0:01 good morning to everyone at CFC I'm tremendously blessed to be here and uh honored and just so delighted to be back I was here in October for the conference and uh for my dad's 75th birthday and just a joy to be back I call this my 0:19 home and um I have tremendously warm memories uh of CFC obviously this is such a privilege to be in a nice building but first in my own home with five or 10 you know families maybe 20 25 people in 0:38 1975 and I was a little bit older uh than my young boys who are four years old at that time they L five uh to then 40 d Costa square and now uh the way and um the work that the Lord is doing in CFC and the churches is a pillar and a 0:57 testimony and a fire all across the world now with the internet um many Saturday evenings I'm able to log in and watch over Ustream this meeting um and uh at least wave at you okay but U it's a tremendous joy and I 1:16 know my brothers also send their greetings you across the world many watch you stream now and are blessed by this many watch the messages uh on YouTube and um you all of you brothers and sisters are a blessing to many across the world who would have thought 1:31 that those small seeds that were soed in 1975 um through faithfulness of many of the brothers and sisters hereo is now blessing the world so I'm just tremendously overjoyed and um um happy um to be call this my home uh to call 1:48 this my home church and for the blessing that many of you have been I also want to thank God for the elders my dad brother Ian brother Newton and now brother Charles for the leadership um much of the way in which you um have run 2:02 the church and many of the churches that have been planted uh are a blessing to me blessing to many others who ask questions about how is the right way to to do God's work I know my brothers as they have um have started churches in 2:17 their homes and now have looked to the guidance of many of the elders here so I praise God for that I'm also delighted to be back here for the first time with my family in 7 years uh the last time I came my I only had a daughter and she 2:32 was I think a little over one uh she doesn't remember much but now is able to bring my two boys uh and my daughter's eight and my two boys one of them Jason thinks he's more Indian than Alex so your job if your children is to convince 2:46 both of them that they're both Indian uh Alex and Alex is the older Jason is the younger by 15 minutes they're both twins uh and I praise God that they can come and really drink of the Spirit uh God willing we'd like to be here more often 3:00 it's a little harder to travel when our children are young as you probably know but uh we just praise God that we could all be here and it's my hope that uh my children can grow up knowing the same uh Jesus that I saw among the brothers and 3:14 sisters here that's my prayer for them and you know as we grow up we often you know the elders and the older brothers and that I um respected um always told me you know um it'll you know you think it's easy to bring up children wait till 3:30 you have your own children right and I know how much I'm on my knees in prayer and humility um um because as we bring up our children in a in a world that's increasingly getting tougher and tougher with every generation how much we need 3:42 the fear of the Lord and how much we need that wisdom which is the beginning of as a result of fearing the Lord uh so today I just wanted to share I when brother Ian asked me to share uh the opening message I felt very humbled 3:56 I did not really feel I felt I said I should pre speak after uh one of the elders speak here but he in insisted so uh my calling in life Brothers is to really be a witness um in the workplace as you know and to be that Daniel or 4:11 Joseph and I've talked about that before so I'm um I pray that the words that I speak today will be a blessing especially the young people and uh the title of what I'd like to talk about today um is hopefully something that 4:23 could be relevant and and applicable to many of you young people especially those in your team teenag years 20s or 30s um and and this week as you know is the week where across the world many people think about Jesus in the context 4:41 of Christmas and things of that kind what I want to talk about today is do you know about Jesus or do you know Jesus do you know about Jesus or do you know Jesus there's a big difference because today if you think about um 4:56 what's happening this week out of the 7 billion people in the world maybe a few billion actually will say they've heard something and it's increasingly becoming more um secular even the remembering of the birth of Jesus but then maybe 5:11 there's a 100 million people who may know about Jesus because they've read the story of his birth or his death um but there's going to be very few who really know Jesus and if you look at at um you know what the scripture says the eyes of the 5:29 Lord Rome to and fro across the world looking for those uh who know him so and there's a good evidence of that in John chapter 6 if you turn to John chapter 6 and you'll see what was in the time of Jesus in John chapter 6 we've seen this 5:50 passage many times before but at the beginning of this story which is the feeding of the 5,000 you see that there were 5,000 men many of them came you would claim that they knew about Jesus some of them may have been touched healed by him a few of 6:08 them have had folks even raised from the dead and maybe there's maybe altogether with women and children maybe 8,000 people there 5,000 men maybe 8,000 people and then you see through the entire book at the very end of the book 6:26 of the of the chapter in John chapter 6 it starts off with maybe about 8,000 and then as Jesus preaches more and more of course they get the blessing they get the food and then you see in John uh chapter 6 sry 6 ver 6:45 66 you see as a result of this many of his disciples withdrew and were not walking with him anymore and these were so-called disciples who withdrew and then he looked at his 12 and he says you do not want to go with 7:02 them also do you and Simon Peter says Lord to whom shall we go you have the words of eternal life did I verse 70 did I myself not Choose You the 12 and yet among you is a devil so even among the 8,000 11 7:21 only um really wanted to know Jesus and even at that time their knowledge of Jesus was not complete but they only knew Jesus in the context of where they were I think about that if you think about 8,000 people out of that 7:38 only 11 or 12 that's you know if you do the math it's