Peter Tan-Chi - Pursue God's Mission by the Power of the Holy Spirit
Our message for today, let's read it together: Pursuing God's Mission by the Power of the Holy Spirit What does this mean? First, do you know God's mission? Ladies and gentlemen, can you whisper to the person next to you: What is God's mission for CCF and for your life? Please tell them. What is God's mission? God's mission is this, a quick reminder, let's read it together. Matthew Chapter 28 Verses 19-20, read together, get ready, get up! Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
You see, this week and next week is missions month, and we want to remind everyone of God's mission. According to this verse, what is God's mission for us at CCF? You're going to raise your hands once, and I'm going to show you different verbs, and you tell me if this is the main verb in verses 19 and 20. Do you understand the main verb? In the structure of a sentence there's a main verb, and there's a subordinate verb, but I wanted to test you, test your knowledge of the Greek Bible, and you won't notice this in the English version, but you can take a guess. How many people say that the main verb is "to go"? Please raise your hand. "Go" Well, how many of you would say "baptize"? How many of you would say "teach them everything..."?
Well, the main verb, from now on, wherever I go, people are making mistakes, just this week I was in Cebu and you have leaders who are also making mistakes, they forgot the main verb. Everyone, the main verb is (to make disciples of all nations). Let's do it again, make disciples. How do you make disciples? When you go... How do you make disciples? You baptize them. How do you make disciples? You have to teach them. But the main verb is to make disciples. What does it mean to make disciples? Help them become like Christ. The whole purpose of discipleship is not just to help people believe in Jesus, but to make them like Jesus. That is discipleship. Many of us have come to faith in Jesus, but you have not become like Christ. What you lack is discipleship. So what is discipleship? Help people become more and more like Christ. There are different kinds of disciples in this chapel.
I want to clarify what I said this morning, one, you are a growing disciple, you are growing. Also, you are mature disciples, what do I mean? Growing disciples, you have started to follow Jesus, you want to follow Him, nothing can stop you, you are growing. But when you follow Jesus, eventually you will make disciples sooner or later, because the command is to make disciples, the command is to teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. So making disciples is not a suggestion, making disciples is not an option, it's a command, and what I'm saying is this: if you're a disciple of Jesus, sooner or later you're going to be discipling someone else, until you're discipling someone else, now listen to me, until you are discipling others, you are not a mature disciple.
Are we clear? How many of you are making disciples today? It could be your family, people under your supervision, you are discipling a group of men or women, raise your hand! Lift it higher! Lift it higher! Sooner or later everyone in CCF has to raise their hand. Because a mature disciple is one who is willing to follow Jesus and obey His commands. What are Jesus' commands? Make disciples. Again, make disciples. So you and I have no excuse. You know, there are no excuses, because He not only tells you what to do, He also gives you the power. Acts Chapter 18, What is power? You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses, in Jerusalem, your home, and those around you, and in all Judea, your neighbors, your company, and Samaria, to the ends of the earth.
CCF, in obedience to God, has expanded all over the world. Believe it or not, we are basically making disciples in many parts of the world. I can't even count how many disciples we have today, even in the Philippines. Because we just keep growing and growing. throughout the world because God commands each of us to make disciples. So how do you make disciples? I want to share with you how you can make disciples. The mark of a Spirit-filled person, how do you make disciples in the power of the Spirit? What are you going to do? There are three important words. The first word is: priority. Say it with me: Prioritize. You must prioritize God's will for your life. You must prioritize God's will. The second important word: question. When you start walking with Jesus, when you start following Jesus, problems are inevitable, so don't be surprised when you have questions.
The third word: perseverance. Because there will be discouragement, but you have to persevere. This is how you should make disciples in the power of the Holy Spirit. How do you know someone is walking in the Spirit? Based on Acts Chapter 19, I only talked about part of Acts Chapter 19 because last Sunday we talked about experiencing the power of God. To understand His word, to live the Christian life, but today in Acts chapter 19, three important words will jump out of Acts chapter 19, from verse 21 to the end, these three What is the important word? First, priority. You have to know your priorities. Prioritize God's will. Second, the problem. Problems are inevitable, don't be surprised. Third, persevere. let us start! Acts 19:21 Everyone read: After these things were over, Paul decided to return to Jerusalem through Macedonia and Achaia. He said, "When I get there, I must go to Rome and see it".
