0:02 [music] >> We sang in an earlier hymn this morning on earth or else in heaven. Another year for thee. I hope those words were meaningful to you, dear family, 0:20 as we sang it. That's the essence of Christianity. That because Christ has come to live in our hearts, as we heard already this morning, just now, my life is not going to experience some kind of radical 0:38 night and day difference when I get to heaven. It's not that I lived a particular way here on this earth and suddenly I get to heaven and my way of living changes. That's false Christianity. It's what a lot of people in Christendom are being 0:53 told. That you say a prayer, you ask Jesus to come into your heart, but nothing really changes about the way you live your life. You just now go to a particular place on a Sunday morning and you do certain activities. 1:11 But deep down, nothing has really changed and you're just waiting to go to this other world called heaven where everything will be different. If our lives are not increasingly not becoming more heaven-like, 1:28 if our existence, our desires are not increasingly becoming less earth-like and heaven-like, then we have been given a false gospel. It's not really good news at all if my life on this earth remains miserable, defeated by sin, 1:47 angry, lustful, jealous, bitter, loving money, unable to love others, all the things that we just heard, then it's a false gospel. The true gospel, dear family, is this, that Christ has come to change us. Christ has proclaimed a jubilee here on 2:09 this earth. In heaven, there is nothing for us to be freed from. There's no there's no sin, there's no enslavement, there's no uh there's nothing bad there to enslave us. And if God is if the God you believe in is 2:26 not powerful enough to free you from sin here on this earth, to change you from being a self-centered husband and a self-loving wife and disobedient children, he's unable to change you here on this earth and can only do it in heaven when there 2:44 is no temptation anymore, he's a powerless god and it's a powerless gospel. On earth or else in heaven. And as I sang that this morning, I honestly test testify to you, dear brothers, dear sisters, dear children even, I said, "Lord, if at some point in 3:03 2026, my existence should change from being on this earth to being in heaven, please listen carefully to what I'm saying. If at some point in this year, your existence should change in a moment, 3:21 could be a car crash, it could be a a sudden illness, or it could be something. In a moment, if your existence changes from being on earth to being in the very presence of God, will there be a radical change inside of you? 3:37 Hopefully not. Cuz the gospel is that we are being transformed daily, a little bit more. And God who knows that moment, God who wrote every day of our lives in his book and knows the moment when that 3:55 instantaneous existence will change, has planned it so that he can transform you little by little every day. So that on that last day, which you and I don't know when it is, but God does, he will have finished the work. 4:14 This is the good news. Little by little, he's changing me. What I'm thankful for, dear family, is this in 2025, for the presence of God in our church. I don't say that lightly. I don't say that boastfully, but thankfully. 4:33 Let's turn to Luke 19. I believe this is something that we must all not only recognize, but also be thankful for. The presence of God. We read about the people in Jerusalem or in Israel at 4:53 that time in Luke 19:41. And there's a couple of phrases in verse 41 through 44 that I want you to keep in mind that I'm keeping in mind also. Luke 19:41, when he approached Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over 5:11 it, saying, "If you had known in this day, even you." See, the people who are alive at that time, today, they know that God himself was in their midst. That Jesus, the son of God, God himself 5:31 was in their midst. The presence of God was there. But in that day, they did not. And that's why Jesus wept. And one day, that will be true about those of us who sat at RLCF. The time will come when we will recognize that God was here 5:48 in our midst in 2025. The question is, will we recognize it in this day? In 2025, did you recognize the presence of God here? "If you had known in this day, 6:09 even you." And then he goes on to say in the last part of verse 44, "Because" and he goes and talk about how they will be destroyed, not even one stone will be left upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your 6:23 visitation." You did not recognize when God came and was in your midst and you took it for granted. Because he looked just like the brother or sister sitting next to you. That child that came up and said their memory verse. 