0:00 [Music] So brothers we'll go through these questions and the first one is very honest 0:18 question. When I read passages from Leviticus, Ezekiel 41-48 etc. I feel an urge to rush through especially because my mind starts wandering. Would you still recommend reading 0:36 slowly? What are your thoughts on reading aloud to prevent the mind from wandering? Well, all passages of scripture are not of equal importance even though we believe it's the inspired 0:56 word of God. For example, the New Testament, a lot of passages in the New Testament are far more important than many parts of the Old Testament. And uh but the other thing we must remember 1:17 is that passages in scripture become more meaningful to us as we become more familiar with the Bible and as we grow more mature and older. We begin to find value in some of those 1:36 other passages in the Old Testament that we didn't think were very important. There are some very precious passages in Leviticus which not every verse but when we compare it with the New Testament because the Bible says 1:53 that the in the new I mean not the Bible says but the new explains the old. So many times you find Jesus quoted from the Old Testament and he was referring to a New Testament situation quoting an Old Testament 2:12 verse. So I found for example I'll give you one example. He's he's mentioned Ezekiel 41-48. If you turn to Ezekiel 47, it's just one example from these chapters quoted. When you read the New Testament, 2:43 uh there are a number of times where the Old Testament is quoted and uh I'll give you one of those instances and that is you don't have to turn there. I'll just read 2:59 it. In John chapter 7, it says, "He who believes in me," verse 38, listen to this, "he who believes in me, John 7:38, as the scripture has 3:17 said, from his innermost being will flow rivers of living water." Now whenever I read in the New Testament as the scripture has said my curiosity takes me back to the old testament and says where does the scripture say that and if you 3:31 develop that simple habit whenever you come to the new testament and you find somewhere it says as the scripture has said try and find it whereas in the old testament and this is an amazing passage because it's talking about being filled 3:42 with the holy spirit as scripture said out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water which he spoke about the holy spirit and that is very obviously referring refering to Ezekiel 47 which is one of the passages which 3:55 are mentioned here and you certainly need to read this a bit slowly not all some passages you read very quickly but here it speaks about rivers of living water in the first five for example 47 a river that could not be 4:14 forted so when you look at it you can learn a lot of things from is u that the water began flowing from the house of the Lord and there was a progression when he 4:32 started it says the water was up to his ankles in the last part of verse three then he measured a thousand and it came up the water came up to his knees and then he measured a th00and the water came up to his loins Then he measured a thousand. It was 4:52 water that I could not afford. I had to swim in it. So there we learned that the fullness of the spirit is a progressive thing which you don't find in the New Testament. So that's the advantage of when you read as the scripture has said, 5:06 you go back to the Old Testament and you see he got more and more and more and more and more into the river. Finally, you come to the place where he swims. And what happens is I mean if you meditate on this passage in relation to 5:21 what we read in John 7, this is the advantage of meditation instead of rushing through is as long as he's not the place where the water is carrying him, he's got his feet on the ground always. 5:40 And the picture there is of the spirit moving in a person, but he's still a bit earthly minded. That's the meaning of his feet is on the ground and the water is rising and rising and rising and rising and he's getting more and more in 5:54 the spirit, but his his feet are still in the ground. His feet are still attached to the earth. And there are many people like that who's uh yeah they're growing in the Holy Spirit but their feet are still they're still attached to the world till one day 6:09 comes when they're not attached to the world anymore. And after that it says the water carries him. The spirit of God leads him. So there's a there's a profit in meditating on this passage of scripture in connection with what Jesus 6:25 said as the scripture said out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. And you read further here that u in verse n the middle of that verse everywhere the river 6:44 goes there'll be life. every living creature wherever the river goes will live and and wherever the waters go in the last part of verse 9 it'll become fresh. So everything will live where the 7:02 river goes and dead things will become fresh and [Music] uh verse 12 by the river on the bank. There'll be all kinds of trees for food and their leaves will never wither. Their fruit will not fail. Verse 12, 7:22 they'll bear fruit every month. Their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food. Their heal is for healing. So notice that the water flows from the innermost being from the sanctuary means it's the innermost part 7:38 of our being. So the Holy Spirit's work is first of all in our innermost being the depths of our spirit. From there he flows out. That's what Jesus said here. From his innermost being rivers of living water will flow. And we see that 7:54 fulfilled here. And it's a progressive thing. So we miss out something if we read some of these passages to past. So but there are other passages like you know there are passages in chronicles where just a big list of names so and so begat this 8:10 this this this is this there's not much of meditate on there but occasionally I found even there in the middle sometimes there's a statement which uh alerts you I'll give you one example of that [Music] in I have to try and find it I think 8:29 it's numbers and I think it's chapter 26. 