Before I explain this verse to you, I want you to pay attention to something, these things after... what are these things? How do you know these things? What is the verse before verse 21? What is the Bible verse before verse 21? so smart! 20. Before 21 it was 19, right, okay, let's look at those verses, verse 18. Like, what happened? Acts 19:18 Many people who had believed in Jesus came to confess their sins and openly confessed their evil deeds. In other words, God used the apostle Paul to bring repentance, and many people came to Christ, and they repented just like many of you. Have you realized that last Sunday you really had thousands of people come, and thousands of people asked for prayer for release. Last Sunday we prayed until 9:30 pm, because God is at work, praise God! What does the Bible tell us happened?
Acts 19:19-20 Many sorcerers also piled their books together and burned them publicly. Be willing to let go of your past. According to estimates at the time, these books were worth approximately 50,000 silver coins. As I said, this is a lot of money. If you convert this money into pesos, if you convert it into equivalent pesos, it is worth more than 30 million. If you convert these silver prices into pesos, it is more than 300 million. Peso, in other words, this is a lot of money that people are willing to part with, why? Read everyone: Louder! In this way the word of the Lord spread and flourished greatly. You'll notice something, wherever the Word of God is preached, if people prioritize the Word of God and add the Spirit of God, the result is life transformation. That's how it happened.
Now you would think that the Apostle Paul would be going on vacation, and he didn't want to take a vacation because, number one, he prioritized God's mission, God's will. Acts 19:21 After these things, Paul decided to go back to Jerusalem through Macedonia and Achaia. He said, "When I get there, I must go to Rome and see it". Now think about why Paul went to these places? Because this is God's will. Friends, there are two kinds of people in this church today. Please listen. First, those who care about God's will and God's mission. That's your priority. There is another group of people, you don't care about God's will, you care about your will. There are two lives, there are two kinds of people in this chapel. First, do you prioritize God's will or your will? Or is it your wish? You don't care about God's will. Two lives, two endings, God's will or your will?
If you do what you want, you will eventually regret and be sad. If you do God's will, what will be your outcome? You will have no regrets at the end of your life, but will be satisfied and happy. These are two endings. What are these two fates? If you follow God's will, you will be with Him at the end of this life, and you will tell the Lord: Praise God! Your will has been done. You tell God this is your life and may God's will be done. If you do it your way, you will end up in hell, and in hell you will hear God say: Your will be done. There are two kinds of people, One day you will see God: May your will be done! It's all about God's will. Or, God tells you: May your will be done.
So let me ask you today: Which is more important, your will or God's will? There are two kinds of people in this chapel, and I suggest: By the power of the Holy Spirit of God, you surrender your will, and say: Lord, not my will, but yours, before you know God, you will not pursue His will. The more you know God, the more you will pursue His will. Do you know why? You will know that God loves you, you will know that God is wiser than you, and you will know that His will is always better than yours. So until you truly know Jesus, you will not pursue or prioritize God's will. I've come to a point in my life where I'm afraid of having my own way, and I don't want to have my way, and I've been chastened, chastised by the Lord many times, if I had my way.
So now I don't want my way, Remember Frank Sinatra? I did it my way, and now the ending comes... Well, we don't have to keep singing. My friend, there are two ways to live your life: Your will, and God's will. Which one are you? For the apostle Paul, it was God's will. Mind you, it's amazing. After these things, he wanted to go to Jerusalem. Why? Jerusalem was the mother church and they had financial problems. So he wanted to go to Macedonia and Achaia, collect donations and then go to Jerusalem. But after that, here's the crazy thing: he wanted to go to Rome. Why Rome? Think about it, why Rome? Instead of being a tourist, he wanted to go to Rome because Paul had a strategic vision and for Paul the capital of the Roman Empire needed to be evangelized.
Years ago, some people accused CCF, and even now, some people accuse us of being elitist. Why should we target the elite? Ladies and gentlemen, we are not elitist, we are just strategic, that is why CCF is planting churches in cities, we are simply copying the biblical model, because there are many people doing ministry to the poor, but very Few people ministered to businessmen. The apostle Paul focused on those who were influential. You will notice that in his ministry he focused on major cities. He focused on businessmen. Why? Because these people are very influential. That was the apostle Paul. You need to be strategic. God's purpose is to call you from where you are, listen to me now.