6:42 And it looked ordinary. It looked imperfect because it is imperfect. None of us is perfect yet. But in the midst of the imperfections and that brother who rubs you the wrong way and that sister that a little bit difficult to get along with and that 6:56 child that's a little bit disobedient at times. In the midst of that, you did not recognize that Jesus was visiting. Not just visiting, but he had made a made his home here. And that's our goal, dear brothers, dear sisters, and I'm thankful 7:15 that God opened my eyes and I believe ours to recognize his presence in our midst in 2025. And we don't say it callously. We don't pretend, "Oh, everybody would love to say, 'Yeah, Jesus was here.'" But I believe in a deeply spiritual way. 7:33 None of us saw him physically with our eyes. He didn't come in that door in a physical way. Uh but he was here in spirit, I believe, if you were willing to recognize it. If you were willing to value this family as the body of Christ himself 7:50 and appreciate every brother and appreciate every sister and appreciate every child and appreciate every meeting that we gathered, every prayer meeting, every Bible study, every Sunday meeting, uh whether it was on Zoom or here, if 8:05 you valued it because Jesus was here, then you received the blessing. And I'm thankful that the Lord was here in our midst. Um uh let's turn to I we sang also in that same song, "Another year." I wrote it down. "Of 8:23 proving thy presence all the days." Was that your testimony? We sang it. But did you miss it? Another year of proving your presence every day. Now, if you remember, we sang that same hymn on January 8:43 12th, I think it was, when we sang it, 2025. We said, "Lord, let this year be a year of proving your presence every day." Now, here we are, a year later. It's a good thing to check and say, "Lord, I asked you that when I sang it, 9:00 did I actually do that? When when I came here every Sunday, did I prove your presence here by my value of this church and the value of the brothers and sisters and value of the meetings? Or it was, uh yeah, I show up here and have a chit-chat and after 9:17 that, go back home." Another year of proving. Now, if we didn't make it so in 2025, let's make it 2026. Another year of proving your presence every day. 9:33 And uh I I I believe the Lord is here um in a in a special way. I recognized his presence more in 2025 than any of the years past. And I've been here longer than any of you, I believe. But I really believe that. I recognized 9:48 it. The Lord opened my eyes to see his presence. And uh over the last few weeks I've as I've been traveling uh away from you all, it was amazing to hear testimony after testimony of people on the other side of the world who could testify to the 10:02 presence of the Lord here. People who have never been in this room. People who watch us online and can testify of the presence of the Lord, the spirit of God that's here. And what a tragedy it would be if those of us who sat in this room 10:19 day after day, week after week missed it. And people thousands of miles away saw it and received of the presence of God. There's nothing special about our LCF about being in this room. But it's about being in the presence of 10:32 the Lord. And if the Lord's presence comes into a particular meeting let's say here. Let's say even right now. But our thoughts are so distracted by little things or little I don't really like this church because of this or because of that. And somebody 10:50 else thousands of miles away who would love to be here gets the benefit of the presence of the Lord because it's a spiritual benefit. It's a spiritual presence. And you and I sitting here miss it. That would be a tragedy. 11:05 And our damnation, our condemnation, our judgment would be more severe because the Lord would say, "You were there physically, Santosh. You could have had it if you are spiritual if you could get off your proud horse and humble yourself and see 11:21 it and value it." Romans 1 verse 8. Um I read this earlier today in the uh message paraphrase. I think it was the Living Bible. I forget. 