9:01 You know what? I want you first of all to turn the number 16. This is the place where a man called 9:18 Kora rebelled against Moses and said, "Who made you the ruler and you're exalting yourself?" In verse three, and Moses, verse four, fell on his face and said, I'm not going to fight back with you. And we read, then the Lord told 9:35 them to come the next day. And when they came the next day, it says here, they're all Kora gathered with all the congregation. Verse 19. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. Listen to this verse 20. I don't know whether you know uh that when Kora and 9:51 his family stood there the Moses gave a command in verse 21 separate yourself from among these people the Lord said that I make otherwise I'll consume all of them and uh the Lord spoke to Moses in 10:11 verse 24 speak to the congregation to get back from the dwellings of Kora and Moses went and told them get back from there depart verse 26 from the tents of this wicked men and don't touch anything that belongs to 10:30 them. So they got back from around the dwellings of Kora, Dayan and Abram. And then we read as he finished speaking verse 31, the ground opened and split open and all the men who were with 10:48 Kora were the earth opened and swallowed up all of them. Now this is the Now please turn with me to numbers in chapter 11:06 26. There's a reference to the yeah verse 9 it's referring here about those who contended with numbers 26 and verse 9 who contended 11:23 with Moses the company of Kora in verse 10 the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up along with Kora but listen to this verse 11 but the sons of Kora did not Now, how many of you know that, knew that before we read it 11:42 here? That Kora's own sons, they were standing with their dad and Moses said, "Get away from them." The people get got away. But here, the sons of Kora, I don't know what happened to the daughters and I don't know what happened to Dethal and 11:57 Abram's sons. Kora's sons decided to stand with the man of God against their dad. See, this is a New Testament example because Jesus said, "If anyone wants to follow me, you got to hate father and mother and brother and sister and 12:12 everything. You got to stand apart from them." And here is an example of people who did that. Now, what is the result? You turn to the psalms and perhaps you've noticed there are some psalms which are 12:31 called which are written by the sons of kora. Here's one of them in Psalms 84. A psalm of the sons of Kura. How lovely are your dwelling place, oh Lord, my loans soul longs and even 12:51 yearns for the courts of the Lord. There are people who yearn for the courts of the Lord. People who stood against their own dad and refused to rebel against man of God and these wonderful psalms inspired by the Holy Spirit. They would not have 13:11 written if they hadn't stood against the man of God. So there are some place things like um incidents like this that you'll miss if you just read through quickly and don't stop to think where where else does it come. For example, you read that 13:26 the sons of Kora are mentioned there but they didn't die. What happened to them? Then you search and you find that they come in the book of Psalms. So when a person stands against stands with God's God's servants even against 13:43 his own parents, God takes note of that and gives them an anointing to serve him and to be inspired writers of scripture. Tremendous. They would have missed out on that completely if they had stood with their dad over 14:00 there. This is just one example of what we miss if you read too quickly. So there's no law in this. You need to see where you ask the Lord to tell you where to stop and where you should continue reading quickly. A lot of the Old Testament now 14:17 I I listen to audio the Old Testament. The New Testament I read slowly sometimes just four or five verses a day. But the New Test Old Testament I read about four chapters a day on audio. So, it's much easier to listen while I'm doing 14:33 something else. Uh, okay. Next question is, okay, how can I keep my mind from wandering? Well, if you seek the Lord in that passage to say, "Lord, is there something you can 14:50 speak to me from here and ask you to link it up with some other passage of scripture that'll enable you to search the scripture then your mind can't wander?" Okay. The next question is, "How do I know if it's my own thoughts or the Holy Spirit that's 15:09 leading me?" Well, the Holy Spirit will bring conviction of either about some attitude in my life that's wrong, some thought that's not correct 15:28 or something, some revelation in scripture. Now the way to distinguish between a bright idea which can come from their own cleverness. You know clever people can find all types of clever things in the Bible which have no spiritual 15:45 value. And how to distinguish it in a clever idea that your brain produced your intelligence produced and revelation of the Holy Spirit. The revelation of the Holy Spirit will bring some change in your life. The intellectual stimulation you get 16:02 from something you read doesn't produce any change in your life. It's just a bright idea which you may feel like sharing to get some honor but doesn't change your life or anybody else's life. Revelation from the Holy Spirit will 16:17 always change your life in some area maybe a small area something. That's how I distinguish between something which is from the Holy Spirit and something which is just from my own clever mind trying to find out something there. Of course, 16:31 it's with our mind that we meditate. Uh I must remind you again of the verse I quoted earlier in I think it's in during the conference in Psalm 1. If you're not familiar with it's a very important