0:01 Even when you share God's word at home with your children or someone visiting you. Or you write a scripture or a word in an email or share with someone on a cell phone. 0:21 Sharing God's word is an awesome responsibility. It says in 1 Peter 4:11, "Whoever speaks, let him speak as it were the utterances of God." If I speak in the name of Jesus Christ, 0:42 whether in a pulpit or in personal conversation, representing Christ, I have to speak as God himself speaking through me. 0:58 My mouth being the mouth of God. And so that in the last part of verse 11, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him be glory forever. So, 1:16 everything must be for the glory of God. That means there must be zero glory for the one who speaks. So, I have to speak as God as if God is speaking through me. God himself is to speak through me. 1:35 I have to hear him alright. And at the end of it all, there must be no glory that comes to me. It's an awesome responsibility. I've been preaching for 50 years. I started preaching when I was 23. And I still have that fear 1:58 that I may not speak exactly what God wants me to say. That at the end of it all, I may take some little credit for myself. That's why I have the habit of very often listening to myself 2:17 on the internet. Listening to messages I preached. I do it often. To judge myself, to see for myself so that I can do it better next time. I would recommend that to everyone here 2:34 whoever speaks the word of God. Don't take it lightly. It's a far more awesome responsibility than you think. And what about those who listen, like all of you are listening today? 2:52 I want to give you a word as well. Luke chapter 8. Luke chapter 8 and verse 18. "Take care, therefore take care how you listen." We can sit in God's presence 3:17 and let our minds wander here and there. Now, if a man is not speaking as the mouthpiece of God, then of course, you can't blame a listener for allowing his mind to wander here and there. I've sat through many messages which were so boring, it 3:37 was obvious that God was not speaking through them. My mind wandered. But if and where God is really speaking, you better be careful how you listen. It's like if Jesus were here and speaking to you and you will look here 3:53 and there and you'll love your mind to wander. Can you think of a greater insult to Christ? I mean, even when an individual is speaking to you, if you look here and there and wander, your mind wanders and the guy knows that he's 4:08 you're not even listening to him. I wonder if Jesus thinks like that about some people who sit in church. That they don't uh it's not so much where we look, but that our mind is not serious about listening to what he has to say to us. 4:26 Take care how you listen. Because to him who has, and I want to paraphrase it, that means when someone is has received something from God, Luke 8:18, and he's faithful to do what he has heard, more will be 4:45 given to him. And if we are not getting more from God, we're sort of come to a certain level in our Christian life. It's like, you know, you study up to the fourth grade and you never get past fourth grade for the next 10 years. 5:02 Because you're satisfied because a lot of others are only at second grade. Most Christians are in second grade and you reached fourth grade. So, you say, "Hey, I'm better than others in any case." And we're satisfied. That's one of the greatest tragedies in 5:13 the Christian life, where we don't get any more. And that's because we have not been faithful with what he has given us. If we are faithful with what he has given us, it says more will be given him. 5:31 And I look at it like this that every year I should be getting more, more from God. More revelation on his word, more understanding of his nature, more partaking of his nature, more overcoming sins. Sins that defeated me last year should not defeat me this 5:48 year. That's the meaning of receiving more. But if you are not faithful, Luke 8:18, last part, with what we have received, then even what you think you have will be taken away from you. And I've seen that with some Christians 6:07 who when they were first converted, they'd overcome certain habits and given up certain uh practices that were questionable. And 10 years later, they're doing it again. How is that? You think that 10 years later, they should be far better. 6:24 And 10 years later, they're worse than what they were when they were converted because what they had was taken away from them. I've seen that happen with numerous believers. So, I want to say to all of you, take care how you listen. 6:43 Be thankful if you're in a church where you're being warned seriously, constantly, to take care how you listen. I want to be in such a church all my life, where I'm constantly exhorted and warned 7:01 to take care how I listen. To take care how I speak. To take care how I listen. Let me now turn to what is the burden on my heart today. John's Gospel chapter 20. These are almost the first words, the 7:27 first commission that the Lord gave to his disciples after his resurrection. We know that later on, 40 days later, he told them to go and preach the gospel everywhere. To go and make disciples, Mark 16 and Matthew 28, well-known words, the Great 7:45 Commission. Go and preach the gospel and a lot of people have taken that seriously. Go and make disciples. But on the day of his resurrection, there was another commission he gave which many Christians don't think about. 