11:39 Romans 1 verse 8. Here's how it reads in that paraphrase. "Wherever I go, I hear you being talked about. Your faith in God is becoming known around the world. How I thank God through Jesus Christ for this good report and for each one of 11:57 you." That was uh what I got to experience and hear from people around the world I met over the last 3 weeks giving thanks for the Lord's work in RLCF. And I'm thankful for that. I hope we are. What I'm hopeful for is this. Uh and please listen carefully, 12:15 especially young people. This is the hope that I have that every one of you that's 12 years old and older 12 through 19 will become a disciple of Jesus this year. If you are already a disciple of Jesus, that's wonderful. If you committed your 12:33 life to the Lord, not just said a prayer but you really committed your life to the Lord and he is yours. May it be so in increasing measure. But if you haven't done that yet and you're at least 12 years old. And I say that because if you're 12 now, you'll be 12:49 at least 13 this year. And I have a burden for the teenagers especially. Because you're at a critical stage in your life. I remember what it was like to be a teenager. Now, please understand if you're less than 12, doesn't mean I'm 13:03 we don't have a burden for you. For all of you really, but this is a special burden between the age of 13 and 19. If you're 20 and older, that's you're not excluded. But if you're at least 12 years old and you know, it says that Jesus when he was 13:19 12, he had a heart for the things of the Lord. He had to be about his father's business, he told his parents. And so that's my hope that if you are here in this church and you're at least 12 years old and you haven't committed 13:34 your life fully to the Lord and given him your your heart fully, then that this will be the year you do it. Isaiah 54, we read that all of our sons and daughters will be taught of the Lord. Acts 2, we read in verse 17 and 18 that 13:52 our sons and our daughters would prophesy that the Holy Spirit would be the promise of the Holy Spirit was for us and for our children. So this is my hope that for those of you who are in this church who are at least 12 years old that this will be the year 14:06 if you haven't done it yet, you decide, "I'm going to follow Jesus and I'm not going to turn back." And what a tremendous example you will be to us adults if if the Lord [clears throat] lays a hold of your heart that way. 14:18 So I hope you're encouraged by that. In the remaining time, I want to briefly share what the Lord's laid on my heart as far as us as a church as well. Proverbs chapter 4, if you'll turn with there with me, please. We're told what the path of the 14:34 righteous person looks like. Proverbs 4 verse 18. The path of the righteous and this is the path that we ought to set for ourselves. Lord, I want my life in 2026 to look like this. 14:53 The path of Santosh, to put it path of put your name there. Looks like this. The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn. Now, let's say January 1st is the light of dawn. Starting of 2026. If it's if it's been dark until this 15:09 point then at least let it start now. We're January 4th here. And the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, but it doesn't stay like that. These days we've been a little bit jet lagged, so we've gotten to see the 15:23 sunrise almost every day. And it's crazy how dark it's been. I don't know what it's a 6:00 or so, 6:30 before the sun actually comes up. But you know, it starts dark and the a little bit of a crack of dawn. It's they call it the 15:36 crack of dawn. It means a little bit of light. But it doesn't stay like that. What what How gloomy it would be if it just stayed kind of that dull light? Just stays like the dawn light for the whole day. Here we are noon, 11:00 in 15:52 the morning and it's still you can hardly see. You have light, but it's not really there. That's not how 2026 should be for any of us, even for you children. It starts like that. Whatever light there is today, January 4th already 16:09 compared to that, December 31st should be like noon day sun. The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. So make that your prayer, dear family 16:29 that your path this year will look like this, shining brighter and brighter every day, getting brighter. The sun doesn't go backward. We do read in history once that Joshua got the sun to hold still and then in the book, I think it was Hezekiah with 16:43 Isaiah that the sun actually went backward, shadow. But that's an exceptional case. For you and I, it should never be going backward. That means tomorrow the brightness that is talked about in this verse should be more than it is today. 