Winning Our Souls is His Main Business

[0:00] Good morning, everyone. My name is Lao Wong. I am associate pastor here at Brahma Baptist Church. It has been a blessing to be able to connect with you virtually, regardless of what has been preventing us to worship together physically. I hope I can see some of you in person next week as we begin to reopen our church buildings. I'm sure it will be definitely awkward in welcoming and greeting each other as we apply social distancing in the church building. It will also be hard to apply our love and care towards one another.

[0:51] I believe this virtual worshiping will be a history for the future that would reflect how we kept our faith with community during this COVID-19 pandemic. There's no question that this global pandemic definitely shook this country and around the world. It suddenly brings instability, hardship, and brokenness.

[1:28] I think this global pandemic is not different from what we struggle with in our daily life. We have our own issues that make us unstable, hardship, brokenness in our lives.

[1:47] The question we can always ask ourselves is, does God stop working in our life, in our church, in our community, in this country, or around the world as we face this pandemic or any other form of instability in our lives?

[2:11] Today, I'm not going to talk about why this pandemic comes, but how we may embrace such a difficult time in our life. Regardless of what we have in our lives?

[2:28] Regardless of what has come in the past globally, regardless of what issue we may have in the past personally, as believers, what we may need to remind ourselves is that our Lord Jesus Christ is always at his walk to this very day.

[2:55] After he was accused of healing a lame man on Sabbath, Jesus replied to the Jewish leader, the Jewish leader, my father is always at his walk to this very day, and I too am walking.

[3:16] It is in from John 5 17. Basically, it means that our Lord Jesus Christ never stopped working in our lives, in our society, in our country, and around the world, even if we are currently in the midst of this pandemic.

[3:43] What do you think? Why is our Lord Jesus Christ always at his walk to this very days? Why is our Lord Jesus Christ always at his walk to this very day?

[3:54] Of course, Genesis 2 2 said God rested on the seventh day. But I don't think it means he stopped doing good.

[4:07] If God would stop every kind of walk on Sabbath, nature would fall into chaos, sin would overwhelm the world.

[4:22] I believe the main reason of our Lord Jesus always at his walk to this very day is to win our soul.

[4:34] To win our soul. He does not want us to lose in every single trap we may have in our ways.

[4:45] I believe this pandemic is another form of trap that would discourage our faith and belief in Christ Jesus.

[4:58] Throughout biblical history, we witnessed that God was constantly at work to win the soul of human being.

[5:09] We all know that he himself eventually came down to earth, live with us, and die for us in order to win our soul.

[5:22] While he was his disciples in the New Testament time, Jesus performed miracles, healing, raising from the dead, and teaching the good news.

[5:35] The only reason he was doing those things is mainly to win the soul of those who were with him.

[5:51] Definitely, there were a number of people who come to him through his ministry in healing and teachings. Today, I would like to share three things as we focus on the subject of winning our soul.

[6:09] First, in order to be on his winning side, we need to know him personally. We may have heard this many times on different occasions that we need to know our Lord Jesus Christ personally.

[6:28] The question we always need to ask ourselves is, Do we know our Lord Jesus Christ personally? Or do we just know him?

[6:41] What others think he is? Unless we know him well, we cannot have a relationship with him.

[6:52] If we cannot have a relationship with him, it will be hard to be on his winning side. After he has done some miracle, teachings, and healing, Jesus asked his disciples in Luke 9, 18-20.

[7:14] Peter replied, Matthew 16, 18-20.

[7:46] Matthew 16, 16 said, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Jesus Christ is asking each one of us daily, Who do you say I am?

[8:05] I believe Christian faith is God. Knowing what others believe. The Christian faith, Christian life is not like an airborne disease, where hanging around Christians make one a Christian.

[8:23] It requires us to hold belief for ourselves. When Jesus asked, When Jesus asked, Who do you say I am?

[8:35] He wants us to take a stand. While others view Jesus as one of the greatest, the great prophets came back to life.

[8:47] Peter, however, Peter, however, confessed Jesus as divine and as the promised and long-awaited Messiah.

[8:58] If Jesus were to ask you and me now this question, How would we answer?

[9:13] Is he our Lord and Messiah? Second, In order to be on his winning side, We need to reach out to him intentionally with faith.

[9:31] I believe we all are familiar with the story of a bleeding woman who healed instantly by touching the fringe of Jesus' robe.

[9:42] We know that Jesus was surrounded by the crowd as he made his way toward Jairus' house. It was virtually impossible to get through the crowd, but a woman with a bleeding fought her way desperately through the crowd in order to reach out to Jesus.

[10:08] Luke 8 verses 43, It said, She has suffered for 12 years with constant bleeding and she could not find no cure.

