0:19 Praise the Lord. We're thankful that God has allowed us to live through another year. And at the end of every year it's good for us to take stock of how we have lived, to look to the past, 0:38 and look to the future. Because it doesn't have to be December 31st, must be sometime in the year. December 31st is a convenient day because on January 1st because we see the change of a calendar year. But it is God who determined that the 0:57 earth should go around the sun in 365 and a quarter days. So, that's once in a year, it's very good to take stock of our lives. And especially look towards the future. And last month when I was asked to 1:18 share something for the calendar, this is the word that came to my heart, which is up here on the back. In Deuteronomy chapter 11, the children of Israel had come to the end of their 40 years of 1:36 wandering because of their disobedience. And finally decided to go into the land in which God wanted them to go 38 years earlier. We must keep that in mind as we read 1:56 this. When the children of Israel left Egypt, they had obeyed God, put the blood on the door. They went through the Red Sea, a picture of baptism. They the cloud came upon them, a picture of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. So, 2:12 they were picture of believers. Redeemed by the blood, away from the world, which is Egypt, baptized in water, baptized in the Holy Spirit. And then God planned that they should wander for two years. 2:31 And then enter the promised land. So, after two years, God brought them to the borders of Canaan. And they turned back because they did not believe God's word. They did not believe that 2:49 God was able to help them to overcome all the giants. And so, they turned back in disobedience. And God said, "Okay, you'll wander now for 38 years." And at the end of 40 years, finally when all that period was over, 3:09 Moses tells them, "Now you're about to enter this land." This is the land which you are about to cross, Deuteronomy 11:11, is a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven. That's the main thing. The difference between the world, Egypt, 3:28 and the land where God wants us to live, or the life where God wants us to live, is there in Egypt, it's a life of constant struggle to live. It says in verse 10, they had to sow the seed and water with their foot. 3:46 But here, it was more through God's blessing that the gardens became fresh and fruitful. And it's a land, verse 12, which the Lord your God cares, the eyes of the Lord are always upon it from the beginning even to the end of the year. 4:05 So, that's a good verse to think of as we begin the new year, that the eyes of the Lord are upon us from the beginning, 1st of January, 31st of December. And so, first of all, we can think of where the eyes of the Lord began to be 4:19 upon us. The eyes of the Lord were upon them when they came when they were in Egypt. That's how they're they were saved. But they disobeyed after that. So, if you turn with me first of all to Psalm 139, Psalm 139. Now, remember, even though David wrote 4:41 it, he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write. So, there's truth in it which is from God. Psalm 139 and verse 16. This is a great verse, again about the 5:00 eyes of the Lord being upon us, and it's a question of when it started being upon us. It's not when we were born again. That's the interesting thing. When did the eyes of the Lord first come upon you? Is it the day you decided to come to 5:18 Christ? No. Your eyes, Psalm 139:16, have seen my unformed substance. And that is in his in the mother's womb. When you were a tiny dot, 5:38 the beginning of a baby, the mother's womb, unformed, so small that only God could see it. And that time, God's eyes were on you. And the reason is the Bible says, according to God's 5:58 foreknowledge, 1 Peter 1:1 and 2, he elected us. Now, some of you may already know that. For those you don't know, let me repeat, that God knows everything that's happening in the future. I mean, what's going to happen 6:17 throughout this year, throughout next year, 10 years from now, 2,000 years from now. When did he know it? He knew it before he created Adam. He knew it before he created the angels. He knew it before Genesis 1:1. He knew the future. It's very difficult 6:35 for our mind to comprehend this. Uh there are many things about God that are true. We can't comprehend it because our mind is so small. It's like taking the water of the ocean into a little cup. It doesn't fit. But the water in the ocean is there, 6:51 whether it fits in your cup or not is unimportant. So, the wisdom of God is like that. He knows the whole future. Now, God's given us a mind to understand it a little bit. And looking into the future, he knew that one day 7:11 you would give your life to Christ. And because he knew that, maybe you gave your life to Christ when you were 15, 20, 30, I don't know. But God knew that before you were born. And so, 7:29 when that little baby was being formed in your mother's womb, God said, "Well, this is somebody who's going to give his life to me 20 years from now. This is someone who's going to give his life to me and surrender to me 30 years 7:43 from now. So, I'm going to have my eyes on him from this moment." It's a wonderful thing to know that. Because it brings a lot of rest into our heart. He saw my unformed substance. Before I was formed, before my face was 8:05 formed, he decided what I should look like. He decided the color of my skin. He decided the things in me that determine what height I would grow to, and many other factors in my body. See, once you realize