0:00 So, we're trying to look at truth that Jesus spoke about, you know, when Jesus said in John 8, 32, You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. What truth was he speaking about? 0:24 That's very clear when you read the whole passage. And, the people said, we're not slaves, we're not enslaved to anybody. What do you mean that you'll become free, John 8, 33? And they said, and Jesus said, I'll tell you what type of freedom I'm talking about. 0:44 Please listen to these words of Jesus in John 8, 34. Truly, truly, I say to you, every single person, whether believer or unbeliever, every single person who commits sin is the slave of sin. 1:05 You can believe whatever theology you like. I believe what Jesus said, that if you commit sin, you're the slave of sin. The English is so clear, that you can't misunderstand it. If you imagine, that you're not a slave, you'll never be free. 1:28 It's like a prisoner who sits in a prison and says, I'm not in a prison, I'm okay. Okay. Stay in the prison forever. But the person who acknowledges, I'm in a prison, I'm a slave. I want to know the truth because Jesus said, if you know the truth and you understand the truth accurately, you'll be free. 1:48 See, we're not concentrating on all the truths mentioned in the Bible. That'll take years and years. we're concentrating on the truth, understanding the truth accurately. 2:12 What is the truth? Jesus said, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. So we want to concentrate on the truth that sets us free from sin. There's so many other things which are also part of the truth, but of the truth of the whole Bible, I mean. 2:35 For example, the doctrines in the Bible, we can talk about many, many things. But the primary thing is to be free from sin. For example, it says in 2nd Corinthians in chapter 3. Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 2:58 2nd Corinthians 3, 17. And you know, in some churches, their understanding of liberty is, I'm free to dance down the aisle. I'm free to... I was in a meeting once where a man rode up to the platform in a bicycle and said, 3:23 I'm free. And he stood on the bicycle in front of the pulpit and preached. I thought he was off his head. I didn't think he was free. That's not the freedom Jesus spoke about, about riding on a bicycle up here and dancing down the aisle. 3:40 That type of freedom is easy. You just got to drink a little alcohol and you can do anything. But the freedom that Jesus spoke about is the freedom from sin. You don't get that by drinking alcohol. You don't get that by drinking, riding bicycles up the aisle. 3:57 You don't get that by dancing down the aisle. I was once visiting a charismatic church in England many years ago. They invited me. And they asked me to speak there one day at that meeting. And when I went there, I didn't know. 4:12 First time I was gone there. I was in that meeting. There were maybe about a hundred people there. And in the time of praise and singing, they all got out of the chairs and began to dance in the center. And I was the only one standing near the chair. 4:36 I mean, I could dance just as good as any of them, but it wasn't my particular way of doing it. And their attitude was, we are free. We don't care what people think. We are free from the opinions of people. I said, I don't think all of you are free from the opinions of people because all of you are afraid what other people will think if you stand near the chair. 5:00 I said, I'm free from the opinions of all of you because I stand here. I'm not bothered. And they did not let me speak in that meeting. And afterwards, they made some silly excuse that there were so many other things came up, Brother Zach, and so we couldn't let you speak. 5:19 I said, okay, I'm not offended. Perfectly all right. I'll never forget that because ultimately the leader of that group fell into adultery and all types of things. That's usually what happens with these people who keep dancing in the meeting. 5:32 They end up usually in adultery. But anyway, that's besides the point. You see, this is the deception that's going on in the world today. If you don't understand what true liberty is, where the spirit of the Lord is, there's liberty not to dance. 5:49 You can do that. But there's liberty from sin. And legalism. And it is more difficult to be free from legalism than from sin. I've seen that. There are many brothers in our churches who are relatively free from sin, but who are slaves to legalism. 6:13 Bigger slaves to legalism than other people are slaves to sin. And do you know that sin cannot destroy a church, but legalism can? Because sin, when somebody sins, supposing your elder falls into adultery, how many of you will still think he is spiritual? 6:31 Even the youngest babe in the church knows that elder is not spiritual. But an elder can be legalistic. And all the dumb people sitting in the church will think he is spiritual. That's why legalism is more dangerous than sin. 6:46 Because sin is obvious. Because sin is obvious. Even a babe recognizes it. But legalism, even grown-up people cannot recognize what is legalism. They think it is holiness, but it's not. So, when the Bible speaks, the New Testament speaks about freedom. 7:05 It's freedom from sin and freedom from laws. The tree of knowledge of good and evil, we can say, is a tree of laws. Thou shalt, thou shalt not, thou shalt, thou shalt not. Very often, the people who make these rules are people who are disobeying the same rules somewhere else. 7:34 They don't realize it. For example, the Bible gives us a certain amount of freedom in areas that are not related to sin. The New Testament speaks about holiness. 7:57 And it speaks about a simple lifestyle. Both are spoken of in the New Testament. But there's a lot of difference between holiness and a simple lifestyle. In a really godly person, both will be there. There will be holiness plus a very simple lifestyle like Jesus and the apostles. 8:20 But holiness can be imposed on a church, but a simple lifestyle cannot be imposed. That's what many people don't understand. And when you mix up the two, which are supposed to be kept separate, one is necessary, the other is optional. 8:40 That is why if a sister came immodestly dressed to our church, I would tell her sister, you are a source of temptation to many of the young people here. 9:03 But I would request you, please, next time you come, today you can sit here, because you didn't know. But next time you come to the meeting, please come modestly dressed. Don't come with all these tight-fitting clothes. 