I, I was watching this in silence. I was just watching what he is going to do because I knew that girl was too short to reach out to the paper.  And when I saw my son, do that, wah, hah, hah, I tell her that was, that was a real high for me, man.  That was a real joy, I mean, I mean, I love my son, but when he is doing good things, he's walking right, it is such a thrill. I was so happy! I could imagine, when we as God's children, love eternally, steadfastly, walk in obedience.  You know what?  It's like an offering that is pleasing to our God.  That aroma, pleases our Abba Father.

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So Paul says, “The bottom line is this, I gave you so much.” We, we, we went through Romans for 2 1/2 years.  You say, “Why ah, so cheong hei?” (colloquial meaning, long-winded) Why ah? “Because I want to put you in remembrance, to know the Gospel, deep within your heart that.  That there will be flood of love that wells up within you, that you may then obey God.  And in the process, please God that loves us and sent His Son for us.”

Your obedience pleases God.  Why? Because of obedience springs forth out of love, springs forth out of faith. When you, when you obey God, it means you will have faith in God.  Do you know that? You believe His Word, and you do His Word.  And faith pleases God.  Without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith pleases God and faith will evidence itself by works, by obedience.  That's what it’s said, “Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe”.  And when I believe God, when I obey God, it pleases God.  Brings great joy!

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Your obedience matters a lot to God.  Obedience is better than sacrifice.  Sometimes you like to cover it up.  We like to cover up our lack of obedience by saying, “Okay God! I want to come to church every Sunday, I am going to attend everything that is possible. I am going to serve. I am going to do a lot things. I am going to give a lot of money to the church.”  But, you know, my heart, I don't want to obey.  I just want to do these things, sacrifice, cover-up. But God says, “What really is delightful for me, is obedience.”

You know, Shawn, Shawn can use, can go and take some toys, sweets, candies give it to me. But nothing thrills my heart than seeing my son obeying. It’s key.  You see, what is the sum of these things? I say, number 1, obey, say, at the end of the service, if you forget every word, just remember this word okay, ‘obey’. But remember, this obedience is not out of a slavish fear or a fear of condemnation.  This obedience springs forth from the Gospel love.  We love Him, we obey Him.  And we love Him because He first loved us.  And when we obey, it brings glory to God.

You say, “What is apostle Paul's heart?”  It's here. You know Christianity is not complicated.  Don't you think so? Christianity is not complicated.  It's in these three words, I think. (Pastor points to three words, Gospel, Obey, Glory). Christianity is about the love of God in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How God sent His Son to die for us while we were unworthy, filthy, disobedient people.  He loved us. He saved us, whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have this everlasting life.  And when you have this everlasting life, there's a new change within you and you now want to obey.  And when you obey, your obedience brings glory to God. That's the purpose of God in the Gospel.  God's glory.

1].  Hearing This Message Affects The Way You Listen to God’s Word
I am going to end with a few applications.  Number one, hearing this message should affect the way you listen to God's Word.  It’s a change of attitude towards the Scriptures.  It should change the way you do your quiet time.   It should revolutionize the way you come to hear messages on Sunday mornings.

You see, many people come to be entertained.  I think there are many people go to churches today, this morning for entertainment.  We are always hoping that the pastor will be really comical or really, really funny, or really entertaining.  And what they want is entertainment. Well, some churches, however, they may not want entertainment, they want information.  “Eh, give me some more facts. I want facts, I want facts, I want facts.”

Some people say, “I want to go to church for encouragement.” Now, there's nothing wrong with information. There's nothing wrong with encouragement.  But I'm saying this, “More than saying, “I want to be encouraged, I want to be informed.”  Have you ever asked yourself, I want to listen to the message for obedience?”

So, I come to church, not saying, “Hey, what is the new thing you're going to teach me today? Hah.  Pastor, show me lah, Kua le lua kiang (colloquial for meaning, how smart you are)? How clever you are, give me some more new facts, lah?”