8:03 This is the day he rose up from the dead. And we know that he the first day of the week, John 20, Mary Magdalene and the others came and Jesus on the evening of that same evening, verse 19, this is the day of the resurrection. 8:19 John 20:19, it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, when the doors were shut and the disciples were living in fear of the Jews, Jesus came and said to them, "Peace be to you." 8:35 He always speaks that word first. He wants our heart to be at rest. You know, before he was born, or when he was born, rather, the angels came to the shepherds and said, "Peace on earth." That's what he came for. 8:59 He came to give us a peace which the Bible says passes all understanding. He came to give us a peace in our heart that nothing on earth can disturb. And my dear brothers and sisters, don't ever be satisfied 9:17 in your life with anything less than that peace. I find that many Christians don't pursue it. There's so much cause for unrest in this world. You know, we have so many 9:35 responsibilities at home. Life is a struggle, not only for believers, for unbelievers, too. The world is going from bad to worse. Moral standards are going down and there's threats of war and terrorism and danger. I mean, in our 9:54 lifetime, we've seen such a degeneration of things in the world that there's a great need to learn to have this peace in our hearts. Pursue it. Say, "Lord, I want to enter into that Sabbath rest 10:14 that Hebrews 4 says you have for your people. A perpetual inner rest. No matter what happens in the world around us. Peace be to you." And then he gives them the great commission. The This is 10:33 the first commission that he gave. Again, a second time, verse 21. Peace be with you. And here's the commission. As the Father sent me, I send you. I want you to think of that, each of you, my dear brothers and sisters, as a 10:51 commission that the Lord is giving us. If you've never taken it seriously, take it from today. Even you young people. It's for you, too. As the Father sent Jesus into this world, so send I you. 11:13 The only thing he did in this world that we cannot do is to die for the sins of the world. That's not our calling, but in all the other things, the ministry with which the Father sent Jesus into the world, he says, "I'm 11:30 sending you in the same way." And then, you know, that's an impossible calling, really, to show this world what God is like. That's what Jesus came to do. 11:48 If you turn to John chapter 1, you'll see what he did on this earth. John chapter 1. It says Jesus, when he came to earth, he explained the Father. John chapter 1. Verse 14. The word became flesh 12:11 and dwelt among us, and we saw something. We saw his glory. The glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus manifested the glory of the Father through his earthly life. 12:28 We all agree there. And then connect that with this verse. As the Father sent me, so send I you. Verse 18. No one has seen God at any time. But the only begotten Son, who is in the 12:47 bosom of the Father, he has explained him. That's what Jesus did on earth. He explained the Father, not just with words, but by his life. So that on his last day on earth, 13:09 in John chapter 14, he told his disciples, when Philip asked him in John 14:8, "Lord, show us the Father, and that's enough for us." He said, 13:26 "You don't have to see the Father." Verse 9. John 14:9, the last part. "He who has seen me has seen the Father." Now, the Father is a distinct person from Jesus Christ. 13:46 But the Lord Jesus' life was such like such a transparent glass that if you saw him, you seen the Father. It's like you see somebody through a transparent glass, you seen him. I mean, he was on the other side of the 14:04 glass, but you saw the person. That's how Jesus' life was. He had just washed their feet. He said, "That's what the Father's like. Seeking to serve you. And 14:22 as the Father sent me, so send I you. Our calling is that just like Jesus said, "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father." To be able to say to others, "If you have seen me, you've seen a 14:39 little bit of what Jesus is like." My dear brothers and sisters, please see that as your calling. If you don't see it as your calling, you will never s- pursue it. You'll be satisfied with a low, 14:58 sub-standard Christian life because most Christians around us are satisfied with that low, sub-standard Christian life. And your level may be slightly better than theirs, and you're happy with it. I mean, if I if I did that, 15:16 maybe you haven't seen this, so you're not as responsible as I am, but I've seen it in scripture. And if I live like that, I'll be guilty before almighty God. Because I've seen very clearly my calling 15:34 is to manifest Christ by my character, by my behavior, uh by the way I react to the way people treat me or say things to me or how I live at home and how I handle money, and in every situation, my 15:51 calling is to manifest Jesus Christ. Now, you may not have seen that clearly, okay? I hope you'll see it. But the longer you delay seeing it, I want to say you're missing out on God's purpose for your life. I wish somebody had told me this when I 16:09 got converted at the age of 19. To I took a long time to discover it. Cuz there's hardly anybody who preaches it. Has anybody spoken to you on this verse, John 20 verse 21, that just like Jesus manifested the Father, 16:27 we are to manifest Jesus Christ. As the Father sent me, so send I you. As he explained the Father, no one