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Very good morning to all of you, welcome to Gospel Light and our second English worship service this morning. We come now to the final sermon in our series called “Two Ways to Live.”  It's also the final sermon in the Sermon on the Mount given by Jesus from Matthew chapter 5 to Matthew chapter 7.

Every week, my two sons would ask me, “Dad, what are you going to preach about this coming Sunday?” and this week was no different. Matthias asked me, “Dad, what’re, are you going to preach about this Sunday?” and I said to him, “I'm going to preach about how the wise man built his house upon the rock” and then I sang………”the wise man builds his house upon the rock” and Matthias immediately said, “Oh that one, I know, I've heard that many times already, you don't have to preach, we all know.”

Then I asked my son, yesterday, the other one, Shawn.  Shawn, “Do you know this wise man built his house upon the rock?”  He says, “yah!”  “Do you know what the lesson is all about in Sunday school?”  He says, “no, all I can remember is the song” and I suppose that summarizes how we approach these two or few verses. It is a verse or a few verses that we are all very familiar with.  We have heard it before, we have sung it but when we really think about it, we don't really know what it is all about so I hope this time will be a profitable time for you. It's not as easy as it looks.

Actually, the lesson at the end of it all is straightforward but to derive at the intention of Jesus Christ, it's not so straightforward so I will warn you that the first half of the sermon might be a bit technical but it will become clear in the middle and then we will have an application that I hope would be useful for you so this passage says, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock and the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house but it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock and everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand and the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell and great was the fall of it” so very simply, there are two men who built two houses, the first one, we’re going to look at is the wise man who builds his house upon the rock.

What is the rock? Well it obviously refers to a certain foundation, something that is steadfast, immovable, rock solid and Jesus says, “This rock, this foundation is meant to be a picture of my words.” “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock” so Jesus says, “a wise man builds upon my words.”  Jesus says, “A wise man builds upon the words of Christ.”

Now, immediately, many of us will look at this and say, “Ah, I get the lesson now, Pastor.  Wisdom is living in the light of God's Word.  Wisdom is applying God's Word and if we live out God's Word, we obey Him, we would have a good, successful, happy life.”  I think that's what many preachers would preach. I think that is what many Sunday School lessons would be about.  Children grow up learning God's word because if you learn God's Word, life would be better than if you did not live God's Word. Would I be right to assume that?

Well, that was how I understood this passage in the past but I don't think anymore that, that is what God intended, that is not what Jesus meant. I don't think Jesus is teaching you about the happy life, Jesus is not teaching you about the successful life.

Now it is true that it's much better to live in accordance to God's Word, you will not suffer the consequences of a rebellious sinful life. It's true that living in the light of God's Word is good but that's not what Jesus is teaching so even though that is truth, it's not the truth of this text. I suggest to you what Jesus is saying in the wise man building his house upon the rock is teaching us about the eternal life not the happy life now, it's about the eternal life that is to come.  Say, “How do you get that Pastor?  How do you know for sure?”

Well, that's the simple principle of reading the context when you read the Bible.  In other words, don't just take a passage, pluck it out and read it in isolation.  Read it where it is supposed to be.  Read the verses before, read the verses after so that you know why this text is written there so let's read a little bit before these verses and you'll know exactly why it is not about the happy life but the eternal life.

In verses 21 to 23, it says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name?’ and then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

Notice Jesus in these three verses, is talking about that day, that future day, that judgment day where those who do the will of God will enter the kingdom of heaven and those who are lawless, those who do not do the will of God will be banished from the everlasting presence of God. It's not about now, it's about then, it's not about happy life, it's about eternal life and it's in this context that He then says everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The word then equally can be translated, therefore, everyone therefore, about what, about that future day, about living in the knowledge that I'm going to face the judgment of God one day and if he is wise about it, he will live according to these words of mine and he will be like that wise man who built his house on the rock so He is teaching true wisdom is living in the light of God's Word and this man will stand on the day of judgment.