“Ah, Pastor, I've heard that before lah!   Don't tell me that, I've really known this.”  May be that is a silent prayer in your heart as you sat here, this morning, “God, make Pastor entertaining. Help him to give me some new amazing mind-blowing facts. Lord, please help him not to say the same old things, but new things I've never heard before.”  But has it ever been in your heart to say, “Lord, tell me what I need to obey.” Because, it's not in the knowing, but in the doing that you will be blessed.  To change the way you study the Bible, quiet time, mornings, Bible studies.

When you get to your care groups, when you get to your small groups, what do you do? Impress one another with knowledge? Or would you say, “Help me do this, pray for me to do this.” Is there that accountability for information or is there the accountability for obedience? It makes a whole world of difference for your life.

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Suppose today, let me give you an illustration.  Suppose today, you have a stick of satay, right in your hand.  Reach under your chair, ah, okay, don't have, there is no satay (a local dish of BBQ meat skewered on a small short stick) to take away, don’t worry. Suppose, you have a satay in your hand, wah, is the, not the normal you have, it's the old type, the olden type, the Hainanese type.  Where there is a, there is a piece of the chiak bak (colloquial term for lean meat).  What do you call chiak bak in English?

The lean meat.  Alright, where you have the lean meat, then you have the layer of fats.  Then you have the lean meat, and the thick layer of fats.  You know the Hainanese one, the big chunky one? And then you dip it into the typical, the Hainanese gravy, got peanut and got pineapple one.  Wah, barbecue, grill one.  The charcoal grill, very very nice. (makes a loud sniffing sound) Can you imagine it? Can you smell it whenever you're holding it? Alright.

And you take this satay, and you put in your mouth. (pastor makes slurping sounds) You lick it.  You suck it. But you don't bite it ah, and you take it out, “Wah, very nice!” And then, you put it in your mouth again (pastor makes slurping sounds) and then you take it out, “Wah very nice!” (pastor makes slurping sounds) And you take it out .  “Wah, not so nice already.” (pastor makes slurping sounds) Doesn't seem very nice after a while, and you do it for tens, twenties, hundreds of times.

Shiok or not?  (a colloquial expression for extremely nice or not). You want to eat like that? No, not very exciting alright.  Why? Because the joy of the satay is when you (pastor makes slurping sounds, then followed by a swallowing sound) , “Wah (loud laughter) very nice, I want the next one.”

Time stamp in audio 0:34:13.3.

There are many of us, who read the Bible like sucking the satay stick. (pastor makes slurping sounds) “Wah, very nice truth.” (pastor makes slurping sounds) Put it one side.  You never quite internalize the satay.  You never quite absorb God's Word.  You never quite live out God's Word. Have you ever wondered why you have been in church for years and you never grow?

You say, “Eh, I can't figure out, you know.  Pastor, I have been in, I have been a Christian for many years.  I have come to church for many years.  I have listened to all your sermons. I have listened to all of Pastor Paul's sermons.  I can memorize and repeat them, how come my life is the same ah?”

I will tell you why. Okay, because you have been sucking the satay (pastor makes slurping sounds), but you never swallowed it. Therefore you never grow.  You never live out God's Word.  You never internalize it, no wonder you are same yesterday, today and forever. (light laughter in the congregation) in a bad way. Hey, you got to internalize by obedience.

I hope it changes the way you approach the Scriptures because it is not meant for information, it's meant for transformation. It's about the practicing.  It's about the doing.  It's about the building.  It's about the obeying. That's what Jesus said.  That's what Paul says.  That's what James says.  That's what the entire Bible is for, that we may see Christ, we may see ourselves and we may obey and obey and obey, that there will be life transformation.   That's the goal!

Time stamp in audio 0:35:41.9.

2]  The Gospel-Centered Life
A 2nd application, I want to give to the church is that we need to live Gospel-centered life. Now this is important, what do you mean by Gospel-centered life? Luther had this very interesting quote, he says, “History, is like a drunk man on a horse, no sooner has he fallen to the left side that he picks himself up and falls over on the right side.”

