0:00 We were seeing how people in the Old Testament were promised a kingdom on the earth, but we 0:23 are promised a kingdom in heaven. And if our primary interest is in seeking things on this earth, then we can miss the kingdom 0:48 of heaven. The Bible says in Colossians chapter 3, if you have been raised up with Christ, verse one, seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 1:24 And set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth. See, we can read verses like this and not even think seriously about it. What does it mean to set your mind on the things above? 1:51 Are we supposed to set our mind on the things above only on Sunday for two, three hours? Or once a year when we come for some special meetings like this. 2:14 He tells us here, why we should have our minds set on the things above. He says in verse 3, because you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. You know, when we physically die, we leave this earth. 2:46 What we call death is not that we cease to exist. When a person dies, worldly people think, okay, he is not existing anymore. 3:08 But as Christians, we know he is still existing, not on this earth, he is going to be with the Lord. That is what death is. 3:28 Death is like a transfer of residence from one country to another country. Some, there are many people from India who decide to go and live in America permanently. 3:49 They have not died. They just moved from one country to another country. Death is like that for a Christian. 4:11 It is moving from one country to another country, from earth to heaven. That is physical death. Now that is the picture used here. This is a great mystery. But it is wonderfully good news. 4:32 that while we are living on this earth, we can die inwardly and go up to heaven in our spirit, even though our body is here. 4:52 This is true Christianity. And this is something which many Christians don't think about. That is why they are always defeated by sin. Most of us only know that Jesus died for our sins. 5:16 Our sins are forgiven. That is good. That is much better than all the non-Christians who don't know that how their sins can be forgiven. We also know that if we have a problem, we can go to Jesus in prayer. 5:47 Because he is living. Because he is living. That is another thing which non-Christians don't know. They don't know who to go to. When we know these truths, they set us free. Every truth we learn sets us free to a higher level. 6:18 And there are many truths in scripture. The beginning is forgiveness of sins. First truth. That is like a kindergarten class. Where the first thing we learn. And if you did not know that truth, you would be in bondage to guilt even today. 6:40 So that is a great truth, to know that Jesus died and our sins can be forgiven. But God wants us to rise higher and higher and higher just like you want your children to go from one class to another. 7:07 We had some meetings like this last year. Those of you who have children in school. 7:28 Which class were they in last year? Which class are they in now? I hope they are one class higher. If they were in fourth class, now they should be in the fifth class. If they were in the eighth standard, they should be in the ninth standard. 7:53 You will feel very sad if they are still in the same class after one year. So, next question I want to ask you is, which class are you in spiritually this year? Have you gone a little higher? 8:14 Have you learned how to overcome your anger? Or are you still in the same class? How to overcome your anger? Don't you be very disappointed if your child is always failing in one class? 8:41 If you are a child of God, don't you think God is disappointed if you are always failing in the same subject every year? God wants you to overcome. So, I want to show you some simple steps. 9:07 So, we can possess this kingdom of heaven and become a little sample of the kingdom of heaven on this earth. We saw in this verse in Zechariah 14:9 that one day, the Lord will be king over the whole earth. 9:40 And the whole earth will be the kingdom of God like the waters cover the sea that day. But now, in a little church, in a little home, in your heart, that kingdom of God should have already come. 10:00 So, my calling as a Christian is not just to say Jesus died for my sins. That's like saying, "I cleaned the cup." 10:23 I cleaned the cup. What did you clean the cup for? To pour something into it to drink. Your child may want some milk, you put some milk into that. 10:46 So, the whole purpose of cleaning the cup is to put something inside. So, why does God clean our heart from all sin? To fill us with the Holy Spirit. Just like you clean a cup to fill it with something. 11:09 And the Holy Spirit is the one who brings heaven into our heart. I am an earth-bound person. But when the Holy Spirit comes in, He lifts me up into the heavenlies. 