9:16 I mean, I would suggest that you don't wear it anywhere, even when you go to work. But I can't control you when you go to work. But I can certainly control you when you come to my church, that I don't want you to come with all these tight dresses and low-cut blouses and big exposed midriffs. 9:33 Even if you see others doing it, don't follow those godless examples. Be more modest when you come to the church. But if I see a sister coming wearing ornaments, that's not tempting anybody. Who's tempted by seeing ornaments? 9:52 That is simple lifestyle. That's not in the same category as holiness. That's why I wouldn't say anything. I say, I myself believe that scripture teaches that we should not wear ornaments. But that person may not believe that yet. 10:07 It's got nothing to do with sin. It's got to do with a simple lifestyle. And so, very often, when people mix up the two, they put the two in the same category. Thou shalt not murder, thou shalt not wear ornaments. It's not in the same category. 10:23 There are things related to holiness and there are things related to a simple lifestyle and we must keep them separate. One is essential, one is not so essential. So, the same thing can apply to a sister comes to our church and doesn't cover her head. 10:40 Well, may not have light on it. May not know that that's what the scripture teaches. I wouldn't, I would tell her what the scripture says, but I wouldn't, you know, insist if she doesn't have light on it. I say, fine. I would insist, if she was immodestly dressed, but I wouldn't insist on a simple lifestyle. 10:55 The same thing applies in many, many areas. Now, the reason I mention this is because in many of our churches, we have seen people and some of the biggest critics of others who don't have a simple lifestyle are the people who don't have a simple lifestyle themselves. 11:12 Not only in our churches, but in Pentecostal churches, brethren churches, there are people who will tell sisters not to wear ornaments, but they themselves are wearing expensive silk saris that cost ten times what that ornament with that other sister is wearing. 11:32 But there, you never hear a message on silk saris. Have you ever heard one on silk saris? You've heard on ornaments. And some people who buy, who construct houses costing lakhs of rupees, buy cars costing lakhs of rupees, will jump on some poor sister or at least look down on a sister who wears a 500 rupee earring. 11:58 And I tell you, some of these fake gold earrings are only 50 rupees. But this elder brother who's got a car costing lakhs of rupees will jump on the sister because he's a legalist. He's a headache to Jesus Christ. He's a hypocrite of the first order. 12:17 He doesn't see his own luxurious lifestyle because Peter did not say anything about cars. He only spoke about gold. You see how you can go by the letter of scripture? The letter kills. The spirit gives life. A person who reads the scriptures according to the spirit will see that Peter was speaking about a luxurious lifestyle. 12:42 Peter had the authority to speak about it because he had forsaken everything to follow the Lord. Some of our elders have got houses and lands. They don't have the authority to speak like Peter spoke. They must keep their mouth shut. 12:56 When they forsake their houses and lands and give it away, then they'll have the authority that Peter had. And they sell their cars, sell their scooters, sell their houses and lands. Then they can speak what Peter spoke. 13:07 Till then, they should keep their mouth shut and speak about holiness and not about simple lifestyle because they don't have a simple lifestyle themselves. There's a tremendous amount of hypocrisy in our churches, mainly produced by the elders who are judging others in areas where they themselves are the biggest sinners of all. 13:28 And that's what brought so much legalism, bondage, heaviness, condemnation into our churches and very little holiness. Very little of freedom from gossiping, freedom from backbiting, freedom from bitterness, freedom from jealousy, strife, etc. 13:47 But we don't want to produce people who just look simple on the outside and have got lakhs of rupees stacked away in their bank accounts. There's hypocrites. Peter and Paul were not hypocrites like that. Freedom. Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 14:06 There's freedom from sin and from legalism. So in the tree of life, we not only see doing one's own will, we not only see, like I said in the last session, a life of independence from God where I know good and evil myself. 14:21 We also see legalism. It is rules. This is good. This is evil. And you impose that on people. It's like an elder brother preaching to a church. Listen, here's the list. You shall not do this, you shall not do that. You shall not have a television in your home. 14:39 You shall not wear ornaments. You shall not do this, you shall not do that. That's the tree of good and evil in this church. All of you, please follow this. But he leaves out of that, what does he leave out of that list? 14:53 All the things he himself has, he will not say, you shall not own a house. That he will not say because that's not in the list, because he himself owns a house. Hypocrite of the first order. What type of humbugs have he got? 15:09 Preaching such rubbish in the church, making a list for other people of a whole lot of things which they don't have, and not including in the list more expensive things which they have. I would say to all of you, do not follow such elders. 15:23 Such elders are hypocrites of the first order. Follow those who will lead you to life. To the tree of life. To a life of dependence upon God. Not a life of rules and regulations which says, touch not, taste not, handle not, don't do this, don't eat that, don't eat this. 15:45 Do you think that such religion has disappeared from our churches? No, it has not. See what it says in Colossians in chapter 2. This is back to the old covenant. We have got churches in our midst that are old covenant churches because the elders are old covenant people. 16:03 Following Moses, following rules and regulations, leading people to the tree of knowledge of good and evil. In the center of their church is not the tree of life, but the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Colossians chapter 2 and verse 16 onwards, don't let anyone act as your judge. 16:36 Let me read it to you in the message translation. Don't put up with anyone pressuring, pressurizing you in details of diet, worship services, holy days. All these things are mere shadows which are cast before what was to come, the substance is Christ. 16:53 Don't tolerate people who try to run your life. Can anybody sitting here tell me that in the last 32 years that you've known me, I've tried to run your life? Never. 