It's very interesting that Jesus says these words of mine, it’s very specific. In other words, He's talking about the Sermon on the Mount, these exact words I've been preaching from Matthew chapter 5 to Matthew chapter 7, these words of mine are very precious!  Now by the way do you know how long we have taken to study the book of Matthew up to chapter 7 today? Anyone knows how long it has been?  Sorry, six months, any other bidders?  From Matthew chapter 1 to Matthew chapter 7, how long have we taken?  Nine months okay, any other bidders?  One year, any other bidders?

I think we started Matthew in February 2017 so I think it's about 13, 14 months, so you say, ”Pastor, you're very ‘cheonghei’ [Cantonese: long-winded] you know, very ‘lorsor’ [Cantonese: continuing at tedious length], you talk so long, that we, wa, study so long then only Matthew chapter 7.  Why spend so much time?”

Well I think for one, these words of mine, Jesus says, are very important.  They are almost like a, an acid test to see if you are one who will enter the kingdom of God or one who will be banished from God's everlasting loving presence so why did He say these words of mine so specifically, what's so special about the Sermon on the Mount?

I want to remind you that what Jesus is teaching in the Sermon on the Mount is something very important.  He's not teaching about the peripheries.  He's teaching something important.  He's teaching what God's law is all about.  He's teaching the full counsel, or if I may say, the Old Testament, the will of God revealed in the Old Testament. This is how He started His sermon.  He says this is… “I did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”  What I'm going to say, what I'm going to do is never in contradiction with the Law or the Prophets.  “I've come to fulfill them. I truly say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”

He goes on to say in verse 19, “Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven” so the whole Sermon on the Mount, if I may summarize for you, is about living righteously according to God's laws. The whole Sermon on the Mount is explaining what real obedience to God's will looks like.  Why does He have to do that because the religious of leaders of those days, have corrupted the right understanding of what it means to live according to God's laws.  They have minimized God's laws.  They have made it very superficial.  They have turned in into some disguise for their hypocrisy so Jesus came and said I'm going to teach you the real meaning of the law.  I'm going to show you what real righteousness looks like and if any man lives according to how I've taught him, he's wise and he will stand on the day of judgment so in summary, Jesus is teaching about true righteousness as described in the law.  By the way, law is not a bad word.

Today, I think many people give law a bad name.  Er, they, they think it's very negative, it's er, it's not for the Christian, it's not for one who understands grace, not at all!  Law is a beautiful thing because it reveals the will of God and those who are touched by grace love the law of God. They want to fulfill it, not to get saved. They want to fulfill it because they are saved, alright, so law is not a bad thing and Jesus is teaching you kingdom living is in conformity to the law of God, that’s real righteousness and the wise are those who obey the law and so those who have eternal life, those who will stand on the day of judgment are those who obey the law.

I want to be very clear.  Some of you may be confused and say, “Pastor, are you saying that we earn salvation? We earn eternal life by obeying the law?”  “No, that's not what Jesus is teaching.”  They obey not to get saved.  Wise men, the true Christians, the true followers of Jesus, they do not obey to get saved but they obey because they are saved. They obey because God's grace has come into their lives, changed their heart, given them new desires, therefore they now obey so obedience to God's law is not the means by which a man is saved but it tells you whether a man is saved.

As what we said last week, obedience is the proof of salvation, not the purchase of your salvation. Obedience is the manifestation of salvation, not the means of salvation or obedience is the evidence of salvation and not the earning of salvation so a wise man is someone whose heart has been changed by God. He desires to obey. He actually obeys and he'll be someone who stands on the last day of judgement.

A wise man obeys even though it is hard work. In a parallel passage in Luke 6, we are told “Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he's like.  He’s like a man, building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.”  Obedience to God is not easy. You have a process of digging, you dig deep, perhaps this refers to the painstaking repentance and obedience that is called for. It refers to the effort we need to put in, in order to walk in conformity to God's will. I think it might refer to how a Christian is someone who walks in the hard way but a man who is wise takes pains to obey God, to build his house upon the rock.

