0:07 I'd like you to turn with me in your Bible to John's Gospel chapter 7. Do you all know the name of this church? 0:26 River of Life Christian Fellowship. That is based on this verse. John chapter 7 verse 37 to 39. It's good for you to know on what what 0:49 verse the name of your church is based. Jesus usually spoke very gently and softly. There's a verse in Matthew's Gospel. I think it's chapter 12 which says that when Jesus spoke in a house 1:09 you could not hear him on the street. He was not a loud shouting preacher. He spoke very gently just enough for the people who were in the house to hear. But there's one time it says here he really shouted out. It says he cried out. 1:29 So that must have been something very important because he normally didn't speak like this. John 7:37. On the last day, the great day of the feast. This was in Jerusalem. In the temple Jesus stood and cried out saying if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me 1:46 and drink. And he's saying the same thing today to every one of us here. He's not inviting everybody. When you read scripture carefully he's not asking everyone to come to him. If anyone is thirsty. That means 2:06 you know how a thirst is like. You feel all dry. And you like a glass of water, but I think it's more than just a glass of water here. I think the picture here is of a man who's been or a woman who's been walking in the desert for say 2:24 seven or eight days without a drop of water. That's a different type of thirst than I mean some of us may like a glass of water right now. That's it. This is a different type of thirst. Like if somebody offered you a glass of water and said it 2:42 cost $10,000. What would you say? Well, I'm not that thirsty. Thank you. Keep it. But if you were dying of thirst because you'd been walking in the desert for seven or eight days. You'd say sure $10,000. Sure, take it 3:01 man. I'm about to die. That is the type of thirst Jesus is speaking of here. Remember that as we read further. If anyone is thirsty like that. 3:19 Let him come to me and drink. And if you're thirsty like that and you come to Jesus and drink. And you believe in him. And then here's another thing I want to say. You read these words carefully. Believe in the Bible in the New Testament is not 3:36 referring to believing a certain fact. 2 + 2 is 4. You believe it? Yes. That's not the type of belief he's talking about here. Here he's talking about a belief which means a commitment. 3:54 And the best example I can take of that is a wedding. Where a young lady believes in this man and commits her life to him. That's 4:12 different from believing that 2 + 2 is 4. Here her whole future is going to be changed. She's not going to be living in the same house from today onwards. It's a belief and a commitment that changes everything about her life. 4:30 She's probably going to move into a different different city. That's the type of belief that Jesus is asking for. When a woman marries a man, he's saying, "I believe in him. I trust him. That's why I give myself to him." 4:48 Now, if we haven't understood it like that, then that's the reason for shallow Christianity that many people have. It's not a commitment like a woman commits herself to a man. You know, the Bible pictures us as the bride of Christ. 5:06 Christ is the man and we are the woman. And believing in him means I'm committing myself to him just like a woman commits him- herself to a man and says, "Okay, my future is with you now. Where you go, I go. Where you live, I live. 5:24 And whatever your circumstances are, that's mine. I'm totally committed and I'm not going to change my mind. And if you're poor, we'll struggle together. If you have things that we can share, we'll share together. And my lot is the same as yours." 5:42 So, that's important to understand that that that is the meaning of the word believe in the New Testament. And it's because people haven't understood it like that, they think it's a like a head knowledge. 2 + 2 is 4. Jesus is the son of God. Yes, I believe 5:57 that. He died on the cross. Yes, I believe that. He rose up from the dead. I believe that. He took my sins on the cross. I believe that. I'm forgiven. Lots of people who say that go to hell. Cuz that's not the type of faith the 6:10 Bible speaks about. The only type of faith the Bible speaks about is this type of commitment. Where we that woman commits herself to the man, and if we commit ourselves to Jesus Christ, not only we go to heaven, that's at the 6:25 end of our life, but right now our life is changed. And it says here, when you come to him and drink like that, and you commit yourself like that, then the scripture will be fulfilled. The promise of God in the Old Testament, 6:40 which is not fulfilled in the Old Testament, will be fulfilled now that from this person's Which person? This person who's committed himself to Christ, from his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. God begins his work small. 