17:00 And more the next day and more the next day and more the next day. Now, you think about what was 2025 like? For many Christians, as it was in my life years ago it looks something like this. I'll show you this picture that um 17:16 uh do you have it up? You can display that. This is what the Christian life looks like for many Christians. Bright and then dark and then bright and then dark and then bright and dark, up and down. Dear family, that was my testimony for 17:31 many years. Especially when I was a young young person, my teens and 20s even. A lot of ups and downs and there were times when I and I I was sincere. Throughout my life, I always wanted to follow the Lord. The reality of it was I lacked the 17:46 power. And I would start out many years thinking, "Okay, this is going to be the best year." And it would just end up in in a pit. And it would just I would look back on each year and it just looked like an up and down year. 18:01 As you look back on 2025, and we've already heard you can't do anything about that. But we must learn from 2025 if something is going to be different in 2026. Peter talks about not forgetting the pit from which he has lifted us up, that we've been forgiven. 18:18 And if you look back and see that it's been an up and down life, even 2025 sitting in RLCF. I want to tell you good news. God has something better for you this year. He doesn't want you to remain in that defeated cycle of 18:35 of an up and down Christian life. Um let's turn to Proverbs 24. We read in chapter 4 verse 18 that the path of the righteous is like the noon day sun that goes up not like this graph going up and down, but just continually 18:50 going up. But you also read in Proverbs 24 verse 16 that the path of the righteous looks like this. Proverbs 24 verse 16. The righteous man falls seven times and rises again. 19:10 So how does this How do you put the two together? Proverbs 4 verse 18 says the path of the righteous should go up. And then Proverbs 24 verse 16 says the path of the righteous the righteous falls seven times. Here I only have four 19:23 falling. But um but gets up every time. So is which is the Christian life? Is it this up and down? You just remain Yeah, well Lord well, Santosh, I'm I'm living by Proverbs 24 verse 16. I'm just falling. 365 times I fell. 19:41 And you can easily be deceived. Now, I I want you to I want to put those two verses together that there is such a thing as this life of going up. That's what 2026 must be. And um and it's it's still true though that Proverbs 24:16. So, I've been 19:59 meditating on that over the last few weeks and asking the Lord show me, "What does this mean?" Now, don't get me wrong. 2025 wasn't a perfect year. It's not that I lived a sinless life in 2025. I don't think anybody on this 20:14 earth can testify can say that. So, every person on this earth who is because we are none of us have been fully made like Christ, experienced a falling of some sort. In some way we fell short of the glory of God. And sin is essentially that 20:29 falling short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23. So, everybody fell. And what then does it mean to increase and to say, "Lord, I want Proverbs 4:18 to be true." And I I want to tell you, I believe if I look back on my life, 20:45 Proverbs 4:18 was true in my life to some extent. That it got brighter and that my my walk with Christ did get brighter in some way. I look back now compared to where I was and I thank God for the growth he's given me in my life, 21:01 for the passion and the devotion I have for him that's increasing. But it it's not like I came back and ended up in the same place, up and down and up and down and up and down and here I am, the beginning of 2026 in the same place that 21:13 I was in 2025. What's different is this, what must be different. If 2025 looks like this, dear brother, dear sister, dear young person, dear child, what must be different is that when you get up, you get up in faith. If you never get faith from that falling 21:32 down, then it will be this up and down and up and down and up and down and the same place going in cycles like a uh carousel. Just going in circles. You're moving, but you're not really getting anywhere. What What will get you out of this cycle 21:49 of just spinning in the merry-go-round or a carousel is that you get faith. Faith comes from hearing the word of Christ, we're told in Romans 10:17. If you can get faith, that will shoot you out of this spinning cycle year after year after year because 22:07 faith is getting up with the confidence that Lord, you are going to change me. So, let's turn to Romans chapter 1. We were just there. Romans chapter 1. Verse 16. And that's why Paul says, 22:28 "This is a gospel I'm not ashamed of." If somebody was to tell you, "Is the faith that you believe in, whatever religion that is, something that you're ashamed of?" And you ask yourself honestly that question. Well, I say, "Well, I call 22:42 myself a Christian, but honestly, my life when I'm around my friends or in secret or in my thought life, I'm ashamed of it. I I I'm