that, you won't 8:24 have any complaint. A lot of young people have complaints about why is God made me like this? They find it difficult to accept themselves when they look into a mirror. Why can't I be like that other pretty person or something like that? 8:40 Here's the words that'll bring you to rest. It's not the most good-looking people who are the happiest. Some good-looking people are very unhappy. A lot of them commit suicide. The one who is happy and at rest is the one who recognizes that God saw me when 8:59 I was a tiny dot in my mother's womb, because he knew that years later I would give my life to Christ. He watched over me. And he decided how much intelligence I must have. Don't compare yourself with other people. And if you are intelligent, don't boast 9:17 about it. It's God who decided. And I'll tell you, God decided to give you those gifts because he wanted you to use them for him. God's I know God has given me certain gifts. For example, he's given me a good 9:35 memory. That's not a spiritual thing. I had a good memory when I was in school, unconverted. But God knew that I would need that when I'm going to serve him in teaching the Bible. So, I can't take any credit for it. I can't look down on another person who 9:52 doesn't have a good memory. This is all God's planning, but I realized this, that God gave it to me not to use for myself. He gave it to me to be used for him. He gave me intelligence, certain amount so that I could use it for him. 10:11 God's given you intelligence. Some of you are so clever that you do well in your studies. You do well in your profession. How much of that intelligence do you use to study God's word? Or is it only to make money? That's the question. 10:29 God formed you when you were not in any form. He formed you so that you might live for his glory. That's the first thing you need to recognize that his eyes were on you. And not only that, it says here in verse 16, 10:49 in your book they were all written. What was written? The days that were ordained for me when there was not even one of them. Okay, we've come into a new year and we become one year older. But long before, when you were in your 11:07 mother's womb, that little dot in your mother's womb, there's something else God decided. God decided, and believe it or not, how long you're going to live on this earth. The number of days 11:24 that I'm supposed to live when I'd not even lived one of them. I'd not even come out of my mother's womb. I'd not even been born. And at that point, God decided how many days I would live on this earth. And when it says they were 11:43 written in his book, I mean, we know there are no books like this in heaven. Where's the book of life? Where everybody's name is written who is born again. It's in God's mind. It's in God's mind, the book of life. It's not a written book. 12:02 In the same way, when it says in your book, it was written how many days were for me. I find great comfort in knowing that in God's mind there's a section with my name on it. You know how you feel when some 12:23 very important person in the world remembers your name even though you met him only once? Supposing you met the Prime Minister of India just once. And you told him your name and 10 years later he says, "Oh, you're so-and-so." 12:41 Wow. How would that make you feel? How does it make you feel that in the mind of God there's a section with your name on it? I believe it. According to your faith be done to you. 12:59 I'm not imagining. I know the rest and comfort it has brought to me as I face an uncertain future. That in the mind of God there's a section there with my name on it. And there in that section, the number of days I am to fulfill 13:17 is there. God decided that I would not die in 2013, that I would live up to 2014. All of you, too. There were a lot of people who died last year. But you didn't. That's not because of your cleverness or mine. It's because 13:33 God determined it. All these things, you know, bring us to humility. That's the That's what it does. If you really take God's word seriously and see God as he really is, I'll tell you you can't lift up your head. Even at the age of 95, you'll fall like 13:51 Jesus like John at Jesus' feet like a dead man. You say, "Lord, I'm not worthy of anything." Amazing grace that saved a wretch like me. That's what you'll say. If you see these things that it was God who determined these things 14:08 and planned our life. There's a beautiful promise in Exodus chapter 23. Some of these Old Testament promises apply to us as well. I believe that. Exodus in chapter 23 and the last part of verse 26, 14:29 I will fulfill the number of your days. I've gone to sick people who are in hospital who think that they're pretty seriously sick and they're going to die. And I've for given this verse to them. 14:49 God says, "I'll fulfill the number of your days." Now, you know that nothing is automatic in our relationship with God. I mean, the planets and all, if God's got a plan for the planets, that'll work out whether the cuz the planets don't have a 15:05 choice. But in your my case and my case, when you read a verse like that, the number of your days I will fulfill, or like we read in Psalm 139, that all the days that were ordained for you were written down in the book. 15:23 That doesn't mean that I can live carelessly and um eat foolishly and say, "Well, I will live as long God wants me to." No, you won't. I remember many years ago reading a 15:44 little book about the disciplined life. I'll never forget one statement in it. It's really affected me. He says there, "If I die young, maybe in my 30s or my life