In summary, this wise man is someone who lives righteously according to the law. How do you know he's a Christian?  On the last day of judgement, how do you know he was truly born again? Did he live righteously according to the law? Simple as that! Not that he obeys the law perfectly but does he obey it progressively? Does he grow or is his life exactly the same as what it was before he claims to know Christ? A man who is truly born again will live righteously according to the law. He's a wise man who built his house on the rock.

I know you're lost but it's okay. We'll, we’ll move on and da, it will come clear in a while, I hope, so it makes it easier if we see the contrasting aspect so let's look at the other man.  The other man is called a foolish man and he builds his house upon the sand. That's what Jesus says, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.”  Something that is not stable, something that does not last, that's what sand represents and who are those who are described as people who built on foundationless ground?

Well they are those “who hears the words of Christ and does not do them.” He is not talking about people “who does not know.”  He's talking about people “who knows” but they do not do. Elsewhere, Jesus said, “these are people who hears and does not do and he is like a man who builds a house on the ground without a foundation.”  What do you mean? Well if a wise man is someone who lives righteously according to the law, a foolish man is therefore someone who does not live righteously according to the law. He might know but he doesn't live it and da, I think Jesus is contrasting here. He is saying there are two groups of people in religious institutions in church today, if I may say, in the synagogues in their time.

There is that one group of people who truly know the love of God, who truly loves God, who truly obeys God and who will one day truly stand at the judgment of God, these are the wise men. There is this true group of followers but then in the synagogues, there are also, there is also another group. This group looks like they love God.  This group looks like they serve God, looks like they obey God but really they don't.  They don't really live according to God's Word.

They say they are righteous, they look like they're righteous but their righteousness is very fake.  It’s very superficial.  It’s very minimalistic so Jesus says how can anyone be saved?  Unless your righteousness is exceeding the fake, superficial, minimalistic kind of righteousness of the hypocrites of that day, that's why the Sermon on the Mount is given.

It’s to show up the hypocrisy and the fake nature of the self-righteousness of religious leaders of His time. Therefore, He says, “Unless your righteousness supersedes that,” you cannot be saved, you must have true righteousness - true righteousness that is about true obedience to true understanding of the Lord so if you read on, from Matthew 5 onwards, which we have covered, Jesus gave example after example, after example of what real righteousness and fake righteousness is all about.

He first said about the sixth commandment, “thou shall not kill” and then He gave the example of adultery. Well I raised this example because that's what Jesus said, “You thought that real obedience to the law is you don't kill, you don't sleep with someone.”  You know what Jesus said? “Real obedience is when you don't hate someone from the heart and when you do not have adultery in your head, not just in the bed, but in your head.”

You guys have been teaching the nation, the Jewish nation that as long as you write a certificate of divorce, you can divorce your wife but that has never been the intention of God in the law. You have twisted the law. You guys have taught that if you could swear by something that is not about God, that is not something so serious, you can actually say and not do it but I say to you, don't swear at all, let your yes be yes, your no be no, that is the real righteousness of God.

You said, as long as he did you something bad, you have the right to return an eye for an eye but I say to you, don't do that! If he wants something from you, walk with him another mile, so on and so forth, so Jesus, over and over again in the Sermon on the Mount is exposing the false righteousness of the religious leaders. He's showing you that these men, though they have a house, they look righteous they never built on God's Words. They were fakes and one day when the, when the judgment comes, they will fall so Jesus here shows that this foolish man lives a superficial, minimalistic and twisted false righteousness and He exposes them in the Sermon on the Mount.

Lost? Can you all follow? Like I said to the first service, if you cannot follow, go back YouTube, listen another 10 times, maybe makes it easier but okay let's, let’s then bring it to a kind of a comparison so there is a wise man. Who is he? He's a Christian. Right? A true follower of God and what is the characteristic of the true Christian? He's wise, yah.. yah.. yes, he's wise. In what ways is he wise? He will do the Word of God, right? He will do God's laws. Very good.

What is a foolish man? He knows but he does not do so he's a hypocrite. He's a fake. He may have a Christian name, he may go to a Christian church, he may read a Christian Bible, he may say some Christian prayers but he doesn't obey God and one day at judgment seat, he will be shown up, right, so on the surface, we can't really tell.