6:59 The Bible says, "I will raise my cup to the Lord." The cup of salvation. So, when we are born again, it's like having a cup of water. A cup of water is just sufficient for myself. Later on you read in John's gospel 7:18 chapter 4. Okay, let me begin with the cup of water. John chapter 3. That three expressions of water in the gospel of John. Have you noticed that? Verse 5. John 3 verse 5. He's talking 7:37 about being born again, coming into a new life. Truly I say to you, unless one is born of water even the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That is called in verse three, born again. It's a new birth. It's becoming a 7:56 completely different type of person. It's like a pig being born as a cat or something like that. Pig that always loves the filth is being born as a cat that hates the filth. You see the difference? So, to be born again or to be born of 8:14 water that's we take a cup and as the Lord fills us with a cup of water. The next stage is in John chapter 4 where Jesus said to a woman of Samaria 8:32 in verse when he met her at a well in John 4:14 he said, "I'll If you drink of the water that I give him, if you drink of the water that I give you'll never thirst. You'll never long for anything of this world 8:50 if you drink of what Jesus gives you. And that's really been true for those who really committed themselves to the Lord. When a person's hankering after more and more of the things of this world, the pleasures and the sinful 9:03 pleasures of the world, it is a clearest proof that he's not drinking of the water that the Jesus gives. If a person really drinks of the water that Jesus gives, he will not have a hankering for pornography or for watch filthy movies or read 9:23 filthy books or anything that the world offers. Not even the wealth of the world. If he drinks and so if a person's hankering after these other things, that is a clearest proof he has not drunk the water that Jesus gives. 9:41 Whatever he may say, whichever church he goes to. If anyone drinks of the water that I give him, it'll be a line a well of water springing up into everlasting life. It's So, the cup of water has now become a well of water. 9:58 The difference is a cup can only satisfy me. These are all pictures Jesus uses. Jesus often used pictures. I need my first stage of my Christian life is where uh my own thirst is satisfied. I'm born again. I become a child of God. My sins 10:13 are forgiven. But, it doesn't stop there. The Lord wants us to graduate from that to become like a a well of water. Even you young people, remember this. Don't be satisfied that Christ has come into your heart. Say Lord, make me 10:27 I'm starting as a cup, but I want to it to become a well. The difference between a cup and a well is a well can give water to many other people in the house. Everybody in the house can drink from that well. A cup is only for yourself. 10:42 So, when your life becomes a blessing not only for yourself, but to other people, the cup has become a well. You're blessing other people in your house. And they can see the changed life in you. Then the third stage is what we just 10:58 read in John chapter 7. The cup has become a well, is helping people in the house, is now becoming a river. A river means you're blessing people all around you. You go to school, you become a blessing in the school, you 11:14 go to place of work, you're a blessing in your place of work. It's a river flowing out to many people outside your home. And Jesus said, let's turn back to John 7:38. He who believes in me as the scripture has said, from his innermost being, 11:30 rivers of living water will flow. That's the name of this church, River of Life Christian Fellowship. And this he spoke of the Holy Spirit. So that means the primary mark of people who belong to this church is that they have the Holy Spirit flowing 11:49 from through them like a river. Otherwise, it's just an empty label. It's like a fake currency note. It's not real. It's no use calling ourselves River of Life Church if the rivers of life are not flowing out of us. And that's a responsibility, my dear 12:09 brothers and sisters, of every one of us. So I'm not trying to make anyone feel condemned. I'm just trying to show you that it this is possible for you. But the condition is so simple. Do you thirst for it? If anyone is thirsty, that means you 12:23 say, "Lord, I want this. I want this at any cost. I'm willing to pay any price. I want rivers of living water to flow out from me." I remember when I first read this, and I got gripped by it. It became a tremendous passion in my heart. 12:38 I want rivers of life to flow from me, because I'll tell you, when I was a young boy in school, I was the shiest and the most reserved boy in school. I was not an outgoing person at all. Very reserved. I wouldn't make friends. 12:53 I would not be able to go out of my way to even talk to people. And I said, "Lord, you you can change that." You can change my personality, and he did. So I I I thirsted for it. I want rivers to flow out from me. 13:12 But here it says, "As the scripture has said." Verse 38. The other thing I want to teach you, brothers and sisters, is to read the scripture carefully. Read your Bible carefully. Because if you read carelessly, you miss 13:28 treasures. There are treasures in the scripture. And when you read something like this, as the scripture has said, I'm sure many of you have read John 7:38 sometime in your life. 13:46 What did you do when you read, as the scripture has said? If you're a lazy person, you just go to the next verse. That's how I was for many years. When I decided to become a diligent student of the Bible, just like you tell your children, you 14:05 must study your subjects in school diligently, whether you're studying literature or science or math, study it diligently. I say exactly the same to you. When you read the Bible, read it diligently. So, when you read something like this, as 14:24 the scripture has said, is you're alert. Where does the scripture say that? That's the question that comes to my mind. Do you know the answer? If you don't, I don't want to condemn you. I'm just going to help you for the future. Please 14:43 remember that. There is no condemnation in the church. But words can challenge us that can look like condemnation. It's not condemnation. It's a challenge to encourage you to get to know the Bible better. When you read anywhere, as the scripture 14:59 has said, take a little effort to find out where the scripture says that. You know, nowadays you have a a phone where you can search for a verse in the in the Bible. Search there and say, "What does it say about river in the Old Testament?" 