is shortened because I was killed for preaching the 16:03 gospel. You know, like Stephen as a young man, probably 30 years old, or James, 30 years old, died. He says, "If I die like that for preaching the gospel, I can stand before God with boldness because it was for his sake that my life 16:20 was shortened." But if he said there if I die early because I ate too much or I ate foolishly, 16:36 food that is not healthy for my body, just because I wanted to satisfy my taste and my lust for eating, and because of that my life is shortened through diabetes or something else which I could have avoided if I had been a 16:56 little more careful in my eating habits, and my life is shortened by 10 or 15 years, and I stand before God and say, "Lord, I died early because I ate the wrong stuff. I just satisfied the my lust for food." Will I be able to stand with my head 17:10 lifted up before God? I never forgot that. What I read in that book about a the need for a disciplined life. So, a promise like I will fulfill the number of your days and the eyes of the Lord are upon you from beginning of the 17:24 year to the end of the year is not something we can just, you know, take advantage of and say, "Oh, well, I can relax and do what I like." No. There are two sides to it. There's God's side and there's my side. If there were no my side to it at all, 17:38 then I'd be like a robot, programmed. You know, you program a robot, it'll do exactly what you say. But in God's dealings with man, because he's given us a free will, some promises of God are not fulfilled. And that we can see 17:55 in that verse we read in Deuteronomy itself. Because the promise to enter into the land was given to some other 600,000 people who never entered the land. God told them in Egypt, "I will take you out of Egypt. I'll put you into Canaan." 18:10 And only half of that was fulfilled. How can only half of God's promise be fulfilled? You read in Exodus chapter 3, the promise is I'll take you out of Egypt, I'll bring you into Canaan. Some people think if there's a promise 18:23 of God, claim it, it'll be fulfilled. Well, it requires faith and obedience. Trust and obey for there's no other way. And they did not trust and they did not obey. So, the promise is not fulfilled. Half of it was fulfilled. 18:39 Let me show you that verse. It's important to know it because it's quite possible that promises in the New Testament that you try to claim may not be fulfilled, also. Exodus chapter 3 in verse 49 onwards. 19:00 In verse 17, we read, "I'll bring you out of Egypt into the land of the Canaanite, a land flowing with milk and honey." Exodus 3:17. There were two sides to it. "I'll bring you out of Egypt. I'll bring you into Canaan." And all the 19:18 elders, you know, the God had told Moses, "Gather all the elders and tell them these words." And so, those elders who heard it, none of them experienced the full promise 19:35 because they did not respond in faith and obedience. And God told them to go in. They said, "No, no, no, we're scared." So, keep that in mind. God is always on our side to help us fulfill his promise. And to help us fulfill the number of the 19:53 Now, I'll tell you another thing. If God's determined a certain number of days for me on earth, I don't want to live beyond that. I don't have time to show it to you, but you can read it in the Old Testament of a king called Hezekiah. 20:10 In the Old Testament. One day God told him, you read it in Chronicles and in Isaiah, "Set your house in order, because you're going to die. Your time on earth is up." And Hezekiah began to pray and say, "Oh 20:30 God, please, you know how I've tried to live to please you and um will you please have mercy on me and let me live a little longer?" So, God said, "Okay, I'll give you 15 more years to live." Let me show you a verse in Psalm 106. 21:09 Sometimes God gives us something which he doesn't want us to have. It's like a child who persists and persists and persists with his parents and screams and yells and say, "I'm going to run out of house if you don't give it to me." And finally, the 21:25 foolish parents give it. God's not foolish, but he respects our free will. He respects our free will so much that if you want something, he'll give it to you. Yeah, turn with me to Psalm 106. It says here in verse 21:44 14, "They craved intensely in the wilderness for something. And they tempted God." That means they have said, "We want something. We're not happy with this manna. We want meat. 22:02 This vegetarian food is not good enough for me." He gave them their request, but sent a wasting disease among them. Or as one translation says, he sent a leanness, a thinness into their soul. 22:22 He gave them their request, but their soul became thin and sick. That's sad. Because they craved saying, "I want this. I'm not going to be denied." 