about 1.5% and think if we had a, people here of the eyes of Jes of the God looks to and from and found only two people 1.5 out of we don't have a thousand people here maybe 5 600 but if only one or two 7:55 really know Jesus that's statistically what we saw even in the time of of Jesus so the the there'll be many who you know may be in heaven and and you know maybe um The Samaritan woman Nicodemus there are many others who the thief on the 8:12 cross would be in Paradise but if our only goal is to have our sins forgiven we've heard through many many years that partaking of divine nature is really what it could be for eternal life um on this Earth and Jesus said in John 17:3 8:31 this is eternal life that you would know Jesus and increasingly my heart's desire is more and more and all of you who are especially those of your young age should be to know Jesus what does it mean that we can follow him and our life 8:48 becomes more and more like him that we can look at others like Paul said follow me as I follow Jesus and today we have so many who know about Jesus who even know the scriptures it's all head knowledge but that intimacy of knowing Jesus and the 9:03 intimacy is is what describes if you think about how in the Old Testament God used the word no Adam knew Eve it was an intimacy it was a marital intimacy and that's what the Lord wants to do in our hearts so that we know him and This 9:21 Promise is true for everybody if you look at Hebrews 811 it says that all shall know me all shall know me it's no restriction there's no reason why the 8,000 couldn't have 5,000 plus the women children couldn't have known Jesus couldn't have 9:37 followed him but it's a choice of their hearts so much seeks to distract us from them and we know in Matthew 7 uh 21 and 23 if you look at that that verse those verses in Matthew 7 we've heard this also a number of different 9:53 times and this will be so sad when we get to to heaven and we see the words of of Jesus saying not everyone who says to me Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of the father is in in heaven will enter many 10:08 of many who say to me on that Ed Lord Lord did we not prophesy in your name in your name we cast out demons in your name perform many miracles and I will declare to them I never knew you depart from me those who practice 10:27 lawlessness and it would be so sad if all we we heard so much what we heard at CFC and many of the meetings or maybe God's given us a place where we have a a Ministry and we prop prophesied in his name and even Miracles and so much of 10:43 that will be Cast Away on the final day because they didn't know so I just thought a little bit about very briefly how can we know Jesus more and I thought about two things that we can can reflect on one is our thoughts and our motives and 11:02 the seconds and our our is our actions and our reactions and we've heard so much of this but it's good for us as especially those of you who are young and growing up because if you think about the life of Jesus you hear so much about what 11:16 happened in the last 3 and a half years um age 30 to 33 and A2 but those first 30 years was the cleaning of the inside of the cup and as we get to know Jesus in the inside of our cup so that we can be transformed so our thinking our motives 11:36 before we even are able to speak to react or become more and more like you that should be our prayer we know this verse in Isaiah 55:9 my thoughts are not your thoughts as the heaven is from the earth so are my thoughts different from 11:49 your thoughts so when we think about everything that is not just um the way in which the carnal person might think but even the religious person might think just saying Lord conform me to your image meaning that I'm not becoming just 12:05 a a religious person but that my inner part my inner being can become spiritually connected to you humility how the Lord reacted on this Earth not just the the the washing of the feet but he was constantly looking 12:24 to go down and as I think about everything that we're surrounded by our it's so easy for us to be puffed up but to be to be in that Spirit of humility where constantly every day as we think about the different things that come 12:39 across our path and for those of you who are working you know how hard this is because in the workplace and maybe in college or even in school we're taught a different system it's all about being lifted up even in the church things that 12:54 can be um um given prominence are gifting but you see how Jesus sought out the The Humble of the Earth the needy he did not have time uh for the rich and the famous Holiness I think about how when 13:12 Jesus was able to speak in Matthew 7 about lust of the eyes and things of that kind and then still be able to speak with Purity to the Samaritan woman in a public setting not a single um form of lust or or when he talks about having 13:28 just an evil thought being being equivalent to to to murder and then our attitude to money when Jesus said that foxes have holds and birds of nests but the son of hand has nowhere to lay his head all of these things that our motives and our 13:45 thoughts can be purified so that we become increasingly more like Jesus and knowing Jesus how would he react in a situation uh that we're faced with and my prayer is that for every one of us uh brothers and sisters who are young 14:02 that we would get transformed so that that inner cup of ours could be could be cleansed and we know what it is to be like Jesus in an intimate fashion and then when we think about our actions and our reactions right when our thoughts 14:17 and our motives are right and we've been cleaning the inside of the cup for 30 years like Jesus did when it gets time for us to actually to actually speak or to actually um have an action then the fruits of the spirit can become 14:32 can can become apparent and I see that in the love life of Jesus how we see about him being anointed at 830 and the the Holy Spirit depend depend descended on him and the fruits of the spirit later on we see in Galatians 5:22 the F fruits 14:50 of the spirit are love joy and peace and the love it's so easy for us to think about the love being something that just show shows the kindness but I see the balance in in in Jesus and the way in which he showed both kindness and 15:05 severity and many of us will never really understand that until we have children and initially physical children or spiritual children that the Lord May entrust us with to know that it's so easy for me to rebuke or to discipline 15:21 my child out of anger