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And we are continuing our series through the book of Matthew. So if you have your Bibles, will be great if you could turn to Matthew chapter 12. We will be looking at some eight verses today, verses 43 all the way to verse 45.

Well, one of the favourite food of Singaporeans I suppose, would be wagyu beef. I mean this is to die for. This is really absolutely tasty. You don't need much, just a bit of salt, a bit of pepper, this turns out divine. And the more marbled wagyu beef is, the better it tastes. Because the flavour comes from the fat streaks, the white streaks that course through the fibres of the meat. The more fibres, more marbling you have, the more tender it is. This is absolutely wonderful. And so, it was a shock and a horror to me, when I saw on Facebook this particular video that I would share with you. Take a look.

[video plays]

Well, be careful the next time you want to buy beef because you never know whether it is the real deal, or the fake one. Today, there are so many fakes all around us. You've fake beef. You've fake eggs. You've fake noodles. You have a lot of fake stuff. And it's quite hard to tell the next time you go to the supermarket. Maybe this is the rubber, leather, plastic all chimed in. And the more marbled it is because they put more white paint, that's all. It is scary! But whilst it is scary that you've fake food, it is more scary when you've fake Christians, isn't it?

It is more scary when it comes to the spiritual life. You see, there are many people today who might look like the real deal. They look like they're very religious people. They look like they are God's people, but actually they are not the real deal. Are there such people in this world? There has always been counterfeit, there has always been hypocrites.

We know that even during the times of Jesus. There are people during the times of Jesus, who looked the part. They speak the right language. They have the right kind of dressing. They have the right kind of behaviour. They even try to obey the law in many ways externally. But Jesus tells us, “They are not His people.”

Who are they? Well, there are people who looked absolutely pious and righteous. The Bible tells us of religious leaders who Jesus regularly exposes. The Pharisees are people who speak the right language, isn't it? They are people who study the Bible since they were young. They are people who memorized large portions of Scripture. They have all kinds of laws. They tithe their spices and mints. They were very particular, very exact. They keep the Sabbath right down to the T.

These people are what society would think will get into the kingdom of God. Yet, these are the exact people whom Jesus called, hypocrites. These are the people whom Jesus called, vipers. These are the people whom Jesus condemns and say, “Woe to you.” Because even though they have all the outward appearance of a man of God, inwardly they were far from God. Jesus said, “You draw near to Me with your lips, but your hearts are far from Me.”

And so it may be true that there are some even in religious places. In fact, many people in religious places who think that they belong to God, but actually their hearts are far. And the Pharisees, I think if they were to think about all these things, they know it. One of their leaders, one of their champions, one of the most respected people amongst the echelon there, must be the man, Nicodemus. You read about his story in John chapter 3.

Nicodemus is a ruler of the Jews. He's probably a rich man. He's a ruler. He's a religious man. And he must be a very respected man. But Nicodemus was plagued with this question that he could not answer. “How can I be sure, I'm part of the kingdom of God?”

“I have all these outward trappings. I read the Torah. I read the Bible. I , I memorize Scripture. I wear all these symbolic clothing. I keep myself clean. I don't, I don't mix around with dirty, sinful people. I'm a good guy externally but I'm not sure if I'm going to heaven. So I need to speak with Jesus. I need to ask Him the way of salvation and life. But I must not let my people know because I will lose face. It will be very embarrassing, so I'm going to look for Jesus at night.”

And that's what he did in John chapter 3. He came to Jesus by night. And before he could even ask his question, Jesus already knew what he was going to ask. And Jesus said to Nicodemus, in summary, “Nicodemus, except a man be born again, he cannot see or enter the kingdom of God.” “Nicodemus, what you have on the outside is very impressive. But it is all just external reform, it is all external stuff. What you need is to be born again. You need to have a reality from the inside out. You don't just need some outward clothing, you need an inward change.”

Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, “A man gets to heaven, not by outward reforms but that he must be inwardly reborn. Not reformed. Not just outward, not just language change. Not just clothing change, not just behaviour change. Not just an accumulation of knowledge. “You must be born again. You must be entirely new creation. Otherwise, you have all these things on the outside, you are empty on the inside.” And that has been the regular teaching of Jesus Christ to these religious people.

And so in our journey through the book of Matthew, you will recall there is this debate. There's this argument, if I may say between the scribes and Pharisees and Jesus Christ. The scribes and Pharisees have accused Jesus that He is not the Son of God. That He did all those miracles by the power of the devil. Jesus exposes their wicked hearts, calls them, “An evil and adulterous generation.” Jesus calls them, “A brood of vipers.” And Jesus now, tells them, “The problem with their external reforms and religion.”

