0:00 I want to turn to 2 Peter, chapter 3. 0:30 In an earlier study we considered how eternal life is to know God and Jesus Christ and to lay hold of eternal life is to get to know God and Jesus better and better all the time. 0:53 And Peter says in chapter 3, verse 18, it's the last verse of his letter: Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; to Him be the glory both now and forever. 1:17 One of my concerns is for good brothers and sisters who are not growing in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's not something for me to judge you in. But having been a believer for 56 years, there is a certain amount of discernment that I've 1:45 grown in to be able to see that. But you can judge yourself and ask yourself whether you have grown in grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. When you see that grace is given only to the humble, it means you have grown in humility. 2:05 That's the only way to grow in grace. It's impossible to grow in grace if you don't grow in humility. It's a good question for all of you to ask yourself, compare yourself with how it was a year ago. It's easy to deceive ourselves here, to grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. 2:29 One of the ways in which we know is by increasing in the reverence we have for God. If we are not growing in a greater reverence for God or what the Old Testament calls the fear of God, that would be one indication that we are not really growing in the knowledge of Jesus. 2:55 Let me show you a verse in 2 Thessalonians now in chapter 1 where the Gospel is 2 Thessalonians and we read here that we are called to 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 14. 3:25 It was for this that he called you through our Gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Please remember that. I believe there is one of the big differences between the Gospel that is preached in many 3:46 other churches and the Gospel that we preach. The Gospel preached in many other churches is that we can gain the forgiveness of sins or that we can gain heaven when we die. But Paul speaks here about gaining the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4:09 That is another Gospel altogether. Forgiveness of sins is just like cleaning up the vessel. What do you clean up the vessel for? It is to gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So that is why I call that an incomplete Gospel that just saves you from hell, forgives your 4:29 sins and you are sure you are going to heaven. You are going to live your whole life with an empty vessel and stand before God with an empty vessel. When you are supposed to gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ during your entire life 4:44 on earth. To compare it, it would be like you sent your son or daughter to college and you got admission. It was very difficult to get admission in some good colleges. But never did any of the courses, spent four years there studying nothing, just glorying 5:03 in the fact that I belong to this top college, to IIT or something like that. But what did you study there? Nothing. Four years, six years, ten years, you are still sitting there, glorying that you got admission into the IIT but studying nothing, getting no degree. 5:22 That is what it means to have the Gospel of forgiveness of sins and you have become a child of God but you have not gained anything of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have to beware of this, brothers and sisters. 5:34 I mean, how would a parent feel? You would be excited when your child got admission into IIT or something like that, some top university, that they didn't study there, they didn't gain anything. What's the use? You might as well have joined a third-rate, useless college and studied something. 5:55 That is the picture I get. So it's very important that we gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ year by year by year by year. Like Peter also said, to grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And as I said, one of those areas is to learn the reverence of God. 6:15 Now turn with me to 2 Corinthians in chapter 4. See, like I have often urged you to read the Bible slowly. Some of these verses I just pointed out to you. You may have completely missed. Because you didn't read slowly. You missed growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 6:38 Or the gospel of gaining the glory of Jesus Christ. I'm sure you read these letters many, many times. But it's so easy to miss it. And I'll tell you why we miss it. Please listen to this. 2 Corinthians 4. And it speaks about how Satan blinds the minds of the unbelieving, not unbelievers. 7:05 There are many unbelieving among believers. And unbelieving believers, it's a terrible state to be in. He blinds the minds of the unbelieving, and let me paraphrase it. That they may see, they may see the gospel of the forgiveness of sins. 7:27 But they do not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. Do you get it? Now you see how believers can be unbelieving. You would have seen it yourself if you had read the Bible slowly, instead of rushing past. 7:46 There's a lot of difference between the gospel of the forgiveness of sins, and the gospel by which we gain the glory of Jesus Christ. And we've always felt, "Oh, the devil's blinded those minds of those unbelievers." No, he hasn't. 7:59 Maybe he has blinded their eyes from the gospel of forgiveness of sins. But it's your eyes that he has blinded from gaining the glory. The gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, that we can partake of. That's an amazing gospel. 8:18 That's the only gospel that will keep you from backsliding. That's the only gospel that will keep you from going in up and down, up and down Christian life. Sometimes victorious, sometimes defeated. Make it your passion, to gain the gospel of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. 8:38 So when we think of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, we've got to go, you know it's wonderful to compare scripture with scripture, because the answer for one verse is in another verse. And it's wonderful that we have a Bible in our own language. 8:51 To me, it's one of the greatest blessings that I have a Bible in my own language, that I'm literate enough to read it. And I feel sorry for anyone who can read and there's a Bible in your language and you haven't read it through yet. 9:10 I really believe you've got to hang your head in shame and say to yourself, this is what you've got to say to yourself, I do not believe that the Bible is the word of God. Because even if you don't say it with your mouth, that's what you're saying by your life. 9:29 It's impossible. It's impossible. It is impossible for a man to say that he believes the Bible is the only book God has written for man. And he's known Jesus for two years, and he hasn't even read through the Bible even once 9:44 yet. I'm not saying slowly, read through it fast, get through the whole thing once. It's what I did. As soon as I was converted, I was converted into the Bible. I was converted into the Bible. I was converted into the Bible. 9:50 I was converted into the Bible. I was converted into the Bible. I was converted into the Bible. I was converted into the Bible. I was converted into the Bible. And I was converted into the Bible. And I was converted into the Bible. 