11:37 You shall know the truth, Jesus said, the truth will set you free. But if you know the truth and you don't believe it, that means you only believe it, you know it in your head, but you don't believe it in your heart. 12:00 Then you will not be free. Now, here is a great truth which is a little more than forgiveness of sins. In Hebrews 8 and verse 12. The Lord says, 12:20 "I will be merciful to their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more." You have confessed your sin to Jesus Christ. 12:40 He is faithful and righteous to forgive your sins. That is written in 1 John 1:9. He said, "Lord, I am a sinner." I have sinned. Forgive me. 13:01 I believe Christ died for me. My sin is forgiven. He said, "Lord, I want to turn from my sin." But not only He forgives our sin. He says, "I will not remember it anymore." And that took me about two years after I was converted to believe that, that God doesn't remember my past anymore. 13:32 Do you know that God doesn't remember your past sin anymore? Now, some of you may have committed some terrible sin 10 years ago. 13:53 The small, small sins we have committed we don't remember. But the really big sins we have committed, that we remember. And sometimes the devil torments us with the memory of those sins. 14:14 He accuses you. The devil accuses you. Don't you remember 20 years ago what you did? What a terrible sin. What a terrible sinner you are. 14:37 So, you keep on torturing yourself thinking that God is always remembering that sin against you. How to be free from that torment. You must know the truth. 14:57 The truth will set you free. What is the truth? He says, "I will not remember your sin anymore." Sometimes people ask this question. Now, I am suffering some problem in my life, some sickness, some financial difficulty. 15:24 Is God punishing me for what I did 10 years ago? What do you think? Will God punish you today for something you did 10 years ago? Even though you confessed it, God is like a father. 15:48 Supposing, I call my 12-year-old son. And I just take a stick and start hitting him. And he said, "Daddy, why are you hitting me?" And I said, "Remember seven years ago, you disobeyed me?" 16:15 You remember that seven years ago on January the 20th, 2005? Now, will you do that to your son for what he did seven years ago? 16:36 You say, "Never." I am not such an evil father. And you are saying, "God is an evil father?" That he is punishing you for what you did seven years ago? Which you already confessed. 16:57 Which he forgave you. And now he is punishing you. All your punishment was taken by Jesus Christ when he died on the cross. There is no punishment for us. 17:17 You can't punish a person twice for the same thing. So, I want to set all of you free from the torture the devil is trying to put into your mind. This is important because this is the first step to possess the kingdom of God. 17:43 You must know that God not only forgives your sin. He does not remember it anymore. Now, if you have not confessed your sin, then it is different. 18:03 Then, you are not forgiven. Then God remembers your sin. But if you have confessed it, See, 1 John, 1:9. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins. 18:24 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins. Okay. Now one question. How many times do you have to confess your sin to God? Same sin? 18:45 Once, twice, three times? Five times? What do you think? What does it say here? What does it say here? If we confess our sins 10 times, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us. 19:09 Is it written like that in your Bible? But you know, sometimes we keep on confessing. I also used to do it. Because I didn't have faith. I didn't believe that God is so good. 19:33 It's always good to think of God, just like we treat our own children. Supposing my six-year-old son broke a cup. He comes to me and says, "Daddy, I am really sorry I broke that cup." 19:59 I say, "Okay, son. Forget it. It's nothing." And after one week, he comes again. "Daddy, last week you remember I broke that cup. Please forgive me." I say, "I forgive you. Last week." And after one year, he says, "Remember daddy, last year I broke one cup. Please forgive me." 20:22 I say, "What's wrong with you?" "Don't you believe when I told you I forgive you?" But you tell me, haven't you gone to God like that? 20:43 Because we don't believe that he forgave. Because we don't believe that he forgave. Especially the big sins. Small sins and all, confess once is enough. Big sins. At least we have to confess 25 times that only God forgives. 21:01 We think the more we confess, then God will forgive. We think God is like some of these government clerks. We go for a permit only after 25 times we get it. 21:27 God is not like that. So this is very important truth you must remember. I'm not saying therefore you should take sin lightly. 