15:18 So, I did that, and I and where the scripture said, and I learned something more. The scripture says that in the book of Ezekiel. If you turn back with me, and if Jesus quoted it, it was something worth looking at. 15:36 So, when Jesus said, "As the scripture said," remember, this church is called River of Life. So, I'm just trying to explain to you where this River of Life is mentioned in the Bible. And he Jesus quoted it, and it's refers to as 15:53 the scripture said in Ezekiel chapter 47. So, Ezekiel 47, we read what Jesus quoted. And it's very interesting to see the River of Life in verse 9. It'll come about that every living creature which swarms in place where the 16:11 river goes will live. That's a River of Life. Wherever it goes, everything will live. The last part of verse 9, "Everything will live where the river goes." What an expression. And if that river is flowing through you, my brother, sister, or even through 16:31 a young person, life will come out of you. Spiritual life will come out of you to bless people wherever you go. In your school, with your relatives, with those you play around with, 16:49 life will be communicated to them, to thirsty people. What a blessing it is to give a glass of water to a thirsty person. And the Lord will make you like that, everyone sitting here. You're a member of 17:06 River of Life Christian Fellowship. Say, "Lord, make it real in my life. Don't let it be an empty word written on a board, but make me a living demonstration of it. If you pray, he'll do it. You see, if a person doesn't pray for something, 17:22 he gets nothing. Those who ask receive. Those who don't ask don't get anything. So, let's look at this river. It says in chapter Ezekiel chapter 47 at the first verse. The Lord brought me back to the door of the house. This is the temple. 17:40 And water was flowing under the threshold of the house towards the east. So, it wasn't a river now. It was just, you know, if you see water flowing from under a door, it's just a little trickle coming out of a door. There's a little water flowing 17:56 from somewhere. It's flowing under the door. Think of a shut door and the water is flowing from underneath that. Very, very little. And the water was flowing down from under from the right side of the house. And he further on, it says here, 18:14 as he went forward, he measured a thousand cubits. I think a cubit is a foot and a half, which means about 1,500 ft. And the water reached my ankles. So, it is only a small level of water. And he was taking him further and the 18:32 water level rose up. Came up to his ankles. It's a picture of the how the Holy Spirit works in our life. When you see a person who's very effectively being used by the Holy Spirit, just remember, it didn't happen all of a sudden. 18:46 It started with water which was just trickling under the door which was probably 2 in high. Or 1 in high water flowing. And as you walk as you go a little further, that the level of water increases. It becomes up to the ankles. That means it came 19:01 about 3-4 in. What was 1 in became 3-4 in. And then he measured And then he measured a little more and it came up to the knees, where it's four. See, the level of water is going up. Came up to ankles and then came up to 19:14 the knees. That's about a foot and a half. And then he measured another thousand cubits, thousand five hundred feet. And it came up to his loins. Oh, that's about three feet. And then he measured another thousand 19:31 and it was above the head level. He had to swim in it. It's picture of different stages through which the Holy Spirit leads us. The Holy Spirit doesn't suddenly lead us into the fullness of his life. It's slow progress. 19:49 When you are first born again, just a cup of water that satisfies me. My sins are forgiven. Praise the Lord. That's how we begin. That's a cup of water. It's so needed for people who have been burdened by sin. So thirsty because of sin in my life. I 20:05 get this cup of water and my sins are forgiven. And then I move on step by step where it comes up to my loins and then up to the above my head and then it says a water verse rivers of living water verse five, a river that 20:24 water to swim in. Now, use your mind. The Bible says when we read we must meditate. Blessed is the man who not just reads. Psalm one says blessed is the man who meditates on the word of God because it goes on to say in Psalm one verse 20:42 three, whatever he does will prosper. So, what a wonderful thing it is. When I read that in Psalm one verse three, that whatever I do in my life, it'll go well. I will prosper in whatever I do. 21:02 Not not just thinking of financial prosperity, but just being a blessing everywhere you go. I said, "Lord, I want that. I want my life to be a blessing to every single person I meet." Do you want that? It can be for you, my brother and 21:19 sister. You young people. You must believe it. Don't come and say, "No, no, no, it's not for me." It is for you. If Christ has come into your heart, this is for you. It may start with just water up to your ankle level. Maybe 21:31 that's where some of you are. The water is only coming to your ankles, but it can gradually come to your loins and finally fill you with the Holy Spirit. That is where it's come over your head and you're filled with the Holy Spirit. 21:44 And what happens then is, again, when you meditate on the word of God, you discover what happens when you've come to water that goes above your head level. I know. You know the answer if you think about it. Your feet come off the earth. 