Poor people, rich people, people with influence, people without influence, they are all important. I admire certain organizations that go to hill tribe areas to evangelize. I praise God for them and we support some of them. For some people, this is okay. But for CCF, our main mission is to build urban churches. Why a city? Strategically speaking, this is an influential place, with culture, education, and power. Once you get the city, you can influence the country. So that's what we're doing, we go out to campuses, to universities. Acts 19:22 So he sent his two co-workers Timothy and Erastus first to Macedonia, while he stayed in Asia for a while. Did you notice that Paul always had someone walking with him? He was always making disciples.
Timothy and Erastus, he wasn't going to serve alone, Paul was a great man and you'll notice that in Ephesus, he wanted to go to Jerusalem, here. But he said, first I'm going to Macedonia, Philippi, I'm going to visit Achaia, then I'm going to Jerusalem, and then I have to go to Rome, because Paul understands the meaning of priorities. I want to prioritize God's mission for my life, not to go on vacation, but to fulfill God's mission. Go to all over the world to preach the gospel, but Paul is very strategic. He is a thinker. I need to go to the capital city of Rome. If we get to the capital, we can preach the gospel to the world for Jesus. He is very strategic.
So what's the first point? If you want to fulfill God's mission, prioritize. Tell me, priorities are so important. Do you want to be truly successful? Learn the principle of priority. Myth without time, what is myth without time? Very simply, there is no myth of time, you won't have time to do everything, but you will have time to do the things that are important to you. For example, if someone says: I don't have time. You know what they're telling you? Please listen to me. From now on, please don't say: I don't have time. You have to say: It doesn't matter to me. Will you join our Bible study? Don't say I don't have time. Instead say: This is not a priority for me, but don't say you don't have time. Because we all will have time, you will make time for the important things and you will not make time for the unimportant things.
I remember we had a friend who lived somewhere here. He had no time to study the Bible and no time to worship. His wife is loyal. One day, he found out he had cancer. This cancer changed his entire life. Why? His priorities changed. In fact, he spoke to my wife while I was praying for him in the hospital. He told my wife that if God would give me a few more years, I would spend my time preaching the gospel to others. He told my wife: I don't want to go to heaven alone. I want to be like Pastor Peter. I want to take as many people as possible. do you know? God allowed him to survive, he started inviting his drinking buddies, he used to have time to drink, he used to have time to go to nightclubs, he used to have time to do a lot of things, but when his priorities changed, he made time...
So ladies and gentlemen, never kid yourselves and say you don't have time for Bible study, you don't have time for quiet devotions, you don't have time for prayer, never kid yourself, just say simply: It doesn't matter to me. That's why I attend my group meetings unless I'm abroad. This is important to me and this is why I read the Bible. Why? It's important to me that you understand the principle of the Christian life, which is about priorities. You and I have limited time, limited energy, and limited resources. The same goes for CCF. We cannot do everything. But there are a few things we must do. We must make disciples. Making disciples is what the apostle Paul valued. So never think you have time to do everything. The Christian life is about subtraction, not always addition. You need to let go of certain things so that you can say yes to other things. I say yes to a lot of good things. Say "no" to things, in order to say "yes" to the things that matter most.
Did you know that following God is 24 x 7? The truth is that many times I like to do things my way, my way rather than God's will. Do you have that temptation? Prioritizing God's will is a daily thing, 24 x 7. Lord, what do you want me to do? I remember, a few weeks ago, and you won't believe this, I was on a cruise ship, and I was invited to go on a cruise ship to talk to business people, called the Alaska Cruise, and I tell you, the Christian life is hard. It was, it was really hard, I was on a cruise ship, talking to business people. At the end of the cruise we had a meeting and they said the luggage has to be out of your room by 12 midnight because we are docking at 6 tomorrow morning. Your bags will be taken to the dock, so make sure that when you go to bed, your clothes for going out are taken out and put aside.
When you go to bed, you wear your pajamas, but when you go out, you Set aside clothes for going out. Your pants, etc. There is a guy who has been traveling a lot for 20 years. Do you believe it? He forgot to save his trousers, so the bag was taken outside the room, and when he woke up in the morning, without the trousers, he couldn't reach his bag, which was already at the port. So he had to use a towel, and I told my wife: Honey, please make sure... So that night we got everything ready, and in the morning when I woke up, I couldn't find my pants, have you ever had this Experience? You know you're in big trouble. I'm a preacher. How can a preacher go through customs without pants? But praise God, prioritize God's will, you know I'm really tempted and want to yell and say something, but you know what? The Holy Spirit took over me. I didn't say anything, I didn't raise my voice, I just told my wife: Honey, we're in trouble. I had no pants to wear and my wife was embarrassed, she was really...