Let's say now, can you tell who are the real Christians?  Me? Huh, huh, huh. May not be, alright! Of course at this stage I think I am but in 20 years’ time, I, I hope I still faithfully follow the Lord, serve Him with my life but it's not always so easy to tell because all of us, build a kind of a house - a house filled with religious works, ethics, lingo, language and so on but it will be shown up Jesus says when you have the perfect storm so there will, there will come a time where the rain will fall, the floods will come and the winds will blow and beat on that house.

Now, many people take this storm to be a picture of trials in life so they argue this way. If you are a Christian, when you go through trials you would still believe and if you're not a Christian, you go through trials you would give up on your faith. Now again, I think that is truth. Jesus did speak about that in the four kinds of soil. There's a kind of soil where the plant grows but when the sun is too hot, it dies. Shows that they were never believers in the first place so this is, this is truth that storms of life, trials of life can sometimes show up a true believer and not a true believer but I don't think that is the truth of the text. Okay, that is truth, but not the truth of the text.

I think the text here is in the context of judgment so I think that this storm is a picture not of the trials in this life but about the judgment that is to come after we die, okay and He is saying that only those things that are of God and those who belong to God will stand on that judgment storm. Everything else that is not of God will be blown away.

I suppose that's why He said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of God will endure but only those who does the will of my Father.”  Likewise, “I never knew you, depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”  On the day of judgement those who are not of God, blu…blown and those who are of God stands.  Judgement pictured in the storm. Elsewhere, “And the world is passing away along with its desires but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

I’ve just one more text that I want to show you which might be confusing but I think it's still necessary to give you a good understanding of what Jesus is saying. Romans 2 says “…when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.  He will render to each one according to his works.”

Now, this might not be so understood by Christians today because we thought we have been taught God saves us by grace so God will judge us not according to our works but according to the grace of Jesus Christ, isn't that what we are familiar with, right?

God judges me if I'm a Christian not based on what I do but based on what Jesus has done on the Cross. That is absolutely true but at the very same time what Romans is saying is this - we as Christians and together with those who are not Christians will stand before God on the day of judgment and God's judgment will be based on works – how a single person, how anyone of us, live our lives.

Those who, whose lives demonstrate righteousness, those who serve God, honor God, obey God, you know what they get?  “To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory, honor, immortality, he will give eternal life” so God who says, this is what Paul is saying, Paul, the writer of Romans, is saying the true Christians are those who along their whole journey here on earth, are very focused on seeking glory, honor and immortality in the life that is to come and because their eyes are fixed on the future, they are patiently doing good whilst they are here on earth because of their faith and belief in the hope that is to come, they obey God, they walk the hard way, they have good works and at the end of the day, God gives them eternal life but there are those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, they obey unrighteousness and there will be wrath and fury.

Now again let me be clear, Paul is not teaching, you become a Christian, you earn eternal life by your works, no, but he's saying you evidence eternal life by your works so the wise men who has been building his house upon the rock will be shown to be the real deal when the storm comes. The foolish man who has not built his house upon the rock will be shown up when the storm comes so Jesus is saying a wise man builds his house upon the rock.

What does this rock symbolize?  The words, Word, God, huh symbolize God? The Word of God, alright symbolizes the Sermon on the Mount? The words of Jesus, the explanation of true righteousness, the full meaning of the law, right so you may put the word, Word or you may put the word Law, I think it's fine correct and he builds his house and then you have another man.

He builds upon sand. He doesn't build on the rock so he doesn't build upon the Word of God but he still builds a house and Jesus didn't tell us that there is any material difference with regards to the house. They probably look the same, they probably look the, they have the same materials, structures and so it's not easy to tell them apart, especially when a house is visible only from the top, you don't see the foundation, right? When you build a house, do you see the foundation? You don't, so on the surface, they look the same, like a true Christian and how a non-Christian look the same when we come to church service. How do you tell them apart? Yes, you tell them apart when there is a storm and there's a flood and there are winds, right?