no one has seen God at any time. We read that. But Jesus explained him. Now we say, "No one has seen Jesus Christ at any time, 16:43 but Zach explained him by his life." Or you, put your name there. Your wife has never seen Jesus Christ, but she saw you. And you explained by your life at home what Jesus was like. Or your husband has never seen Jesus Christ, 17:03 but you explained by your life to your husband what Jesus was like. Is that scripture or not? It is. That is our calling. And it's an awesome calling. To me, it's it's not something I get 17:22 scared of. I said, "Boy, what an honor. What a privilege. It's far greater than being the president of the United States. He represents a country. I'm representing almighty God. And so are you. That's what you're 17:40 supposed to be. Have you seen it, brothers? Are you excited by it? It is impossible to do this. That's why immediately after Jesus said this, if you turn to John 20 again, John 20, verse 21. 17:59 "As the Father sent me, so send I you." Now, I want to paraphrase his words. "As the Father sent me, so send I you. And therefore, you must explain me by your life to others, just like I have explained the Father through 33 and 1/2 18:16 years on earth. And I know this is impossible. Therefore, verse 22, I'm breathing on you. Receive the Holy Spirit." That's why we need to receive the Holy Spirit. What a tragedy 18:39 that people have thought they need the power of the Holy Spirit to become better preachers or to speak in tongues or to heal the sick. Well, although I believe in all those gifts, and in some measure I've experienced all 18:55 of them, but that's not primary. The first time Jesus breathed on his disciples and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit," it was in connection with his having told them, "You have to represent me and show me to the world, just like I 19:13 showed the Father." And he needed the Holy Spirit to show the Father to other to the world, and I need the Holy Spirit to show Jesus to others. And if you're defeated in your life, I'll tell you, ask Jesus to breathe on 19:29 you and fill you with the Holy Spirit. Yeah? If you find you're not fulfilling this calling, go to God and say, "Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit." And don't be satisfied with a theology that says, "Oh, you got everything when 19:44 you were converted." I'm not interested in theology. I'm interested in reality. That is mani- that if I mean, if the evidence is not there if my lamp is not burning, what's the use saying that I've got oil in my lamp? There is no oil in 19:56 my lamp, it's not burning. And I need to seek God and get that oil. I need to pay the price. There are certain things in the Christian life that are free. Forgiveness of sins, that's free. But there's certain other things 20:19 we have to pay a price for. Everything in the Christian life is not free. I'll tell you that. And I'll show it to you from scripture. If you want a spirit-filled life continuously, I mean it's true when we are born again 20:35 the spirit of God comes in and we become children of God. We could cry out our father. It's the beginning of the Christian life, but if you want a continuous spirit-filled life, if you want it to be said about you as a man or a woman full of the Holy Spirit, 20:51 the certain people described in the Acts of the Apostles as full of the Holy Spirit, meaning they were continuously filled with the Holy Spirit. We read about Peter himself being filled with the spirit thrice in Acts 2 and 21:04 Acts 4, three times at least. Man continuously, a woman continuously full of the Holy Spirit, there's a price to be paid. I'll show you a few scriptures. You know, uh in Matthew 25 first of all, since oil 21:24 is a picture of the Holy Spirit, let me show you the story of the virgins. There were five virgins who didn't have enough oil to be ready for the coming of Christ. And they went and when the bridegroom 21:41 came and they their lamps were dying. And they went to the wise virgins and you know what the wise virgins said? They said, "Can you give us some oil?" Matthew 25:8. The foolish said to the wise, "Give us some oil." And the wise virgins said, 21:57 verse 9, "Go and buy it." It's not free. Go and buy it. Pay a price for it. You have to pay a price. And I'm absolutely convinced 22:16 that it is because most Christians are not willing to pay the price that they are not really filled with the Holy Spirit. And that's the reason they're defeated and defeated and defeated. And that's the reason why they behave in 22:29 un-Christlike ways and speak in un-Christlike ways very often in private and particularly with those who are close to them in their home. There is a price to be paid. And it's good for us to say to ourselves, "Lord, I'm defeated by sin 22:49 because I'm not willing to pay the price. I want it cheap and it's not cheap." Here's another another example. These are the words of Jesus. Matthew 13, verse 44, "The kingdom of heaven is like 23:10 a treasure hidden in the field which a man finds." A treasure. It's not just forgiveness of sins. A treasure to be filled with God's own nature, 23:28 that's the treasure. He finds it and from joy over it, how does he get that treasure? Listen Read it carefully. He sells all that he has and buys it. It's not free. It's not free. You got to buy it. And 23:47 you got to sell all that you have to get it. That means all that I consider valuable in my life, I say, "I don't want it. I want this treasure." That man