You know, in Filipino, you really want to be angry and blame someone else, but you know what? The Holy Spirit took over me, really, and I just said: Honey, I'm just going to go out in the shorts I wear to bed. Long story short, she went out to look for my luggage, and she couldn't get it because it wasn't on the ship anymore. But do you know? The concierge people, they're so smart. Madam, no problem, we have a lot of pants, we have a lot of shorts, you can choose a pair for your husband. do you know? I ended up with an extra pair of pants. Is God good? Yes. But what I am saying is this: Prioritize God's will. When you are tempted to get angry today, when you are tempted to say something, no matter what happens in your life, I suggest that you put God's will first.
Years ago, my wife wanted to go to work, and my kids were young at the time, and my wife decided that just staying home wasn't really the life she wanted for her. She wanted to work and I told my wife, I said: Honey, our kids are young only once and I said: Yes, you have to prioritize them. My wife made the amazing decision to homeschool our children. She decided to stay home. She made a choice. Priorities are choices. She made a choice. When I look back today, I have five wonderful children, they are all happily married, they all love the Lord, they are serving the Lord, and their grandchildren, by the grace of God, are following the Lord. Isn't God amazing? My friends, at the end of your life, I don't want you to regret it, I don't want you to say: I wish... No. Don't be very clear, what are your priorities? Is it money? Is it yourself? Or is it God's will? What's the first word? Prioritize. You will fulfill God's mission for your life and you will make it a priority. Second, you're going to have problems. Don't think you're going to be immune from trouble.
Let's look at the apostle Paul. This man was in a lot of trouble. The Bible tells us: In Acts 19, at this time, because of the Lord, There was a great commotion in Ephesus. Trouble arose, Acts 19:24. A silversmith named Demetrius made a profession of making silver niches for the goddess Artemis, a trade that was very profitable for the craftsmen involved. This guy is the head of a group of craftsmen. He made a lot of money by making shrines and idols. Now you have to understand the goddess Artemis in Ephesus. This temple in Ephesus is called one of the seven wonders of the world, along with the Pyramids of Giza and the sky in Babylon. The garden is as famous as the statue of Zeus, I mean the temple is spectacular, it's bigger than a football field, it has over 100 pillars, over 20 meters high pillars, it's huge, it's like a tourist attraction, the most important thing is...
By the way, please pray for us, in December November as we go on Paul's journey, I'm going to take our people to see this temple, which is the remains of the temple, Very big. Who is this goddess? Artemis. In Ephesus she was called Artemis, elsewhere in Greek culture she was called Diana, Artemis, Diana, in other cultures, but the point is this: She was worshiped, they worshiped her, the question is this: He summoned the craftsmen and colleagues and said: You all know that we make a fortune in this business, which business? The business of making idols, the business of making shrines, did you know that today people buy figurines? People buy a lot of these things and put them in their homes. They think it will bring them good luck, right?
There's nothing new under the sun, and then this guy said: We're going to have problems, but you've all seen it, in Ephesus and all of Asia, that Paul... they didn't like Paul, and they convinced a lot of people, and what about manpower? What was created was not God. Have you seen the results of the work of the apostle Paul and his group of people? They influenced the entire city, their culture and business, and even their religion. That, my friend, is the power of the Holy Spirit, when you and I are willing to be used by God. You have the apostle Paul here, he influenced the whole city, in fact it says here, almost all of Asia, and I pray that one day people will say, the people of the CCF church influenced the Philippines, Asia and the rest of the world. Is that your prayer? God uses us to make disciples, right? ah! Yes, but be prepared for the question, you know why? As you follow God, and God begins to work, I guarantee you: the devil will begin to work, too.
You see, when God is at work, the devil is also at work. So don't be afraid of trouble. If this continues, not only will our industry be belittled by others, but even the temple of Artemis will be looked down upon, and even the goddess revered throughout Asia and the world will lose her majesty! What is he worried about? Is he worried about the goddess Artemis? Or is he worried about something else? What do you think? What is Demidius worried about? Everyone reads: Not only will this industry be endangered... What is he worried about? Business, money. His first concern is money, and he is now using religion as an excuse, which is what we are like. Our biggest problem is really what's inside us, the love of money, see the next section. After hearing this, everyone was filled with anger and shouted loudly: "How great is the goddess Artemis of the Ephesians"!