22:40 It's the way sometimes young people determine to marry somebody they like, whether the person's godly or not. "I want this. I don't care what God's word says." And like the proverb says, they marry in haste 22:59 and they have a whole lifetime to repent. They craved for something and God says, "Okay, have it." And he sent a wasting disease among them. You know, it's a dangerous thing to have free will. 23:19 It's a wonderful thing to have free will. I don't want to be like the planets. I don't want to be a robot. It's a wonderful thing to have free will, but free will can be a very dangerous thing. If Adam and Eve didn't have a free will 23:31 in Eden, there would have been no sin. But there would have been no holiness either. They would have They would never have been children of God. So, free will is a wonder wonderful thing, but it can be dangerous. So, remember that God's 23:43 is His eyes are on us. He's numbered our days. He planned that this generation that was slaved in Egypt should enter Canaan, but they did not enter Canaan. Half the promise was fulfilled. Just make sure that half of God's promises are not 24:00 fulfilled in your life, but all of them are fulfilled. Say, "Lord, I will trust you and I'll obey you." Say that this year. And then looking at the other side of it, Israel had failed. So, this promise was given to a people 24:20 who had failed the Lord for 40 years. And so, that's another way we can look at this promise. I means as some of you, many of us, as we look back over our life from the day when God's eyes were on us from our mother's womb, 24:35 and even after we were converted, we've not been faithful. I don't think there's any believer who can say, "Well, I've been absolutely faithful from day one, from the time I was converted." We've slipped up. We've been careless. 24:50 We've not only committed unconscious sin, but we have committed conscious sin, even after we were saved. We've turned back when God said, "Go in." You said, "No." Some of us may have to look back like the Israelites over years of wandering 25:08 as we come to 2014. Isn't it good that at the beginning of a year, after years of wandering in sin and disobedience, God says, "Okay, go in now. From the beginning of this year, my eyes will be on you." 25:28 So, my message of the Bible is a message of hope. God is a god of encouragement. So, there's no one sitting here who's made a mess of your life, even if it's for 40 years, like the Israelites. At the end of 40 years of disobedience, 25:43 God says to them, "Okay, enter in today. I give you another opportunity to enter this land. I asked you to do it many years ago. You didn't do it. You wasted your life for so many years, but never mind, you can still go in. 25:58 My eyes will be on you from this year onwards." So, I want to invite anybody like that who's discouraged over your past failure and felt, "Oh Lord, I made a mess of my life." It's okay. What can you do about it? Don't They say, "Don't cry over spilled 26:16 milk." Okay, it's spilled. What's the use? Just make sure you don't spill it anymore. Make sure that at least the rest of your life, you say, "Lord, thank you for a fresh beginning that you're giving me. That you promised to have your eyes upon 26:32 me from now on, even though I look back over 40 years of failure, wandering, wandering, wandering." It is to such people the promise came. That's a great encouragement. That the Lord did not say, "Well, you guys have wandered so much, you can 26:49 perish." The whole nation of Israel. He could have done that. In fact, once he did tell Moses, "I'm fed up with this nation of Israel. I will destroy the whole lot of them, Moses, and I will start with you. Like I started with Abraham, I'll start 27:04 with you." And Moses, the man of God that he was, he said, "No, Lord. I don't want to be the head of this new race to replace Abraham. I'm nobody. What will the Egyptians say about your name if they hear that you killed all of them 27:22 in the wilderness?" He was concerned about God's name, not to get a name for himself. Now, I'll tell you this. That is the mark of every genuine man and woman of God. They're not concerned about their own name or their own fame 27:38 or what people think about them. They're only concerned with hallowed be thy name, Lord. Be like that this year, my brothers and sisters. Think of your failure as a time when you dishonored God's name. But it's not going to happen from now 27:55 onwards. And the wonderful promise of God is, "Their sins and iniquities, I will remember no more." Hebrews 8:12, wonderful verse. "I will not remember your past failures." I think God looked at Israel like that. Okay, you've wandered 40 28:13 years, I won't remember it anymore. Come, move in now. Now, occupy the land. I'll still bless you. So, take that promise, those of you who have made a mess of your life. We've all gone through shorter or longer periods like that. 28:29 And let me add one more thing. When God has been good to you like that, not to remember your past, be merciful to other people who have harmed you. And don't remember their past against you also. Treat other people 28:48 the way God treats you. God gives you a new beginning. Give those other people a new beginning as well. Be like God. That's one way we can be like God. There are many ways many areas in in which to become like God takes 29:03 years. But one area to become like God, to overlook the failures of others, that we can do very quickly. If you just exercise our will and say, "Lord, you said you won't remember my past. I want to look at this person who's harmed 29:18 me. I'm not going to remember his past." Isn't that a good way to begin 2014? See, let me show you another verse about the eyes of the Lord. In Luke chapter 22, 29:36 Luke chapter 22, we read about Jesus in the court being tried. And Peter entered that courtyard and 29:55 denied the Lord three times. Luke chapter 22, verse 16. Peter said for the third time, "Man, I don't know who you're talking about." When they asked him, "Do you know Jesus?" What a terrible sin. Immediately, while he was still 30:10 speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord, standing there, turned and put his eyes on Peter. The eyes of the Lord were on Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the 30:31 Lord, how he had said, "Before a rooster crows today, you'll deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly. How