ashamed to say that I'm a Christian because if you were to come and see my thoughts and hear what I 22:55 think, it would look no different than all the other godless people in the world. I'm ashamed of it." Paul says, "That's not good news then." But Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the true gospel. For it is the power of God 23:11 to break out of this cycle. It is the power of God for salvation, to truly set you free, to save you, not just to keep forgiving you. It is the power of God for salvation, not the power of God for forgiveness. The power of God for salvation to 23:29 everyone who has faith." If you don't have faith, it will just be forgiveness and defeat, forgiveness, defeat, forgiveness, defeat, forgiveness, defeat. And then you hear the gospel. The power of God to salvation because 23:43 you finally get faith. Whether you're Jew or Greek or um whatever your heritage is, for in it, in this gospel, the righteousness of God is the same word that we read in Proverbs 4 and in Proverbs 24, righteousness. This is the 24:01 true righteousness. In this gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. So, now I want to show you another graph on that next screen that looks something like this where, yes, there are ups and downs, but it's 24:16 going upward. Because when I fall, now something's different. I'm not falling back into the same pit of despair and discouragement and saying, "Ah, it's the same old. I did it again." Oops. Oh Lord, I'm never going to be 24:29 changed. No, this time as I start to fall, I say, "Lord, you're you're doing something in me. I have faith. And this time I'm going to get up with faith." Proverbs 24:16. It says, "Lord, I'm not going to be the same person that 24:42 I used to be. Yes, I fell. Yes, I hate that I did that thing, but this is going to be different. And I rise up with a confidence in God from faith to faith." That's why on that left-hand side, maybe too small for you to see the print, it 24:57 says, "The The graph, the Y axis, that's the left side for those of you who who know a little bit of math, is faith." You and I judge ourselves based on, "Did I overcome or did I fall? Did I overcome or did I fall?" Yes, we are going to be 25:11 transformed fully, but did you have more faith? Is your faith increasing? After you fell, if you got more faith than the other person who didn't fall, listen to this carefully. If you fell, 25:28 but you got up with faith, and you got more faith than the other person who didn't fall, who thinks, "Ah, I did it. I was able to grit my teeth and not do that thing that I hate doing." That person didn't do it by faith. They're 25:45 trusting in their own strength. They will never come to victory. Their graph is not going up. But you on the other hand, you may have fallen. You may have fallen, but you got up with faith and say, "Lord, I'm trusting you even more today 26:00 than I did yesterday to lift me up." Your faith needle has actually gone up. And your graph is going up. This is shining brighter and brighter. And dear brothers, dear sisters, dear children, if your faith graph is going up, then 26:14 you will eventually come to be an overcomer. This is the only way to be an overcomer. We sang it. Herein is lying is found the secret of an all-powerful life, abiding in the Savior. That's what abiding is, trusting in him, leaning on 26:30 him, saying, "Lord, I trust myself less." Now, ultimately, you can come to the life that Jesus had where he was leaning on the Father, Brother Olou just spoke about that, leaning on the Father without falling. That's faith. 26:43 Ultimately, we want to come to that life where whether I fall or not, I'm leaning on the Father. And Jesus e- he his graph was always up. Faith and glory, consistently up. Now, you and I are called to that life of if we fall short of the glory, 27:00 if we fall into sin and fall short of the glory, make sure your faith needle stays up. Don't let your faith needle drop. If your faith needle drops, it'll be that graph on the left-hand side. That's why Jesus prayed, Luke 22:31, "Simon, 27:15 Simon, Santos, Santos." Put your name there. Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat, to stick you into the same old up and down life, but Jesus said, "I'm praying for you that your faith will not fail. If you fail, that's okay, but that your 27:32 faith will not fail. Keep that faith needle up." That means whether you failed or not, whether you overcame or not today, whether you overcame or not yesterday, say, "Lord, I'm getting up today with more faith in you." And if you overcame 27:45 yesterday, say, "Lord, today more faith in you." This is the life that God has planned for us, I believe in 2026, a tremendous overcoming life. And it'll look like this if you'll turn with me to uh 2 Corinthians chapter 3. 