but it takes so much more for me to be able to pray that that I would be no Spirit of anger when I discipline my sons or my daughter and that I would show the life of Jesus I show the character of Jesus 15:38 and you see that how um Jesus in all of his his actions show that kindness and severity even with Peter when he talked about that verse that we just read in John chapter 6 it's the same Peter that he could then rebuke saying get behind 15:53 me Satan and we see that that also um in in the way in which um Jesus exhibited the other fruits of the spirit I think about joy and so much of what we go through in our life uh when we ask ourselves how 16:12 can we be Anointed with our joy every single day it's very very very easy when we read Hebrews 1:9 it's it's knowing Jesus in the way in which he hated iniquity and loved righteousness so that every single day his life had that oil of 16:30 gladness and when Paul says follow me like I followed Christ he can then say in Philippians 4 rejoice in the lord always and again I say rejoice and that can be our testimony brothers and sisters where even though things may not be going our way if we 16:49 can have that inner Joy from loving righteousness and hating iniquity then everything that comes our way that could be sorrow even in the midst of things we are rejoicing and and I'm praising God that that the Lord is able to do a work in us so that 17:05 we're transformed increasingly to that Heavenly nature of of rejoicing always and peace you think about peace um so much was going on as we know in the boat when that um big storm was going on you see the the life of Jesus 17:21 being peaceful and asleep um and I think about the various different things that might happen especially those of who are in the workplace um you think about the stress that comes across your way when perhaps the people who disagree with you uh or 17:38 who might be politically conniving against you or you might have a boss who's not necessarily very supportive of you all of these are things that can get us stressed and in today's generation there's so much more stressed than ever 17:52 before but if we can have that peace knowing that our God's got complete control and that's the peace that Jesus had with the father so that nothing that could come his way um really perturbed him and I pray that that would be the calling 18:12 that we're all called to that love joy and peace could be something that we know more and more about in in Jesus so when Paul said like I talked about in 1 Corinthians 11:1 follow me as I follow Christ I see so many pillars of that now 18:28 today in the churches as they're being raised up it was so blessed for me when I came here in October to hear many of the testimonies from the various different churches um 50 60 odd churches and to know that many of them can say to the 18:45 Next Generation follow me as I follow Jesus just the same way that Paul did and that's my prayer that for every one of you who are in your 20s and your 30s and your 40s the older brothers are getting older as they get 60 and 70s of 18:59 the Lord terries as we enter 2015 there's no guarantee that we'll see the end of 2015 and I asked myself Lord if You' given me only one more year to live on this Earth how can I know more of you not just know about you but to know you 19:15 know know how you would react in a particular situation how can I become more and more conformed to your nature so that I can also say to my children follow me as I follow Jesus so I know Jesus and they see that in me and I 19:30 could say that the same to whoever the Lord's put in our midst to spiritually look after and and um that is really what the Lord's calling every one of you to and I'd ask you especially those of you who are young that the Lord 19:46 would um grip you with that grip you with that word so that you can be a witness in the workplace or in college so people can see in you that life of Jesus and remember it's sort of like you 20:02 know for 90% to 10% 90% of the time is going to be cleaning the inside of that cup that's the 30 years of Jesus and then comes 10% the three years three and a half years where he was public so 90% of that is going to be the work that the 20:16 Lord does inside our hearts to make us more and more like him and then when he gives us the opportunity to speak or gives us the opportunity uh to to in some way take an action we are able to be bold so I just want to encourage everyone here brothers and 20:33 sisters uh you are a pillar the CFC is a pillar I am so uh Overjoyed every time I come here um to drink of the spirit I pray that that same thing could be something that my children can also um can also breathe and drink off because 20:49 it's blessed my heart I can't tell you the number of different times where when I think about how should I react in a different situation uh not just the first 18 years of my life here but the many many decades after that that I've 21:02 been able to drink of the spirit of CFC has blessed me tremendously um the the spirit of humility I learned from the brothers and sisters here and that um is really what I pray will be my North Pole so to speak for the rest of the days of my 21:18 life um and also the the North Pole for my children thank you very much for the blessing you are uh to many of us amen it's very easy to 21:36 think that we know the Lord when we don't know him think of all those people Jesus said in the last day says many not one or two many means say 21:55 10,000 preachers or maybe 100 ,000 who preached for 2,000 years stand before the Lord and said Lord you know what all we did for you we traveled here we preached we did Miracles we laid hands on people healed in the name of 22:14 Jesus and there were millions of people who admired these preachers and said wow what Great Men of God and what a shock all those millions of Believers will get in the final day when Jesus Jesus turns around and says to 22:30 them I never knew you and the proof that I never knew you was there was sin in your life did you get that Matthew 7 many will say to me verse 22:54 22 I prophesied in your name I cast out demons I did many miracles and they could also say Lord do you know how many millions of people admired us as men of God when they saw the Miracles we were 23:13 not like other preachers who didn't do Miracles we had television programs that were broadcast around the world in many languages and Lord do you know how many people we reached with our Miracles and what is the Lord's reply to 23:30 them is he impressed by all the money they spent on television