17:15 I don't even try to run my wife's life. I don't even run the life of my children once they left my home. And I don't, never try to run the life of any of you. If your elder brother tries to run your life, I say to you in Jesus' name, don't listen to him. 17:35 And I hope you will lose your respect for him. And I hope you'll lose your respect for every single person who tries to run your life. Don't tolerate such people, the Bible says. You have to have a direct connection with Christ, with the tree of life. 17:50 If you live by the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which some older person imposes on you, it will bring death into your life. You will not be free. Where the spirit of the Lord is, that is the tree of life, that is liberty. 18:02 And that's the liberty into which we want to bring all the people in our churches. We don't want to produce a regimented army of people who are dressed in the same type of uniform, look alike, look holy, and inside they've got all types of sins. 18:20 All these people who try to run your life, they are a lot of hot air. Great, hot air means a lot of words. That's all they are. They are completely out of touch with the source of life, Jesus Christ, who puts us together in one body, whose very breath and blood flow through us. 18:45 He is the head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as Christ nourishes us. So then, if you are with Christ, you put all that pretentious, infantile, childish religion behind you. 19:07 Why do you allow yourselves to be bullied by people who say, don't touch this, don't taste that, don't go near this? Do you think that these things which are here today and gone tomorrow are worth paying that much attention to? 19:23 Such things sound very impressive. And if you are from a Pentecostal background, it sounds very holy. But it only gives you an illusion of being very holy and humble and ascetic. But it's just another way of showing off, making yourself look very important and very holy when you don't really have holiness inside. 19:53 You know, I recently sent a circular to all elders saying, who has the authority to speak against the wearing of ornaments? Those who don't have any luxuries in their life, more expensive than the ornaments which those sisters are wearing. 20:12 If you have a house, you don't qualify. Peter and Paul gave up their houses and followed Jesus. If you are an elder brother who has a house, you cannot preach what Peter and Paul preached. Keep your mouth shut and preach other things. 20:31 Preach holiness. Don't preach a simple lifestyle because you don't have one yourself. But I've discovered the people who preach loudest about ornaments are the people who got stacked away luxuries, who send their children to expensive colleges for education. 20:50 Hypocrites are the first order. Making rules and regulations for other poor believers. No wonder there is so much of death, spiritual death in many of our churches because we have got the tree of life, the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the midst of our churches. 21:07 Elder brothers getting up and condemning people for, Why do you do this and why do you do this and why do you do that and why do you touch this and why do you touch that? Why do you wear this and why do you wear that? And not talking about life. 21:20 We need to talk more about the tree of life. Not the tree of rules, rules, rules, rules, rules, rules. You know, you can keep a bunch of pigs clean by tying them up with chains. Rules are like chains. I can keep a hundred pigs in my church tied up with all these rules and say, 21:42 Brother Zach, I've got a hundred pure people in our church. Really? Take away the rules. Let's see whether they are still pure. Break the chains. Let's see whether those pigs will remain clean. Let them go out into the world for one day. 21:57 And they come back filthy. I say, Brother, you haven't built a church. There are still a bunch of pigs. God wants to change their inner nature so that they get another nature. God who could give a cat the nature to always lick itself and keep itself clean. 22:20 A cat is a perfect picture of a believer who is always judging himself. Have you ever seen a cat when it's not walking around what it's doing? You'll never see a cat sitting quietly. Have you noticed that? If it's sitting quietly, it's judging itself. 22:36 It's always licking itself. I've sometimes looked at these cats. Boy, I don't see any dirt in that. What's it licking itself? No, it's seen a little speck of dirt somewhere on that. Boy, I wish we had believers like that in our churches. 22:48 Not a bunch of pigs who are tied down with 25 chains and say, Ah, they are clean. That's not Christianity. That's the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Rules, rules, rules, rules. Don't do this. Don't have that. Don't have that. 23:00 And you think they are holy. They are not holy. One day when Christ comes again, we'll get a surprise. I'm more interested in bringing people to life, to the tree of life. If they themselves want to go to the tree of knowledge of good and evil, that's fine. 23:16 And if you want to go and live next to that, go and live there. But I'm not going to live next to that. I know what came to Adam as a result of that. And I don't want to do anything. We think it's only sin that brings death. 23:27 No. The tree of knowledge of good and evil brought death. The law brought death. Haven't you read in the Old Testament? All who tried to live by the law died. The Lord taught man that for 1,500 years. And still we have people making rules and regulations today, thinking that we can bring life into a church with rules and regulations. 23:50 When will we learn? The tree of knowledge of good and evil rules and regulations will never, never, never bring life. We have to go to the tree of life, where the life of Jesus comes inside. We are trying to separate people from the world on the outside. 24:12 We are doing exactly the opposite of what Jesus said. Jesus said, first clean the inside of the cup, the heart, then the outside will be cleaned. But do you know what's happening in many churches? Pentecostal churches, Brethren churches, and unfortunately, many of our churches. 24:30 Let's clean the person on the outside first. Make the person look simple. Dress simply. And then they are holy. They are not holy. They are humbugs. They are hypocrites. And we are producing more and more hypocrites. Who are not holy inside. 24:50 I said this once in CFC here, and I still say it now. I would rather have ten sisters who wear jeans, Don't cover their head, crop their hair short, wear lipstick, and rouge, and mascara. If you don't know the meaning of all that, don't worry. 