21:47 Even a small lie is so serious that Jesus had to die for that. One bad thought is like adultery. 22:10 That's serious. Every sin is serious. You angrily speak one rude word to your wife. Jesus says that is like murdering your wife. That is serious. 22:30 That is serious. So sin is very serious. But you don't have to confess it 25 times. There are two truths we must remember. One is the smallest sin is serious. 22:54 Let's take a picture. Supposing everybody in the world was pure and never committed any sin. And I was the only person who committed one small sin in my life. Once I told a small lie. 23:17 That's the only sin I committed. And never committed any other sin. All the other people in the world have never committed any sin. So, in the whole world there was only one person who had sinned. And that also I committed one small sin I told a lie. 23:38 You know, Jesus would have had to come down and die on the cross for me. You know, Jesus would have had to come down and die on the cross for me. You need to see sin so seriously. That is very important. 23:58 But along with that, you need to know that you have to confess sin only once. You don't have to keep on confessing it. If you keep on confessing it, you are telling God, I don't believe you. As I said, the next step is to know that God does not remember it anymore. 24:21 But there is one very important condition for God to forgive you. Otherwise, he will remember it. And that is written in Matthew chapter 6. You know, these are very elementary truths, but if you understand it once clearly, 24:45 rest into your life. Matthew 6 verse 14 and 15. It says here, your Heavenly Father will forgive you only if you forgive other people also. 25:09 If you don't forgive others, then your Heavenly Father will not forgive you. Supposing I don't forgive my brother for something. And I go to God and say, Lord, please forgive me. I am not going to forgive you. 25:29 Lord, I confess my sin. Not forgiven. Why, Lord? You have not forgiven that person for something. There are many believers who think their sins are forgiven, but they are not forgiven. 25:56 It's possible that there are many people sitting here and you think your sins are all forgiven by God. Have you confessed it? That's not enough. One more thing. You can find out right now whether your sins are forgiven by God. 26:17 Only two questions. Only two questions. Very easy. Have you confessed that sin to God? Yes? Good. Second question. Have you forgiven everybody in the world whatever they did to you? 26:47 If we live in the world, there are so many people who have done us harm. Somebody cheated you. Somebody spread a false story about you. Somebody made life difficult for your children or spread stories about them. 27:09 Have you forgiven them? Have you forgiven them? Have you forgiven your mother-in-law? For troubling you so much? Have you forgiven your brother and sister who cheated you of the property? 27:31 Family property. You say, how can I do that? They're terrible. How can I forgive them? I'll never forgive them. You don't know how terribly my mother-in-law treated me. 27:54 I'll never forgive her. You know what God says to you? I'll never forgive you. You say, my brother cheated me of the property. He told lies. I'll never forgive him. 28:16 God says to you, I'll never forgive you. You have to understand that. It is so clear in Matthew 6:14 and 15. But if you have confessed your sins, and you have forgiven everybody, 28:38 then God says, I will not only forgive your sins, I will not remember it anymore. everything. I mean, supposing I have confessed all my sins up to today, in all my 72 years, 29:02 I have confessed all my sins. whatever I know, I cannot confess millions of sins, I don't even remember. But whatever comes to my mind, I have confessed it. And I know I have forgiven everybody in the world. 29:22 I know in my heart, that God has forgiven me. And I also know that God looks at me, does not remember any of my past sins. that means God looks at me like a newborn baby, 29:45 who has never committed a sin in my life. No memory of any sin in the past. Isn't that wonderful? But you can come before God like a little baby, 30:06 and Lord I have never sinned in my life. Let me show you an Old Testament example. There are Old Testament stories which are, like a lesson for us. 30:28 In 2nd Kings in chapter 5, we read of a Syrian general called Naaman, who was a leper. And he came to Elisha, and Elisha said, go and dip in the river Jordan. 30:49 Now leprosy is like sin in our life. And like he dipped in Jordan, we are told to be cleansed in the blood of Christ. And you know what happened to Naaman, 31:09 this man who was full of leprosy, when he dipped in the river Jordan? He had to go 7 times into that river. We have to confess our sin only once. But when he dipped 7 times, 31:32 2nd Kings chapter 5, verse 14, he went down and dipped himself 7 times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God. He came out like the skin was like a little child. 