programs and going here going there no human beings are impressed with all that you see our mind has been so influenced by the movies you don't realize how much 23:49 Hollywood and Bollywood have influenced your mind to think of you know preachers who look like film stars great crowds these are the things that impress us Jesus is not impressed by all 24:07 that if you want to think like Jesus read the scriptures the more you think like Jesus you can say you know him so today when I see people doing Miracles and all that I say I'm not impressed I say I want to know what's 24:26 your attitude to sin Matthew 7:22 they say we did all this we did Miracles we cast out demons I will say to them this is actually going to happen you're actually going to see this when Jesus comes this is what you're going to see 24:38 he will turn around to these 100,000 preachers and say I never knew you because there was sin in your life and the fact that you had sin in your life proves that I never knew 24:56 you depart from me it's not just for few days depart from me forever you who practice sin lawlessness means Disobedience to God God's word you disobey that that's 25:16 lawlessness you're not talking about falling into sin no almost every believer May trip and fall but there's a difference between falling and practicing you who practice that means you take pornography so lightly it's not 25:31 the occasional fall you take it so lightly you take sin anger you take uh bitterness and unforgiving sin so lightly you do it and you say oh it's okay I can keep going that way you practice lawlessness I'm not saying this to 25:53 anybody to condemn you there's no condemnation in Christ Jesus but beware of people who teach you that once you accepted Christ you're save for all eternity that Doctrine one saved always 26:15 saved you will discover has sent more people to Hell than almost any other Doctrine do you know what the Bible says I'll read it to you from scripture turn to me to 26:33 Hebrews and chapter 3 and verse 14 Hebrews 3:14 even if you don't remember any other verse on this subject remember 26:52 this one when people tell you once saved always saved Hebrews 3 314 we have become partakers of Christ if and write that in capital I capital F If We Hold 27:11 Fast the beginning it's not one saved always saved If We Hold Fast that one saved of our Assurance firm until the end or we can say if we do not hold fast the beginning of our Assurance from 27:30 until the end we are not made partakers of Christ I don't think language can be simpler and plainer than that who is the one who has come and said no it doesn't really mean that I know God has said don't eat of 27:49 this tree but it doesn't really mean that you can take a little bit of the tree it'll be okay who said that that is the first lie that man heard and that liar the devil has been continuing through all these years to tell 28:08 people sin is not serious it's not serious it's not serious don't worry there are very very few churches in the world today that teach that sin is serious why does the Lord say I never 28:25 knew you because you practice sin it's not because you don't know the Bible there are many people in heaven who don't know the Bible do you know that you think the thief on the cross knows the Bible if he had read the Bible he 28:42 wouldn't be murdering and killing people he didn't read the Bible but he turned from sin so let's try and understand what does it mean to know the Lord so that's the first thing you need to see I never knew 29:01 you because there's sin in your life and all the meetings you attended all the Miracles you did all the sermons you preached count for zero if you don't know him because that is serving you know serving serving serving what about some 29:20 believer who knows the Lord but who does not have cannot prophesy cannot do Miracles cannot cast out demons many of you are like that you don't go around preaching or casting out demons or Healing The Sick what about you there's no hope for you just 29:34 because you can't do that what is the relationship the Lord wants with us supposing you have a wife who cannot cook for nuts but what I mean by that is's pretty useless cook I'm sure there are some wives like 29:52 that even after many years of marriage they're pretty useless but you got a servant woman at home you're a rich person who can employ servants who cooks first class food who's the one you're devoted to if 30:12 you're a good husband to the one who cooks your food or the one who cannot cook maybe she cannot even keep the home tidy but she loves you don't you want a wife like 30:32 that or do you want a Doby and a cook what do you get married for who's the one who which husband marries in order to get a cook and a washer woman you think Jesus is marrying 30:53 someone because he wants a good cook who can preach well or who can do service for him he's got millions of angels who will do anything for him they're like millions of servants but he's got only one 31:14 bride that's the message of the Gospel in the Old Testament is a relationship between a man and a woman that is called knowing Adam knew knew his wife he did not know other 31:33 women the relationship with a man and a wife is called knowing a man knows his wife he doesn't know his servant knowing that is another type knowing just in the head when Jesus speaks about knowing the Lord is that intimate 31:52 relationship in the Song of Solomon you read about the bride I would encourage you sometime to read The Song of Solomon and you read about two women there two groups of women one is the bride and the other is called the 32:10 daughters of Jerusalem they're not Daughters of Babylon no no no they are Daughters of Jerusalem Song of Solomon Chapter 1 right at the beginning it comes verse 5 I am black the barbarite says but 32:29 lovely oh Daughters of Jerusalem but the king does not bring the daughters of Jerusalem into his banqueting Hall in chapter 2:5 it says he has brought me the bride say into his banqueting Hall and His 32:47 Banner Over Me Is Love and many times she speaks to the daughters of Jerusalem oh Daughters of Jerusalem see this one Song of Solomon chapter 5: 33:04 10 my beloved is dazzling and Ruddy this is the bride speaking about a bridegroom outstanding among 10,000 and the last part of verse 16 oh Daughters of Jerusalem this is my 33:21 beloved this is my friend he's not your beloved you serve him you Daughters of Jerusalem May do so many things for him you may even be more good-look than him maybe you have a servant woman at home who's more 33:39 good-look