do you think Jesus looked at Peter? How do you look at 30:48 your child who you warned him not to do something, and he still disobeyed you and messed up things? I know how most parents look at such children. It's the look which says, "I told you 31:06 that would happen." That's not how Jesus looked at Peter. I've learned through the years of walking with God one thing, never to tell people, "I told you." 31:24 That's the expert speaking. Even Jesus didn't talk like that. We have all failed. Let's look at mercy upon others. And if Jesus who had never failed could look at Peter, I think what Jesus looks at was not, "I told you so. 31:43 I warned you. Why did you go and mess up?" No. I think his look said, "It's okay, Peter. Remember what I said that I'd pray for you. You'll be all right. When you have hit rock bottom, 32:02 remember God still loves you. Let don't let your faith fail. Faith is to believe that God loves you even when you've hit rock bottom. That's the way we must look at our children. That's the way we must look at other people 32:19 who have messed up in the very area where we had warned them. I've come across so many people like that in our churches who I have at some time given them some warning and they messed up for many years and then they come back. 32:38 And I want to look at them like Jesus looked at Peter. It's okay. Never mind. God loves you. I'm glad you come back. And I think that's what made It's that look of love which made of forgiveness that made Peter go out and weep 32:57 bitterly. And I want to ask you, is there somebody in the world who's waiting for a look of forgiveness from you like that? Whom you haven't yet looked at with a look of forgiveness 33:17 because they hurt you in some way or did something wrong? The eyes of the Lord are upon you to say to you, "It's okay, my son, my daughter. It's forgiven. Forget it. Let's move on. Let's begin a new year." Look like that at others. 33:36 What a wonderful way to live this year. Not only this year, can be the beginning of a completely new way of life for us. I tell you, you will even be healthier physically when you look at people like that with forgiveness. Forgiveness is a great 33:52 medicine to bring healing when pills and tablets and injections won't do the job. I'll tell you that. Love is a great healer. So, there's so much in that. And I see this also 34:11 as, you know, exemplified in the life of Jesus. The eyes of the Lord, of the Father, were upon Jesus all the time. You know, when he was born in Bethlehem, 34:28 a little helpless baby, and there was Herod scheming to kill him. What did he know? What did Joseph and Mary know that somebody's coming here to kill the baby? But the eyes of the Lord were there watching and warning them 34:49 to go away so that when Herod came, he couldn't kill Jesus. Do you believe that God cares for you like that? I believe it. I believe as a child of God, if you really believe you're a child of God, 35:08 I believe that there is no partiality with God. A good father is not partial to one of his children. This is one of the bad things I've seen in many Indian families and probably in other families, too, that they'll they'll show partiality towards their 35:26 son and ignore a daughter. In Western countries, if they have many sons and they have one daughter, that's the daughter who becomes special. But here in India, it's the son. That partiality is a sin. God doesn't value sons over daughters or 35:44 daughters over sons. And if you're partial towards your children, that means or you are partial towards someone who's very intelligent and does very well in school, and you look down on the other child who's not so smart. 35:59 You're the evil one, not that child. Cuz God doesn't look like that. So, please remember this, that if it is like that, a good father would like to be completely impartial 36:16 towards his children. That doesn't mean he spends equal time with all of them. For example, if one student is one child is very good in his studies and another child is not, he'll spend more time with that one. That is impartiality. 36:32 Impartiality does not mean equality. It means according to their need, you're equally willing to help each one according to their need, your children. And that's how God is. And that's helped me so much to know that if that is true, and it is true, Romans 36:45 2:14 says there's no partiality with God, then he will treat me, a younger son of God, like he treated his first son, Jesus. If you believe that, it's an amazing 37:03 thing. I've often said this, that before Jesus came to the earth, he was called the only begotten Son of God. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. But after his resurrection, he is never called the only begotten. He's called 37:20 the firstborn. The firstborn. You know the difference between only son and firstborn son? There was a time in my life when I had one son, I'd call him the only son. Then I had other sons, then he became the firstborn son. 37:35 It's the same with you. If you have only one son, he's the only son. If you have more than one son, this is the firstborn son. That's what happened in the resurrection. One of the wonderful things, not only death was conquered and Satan was 37:47 conquered, but that was the day when Jesus got brothers. And that's why the very first word he told Mary Magdalene was, "Go and tell my brothers." He never said that before in all his life on earth. 