will get it. The others will attend meetings and listen to sermons and sing songs and 24:07 remain in the same level all their life. Then he repeated it. Again, I'll tell you, "The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls." Verse 45. And he found one pearl of great price 24:25 and it was not free. This is not forgiveness of sins, that's free. This is something else. He sold all that he had and he bought it. We try to get it cheap and free. 24:44 There are things in the Christian life that are free and probably all of you have got those free things. I want to ask you whether you have got the things that you had to pay a price for. Those other things. For that you have to pay a price and 24:58 you'll never get it. You'll never get it in a hundred years unless you're willing to pay a price for it. I might as well tell you that. Jesus said it. Turn um turn to Revelation 3. I All these verses I quoted by the way, Matthew 25, Matthew 25:14 13, are the words of Jesus himself. He knew better than anyone. Here's another word of Jesus. I'm again quoting the words of Jesus Christ, Revelation 3. Here was an elder brother of a church in Laodicea. He used to sit back and thought, "I'm an 25:34 elder brother. Everybody respects me in this church." And probably they did. And there was nobody to tell him that in God's eyes he was a wretched, miserable, verse 17, Revelation 3:17, poor, blind, and naked. 25:53 He had to wait till he got a letter from an apostle, John, who told him, "Hey, let me tell you what God thinks of you, you elder in Laodicea. Everybody in your church appreciates you and you think you're a great guy and you 26:07 think you have so much knowledge and you're well off and you're wealthy, but I'll tell you what God thinks of you, Revelation 3:17. Jesus Christ thinks you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked." He was an elder in a church. 26:24 Don't you think he was born again? Or did they have nominal Christians even in the first century? There was only one church in Laodicea in those days, not like today where there are a hundred churches in a town. One church in Laodicea. All the Christians 26:39 were there. There was an elder. And he was wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. You know why? I'll tell you. He says, "How How can he How did How can this problem be solved? How can he get rid of this wretchedness 26:54 and miserable and mis and poverty and blindness?" Verse 18, he says, "I give you some advice." Jesus says, "Buy something from me." That's not free. If you want to be free from being a miserable Christian, buy something. If 27:12 you want to be free from being a wretched, blind Christian, buy something. The Lord says, "Buy it from me." How is it that a New Testament which speaks about salvation being free talks about these verses where Jesus says you 27:26 got to buy something? There lies the reason why many Christians have not possessed that higher Christian life that God wants us to have. Jesus said, "I came not only to give life, 27:42 but to give abundant life." John 10:10. There's a lot of difference between the two. And the illustration I've often used is here's a person who's sick and dying in a hospital bed with tubes in his nose and 28:00 in his veins and all over struggling to breathe. And you ask the doctor, "Is he dead?" No, he's got life. He's alive. He's still can't get up. He's so weak. He's helpless. He's got life. Now compare him with someone who's 28:17 playing soccer on a field, running around for 90 minutes. That's abundant life. This is life. A lot of Christians are like this person in the hospital bed, just barely surviving. I'm saying, "I'm not dead. I've got life. I'm born again. I 28:35 accepted Christ." The Lord Jesus came to give us a lot more than that. And for that we have to pay a price. I counsel you. I advise you to buy from me real spiritual gold. Buy from me those white garments that 28:54 don't have a spot on it. A life free from conscious sin. Buy it from me. And buy from me an anointing for your eyes so that you can see. 29:11 I believe there's a great need for that. You know, with our eyes we see many things, but we don't know their value. You need anointed eyes to see the value 29:28 of this and the value of that. You know, like a person who goes to buy diamonds can be fooled by cheap glass which is worth nothing and a real diamond which is worth thousands of dollars. In the same way, without the the 29:46 we're not able to see as we live on this earth what are the things that really have value. What are the things really worth fighting for? The world is full of people who fight for position, for sex, for money, all types of things, but when our eyes are 30:01 anointed and we see, we see the things that are really worth fighting for. It's God's nature. And very few people see that as the most important thing, to behave in a Christ-like way 24 hours a day, 30:18 7 days a week in my home. That is the most valuable thing. It's not how much I earn every year. Not how well my business is doing. It's not how much I've got in my bank account. 