Jesus now, tells them, “You, scribes and Pharisees, you can do all you want on the outside but you are really empty on the inside.” And He's going to do this by means of a very interesting story. The story that you have just read. It's a story of a demoniac. This story is not about the demoniac alone but this story is meant to be an illustration, to tell us of a spiritual truth, that a man does not come to God by outward reforms but that he must be inwardly reborn. So take a look at this story.

“When the unclean spirit it's a demon has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none.” [Matthew 12:43] So, this is a picture of a demon that wants to rest. Where do they rest? They rest in possessing beings. It might be humans. It might even be animals. We saw how the demoniac when he was exorcised, the demons rush out to inhabit the pigs, the swine.

So this demon got out of the, out of this man. This man, maybe had some change in his life. Maybe he tried to clean up his life. He stopped some external sins. And for all we know, the demon leaves him. Goes out to look for another to possess, but can't find any, he went out to the desert was none, Then it says, “Alright, since I can't find a new home for myself, I will return to my house.” [Matthew 12:44]

Scary when the demon thinks you're his house. “I will return to my house from which I came. And when it comes, it finds the house, the previous possessed man, empty, swept and put in order.” [Matthew 12:44] So apparently, this guy has cleaned up his life. Apparently, this guy has perhaps stopped his sins and vices. He had tried to live a good life and he has partially succeeded. He has put his house in order but the key word in this verse, you can circle it, is the word, ‘empty’.

Everything is good on the outside. But there is no change really on the inside. He is still empty. There is no reality of God in his life. It's all external reforms. So, when the demon comes back, sees him cleaned up but empty on the inside, “He goes and brings seven other friends, seven other spirits, more evil than itself.” [Matthew 12:45]

So, the Bible tells us that actually demons have different degrees of evil and wickedness. Some are evil, some are very evil. Some are very, very evil and some are very, very, very, very, very evil. You have different gradings. Maybe, they have PSLE exams and they score them accordingly. But anyway, they found guys with more points than himself. He found seven others, eight of them now entered this man. And the Bible says, “The last state of that person is worse than the first.” [Matthew 12:45] So what's the key word here? The word, ‘worse than the first’.

Now, I told you this is not a lesson on demon possession or exorcism. Because Jesus gave this as an illustration about the generation He is with. He says, “So also will it be with this evil generation.” [Matthew 12:45] “You guys are a generation that has all kinds of external religion. You clean up your act on the outside. You speak the right language. You obey the laws externally, but this generation is one where it is empty without God. And it will be worse for you.”

What Jesus is really talking about is external reform or self-righteous religion is always empty. And it makes you worse. Let me ask you, who are the people furthest from God today? Where do they go? Where are they? Where do you find them? The story that we are familiar with, is that of a Pharisee and the tax collector. There's this guy who dresses the part, he has all these religious clothing. He's a very .. I think accomplished man in society. He's a Pharisee. He's a religious guru. He's a teacher of the Bible but he walks with this ‘yaya papaya’ [proud] posture.

And he comes and he says to God, “I thank You God that I am not like other people. I don’t extort. I don't commit adultery. I, I am not like the tax collector who is behind me. And I am faithful, I, I pray, I fast, I give tithes of all that I have.” He never really ask God for anything. He just comes to God to boast of his self-righteous efforts. Looks good on the outside but there's nothing on the inside. And yet there's this tax collector, a despised sinner in those days, who comes and have no claims of what he has done except to say, “God have mercy on me a sinner.”

What did Jesus say? Who will be justified? Jesus said, “This tax collector who did nothing impressive on the outward sense, he is the one who will be justified.” Do you know that it can be very true that the people furthest from God may be people in religious settings. The people furthest from God may be people who are sitting right here this morning.

Oh, you look decent. You have a very decent family. You have a decent job. You have a decent wife. You have a decent husband. You raise your kids to be courteous and polite. You have learned some Christian language. You know how to say, “Praise God. Thank you God.” You know how to pray before your meals. You try to give some money to the offering bags. You try not to do to bad a thing. You have not committed adultery in your marriage. You look very decent but do you know, you can be like a Pharisee.