9:57 And I was converted into the Bible. And I was converted into the Bible. And I was converted into the Bible. And I was converted into the Bible. And I was converted into the Bible. And I was converted into the Bible. And I was converted into the Bible. 10:04 And I was converted into the Bible. And I was converted into the Bible. And I was converted into the Bible. And I was converted into the Bible. And I was converted into the Bible. And I was converted into the Bible. And I was converted into the Bible. 10:11 And I was converted into the Bible. And I was converted into the Bible. And I was converted into the Bible. And then I was converted into the Bible. And then I was converted into the Bible. And then I was converted into the Bible. 10:17 And then I was converted into the Bible. And then I was converted into the Bible. And then I went into it slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, studying chapter by chapter. So I would encourage you first of all, read through the whole Bible. 10:21 It takes only six months. I spent in the midst of my secular job. So in two years, if you haven't read it, I can without any doubt tell you, you do not believe the whole Bible is the word of God. Maybe you believe the Gospel of John is the word of God. 10:33 Or maybe you believe the Philippians or Ephesians. Those are the word of God. But you don't believe the whole Bible is the word of God. No, you don't. Be honest. If you did, you wouldn't throw those things away. I mean, if you have fake currency notes, you'll throw them away. 10:50 You won't throw away real currency notes. Why is it you treat some parts of the Bible as believe God's word and some parts are not? Be honest and say, I don't believe. That's the word of God. So that's why we miss out on something. 11:05 So here is a verse which tells us about the glory of Jesus Christ. John chapter 1, verse 14. The word became flesh. The word is, you know, you know what our words are. 11:25 The Bible is written in very simple language really. It's not very complicated. John was not a philosopher. He was an unlearned fisherman. And an unlearned fisherman when he writes, you don't have to think of complicated meanings. 11:44 Think of, you think, what is a word? When you speak words, what is it? Words are an expression, an audible expression. Or if you write it, visible expression of your unseen thoughts. You can put it like that. Your written words are a visible expression of your unseen thoughts. 12:09 And so when Jesus Christ is called the word of God, it's a visible expression of the unseen God. That's all there is to it. It's an unlearned fisherman writing. So if you don't come to it with great, complicated, high thoughts in your mind and just come in simple way, you understand it. 12:26 The word was with God, verse 1, and the word was God. He came to earth in flesh so that we have a visible manifestation of what God is like. That's why Jesus could say, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. And you know when he said that, by the way, he said that in John 14, after washing the disciples' feet in John 13. 12:51 It's after that that he said in John 14, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. So what he's saying is, did you see me wash your feet just now? The job of a slave? The Father is like that. Do you believe that? Do you believe God the Father is the type of person who will come and wash our feet? 13:09 Has your earthly Father ever washed your feet? I won't do that. It's beneath their dignity. You go and wash your Father's feet. God is so different from what we imagine he is. A visible manifestation of the unseen God came and washed his disciples' feet and said, 13:31 if you've seen me, you've seen what God is like. It humbles me that my heavenly Father is like that. He wants to wash my feet. So can you imagine how conceited any believer, any of you, can be to think, to even think, that you should have a greater ministry in the church than washing other people's feet. 13:55 That you're a bigger man than the slave that Jesus was. I tell you, most believers are like those disciples who sat at the table in the Last Supper. And they knew that in every Jewish home, when you walk in with dirty sandals and dirty feet, 14:18 there is always a slave, if it's a rich home, with a bucket of water at the door to wash your feet before you sit down for your meal. But because Jesus had specifically said that night to that man who loaned him that upper room, 14:39 he said, I don't want anybody there. I don't want any slaves. I don't want anybody there because this is a private gathering of me and my disciples. So the owner of that house did it like that. He kept the bucket of water. 14:50 He kept the food on the table. And there was no slave. So they all walked in and they saw the bucket there. They knew what is normally to be done. No slave around. Okay, they all go and sit down. Feet are dirty. 15:10 Who's going to clean it? Everybody is pretty big. Peter is the leader. John is a relative of the high priest. Matthew is a chartered accountant. Somebody else is the equivalent of a college graduate or whatever it is. Judas is scared, I think. 15:27 And so, Jesus says, I'm the only one here who is just a nobody. So I'll pick up the bucket. That was the spirit. And he said, if you have seen me, you have seen the Father. Grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. 15:50 In the scriptures, the Holy Spirit shows us the glory of Jesus Christ. And if you really see the glory, you'll be humbled. You'll put your face in your hands and say, Lord, I'm not like that. You'll weep many, many times. 16:08 I've wept when I've seen the glory of Jesus in the scriptures. And I said, Lord, I'm not like that. But I want to be like that. I'm willing to pay any price to be like that. I want you to, you who are the Spirit of God, you showed me that glory. 16:21 I want you to make me like that. It's so important, my brothers, when you read the scriptures, to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit. So important. See, I was in a, I grew up in the early days, after I was born again, 56 years ago, 16:40 in a church which had zero emphasis on the Holy Spirit. They were very strong on the Word of God. And I'm thankful for that because I, I was a new Christian and I studied, studied, studied the Word. But it was all so dry. 16:56 And something missing. And I said, Lord, this is not the way it should be. And so I had to seek God myself for the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I was not taught that in a church. I didn't even know about the Pentecostals. 17:15 And I went to the Pentecostals. I was disappointed with what I saw there. They told me to repeat some words. And I said, I'm not going to do that. So I left them. I left this other group. And I went to my room. And I said, Lord, I want you to fill me with the Holy Spirit. 