31:55 That is how God forgives us. You know, a little baby has never committed any sin. And imagine that God can look at me, just like a newborn child, as if I have never committed a sin in my life. That is a very liberating truth. 32:25 Now if I sin again today, God doesn't remember that as, I've already committed 5 crores of sins, and this is the next one. No. He doesn't remember all that. If I fall today, 32:45 it's as if it's the first sin I've committed. He's forgiving. I hope you understand this truth, because it's very liberating. See this verse, in the Lamentations chapter 3 and verse 22 and 23. 33:08 The Lord's loving kindness never ceases. His mercies never fail. 33:28 every morning. What is the meaning of God's mercy is new every morning? That means, this morning, if I sin, God's mercy is new. He's saying, oh, 33:48 that is the first sin you've committed. Lord, what about the one crore sins I've already committed? Oh, those you confess, they're all forgiven, I don't remember them. 34:08 I praise the Lord for such a wonderful truth. His mercy, tomorrow morning, it'll be new again. Because, if I fail today, I confess it immediately. He doesn't remember it. And so, 34:28 tomorrow, it's as if he's forgiving me for the first time. Now, this is a tremendous blessing to us, to know that God forgives us like this. But, what should we learn from that? 34:48 I want you all to learn a very simple truth. I will say it in one sentence, and you must remember it all your life. 35:08 You must treat other people the way God has treated you. It's a very simple sentence. You must treat other people in the same way God has treated you. You must treat your wife the way God treated you. 35:38 You must treat your husband the way God treated you. What does that mean? If God says, "I will not remember your past sins anymore." What should you sisters tell your husbands? 36:03 "My dear husband, all the mistakes you made in your life, I don't remember anymore." Don't you think that will make your husband very happy? And how should you, what should your husbands tell your wives? 36:27 "My dear wife, all the mistakes you made in your life, I don't remember anymore." Imagine what will happen in your home. Your home will become like a little heaven. 36:50 What is the principle? You must treat other people the way God has treated you. It's a great pity that the believers don't treat others like that. Not only, not only your husband and wife. 37:13 You must treat the brothers in the church like that. The sisters in the church. Maybe they did something wrong to you. Forgive them. Treat them like God treated you. Smile at them. Because God is smiling at you. Your life will become very, very happy. 37:46 You will experience the kingdom of God in your heart. You will experience the existence of God. You will experience the kingdom of God. You will experience the kingdom of God. You will experience the kingdom of God. You will experience the kingdom of God. 37:56 You will experience the kingdom of God. 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You will experience the kingdom of God. You will experience the kingdom of God. You will experience the kingdom of God. You will experience the kingdom of God. Of the kingdom of heaven on earth. 41:29 It says in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 3. Blessed are the poor in spirit. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Atma vishmai. Dhinulayna var dhanilu. Paraloka rajimu var di. So if you want to possess this kingdom in your heart. 41:51 You must be poor in spirit. That is how the kingdom of heaven comes to your heart. It is a very important verse. We can say this is the doorway to the whole Sermon on the Mount in the next three chapters. 42:14 The most wonderful, the most powerful sermon ever preached in the whole world was here in Matthew 5, 6 and 7. If you want to listen to the most powerful sermon ever preached by anybody in the world. 42:41 It's not on any CD. It's here in Matthew 5, 6 and 7. Nobody in the history of the world has ever preached a more powerful sermon than this. And the door into this sermon is the first verse. 43:12 If you want to experience everything written in this sermon. There are some wonderful things written in this sermon. About being free from anger. Free from lusting after women. 43:35 Free from telling lies. Free from hating your enemies. Free from seeking the honor of men. Free from wanting to take revenge. Free from the love of money. 43:57 Free from anxiety. Free from judging others. Free from being deceived by false prophets. Many freedoms. 