When judgment comes, you will know for sure because that which is not built on rock will fall away and only that which is built on the law stands so I think it is pretty clear from this diagram that Jesus say you tell them apart on the day of judgment and only those who have been doing the will of God will enter the kingdom and those who don't, Jesus will say depart from me, regardless of how many miracles you have done, regardless of what your profession is, regardless of how knowledgeable you are in the Word of God, I never knew you because you are a worker of lawlessness.

This obedience is so important and I hope you get that, alright. In Matthew 7:21, Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ but the one who does.”  Notice, this is a contrast between saying and doing.

Today, we look at the contrast between hearing and doing. A real Christian is not just someone who hears, a real Christian is not just someone who says, a real Christian is someone who does!  That is the ultimate test of a Christian, obedience to do God's will as revealed in the law so in summary, you say, “Pastor you talk for long, what's the summary?”

Actually very simple, any kid might be able to figure it out but it is this.  The true Christian is wise in that he does God's will in His Word and he stands on the day of judgment, that’s what a Christian is.  Say “What's a Christian? Well he's wise, he has a new heart, he repented and believe in Jesus and he's still doing that today and we know he's a Christian because he does God's will found in His Word and he will stand on the day of judgment.

Can you help me with the second half? Okay, the fake Christian is foolish. The hypocrite is a fool and he does not do God's will and he will... He will fall! Wah, you see you all so smart! See I told you that you will be able to figure it all out and you have alright.

Now I just want to close by emphasizing the importance of obedience. This is not a random subject Jesus is speaking about.  It has been throughout the Scripture. Deuteronomy tells us, “See I've taught you statutes and rules.  Keep them and do them for that will be your wisdom.”  Wisdom is not just knowing! Today, Singapore education system all about regurgitation, at least my time lah (local: slang) so if you can memorize well, you'll do well but wisdom is not about memorization. Of course, you need to know but more than that, you need to do, you need to keep, you need to obey.

It was Joshua who was told “Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law…meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do!”  Many of you read your Bibles, you may even memorize the Bible, I think that's fantastic, that's wonderful but don't stop short there because God's will is for you to not just know but to do His will.

Luke 11:28 “Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.”  Good to hear but more important to do.

John 14:15 If you love me, you will study my commandments?  If you love me, you will know my commandments?  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments,” alright?

Real faith and relationship with Jesus is one that demonstrates itself in obedience.  “But be doers of the word not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” and da, be not someone who, “being no hearer who forgets, but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing” and lastly, 1 John 2:3 “By this we know that we have come to know Him.”

How you know you're Christian? By this … “By this, we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.”  That is the pattern and habit and progression of your life. You can't fake it before God and on the day of judgement you cannot say God, I, I, I love you, I serve you!  No, no, no look at your works, did you keep my commandments?  Well, the day of the storm will reveal your real soul.

I know it's been tough so let me give you a mental break. Can you tell me where this is? Queenstown? Where? Queenstown, where? MDIS? What is MDIS? I also don't know what it stands for, so don't ask me but ah it's somewhere in Queenstown. I was there this week at Queenstown. I walked by and I saw this. Wah, I didn't know there's such thing.  The 10 sages of the world - 10 wise men of the world and so on the two pillars, you could see are inscribed words so I saw one of them and I took a picture and it’s Confucius who said “The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it. Not applying it is to confess your ignorance.”

Now I'm not a fan of Confucius and I'm not saying Confucius is as important as Jesus. No, not at all. I'm just illustrating that even those who do not know God, know Christ, understand a basic principle. Wisdom is not knowing, wisdom is knowing and doing so Jesus said “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do!”  These guys know God's Word. The scribes and Pharisees know God's Word. They studied it since they were young but the wickedness of their hearts made them say I'm not going to do it!

The greatest fool is not someone who does not know but someone who knows and does not do. Do you realize that? We thought a fool is someone who does not know anything! No, let me tell you, a greater fool is someone who knows everything, but does not do.