You know, a man on a drunken horse, no, not a man on a drunken horse.  A drunken man on a horse, alright.  A man on a drunken horse is dangerous as well.  But a drunken man on a horse is bad.  He, he falls to one side and picks himself up and he is unsteady and he falls to the other side.  He says, “History, is like this.”   May I say, “The Christian life is also like this.  No sooner had we said, “Oh, that's bad!” That we get up and we fall over to the other extreme, and we are equally in a mess.”

You say, what I'm talking about? I am talking about this; many people have fallen to the right side. The right side is legalism. It's about trying to earn God's favour by my obedience. So, you come from churches that are highly legalistic, pressurizing.  You got to match up, you got to match up.  You got to match up and if you don't do this, you are out.  You are not a Christian. God doesn't want you.  God doesn't love you.  You will be judged.  You will be condemned.

And they walk away with fears and guilt and sadness and sorrow and grief, because they never are able to match up to God's standards. They can never be good enough to earn God's love. So, they live, the entire Christian life of being beaten down.  Legalism or as another word for it, moralism, behaviourism.

The drunk man doesn't know the Gospel, but then this drunk man, because he is not Gospel-centered, he is not sober.  He gets up and says, “Oh, okay, it is not obedience that earns favour, therefore, I swing to the other side, obedience is not important at all.  So, I can live anyway I want because God loves me anyway.  God loves me even if I'm , I am sinning.   God loves me even, if I disobey.  Because why, He loves me in Jesus Christ.  And that’s the kind of language, that's the kind of thinking we have.  That has shown that whilst we got up from the right side, we have fallen on the left side.

Now, this left-sided state is what we called, a very chim (colloquial for deep ) word, ‘antinomianism’ or whatever you want to call it, ah do whatever I want kind of a lifestyle. The law is not important, the Word of God is not important, obedience is not important. I can do whatever I want. You know what, both are wrong ways of Christian living.

The only right way, the only sober way, is for this man to have the Gospel deep within his heart.  So that he knows, he doesn't earn God's favour, he receives God's favour in Jesus Christ.  He is loved.  He is deeply blessed.  But that motivates him, not to live as he pleases, in his old selfish sinful ways, but to live the way God wants.  Obedience!

Time stamp in audio 0:38:47.6.

It's an obedience that flows from the Gospel.  It's the Gospel that leads to obedience. That's why Paul says, “I'm going to remind you.  I'm going to remind you.  I'm going to remind you of the Gospel, of the Gospel, of the Gospel, of the Gospel that leads to obedience.  And obedience and obedience, because otherwise you be like a drunk man falling off either side, all the time.”  Pip pop pip pop pip pop pip pop, it's a very frustrating way to live your Christian life.

3]  Faith Creates A Prompt Obedience
A third application, I want to share with you is what Spurgeon has said, “Faith creates a prompt obedience”.  Don't delay.  You know, obey, right away.  We say this to our kids, "Obey, right away."  We come this morning and maybe God is already speaking into your life, about an area of your life.

Maybe you are struggling with pornography.  Maybe you are struggling today with bitterness and anger in your heart.  Now, you say,” I know I shouldn't be angry.  I know I shouldn't be indulging pornography. I know I shouldn't do this, but, but you know I've been a Christian for 20 years.  I, I, I am a good man. I come to church. I studied the Bible. I have read the commentaries.  I think it's okay.”

No, it's not okay, all your knowledge, all your experience of being to Bible conferences, seminars, Bible studies, comes right down to this, will you obey?  It really doesn't matter how theologically sound your arguments can be.  It comes right down to this, will you obey?

Time stamp in audio 0:40:34.8.