17:28 That's where God met with me first, when I was just about 23 years old. And that was the beginning, where I began to understand the scriptures. You know, the difference between God's Word and God's Word enlightened by the Holy Spirit 17:44 is like good, clean meat hanging in the shop. Not dirty, freshly cut. And the same meat cooked on the fire. Think of a chicken curry cooked in the fire. 18:05 And a chicken freshly, you know, with all the feathers, de-feathered, taken off. You don't feel like eating that chicken which is just being feathered and cleaned. It's clean. You don't have any appetite to put one piece of it in your mouth. 18:23 But when it's put in the fire and cooked, what a difference. That is the difference between an academic knowledge of the Word of God and the same Word. The same Word set on fire by the Holy Spirit. The world of difference. 18:46 I remember about two great men of God who lived in America in the 19th century. One was D.L. Moody. He was a preacher. And in his preaching, many times in his public meetings, he used to always see two old ladies sitting on two chairs and praying. 19:08 So he was so happy. He went up to them and said, "Thank you very much for praying for all these unconverted people." And they said, "No, Mr. Moody, we are praying for you." He said, "Praying for me? What are you praying for? 19:20 We are praying that you will be filled with the Holy Spirit." That spoke to him, you know. Here he thought he was a great preacher and he needed to be anointed with the Holy Spirit. And he sought God and the Lord baptized him in the Holy Spirit. 19:33 It changed his life. I remember reading that story as a young man and I said, "Lord, do that for me. I have so much knowledge of the Word. The touch of the Spirit is missing." There's a lot of difference. There was another man there in the 19th century called A.B. Simpson. 19:56 Another great man of God. He's the one who wrote this song, "Once it was the blessing, now it is the Lord." And many other songs, "Jesus only is our message." Some wonderful hymns. He was a great hymn writer. But he wasn't like that in the beginning. 20:10 As a young man, he was a defeated Presbyterian pastor, sick. And he went to the coast somewhere to refresh his health. And he heard somebody singing there about Jesus saying, "No man can work like him." And just that little song dripped him that he really needed the power of Jesus in his body. 20:34 And he began to seek for the Holy Spirit. And he was baptized in the Holy Spirit. And it changed him completely. He was such an anointed speaker that D.L. Moody said this about A.B. Simpson. He says, "Whatever that man speaks always goes to my heart." 20:55 See, this is not an ordinary person saying, "D.L. Moody said that about A.B. Simpson." "My brothers and sisters, does God have favorites?" No. All are the same to Him. If you are humble, God will give you the same Spirit of grace that He has given others. 21:15 He may not give you the same ministry. You may not be called to stand in pulpits and preach to great crowds. But even in ordinary conversation with people, imagine if someone can have this testimony about you. You are not a preacher. 21:33 You never stand in a pulpit. But all of us speak to one another. And if you can have this testimony, that whatever that sister says always speaks to my heart. So many sisters, they are so curious. Their conversation is all about curiosity, about so many details about your life. 21:55 I know young sisters are fed up with some older sisters being curious about their life. So I tell those young sisters, tell that older sister, "Sister, how will that knowledge help you in your spiritual life?" Just ask them that question. 22:12 They will never ask you again. All those curious details that they want to know. How will that help you sister in your spiritual life? A lot of people, you know, we have to be very careful. Just like we don't walk into somebody's house without knocking at the door. 22:29 Don't be curious about people's affairs. It's exactly like walking into people's houses and bedrooms without getting permission. Leave it. You don't have to go around. You know, I sometimes go to some people who built a new house and they say, 22:47 "Brother Zach, I want to show you this new house." I say, "No, I'm not interested in seeing it. I don't want to go and see your bedrooms and your bathrooms. I have no interest. I'm not even curious about that. I want to spend that time edifying them spiritually." 22:59 We are so curious about so many things when we could have spent our life in a more profitable way. Have you heard that proverb in English that the curiosity killed the cat? You know, the cat put its head into the dog's kennel to see if the dog was there and the head got bitten off. 23:17 Why do you want to put your head in the dog's kennel to find out if it is there? If it's there, let it be there. If it's not there, let it not be there. So many unnecessary things grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. 23:32 When Jesus told the Samaritan woman, "You've had five husbands and the one you're living with is not your husband." She immediately changed the subject. She said, "Lord, I want to talk about worship. Look at the glory of Jesus there." 23:47 He never said, "No, no, no, no, hang on. We've got to clear this matter about your husbands first." That's what we would do. That's what curious, stupid people will do. Jesus said, "Okay. You want to talk about worship? 24:00 Let's talk about worship." He did not want to embarrass her. Have you seen the glory of Jesus? Do you want to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ? Pursue it. People will love to be with you. People will love to hear you. 24:19 I'm not talking about pulpit-speaking. They'll love to just talk to you. Because they know that one sentence from your life will bless their hearts. And lift them up and keep them going. You write a two-sentence email and they'll be delighted. 24:35 Don't you want to be a brother-sister like that? You may never in your life preach in a pulpit. But you can manifest the glory of Jesus. Sisters, brothers, just stop being curious. Stop walking into people's lives and houses without knocking at the door. 24:53 These are little examples. So here we see the word became flesh. John 1:14, "And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." 25:13 The glory of God was seen in Jesus Christ in an earthly form, full of grace and truth. Now, I don't know whether you've seen this verse in the Old Testament. It's good whenever we read the New Testament. If you've read the Old Testament, verses come back to your mind, 25:32 "Hey, that reminds me of something I've read in the Old Testament." Exodus chapter 33, you know, the children of Israel had disobeyed God by worshipping a golden calf. 25:52 And God was so angry with them. And He told them, "I am not going to lead you anymore, but I won't forsake you. I'll send my angel with you." And Moses says to the Lord in Exodus 33, "If your presence does not go with us, don't lead us from here." 26:18 I don't want to read the whole passage. He said, "I don't want an angel. I don't want an angel. Lord, if you're not going to go with us, I don't want to move from here." That is always the word of a man of God. 26:43 "Lord, if you don't go with me, I don't want to go from here." I heard of a great preacher who was invited to speak in a public tent meeting. In the olden days they used to have big public tent meetings. 