[10:27] Imagine how desperate she would be. But when she reached out to him intentionally with faith, she was healed.

[10:43] Verses 44 said, Immediately the bleeding stopped. Verses 45, Jesus said, Who touched me?

[10:55] Who touched me? Everyone denied it. And Peter said, Master, The whole crowd is pressing up against you. But Jesus said, Someone deliberately touched me.

[11:11] For I held healing power go out from me. What a difference. There is between a crowd that are curious about Jesus and the few who reach out to him intentionally.

[11:31] Today, many people are familiar with who Jesus is. But nothing in their life is changed by knowing He is the Messiah.

[11:47] He is the Son of the living God. Verses 46 to 48 said, When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, She began to tremble and fell to her knees before Him.

[12:05] The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched Him and that she has been immediately healed. Jesus says to our daughter, Your faith has made you well.

[12:21] Go in peace. I don't think Jesus is teaching here about the power of His robe. But the faith of the woman.

[12:36] Her faith definitely make her way to reach out to Jesus Christ and receive a healing from Him. Dear friend, it is only faith in Christ that release God's healing power, that release Jesus' healing power.

[12:59] Are we just curious about Him or do we reach out to Him in faith, knowing that His mercy will bring healing to our bodies, soul, and spirit?

[13:19] Third, in order to be on His winning side, we need to believe the promise that our Lord Jesus is only with us as we bear witness to His life.

[13:37] In the last section of the book of Matthew, Jesus gave the great commission. Matthew 28, verses 18 to 20.

[13:56] In verses 17, while some of them were doubting, Jesus came and told His disciples, I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

[14:13] Therefore, go make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach this new disciple to obey all the command I have given you.

[14:31] And be sure of this, I am with you always. even to the end of the age. As you all know that Jesus' main purpose is to win the soul of many.

[14:50] He initially selected a twilight disciple who could bear witness to His life and carry on His walk after He returned to His Father.

[15:03] I believe Jesus is also inviting us to bear witness to His life.

[15:16] We don't need to be perfect. We don't need to be smart in order to be His witness. Jesus Christ would only expect us to live to believe in Him to obey Him and to be loyal to Him.

[15:39] He basically want us to produce His likeness in and through the church. Jesus doesn't promise that it will be easy.

[15:55] But He does promise that He will be always with us even to the end of the age. we can see it in the life of the Apostle Paul in time of going through difficult times, overcoming with His grace and mercy.

[16:19] 2 Corinthians verses 11 23 to 21 is talk about how hard, how difficulty that Paul has as He bear the witness of His Lord and Savior.

[16:41] It said here, I have served Him far more, I have walked harder, been put in prison more often, been weep times without numbers, and face death again and again, five different times the Jewish leader gave me 39 ledge, three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea, I have traveled on many long journeys, I have faced danger from ravers and from robbers, I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles, I have faced danger in the city, in the desert, on the sea, and I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers, but are not,

[17:46] I have walked hard and long, enduring my sleepless night, I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food, I have shivered in the cold without enough clothing to keep me warm, I cannot imagine how much Paul has gone in order to bear witness to the life of his Savior, Jesus Christ, I believe those difficulties are definitely a trap after a trap which could discourage his faith and belief in Christ Jesus.

[18:38] What do you think? What make him strong and bold to face all difficulties? It is the promise that he believed, the promise that our Lord Jesus gave him.

[18:58] Our Lord Jesus will all be with him as he bear the witness to his life. There's another scripture, 2 Corinthians 1, 3 to 10.

[19:18] I'm not going to read the whole scripture, but I'm going to read some of it. Verses around 4, it said, he come along.

[19:34] Jesus comes along us when we go through hard times. And verses 6 to 6 would say, when we suffer Jesus, it work out for your healing and salvation.

[19:55] Verses around 9 to 10, it said, instead of trusting in our strength or wit to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally.

[20:12] Not a bad idea, sin. He is the God who raised the dead. And he did it, rescue us from sudden dawn.

[20:27] And he will do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. This is from the version of the message.

[20:40] Dear friend, again, Jesus doesn't promise that it will be easy, but he does promise that he will be always with us even to the end of the age.

[20:59] Let's pray. Our Lord Father, thank you for who you are, what you have done to us, and what you are about to do in our lives and community.

[21:17] Our prayer is that you may continually walk in our lives to be on your winning side. Lord Jesus, help us to know you personally, help us to reach out to you intentionally with faith, and help us to believe confidently that you are only with us as we bear your witness to others.

[21:46] We pray all these things in your precious Jesus name. Amen. This morning, the benediction has come from Rome chapter 15 verses 5 to 6.

[22:03] May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is feeding for follower of Christ Jesus.

[22:22] Then all of you can join together with one voice giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[22:35] Amen. Go in peace.