44:18 That's all that I said is found in Matthew 5, 6 and 7. But the door into this. This is the first verse. Blessed are the poor in spirit. The kingdom of heaven is theirs. 44:39 And you say, Lord what is this kingdom of heaven? What is this kingdom of earth, God on earth? And then he says, read these three chapters. That is the kingdom of heaven. The life described in Matthew 5, 6 and 7. 45:01 That is the kingdom of heaven. And the Holy Spirit has come to bring us into that light. What does it mean to be poor in spirit? Let me explain it like this. 45:25 Just like a poor beggar. Who is always in need. I have seen some beggars in Bangalore. Still beggars after 20 years. They are still begging. You may have seen some like that in your town. 45:48 They come to your gate. You give them some money. And they will come tomorrow. Because you are one of those kind people who give them some money. And if you ask them, where is the money I gave you yesterday? 46:09 And the day before yesterday. Now I need some more. And tomorrow they will come again. You ask them, where is the money I gave you yesterday? And the day before yesterday. Oh sir, that finished. I need some more. That is to be poor in body. 46:22 Poor in spirit is like that. Only thing we don't go begging at people's gates, we go to the gate of heaven. 46:43 We go to God. And say, God, please give me some grace for today's life. I am going to face many temptations today. 47:04 Please give me some grace for today. And what about the grace you got yesterday? That is only for yesterday. I need grace for today. You think God will say no? 47:24 Have you noticed that beggars don't come asking money for somebody else? They ask for themselves. Have you ever had a beggar come to your house and say, I want money for somebody over there? No. Nobody is asking for themselves. 47:41 No. Nobody is asking for themselves. No. Nobody is asking for themselves. So when we come to God. What about the God? Don't find fault with other people. Lord, I am a needy person. I need your grace. To be poor in spirit means, listen, this is what it means. 48:06 I am aware of my own need and not the need of all the other brothers and sisters. I am thought, no, we can be aware of their physical need, that's a good thing. And we should help them. 48:26 But spiritually, we shouldn't say, oh, that person is like this, this person is like this. Such a person is not poor in spirit. Poor in spirit says, Lord, I am in spiritual need. Now, here is a wonderful promise. 48:46 If you don't know this promise, you can claim this promise today. Proverbs 8:34. This is like a beggar going to the gates of heaven. 49:07 This is what it means to be poor in spirit. Proverbs 8:34. The Lord says, Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates and waiting at my doorpost. 49:34 He who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord. Who waits at my gates every day. Like a spiritual beggar. Lord, I am poor in my spirit. 49:57 What is that beggar who comes to your gates saying? I am poor in my body. I don't have food, I don't have money. We go to God and say, Lord, I am poor in my spirit. 50:17 I don't have strength to overcome sin today. I fell into so many sins yesterday. But I don't want to fall into them again. I need you. I need you. And I am not thinking what is that man's fault or that sister's fault or somebody else's fault. 50:42 I am aware of my own need. And because I am aware of my own need. I come like a spiritual beggar to God. Acknowledging my need. Judging myself. I am not judging other people. 51:07 Blessed are the poor in spirit. The kingdom of heaven belongs to them. How long should we be like this? Every day. Every day till Jesus comes. This is how I have sought to live before God now for many, many years. 51:28 Every day. Every day. I come before my heavenly father. Every day. Every day. I come before my heavenly father. And say. Father, I am a needy person. Even if I have lived in victory for many years, I cannot live today without your help. 51:54 If you withdraw your grace from me, I will fall in a moment. You see, it is like a branch in a tree. Say it has borne beautiful mangoes for 50 years. Beautiful mangoes. 52:15 Can the branch now say. Now I don't need the tree. I can be on my own. I will produce mangoes. Because I have got 50 years experience. If you cut it off from the tree. 52:35 No more mangoes. So, even if you have been a believer 50 years like me. Like the branch, I am still helplessly dependent upon the tree to produce fruit. 52:58 When I stand up to preach God's word. I don't depend on. Oh, I have preached for 50 years. I can do that easily. If I stand up like that. God's anointing will not be upon me. I have to come like the branch and say. 53:20 50 years or 100 years. Without you I can do nothing. So, to be poor in spirit. Is to say these words that Jesus said in John 15. 