30:37 Such people I have to say, "Buy this anointing so that your eyes can see We can sit back, happy that our life is sort of settled and we're we're not struggling like a lot of other people. We're settled and we've got a 30:55 house to live in and we're okay." You think so? How much of Christ is being manifested in your life? Dear brothers and sisters, we have only one life to live. You cannot live this life again. If you miss out on this life, 31:14 you've missed it forever. I don't want to get up to heaven and wish that I had known some things that I will know then on earth. I want to know it now. Because I know once I get past this life, I'll never get a chance to live it 31:31 again. How many times I prayed to the Lord and said, "Lord, don't show me at the judgment seat of Christ something I should have known here on this earth." No. Show it to me now. Don't show me at the judgment seat, Lord, something I should have known on 31:50 this earth. What was really valuable? If you find me going after things which are perishing, discipline me, punish me, do what you like, but wake me up from my stupor in my sleep 32:06 and anoint my eyes that I can see what is really valuable and make me willing to pay the price to buy it. Show you another verse. Everything in the Christian life is not 32:24 free. Philippians 3 Paul Paul was I believe the son of a very, very rich businessman. Because we know he was from Tarsus. 32:43 Tarsus was not in Israel. Only people who were doing business went to Tarsus. They were rich businessmen. Paul's father was a rich businessman. That's why he was in Tarsus. And in those days, rich businessmen sent 33:02 their sons to be trained to get into the Jewish Sanhedrin. Positions of influence. Trained to be trained in the Bible school of Gamaliel. And the Paul's father could afford to send him there. But when he became a Christian, 33:24 he lost his inheritance. He was disinherited by his father and mother. He lost all his inheritance. He got nothing. I've met Christians like that who come from Hindu homes who lost their entire inheritance 33:42 the moment they became a Christian. They had to pay a price which probably none of us sitting here ever had to pay. How much money have you lost because you because you became a Christian? Paul lost everything. 34:04 And he says here in verse 7, Philippians 3:7, "Whatever things were gain to me, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. And more than that, I count everything to be loss 34:21 in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." And listen to this. "For whom I have suffered the loss of everything." His inheritance, the respectable position he had in 34:41 Jewish society as a possible member of the top ruling Sanhedrin of the Jewish community, lost position, lost money, inheritance. And he says, "Do you know what I call it, what I lost? Rubbish." 34:59 Verse 8. "Everything outside of Christ is rubbish in order that I may gain Christ." So you go to Paul and say, "How did you gain Christ?" "I had to give up everything." Oh. 35:18 And you say, "I didn't have to give up all that to get Christ." There's a difference between the Christ he got and the Christ you got. He says, "In order to gain Christ, I had to suffer the loss of all things." Was he talking about forgiveness of 35:33 sins? He's the one who preached that forgiveness of sins is free. Paul himself. But he says, "To gain Christ, I had to lose everything." Like the man who got the pearl of great price or the 35:52 treasure hidden in the field. They sold all that they had. And that's the word of the Lord to us today. I advise you to buy from me that which you don't have. And then 36:10 we shall have this continuous spirit-filled life where we shall live it in inner rest at all times. And from that rest, 36:29 God can manifest because his throne is in our hearts. He can manifest his nature. And when you speak, it'll be like the oracles of God. Because you don't seek anything for 36:47 yourself. You don't seek any honor. You're not seeking a position or honor or anything. You just want God to be glorified in your life. And when you come to the end of your life, you'll be able to look back over a a 37:05 life lived in a worthwhile way. And when you stand at the judgment seat of Christ, and your life is reviewed as all of our lives will be reviewed at the judgment seat of Christ, we'll be able to look over our life and bow in deep humility and brokenness 37:24 before our savior and say, "Thank you, Lord, that you opened my blind eyes to see what was really valuable and not to live for the things that now I see have perished." In that day, we will discover 37:41 everything around us perishing. And that day, you will discover who was wise and who was foolish. And you will discover many Christians who sat in good churches were foolish. They comforted themselves that they belonged to a good church. "Oh, the 38:00 fellowship here is so good. We're like a family. It's so great." That may be true. There are people who sit in clubs and cults who say the same thing. "Oh, we care for one another. We help one another." There are cult groups that do that. 38:18 The Freemasons do it. They help one another. It's more than that. Are you manifesting Christ? The life of Jesus was so much at rest. You know, he operated from a position of rest. There was never 38:38 any time in his life when he was in a panic. Because first of all, he didn't want anything on this earth. He knew that whatever he needed on this earth, the Father would give him. He didn't starve. He was not a homeless 38:53 beggar at any time in his life. The Father would never allow Jesus to be a homeless living on the side of the road. No. But the Father decided how much he was to have and what type of home he was to live in and how much his income should be. 39:12 Father determined it all. And even him, he never sought anything. He was absolutely happy with if he saw that the