Can you imagine them? They started shouting. What is the topic of today's sermon? When you start doing God's will, what's the first thing you should do? Prioritize. Please tell me: Prioritize, prioritize. Second, the problem. You know, God wants you to understand something this morning, don't be afraid of trouble. Let's read together: 1 Peter 4:12 Dear brothers and sisters, do not be surprised, thinking that something unusual has happened. Do not be surprised, for if a fiery trial comes upon you, as we all will be tested, If you're not a Christian, you're going to be in trouble, and if you're a Christian, you're going to be in trouble. right? All of us will have troubles that are designed to test us. But please be careful not to be surprised and think that something unusual has happened.
In other words, don't be surprised if you start following Jesus, why is this important? If I were to make disciples today, would you be listening to me? If I were to teach you biblical truth, I would warn you to follow Jesus for who He is, to make Him your priority, as God and as your Savior, but I will tell you that from day one, I'm going to warn you: you're going to have trouble, you're going to be disappointed. How many young Christians do you know who have turned their backs on the Lord? Because they've never been discipled, they've never been warned: You're going to get into trouble, a lot of people have wrong theology. If I follow Jesus, all my problems should be solved; if I follow Jesus, I should have no trouble. Listen to me, where did you get this?
The Bible is very clear. As you follow Jesus, don't be surprised when you run into trouble. You know why? Trouble is there to test you. Do you really love the Lord? Is your faith real? Or are you guilty of idolatry? What is idolatry? You know, what is idolatry? You worship something as if it were God, but it is not God, and you want to manipulate the god you worship. You see, idolatry is manipulating your god to suit your purposes. All they think about is themselves. The Bible tells us, listen well, there is one God and one Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen?
Now let me ask you, do you have any idols in your life? You see, the problem is this: the problem for many Christians is not external idols, but idols in their hearts. What do I mean? The idol in my heart. We all have idols, whether you like it or not, you have idols. What do I mean? Anything that takes God's place in your life is your idol. If money becomes the most important thing, money becomes your idol. If your boyfriend and girlfriend become the most important thing, that's your idol. If your family becomes the most important thing, and you obey your family no matter what you do, because you worship your family, and you love your family so much more than you love God, that becomes an idol. Do we understand?
So today's challenge is: Do you know who your idol is? Now I'm discovering that one of the biggest invisible idols that we all have is what I call modern idols, and I don't mean idols made of wood and stone and cement. I'm talking about modern idolatry. You know what it is? ? Do you want to know? The Bible calls it covetousness. The Bible calls it covetousness. What do I mean? Let's read together: Ephesians 5:5 For you know clearly that fornicators, unclean people, and covetous people, who are idolaters, are considered equal in the Bible: covetousness, greed, and materialism. Considered idolaters. Just look at your own life right now. What are the guarantees? This is the guarantee: You will never inherit the kingdom of God.
This was written to the people of Ephesus, a place where people loved money. Paul wrote to these people: You know this for sure. Why? Ephesus was an immoral city with a lot of fornication. Because they worshiped the goddess Artemis, they combined sex with religion and filth. This was the center of witchcraft, black magic, and lust. If you go to Ephesus today, you will see a library. You will see it in Ephesus. Ephesus saw some houses of prostitution, so Paul wrote to them: These may be your idols: those who are immoral, unclean, or greedy are idolaters and will not inherit the kingdom of God. I'm afraid some of you who have been here the longest, but no one trained you, you think it's okay to be an immoral Christian, and you think that because you've prayed to receive Christ or you've raised your hand, that it's okay to be an idolater.
Friends, don't deceive yourself. The Bible is very clear. What are the idols in your heart? My friend, this is such an important thing and you know why? Harvard did a study of four thousand millionaires, and the study was conducted to find out what would make them truly happy, one to ten, now that you're a millionaire, what would truly make you happy, one to ten? Ten, ten is your happiest, so what would make you write down 10, you are the happiest one. So they did this survey and all the people were millionaires and 26% said if I had 10 times more money. In other words, if you are already worth tens of millions of dollars, you now want 100 million. 24% said: No, no, no, if I had 5 times more money, I would be very, very happy. 23% said I would be happy if I had twice as much money. Only 10% of people said: I am very happy and I am satisfied.