Okay, let me illustrate this. I love to eat food. I, I love to eat and I like all kinds of food especially sashimi, steak, or-luak [local dish: oyster omelette] whatever you have, alright so the pursuit of the perfect steak.  Do you know how to do? How do you make perfect steak?  How do you do it? How do you do the perfect steak?  Barbecue? Fail lah the answer!

Well, how do you do the perfect steak? Well, I asked around, I searched around, I spoke to people like, you know, Leslie Tay, I eat, I shoot, I post – the foodie guys and they all tell me the best way to do steak. I watch videos on YouTube. The best way to do steak that looks like this... Hey your barbecue can like that or not? Cannot right?

The best way to do steak is ... Wah, Fabian is right. The best way to do steak is to put it into a plastic bag and to cook it via this method called sous vide method. Heard of it before? Sous vide method is... yup, putting in a plastic bag, inserting it into a water bath and cooking it at a fixed temperature for many hours. The reason is because you do not want to overcook your meat at 100, 200, 300 degrees, grilling and overcooking what's inside. You want it to be succulent, juicy, tender and so you need to cook it at 60 something. I can't remember the exact figure - 60 something degrees Celsius - Sous vide method so I watch the videos on YouTube, I speak with people and then when we talk about food I always tell them, you must do sous vide, this is what you do, this is what you do.

I tell them as if I know a lot and just to satisfy my own curiosity, I bought a sous vide machine. It's hundred over dollars. It's quite a... I thought... a cool invention. Why not and the amazing thing about what I bought is that I bought it last year and I have not even used it once. To be honest, I have never even opened the box and it was sitting on my desk for so long. My wife was so irritated and I don't even know where it is today. I bought it and I never used it.

You know who's the fool? You know who's the fool? Not Nathan who told me barbecue you know but Jason who said, this is the best method but I have never done it, isn't it but don't laugh at me because all of us are in a sense quite foolish.  We all say it's good to exercise!  Hey the person who doesn't understand the benefit of exercising is not stupid, you know, we are more stupid. It's good to diet, but you still eat your KFC and chocolates like nobody's business.

The greatest fool is that who knows exactly the repercussions, the cost, the opportunities and we still do not do. The fool is someone who sits in church week after week, hearing the law of God, the Word of God and still plunge headlong into sin out there and ignore God's call for purity, for holiness for love to Him. Isn't that the greatest fool? He hears these words of mine and do not do.

My friends, this Sermon on the Mount closes with a solemn warning. Jesus doesn't want His audience to hear that message and walk off unchanged so He gives them a very clear challenge. What will you do with my words today? All of you have heard it but what will you do with my words today?

A true child of God is one whose heart has been changed by grace and if you're truly changed by grace, you will live righteously according to my word. You will live righteously according to the law and if you do so, you know you are a wise man.  You have a house built upon the solid rock and when the storm of judgment come, you will abide forever but if you, today, hear these words and you do not do my will, let me tell you, on the day of judgment you thought you were okay but it will all be blown away. He will say “depart from me, you worker of lawlessness.”

What will you do with God's Word? Jesus, however, is not saying do God's Word now to be saved. He's saying, this is what I'm saying to you, to show you who you really are and if you realize you were never born again, if you realize you are really not part of the kingdom of God, then come in that poverty of spirit, come as a man poor in spirit, come as a man who will mourn for your sin, come as a man who will hunger and thirst after righteousness. Come to me to be saved, come to the narrow gate and be saved, cry out to God for His mercy to save your soul.

That's why I'm saying to you today, folks. If you see no righteousness, no pattern of holiness in your life, don't go to do holy things. You can't. Come to Jesus first! Be saved, be washed, be forgiven, be born again. Herein is the Good News. God does not expect you to obey his law to get saved. That is absolutely impossible but God is saying come to me to be saved. You will then obey the law. Would you do that for yourself? Stop deceiving yourself, stop deluding yourself but really come to faith and repentance in Christ.