Father gave uh holes for the foxes and nests for the birds and not a very comfortable place for him to sleep, he accepted it. He said, "That's 39:28 fine. If the Father has determined that he gives a place for the foxes and the birds, but not for me, fine." He was perfectly at rest in all situations because believed that his father was almighty. This is one of the most important things 39:49 for us to recognize and believe deep down in our heart. You know, we had It says Jesus explained the Father. And he says to us as the Father sent me, so send I you. I have to explain the Father, too. I have to explain by my life 40:08 what a wonderful almighty God I have in heaven as my Father. That's what Jesus manifested. That's why he told us to pray. When you pray, don't just say our Father, but say our Father, who art in heaven. That's the most important part of it. 40:26 Everybody may have a father, but I have a father who's in heaven, who runs this universe, who's almighty, who's all wise, perfect in love. This is my Father. The world People in the world don't have a father like me. 40:45 Imagine having a father who loves me intensely, who is perfectly wise. There's no one like him in the whole world who can plan my life and tell me exactly what to do in different situations because he's full of wisdom, and who's almighty, who can control 41:01 every single circumstance that can come into my life. What a blessed man I am to have such a father. Jesus lived like that. That's why his life was at rest. And it's because Christians do not know God as their Father like this, 41:21 that there is so much unrest and doubt and anxiety and fear and panic. So, dear brothers and sisters, I want to urge you to know this Father. This is the secret of the Christian life. 41:38 Jesus came to explain the Father to us. And I know my life has changed when I came to know this Father. It's my Father. The Holy Spirit has come to us to reveal this Father to us. That's why, you know, uh let me give you a 41:55 few examples of how Jesus was Look at Luke chapter 4 as one example. Luke chapter 4, we read the very first sermon that he preached in Nazareth. It says in Luke 4:16, he came to Nazareth. And he'd he'd been there many times as a 42:12 little boy, as a teenager, attended the synagogue Sabbath day regularly, but this is the first time that they ever asked him to preach. He was 30 years old now. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. You know, they used to 42:29 have it in scrolls. Different books of the Bible. Each book was in a scroll. Here was a scroll of Isaiah. He took it. That was the sovereignty of God that they gave that book to him. Then he turned that scroll to find Isaiah 61. I 42:42 mean, chapters were not there those days, but he found the place where it says the spirit of the Lord has anointed me. Luke 4:18. And then he closed the book and he began to speak about how God doesn't care only for the 42:59 Israelites. When he first began to speak, you know, they said, "Boy." And he said, "The scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Verse 21, they said, "Ah, that's right. We are the privileged people of God." The people in the synagogue said. And 43:15 they spoke well of him, wondering at the gracious words that fell from his lips. And says, "This is Joseph's son." When they were angry with him, they'd call him Mary's son. That means they don't know the Father is. But then when they're happy with 43:29 him, they say, "This is Joseph's son." Uh that's just a way by which you can know what they were saying each time. And then he went on to say, "Hey, I want to tell you something that God doesn't care for you Jews alone. 43:45 He cares for everybody in the world. And I have come for them as well. For remember in the days of Elijah, when God wanted to feed Elijah, when there was a famine, verse 25 and 26, he did not send him to any widow in 44:03 Israel. But he sent him to a widow among the Gentiles in Zarephath, outside of Israel. Why did God send his greatest servant of that time, Elijah, to a Gentile? To bless that woman and her son so that 44:22 they would not die when many widows in Israel died. God cares for the Gentiles. He sent his greatest servant to a widow among the Gentiles. And he says in verse 27, there were many lepers in Israel who were never healed 44:38 in the time of Elijah. But one Syrian man called Naaman, he got cleansed. God cares for Gentiles. And that made these people furious. I mean, just 2 minutes ago they were saying what gracious words came out of his mouth. This, they got so angry. 44:57 Verse 28, they rose up and took him outside the city. Imagine 200 people grabbing hold of one man and taking him outside. They wanted to throw him down a cliff. Was Jesus in a panic? How would we be if 200 people got upset 45:17 in a sermon and interrupted the sermon and pulled us out from the pulpit and say, "We're going to kill you right now. Take you to the top of the cliff. We're going to throw you down." I don't I can picture Jesus there. Quietly going with them. 45:37 He knew that every hair on his head was numbered. He knew that not a sparrow would fall without his Father's knowledge. And he knew that he was of more value than many sparrows. 45:56 So, he quietly went with them. And while they were all arguing as to which of the two three cliffs to throw him over, he just quietly walked away. That's what it says. Verse 30, he just went away. And by the time they had decided which 46:16 cliff to throw him over and looked around, he wasn't there. Not a hair on his head could be touched without his Father's permission. How about us? 1 John 4 is one of my favorite verses. 