So the point of this study is this: human greed is not about absolute amounts, it's about comparisons, and once a millionaire moves into a community of millionaires, he starts comparing, oh, this person is richer, he started to feel uneasy, and he wanted more money. Once you have 50 million US dollars, when you enter a certain society, which is composed of super super rich people, your 50 million US dollars is no longer enough. Now you want to What do you want? I want to be a billionaire, you know why? Greed means never being satisfied. This is the great challenge of Christianity today, I'm not so worried about the external issues, I'm more concerned about the challenges within you, greed, rich and poor have the same problem. Did you know that poor people can be greedy people? Did you know that rich people can be greedy? Did you know that poor people can be content? Can rich people be content? It all depends on the heart.
Acts 19:29 The whole city was in chaos. The crowd rushed into the theater and dragged Gaius of Macedon and Aristarchus, companions of Paul. do you remember? I kept repeating. Paul did not work alone, he always worked with his disciples. Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to always be surrounded by disciples. Usually, I like to travel with the disciples. I like to serve with the disciples. That's what Paul did. The crowd dragged them to the theater. Do you know how big this theater is? The theater in Ephesus could seat 25,000 people. It was a big place. Ephesus was rich. You know what happened? Paul wanted to go into the theater, but the disciples wouldn't let him go. His friends, several leaders in Asia, also sent people to advise him not to risk entering the theater. Don't go, don't go to the theater, they will kill you.
Who were the leaders of Asia? They were leaders and influential people in the city. They were appointed by the Roman government. The apostle Paul always made friends with influential people. He had a strategic vision. They told Paul... they were not Christ. Disciples, they said: Paul, don't go, they will kill you, don't go. The Bible tells us: The situation is very confusing, some are shouting this, and some are shouting that; It is very confusing now, please read with me: In fact, most people have no idea why they are gathered there. Isn't this crazy? Those involved in the riot didn't even know what was going on. What are the principles? The majority is not always right.
Be careful when you follow the crowd, if you go to school today, they want to follow the world, everyone believes in evolution, everyone believes that when it comes to trans, when it comes to gender confusion, everyone is thinking: Oh, it's okay, it's okay, okay, listen to me, the majority isn't always right, as a follower of Jesus you are committed to prioritizing God's will, what does the Bible say? But don't be afraid of trouble, but you have to be willing to persevere. Why do I say perseverance? The place was so chaotic, they didn't even know why they were gathered together, and someone took Alexander out of the crowd, and the Jews pushed him forward, and Alexander waved his hand to tell the people; it was interesting because when they recognized He was a Jew, and everyone was shouting with one voice...
Think about this ragtag group of people, what were they shouting for two hours? Can you give me a two-hour demonstration? Come demonstrate, prepare, start! No, no, no, you are not shouting, no, shout! Get ready, get up! "Great! Artemis of the Ephesians"! Again! "Great! Artemis of the Ephesians"! How long had they been doing this? Two hours! How stupid is this? Unless they are under the influence of evil spirits. You see, friends, this world is subject to the influence of evil spirits, and that's why people do crazy things. That's why you ask yourself: Why did this person do this? Sorry, the Bible says: when you were blind, the god of this world has blinded your eyes, that's why I always tell people, only in Christ Jesus will your eyes be open, but don't always follow the crowd. When a crowd says this, it's probably wrong. Just because everyone is doing it, doesn't guarantee it's right.
The secretary of the city (that is, the mayor) calmed the crowd and said: People of Ephesus, who does not know that the city of Ephesus guards the temple of Artemis and the image that fell from Zeus? Oh my gosh, tradition tells them that the meteor, a big rock that fell from the sky, they carved the image of the stone that fell from the sky, so to them it came from heaven. How can you believe that you made it with your hands? Is it God? When people don't think, they believe everything. But since these are undeniable facts, you should stay calm and don't do anything impulsive. You brought these people, they did not steal anything from the temple, nor did they slander our goddess. Sorry, what can you learn from Paul?
You know Paul is a great example of a Christian. Don't attack other people's religions, don't start fights, don't do things that will make the world look down on you. Do you know why? The Bible tells us that Paul did not steal anything from the temple, he did not do anything illegal, and secondly, Paul did not slander. Look, please listen to me. You and I don't have to attack another religion. Many Christians attack other religions. Let me suggest that you just preach about Jesus and tell them the truth. Every time I study the Bible again with young people, I don't like old Christians to attend Bible studies with new people. Do you know why? Because older Christians will start talking, and they start attacking, these young people, or these young beginners, who are learning about God, and they have a lot of sincere questions, and they ask me: Should I pray this? Should I do this? Should I do that?
