0:01 My dear heavenly father, we thank you and we praise you for the wonderful pledge you have made and the price and the guarantee, the down payment you have done. Thank you Lord Jesus 0:18 for your promise and the comfort and the encouragement you shared those disciples in present with you 2,000 years ago. Do not worry. I'm going to send you a helper. You are true. 0:40 All your promises are yes and true in our lives. Thank you father for your love. Come once again as hungry for your word. Speak to us Lord. Here we are as your 0:59 servants. Give us your spirit to tune our hearts to hear from you what you want to say. We ask and receive all these things in Jesus precious name. Amen. 1:17 Dear brothers and sisters, um this morning I want to share something about uh uh our lives um in whose sight 1:36 we want to live. Right. Right? Do you want to live right in the sight of God or in the sight of people? Um I want to start with one example 1:55 Daniel chapter 4. Daniel chapter 4, we see a king, a king who looked over his city, the beautiful city he built 2:15 and he was very pleased with himself. Daniel 4:30 we could see there Nebuchadnezzar and he was walking on the roof of his palace in Babylon and said, 2:32 "Is this not Babylon the great which I myself have built?" Look at the words he used. I built and with my power and for my glory. He was looking at the buildings, 2:51 physical buildings and the walls and the gardens, rooftop gardens what he has built and the armies maybe maybe some other wealth uh I don't know by every measure 3:10 uh that people use and in people's eyes and in his own eyes it looked very Great. It was super. And before even he finished, you know, he was pondering and then 3:28 appreciating himself and maybe his team and before even he finished speaking, God took his mind away. He lost his senses and he became like an animal 3:46 in the field. And Lord allowed it until he learned that the Lord who rules the greatest man on earth at that time was in God's eyes 4:06 a man who had forgotten who gave him the breath and and who gave him the wisdom to build that as we heard Friday evening for it everything is for God's glory 4:25 that is the right side up for God's name for um for God's kingdom be hallowed but here we see when a man goes down to an animal level physically literally 4:45 he was behaving like an animal. Now I want to turn your um thought uh to think around and think of a man who owned nothing 5:03 and he lived in the wilderness. Not like this king Nebuchadnezzar in the palace. But this man lived in the wilderness and he wore camel<unk>s hair as his clothing 5:19 and he ate locusts and wild as food. Children, can you guess who is this? John the Baptist. Wonderful. Thank you. Unlike Nebuchadnezzar, he didn't build any 5:38 uh physical buildings or even church buildings. And John the Baptist, he never had any fancy titles and he never had a platform like this to preach in the city. And yet God said 5:56 about this man, before even he was born, before even he was born, he told his parents, God told to his parents that he would be great. 6:13 again not in the great uh not in the sight of people greatness but great in the sight of God. So that is the question I want to put before you this morning. Whose eyes are 6:31 we living for? Jesus told the religious leaders who were uh respected by everyone in those days that the things which are highly which are highly esteemed among men is detestable 6:50 in the sight of God. Luke 16:15. So it is possible to be admired by everyone around us and being nothing in the [clears throat] sight of God. And it is also possible to be unnoticed by everyone around us 7:09 and yet to be great in the sight of God in God's sight. My prayer is all of us to be in the second category that in God's sight in 7:23 God's eyes eyes we all may look good. So as we guessed the name, I want to share a few things how John the Baptist became this kind of a man. A man who is 7:42 great in the sight of God. Please turn with me Luke 1. Luke chapter 1 verse 15. Maybe we can start from verse 13. As brother Mike said, please read it in 8:00 your own Bible versions what you are following. But angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, 8:17 and you will give him the name John. He will be great in the sight of the Lord." Verse 15, he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 8:34 Notice what God puts first. Great in the sight of the Lord and then he'll be filled with the Holy Spirit. The greatness in the sight of God and the Holy Spirit cannot be separated. John did not became great and then asked 8:54 for the Holy Spirit's help. No, the Holy Spirit filled him and the Holy Spirit made him great. If you want to be great in God's sight, there is no other road. We must be we must be filled with the 9:11 Holy Spirit. But what did this greatness in the sight of God looks like in a daily life? In his daily life, John's daily life. Few things the Lord has showed me and I would like to share with you. The number 9:28 one thing he um he preached one message, the message of repentance. And it's not he didn't throw a theory at his listeners. He made it very practical. 