22:04 You get detached from the world when the Holy Spirit fills you. What a beautiful picture. Yes, you have the Holy Spirit. You're walking and you're growing and growing in the Lord, but a day comes in your life when suddenly the world loses its 22:20 pull over you. You are detached from the pull of the world. You're The river is now carrying you. You're swimming in it. This is the spirit-filled life. This is the river of life God wants every one of us to experience. 22:38 But if you stay satisfied with water up to the ankles, say, "My sins are forgiven." Or you stay satisfied, "I've got a cup of water. My sins are forgiven." You'll always remain there. And then, unfortunately, that is the condition of 22:52 many, many believers. They're satisfied. Or they became a blessing to one or two people in their school and they're satisfied. No. You got to be blessing to hundreds. And you say, "Me?" Yes, you. God wants every single person in his 23:09 body to be a blessing. In Galatians 3, I want to show you something. Rivers of living water. Be a being a blessing to many, many, many people. To your relatives, to your unconverted 23:29 relatives. To your neighbors. To the people who trouble you. To people even some people you meet casually. You can just be a blessing to them. It's wonderful the life in the Holy Spirit. And especially in your home, to be a 23:48 blessing to your parents, and to your wife, and to your husband. To your children, to be a blessing everywhere. Galatians chapter 3. How many of you knew that Jesus Christ not only 24:06 shed his blood for our sins, but actually became a curse on the cross. You know, the curse is a very strong word. When you curse people, it's we we never do it as Christians. But there are people who curse some 24:26 evil. Let this evil happen to you. That's how they curse them. May you May you get sick with sores all over your body or some wretched thing like that's a curse. And the worst is maybe you go to hell. That's a curse. But to become a curse, 24:49 it says here, there was a curse under the law. The Bible says there There a law that God gave and if you obeyed it, you were blessed. If you disobeyed it, you were cursed. There's no alternative. You know, in Israel when God sent people into the land of 25:07 Canaan, he said, "I'm telling you, you got to go up to this particular mountain and stand there and proclaim all the blessings that the children of Israel will get if you obey the Lord." Then he said, "Go up to another mountain 25:22 and stand up there and shout out all the curses that will come upon the people if they don't obey the Lord." That's commanded in the Old Testament. You read it twice. Go up to this mountain and shout out all the blessings that will come if you obey 25:34 the Lord and go up to the other mountain and shout all the curses that will come on people if they don't obey the Lord. There's a curse in the Old Testament. Those who don't obey the law and it says here, because all human 25:46 beings have disobeyed the law, there's a curse. It's from that mountain. The curse coming up on all human beings because they've disobeyed the law of God. And it says here, Jesus, when he died on the cross, he took that curse. He not only took the 26:02 punishment for our sin, that curse that was given by God from that mountain on all those who had disobeyed God's word. And that includes all of us and all humanity. That curse that came on all humanity cuz they disobeyed the law, Jesus took it on 26:19 the cross. Perhaps some of you are seeing that for the first time. And Jesus not only took that curse, it says here, he became a curse. Verse 13, Galatians 3:13. He redeemed us from this law which 26:35 condemned us to death and to hell. Not just by shedding his blood, but by becoming a curse. That is why he had to hang on a tree because it says there in verse 13, there was an Old Testament law which "Anyone who's hung on a tree is cursed." 26:55 That's why Jesus couldn't die by somebody stabbing him to death. No. That's why Jesus couldn't die by getting sick or anything like he had to die by hanging on a tree because that's the only way you're cursed. And Jesus had to become a curse 27:13 for us. It's wonderful what the New Testament teaches us. Now, when you see that, I mean, we can take it so lightly, but it's a terrible thing to become a curse. I believe the clearest evidence of the curse of God is in hell. 27:32 Everybody who's gone to hell is cursed. And when Jesus hung on the cross he actually experienced what you would have experienced if you go to hell. Not you, but all humanity. The agony of hell 27:55 where, you know, you remember Jesus told the story of a rich man who thought he was very spiritual on earth but he went to hell and he was crying out for a drop of water. He he he felt he was dying of thirst. 28:14 And he was burning there. He says, "Give me a drop of water." And think of the millions of people who have gone to hell because they did not respond to the Lord. And all that suffering, that curse Jesus took on himself when he died on 28:31 the cross. The first 3 hours on the cross he was not taking our punishment. He was dealing with people He was first of all the first thing he did great example for us. As soon as he was crucified, 28:50 his immediate thought was, "All these people who have put me on the cross, how God, my father, will punish them severely." So, he said, "Father, forgive them." That's the first thing we learn at the cross. As soon as somebody harms you, 29:06 pray, "Father, forgive them." You say, "But he harmed me terribly." Not as badly as they harmed Jesus Christ, killing him on the cross. Think of that. As soon as he was crucified, his first thought was, "Oh, God will punish those people. 