25:09 It's not important. It's just various types of makeup that women wear. But who help the poor, who are generous with their money for God's work, who don't gossip at home, who don't speak evil about anybody at home, Who are kind and hospitable and generous, than a hundred sisters who don't wear ornaments, and who wear white clothes, and who are misers, don't give their money for God's work, and who are always making rules for others, and who gossip and backbite and criticize at home. 25:44 I will build the church with them, but I cannot build a church with them, but I cannot build a church with these hundred so-called holy hypocrites. Because the tree of life is what we want in the middle of the church. And that is why after so many years, we find in our churches, so few people coming to life. 26:11 Because we are planting the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the tree of rules and regulations in the midst of the church, and saying, Come on, brothers, come on, sisters, why aren't you eating that fruit? Why aren't you eating that fruit? 26:20 Why aren't you obeying that rule? And saying, oh, what to do, brother? After 20 years, these people have not become spiritual. I tell you, in a hundred years, they will not become spiritual. Get rid of that tree. Put the tree of life there. 26:32 Preach the life of Jesus. Preach the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Preach purity. Clean the inside of the cup first. And then the outside will be clean. You say, but not everybody will be clean. I know not everybody will be clean. 26:47 Jesus got only 11. I'm happy if I get 11 clean people. I don't want a bunch of thousand hypocrites who look holy. I don't believe that any church will be totally pure. Church is like the tabernacle I told you is a picture of the body. 27:05 The tabernacle is also a picture of the church. The tabernacle had three parts. Outer court, holy place, most holy place. And every church has got an outer court, holy place, and most holy place. The real church are the people who are in the most holy place. 27:18 And that will probably be about 10% of the people who sit in a meeting. I think on an average, if there are 100 people in a church, only 10 people are the real church there. The others come along to the meeting. Let them come. 27:31 I don't stop them. But I don't believe they're all wholehearted. It is impossible to build a church which is totally pure. I've discovered that. I thought I could do it 30 years ago, but I've discovered it's impossible. 27:44 The apostles couldn't do it. Do you think the apostles didn't want to build a pure church? Look what they built. Look what happened in Corinth. Look what happened in Galatia. Look what happened in Ephesus where they lost their first love. 27:56 Look what happened in Laodicea. Look what happened in Sardis. These are churches the apostles built. But in the midst of them, there were a small group of people called the overcomers. And Jesus was concentrating on them in every church. 28:12 The overcomers, the overcomers, the overcomers. I have seen that that is what I want to concentrate on. In every church, I say, there's going to be a group of overcomers who listen to the things I'm saying right now and who are gripped. 28:26 I don't believe that everybody sitting here is gripped. People have come here with various reasons. Some people will continue to live by the tree of knowledge of good and evil no matter how much they hear. But there will be some, I believe, and I have great hope that there will be some. 28:43 I'll give you an example. I have met people in other churches who, in other countries, who say, Brother Zach, we read every word for the week that you send by email. As soon as it comes, we read it. Do you know there are lots of people in our churches who don't read it? 29:04 They say, I've gone through your 70 hours through the Bible CD twice. There are multitudes of people in our churches who haven't gone through it once. I've seen people in other churches who search for church after church after church. 29:20 They haven't found a good church. In America, many other countries, I know one family said to me, we've gone to 11 churches and I could not allow my children to be brought up in any one of those churches because all worldly. 29:36 So you know what we do, Sunday morning, we come together, we come together, we sing a few songs, we turn on the computer and turn on to the CFC website and listen and watch video of one of your messages and that is our Sunday morning church service. 29:52 They don't miss it. There are people who watch our CFC website weekly video within two days of its being put on that website. They are so hungry. I met a brother in Australia who said he had listened to 300 CDs of mine from the web. 30:17 There is another brother I met who says, I go for a walk and I put on my headphone and listen to your message every day, seven days a week. Another brother whom I don't even know wrote to me and said, I drive one hour to work and one hour back and I have listened to two messages of yours every day of my life. 30:41 They are coming to life. But many people in our churches have heard and heard and heard and heard. They don't value it. And I see that there is no development in their life. And I have come to this conclusion with great disappointment. 31:04 That like God bypassed the Jews because they thought we are the people. If ever God takes up anybody, it will be us. I'm sorry to say that God is bypassing many, many people in CFC. And he will bypass many more in the days to come. 31:27 And bypass many of our churches. And he's reaching out to others because they are the ones who have a hunger. They are the ones who are seeking. While the Jews sit and think we are the people, we are the ones who got the greatest truth. 31:46 It was true. They had the greatest truth, but they didn't value it. God bypassed them. Because with all this greatest truth, many people became worldly. They started watching television programs where others who watch the truth are getting rid of their television. 32:09 In other churches. Here in the name of liberty, people have started watching R-rated movies. God says, go ahead. God says, go ahead. I passed by all this. You can sit there and talk about whatever doctrine you like. Deceive yourself that you got all the truth. 32:29 But God is doing his work. And I praise God because it excites my heart. My loyalty is to Jesus Christ and not to CFC. It never has been. It is to Christ and to his body. To those who are seeking after a godly life. My fellowship is with those who come to the tree of life. 32:50 Who are interested in letting the sword in front of the tree of life fall and kill their self-life. And who want to partake of the life of Jesus. Who want to love God with all their heart and mind. And who want to love their neighbor and their brothers as themselves. 