You grew up in church, but you can be like a Pharisee. Do you realize that? It's very scary! And what Jesus is saying is that when you are someone who has all these self-righteous efforts, without a real change of your life on the inside, you're not better. You are not neutral. You are worse! I did not say that, but the Bible says, “Truly … Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.” [Matthew 21:31]

Why? I thought these guys look decent. They are churchgoers. They understand the Bible. They read the Bible. They pray. Aren't they supposed to be nearer? No! Because they are filled with religious pride. They are so proud that they look better than others. And therefore, they think they do not need the grace of God. They've always been depending on their own efforts to be right with God.

And Jesus says, “When you have such religious pride, you're worse. You're further from God than the sinners and publicans and prostitutes who at least know that they are sinners and who need the mercy of God.”

No wonder Jesus went on to condemn them in Matthew 23:15, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites for you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, a single convert, a single disciple and when he becomes a proselyte, the disciple you make him twice as much a hell, a child of hell as yourselves.” All your teachings of self-righteous proud effort makes them further from God. Because you're just pumping them with self-righteous religious pride.

So, what is Jesus teaching in this story? He's saying that, “ Self-righteousness, now, this is probably the number one enemy to the Gospel.” When I read the life of Jesus, the thing that He dealt with the most, might be self-righteousness. Self-righteousness or religious pride or mere external reform, he's saying in this story, “Leaves men empty and worse off.”

Like I said, self-righteousness doesn't make you better. Neither does it make you neutral or the same, it makes you worse. And so this is very, very scary! Because this is so real in the church like ours. We are 31 years old, not very old, but not very new. What we are seeing in this church now is second generation children growing up to be adults, isn't it?

Often times, when a church history goes like this, you find very few churches by the way, that lasts very long. That's from history, just a general observation, you don't find churches last very long. They last for one, two generations, three and soon, it begins to fade away. Why? Why? Well, someone make this observation. Often times in the first generation, people get the Gospel, people understand that the way to God is not external change, but an inward transformation that is received when we believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The first generation is marked often times with real believers who understand the Gospel perfectly. First generation gets it, but the second generation assumes it. They assume everybody in the church knows the Gospel. They assume that if you just walk through the door, you must be a believer of the Gospel. It is assumed. And so, when it is assumed, the third-generation people lose the Gospel.

So you get the Gospel in the first generation, you assume the Gospel in the second-generation and you lose the Gospel in the third-generation. Because people now began to assume based on outward behavioural changes alone. It leaves people empty and worse off. Self-righteousness is deadly!

That's why on that night, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Marvel not that I said unto you. You must be born again.” [John 3:7] “Nicodemus, you must have chalked up a lot of points in religious systems. You must have done a lot. You must have learned a lot. You must have spoken a lot, but I tell you all these things matter for nothing. You, Nicodemus must be born again. You must be given an entirely new life.”

This word, ‘born again’ can also be read, ‘born from above’. “Nicodemus, you can't change yourself. You need to be changed. You need to be given this miracle of spiritual rebirth by God from above. Nicodemus, you need to come to God like a little child. You need to humble yourself, realizing you can't save yourself, only God saves.”

So Jesus later on, would tell people, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter into it.” [Mark 10:15] It's not asking you to be childish, but it's asking you to be childlike. What is the typical characteristic of a child? He knows that he's needy and he cries out for help. There are people today who are not childlike because they think they can help themselves. They think that by doing religious things, they will be alright before God. No! You need to learn to be like a child. Humble yourself and cry out to God for mercy and grace.

Let's not be a church, we are, maybe second-generation now, do you realize that because your kids are growing up. And through the course of these, I've been in pastoral ministry for 12 years, in the course of these 12 years, I've had the tremendous privilege to speak with some of you young people. I've even spoken with some of you churchgoers, you are 40, 50, 60 years old.

You've always thought that by coming to church you are God's people and I have had the tremendous privilege to meet with some of you and some of you have since realized, that all counts for nothing in terms of justification. But that it is only the Gospel that saves. And I wish and pray not just a few would get that but every single one of you would get that.

I pray you will not assume, will not assume the Gospel. The Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ dying and rising to save us from our sins so that we might be reconciled with God is a precious message that we can so easily forget and assume. But don't! Because it is the power of God unto salvation. We have no power to save ourselves, but God gives us the message the good news, the Gospel that has the power to save you.