27:03 And he was staying in a small room and the time had come, the singing was over and the time had come for him to speak and he was not there. So they went to his room and before they knocked at the door they heard him praying, "Lord, if you don't go with me, I'm not going." 27:26 He didn't want to enter that pulpit without being sure that the Lord was with him. Boy, I read that I think 50 years ago and I've never forgotten it. I said, "Lord, I want to be like that. I never want to get into a pulpit thinking that I've got so much experience or I've got so much knowledge. 27:49 If you don't go with me, don't take me. I don't want to go in and let the meeting be canceled. It's okay. What am I going to get up there and waste people's time?" I wish every preacher in the world were like that. What a difference it would make. 28:03 If your presence does not go with us, don't lead us from here. My brothers and sisters, I plead with you, remember Exodus 33:15. If your presence doesn't go with us, don't take us from here. Say that about every move of yours. 28:23 I want the Lord to go with me when I go on a vacation. I don't want to go alone anywhere if your presence does not go with me. Don't take us from here. I'll stay here for the rest of my life. And then the Lord said, "Okay, I will do this thing," verse 17, which you have spoken. 28:49 What a wonderful thing. He first said, "I won't come with you. I'll send an angel." But see the difference that prayer makes. Some people say prayer accomplishes nothing. If Moses had not prayed there, it would have been an angel that led Israel. 29:02 Do you know why the Lord led Israel? Because Moses prayed. It made all the difference. Can you imagine the difference between an angel leading you and God leading you? And it happened because of one righteous man's prayer. 29:15 Some people think that, "Oh, if we get a hundred people to the prayer meeting, God will hear." Rubbish! James 5:16 says, "One righteous man's prayer, fervent prayer accomplishes more than a million people praying." It's a question of righteousness. 29:36 Moses, one righteous man, all those two million Israelites praying would have accomplished nothing. But one Moses, those people didn't realize what a blessing it was to have a man of God like Moses in their midst. His prayer changed things. 29:54 Changed it from an angel to God himself leading them. He said, "I've granted you. Okay, I will do this thing." Then see Moses, this is always the mark of a man of God. He's never satisfied. Never satisfied. I mean, he's satisfied materially. 30:08 He doesn't want anything. I'm content with all things, whether I'm poor or rich. A man of God is always satisfied with his material, earthly condition, even if he lives in a hut. He doesn't want Naaman's gold or clothes and all like Elisha. 30:22 He doesn't want all that. The little hut I live in is okay. But spiritually, he's never satisfied. So Moses is not satisfied with God's presence going with them. He says, "Isn't that enough, Moses?" No, no, no. He says, "One more thing, Lord. 30:36 Show me your glory." Verse 18. And the Lord says, verse 20, "You cannot see my face and live. You have asked for too much. I mean, my presence going with you is okay, but to see my glory. 30:57 Sorry." You won't be able to live. But there's a place by, "Go and hide yourself in the rock." Verse 21. "And when my glory is passing by, you will see." Verse 23. "You'll see my back, but you will not see my face." 31:18 He won't be able to live. Is this the God you worship? Now turn to John 1:14, where John says, "We beheld his glory." 31:40 We beheld his glory. And where was that glory seen? Turn again to 2 Corinthians 4:6. "For God who said, 'Light shall shine out of darkness'," 32:02 2 Corinthians 4:6. "Is the one who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge, of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. God told Moses, you cannot see my face and live. And yet the disciples saw the glory of God 32:23 in the face of Jesus Christ. It's not just a bright light, it's his life. And that is our calling. Grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, in the knowledge of that glory. That's the glory we are supposed to gain. And that glory we read in John 1.14, 32:44 turn back to John 1.14, has got a balance full of grace and truth. God has created this world with a perfect balance. And the glory of God is balanced. It's not only grace, it's not only truth. It's not only truth, 33:05 it's not only grace. the glory of God is balanced. It's not 50% grace, 50% truth. No. It is 100% grace and 100% truth. If you can't understand that, well, that's because divine things are a bit complicated. It's not 50-50, 33:24 it's 100-100. Like we say in a good Christian marriage, it's not 50-50, it's 100-100. it's 100-100. So, this is the balance that we see in Jesus Christ. The grace that could speak with compassion to an adulterous woman or to a five-times-divorced Samaritan woman 33:47 and the truth that would turn the tables of the money changers and let the coins fly around everywhere and turn them out and sing, don't make my father's house a den of robbers. The grace that could tell people, don't fear, little flock. 34:07 It is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Come to me, I'll give you rest. And the truth that from the same lips could say, you Pharisees, you generation of vipers, how will you escape the damnation of hell? 34:22 See, that is the glory of God full of grace and truth. And the more we become like Jesus Christ, the more we will have this balance of grace and truth in our life. When we are initially converted, all of us, you and I, 34:43 are imbalanced. That's why if an imbalanced person tries to build the body of Christ, he will build an imbalanced body. And that's why Jesus always sent his disciples two by two, so that there is a balance. That was not true in the Old Testament. 35:04 In the Old Testament, it was all one alone, one by one, starting with Noah, first prophet and all the way, Enoch, he was the first prophet and then Noah and then all the way down, Isaiah, Elijah, Elisha, Malachi, John the Baptist. 35:23 One, one, one, one, always one. You never see two prophets working together, even Haggai and Zechariah. Haggai was a much older man. Zechariah was a young man who came in much later. But once it comes to the New Testament, 35:38 Jesus sends it two by two. His disciples, you read that in Luke chapter 10. And then in Acts chapter 13, the first great missionary outreach of the church from Antioch, the Holy Spirit said, separate me, Paul and Barnabas. 35:54 Saul and Barnabas. Paul's name was Saul then. Why not just Saul? Why not just Barnabas, son of encouragement? No, they will be imbalanced. Paul is the man who is strict. Barnabas is the man who is an encourager. And together, 36:15 they could manifest truth and grace. And as long as they respected and valued one another, they could do a great work. And that's why the devil came and separated them. Then the Lord had to give Paul another young man called Timothy, 36:32 who was like Barnabas. But this is the mistake that single pastors, however gifted they may be, who think they can build the body of Christ, this is the mistake they make. No human being was perfectly balanced. Jesus Christ was the only one who walked on this earth, 36:53 perfectly balanced. As we grow in grace and the knowledge, we become closer and closer to be balanced, but we're still slightly imbalanced. We should be growing. Even if they're very strong on truth once, very low on grace, 37:09 as you grow, grace will become more and more and more, but still it doesn't become perfect. Some people are very gracious and not so strong on truth. Over a period of time, truth increases in their life, they're still not perfectly balanced. 