29:23 Father, forgive them." Let us learn to be a little more Christ-like in this area. In this area. It's easy. As soon as somebody has hurt you, or your children, 29:41 or your family, whatever way, maybe cheated you, hurt you, immediately realize, "Boy, God will punish him. Lord, I forgive him." Let that be your habit from today. Forgiveness is a wonderful gift we can 29:59 give to people, and it costs us nothing. It does cost us a little bit of our pride, that's all. You know, I developed this habit of forgiving as soon as I know that somebody's hurt me. I learned it from the cross. So, don't go to the cross just to say, 30:18 "Your sins are forgiven." But, remember the first thing Jesus did on the cross was to immediately forgive the people who killed him. I'm repeating that because it must sink deeply into us. And then, when you reach there, the Lord 30:38 led me a little further than that. So, I'll come to that in a moment. John, sorry, Matthew. You know, like a child goes from first grade to second grade to third grade to fourth grade all the way 10th grade and college. 30:53 Like that, if you really obey little by little what God shows you, he will lead you to some wonderful things in scripture that you never even knew were there. See, for example, some things I told you today, I think for many of you who read the 31:07 Bible for 20, 30 years, you didn't even notice it till today. That's the wealth there is in scripture. Now, let me show you something else that many of you may not have noticed, unless you heard me say that in another meeting. 31:21 In Matthew chapter 12, we read of a demon-possessed man in verse 22. He's a unusual demon-possessed man. He had three problems. He was demon-possessed, and he was blind, 31:38 and he could not speak, and he was deaf. As a worst case that Jesus healed. Blind, dumb, deaf, 31:56 and demon-possessed. I wonder how many people are like that in the world. And Jesus healed him in a moment. The demon left, and he could speak, and he could see, and he could hear. And the crowds were amazed and said, "This is surely the Messiah." Because 32:15 they were waiting for the Messiah to come, you know. So, this is the son of David. But the Pharisees, who were jealous, who had probably seen this man for ages and couldn't do anything for him, but probably said they maybe his father 32:28 and mother cursed, that's why he's blind, that's deaf. That's how people in the world are. You see somebody suffering and say, "Yeah, maybe the father did that or mother did that." and blame them. You can't do anything for them, at least 32:38 keep your mouth shut. They wouldn't do that. They would not only they couldn't do anything for them, but they say, "Yeah, it must be some problem in the family." But Jesus was not like that. He healed the person, and the Pharisees 32:50 were jealous when they saw that Jesus did what they could not do. Please remember that. The Pharisees were jealous because they saw Jesus do what he they could not do. Think of that expression. When you see another brother 33:10 or sister do what you cannot do. Jealousy springs up. You're like the Pharisees. Maybe that sister can cook a better meal than you can cook. Maybe that brother is more gifted than 33:28 you are in some area. Maybe in practical matters. Maybe that brother knows the word of God better than you. Maybe that brother's doing better in his profession than you are. Maybe he's earning a lot more than you are. Jealousy. 33:47 Comes up so easily. You don't say anything. It's in your mind. Why has he got more than me? Why is he better than me? Or it could be his children are so much better behaved than my children. Uh-huh. What springs up? 34:05 Not a desire, Lord, "Please help me to bring up my children like that." No, jealousy. The desire to find some fault in that person's child because he's so good. I want to find some fault to bring that child down to the level of my 34:20 disobedient children. This is the evil that is in human beings that can be found in Christians, too. Beware of it, brother and sister. Jealousy is a deadly evil poison. It'll ruin you. It'll take you to hell. I guarantee it'll take you to hell 34:37 if you're jealous of other people. So, the Pharisees were jealous and said, "No, no, no, no. This is not the son of David. This is a This is the devil himself. Satan himself." When he said, "Beelzebub," Beelzebub is a name given 34:55 the margin of my Bible says to the ruler of demons. The ruler of demons is Satan. So, they were calling Jesus Satan. He's using Satan's power to cast out that demon. You see, all the demons are under Satan. So, Satan has come and told this demon, 35:10 "Get out of there." And the demon obeyed Satan. That's how the Pharisees interpreted it. And then Jesus said in verse 26, "If Satan casts out Satan, he's divided. How will his kingdom stand?" Okay. Now, it's a terrible thing to turn to 35:28 call Jesus the devil. In the Old Testament, there was a time when, you know, to speak against a servant of God is a terrible, terrible sin. It's not just like speaking against an ordinary brother. That's also a sin. But if you speak against someone whom 35:44 God has anointed, it is a terrible sin. And in the Old Testament, you read uh Moses' sister, Miriam, spoke against this servant of God, this anointed servant of God, and said, "Why did you marry this woman?" 36:02 You know, questioning that. Why in the world, Moses, did you go and marry this particular woman? Who was probably a bit dark. She was called a Cushite. And Ethiopian. Dark. Why did you marry her? 36:22 That was really none of Miriam's business. But to question a servant of God even in a thing like that, why did you go and marry such a girl? You know what Miriam got? Leprosy. You read that in the book of Numbers. 