I'm speaking to you, if you today are like Nicodemus. You look good on the outside but you're not sure on the inside. Let me tell you today it's the Gospel that can save. So apostle Paul wherever he goes, I think this is his philosophy, that is, this is his motto. He says, I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. [1 Corinthians 2:2]

I want to tell you, “Christianity is not about your external religious works to earn favour with God, it's about how God has already sent His Son, already crucified His Son, already punished our sins on His Son. And whosoever believes in Him receives this eternal life.” And I pray Gospel Light Christian Church will be a church that will always preach Christ.

What is our message in this church? Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We are not here to give moral education. I'm not here to give you positive thinking psychology. Oh no, not at all! I'm not even here, we are not even here to tell you what are the things you can do so that you may look good before God. No! We are telling you today Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

You know something, your kids need to hear from you, Jesus Christ. I was in Philippines this week, so I showed some pictures of Filipinos, Filipino’s children. Your children need Christ. I think there's this assumption that because my kids go to church with me, they attend Sunday school, they must be Christians. You may not say it but somehow I see many people believe it.

They assume. They assume that just because their kids come to church with them, their kids must be Christians. We always say this, “Going to church doesn't make you a Christian, just like going to McDonald's doesn't make you a hamburger, a big Mac.” Yes, going somewhere doesn't make you something. Coming to church doesn't make your kids, Christian.

What your kids need is to hear of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Parents, do you preach Christ to your kids, every time? Do you? I'm not saying every day we meet him, Christ, Christ. I mean, they will be bored lah. But as best as you can, in the daily activities of life, as you sleep, as you rise up, as you walk, as you work, as you play, do you point them to the Gospel? Every night when you are reading the Bible with your kids, do you tell them the Gospel? Because it's so easy for us when we read the Bible, we teach our kids about moral values.

“Oh son, look at David, how brave he is. Be a David.” “Oh son, look at Daniel, how convicted he is. Oh, you must be a man of conviction.” “Oh, look at Abraham, how willing to take risk he is. You must be like an Abraham.” And after a while your kids, all he learns is that - I must have all these character traits. And he assumes that the Christian is someone who lives up to these moral traits. But you know what, that's the wrong way to teach them the Bible.

The right way to teach them the Bible, yes, nothing wrong with talking about all these moral behaviours and traits. The right thing to tell them about the Bible is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Whether it is Abraham or Daniel or David, it is all tied to this glorious story of God's promise of a Saviour who will save us from our sins.

Why was Daniel a man of conviction? Why was David courageous? Why was Abraham able to take risks? Because they all have a heart that believes the promise of a Saviour. I hope our children ministry in Gospel Light will always be gunning for the Gospel. Don't just teach your, your kids, don't just teach our children moral values.

Again nothing wrong with them, if they are in the context; a framework of the Gospel. But take away the Gospel, you have nothing left. In fact, moral education makes kids worse. I actually believe that. Makes them worse. Why? Just like what Jesus said, “They're like a demoniac who has somewhat externally cleansed his life, but he is empty and seven other spirits come into him and his last state will be worse than the first.”

And so when I look at the church, I've been in this church will 20 over years. I've seen young people grow up. They are, they are immersed in church culture. They are familiar with what things are going on in church. And when they arrive at 18, 19, 20, 21 years old, they suddenly decide for themselves, “I have enough of these Christian things. I going to leave this faith altogether.” And they head to the opposite spectrum of life.

You say, “Why?” Didn't we teach have all the values? Didn't we never teach them not to sin? Oh yes, we taught them that, but you know something, it was all on the outside. They have nothing on the inside. Their last state will be worse than the first.

I'm not suggesting at all that if we teach the Gospel faithfully, every kid will definitely be saved. No, I'm not saying that! It's the grace of God that saves. But have we done our level best? Will that be our goal each time when we teach the Bible to our kids, it's always the Gospel. When you discipline your kids, let it be all about the Gospel.

Well, I've have spoken a lot about that in times past, so I'll not rehashed that but preach Christ. Preach Christ to your children. Preach Christ to those who are in addiction. There are people today addicted to a lot of things. And you may give addiction recovery programs but if they do not have Christ, they fall back into it even harder.

In our country, we are thankful that there are many, many re, rehabilitation, recovery programs that are centered on the Gospel. I met with the leaders there and they tell me they do nothing else but to use the Bible and to teach them the Gospel. That's the only way these drug addicts can really be saved. Because you've got to give them something on the inside, otherwise external reforms do not last. Preach the Gospel.