37:22 If you can acknowledge that in your life you're not perfectly balanced and you need other members of the body of Christ, the input from them in order to be balanced, it'll help you. And it doesn't have to be from an older person always. 37:38 Sometimes we think we can grow only if we spend time talking to very great men of God, not necessarily. I've been blessed sometimes talking to young people. I'm blessed sometimes often sitting at the Wednesday meeting listening to young people. 37:54 If you're not blessed, something must be wrong with you. You know, we can be deaf. We can be deaf when we don't keep a good conscience. We can be deaf when we have high thoughts about ourselves, that we think we are so big 38:08 that nobody can teach us. Then we become deaf. Then even if Jesus spoke, we couldn't hear it. There were people who, in Israel, who couldn't even hear Jesus speaking. That's why Jesus had to say to them, he who has years to hear, 38:22 let him hear. And even in Revelation, that word comes down to churches, to the seven churches. He who has years to hear, let him hear. I mean, why do you have to tell people in a church who are born-again people, do you have years to hear? 38:39 Born-again people can have a bad conscience. They become deaf. Born-again people can become proud. Then they become deaf. I think that could have happened to many of you sitting here. That you are not able to hear Jesus speaking to you. 38:56 You know, the Bible says in Revelation 1 that when John heard Jesus' voice, it was like a trumpet. But a deaf man cannot even hear a trumpet. But a person whose ears are absolutely clear because he's kept a good conscience 39:12 and he's so humble that he falls on his ground with his face in the dust like John fell at Jesus' feet. If you're like that, you'll hear God's voice like a trumpet. But very few believers keep their face in the dust. Do you know what I tell all, 39:28 we work with about 120 elders in all our churches. And I tell all of them one thing. I say, brothers, keep your face in the dust. I don't know how many of them listen to me. My duty is to exhort them. But if they listen to me, 39:46 it'll go extremely well with them. I know. The anointing of God is always upon people who keep their face in the dust. Who are worshippers. That's why I've always said to you, brothers, be a worshipper more than a preacher. 40:02 Always seek to be a worshipper. And worship, please let me explain again. Worship is not praise and thanksgiving. It's not shouting and praising and lifting our hands. I agree with all that. I want to raise my hands. I want to shout. 40:14 I want to praise and all that. But that is not worship. Worship is something completely different. Let me show you. The first man in the Bible who is said to have worshipped God, the book of Job. 40:38 Just in case you did not know, out of the 66 books of the Bible, the first book written was Job. But because it's a poetical book, the people who arranged the Bible put all the poetical books together, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, 40:57 Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, they lumped it all together even though they were not, you know, even the New Testament books are not written and placed in order. The first book written was James. And so, Job is the first book. 41:12 The book Genesis is placed first in the Bible because it describes the creation of the world, of the earth and the heavens. But it was written by Moses. In many other language versions of the Bible it's called the first book 41:28 of Moses. It's written by Moses. And Moses lived about 500 years after Job. So Job is the first book of the Bible. And the first chapter you read about a man worshipping God. He wasn't a preacher but he was a worshipper. 41:47 And when God pointed him out to Satan he didn't say have you seen what a fantastic preacher Job is. Today we admire people with fantastic gifts but God appreciated Job because he said there is a man who fears me. Job 1 verse 8 42:07 the Lord said to Satan have you considered my servant Job there is no one like him on the earth a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. Do you know that Job had fantastic wealth you read about 42:22 that in verse 3 7000 sheep the wealth of a man in those days was in cattle but God doesn't even mention one thing about that to Satan because that doesn't interest God God is not interested in how many camels and sheep and your 42:38 bank account and how much property you have that doesn't interest God at all you may have all that it can be recorded about you you had this this this this this but when God speaks to Satan he says two things he fears God 42:54 and he turns away from evil and therefore he is a blameless and an upright man you know the difference between blameless and perfect I mentioned that once perfect is completely perfect like Christ blameless means up to your 43:07 level of your understanding your conscience is clear it's like saying in second standard that student got 100% in mathematics that's blameless is he perfect in mathematics oh no he's got to go to PhD and post PhD still won't be perfect 43:24 but that's all he can go in second standard 100% you can't get 101 blameless blameless so that means blameless means according to your present level of conscience you may have been born again yesterday blameless you're not perfect 43:39 but that guy who's been born again 50 years ago his level is much higher he's in maybe BSc class or something he's got his 100% means a lot more so there's a difference between blameless and perfect now all of us can be blameless 43:54 it would be tragic even at your level of conscience you don't get 100% blameless and upright man and the reason was he feared God he had reverence for God and he turned away from evil and Satan wanted to test him and took away 44:11 all his property and his 10 children 7 sons and 3 daughters all died in one day that's never happened as far as I know to any other human being that I know of who lost all his property and his children all in one day gone 44:26 and it says when Job heard that news his immediate reaction he just heard the news that verse 19 it fell and all your sons and daughters died verse 20 Job 1.20 he tore his robe 44:48 he tore his clothes that was sorrow but in his sorrow he fell on his ground 45:10 and worshipped this is the first man about whom you read in the Bible he worshipped God he wasn't singing songs of praise no I don't think he was singing at all this whole teaching that this is praise and worship is a deception 45:31 in Christendom you say what does it matter if you call it's by another name you've heard me use the illustration supposing you