33:06 And who want to live their one life doing the will of God. So that when Christ comes again, they won't have any regret. My loyalty is not for those who follow rules and regulations. And try to get people to remove their ornaments and look holy. 33:18 And talk holy. And listen to boring sermons. And think we are building the body of Christ. I don't believe in that type of delusion or deception. I don't have loyalty to elders. Even if they are our elders. If they are not wholehearted disciples of Jesus. 33:34 I will not have much respect for elders who are gathering people around the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They can do it. That's up to them. They have to answer to God one day. We are independent churches. We are not a denomination. 33:48 I don't hold any of the elders in my hand. The Bible says in Revelation chapter 1, Jesus holds every elder in his hand. They are answerable to him, not to me. My duty is only to proclaim the truth. I want to say to all of you elder brothers, I don't have a responsibility for you. 34:05 It's Jesus who holds you in your hand. My responsibility is to proclaim the truth to you. I believe that many of you are living around the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And that's what's hindering our churches. So let's learn. 34:17 Let's understand the truth accurately. What is this tree of knowledge of good and evil that brought death? It is what led to the old covenant. It's what led to rules and regulations. It is what will finally build Babylon. 34:30 Because along with all these rules and regulations, brings a heaviness, a condemnation. Equally, there are others who have reacted against that and said, we don't want any tree of knowledge of good and evil. We don't want any rules and regulations. 34:47 You think they have come to liberty? No. They have thrown away both trees. They're just living worldly. There are people who are legalistic. There are people who are worldly. And there are people who are spiritual. And the people who are spiritual are very few. 35:02 The people who are spiritual are the ones who are taking up the cross every day. We're not judging other people. Judging themselves every day. Seeking to purify themselves more and more and more. Maybe we slipped up here and there. 35:16 But the Bible says, those who have the hope for the second coming of Christ will purify themselves more and more and more and more until they become like him. 1 John chapter 3, it says in verse 2 and 3 that we have this hope that when he comes, we will be like him. 35:31 And everyone, 1 John 3, 3, everyone who has this hope purifies himself as he is pure. I want to ask all of you in Jesus name. Can you honestly tell me that your life is purer today than it was when you first came to the church? 35:50 Whether it's 10 years ago or 20 years ago or 30 years ago. Can you honestly say that? Can you say that your home is more pure? I'm not talking about simple lifestyle. Forget that. I'm talking about purity now. Purity. Do you have more purity in your home today than you had 20 years ago when you first came to the church? 36:10 Do you have more purity in your life? I don't care what sari you wear or whether you wear ornaments or not. Do you have purity in your life? Do you love your wife more today than you did when you got married? Do you submit to your husband more today than you did when you got married? 36:25 And you brothers, do you submit to the authorities over you more today than 20 years ago? If not, I want to say to you in Jesus name, you are going in the wrong direction. Repent. You know what repent means? 36:46 In Tamil it is manantirimbal. That means turning your mind. That's what repentance is. Turning your mind away from that set of values. I really believe, just like Jesus told all the churches in Revelation, repent. He told the elders in five churches, you elders, repent. 37:08 He told the churches, repent. I believe the call is coming from heaven. To elders and to churches today. Repent. Turn your mind around. Come back to your first love. I know you are having your meetings and your conferences and your activities. 37:25 And everything is going so well on the outward. And you are rich and increased with goods. And many of you are earning a lot more money than you earned 20 years ago and 30 years ago. But you loved Jesus more 20 years ago and 30 years ago. 37:36 When you had less money. You had more time to spend with him. You had more time to spend in prayer. You sought for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Much more those days than now. You have lost your first love. You have left your first love. 37:50 That's for the word of the Lord. You have become wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked. And you don't know your condition. Repent. He hasn't forsaken us. Thank God. I praise the Lord Jesus that he has not forsaken us. 38:04 But he calls us to repentance. To turn towards the truth about sin. About legalism. A false holiness. Which is not real. Being occupied with activity. Finding satisfaction in. Oh, we have distributed so many thousands of books and CDs now. 38:30 That's what Martha said in the kitchen. I've made so many chapatis now. So much rice. And Jesus said, Martha, you're worried about all this. Look at Mary sitting at my feet and listening to my word. That is more important. 38:43 You don't have time for that. Because you're busy making chapatis in the kitchen. You're busy distributing CDs. Publishing books. And having meetings. And outreach and outreach. And you don't have time to walk with me. You don't have time to worship me. 38:56 You don't have time to sit at my feet. Like Mary. Repent. That's the call coming from heaven. Maybe coming through my mouth. But it's coming from heaven. Hear it, my brother, sister. The Lord is calling us back to himself. 39:15 He wants to lift us higher. He wants to bring us to that holiness. Which is not full of rules and regulations. Do you think Jesus lived by rules and regulations? Which rule and regulation did he have? He was always breaking the rules that other people made. 39:30 In fact, one of the biggest accusations they had against Jesus is, this fellow is breaking every rule that we make. He did not live by rules and regulations. That you must wash your hands up to your elbows. Then only you must eat. 39:41 You mustn't do this on the Sabbath day. You mustn't do that on the Sabbath day. He said, forget about all your traditions. I don't care for them. But his life was purer. A million times purer than all those fellows with rules and regulations. 