36:39 She got leprosy. And she was put out of the camp. And because Moses prayed for her, she could come back after a week. Otherwise, she'd have been a leper for the rest of her life. Just for saying something like that against a servant of God, she got 36:58 leprosy. So, what should these people get for calling Jesus Satan? What should be their punishment? Do you know what they got? Forgiveness. Jesus said, 37:16 verse 32, "Whoever has spoken a word against Son of Man, it's forgiven." That's the difference between Old Covenant and New Covenant. In the Old Testament, they were punished an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. And if you 37:34 call a servant of God, question even, "Why did you marry so-and-so?" Leprosy. But in the New Testament, forgiveness. Even if you call me a devil. It's wonderful to know that. Please remember that when people called 37:50 Jesus the devil, he forgave immediately. So, that teaches us that whatever people may call you, you must forgive immediately. I've had numerous people call me the devil in the early days when I used to preach on the streets 38:07 in India, you know, people would call me the devil. Later on, when we started CFC, they started they thought I was preaching some false teaching and called me the devil there, also. And published tracts on it. I said, "Okay. 38:19 Forgiven." Jesus said, "You've spoken a word against the Son of Man forgiven." But it's not just that. What the Lord showed me later on, which I didn't know then, was a little more than that. You know, you meditate on scripture 38:32 and you read in Matthew 12:32, "Whoever" Now, read it carefully. You know, English you understand what it means. "Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him." I understand that to mean whoever, anytime, anywhere in the world 38:49 speaks against Jesus for the next 2,000 years is forgiven right now. This is a verse that teaches me there is a thing called future forgiveness. Jesus was forgiving people. It's plain English. Whoever 39:08 speaks a word. He's not referring to the Pharisees now. Whoever speaks a word, not only these people, but in future, anyone speaks a word against me, it's forgiven right now. So, there the Lord taught me one step further in forgiving people. 39:23 And that is future forgiveness. And I said, "Lord, whoever speaks or does anything against Zac Poonen, I forgive him right now so that if somebody I hear that next week somebody did something or spoken something against me, I can I can 39:38 tell them, "Hey, listen, I forgave you last week for what you did right now." Have you ever done that? You have to follow Jesus. It's a wonderful life. I'm just trying to show you what you're missing by not meditating on scripture. 39:57 This did not come by some light from heaven. It's just that I didn't read and rush on to the next verse. I stopped when the Bible says I had to meditate. Maybe I should show you that verse. Turn to Psalm 1. This is going to be a Bible study on 40:13 River of Life. Psalm Here also he speaks about river of life. How blessed is the man who you know, he doesn't walk in the counsel of wicked people, doesn't stand with sinners, and doesn't sit with people who make fun of others. Does not 40:33 sit with people who make fun of others. That's great. But instead of that, his delight is in the law of the Lord. And what does he do? He doesn't read it day and night. You can't read it day and night. You read it maybe half an hour in the day. 40:47 Half an hour in the morning you read it. But you meditate on it day and night. That means what you read in the morning, while you're going to work or you're driving in the car, you think about what you read. And while you're at work, you got a 41:00 spare moment and you think about what you read in the morning. And at night what you when you go to bed, you suddenly remember what you read in the morning and you think about it. That is the way to meditate on the law of the Lord day and night. 41:13 But you read it only maybe 15 minutes in the morning. But you decided to keep it in your mind and whenever a free time you got, you began to think about it. You know what will happen to such a person? He'll be like a tree planted by 41:28 the streams of water that always is fruitful. Think of a brother whose life is or a sister whose life is fruitful 365 days of the year. He's never dry. Anytime you meet him, he's fresh. Don't you want to be like that, my 41:47 brother sister? River of life. Always fresh. That's God's will for everybody here. And here's the other thing. This is the thing that challenged me. The last part of verse three. Whatever 42:05 he does, he prospers. Do you want a life like that? If somebody were to tell you, "Brother, I'll show you a way by which whatever you do, you'll prosper. I'm not talking about money, something better than that. You'll prosper spiritually. 42:17 You'll become more like Christ. Do you want that life? You'll also prosper in terms of Prosperity in terms of earthly things is having enough for my need. That's how I believe. To me, earthly prosperity is I never have a 42:31 lack. I always have what I need. It is not having an abundance, but having enough for my needs. That is what I understand by material prosperity. Whatever he does will prosper. So, that is God's will for us. That God's will is that there should be 42:48 rivers of living water flowing out from us all the time. And this Let's turn back to John chapter 7 now. John chapter 7. 