53:45 He said that to us. John 15 verse 5. Last part. Without me you can do nothing. If you are born again today you have to say that. If you were born again 70 years ago. 54:05 You still have to say it. Lord Jesus without you I can do zero. A lot of us. Because we have been believers some years. We think we are. We can do so many things. Then the kingdom of heaven is not yours. Because you are not poor in spirit. 54:24 Kingdom of heaven is such a huge territory. And I want to possess more and more of it. I want my whole life to be heavenly. 54:49 You know what that means? Never angry. 365 days of the year. Never angry. Never discouraged. No bad moods. 55:10 No bitterness against anyone. Forgiving everyone. Loving everyone. No love for money. No desiring honor from men. Not showing myself but seeking to show Christ. 55:31 That is the life of heaven. And I want that every day of the year. And if I'm. Then I must live in. With this recognition. I can do nothing without you Lord. Even for one day. What happens when you cut off a branch from a tree. 56:00 Why does it become dry? Why does it stop producing fruit? Why does it stop producing fruit? One reason. One reason. When it is connected to the tree. There is a liquid. It is called sap. That flows into the branch from the tree all the time. 56:22 That's like the Holy Spirit flowing and flowing into our life. And it's that liquid that flows into the tree that makes it green and fresh and produce fruit. Why is it so many believers their life is so dry? 56:55 That life is not flowing from Jesus into them. And there is only one reason. They have become proud. They think they are better than others. They think they are superior to others. 57:16 Because I know the Bible. Or because I am an elder brother. Or I am an elder brother's wife. Or I know God has used me. So many things can make us proud. 57:36 And when we become proud that liquid stops flowing into the branch. So I was saying that God has to make us like a little sample of that future kingdom that is going to cover the whole earth. To have this kingdom of heaven in us we must always be poor in spirit. 58:12 That is the mark of the house of God. See many people ask me, Brother Zach what do you think is the mark of a New Testament church? I say I believe primarily one thing. That the presence of Jesus Christ is very real in that church. 58:37 Like in the Old Testament tabernacle that fire marked the presence of God there. So the mark of a New Testament church is not what songs you sing or what type of sermons you preach. 58:58 That Jesus is there. That Jesus speaks in the meetings of the church. We read that when Jesus spoke to those two disciples walking to Emmaus. 59:23 After the resurrection. It was three hours they were walking those eleven kilometers. And for three hours Jesus was preaching, preaching, preaching. And their hearts were burning. When Jesus preaches our hearts will burn. 59:52 The presence of Jesus is the mark of a New Testament church. And when we are in the presence of Jesus. You know what we'll do? What did John do when he saw Jesus in the Isle of Patmos? 1:00:15 We read in Revelation 1:17. Revelation 1:17. John says, "When I saw Jesus, I fell at his feet like a dead man." That's what happens when the presence of Jesus is there in a church. 1:00:42 We suddenly become aware of how unclean we are. See this example in the Old Testament. Isaiah chapter 5. Isaiah was a great preacher. 1:01:02 He was a prophet. And this is how he preached. He was condemning various people who were sinning. And what he said was right. Isaiah 5 verse 8. 1:01:22 Woe unto all those people who keep on adding property to themselves. And verse 18. Woe unto those who drag iniquity with the cords of falsehood. 1:01:43 Verse 20. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil. Verse 21. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes. Verse 22. Woe to those who are always drinking wine and getting drunk. 1:02:04 He was saying, "You people, this is your sin. You people, this is your sin." And, "Woe unto you, woe unto you." And then in chapter 6. Verse 1. I suddenly saw the Lord. 1:02:24 Then what is he saying? Verse 5. Woe unto me. He stopped telling all the others what is wrong with them. As long as you are always seeing the faults of other people. 1:02:47 I can tell you, you are not in the presence of the Lord. When you come into the presence of the Lord, you will say, "Oh, it's me." Blessed are the poor in spirit. 1:03:09 The kingdom of heaven is there. Let's pray. Let's pray. Brother Yeshua. Let's bow our heads before God. Has God spoken to you today? Bow your head and say, "Lord, help him to see my need." 1:03:30 Help me to judge myself. I come to you as a needy person. I want to be a sample of the kingdom of heaven on earth. Help me. In Jesus' name. 1:03:50 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