39:52 And I'll tell you this. You come to the tree of life, your life will be a million times purer than those pigs who are tied up with rules and regulations. Because you'll have it within. The fullness of the Holy Spirit. That's what we need. 40:08 Do you know that the Holy Spirit was meant to replace the law? They couldn't have it. Adam couldn't have the Holy Spirit. He had the opportunity. The tree of life was the Holy Spirit. He could have had it. Instead of that, he went to knowledge. 40:23 And you can see that in believers today. How many believers there are who are so eager to increase in knowledge, who are not eager to seek for the fullness of the Holy Spirit. They want more knowledge. They want to come to this conference. 40:39 They want to hear that. They hear that. More knowledge and knowledge and knowledge and knowledge. He doesn't make us spiritual. Knowledge only puffs up. He's the Holy Spirit who brings life. Moses went to the mountain and brought the law. 40:53 Jesus went up to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit. This is the exact equivalent. Just like they offered a lamb over there and Jesus was offered as a lamb of God in the new covenant. And just like they built a temple there and we build a church today in the same way. 41:10 Moses went up and brought the law and Jesus went up and sent the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the exact equivalent of that rules and regulations life they had in the Old Testament. And I want to say to you, I'm not surprised that the doctrine of the Holy Spirit has become the most controversial doctrine in Christendom today. 41:35 Because the devil has made it like that. He's made all types of counterfeits for the Holy Spirit. Somebody is pushed down on the platform and they call that Holy Spirit. That's not Holy Spirit. Jesus never did it. And if Jesus never did it, it cannot be. 41:53 The most spirit-filled man that ever walked on this earth was Jesus Christ. And he never pushed anybody down. He didn't even push one person down. He lifted up many people who are lying down flat, paralyzed. But he never pushed people down. 42:08 Today people are doing the opposite of what Jesus did. Jesus lifted people up. Today people are pushing them down. But there are thousands and millions of believers who can't see that. Do you know there's a word in the Bible for people who do the opposite of what Christ does? 42:23 Do you know what that word is? Antichrist. Have you read it? Anti means the opposite. To do the opposite of what Christ does. When Christ lifts people up, you push people down. I'm surprised that so many believers think that's the Holy Spirit. 42:40 That's not the Holy Spirit. It may not be an evil spirit. It may be human hypnotism. Maybe psychology. Maybe pressure. I don't know what it is. But it's not Holy Spirit. That's for sure. Because those people get up from there and still go home and shout at their wives. 42:59 The people get up from there and still go home and love money. They didn't get any Holy Spirit. Don't be deceived by all this. The Holy Spirit has become the... And some people react against that and say, Ah, this is all rubbish. 43:12 We don't want to seek this type of Holy Spirit. I agree. But what do they seek? They seek nothing. They seek for knowledge. Why not seek for the genuine gifts of the Holy Spirit? How many of you are obeying the command in 1 Corinthians 14 and verse 1 which says, 43:30 Pursue after love and earnestly desire the gifts of the Holy Spirit? I would encourage you to stop preaching all your rules and regulations and start pursuing after love. You know, there are a lot of people who, when they hear about... 43:53 They want to know about our church, they ask questions like, How often do you meet? Do you break bread every Sunday? Do the sisters wear ornaments in your church? How do you baptize people? Every question they will ask, nobody has ever asked me the question, 44:10 Do you all love one another? That's not important. It's all these externals. What do people ask you when they ask you about your church? It's all externals. But what did Jesus say is the one mark of those who are his disciples. 44:27 They love one another. That's what Jesus said. It's not that they speak in tongues or they don't wear ornaments or they carry a Bible or they sing charismatic songs. No, they love one another. That's what we must pursue. 44:40 Pursue after love. And when you love a person deeply enough, I mean in the church, you'll want to help them. And when you want to help them, you'll discover like the man who had a visitor at midnight, I don't have food to give him. 44:54 And when you don't have food to give him, you won't just cook up a boring sermon. You will go and knock at God's door and say, God, give me the gift of prophecy. Give me the anointing of the Holy Spirit. And if you don't get it immediately, you'll keep knocking. 45:13 You'll keep knocking until you get it. And the promise in Luke 11 is, he will give him as much as he wants. But he will first test you to see how much you love your people. And if you do, you will seek and seek and seek and seek and you won't be satisfied with one gift of the Spirit. 45:34 You'll want more. I want to tell you this, my brothers and sisters, today we are living in the new covenant where the Holy Spirit is poured out upon brothers and sisters. And if you sisters don't enter into your privilege, that's up to you. 45:54 God won't force you if the government in Karnataka says on the outskirts of Bangalore, we are giving a free plot of land to everybody who comes and applies for it. Who gets it? Those who apply for it. Your neighbor this side got it, your neighbor that side got it. 46:12 And they ask you, didn't you get it? No, we didn't get it. Why? Ah, we're too lazy to go there. And in one year, that value of that property appreciates a thousand times. And you say, boy, what a fool I was. They were offering it free last year and I didn't take it. 46:28 That is the regret many of us are going to have. Mark my words. That is the regret many of you are going to have when you stand before the Lord. And you discover that you did not value the baptism in the Holy Spirit. You did not value the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 46:44 You did not seek God. You say, oh, I'm a sister. What can I do? Okay, sit there. You didn't read the Bible. You just listened to your elder who had a prejudice against women sharing the word. Okay. He won't allow you to preach in the church. 46:56 So what? Don't you meet other human beings every day with whom you can share God's word? You don't know how to preach in the church. When I was a young man, they wouldn't let me preach in the church. I said, fine. I meet people. 