My focus is that I focus on Jesus. You tell them: How great Jesus is, and when you get to know Jesus, other problems will fall into place, right? But if you focus on attacking other religions, that's not the best way to go, so Paul didn't attack other religions, he just told them the truth about Jesus. There is a better way to live, the truth, just tell them the truth. If Demetrius and those who were with him had any accusation against anyone, there was a day for the accusation to be made, and there were proconsuls who could accuse one another. The Fang Bo is the judge, the judge. The mayor said: Hey, everyone, do you have any questions? Then go to court. If you have other requirements, they can be resolved through legal meetings. God used a non-Christian, a mayor. God used the leaders of Asia, who were not Christians, to protect Paul.
You see, God is amazing. As long as you follow Jesus, you can stay steadfast and you know why? He will protect you. Everyone read: Today's riot is really unreasonable. It is inevitable that we will be questioned, and it will be difficult for us to explain it at that time. After saying this, he asked everyone to disperse. Let me ask you a question, who caused the riot? Is it Paul? no. It was Demetrius and his group. In the guise of religion, but in reality it was greed, greed for money. What happened after that? After Acts 19, verse 41, he sent the crowds away. Okay, let's look at Acts chapter 20 verse 1. After the storm subsided, Paul went on vacation. Does the Bible say this? Paul retired, is that what he said? No, keep going, Paul is always on a mission. After Paul gathered all the disciples to encourage him, he said goodbye to them and went to Macedonia. Paul was always going here and there, notice what he did? He called the disciples together and He exhorted them.
Can I tell you what he told them? Do you want to know? It's kind of like this, I'm not really sure, like this. Paul told them: Don't be afraid of trouble or persecution. Why? He taught them... This is my theory, OK? Do you allow me to do this? Here's my theory, here's what he said: Let's read: Romans 8:17-18 Since we are children, we are heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. He was telling his disciples: You are children of God, you are heirs, could you please turn to the person next to you and say: You are heirs of God, you are heirs, you are rich, you are extremely rich. Now continue reading together. If we suffer with Christ now, we will also be glorified with Him. I believe that the pain we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory that will be revealed to us in the future. To persevere, Paul encouraged them, and he now encourages you, that suffering is nothing in the Christian life - do you understand that compared with the glory that is to be revealed?
This truth, what truth? We are God's children, what else? We are heirs of God. what else? The wonderful thing is that if we suffer with Jesus, we may also be glorified with Jesus. Please know that if you suffer for Christ, one day you will be glorified. You have no idea what glory awaits God's people. Notice what he said? I don't think the sufferings of today are worth mentioning. He didn't say that sufferings are not painful. I know some of you are going through sufferings. I know that. But Paul is saying that the sufferings you have now are not worthy of the glory that is to be revealed in us. Than, it's nothing. Friends, do you know what kind of future you have? Think about it. When Jesus returns that day, those who are faithful, those who persevere, God promises something amazing. When God is glorified, when Jesus is glorified, you will be glorified.
There is glory waiting for you, from the Lord, and I believe God will declare to the entire universe: These are my people. These people are faithful. The Bible tells us: Read it together, James 1:12. Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for after he has passed the test he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love Him. A wonderful future awaits those of God. But can I tell you, our biggest problems are not external, our biggest challenges in staying the course are internal, and internal problems are not always in adversity, our greatest challenges are good times, and when things are going well for you, Can you hold on to the end? Let me repeat, adversity is one thing, trouble is one thing, but the greatest challenge I know Christians face today is good times, and when everything goes well, do you persevere?
So the only way to overcome this is this: You have to search your heart. Idolatry is turning anything, even a good thing, into something that takes the place of God, something that is more important to you than God. That is idolatry. Idol worship is not always a bad thing. Family, career, friends, even ministry, can become idols if you make it more important than God. But for many of us, I want to ask you: What's stopping to make you everything God wants you to be? What's stopping you from becoming a missionary or making disciples? What's holding you back? Is God calling you? Think about this. Young men, young women today, is God calling you? Hey, you know what? I want you to devote your entire life to making disciples. Will you quit your job?