43:06 Whatever he does will prosper. If he comes to me and drinks from his innermost being, will flow rivers of living water. And I told you the difference between a well and a river is a well means you can bless people in your house, but a river 43:21 means people all over are being blessed. So, I was connecting that with Galatians chapter 3. Let's turn back to Galatians 3. So, Jesus became a curse on the cross of Calvary. Not that he was cursed, he became a 43:41 curse, which is much deeper than somebody cursing him. The Pharisees cursed him. You're of the devil. But when he hung on the cross, he became a curse so that we might not be cursed. That's what it says here. Christ redeemed us. Galatians 44:00 3:13, very important verse. Just like he forgave our sins, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. Because it says cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, that is why he had to be crucified. He could not die in any 44:17 other way because he had to become a curse. And once the curse is removed, something else replaces that curse. We were cursed, Jesus took away that curse, he did not leave us empty. 44:33 It says, "The blessing of Abraham might come to us." And how does that come? Through the Holy Spirit. So, the Holy Spirit is to bring to us the blessing of Abraham because the curse which is on us 44:52 was taken by Christ. And just like, you know, sometime ago you heard that your sins were taken on the cross and you could say, "My sins are all forgiven. The blood of Christ has cleansed my sin." Good. Now, let me tell you something else. 45:06 That Christ also became a curse on the cross so that the curse that is on all of our lives because we are disobedient. Did you know there was a curse in the life of anyone who is disobedient to God? There's a curse on entire humanity. 45:18 Because everyone's disobeyed God, you and I, you may not have known it, but there was a curse on your life because you disobeyed God's word. But Jesus took that curse. And not only took the curse away, he didn't leave it empty, 45:33 he replaced it with the blessing of Abraham. The Holy Spirit brings to us what is called the blessing of Abraham. Okay. What should you do when you read something like that in the New Testament? Find out what it is. Go back to the Old Testament. I'm 45:51 talking about serious Bible students. This way, you won't be able to read much in a day. You probably read two, three verses in 15 minutes because you want to understand it, meditate on it. And the result will be you will really know scripture. Most 46:12 believers who read the Bible don't know the scriptures. And I'll tell you the reason. It's not because they're not clever, it's because they are downright lazy. All All of you who got good jobs, if you had studied your profession 46:28 the way you read your Bible, you would be jobless today. You have a job today because you were diligent in whatever profession you took up. Whether you're a carpenter like Jesus or a technical person in some some company. 46:50 Because you were diligent in your profession, you got your job. That's why you earn a living. If you were diligent like that in the Bible, your life would have been transformed. What is the blessing of Abraham? Turn to Genesis 12. 47:06 Remember, Christ became a curse so that the blessing of Abraham might come to us. And the blessing is here. Genesis 12:2. Genesis 12:1, the Lord said to Abraham, "Go from your father's house and I'll make you a great nation." Here 47:22 is the blessing of Abraham, verse two. I will bless you, middle of verse two, in the last part, you shall be a blessing. That's the blessing of Abraham in a few words. The Lord says, "I will bless you and you will be a blessing to 47:37 every to all the families, verse three, last part, all the families of the earth will be blessed." So, I see it like this. What is the blessing of Abraham for me? The curse has been taken away by Christ just like I put my sins on the Lord, he 47:54 forgave my sin. The curse I I put on the Lord, his blessing comes upon me, the blessing of Abraham, which is the Lord's The Father says to me, I will bless you and you will be a blessing to all the families you meet on the earth. 48:12 Now, some people may meet families only in their own hometown, okay? You'll be a blessing to every family you meet. I've had the opportunity to meet families in different parts of the world. And so God's made me a blessing 48:25 to many, many people. He'll make you also a blessing. If you say if you believe, you know, you'll get zero if you don't believe. If you say, "No, no, no, that won't happen to me." Well, I assure you it won't happen to you because you don't believe 48:36 it. But here's another person who knows less of the Bible than you, but who says, "Lord, I believe that. I believe that you became a curse for me, and I believe you will make me a blessing to every person I meet." Because that's a blessing of Abraham. I 48:49 will bless you and you'll be a blessing to all the people you meet. I want it. Not just forgiveness. Forgiveness is cleaning the cup. What you use is an empty cup. It was dirty before, it's clean now. Blessing is the cup is now being filled with 49:07 something that can satisfy the need of others. In other words, to be a blessing to other people is the same as rivers of living water. That means the Lord blesses me with a blessing and every person I meet is a river flowing out, 49:23 blessing everyone. So, it's a wonderful truth that God wants us to be a blessing to everyone. That's the meaning of River of Life Christian Fellowship. So, today you understood your calling is to be like that river that flows through 49:36 you and blesses people. Don't just be satisfied with the cup that satisfies your drink. You see, I I'm happy with Jesus. I'm happy with Jesus. And then maybe you go a little further and I your fam- you have family prayer and you 49:48 bless everybody in your home. That's a well. The cup becomes a well, and then it must become a river. That blesses everywhere the river goes, it blesses people. My brother, sister, think what a life it can be in whatever number of years God's 50:02 given you on earth. Lord, I want my life to be like a river that blesses everywhere I go. Somebody get something. You may not be a Bible teacher. But just a few sentences. I'll never forget. I've said this before. 