47:12 I can go and meet somebody in his home. I can share God's word with them. I can share God's word with them. People come to your house. Don't they come to your house, sisters? If you have the spirit poured out upon you, you can be a blessing to that lady who comes 47:24 to your house instead of gossiping and talking some useless stuff. You need the power of the Holy Spirit. You need the Holy Spirit poured out upon you so that you can have the gift of prophecy, which is to speak, to encourage, to build up, to challenge, not to condemn and criticize 47:43 and say, why aren't you doing this? Why aren't you like this? Why aren't you like that? Leave those dogs to bark like that forever. Don't imitate them. There are many dogs in our churches who get up in the pulpit and say, 47:55 why don't you do this and why don't you do that? Let them bark forever. They'll be barking in hell one day. You don't copy them. You seek for the gift of prophecy, which is different from barking. It is encouraging, lifting up, building up, challenging. 48:12 That's what it says. Prophecy is not barking and rebuking. There are a few, few, few, few people whom God makes profits in the church. God may give them an anointed ministry of rebuking, but there are very few. I've discovered in my life that there are a lot of false prophets and people who try to imitate the prophets. 48:35 They are humbugs. You cannot imitate a prophet. God has to either make you one or you'll never be one. If you try to imitate a prophet, you'll be a hypocrite and a humbug. And I've seen people do that. I've seen people try to imitate me. 48:50 It's obvious to everybody who listens to them, the fellow is a humbug. I don't try to imitate anybody else. Is there any preacher you have met whom you can say, I try to imitate them? No, I didn't. I deliberately said, I will not imitate any preacher because I'm a unique person. 49:11 I have to be myself. I want to encourage you to be yourself. You're hindering what God wants to make you by trying to be somebody else. Be yourself. Don't seek honor. Be yourself. Brother, sister, ask God to pour out his spirit on you. 49:31 But first of all, give up your attachment to earthly things. Say, Lord, I want to be devoted to you. I know if I were to say how many of you want the baptism of the Holy Spirit, all of you will raise your hands. How many of you want the gift of prophecy? 49:45 All of you will raise your hands. Next question is, how many of you want to forsake everything? Follow Jesus. That's the price. That's the price. You don't want to pay the price. It's like going to a shop. I want that washing machine. 49:59 Washing machine, you have to pay 15,000 rupees. Can you give it to me for 15 rupees? He said, no, 15 rupees? What are you talking? The washing machine, man. Okay, let's make it 20 rupees. I'll give you 20 rupees. I want this. 50:13 I want this desperately in my house, sir. 20, well, we settle okay for 100 rupees, my last price. Say, you don't know what you're talking about. Go home. Go to the junkyard. They'll give you some third-rate, useless, thrown-away washing machine, 100 rupees. 50:29 You can take that. Things that don't work. You want the real thing? You've got to pay a price. And you sacrifice, and you spend that money, and buy the washing machine. But you won't do that for the Holy Spirit and His gifts. 50:43 You value some wretched washing machine more than your Holy Spirit and His gifts. No wonder we get counterfeit gifts. We imitate. No wonder we don't have the continuous joy of the Holy Spirit. No wonder we are still legalists. 51:00 My dear brother, sister, let me plead with you. Seek God. God is inviting you to open your heart. He said, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me. I have thirsted, and God is my witness. I thirst today. God is my witness that I cry out to Him, Lord, I want a greater anointing in my life. 51:20 I want more gifts of the Holy Spirit. I want more gifts of the Holy Spirit in my life. I'm not satisfied with what I have. I'm knocking at your door. I'm willing to pay any price. $15,000, $1,000, $10,000, anything, Lord. 51:31 I want the power of your Holy Spirit. I mean, in spiritual terms. I'm willing to give up anything. Are you willing? Are you willing to humble yourself and recognize there may be a hundred things wrong in you, which that sister wearing ornaments does not have? 51:46 Are you willing to recognize that you could be a bigger hypocrite and a humbug than that sister who wears ornaments? How many of you will acknowledge that? Yeah, when you're willing to be honest like that, God may have some mercy on you. 51:59 But as long as you're finding fault with this person and that person and the other person, I tell you in a hundred years, God will not give you the Holy Spirit or His gifts. Because God does not give the Holy Spirit to people who are accusers and condemners of others. 52:14 They'll get some cheap counterfeit from somewhere. God is going to give the Holy Spirit to those who want to build the body of Christ, who want to encourage others, who want to lead people to the tree of life. And I want to encourage many of you. 52:27 And I say, if your older brothers and older sisters don't value it, you younger people, you younger generation, rise up to the challenge and seek God. Seek God in private. Seek God gathered together with some other wholehearted young brothers. 52:43 There may be only two or three in your church among the 20, 30 young people. You may find two or three who are wholehearted. Gather with them and pray and say to God, if we have to pray for 10 years, we'll pray for 10 years. 52:56 But we want the power of the Holy Spirit in our life. We're not trying to, we're finished with all this following the fashions of the models and the cinema stars and combing our hair like them and dressing like them. We're finished with all that, Lord. 53:09 We're sick and tired of that Christian life. We want godliness. Will God find 10 people like that in our midst? Will he find 10 young brothers and sisters who will say, Lord, I take up the challenge for the next generation 53:27 to be a spirit-filled servant of yours. God is bypassing the Jews. God is bypassing those who think we are the only ones. We've got all the truth. We've got it better than everybody else. 53:48 He'll bypass you. But he'll never bypass the humble. I tell you this. He'll never bypass a humble person who says, Lord, it's me. I'm a needy person. Lord, forgive me. I acknowledge my error. I've seen my need, Lord. I seek you. 54:07 Please fill me with the Holy Spirit. Bring me to the tree of life. I see now, Lord. I see the truth more accurately. I have been seeking knowledge. I've