than your wife so what are you going to fall in love with your servant woman because she's more attractive than your wife you know what we read in the beginning the bride says I'm black but lovely in my 33:58 King's eyes do you know what the Lord is looking for he's not looking for you to preach or cast out demons or to do Miracles he's looking for you to love him and to show that love by hating what 34:18 he hated sin by hating what he hung on the cross for what he died for what he shed every drop of his blood for not to make us prophesy Christ did not die to make us 34:33 prophesy he died to save us from our sins he died to save you from those sins that you may still be practicing and which you take so lightly don't think you can make up for 34:52 that by attending a lot of meetings or putting money in the offering box no Jesus is not a beggar waiting for will you put some money in my offering box there are many churches that disgrace My Savior by making him look like a beggar 35:10 give some money give some money he's hard up he's not hard up all the silver and the gold in the world is his he doesn't want your money he wants your love he's not like these Indian marriages is where people look how much 35:29 money does her father have how much money does his father have you think Jesus is looking like that uh how much money does this child of mine how much will he put into the offering box what a disgrace that so many churches proclaim a Jesus like that it's 35:47 an insult I feel hurt because he's my savior and he's my friend and they're insulting him that's why why we Proclaim so strongly this is my beloved this is my friend he's altogether 36:06 lovely you need to understand what the Lord expects from you my dear brothers and sisters that is the proof that you know him otherwise you know about him yeah he did all this and he's today also I hear preachers saying he's doing 36:20 this doing that the other you know I'm amazed at so many uh believers who watch these Christian TV preachers who present a show that t TV program is a show you know they spend 36:37 many hours they've got expert people who know how to catch people's attention on television they're not converted people all these experts who produce the program they just know how to get people's attention you know have you 36:51 noticed this they'll show this preacher and then they've got about 10 20 cameras on all the audience or maybe 100 of them in big audiences and each one is they got a big group of people watching all this who's the one who's shedding a tear 37:05 and immediately they'll focus on that person while this fellow is preaching or Who's Laughing H they focus on that person this is all television gimmicks can you imagine Jesus getting TV people to focus on that guy there he's crying 37:23 that one there is laughing do you think such preachers know Jesus and I'm surprised at the number of stupid believers who sit and admire this oh great woman of God great man of God I have no time for 37:42 them because I watched all of them I I took one year I uh I uh got cable TV for one whole year to I don't have it now I don't watch TV um to watch these television preachers to see what they are teaching my 38:00 country just a lot of rubbish it makes me angry makes me just as angry as Jesus was when he went into the temple and drove out those money changers because I care for the 1,000 million people in my 38:19 country I care for them that they should not have a wrong impression of Jesus and these people are giving a wrong impression of Jesus as a beggar asking for money as a magician who's doing all types of Tricks I'll tell you what I actually saw 38:39 when you think magician when I these so-called healers are magicians I actually saw a Christian preacher on not on TV but on the internet and someone known to some of you here who called a a woman to come up I'm praying for healing now 38:58 and he said uh I think your both your hands are not the same length I'm going to pray that they will be straightened lift them up you see both hands are not the same length can you see it now I'm going to pray for you and wow 39:17 they became the same length you wouldn't believe it I actually saw it I think I can even find it now on YouTube that clip and there were comments there underneath by people ridiculing 39:35 this is this healing in the name of Jesus this is what's happening my brothers that's what I mean by they're not even magicians they are cheap tricksters I'm not surprised that the Lord will say to all of them depart from 39:54 me I know people who were once in CFC who admire such preachers why they don't know the Lord they know about Jesus if you read Song of Solomon you see 40:12 that the bride has a passion to be with her bridegroom it says in chapter 5 Song of Solomon Chapter 5 the daughters of Jerusalem knew about the [Music] 40:30 bridegroom the bride knew him and I pray that that's really the longing of my heart this morning as we enter a new year also in a few days that all of you will move on from knowing about Jesus to knowing 40:49 him I know most of you are not Daughters of Babylon because you've been in CFC long enough but I want to be honest I don't know whether you all belong to the bride I believe your daughters of Jerusalem all 41:08 right but are you the bride are you taken up with Jesus himself or with what he can do for you if you're taken up with what Jesus can do for you then Jesus is like the servant woman if you're taken up with him himself he's 41:30 your bridegroom remember a servant woman can probably do more than a wife maybe she's a better cook there are many servant women who can keep the house cleaner than your wife cook better than your wife so what Jesus is not looking for a good 41:49 cook he's not looking for someone who can preach well that's a good cook he's looking for a a lover he came to Earth looking for those who will love him and I'll tell you something even if you don't do anything else in your 42:08 life but love Jesus with all your heart he will love you and you will know him and he'll say Well done good and faithful servant he never preached a sermon never cast out a demon never healed the sick but you loved him and 42:28 you really sought to please him in everything you did in your life you always wanted to please your belov it he wanted to be with him Song of Solomon Chapter 5 Verse 2 I was 42:45 asleep but my heart was awake see this is uh she's not yet become the wife that's why she's not staying with her husband she's staying separately because she's not married yet and my beloved was knocking at