38:07 But on the day of his resurrection, he said, "Go and tell my brothers." What he told the three days earlier at the Last Supper, what he told his disciples were, "Till now I've called you servants. Now I call you friends." Okay, that's one 38:18 step higher, servants and friends. But he didn't say, "You're my brothers." But after the resurrection, he said, "My brothers." "Go and tell my brothers that I'm ascending to my Father and your Father. We both have the same Father now." 38:34 Amazing verse in Genesis in John chapter 20. He spoke to Mary Magdalene. And that means that I have now become a younger brother of Jesus Christ. Romans 8:29 also says that. He predestined us that we might be conformed to the image of his Son, that 38:52 he might become the firstborn among many brothers. So, what is the consequence of that? God, there's no partiality. That means whatever he does for one son of his, he will do for the other. Whatever he did for Jesus, he will do 39:07 for me. You know, that thought revolutionized my life about 38 years ago or somewhere around that time. After God filled me with the Holy Spirit, one of the wonderful things he revealed to me was this, that God loved me as he loved 39:23 Jesus. John 17:23. That he loves me as he loved Jesus and uh cares for me as he cared for Jesus. That's the time I wrote that song, "What he's done for Jesus, he'll do for you." It It gripped my heart. As he cared for 39:41 Jesus, he'll care for you. As he helped Jesus to live an overcoming life, he'll help you to live an overcoming life. Whatever it is, as he helped Jesus to forgive those who killed him, he'll help you to forgive those who harm 39:53 you. Whatever he's done for Jesus, he'll do for me. And as he cared for Jesus, as his eyes were upon Jesus from the beginning of his life till the end of his life, it'll be upon me. We read of one instance in Luke chapter 40:13 4 where they interrupted Jesus in the synagogue while he was preaching and pulled him down from the pulpit. Imagine, this has never happened to me. I mean, they've stopped me preaching after 1 day, but never pulled me down 40:25 from the pulpit. That happened to Jesus. He was so radical. They pulled him down from the pulpit and took him to the cliff to throw him down. Imagine 200 people catching a man and trying to throw him down a cliff. And it 40:35 says, Jesus just quietly walked and went. I don't know what happened, but something miraculous happened there. No angel came and lifted him up. He just quietly went through. I said, God's eyes were on Jesus. He was not supposed to die falling over 40:52 a cliff. And so God took him away from there. It's a wonderful thing to know. And when he was in a boat and there was a storm and it looked as if they'd all die of drowning, now the storm was still because Jesus was not supposed to die of drowning. 41:11 He was supposed to die on a cross. So, it's wonderful to know that so many things can happen, but if that's not the way I'm supposed to die, I'm not going to have It's not going to happen to me. So, that's why we don't live in fear of 41:26 death. Well, I mean, if the Lord doesn't come before that, we'll have to die, but if you live uh rejoicing in the fact that God cares for you as he cared for Jesus, I'll tell you you won't even Not only you won't die before your time, you 41:42 won't even die in some other way than you're supposed to die. That's why we don't have to live in fear of road accidents and plane accidents and cancer and if that is the way God has determined to take you from home, that's fine. Take 41:56 you home, that's fine, but we don't live in fear that I may die in some other way. You know the number of believers who are living in fear of ill health may take me away. What will happen if uh I die and I'm the only breadwinner in 42:16 my house? How will my wife survive with all these children? You live in such fears. The people of the world have to live in such fears. But we have a father whose eyes were upon us when you were a little dot in your mother's womb. 42:33 Who determined the number of your days when you before even you were born. His eyes were upon Jesus. Nobody could kill him. Many times you read in John's gospel, they came to capture him, but they could not capture him. You know 42:52 why? Not because they were not strong enough. There were soldiers who came. One reason. You read in John 7, his hour had not yet come. That's all. I like that. I say, Lord, people can't do anything to me 43:11 if your hour has not come. I've had experiences like that in my own life where people have tried to harm me, but they couldn't. People tried to raid my house, they couldn't because God took me away. 43:29 The hour had not come. It's a wonderful thing to live in the will of God. You say, what do I have to fulfill to live like this? Say, Lord, I want to live under your eyes all the time. I never want to be in a place where your eyes are not there. 43:49 That's all. See this verse in Proverbs chapter 15. Proverbs in chapter 15 and verse three. 