28:01 So, we also sang in that song about the bride of Christ that if you want to be a part of this group, part of this church, then you have an enemy that is in in the way of this graph going up. And that is your your your I. 28:20 Then hate your I. Your bitter foe. Your biggest enemy, dear family, is yourself, not the devil. Your biggest enemy is yourself, your I. The devil uses that. If your I is put to death, not I, but Christ. If your I is put to death, then 28:40 the devil has no power over you. But if your I is still on the throne, this my way because it's my house. I'm the dad. I'm the husband. Many uh many husbands who are trying to teach their children the way of God are standing in the way 28:55 of their own children because it's their way or the highway. Their I. Fathers, let's remember, our biggest enemy for ourselves and for our wives and for our children is us. The I that's in the way. And that's true for all of us. Hate it. 29:12 And then if we really hate that, we can come to this life that we read about in 2 Corinthians 3:18, "If we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from 29:25 glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." So, this life of coming from glory to glory, increasing glory, less sin, decreasing I, increasing Christ, comes by faith. So, dear brother, dear sister, whatever 2025 looked like, 29:45 and whatever 2026 already looks like four days in, determine Lord, no matter what happens my faith will not fail. And Jesus is praying for you. Says in Hebrews 7:25, he is praying even now day and night. What's his prayer? I believe 30:00 it's the same as it was in Luke 22:32, that your faith will not fail. He's praying for you. Young people, we are praying for you. Uh that your faith will not fail. Amen. Um So, after this now we're going to have before we go into the time of sharing, 30:18 we're going to have um the testimonies from uh our two sisters, Ella and Anna Lisa, who are going to be baptized today. So, before they come up, uh Ella and Anna Lisa, I'm going to pray for you both. Family, let's pray for them. It's 30:31 wonderful that they have come to this life of faith. Uh that they made this decision to follow Jesus and never turn back. Let's pray that they will be filled with the Holy Spirit as they prepare to enter the waters of baptism 30:46 to testify that that old man who's been crucified with Christ is now being buried to be permanently done with, never to come back. Heavenly Father, I pray for this church. Lord, that your presence will be here always and we'll value it. And now, uh 31:02 Lord, I pray especially for Ella. And I pray for Anna Lisa. Thank you for both of them, Lord. Thank you for Ella and the work that you've done in her life in drawing her to you and the decision she's made to go into the 31:14 waters of baptism to bury this old self that has stood in the way of an abundant overcoming Christian life. And thank you, Lord, that we will join her in testifying to the power that comes when our old self is buried, that you will 31:28 not leave us in the grave because you didn't remain in the grave. You're not in the grave anymore. The grave is empty. And so, when Ella goes into the grave now, uh that old self is buried into the grave, you will come up in the 31:41 same way that you rose up from the grave in her. And likewise for Anna Lisa, Lord, when old Anna Lisa is buried in the grave now, Lord, that that old Anna Lisa will be permanently done with, but she won't remain there. She won't remain 31:56 bound by the same things she was bound before, but you, Lord Jesus, will rise up in her body and give her newness of life. Heavenly Father, I pray that you will pour out your Holy Spirit in them. Fill their hearts, Lord, even now, with 32:08 your power, the power of the Holy Spirit in them, power to be your witnesses, power to speak of your glories, the glories of your majesty, power to have the gift of prophecy on their tongue, to be bold witnesses for you. Lord, and I 32:21 pray, Lord, that this day will be a day, we know it's a day that's that's marked in heaven, where all of heaven is rejoicing, Lord, for another sinner who has repented, and we rejoice with them. So, Lord, bless them, and let we believe 32:33 that we know that the best is yet to come because you, Lord Jesus, are transforming them from glory to glory. Bless them, Lord, I pray. Give them even the prophetic word as they come up here to testify. Fill them with your spirit 32:45 and with boldness. We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. >> [music]