the 43:05 door open to me my sister my darling my Dove my perfect one and what does a bride reply oh I've taken off my dress how can I put it on again I wash my feet how can I go out into the streets and be dirty 43:23 again you know how sometimes we respond like that the Lord says drop what you're doing right now spend a few minutes talking to me do you hear that in your heart sometimes you're busy doing something and the Lord says to you can 43:43 you drop that for a few minutes and talk to me and you say Lord just hang on I've got something urgent this is very urgent okay after a while she says yeah I think I should get up my 44:03 beloved uh extended his hand through the opening the door was shut he putting his hand through the window and then he she suddenly realized oh I shouldn't make a complaint that my feet will get dirty or I've taken off my 44:19 dress I'm in my night clothes how can I go out into the street so then she decided after a while to get up and open the door to open my beloved and he was gone verse six he was gone he was not there I tell you to my shame that has 44:40 happened to me sometimes sometimes I'm writing an article Christian article and the Lord says drop that and talk to me and I say Lord let just let me finish this and by the time I finish the article and I want to talk to to the 44:57 Lord he's not there as a sense of a distance has come he was so close you know that verse which says call upon the Lord when he is near call upon the Lord when he is near he had 45:21 gone and my heart went out to him I searched for him but I did not find him verse six I called him where are you I came and I came and called you and you were too busy something else becomes a priority 45:42 in your life that's a proof that you don't know the Lord you know there are many Earthly marriages like that unfortunately where husband and wife don't have time to talk to each other they did talk a lot in the first 46:02 year of marriage oh but now we married 10 15 years it's pretty boring to talk to my wife my brother let me warn you your marriage is heading for the Rocks your marriage is in 46:21 danger if you don't have time to talk to your wife if you don't enjoy being with your wife you're in danger I'll tell you that I know divorce is not common in India but I'm not talking about divorce we talking about a marriage where 46:36 they're distant from each other take time to talk to each other don't be so busy in your work that you have no time even if it's 15 minutes a day quality 46:54 time just to assure each other that I I love you you are my wife my beloved you're my husband I love you I want to encourage you husbands and wives don't think that's a western thing or a Hollywood thing no Hollywood has 47:11 imitated it and copied it and corrupted it but it's a Divine thing to love one another love Came From God not from the devil or from Hollywood and if Hollywood has corrupted it that doesn't mean I can't have the real 47:29 thing I'm not embarrassed to say that I love my wife Jesus is like that and I'm learning from Jesus I see that in the Song of Solomon he says then I went verse 7 to 47:49 the Watchmen those are the Elders of the city who and some of these Watchmen were not very wise you know some Watchmen can be very strict they struck me and wounded me how do how does an elder brother 48:09 strike you and wound you by being legalistic you're like this and you didn't do condemning people and sending them on a guilt trip you didn't do this and you didn't do that you should have done this that's not physically striking 48:24 but that is striking leg ISM and putting them on a guilt trip why aren't you going out and reaching the Heathen or why didn't you help those poor people on the streets and you can say so many things to condemn people there a that's called Guilt Trip 48:39 preaching there's an article of mine on Guilt Trip preaching on the website you can read it sometime The Watchmen struck me and wounded me they didn't help me to find Jesus a legalistic preacher will never help you to find Jesus don't waste 48:56 your time listening to them they'll stuff you with Bible knowledge I grew up in a church like that when I was born again people who really studied the Bible oh they filled my head with knowledge and analyzing Greek words and 49:14 Hebrew words and even with other groups that I was with they were always saying one particular Doctrine this is the doctrine this is the doctrine oh I got sick and tired of this Doctrine I want Jesus but I thank God from one 49:28 legalistic group to another legalistic group to another legalistic group finally I broke free from all of them and I said Lord Jesus I want you that's all I don't want Doctrine I don't want to be United with people on the basis of 49:42 Doctrine I want to be United with people on the base that they love you and I love you yeah that's the way I want to live till the end of my days till I want to be found at the end of my 50:00 days end of my life on Earth whether it's raptured or the Lord calls me home as a passionate lover of Jesus Christ and a passionate lover of his body the church my fellow 50:20 Believers if I succeed there I'm happy even if if I didn't do everything perfectly even if I didn't do things to the satisfaction of others even if people get bored with my sermons because I basically preach the 50:39 same thing again and again I'll be happy because I loved Jesus till the end and I loved my fellow Believers until the end the good ones and the bad ones those who troubled me those who accused me those who left me 50:56 if I can love them until the end I don't want to outlive people I want to out love them and if I can out love people it doesn't matter if I don't outli if they live longer than me that's okay but I 51:15 want to out love them so this he she finally finds him and says you know the others come and say the daughters of Jerusalem you heard the elders and all beat her up the bride then she tells the daughters of 51:35 Jerusalem verse 8 if you find my beloved tell him I'm love sick it's good to be love sick it's one type of sickness you should never get rid of Be Love Sick for your wife for your 51:53 husband not just the newly married couples the older ones however old you are love sick I've been married 46 years I want to be love sick for my wife just like I was when before I married her when I was engaged 52:11 to her and I want to be love sick for Jesus above all love sick do you understand that I believe in love marriages especially to Jesus Christ you know the way some people are are 52:32 believers I feel that