Let me share with you.  Recently, I discovered that I have a stack of NTUC vouchers. You know, NTUC vouchers, they, somebody gave it to us as a gift.  And I have left it, I didn't know about it or I sort of forgot about it for some time.  And recently, I rediscovered it.  I knew it was going to be a bit late, because I've neglected it for some time.  But when I took it out, I realized it was about 8 or 8 vouchers or so.  Six of them are expiring on 8 August, so I'm okay.  But 2 of them expired on the 26th of July, which is past already.

So I have 6 vouchers that are valid and two vouchers that are invalid.  And, and this is what went through my mind, siow liao, (colloquial for crazy) you know when you have expired vouchers, you want to kill yourself.  “Wah lao, (colloquial expression for this is terrible, crazy) stupid lah, you, you should have used it earlier lah. Now you see lah, you waste two lah.”  I can imagine wah, what a stupid fool I am!

And so, I thought, maybe myself, okay, okay, okay, is not good to waste.  So, maybe this is what I would do. I go to the auntie, the cashier and I put the 6 that are on 8 August in front, and then I put the 26 of July at the bottom, so that she scanned the first two, after that, 12345678 okay, pass. (Laughter in the congregation)

Nobody is going to know! I know your estimation of me went right down the bottom. (Laughter in the congregation).  But that was the thought that I had.  “Wow, what a brilliant plan!” Then I thought about it, thankfully, I didn't act.  You know that's what it is right, the, the Christian life, is, you got to struggle.  It's a fight. It's a battle.  Spiritual battle at, yah spiritual battle over NTUC vouchers. (Laughter in the congregation). But that is it, I was struggling and I thought, “Wow, if I did that, what if the cashier at the end of her day, has to make accounting and the supervisor saw her and say, “You stupid ah.  You payback for that money.”  Wah, that wouldn't be … that wouldn't be right!

But more than that, I thought to myself, “Hey, it doesn't matter if you are a preacher, pastor, Christian, blah blah blah. Doesn't matter if you have known the Bible you are teaching.  It comes down to this, will you obey? Because it's dishonest, it's cheating.  It's not loving my neighbour, right?  I am not going to tell you what I did next. (Laughter in the congregation).

No, lah, I will, I will. So what I did was at the end of it, I brought the vouchers, I say, “Auntie ah, 我六张可以的哦，两张不可以的，怎么办啊?”  I asked, “Auntie, what to do hah? I have got two extra what to do ah? She says, “Ah, never mind lah, can lah, can lah.” (Laughter in the congregation).

You know God works in mysterious ways. (Laughter in the congregation) But you know that spiritual battle came right down to that. Now, it doesn't matter if I know about Calvinism, Arminianism, or Supralapsarianism or infralapsarianism.  It doesn't matter if I know all the things.  It came down to that - Will I obey?  And life is about the thousand little choices where you have to make - Will you obey?

You know, we can always go … I have been a Christian, I serve this, I know a lot of bi [sic bible], look at my bookshelves, so many books you know!  Will you obey?  Right away?  You know why?  Because God is concerned for your foundation of life. I think if on that day, I did not choose right, something is chipped off the foundation of my life.

You, who are dwelling in, indulging in pornography, it will chip away your life.  Now, it may seem like it's nothing.  I mean, pornography, nobody knows.  It's okay, its fine!  I'm still going to church. I am still reading the Bible.  Wait till a storm of life comes, just wait till that day and everything is washed away.    It’s gone!  Then you would have said, “Pastor, I should have known this earlier. I should have done this earlier.”  But friends, it's too late, you did not do.  You knew it, but you did not do!  You say, “Tomorrow, I will do.  Tomorrow I will do.”  Sounds like dieting, right?

Tomorrow then fast, today buffet. (Laughter in the congregation) Tomorrow … you can know all the theories about dieting, but until you do what, you know about Atkins diet, don't know what, how many thousand diets there are today.  You can know about these things, but until you exercise it and do it, there will be no change!

Faith, creates a prompt obedience.  Will you do it?