1 46:34 John 4 verse 17. We got it made out in big letters and I put it in our meeting hall for everybody to back in Bangalore, for everyone to see. 46:53 1 John 4 verse 18, the verse 17, the last part. As Jesus is, so are we in this world. Do you believe that? Do you believe that God loves you 47:14 as he loved his son? It's one of the great things he prayed in John 17:23. He said, "Father, I pray that the world may know that you love them just like you loved me." It took me 16 or 17 years after I was born again to know that truth, 47:33 which is written in my Bible all along. I had a Bible with me from the time I was a child. But I was 36 years old before I discovered that the Father loved me as I as he loved Jesus. I could have come to that life of rest 47:48 earlier if I had believed it, if I had read the scripture more carefully and taken life more seriously, and if I was willing to buy the truth, pay the price for it. As Jesus is, so are we in this world. He said that to his disciples, "The 48:07 hairs on your head are numbered." Think of another time in um John 19. There are many places like this, you know, the time when he was in a boat and the storm came and everybody was in a panic and he was fast 48:24 asleep. He would just quietly get up and still the storm. Here's another example in John 19. Sorry, John 18. Uh No, John 19, right? 48:43 When Jesus is standing before Pilate in John 19, and um it says in verse 9, the last part, "Jesus gave him no answer." See, this is like a judge in a court. And you've been accused and you're brought before the judge. 49:02 And he's a very strict judge and he asks you a question. "Where are you from?" John 19 verse 9. He gave no answer. And Pilate got angry. Imagine a judge getting angry in the court. 49:19 Picture yourself like this in a court. The judge is angry with you. He says, "You don't speak to me." Verse 10. "Don't you know that I have authority to kill you or to set you free?" And Jesus is unruffled. 49:41 Unruffled. It's a beautiful word. Not ruffled at all. Just the same. And quietly says to Pilate, "You can have no authority over me unless my father gives it to you." 50:06 Many years ago I had to stand in a court in India, taken there by religious people. And when I stood before the magistrate and he had to write a judgment on me, I couldn't say it loudly. 50:24 I was standing 30 ft away from him and I said softly, "You have no no authority over me except what my father gives you. You're going to write what my father says." And he had to write that. He could not condemn me. 50:47 My brothers and sisters, whatever situation you may face in the days to come, according to your faith, be it unto you. Learn to trust your father. As he cared for Jesus, 51:05 he'll care for you. Because he loves us as he loved him. He was at rest because he knew that not a hair of my head can be touched. Those are not verses in scripture. Jesus didn't have verses in scripture. There was a reality in his heart. He knew the 51:24 father. And here he was explaining the father to Pilate. This is John 1:18. He explained the father. You have no authority over me. Except what my father gives you. We're told in 1 Timothy chapter 6, 51:55 1 Timothy chapter 6, Paul tells Timothy, "Fight the good fight of faith." Remember, Timothy is probably around 45, 50 years old. He's been with Paul 25 years. Wholehearted, radical, the best of 52:14 Paul's co-workers. And he tells him, "Fight the good fight of faith." Dear brothers, sisters, don't ever think that you become so old and so mature that you don't need exhortations like 52:32 "Flee from the love of money." Verses 10 and 11. Imagine if you've been a wholehearted disciple for 25 years and a great apostle writes to you, "Brother, flee from the love of money." Would you feel insulted if some older 52:47 brother wrote to you, "I think you should flee from the love of money." I think a lot of believers would feel insulted. What does he think of me? It's not only that. In 2 Timothy 2:22, he told him to flee from sexual lust. 53:03 Imagine if an older brother wrote that to you after you've been with him for 25 years. Timothy was humble enough to say, "Yeah, I need that exhortation. I've been wholehearted for 25 years, but I need that exhortation to flee 53:17 from sexual lusts, to flee from the love of money." It's because people don't do that that they get entrenched in these things. And they miss out on God's purpose for their life. "Fight the good fight of faith." Verse 12. "Take hold of eternal life." 53:34 Don't lose have some theology who says, "Yeah, I got eternal life 25 years ago when I accepted Christ." Take hold of it. "And I charge you." Listen to this. In 13, "I charge you in the presence of God and in the presence of Jesus Christ." 