go go to the shop to buy a Honda car and somebody gives you a bicycle and says this is a Honda car 45:49 name doesn't matter this is the Honda car and you pay whatever is it 15 lakhs or something and come home with a bicycle tell me were you cheated or not that's what I mean you sing praise and thanksgiving to God and you call it worship 46:03 you're cheated you missed out on something praise and thanksgiving is good the bicycle is good but that's not a Honda car praise and thanksgiving is good but that's not worship that's what I'm saying don't let the devil 46:17 cheat you worship is to say Lord you are everything to me more than my property more than my children more than my family members more than life itself I bow down and I worship you see it is so 46:38 opposite that he fell to the ground the first man in the Bible in the last book of the Bible you see John the Apostle doing the same thing falling to the ground and worshipping Jesus that's how the Bible begins and ends 46:54 in Job and in Revelation Job 1 Revelation 1 see two men of God falling on their face and worshipping God I say Lord I want to be like that all my life do it do it sometimes turn around on your bed and you don't have to go 47:14 on the ground you can be on your bed fall on your face before God and be a worshipper father of Jesus love's reward what rapture will it be prostrate before thy throne to lie and gaze and gaze on thee David said there is only one thing 47:33 I have desired of the Lord that I may dwell in the house of the Lord to behold his beauty all the days of my life you know it's like coming into the Lord's presence and do you know that verse if you don't know it please look at it 47:49 it's a very good verse one thing Psalm 27 verse 4 one thing I have asked from the Lord and that I will seek it's a very good thing to it gripped my heart I remember the first book 48:09 I wrote was a book called the Supreme Priorities and there I wrote about four places in the Bible where you read about one thing and one of those was this verse one of those chapters is on one thing that I may dwell in the house 48:25 of the Lord all the days of my life in other words all my life I'm going to ask God for one thing and what is that just to see the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in his temple in other words you come before the Lord 48:41 and you sit there and the Lord says what do you want you say Lord I don't want anything I haven't come here with a prayer I just want to see you I just want to sit here you're sitting so long the Lord says you don't want anything 49:01 no no I don't want anything I just want to look at you and prostrate before your throne to lie and gaze and gaze on thee if you can do that you have found worship where you're not praying you're not even thanking 49:22 all that is good we can pray we can thank the Lord but this is worship where we have nothing to ask for Lord I don't want anything I just want to see your glory okay I lost my property my bank account was wiped out somebody cheated me 49:39 my children all died Job says okay fine but you are there one thing I have asked from the Lord and what Job said was in Job 121 the Lord gave the Lord is taken away I came from 50:00 my mother's womb naked I'll return to the earth naked one day Job says when I was born as a little baby I think Job must have been 130 years old then I came to this earth 130 years ago 50:20 as a little baby I had nothing I didn't even have a stitch of clothing on me no money no knowledge no intelligence no ability no spirituality nothing and one day he says my life on earth will be over 50:40 and they'll put me in the grave there won't be any money in my pockets I'll be I'll have nothing when I leave this earth in between you God you allowed me to have children you allowed me to have property you allowed me to have money 50:58 you allowed me to know the Bible to preach to share so many things things but you can take it away you can take it away before I die sure you gave it to me all freely you can take it away you know it's like the landlord of your 51:16 house you rented a house from someone and when you write an agreement you say well with one month's notice or three month's notice he can ask you to vacate and when you vacate your rented house you're not doing the landlord 51:29 a great favor no do you recognize that you're living a rented life on earth that your property may be in your name but it's rented it belongs to God the sale deed is in your name I know but if you're 51:50 if you're a disciple you recognize it's a rented house I had that house in my name and where the church began to meet and I always felt this is a rented house I wasn't doing the church a favor by letting them meet in my house 52:05 for six years far from it far from it it was a rented house and the father said I want some of my other children to come here I said sure we used to have conferences in that house where people would sleep on the in the front room 52:19 and I said Lord it's a rented house I don't believe anything I have is mine that's the way to live you're a worshipper you recognize nothing is yours God allows you to use these things on earth even your health my dear brother 52:39 sister some of you are proud of your good health it's a gift from God say Lord if you want you can take it away in the next chapter you read God took away Job's health as well this is worship where I don't even feel I have a 52:55 right to health in my body Lord it's your gift one day it will go when you die how much health have you got Lord I have no rights in my life then do you know that's how Jesus lived Jesus lived he lived 53:16 on earth without any rights even he who owned heaven and earth in that one hymn that I often sing to myself when I see Jesus bleeding on the cross that the load of my sins upon him was far heavier for him to 53:36 bear he who could bear the universe on his shoulders that was to him who bears the world a load that he could scarcely bear the load of my sin he owned the universe but he lived on earth as if he owned nothing he never 53:59 fought for his rights people could spit on him call him the devil he even steal his money like Judas Iscariot it's okay have you grown in the knowledge of Jesus Christ my brothers and sisters have you become a worshipper 54:15 have you learned reverence for God see I've often mentioned this that when I see the quality of most of the hymns written in the 20th century or particularly in the last 30-40 years I find them so shallow I mean there are a 54:34 few exceptions a few maybe 4 or 5 percent but 95 percent of the hymns written in the last 40-50 years are so shallow they're you know a frothy emotional type of love for Jesus with no reverence for God the old 54:57 hymn writers they never wrote these type of frothy love songs to Jesus they were worshippers and they were more serious Christians I believe in the 19th century in the early part of the 20th century there were more serious 55:11 Christians in the world than today they were not running after money like today's preachers most of those preachers those days were very poor and whereas today it's so shallow everything because everything is around money 55:27 even the songwriters become millionaires writing