50:21 When I was a young 30 or 32-year-old young man, I was attending a conference in another country. I was a very discouraged person because I had not yet been really filled with the Holy Spirit. And I used to serve the Lord. I was born 50:37 again. I was trying to be a witness, but you know how frequently discouragement and then encouragement like that. And I didn't know what God had planned for me at that time. There was no CFC those days. I was just attending 50:48 different churches, not knowing what God wanted me to do. I know God called me to serve him. I'd left my job, but I didn't know what I was supposed to do. And I visited this conference. And there was an a much older man. I think he was 51:03 probably I was around 30 and he must have been about 60. And he could not speak English properly. He only only knew the local language. But he knew a few words and he said to me, "Brother Punan, God will make you a blessing 51:23 to many people." Can you imagine what that did to me? Here I was a discouraged young man. And he said words to me that have lasted in my mind for 50 years. You know, you can be like that to 51:42 somebody with one sentence. You can change a person's discouragement into encouragement. Determine from today that the water will not remain at your ankle level. It not even remain at the loins level, 52:02 but lift you up. You live a spirit-filled life. That is the meaning of the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire. Jesus wants to not only give you the Holy Spirit, to immerse you in the Holy Spirit. But you need to pray. Jesus said, "If 52:17 any man thirst, let him come to me." A desperate thirst to be filled with the Holy Spirit every day. It is there in me. And God is my witness that every single day I seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and I have a thirst for it. 52:33 And I want it so that the purpose with which the Lord sent me to this earth from my mother's womb, which for many years I did not fulfill, can be fulfilled now. That is God's plan for every single one of you, brothers and sisters who belong 52:52 to River of Life Christian Fellowship. Ask God to make you a blessing. Let's pray. Please take a moment to bow your head before the Lord, close your eyes, don't get distracted. First thing you need to do, 53:10 very first thing, forgive every person who has harmed you. Everybody who has harmed you in your life. Lord, I forgive that person right now. And say, "Lord, even the people who harmed me I didn't know about it, I forgive them." 53:31 You can't progress beyond that. We are doing business with the Lord now. Any person you got a bitterness against, even if there's a faint smell of bitterness, 53:50 get rid of it. You want the scent of Christ to replace that bitterness. I believe that every one of us has experienced some harm from somebody in our life. You cannot live on this earth for more than 5 years before you get hurt by others. 54:10 Forgive even if the say, "Lord, I also forgive those who I don't even know who harmed me. I forgive all of them." And mean it. And say, "Lord, give me." And if there's somebody particularly difficult to forgive, your mother-in-law 54:20 or somebody like that, say, "Lord, I'm going to forgive. Give me grace for it." Everyone, person who disappointed you, cheated you, cheated you probably of many, many dollars, okay. Forgive. You're losing more than dollars by not 54:38 forgiving him. Forgive. People who promised you something and didn't keep their promise, forgive them. Every single person who hurt you, who hurt you in such a way that damaged your whole life, forgive them. Who spoke against you, 55:03 promised you something and didn't keep a promise, promised you a job and didn't give you the job, forgive him. And whatever else. For if you forgive others, your heavenly father will forgive you. And please remember that, not just 55:23 today, but every single day of your life. God wants to make you a blessing. But he cannot make you a blessing if you have some unforgiveness in your heart against somebody. So, determine today that you're going to 55:40 live a life of forgiveness to others and future forgiveness. Lord, whoever does anything against me for the rest of my life, I've forgiven him right now. You can say that. Follow Jesus. Then you can come to the Father 56:00 and say, "Lord, please bring me into this life. I don't want ankle-deep water. I want my fat feet to be detached from this world and to swim. Rivers of living water to flow through me." Yes, through you, even if you're a young 56:18 brother or sister, it can flow through you. You don't have to be a grown-up person. Say, "Lord, I confess every sin that I know that I hurt anybody or did something wrong that hurt you. I ask you to forgive me right now. Cleanse me in the blood. 56:36 Thank you, Lord Jesus, for becoming a curse for me on the cross. And I believe that blessing to be a blessing to others is my portion now. Lord Jesus, answer me. Where two or three are gathered in my name, Jesus said, "I'm here." I hope you 56:53 sense that Jesus Christ is Lord Jesus is right here in our midst right now to grant you your prayer, to forgive you, to make you a blessing, to accept the forgiveness you have given to other people, to recognize it, 57:13 and to say, "I will bless you and you will be a blessing to many." Hear those words of the Lord spoken directly to you from Jesus' mouth. Thank you, Father. We pray that our lives will be completely different from today. 57:33 And that we shall live in this blessing and never lose it till you come again. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