53:53 Verse 13. "Who testified a good confession before Pontius Pilate that Pilate could not touch him without his father's permission." He reminds Timothy of that. "Keep the commandment without stain." "Remember the confession that Jesus made 54:15 before Pontius Pilate. You have no power over me except what my father gives you, Timothy. One day when you're caught and somebody wants to cut your head off, remember the confession Jesus made 54:33 before Pontius Pilate." There was another confession Jesus made before Pontius Pilate. I want you to turn back and see that in John chapter 18. There were two confessions he made and both were linked to each other. John 18, he said in verse 54:53 He was telling Pilate in verse 36, John 18:36, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my 55:09 servants would fight." Every believer who fights with somebody else is is thereby proclaiming, "My kingdom is of this world." Every husband who fights with his wife is thereby proclaiming, "My kingdom is 55:27 of this world. And that's why I'm going to fight for my rights when my wife tries to take it away from me or my husband tries to take it away from me. My kingdom is of this world. How dare you not respect me?" Jesus says, "My kingdom is not of this 55:43 world. That's why my servants don't fight. Are you a servant of Jesus Christ? You will never fight. You won't fight with believers, you won't fight with unbelievers. Everyone who fights, his kingdom is of this world. Whatever theology you may 56:02 believe, whether you're Calvinist, Arminian, whatever it is, call yourself what you like. If you fight, your kingdom is of this world." Paul told Timothy, "Remember the confession that Jesus made before Pontius Pilate. My kingdom is not of this world. 56:21 My kingdom is from above. And my father gives it to me. You can't take it from me. You can't write a judgment on me without my father's permission." He was so much at rest. 56:40 This is our father. His father is our father. Jesus told Mary Magdalene on the day of the resurrection, "Go and tell my brothers, my father and your father are the same." You read that in John 20. Verse 17, "Go to my brothers and tell 57:01 them I ascend to my father and your father. It's the same." My father is your father. That's what happened on the resurrection day. We must know our father like that. We will need to know that more and more 57:19 in the days to come. To believe the sovereignty of God, I'll give you one more example before I close, and that's in 2 Samuel. And this is a an Old Testament person who was called a man after God's own 57:38 heart. David. There was a time in David's life when his own son threw him out of the throne and David had to run for his life. And when David was running for his life, 57:59 thrown out by his son from the throne, there was a relative of King Saul who had been waiting for this opportunity to get at David. Because you know, David had taken the throne from his relative, King Saul. And that man's name was Shimei. Read in 58:16 2 Samuel 16. When David was running away, there came a man of the family of whose name was Shimei, family of the house of Saul. And he came cursing David continually. 58:37 He wouldn't dare to do it when he was king. But now David was running for his life and he was happy. This guy who pushed my relative Saul out of the throne, now he himself is being judged by God. His son is throwing him 58:50 out. And he threw stones at David. Can you imagine? Throwing stones at a man after God's own heart. There are many people who do that even today. And Shimei cursed him. Verse 7. 59:11 "Get out. Get out, you man of bloodshed, you worthless fellow. The Lord has judged you." You know how people sometimes curse us saying, "God is punishing you for what you did." You know, some problem comes in your life and somebody comes to you says, 59:29 "God's punishing you for what you did." Think of the story. It wasn't true. An angry man is never true. He never has light on the truth. And Abishai, verse 9, David's soldier said, "Let me go and cut off this 59:48 fellow's head. How dare he curse the king?" And listen to David's answer. The middle of verse 10, "If the Lord has permitted him to curse me, who am I to say, 'Why have you cursed me?'" See the understanding of the sovereignty 1:00:06 of God that David had. God has permitted him to curse me. I will keep my mouth shut. Do you believe that when somebody yells at you? 1:00:23 God has permitted that person to yell at you. Do you believe that when your wife misunderstands you or your husband misunderstands you? God has permitted it. Don't be like the children of Adam and defend yourself and prove 1:00:41 Believe in the sovereignty of God. Your life will be at rest. Otherwise, you'll spend your life complaining, complaining, complaining, "I'm like this, but people are treating me like this. I'm so good, but people are so bad around me." 1:00:58 When will you finish with it, brother, sister? When will you become like Jesus? When will you at least become like David? He says, "If God has permitted it, okay. It's fine." Of course, the greater example is Jesus, 1:01:16 the son of David, who lived at a much higher level. His life was at rest because he knew the Father. He This is how he explained the Father to a world which is full of those who fought and grumbled and complained and were in 1:01:34 panic and upset with others who treated them badly. And he says to us today, "As the Father sent me into this world to show his nature, I send you into your home, into your office, 1:01:52 into your business, into your factory, into a world which does not know me. Show them what I'm like." And you say, "Lord, I can't do it." That's right. Lord, breathe on me. 1:02:09 Fill me with the Holy Spirit. Make me what you want me to be. Not just once, not at the end of a meeting like this alone, but every day. When you rise in the morning, before you get out of bed, worship God and ask him to fill you with his Holy 1:02:27 Spirit every day. And believe that he will do it. And say, "Lord, I'm willing to pay the price. Send me the bill. I'll pay it." Let's pray.