9:47 Luke chapter 3. Luke chapter 3 verse yeah 7 onward verse I would read you can follow. He began saying to the crowds 10:03 who are going out to be baptized by him and he uses pretty strong verses. And then he goes verse 10. Then after listening that even they were 10:22 not offended and left him by hearing these harsh words from this man who is speaking truth into their lives a message of God. Crowds were questioning him saying then 10:39 what shall we do? The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none. He who has food is to be likewise. He said that 10:57 to his listeners. And next he told to the tax collectors who came to be baptized. He told them collect not more than what you have been ordered to. Don't cheat. Don't collect more. Collect as much as you're supposed to. 11:17 And some soldiers also came. They want to be baptized. And they asked, "What about us? What shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force 11:36 or accuse anyone falsely. Be content. Be content with your wages. Brothers and sisters, if you notice this, most of his examples, even to the soldiers, tax collectors and the people, 11:55 it is all about connected to their wallet, money, positions. So he taught them about baptism of repentance and then he also told them 12:11 practically how it looks like. John knew that person can say he has repented and still hold tightly to his wallet. The real repentance 12:28 will bear a fruit. Repentance associates it it associates with actions and there will be results and he told another thing Mark chapter 6 12:42 Mark chapter 6 verse 17- 20 another character of John the Baptist see Mark chapter 6 17- 13:04 So here we see a ruler. Harold was a ruler here and he did a very coarse sin. He had taken his brother's wife and everyone in the palace knew it 13:23 and nobody dared to say a word to Herod. I don't know whether they are afraid of him are afraid of his brother's wife Herodias but this man a man of God in fact who 13:41 sought their eternal good no matter what they think about him at that moment he said yeah this is not good so Mark the gospel writer put it in nice 14:00 nice way verse 20 Mark chapter 6 verse 20 Herod was afraid of John and knowing that he was a righteous 14:16 and holy man and he kept him safe and when he heard him he was very perplexed But he used to enjoy listening to him as well. He enjoys it. And then he had 14:36 so much respect because of his John the Baptist life. He was a holy man. He was a righteous man. So Herod was afraid of him. But he was listening to him as well. A 14:55 man of God who speaks the truth without fear. Fear often will be respected even those who do not even obey him. He did not obey what he said but he had a formal respect for him. Herod did not 15:13 repent in result of telling truth. John had to pay with his own life. I had a question in my mind when I was reading where did this man got this courage? Where John the Baptist had this 15:31 courage to go and tell Herod the ruler about his own sin? In my opinion, this is not his own strong personality. He did not go to uh a personal trainers 15:47 who teach boosting your self-confidence. Result is this is the man filled with the Holy Spirit. A timid person does not become a bold person by trying harder 16:04 or he won't become a fearless man. But when Holy Spirit fills this person, this timid person can become fearless. That is exactly 16:23 what Jesus promised to his disciples. We heard from brother Mike that the pledge, what was the pledge? What was the down payment? What was the guarantee? 16:43 Acts chapter 1. See, Acts chapter 1. This is Acts 1:8. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. That is a 17:03 pledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. Power to overcome fear of man. power to overcome anxiety, power to overcome every temptation, sin. 17:20 And then another pledge he made, you shall be my witnesses. Where not just only in the church meeting, but before the rulers, in your workplaces, in your homes, 17:39 even to the ends of the earth. These timid people can become powerful witnesses. Brothers and sisters, the same spirit who made John fearless before Herod is 17:58 the same Holy Spirit Jesus promised to us to be his witnesses. Third, he did not seek a name for himself. John chapter 3 verse 30 18:23 John chapter 3 verse 30. Yeah. He must increase but I must decrease. Crowds were coming to him for all over 18:41 the country and his disciples John the Baptist disciples comes and tells him teacher now everyone is going to