I pray, in Gospel Light, we will not be a church that is only about rules and laws. Now, we must understand this properly, the law of God is a wonderful thing. We have already touched on that, some weeks back. I mean no way, I am in no way running down the law of God. The law of God is beautiful.
I love the law of God. And I believe if you're child of God, today you would say, “I love the law of God. I delight in God's Word. I delight in God's law.”

But if the only thing we teach to the church is laws and regulations, rules and statutes. And people then think that Christianity is all about me fulfilling these laws, then we have missed the point. The laws are beautiful only in the context of the Gospel. We don't earn God's favour with obeying the law, but we are freely loved by God's grace. He changes our heart. He gives us that new life. Now, I delight in the law.

Marriage, we preach Christ in broken marriages. When I was first in church, I don't hear of many broken marriages, at least in church. But today, because of sin of man, we have more and more. Maybe in the past, people cover it up better, but I think the human heart is the same. And in broken marriages we can give wisdom counselling like - do this, do that, don't provoke, don't provoke the other party, speak less, don't dominate, be nice. We can give all these kinds of tips but they don't really last unless the heart is changed.

I met with this couple recently, they struggle in their marriage. They have a hard time forgiving each other. And so when we met up, yes, we give some simple advises, so that they do not worsen the situation. But I did tell them at the very same time, all that I said to you in terms of such advice is just like Handyplas. Just a Handyplas over a deep wound. What you really need is not just handyplas, you need a real healing of the heart.

And the only way a heart can be healed, the only way you can have grace to forgive each other, is when you first know the forgiveness of God in Jesus Christ for you. You need to know the Gospel. You need to be born again. So we spent time, not just talking about marriage but we spent time understanding the Gospel, knowing God. Because I, I've seen in my life, I've seen in many people's lives, that when you know the Gospel, your marriage changes because you are changed. So preach Christ.

Spurgeon says, “The sermon which does not lead to Christ will make the devils in hell laugh, but make the angels of God weep.” So scary! Because across the world people today may be preaching sermons that are Christless. People today may be telling you about positive thinking. People today may be telling about health and wealth. People are giving you messages that make you feel good. But if they are not leading you to Christ, the devils laugh, the angels weep. And you will die in your sins.

But if we hear Christ, then the devils weep and the angels rejoice and souls are saved, lives are transformed because there is power in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Today, let me just bring it to a close. What you need is not external reform. You don't need that! Because it doesn't work. What you need is to be born again. What you need is a real life given from above.

You say, “How can I be born again?” Nicodemus asked that question, Jesus said to him, “All your external reforms won't work, Nicodemus. You must be .. How? How ow can I be born again? “I'm, I'm already so old, my mom is probably dead. How can I get back to a womb and be born?” “Oh no, no, no, Nicodemus you don't understand. It is not about physical birth, it's about spiritual birth.”

“What must I do?” Jesus said to him, “For God so loved the world …” Same chapter, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son. You're looking at Him right now, Nicodemus. That whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. [John 3:16]” Not external reforms. Not a dead set of rules and regulations but live, live from above. “Nicodemus, you must be born again.”

“What must I do?” Believe. “Repent of your sins, repent of your self-righteous reforms and believe in Me because I'm going to the cross. I am going to die for your sins and just like how Israel looked at the serpent that was raised during the times of Moses and was saved. You today, look to Me, the Son of God who will be raised on the cross, who will die for your sins and you will be saved.”

Please don't assume the Gospel in your life. Please don't assume because your IC, has this word, ‘Christian’. Or your name has a Christian slant to it or your or your language has a Christian lingo to it that you are saved. No, you must be born again! There will be a real change in your heart and in your life.

Well, I could end the sermon here. But then, Jesus gave us something else and what happened was that there was a kind of interruption. As He was speaking these things, as He was giving this illustration of, of the demoniac, someone came in and said to Him that, “His mother and His brothers are outside waiting to speak with Him. But He said to the man, “Who is my mother and who are My brothers?” [Matthew 12:46-48]

Jesus now, is it's not that he doesn't know who His mother and brothers are? But He's turning this interruption into a kind of lesson, into an instruction time. And He said, “Who is my mother and My brothers?” And then He turned and faces His disciples, “Stretching out His hand and said, here are my mother and My brothers.” This is my real family because we all have life, life from God. We are bound together not by external realities, but an inward reality.

And He says, “Whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” [Matthew 12:49-50] You know what it means to have life? You know what it means to be born again? You are someone who will do the will of My Father. The scribes and Pharisees do not do the will of My Father. They speak the language. They look the part, but their hearts are far from Me. They don't do God's will. But those who are born again, this is the miracle. They do the will of My Father.