a few songs Christian authors become millionaires writing a few books this is the Christian world we are living in and in the midst of it God has called us to be a witness 55:42 we need to study God's word and see the glory of Jesus Christ and be filled with the Holy Spirit so that that glory can be manifest in us dear brothers and sisters it's very very important be a worshipper learn to know God 55:59 not only as Father but as God it's one of the things that came home to my heart as I was meditating this morning you know I'm Jesus taught us to pray our Father who art in Heaven not just our Father 56:19 our Father who is God both then we pray hallowed be thy name etc so we need to see God as our Father and as God in Heaven and I want to correct a mistake that I made 56:40 when I said once that Jesus always called God Father I discovered that it was not only on the cross he said my God I discovered earlier that he prayed like this see Matthew 11 25 one of those things imagine I read it for so many 57:00 years and I didn't notice it till it suddenly struck me that Jesus called his Father Lord of Heaven and Earth that's how he prayed to him Matthew 11 25 I praise thee O Father Lord of Heaven and Earth so you know the mistake 57:20 I made was I said that Jesus never in his earthly life prayed to the Father calling him Lord he did I see that here Father Lord of Heaven and Earth and I say O God Jesus if you prayed like that who am I to pray 57:41 always saying daddy you know some of us because we are so we never knew about the fatherhood of God I didn't know about it for years even after I was born again it is so exciting to know God as my father and it certainly 57:55 is the Holy Spirit cries out from us Father Abba Daddy and we should never lose that I never want to lose it I often want to picture myself like a little two year old sitting in my heavenly father's lap and looking up to 58:08 him and saying daddy even now I like that song which says even though you're old you'll still be a child in my eyes God says that's what we are so but what you know the danger with all of us is the danger of imbalance like 58:28 grace and truth we can get so taken up with hey I never knew he was my daddy now I only know him as daddy and then I have so many complications when I know him if I go and ask my earthly father for something I get it immediately 58:44 but why is it I don't get it from my heavenly father because he's not only daddy he's lord of heaven and earth I mean let's be honest I think of so many believers who have got sicknesses and I know that God can heal it like 59:02 that if I go to my earthly father and ask him for something he can do like that would he hesitate if he knows it's for my good never why is it so many of God's children are still sick why do we have to wear glasses you know 59:23 it's a sickness by the way it's faulty eyesight it's because we have to say our father who is God lord of heaven and earth I have to know him as father and then don't get so imbalanced that 59:44 you know him only as daddy and forget that he is our father who is in heaven lord of heaven and earth and as almighty God he has a wisdom that goes way beyond our wisdom and sometimes decides like 1:00:04 even in the case of his apostle Paul that thorn in the flesh that messenger of satan is good for you to keep you humble yeah that is God so I see there's a balance we need always don't get so 1:00:24 taken up with one side of truth that you back away from another truth that you miss out completely it's the narrow ways a very narrow path or the cliff on either side and you back away from one truth to find one truth you 1:00:37 can follow the cliff this side or you can follow the cliff that side so it's very important to be balanced see Romans and chapter 11 and verse 22 you see the balance here if you look for it you'll find it in many 1:00:58 places in the New Testament especially in the Old Testament there was not so much emphasis on knowing God in a balanced way but in the New Testament there is a great emphasis on it behold then behold means look carefully 1:01:12 whenever you read the word behold look carefully what should I look carefully at two things the kindness of God and the severity of God the kindness of God and the strictness of God that is grace and truth it's the same 1:01:29 thing that God is kind with me and he is strict with me yeah I know he's been very strict with me sometimes for small teeny weeny slip up he punishes me and I'm very thankful that he pulls 1:01:49 me up in some way and I wake up and I say thank you Lord I'm so glad you keep such a strict watch on me that you don't even let me go one degree away from the truth if you want God to treat you like that that you want God 1:02:07 to treat you like that that if you speak one wrong word he'll give you a fever or or you become curious about somebody and he'll punish you in some way with some sickness do you want it I want it because I want to be absolutely 1:02:22 on the straight path and if you but if you have a complaint about this thing that thing Lord why did you do this to me why haven't you done this to me God leave you alone it's a very dangerous thing he 1:02:43 path I want you to be kind with me and I want you to be strict with me you know good father good parents are kind and strict parents who are only kind will have useless children and parents who are only strict will also 1:03:02 have useless children the children will become run away from home and become legalists you have to be kind and strict and there must be a balance between father and mother where there is kindness and strict ness because 1:03:16 God is like that and in our home parents are supposed to represent God that's why in the New Testament it says fathers bring up your children in the instruction and the discipline of the Lord they must know in a father the 1:03:34 kindness and the strictness of God and if you slip up on one of these things your children suffer loss definitely that's why fathers have to grow in grace and the knowledge of God so that they can be balanced in their kindness 1:03:53 and strictness very very very important if you are not growing your children will suffer so seek to grow in the knowledge of God in knowing his kindness and his strictness and say Lord how shall I manifest this balance in 1:04:09 my own home how shall I manifest this balance I mean if you have responsibility in a home or in an office you are responsible you're an overseer of something or if you're an elder in a church same thing how shall I manifest 1:04:23 this balance over those with whom I have responsibility kindness and strictness everybody will appreciate a kind elder who always says nice things never corrects you but he's not a good elder I'd say he's a useless elder 1:04:39 and another elder who's always very strict and hard strict and hard and everything he's also a useless elder a good elder when to be kind and when to be strict a good father is one who's kind and strict a good mother is 1:04:55 one who's kind and strict because we learn from God and if you're humble enough to say Lord I am imbalanced I want to be balanced I want to grow in the knowledge of Jesus I want to be a worshiper you get to know God as you 1:05:11 worship him