Jesus now earlier they were coming to you now they are going to Jesus this great man in the sight of God's 18:58 response is I must decrease and he must He did not feel jealous or threatened. He said something I would like every one of us to carry for our whole life in our 19:16 lives. Christ must increase. I David must be decreased. You cannot decrease or I cannot decrease my own by my own strength by our own strength. Holy Spirit has to help us. 19:35 Holy Spirit can keep a man low and decreased so that Christ be increased in our lives, in our homes, in our churches. Finally, he did not live for the approval of men. 19:51 He lived only for God's approval. He finished his life in a prison. Herod had him killed. You can read it when you go home. But Jesus said that among those 20:09 born of woman, there has not reason anyone anyone better or a greater than John the Baptist. It is not Herod's or Herod's den's last 20:28 words. It is Jesus. Jesus last words about the John the Baptist prevailed. So that is John maybe more. This is a man filled with the spirit of God. 20:46 Spirit of God helped him to accomplish. His life was very short. It's not a lot many years he spent. But he accomplished what he came for. Holy Spirit has helped him to fulfill the purpose, the calling, 21:03 the plan our heavenly father has. And he his reverence reverential fear obedience 21:21 to his calling not made him as a compromiser made him a bold witness that is greatness in God's eyes. We also know that this is not a very popular 21:37 way. Honestly, this is not an easy road and if it is popular, if it is easy, Jesus would not have um called it as an arrow. We read it multiple times here. Matthew 21:55 chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7. Quickly uh couple of verses I read it. You can follow. Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction. And there are many who enters through it. 22:15 For the gate is small and the way is narrow narrow that leads to life and there are few who finds it. This is the Lord's words. And our Lord himself went through this 22:32 narrow way. And as you know many followed him like Apostle Paul. At the end of his life, he was also in a prison again multiple times. But at the end of his life as an 22:50 old man writing to his younger son in faith, 2 Timothy chapter 1. 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 15. 2 Timothy 1:15, he says, 23:14 "You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me." And the list goes on if you continue to read it. So he taught many years for these believers. 23:34 He took care of them. But he had when he had to face everyone left him. We see we read that 4:16 and 17. At my 23:52 first defense no one supported me but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them. That did not the end of the story. 2 Timothy 4:17, "But the Lord stood with 24:09 me and strengthened me so that through the proclamation might be fully accomplished." People left, but the Lord stood with this man of God, Paul. Paul had the same spirit 24:31 that was in in our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. He did not hate those people. Like our Lord Jesus Christ has prayed. He prayed for them. He prayed forgiveness. 24:52 Father, forgive them. However, he prepared and then he wants all of us to be prepared that so that we may have a right expectations. That's what he was warning his son in faith Timothy that have a right expectations. People may leave you but 25:11 the lord will never leave you and then he will stand for you. Walk in the spirit. I want to say this to our young people. In fact, to anyone whoever is serious about following Jesus. If you decide to live this way, there 25:28 will be times when your friends may misunderstand you, your relatives may think you have become too serious about this and even some believers will leave you for an easier path. Paul says it very plainly in the same 25:47 letter 3:12. All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be treated well, will be given awarded, will be 26:06 persecuted. That is not a threat. It is a promise. So that we won't be surprised when it comes Jesus gave 26:25 his helper. Why did he promise the helper? Because he was going. He doesn't want to leave as orphans. Before Jesus went to the cross, he told his disciples he was going away. 26:45 They were troubled because he was with them three years. The one they had followed for 3 years was leaving. And Jesus said, "I will not leave you as orphans. I will ask the father and he will give you another helper 27:04 and he will be with you forever." John chapter 14. Please turn with me. John chapter 14, three verses. I want to little bit emphasize here what the Lord has showed me. John chapter 14 27:24 starting with 15. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. That is the foundation. the desire in the heart if you love me you will keep my commandments but that is not enough you 27:43 cannot do it by your own strength how much willpower you try to practice it you cannot do that so I'm going to give you something I will ask the father and then he will give you another helper that he may be with you forever 28:02 17 he abides with you and he will be in you. In I was in 8th grade. Uh first time my parents bought me a 28:19 cycle, bicycle like pedalling cycle and I have an younger brother. He was in fifth grade. So I had to pedal him uh and myself our both of our school bags 3 km one way maybe a mile and a half to 28:36 convert it. It was very hard. I don't know for some reason every day my morning my mom puts coconut oil on our heads and the sweat coconut oil and the white shirt you are pedling your bike 28:54 cycle to 3 kilometers with your brother sitting in front there is a rod the cycles have rods in front back our school bags I used to do a lot of work but later by God's grace me and my brother we first bought TVs Victor the TVS brand in 29:12 India. TS Victor motorbike motor bike motor cycle we drove that two together. But there is a huge difference between these two things. This motorcycle we all have to fill it fill and fill with the gas we 29:31 call it as a petrol. Petrol will fill the petrol and then I don't need to uh sweat. I don't need to lose my coconut oil into the shatan, my face everywhere, but I'm sitting and then having a nice breeze. That is a picture the Lord reminded me 29:47 when he showed me these three verses. Living and trying to loving the Lord with your own strength, obeying all the Lord's commandments and reaching his standards is me biking, pedalling, pedalling, pedalling, not moving. 30:07 But the Holy Spirit the few when I'm filled with it's not just a one time thing I need to be filled multiple times. I can go on. 30:28 What did the spirit holy spirit did to the disciples before he was filled with the holy spirit? Peter I can relate to him a lot. He could not face a servant girl even 30:43 despite his own lord warned him no everybody may leave you lord I won't leave you lord knows it Jesus knows it okay let's see and then he allowed the servant girl 31:01 ask him a question and then he lied lied and lied three times exactly as the Lord said. What about the others? Where were they when Jesus was on the cross? Fear 31:21 and they were all hidden in closed doors. But what changed? What changed? This timid, fearful and not able to face even a servant 31:36 girl. This man, the same man Peter spoke and thousands in one message 3,000 people got saved when the rulers and the leaders at the time Sanhadrin they came and questioned him. What happened? 31:56 Did their personality changed? Did their physical appearance has changed? [cough and clears throat] What changed is they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Again, Acts 18, we will receive power when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. 32:17 The proof we I did it myself several years. The proof that I'm filled with the Holy Spirit. We be tempted to think that we will do some miracles or we may speak in tongues. No, 32:37 that is not the proof that we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness. 32:57 Notice [snorts] and is one fruit which has many sides. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will bear fruit, much fruit. So the question in front of us is 33:20 what can I do in this meeting? Can I preach like Peter and then uh convert the people? Maybe that is not your gift. That's not may not be my gift. Maybe that's not my calling and your calling. But [snorts] when we are filled with his spirit, we 33:39 will live like Jesus lived in his home. [snorts] Couple of things the Lord has reminded me this week when I am thinking about it. I was not like this earlier but the Lord is helping me to genuinely 33:59 to listen his spirit pay attention when he is speaking. We invited one of our members to our home this week and um I had a whispering in my heart that I came down from my office room. I told my wife in kitchen 34:17 that hey can I go and pick the kids today? He said it would be a great help. He said before the sister come I can finish the dinner. I don't know what's going to coming in front. So I went and picked the kids on our way. The road was 34:31 blocked completely. We spent so much time on road on the day. If I would not listen to the Holy Spirit prompting I don't know what would have happened. Tuesday night, I was driving back after 34:49 my daughter's class. It was a long day already. She had a proposal about her future schooling. We tried it as a family and several times we failed in this area. I was so tempted to shot that idea down 35:11 what my daughter was trying to propose. But the Holy Spirit whispered, "Have patience." I obeyed. We [clears throat] did not we did not do this perfectly. We are still learning. And I keep depending on him. My wife and 35:30 I discussed it together. And with the help of the Holy Spirit, we have such a unity and taking this decision. 