been wanting to imitate. I've been living by rules myself, bringing other people under rules in my home, 54:27 the church, bringing people under condemnation, bondage. Lord, I seek you for the power of the Holy Spirit. I want the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit to serve you. Supernatural gifts. The anointing of the Holy Spirit that brings life. 54:45 That leads people to godliness. Don't you want to be like that? Don't you want to be a person whom somebody meets and their life has changed because they met with you? Oh, I wish many, I don't say all because I don't know whether all of you 55:03 are willing to pay the price, but I wish many of you will take that challenge and say, Lord, I want to be that type of person that people who meet with me, they may oppose me, they may criticize me, but they'll never forget me. 55:16 They met a saint. They'll never forget that they met a saint whose values were different, who lived for God, who was not willing to just follow along with the cloud. If you're standing alone in your college, stand for God. 55:33 Alone in your neighborhood, alone in your family, stand for God. Seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit, continuously, continuously. Say, Lord, I want heavens to be open over me, all the time. And I'll tell you, the need is especially great in our day 55:51 because many of us are getting older. And even if we may live for a longer time, we may not be available wherever the need is. I'll tell you honestly, there are a hundred different places in India 56:13 that I would like to be in. But I can't. I'm one person. Who will go? Who will go to these places? Will you take up the challenge and say, Lord, I'm ready to go. I will not live anymore for money in this world. 56:34 I don't want any more knowledge. I have enough knowledge. Today, many of us have more knowledge than Paul and Peter. We have our concordance and our Bible knowledge. We can quote verses better than Paul and Peter. We can preach better sermons 56:46 than Paul and Peter. But do you have the anointing they had? Seek for that. I'm done. Not done with serving the Lord. Done with this message. My brother, sister, I invite you, whoever you are, turn from your sin, worldliness, 57:07 and say, Lord, and from your legalism, and say, Lord, I'm sorry. I've taken things so lightly in my life. I want to turn to you. Let's bow before God. Understanding the truth accurately is not a matter of the head, but of the spirit. 57:25 It's not a question of intellectual knowledge. The word of God was given to us for our spirit. How many of you will say to God in your heart, Lord, I make a covenant with you. I am going to seek you for the fullness of the Holy Spirit 57:47 in my life, for the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire. I know you will give this to me because Jesus purchased it for me on the cross. It is my birthright. I know I have not received it because I have not valued it enough. 58:05 I have valued washing machines and earthly things more than I valued the Holy Spirit. No wonder I never got it. The things I valued on the earth, I got. And the spiritual things which are more valuable, which I didn't value, 58:18 I didn't get. But Lord, it's going to be different from now. And not only the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the continuous fullness of the Holy Spirit. And I'm going to seek you even though I'm a sister, even though I'm young, 58:32 I'm going to seek you for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I'm as much your child as any brother sitting here. I'm as much your child as any brother sitting here. I'm as much your child as any older person sitting here. Lord, 58:49 I may not get into a pulpit, but I'm going to be a blessing to everybody I meet. I can't do it myself. I ask you to fill me with the Holy Spirit. Give me the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit. And if it takes me 10 years, 59:02 let it take 10 years. I'm going to seek you. I'm not going to live like the other worldly believers around me. And I'm not going to live like the legalists around me. Lord, I want to be like Jesus. Jesus will be my example 59:17 from now on. Lord, you heard me. I'm going to keep this word. You'll find me tomorrow saying the same thing. You'll find me day after tomorrow. Come and meet me next month, Lord. You'll find me saying the same thing. There's no turning back now. 59:33 No turning back. I'm determined to seek God for the power of his Holy Spirit. Let's all stand up and let's bow our heads before God. Let's all stand up before God and respect him. Give him the reverence 59:54 due unto his name. Almighty God, the Lord Jesus Christ, our risen Savior who conquered death and the devil and overcame sin is in our midst. Brother, sister, the baptizer and the Holy Spirit is in our midst. Jesus is in our midst. 1:00:15 Open your heart to him. Open your heart to him. Brother, sister, open your heart to him. Reach out to him in thirst. Lift up your heart. Lift up your hands and say, Lord, my hands are empty. I'm coming to you. Fill me with your spirit. 1:00:34 Fill me. Lord, pour out your spirit upon me. Reach out to him, my brother, sister. Reach out to him and cry out to him and cry out to him from your heart right now. Let's all pray to him together. Let's all, don't be ashamed. 1:00:49 Cry out to God from your heart and say what you want to say to God. There's nobody around you now except you and Jesus. Talk to him and tell him what you want. Ask him and show him your empty hands and say, Lord, I want all of your power 1:01:05 in my life. Cry out to him and say, Lord, I want your power. I believe, I thirst for you. I thirst for your power, O God. I believe that you love me, Lord Jesus. I believe that you care for me. I want to turn from everything in my life 1:01:25 that displeases you. I was ignorant of many things, Lord, but I've understood and I seek you. I repent of the way I've lived in the past. I'm seeking you with all of my heart. I want you to pour out your spirit on me. I want you to fill me. 1:01:44 I want you to give me the gifts of the Holy Spirit to serve you, to live for you. Lord, keep me away from the world. Keep me away from legalism. Keep me for yourself from now till the day you come again. Bring me back to my first love, Lord. 1:02:01 Bring me back to my first love the way I was devoted to you 20, 30 years ago. Bring me back to that, Lord. Forgive me from going away from that. Lord, I come back to you with all of my heart. I come back to you, Lord. Thank you for hearing me. 1:02:19 I believe you received me. I believe you will grant me the prayer of my heart. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen.