44:07 The eyes of the Lord are in every place watching the evil and the good. To live recognizing that. Lord, when I'm alone at home 44:25 with my wife and with my husband, you're watching me just like you're watching me when I'm in the midst of other believers in the church. And if I always speak kindly to my husband and wife on Sunday mornings in the presence of 44:45 other believers in the church, I'm going to speak exactly like that when there's nobody else at home but you. Why not try that for this year? That there'll be no difference in the kindness with which you speak to your family members in the presence of 45:05 others as it will be when you're at home and there's nobody present but the Lord. Because the eyes of the Lord are in every place watching the evil and watching the good. He doesn't come down and frighten us when we speak rudely. He's just watching 45:23 it. Silently watching it. Well, there's no doubt about it. He's watching it all the time. And one day we'll be rewarded according to how we have lived. So, it's a wonderful thing to say, Lord, you're watching me all the 45:42 time. That's not a life of tension. It's a life of rest and peace. It's like having Jesus actually living in your house. How would you speak to others if Jesus was physically living in your 46:01 house? That's what it means to have the eyes of the Lord upon you. Say, Lord, you're all the time you're watching me. I want it. That's the way I want to live the whole of this year. Wherever I am. When I'm tempted to get angry, 46:17 I want to recognize your eyes are here right now with me. The thing is, if we seek to live like that, you will also find he's there with you in the time of trouble. When you're in need. Or to fulfill a task God gives you. For 46:35 example, one of the tasks God has given me is to preach God's word. I am standing in pulpits so many times in a week in different places. And I really long that the Lord will be with me when I 46:55 stand there. Every time. I say, Lord, what's the use of me standing in a pulpit if you're not standing next to me and giving me the words to say to needy people. I'll just get get up there and air my views and maybe get some honor. 47:10 I'm not interested in that. I don't want to im- impress people. I want to bless them and help them. I can't do that unless you're there. And if I seek to live under his eyes all the time, then he'll be with me when I stand in a 47:26 pulpit, too. He'll be with me when I face some trying situation where I don't know what to do. His eyes will be upon me. He'll give me words to encourage me and comfort me. And when needy people come to you, he'll give you 47:41 words to give to them. So, seek to live conscious of the eyes of the Lord upon you all the time. It won't happen overnight. You know, you can hear something now and you can be stirred up and say that's how I'm going to live. 47:56 Don't get discouraged if you forget it in a few days. Say, Lord, I'm determined to get there. It didn't happen to me overnight, but little by little by little by little over a period of not days, but years, became more and more real to me to live 48:08 in the presence of the Lord. The eyes of the Lord upon me. It's the best way you can ever live. Let's seek to live like that throughout the year. I want to show you another verse in 2 Chronicles in chapter 7 in this connection. 48:28 You know, here was a temple that Solomon had built. And by the way, the plan for this temple was not given to Solomon. That's It's a very interesting thing that we see that the world knows Solomon as the wisest man 48:48 that ever lived. But in 1 Chronicles 28 and verse 19, David said, the plan was given to me by the Lord. 1 Chronicles 28:19. The Lord gave me the pattern for the 49:05 temple and he explained to Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:11, David gave Solomon the plan which the Lord had given him. All types of things, you know, even for the verse 14 for the utensils and spoons and for Can you imagine telling the 49:24 wisest man in the world what type of spoons you should have in the house of the Lord? What is the difference between Solomon and David? One thing. Solomon had a clever mind. David is a man after God's heart. God's plan is not revealed not to the 49:40 one who's got a clever mind, but the one who's got a good heart. Don't be discouraged if you don't have a good mind, clever mind like Solomon. You can have a good heart like David. Be a man after God's own heart. That's the one to whom God revealed the 49:54 plan. Even today, he reveals his plans not to the clever, but to those who are humble hearts like a child. Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, you have hidden these things from the clever and the intelligent. You reveal them to babes who have got a 50:07 humble heart." I believe all of us understand we are all clever. We understand everything that's said in the pulpit, but the ones who are gripped in this church are the ones who got a humble heart. That I know for sure and I've seen it 50:21 through the years. And those who don't have a humble heart, well, one day or the other they fall away. It may take years, but they'll fall away one day. So, 2 Chronicles 7, after Solomon had built this temple exactly according to 50:35 the plan that David gave him, the Lord gave him a promise. It says here in God appeared to Solomon at night, verse 12. 1 2 Chronicles 7:12. He says, "I've heard your prayer and chosen this place for myself." And um he said, "My eyes, verse 50:58 15, will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place. My eyes will be there. My eyes, verse 16, last part, and my heart will be upon this house perpetually." But, verse 19, if you turn away, 51:17 forsake my commandments, then you will become a proverb and a byword, verse 20, among people. And people will pass by and say, "Why did this happen to this brother?" Verse 21. Because they took advantage of God and forsook him. 51:37 And began to worship other gods. Other things became more important in their life than Jesus Christ. It can happen. But God's promise is, "I want my keep my eyes upon you all the time." And we know the story of Israel how 51:53 they disobeyed and they God kept his word and punished them. So, it's a wonderful thing because if we allow the Lord to keep his eyes upon like us like this, here's a great promise in 2 Chronicles in chapter 16. Not only that the eyes of the Lord will 52:11 be upon us, but it says in 2 Chronicles 16 and verse 9, that the eyes of the Lord will move across the whole earth to support us 52:28 if our heart is completely his. Uh it doesn't matter if our mind doesn't understand. My brothers and sisters, some of us are not clever. Don't worry about that. I think most of us here are clever than Peter, that unlearned fisherman. 