35:51 I can be more sympathetic now rather being a a judge. I can be a a loving father. I can be a genuinely caring and loving husband when I'm filled with the Holy Spirit. 36:11 In closing, I want to ask the same question which I started with. Whose eyes in in whose eyes are we living for? Do you want to be great in the eyes of God or other 36:29 people? We can we can spend our life building our own Babylons thinking that we are Christians. Brothers and sisters, 36:48 if our world is upside down, if we try to please people, if we try to live in the fear of men, we cannot be servants of God. God will not be impressed. We can ask for his help to be great in his sight. 37:07 That kind of greatness [snorts] is available to anyone. Our Lord Jesus Christ made it so simple. Said we all we need to ask him. Jesus said in Luke 11:13, 37:28 "Our father will heaven, father in heaven will give the holy spirit to those who ask him." Such a great simplicity, you know. There is no special formula and there is no ranking or or so and so 37:47 educated level people uh so and so level of intellectual people were eligible to ask. We all can ask. Father in heaven will give the Holy 38:05 Spirit those who ask him. But there are conditions. The Bible is very clear about this. We need to repent. That's what John the Baptist started 38:24 consistently his message. He started and he preached about repentance and walking in humility. humbling ourself when there is a conflict, picking the way of the cross in our 38:44 individual lives, in our families, at work. Peter and apostles told to the Sanhedrin that they must obey God rather than men and God has given them holy spirit 39:03 because they obeyed him. Paul tells us keep being filled with the Holy Spirit. I want to invite you brothers and sisters. If you are thirsty, if you are tired of living for people's praise, 39:22 if you're tired of being failed like me and you want the victorious life in the sight of God, then I invite you to ask the father to fill you with his holy spirit. Our heavenly father will give to those who ask him. He is faithful. 39:42 Finally, I want to end with one verse from the same chapter. Brother Johnson started a great intimate relationship Paul had with the Lord. He expresses it. Philippians chapter 3. Philippians 39:58 chapter 3 verse 3. Yeah, brother Johnson read verse 8. So I just want to finish with this verse. Philippians chapter 3:3, "We are the true circumcision 40:17 who worship in the spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, external circumstances, however they may be, we put our confidence because our 40:37 confidence in our God, in our Lord, Jesus Christ because we are truly circumcised in our heart consecrated for him alone. I'm sorry I'm going I'm planning to I don't have you know plan to read this verse. I just want to read Jeremiah chapter 1. 40:56 Jeremiah chapter 1. Now the word of the Lord came verse 4. Now the word of the Lord came to me saying before I formed you in the womb I knew you and before you were born I consecrated you I have appointed you a 41:15 prophet to the nations. The Lord has known you known all of us. He has consecrated our hearts to be only for him. May the Lord help us with the power of the Holy Spirit to live only for him. Amen. 41:46 Thank you, brother David, for this for the powerful word and all the reminders. We often hear in our church uh one of the first two promises in the New Testament. uh as we come to the very first book Matthew Matthew 1:21 42:06 um is the promise that Jesus will save his people from their sins that's the first promise and the second promise is from Matthew chapter 3 verse 11 31 he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit 42:24 and fire you know who said these words I know it's it's God's word but in this context who said these words John the Baptist John the Baptist said he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire that 42:41 is a promise I think today's theme is all about the person of the Holy Spirit um the earnest the pledge God has given to all the believers and as we heard today again um in the memory verse I want to point this again the few verses 42:59 before the memory verse. For as many as are the promises of God in him in Jesus they are yes. Therefore we also through him through Jesus is our amen to 43:19 the glory of God through us. So his promises are S in Jesus and we respond amen with faith. So how how do we receive the Holy Spirit? Um we often hear two things thirst and faith. No 43:36 magic nothing. Do we thirst for the life God has showed here? If you read Matthew 5 and 6 and 7 and we come to we read and then say okay let me try to obey all of that by my strength we will utterly fail and it is 43:55 it is by design because we cannot produce that life and we need to come to him and with a simple faith asking and receiving just like we receive the forgiveness from God we receive the power of the Holy Spirit by putting our faith faith in him by 44:12 thirsting for him. And um the same John the Baptist says in John, [clears throat] he says this uh expression I want to just all of us read. Um what is this? One second. John chapter 3 verse 34. 