And lastly, I say to you, “Maybe today, you are, you have come to church because your foundations are breaking down.”  You did not know Jesus, you have never heard the Bible.  That's why you're here and your life right now is in a mess.  You know that your foundation cannot hold.  Can I challenge you and encourage you today?  Have a new foundation.  Have Jesus as the foundation of your life.

Jesus says, “I've come to give life.  I've come to give life and that you may have life more abundantly.” Change your foundation.  Turn from your wicked ways.  Turn from your selfish ways and believe in Jesus Christ and let Him restore your life.   It's all about Jesus today.  It's about what He has done!

So today, this is the pastor's heart, from the great apostle Paul. You say, “Pastor, what's your point, giving us 15 chapters of Romans?” “ Jason, why, why did you make us go through two and a half years of Romans?”  Comes right onto this, that we may obey.  Obey because of the Gospel that brings glory to God.

And I pray in GLCC, we will be a church that would be leading generations into a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ.  We're not here for information.  We are here for transformation.  A life changing relationship!  It goes right down to this, obedience.  Obedience because of the Gospel, would you do that?  May God help us.

Let's bow for a word of prayer this morning.  Is God saying something to you about your life?  About a secret sin? About pride?  Covetousness?  Worldliness?  About bitterness and wrath?  Is He saying something about your sexual life, your thoughts?  Something is amiss, you know it.  He has been prompting you in your heart for long while to do what you need to do.  But you have been saying, “Another day, another day.”  You have been saying, “God, I'm fine and I'm coming to church. I'm giving my sacrifice.” Obedience is better than sacrifice.

The point of the message is not for you to know something good, or to feel good, or to feel even sorry for yourself. The point of the message is that you may do good.  And it begins right here, in the quietness of your heart. Making a choice to obey and when you take that choice to obey, God grows you.   Because you are exercising faith and He is going to open new vistas of understanding, of opportunities, of blessing.  And as James would say, “You will be blessed in your doing.”  He wants the best for you and it's found in the path of obedience.

Have you been struggling your whole life, trying to earn God's favour, trying to match up? Can I tell you to stop trying and start trusting.  Trusting in Jesus and His finished work on the cross.  Trusting in His Word that says, “I love you with an everlasting love.  Nothing will separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.”   Start trusting the Gospel!  Start going deep into the Gospel and discover that wellspring of joy and assurance and peace.  Fix your eyes on Jesus and not on yourself.

Live, rejoice in the Gospel-centered life.  Are you here today and you're searching for meaning, the 2nd chance in your life?  You need a new start!  You need a new Lord!  You are sick and tired of living your own life.  You want something else, something better to guide you, someone far superior.  The only foundation that can stand the storms of life is Jesus.  Would you believe in Jesus today?   It is not far.  It's not difficult.  But it does take you, willing to admitting you are a sinner, who is helpless and hopeless.  And it takes you beholding Christ dying for your sins, believing that He did it for you.  Believing that He rose again victorious, for you.

And the Scripture says, “Whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”  And I wish this for you, my dear friend.  If you're here today, for the 1st time you do not know Gospel, you do not know the Lord Jesus,  the invitation is - whosoever believes, will have everlasting life.

And so Father, we are grateful this morning for Your precious, precious Word.  And, and it's so precious because it reveals Your heart towards us.  A heart of kindness, a heart of love, a heart that wants the best .  We have been so fooled, so duped into thinking that the ways of the world's best.  We have been lured by the temptations of the flesh, of lust and of sin.  We have been short-sighted, we have not believed You.

Allow our faith to arise today.  Arise to a level where we can say, “Lord, we will obey and do Your will.”   May we find our joy in obedience, even in obedience to believe in Jesus as our Saviour.  So bless Your people today, bless each one. I pray this for myself.  I pray this for my church.  I pray this for Your church, for Your people, thanking You.  I believe this hour is not spent in vain.  You have a divine purpose, accomplish it in our lives.  We pray this in Jesus’ Name.  Amen.  Amen.  God bless.