52:45 But God's eyes were on him. It's the heart that matters, not how clever you are in your mind. The those whose hearts are completely his. 2 Chronicles 16:9. If your heart is completely his, 53:05 the eyes of the Lord will move throughout the earth to strongly support you. That's a wonderful promise. Not only that the eyes of the Lord will be upon me throughout this year, but if I say, "Lord, I don't want anything in my heart but you." 53:24 I know that if I have you in my heart and my whole of my heart is yours, I'll be filled with the Holy Spirit. And um I will never have a lack in my life. I'll never have a spiritual lack. I'll never have a material money lack or 53:40 health lack or any lack in my life if my heart is completely his. God will work to strongly support you. His eyes will move across the earth to support you. You know, some of you young people who 53:59 really long to find a good marriage partner. What a promise. The eyes of the Lord can move across the whole earth to find the person exactly right for you. And in some marvelous way, 54:18 bring that person across your path. So, you get to know one another. That's how I got married. I believe that if your heart is completely his, say, "Lord Jesus, I only want to do your will. I don't have place in my heart for 54:37 anything else but you." You'll find it's really true in all types of situations, the eyes of the Lord moving throughout the earth to strongly support you. To find the right job for you. To find a house for you to live in. 54:57 See this. In the book of Numbers, we read an amazing verse in Numbers chapter 9. It says in the last part of that chapter 55:26 in Numbers chapter 9, that they moved from one place to another. At at the command of the Lord, verse 18, they would set out. And at the command of the Lord, if the command came in the morning, verse 21, the cloud remained, they would 55:43 move in the morning. If the cloud remained for one day, they'd move during the day. And like that, they moved from place to place to place. That's how they moved in the from one place to another and God went ahead of them. 55:59 Finding a place for them to camp. That's a great promise. Whether it was 2 days or a month or a year, at the command of the Lord, they went. At the command of the Lord, they returned. And it was God who searched out a place 56:18 for them to set up camp and that's a wonderful thing. So, God cares for our housing. He cares for our marriage. He cares for our job. He cares for everything. It's a wonderful thing that the eyes of the Lord can move to and fro throughout 56:32 the whole earth to support us strongly. Let me turn to you into another verse in 1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter 3. As we look into the new year, 57:04 verse 10. The one who desires life to love and see good days. We want every one day of this year to be a good day. Here's what you should do. 57:22 Keep your tongue from evil. And your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Seek peace throughout this year. Pursue 57:39 it. Because the eyes of the Lord Why? Because the eyes of the Lord are upon people who live like this. Those are called the righteous. And not only that, his ears listen to their prayer. Let's think about that, dear brothers 58:02 and sisters. Let me give you one more promise before we close. In Zechariah in chapter 2, we'll finish with this. Book of Zechariah chapter 2. Where it speaks of another aspect of the 58:22 eyes of the Lord. The Lord says in the last part of verse 8, he who touches you touches the apple of God's eye. Do you know which is the most sensitive 58:45 part of your body? The apple of your eye. It's the most painful part. You know, you can touch other part of your bodies. Touching won't cause pain. No part of the body that you can touch that will cause pain, but if you touch 59:03 the apple of your eye, it's painful. Just touching it. And God says if anybody touches you, it's touching the apple of my eye. I take it seriously. I react immediately. Just like you would react if somebody touched the apple of your eye, even 59:21 accidentally. This is our Father. This is the God we worship. It's a wonderful thing to be a Christian. It's a wonderful thing to be a disciple of Jesus. It's a wonderful thing to have God as our Father. 59:41 To look up every day of this year and say, "Our Father, who art in heaven, the only thing I want is that your name will be hallowed in my life. That your will will be done in my life exactly like the angels do it in heaven 59:59 throughout this year." May God help us. Let's bow in prayer. Our heavenly Father, how blessed we are to be your people 1:00:25 to live free from the fears and tensions and anxieties that plague the race of men. To live hidden under the shadow of the Almighty where you hide us 1:00:42 from the attacks of men. Thank you, Father. In an insecure world, we have found security in you. Thank you, Father. Help us to live all our days 1:01:01 under your eyes. In Jesus' name we ask. Amen. Let's sing that course again. This is 1:06:25 good news. This is the good news, what God can do. What he's done for Jesus, he'll do for you. With mighty power, 1:06:48 he'll strengthen you. There is no end to what God can do.