44:38 John 3:34. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God. For he gives the spirit without measure. For he gives the spirit without measure. That means there is no limit. It is 44:57 bottomless. You what do you call that in destinence we say? Yeah they keep filling right. So unlimited refills. He gives spirit without measure. The more we ask we'll get. We bring a small cup, he'll fill. He'll bring a bucket, he'll 45:12 fill. He'll bring a big vessel, he'll fill. He gives the spirit without measure. So what is stopping us from asking and receiving? It's only our unbelief or lack of thirst for that life God has given to God has promised uh for us. And 45:30 only through Holy Spirit's power, we can live out the life um that God expects us to live. And when we hear a lot of teaching uh new covenant teaching that we hear here uh it will be very frustrating if we try to live that by our own strength. We'll 45:48 come we have to come to the end of ourselves and come to say father it is impossible not difficult it is impossible for me to live this life please help me please fill me with your holy spirit I want to live a life continuously being dependent on the holy 46:04 spirit moment by moment as David explained uh you heard the prompings of the holy spirit and he obeyed instant quick obedience we can we don't want to grieve the holy spirit when holy spirit is telling something we don't want to 46:17 grieve grieve him. We don't want to quench him. He's a person. He will be grieved when you do something that dishonors God's name. He will be grieved when you will do something that um that ex that you exalt yourself and not 46:31 Christ because when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, one of the desire as we see in John the Baptist, he I must decrease, he must increase. Whenever the human flesh is being exalted, the Holy Spirit will be grieved. We must be 46:44 invisible. We must go down so that Christ alone be exalted. I am unfit to even untie his sandals. That's what John the Baptist, the greatest man in the Old Testament said. I'm unfit. So that's how we must we must have that attitude. And 46:59 thankfully with the promise of the Holy Spirit living in us, he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than John the Baptist. That's a promise. That's a calling we have. And uh what a wonderful um life um God has promised for us 47:15 through the power of Christ. That's why he knows we cannot do it. That's why he said to these disciples, "Wait until you receive the power. Wait. Don't try to He already breathed on him the Holy Spirit." They received. But that was not 47:29 enough. They had to wait. They had to be baptized or immersed completely in the Holy Spirit. That's what happened in Acts chapter 2. And the church is born. Peter who was afraid he went to uh he went to answer the servant girl became 47:44 uh uh became a bold witness for Christ and when he spoke 3,000 people got converted in one day and um to the point and we see the path of humility and how broken he was and God how how God used 48:00 Peter later on uh it's not some magical it is it is not um it is not something Peter has produced but by because he was filled with the Holy Spirit um God used him. [clears throat] So and the same promises are available 48:18 for all of us. He will baptize us with the Holy Spirit and fire and he will give the Holy Spirit without measure. There's no in God's economy there's no death. It's not like you know we hear lot of uh scarce resources like fuel. uh 48:32 it's very expensive now because there is a scarcity but with the Holy Spirit's power is available for all of us he will give the spirit without measure may the lord help us and um um yeah let's um whatever god has spoken spoken to us 48:48 today uh through everything that we heard from singing uh to the memory verse to the children sharing to David's message and whatever god spoke to you take one or two points Lord make this true in my life and I come to you as 49:05 needy and thirsty in this room. I am the neediest person. Help me. If you come with that attitude, it is certain God will fill us. It is certain God will meet our needs. Uh he's our heavenly father. Which father will give uh stone 49:22 if you ask bread? Right? So let's go to him um for 30 seconds. Let's pray silently and then I will close.