there is an arranged marriage to Jesus Christ not a love marriage you know there are love marriages and arranged marriages and uh unfortunately the love marriages after 10 years they both look the same but in the first few months 52:48 love marriage is really different from an arranged marriage so passionately in love with each other they don't care if the food is bad they were cooked too much salt anything forget it doesn't matter cuz they love sick um arranged marriages you're very 53:09 formal and hello how are you and I feel the ways some people are believers it's an arranged marriage I did you fall in love with Jesus or you somebody arranged your marriage and told you come on kneel down ask Jesus to come 53:29 into your heart okay hold your hands you're married and I don't want that type of marriage not with my wife and not with Jesus Christ what Ty of marriage do you have do you have an arranged marriage with Jesus or do you have a love marriage 53:45 with Jesus I fell in love with Jesus 55 years ago before I fell in love with my wife and I love him today more than I believe more than more than I did 55 years ago he's the Delight of my heart everything that the bride says in the 54:03 Song of Solomon I can say spiritually to my savior and my Lord and you know to me that is the greatest thing some of you may not be able to preach like me so what you may not have 54:21 the opportunity to travel and preach in different places and maybe people don't admire you like they admire me these things count for nothing I tell you honestly I couldn't care less whether people admire me or call me the devil it's exactly the same 54:36 to me I prayed that many times to the Lord Lord whether people call me a prophet or a devil must be the same to me if one is a little more then I'm not properly saved yet but when they're exactly the same Prophet or devil okay 54:52 same thing because their opinion doesn't matter is Lord what are you you think about me that's all that matters be like that your life will be at rest you won't be disturbed by the opinions of people you won't be puffed 55:07 up if people said good things about you you won't be depressed if people say bad things doesn't make a difference because you're beloved you're taken up with him so she tells the daughters of Jerusalem will you please tell my 55:20 beloved I'm love sick but where they going to find him they don't even know him they they say in verse 9 they're asking the bride what kind of beloved is your beloved I don't know what you're talking about this almost you're very beautiful but 55:33 what kind of beloved is this then she says my beloved is dazzling and Ruddy outstanding among 10,000 verse 10 that means there's no one like him in the whole world it's Jesus I'm delighted with him you know there's something here 55:50 earlier on which I wanted to just mention when she arose to open the door you remember she didn't open the door for a long time but when did she did AR arise to open the door verse five it says my hands dripped with myrr Song of Solomon 5:5 on the handles 56:06 of the bolt that means there was a perfume there I mean the bridegroom had just put his hand around on the bolt and that was enough for that perfume to be on that bolt and when the bride touched it wow that perfume came on her 56:27 and that is the mark of someone who's been with Jesus or even come just you know she hadn't yet been with him she just came a little near him touched something he touched an aroma you know how these perfumes are 56:48 powerful you know what the aroma of Christ is turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 2 or the fragrance of Christ there's only one way to get that fragrance the myrr and 57:07 the alows and the fragrance of frankincense and all that stuff into my heart like this bride got it on her fingers when she touched the bolt here it is 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 14 thanks be to God who always 57:26 leads us in Triumph in Christ that means overcoming sin that's why we keep on preaching that message we preached it for 40 years always leading Us in Triumph in Christ and manifests through US thereby this Aroma what is this Aroma the 57:43 aroma of the knowledge of him not the knowledge about him but the aroma of the of knowing Jesus when people meet [Music] me I don't want to get them to think oh 58:01 it's a great Bible scholar who can show you this verse that verse the other verse that's secondary that's like wanting a wife who's a good cook your wife may be a lovely wife and a good cook that's another thing but that that's 58:20 secondary the aroma that I know Jesus that's what people should smell or detect when they come in touch with me here's a man who seems to 58:37 know Jesus very personally as if he's a very intimate friend of his you know how sometimes the worldly people try to impress you by saying I know this MLA I know this the chief minister and I know 58:54 that I know the governor I know these people I hope when people come to talk to me I don't know any MLA I don't know any chief minister I don't know any Governor but I know Jesus that's all I want them to know 59:14 when they come in touch with me pursue that my brother sister you don't have to have great gifts of the Spirit to do that knowing him not knowing about him that is what will produce the aroma 59:31 it's called here the aroma of knowing him knowing about him there's no Aroma it can be a stink knowing about Jesus can be a stink it it can make you a legalist it can make you put heavy 59:50 burdens on people but when you know Jesus there'll be a twinkle in your eye and a song in your heart a spring in your 1:00:08 step because you're full of joy in his presence there is fullness of joy at his right hand there are Pleasures forever more and there's an aroma that comes forth that people see that like they saw in Jesus when there was a 1:00:26 storm and I tell you fishermen are used to pet fishermen like Peter are used to tremendous storms and if a storm scares a fisherman like Peter it must have been a really T big storm and Jesus is not Disturbed I want to live like that 1:00:46 because all of us as long as we live in this world there are going to be storms they're going to be problems sometimes massive thunderstorms to be Jesus is sleep in the boat to be at rest in Christ 1:01:04 okay the storms may Roar around me but I am at rest in Christ It's a Wonderful Life I tell you this I want to encourage you to pursue it pursue it till you enter 1:01:21 it you will no longer seek to impress people you know all of us when we are initially