you will not get to know God step one thanksgiving step two praising step three worship step four that's what I believe in and we must come to the highest 1:05:31 height to be worshipers to worship God okay in closing Job was the first person who worshiped God the second person is Genesis 22 Genesis 22 is Abraham he's the second person we read him in the Bible who specifically is 1:05:51 written they went to worship God you know Abraham in Genesis 22 is taking his son to Mount Moriah you know the well-known story God asked him to kill his son not because God wanted his son killed but because Isaac was becoming 1:06:07 such an idol you know when a man has no children for a hundred years and then gets a son through his own wife boy he'll really be an idol after some time and by the time Abraham was 125 Isaac was his idol and God said whenever an 1:06:26 idol comes between you and me Abraham I have to kill it just like he told the Israelites destroy your idols he said kill Isaac it's the same word and Abraham and Abraham said yes Lord I realize and you know God spoke to Abraham 1:06:45 at night most of the time you find that God speaks to his people at night Abraham at night because early next morning he got up he didn't even talk to Sarah he took Isaac and went three days and the reason why God gave him a mountain 1:06:57 three days away so that he could think about it is it worth worshipping a God like this who asked me to kill my son he thought about it for three days and said yes as he reached the mountain with all his servants read this 1:07:10 verse Genesis 22 5 Abraham told the young man you stay here with the donkey I and Isaac will go to the top of the mountain and both of us will come we will worship there what are we going to do I'm 1:07:31 going to worship what is worship destroying every idol in my heart that has come between me and God when he was 75 and he left Ura the Chaldees he had destroyed every idol his father 1:07:51 mother not his father initially his father came along with him for some time but he had given up everything else and Abraham was a worshipper but then when Isaac came along sometimes you know when you are born again you are 1:08:02 really devoted but after a little while some idols come into your heart your ministry can be your idol something else can be your idol yourself your job your money your house so many things that you learned which you never 1:08:16 had when you were first born again it was just God you had then but now some other things have come and they become an idol and God says destroy them kill them like the rich young ruler he had an idol his money God said 1:08:31 give it all away it was the same thing if you want to be a worshiper give it all away rich young ruler says no okay goodbye I'm not going to force you God never forces anyone to be a worshiper Abraham said I will go and 1:08:45 worship for him worship was giving up everything and saying to God you're the only one it's like falling on your face and saying God nothing is important in my life but you not my children your children can be your idols 1:09:01 I tell you there are many parents whose children are their idols they don't allow them to grow up in the way they should in a godly way they control them so much you must do this you must study this you must do this 1:09:21 you must do that the way I tell you guide them graciously gently don't make them your idols there are many parents who wanted to accomplish something in life they could not accomplish it so they want their children to accomplish 1:09:35 it they're all idol worshippers and I believe our relationship with God is affected in Abraham's case it is his son who was an idol your son can be an idol your daughter can be an idol your job can be an idol your anything 1:09:50 can be an idol and you're not a worshipper you are not a worshipper until you have laid that on the altar and said God I'm finished with it I remember in the early days I had a wife and four children I loved them greatly 1:10:05 but I was so scared that they would be my idols and believe it or not I used to picture in my mind this is going back about thirty years or more I used to picture in my mind my standing in the church building with five coffins 1:10:23 my wife's coffin and four coffins of my children I used to picture me conducting the funeral of my family I said Lord they will not be my idols I remember in 1972 we got that house we lived in and I said Lord I never dreamt 1:10:42 in my life that I have a house of my own I thought I live in a rented house and here you give me a house I used to pray that God if but it had gone from my life anything 1:11:02 that you get suddenly which you don't expect a new job or something it can be an idol immediately you have to offer it up to God preserve yourself from idols the last verse in 1 John some people say 1 John is the last letter 1:11:18 written even after revelation what is the last verse little children keep yourself from idols now if it is true that 1 John is the last book of the Bible then that is the last verse little children keep yourself from idols 1:11:36 anyway it's the last letter even if revelation is the last book 1 John is probably written even after 2nd and 3rd John little children keep yourself from idols why does John have to write something like that after writing 1:11:50 such a fantastic letter walking in the light and walking as Jesus walked and you know being perfect in love and as Jesus is so are we in this world and all these fantastic things and at the last verse he says keep yourself 1:12:04 from idols because that is the greatest danger that we don't become worshippers so it's very important that we learn to worship God and become worshippers in our forget that 1:12:24 you are God that I must have no idol in my life between me and you I must reverence you I must call you like Jesus called you Lord of heaven and earth help me to reverence you and respect you all the days of my life if you 1:12:39 do that I want to tell you my brothers and sisters it will go exceptionally well with you because God delights greatly in those who worship him and his greatest gifts are reserved for those who worship him let's pray our 1:12:56 father these are just words and my words can help nobody but like you took the five loaves and two fish and blessed them and fed the multitude I pray you will take these words and 1:13:17 the Holy Spirit will anoint them to people's hearts and make us worshippers Lord save us from glorying in our Bible knowledge and our upright lives and all the stupid things we glory in just because we happen to be a little 1:13:35 better than other Christians around us or we know a little more than them forgive us our pride and arrogance which has hindered us from growing in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus break us and humble us so that we live 1:13:51 and dwell in small thoughts about ourselves and see ourselves as nothing so so so you can be everything to see ourselves as zeros all the days of our life never comparing ourselves with any other believer or even any other 1:14:07 human being help us to be worshippers Lord every one of us for we know this is what will stand us in good stead in the long run we pray in Jesus name Amen Amen