I think a man who really comes to Christ in that way, his heart will be changed. Over the past few months in our church we have gathered some testimonies, stories of real faith and I just want to share with you. It's interesting!  I never preach this message to them. I don't think that they are remembering these words when they shared their stories but it's interesting that this is all what they said.

First example I want to share with you is Giolo.  Giolo grew up in church. He is a child of two godly parents and he's been exposed to Christianity, to Bible teaching for long time but you’ll remember I shared with you his story how he realized he was a hypocrite and he came to faith only recently but that marked a tremendous change in him in that he says many of the things that I used to enjoy doing, now pale in comparison to the joy of serving and obeying Him. Old habits became struggles and struggles turned into victory. There's a greater joy now in denying my own wishes, to do what He wants.  There is that desire and indeed demonstration of obedience. That's how you know you are God's child.

Another gentleman in our church who joined us when we came to Punggol, Ray. He says since turning to the Lord, my relationship with my family has improved greatly. There is also a significant change in me, for now I fear the Lord and strive to be obedient to Him.

The book of Romans tells us that for unbelievers there is no fear of God in their eyes. They don't fear God, they fear men. They come to church, they look religious not for God but for men, to impress men but when you are truly born again, there's a fear of God in your heart, you desire to please Him and you will be obedient to Him. You don't always succeed to be perfectly obedient but that's your constant strive and effort and desire and then we have Sarah who said the day I said yes to Christ, life is not about me anymore but it's for Christ who now lives in me. My old self has died and now I have life. The temptation to sin still comes and perhaps even more aggressively but I don't enjoy sinning anymore. I feel sadness and grief when I sin. My conscience is struggling when the temptation to sin comes. My goal is to pursue Christ-likeness and so others, so that others will also know Christ and glorify God.

Real salvation effects a dramatic change. It's not your declaration, it's not your knowledge, it's a transformation of your life. That is the ultimate test of a Christian. Folks, according to 2 Corinthians 13, examine your hearts, examine yourselves, to see if you be in the faith. If you're not, it is still not too late for you today but if you don't, maybe on the day of judgement that will be way too late. By the grace of God, I urge you to come to true salvation, repentance and faith in Christ.

Let's bow for a word of prayer together. Perhaps you have been a man like Giolo. You grew up in church, you have assumed many Christian things but you never had the desire for God, not one that you can honestly speak of. You look the part you played the part but today, God is speaking to you. His Word, I pray will penetrate the depths of your soul. Expose that which is false so that in humility, you can come on your knees to the foot of the Cross and behold God's Son slain for your sin and there on the Cross, you see the awesome weight of sin. You see the hideousness of sin. You see how terrible sin is and you say to yourself, Lord rid me of sin, save me from my sin and there you believe, and you cast yourself on Jesus Christ.  Truly for once and you cry out, God, have mercy on me a sinner. I have been a fake, I've been a hypocrite but today I want to be saved.

Would you cry out to God today?  Maybe you've been in church for a long while, joined Gospel Light, joined whatever church, you have been hoping around. You're still living in your sin and you think that you are okay, let me tell you, even from the simple exposition of Matthew 7, you know you're not okay.

How can you expect to stand before the Holy God on the day of judgement where all things, your intent, your heart, your thoughts will be revealed. You can't stand on that day so right now in this hour flee to Jesus to be saved today.

This is the amazing grace and love of God. Doesn't matter how long you have been a hypocrite. Doesn't matter how rotten your life is. Jesus came to die for sinners like you and me. Today, you can be saved. Would you cry out for mercy?

Don't fake it anymore.  It's not worth it. Come clean and plunge in that flood that is drawn from Emmanuel's veins. Come, be washed, be cleansed, be healed, be given a new heart today. Softly and gently Jesus is calling, calling, oh sinner come home!

Father thank You for Your Word, cause us all to reflect deeply in our lives and for those who have yet to believe genuinely, bring them to the end of themselves that they may truly repent and be saved. I pray for Christians here, even after a soul searching time like this, we will endeavor to continue to walk in holiness and obedience, to be that wise man who will build our lives upon the Word of God to bring You glory and praise so thank you. We ask this now in Jesus Name, amen.

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