Let's say God has called you, and I'm not asking you to quit your job, but I'm asking you to prioritize His will, and we had a member, sharing with one of our groups, not my group, but my daughter's group, sharing what happened. The thing was, he was a businessman, and he had these branches, and his father was shocked, and his father said: All your branches are making money. He runs a restaurant, and all your branches are making money. What's going on? His father said: Why don't some of my branches make money? He said: Dad, I tithe and I teach the Bible. Do you know what my father said? Since God bless you, why don't you take over the entire family business? All branches are now under your control. Do you know what he did? He started holding Bible studies in all his branches. Isn't God Amazing?
You see, if God wants you to be a businessman, then do business for the Lord, but understand my job is to evangelize, so whatever God wants you to do, are you willing to give it to the Lord? What's your answer? Everyone read this: If there is anything you are not willing to give up for God, it is your idols. We're almost done, how many of you have heard of John D. Rockefeller? Please raise your hand. John D. Rockefeller, if you ask me, he is the richest man in America, worth over $300 billion if his money is worth today. But John Rockefeller had an encounter. Do you know what happened to him? When one of his good friends, JP Morgan, passed away, he left his entire estate.
During that period, there were very few billionaires like Rockefeller, JP Morgan, John Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Andrew Carnegie was a steel magnate, JP Morgan was a banker, and Rockefeller was an oil magnate. They were good friends, but when their friend died, JP Morgan died, he started to think. All his money was left behind. Rockefeller became very generous, he gave away over $500 million, he founded the Baptist Convention, he founded schools, libraries, you know why? He knew that money is temporary, you can't take it with you, seek God's will for your life, now a lot of you haven't heard of this guy: I love this guy Albert Lexie.
Who is Albert Lexie? It was a shoe shiner. He shined shoes for 30 years. He shined shoes next to a hospital, the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. When he passed away after 30 years of shining shoes, how much money did he donate to the Children's Foundation? Two hundred thousand dollars. Why? Every time he receives a tip he donates it to a children's foundation. This man lived a simple life. What's my point? Rich or poor, you can prioritize God's purpose for your life, which is to bless others and bring the gospel. Has God spoken to you today? What could stop us from being everything God wants us to be? Do you know what my prayer is? Just as God used Paul and the early Christians to transform cities, may God use all of you to transform our country, our nation, and our world for Jesus, amen?
Let's bow our heads. When you lower your heads, do you recognize your idol? What is your idol? Please pay attention to my question. I am not asking you if you have an idol. I am asking you: Do you recognize your idol? Because we all have idols, how do you recognize yours? What makes you angry when you lose something? That's your idol. Please bow your head, what are you counting on to make you really, really happy? That's your idol. You have to ask God, Lord, what is my idol in life? Where does your sense of security come from, in your friends, in terms of money? Where does your sense of security come from? I want you to give that idol to the Lord.
Well, if God speaks to you and you identify your idol, it's something that's preventing you from being everything God wants you to be, preventing you from doing what God wants you to do. To do it. Will you raise your hand? Give that idol to the Lord and lift it high! You have recognized your idol, and you want to surrender that idol, surrender it, lift it high! You know, sometimes I ask people to stand up, and sometimes I don't ask them to stand up. But in today's ministry, I want you to give up your idols. Wherever you are, why don't you stand up? Stand up! Then lift up your hands to heaven and say: "Lord! This is my idol, and I give it to you".
Wherever you are, if you have recognized your idol, and your idol is preventing you from doing what God wants you to do, you stand up. Give up these idols because they are keeping you from being who God wants you to be and doing what God wants you to do. Is there anyone else? That idol could be a relationship, it could be a sin, it could be something good, but it has become your idol. If you want to hand it over, is there anyone else? OK, those of you who have your hands up, you pray this prayer with me:
Lord Jesus, here I am. I surrender my idol to you, Lord, my idol is... (You tell God privately:) My idol is... whatever that is. Lord, I give it to you, please forgive me. Forgive me when I value these idols more than you, when I love anyone or anything more than you. Jesus, please guard my heart. Lest I commit the sin of idolatry, especially the sin of covetousness, the sin of covetousness...
Lord, I commit all members of CCF to you, whether they are standing up or sitting down, we will always have to deal with our The idol in my heart. We will entrust these to you. May you bless your people today. We commit our all to You and we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen! Amen!
Lord, I commit all members of CCF to you, whether they are standing up or sitting down, we will always have to deal with our The idol in my heart. We will entrust these to you. May you bless your people today. We commit our all to You and we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen! Amen!