born again we have what I call an inferiority complex everyone that means I feel inferior to everybody 1:01:39 else and whenever in the world even non-christians when they feel inferior to others they always try to show that they are superior any man who tries to show that he's Superior to you has got an inferiority complex great men never never try to show that 1:02:04 they are great one of the greatest scientists of the last century was a man called Albert Einstein he was a very simple man he was the cleverest man in the world but he never tried to impress people that he was the cleverest 1:02:20 man I'm talking about a worldly person about 300 years before Christ there was a very wise philosopher in Greece called Socrates even today they talk about him the wisdom of Socrates he was known throughout Greece Greece by the way was 1:02:37 the superpower of those days in Alexander the Great's day 300 years before Christ and Socrates was known as a great wise man and somebody came to him and asked him Socrates how is it you became so wise he says this 1:02:56 there's only one difference between me and all the other people in Greece all of us know nothing but I know that I know nothing that's the only difference all the others think that they know something that's why I'm wise 1:03:11 and the others are stupid I thought of that I said what a the world is full of people who think they know so much or try to impress you that they know so much they know this person they know that person they know the Bible they know this and they know 1:03:26 that and they know and in the midst of that is a man like Socrates who says I don't know anything Paul says if anyone thinks he's a somebody when he's a nobody I'll tell you nobody's people who know that they are nobody's get a lot 1:03:44 more from God than others Jesus spoke about a camel not being able to go through the eye of a needle but these small amias they go through the eye of the needle easily because there nobody's nobody cares for an amiba then maybe one around here you 1:04:02 can't even see it so small camels can be seen but they can't go through the eye of a needle to get to know God it's like going through the eye of a needle you have to be 1:04:17 small you to be really small in your own eyes and when we are when we have an inferiority complex and we are first converted we want to impress people I've seen in so many Christian churches I've attended you know how song 1:04:34 leaders are always trying to impress people with their jokes and their humor and the way they weigh their hands and the way they raise their eyebrows and all this type of stuff which they've learned from film stars and film actors 1:04:46 and I see all that and I say poor chap when will he get out of it when will we get over this inferiority complex just be a normal human being it's all because they feel inferior and we want to impress people when you come to know Jesus you 1:05:05 don't want to impress anybody except Jesus himself I'm just I'm just trying to show you how you can be free from this slavery to men when you try to impress people there's a slavery there judge 1:05:23 yourself judge yourself in the light of what I just said and see if it is enough for you that you know Jesus and you love him and that he loves you that's how it was with the bride I don't want to be among the 1:05:42 daughters of Jerusalem and I certainly don't want to be among the Watchmen who hurt others I want to be part of the Bride and towards the end of Song of Solomon you read about in uh chapter 1:06:09 8 verse 7 many Waters cannot quench love nor will Rivers overflow it if a man were to give all the riches of his house that means you put all your money in the offering box compared to love it's utterly despised that's the 1:06:31 way and the last verse is like come Lord Jesus Song of Solomon 8:14 hurry my beloved come quickly I want to see you I want to be with you I want to get married to you this is what it means to know the 1:06:53 Lord I want to encourage you my brothers and sisters pursue it this is the only Christian life worth having and you will know you're on the right track when you hate sin when you hate sin because that is 1:07:12 what crucified your savior and you hate it Lord this habit of mine this is what you hung on the cross for you know particularly some sin you are constantly defeated by as we go to prayer now will you just say 1:07:28 this Lord it is this habitual sin of mine which nailed you to the Cross please help me even if it takes years for me to get out of it I want to get out of it deliver me I don't want to hurt you anymore I don't want to crucify 1:07:45 you aresh let's bow in prayer just bow our heads and close our eyes and think of maybe one particular 1:08:08 sin that you fall into again and again or maybe a sin that you thought you had victory over but that you fell into recently again because of your high 1:08:28 thoughts you know why you fell into that sin only because of Pride and that made the grace of God depart from you and when Grace departs you cannot conquer 1:08:44 sin humble yourself once again come back to the Cross not to the foot of the cross but on the cross I never sing that at the cross at the cross I always sing on the cross on the cross that's where we are to be on 1:09:03 the cross I don't want to go to be at the cross I want to be on the cross say Lord I want to hang there with you dead to my sin dead to the world and its Applause dead to the opinions of 1:09:20 men dead to my own struggles to impress people dead to feelings of inferiority or superiority I'm just precious in your eyes that's enough for me Lord I want to hate this 1:09:41 sin maybe a thought maybe an attitude maybe a habit ask God to help you Lord I want to see it this is the sin that nailed you to the cross and you hung there between Heaven 1:10:00 and Earth to free me from it Lord I cry out to you free me from it I want to know you I don't want to be a preacher but I want to know you I don't want to be a worker of iniquity a worker of sin I want to know you Lord I want to you to be my beloved I 1:10:18 want to love you I want to be love sick for you heavenly father thank you for the holy spirit that draws us to Jesus our savior and our Lord and our bridegroom make it real lord like it has become for me to 1:10:37 everybody here time is short you're coming soon there's no time to waste help us to be wise teach us to number our days that we can One Day present to you a heart of wisdom a heart that loves Jesus more than than anything else thank you for 1:10:57 hearing us in Jesus name amen