Gospeliters, you have been in church, maybe for 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years. Can you say this, “I do the will of the father.” No, no, no, no, I'm not talking about perfection. I'm not saying that you know you're Christian only if you're living that good life all the time, that righteous life. No, no one can do that, we have the flesh in us.

Like I said, it's three steps forward, two steps back. Is like a stock market. Which stock in the world goes up all the time? If there is, please tell me, I would like to invest in it. But no stocks go up all the time, right? They go up, they come down, they go up, they come down, they go up, they come down. But the right stock general direction is up. If you are of the right stock, if you're born again, let me tell you, your stock will be on the way up but there are times when it comes down, goes up because we, we struggle with the flesh still. So are you a good stock? Are you born again?

Please understand today, I am not trying to shake the confidence of those who are truly born again. Not at all! No, God wants us to have assurance of our salvation. But at the very same time, this passage is exposing the false assumptions of false professors, of hypocrites. Of people who think they are good and they're righteous and they will definitely be going to heaven when they actually are not.

And Jesus is saying, “Your situation will be worse, but My disciples, those who believe Me, those who follow Me, they are part of the family. They will do the will of My Father. They are born again.” My goal and my prayer is that there will be none of you who would sit here assuming that you're saved all the day till, all the days of your life, till the day you meet your God and hear Him say, “I never knew you.”

But that you today will humble your heart like a little child and say, “I must be born again.” “God, I might have grown up in my daddy's home. I might have been in this church. I might even have read the Bible 20 times but I know there's nothing on the inside. Please have mercy on me, save me.” And if that is so, if there is just one of you who will be saved, it will be worth it all.

You know this is the great hope. Jesus says “The sinners, the tax collectors and prostitutes go into the kingdom of heaven before you.” In other words, it's still not too late for you to repent of self-righteousness and come to Jesus. Would you do that?

Let's bow for a word of prayer together. That fake wagyu beef is so unbelievable. But there are many fake Christians in this world. And I'm afraid, church by and large, has not confronted this issue of presumption. We are all very quick, we are all very quick to assume someone saved and be guilty, perhaps, of not really helping one another in the faith.

I'm not suggesting that we go around doubting people's salvation. No, not at all. But we must not be a people who do not have a clear understanding of the Gospel, nor a clear understanding of what it means to be born again. There is nothing more important than that you must be born again.

Really, this is a matter of eternal life and eternal damnation. So don't be casual. Don't be flippant but think hard about what the Bible has to say about salvation and life. Today, let us not think about someone else, but think about yourself. Can you say, “I am truly born again.” My heart is changed. I love God and I desire to obey Him. And in my life over the past 5, 10, 15, 20 years, my stock has risen. I really see progress, change in the years. I failed, I faltered by-and-by, but overall I am thankful that I can see change. It's not me, it's God. It's His grace, hallelujah, praise the Lord. He has saved me.

Because if you can't say that, then the message today is not meant to condemn you but the message today is meant to encourage you to truly come to Jesus right now. Like a little child, crying out, “Lord, help me because all these years, I've assumed that I'm saved. I'm assume that by my religiosity, by my faithfulness in church, by my giving of the money. Somehow I will be good enough for you.”

No, these are external reforms, it only leaves you empty. What you need today is to be born again by believing in Jesus Christ. “Ye must be born again.” It's a touch of God from heaven above, “Ye must be born again.”

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Gospeliters, it's so tempting for you and me to assume this church knows the Gospel. It's so tempting for us to believe our children know the Gospel. It's so tempting for us to believe that our friends who are called, Christians, know the Gospel. Never assume that! Never assume that!

May this church last for generations because we endeavour always to preach Christ and Him crucified. The world says “It’s boring.” The world says, “Is an old, old story.” But I say, “I love to tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love. I'm not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes.” Today, God's power may come into your life as you repent of your sins.

So Father this morning, we present our church and our hearts before you. O God, have mercy today to save people, save souls. Lord, I do not know how else to say this, but I know that Your Spirit can turn on the lights in their hearts and lead people truly, to know Your Son and be saved. Strip us, O God, from external reforms. Take away that hypocrisy. Remove that self-righteousness. Give us a touch from heaven above. May Your people here hear Your voice, repent and believe and be born again. Help Gospel Light whether here or overseas to be always preaching Christ. May many come to know You in the Gospel. We pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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