verse. Psalm 1 we read 16:50 that blessed is the man who stays away from wicked people and sinners and scoffers. Verse one, he's detached himself from wicked people, sinners and scoffers and he spends his time was to delighting in the law of the 17:09 Lord and meditating on it day and night. Such a man, listen to this tremendous promise. If you just do that, you'll be like a tree planted by the streams of water producing fruit in its season and its leaf will not wither. We 17:28 see how in summer here in the trees the leaves are all withered. But this tree the leaves does not wither because see these leaves wither because there's no rain. There's no water, not getting any water. But here also there's no rain. 17:41 But the underground roots are going and finding water underground and to some stream nearby. And so it's always producing fruit and his leaf does not wither. And this is the best part of it. Last part of verse three. Whatever he 17:56 does, he prospers. I don't know when you'll get challenged when you read a statement like that. I remember when I read it, I said, Lord, that's great. If you promised me that whatever I do, I'll prosper. What more do I need? 18:09 Spiritually prosper. I mean whatever I do, I spiritually I'll prosper. I want a life like that that every word I speak will bless somebody. A life of continuous prosperity spiritually. I mean and what is the condition that stay 18:27 away from the wicked and sinners and all that and meditate on the law of the Lord day and night. So that's how we going to study the scriptures and the Holy Spirit reveals something to us to change our life. That's revelation from the spirit. 18:41 If it doesn't change your life, it's just a bright idea which not worth much. It'll give you information but not revelation. Okay. The next question is how do I know if I'm following my own thoughts or being guided by the Holy 18:54 Spirit? Well, if it's by the Holy Spirit, it's uh more related to sin. See the Holy Spirit not primarily come here to tell us you should take this job or you should take that job. Such things God guides us by 19:13 circumstances. That means you apply for this job and you apply for that one and something some door opens and then that's how God reveals to you his will in the terms of a job or getting married and all. uh you uses your mind to show that someone is 19:31 got a similar desire like you to live for the Lord. But uh the Holy Spirit does not have to give us some sudden revelation while we are reading to guide us in our life in in terms of 19:48 practical steps we have to take but is usually related to our personal life. So the Holy Spirit primarily convicts us from the scripture related to making us more Christlike in our character not the external things. External things he'll guide by 20:08 circumstances but when you read the scriptures he guides you into a holier life into a more Christlike life. And that's how we know. Inner witness is something you you don't know initially, but as you grow 20:27 spiritually, you begin to distinguish between what is of God and what is not of God. Okay. The next question is, I've known of times in the past when I feel I was able to hear the Lord more clearly. I do not know of any conscious 20:46 sin in my life. Is there something I can do to hear the Lord more clearly? Well, I would say the one thing to hear the Lord more clearly is always to keep a clear conscience. And if you keep your conscience clear 21:03 all the time, I believe that the Lord will speak to you and it becomes more and more clear. You know, in the beginning, you're trying to listen to someone you've not listened to for so many years. But as 21:22 you read God's word and as you obey God's word more and more you'll be able to hear the Lord clearly. Not so much in terms of first of all the Lord speaks to us in relation to things which are sinful or things which are outside of 21:37 his will in our conscience. It's only as we grow more mature in life that he specifically guides you in relation to some thing to do. Sometimes God also can guide us even when we are very young in the Lord with something specifically from the Lord. 21:56 But we must not follow the example of somebody else. You know somebody else gives us a testimony for example that he got a guidance from this particular verse and you can go looking for that. Oh I want a guidance like that so that I 22:09 can also testify about how wonderfully the lord led me. You're seeking honor there. That guy did not seek honor when he found something in a verse which guided him in his life. But so we have to be very careful that I'm not looking 22:21 for guidance in order to be testify somewhere. Guidance is because I don't want to miss God's will in my life. And sometimes the Lord may never tell you to tell anybody else. There are lots of things the Lord tells me so 22:34 don't ever tell anybody else about it because we have to be careful that we are not reading scripture in order to give a testimony or in order to preach. We have primarily reading scripture in order to follow Jesus more closely. And out of a 22:51 closer walk with God will come a ministry of serving others or sharing God's word. Please remember that because it can be a great temptation. I want something clever to speak about somewhere. Forget about that. You died to it and say Lord I 23:07 don't want to speak anything clever. You tell me something that will help me in my life and then I can share that in a meeting what God helped me in my life. Otherwise, I'm just sharing clever thoughts. Now, it's okay if you're a 23:21 babe. You're a babe. That's all you can do. Share some clever thought you got from scripture. But you shouldn't be remaining there forever. You must go on to revelation. Revelation means something that changed your life in some 23:35 area. That's the primary purpose of scripture. Okay. Uh yeah, let me just say this also. You 23:55 know, keeping the conscience clear, the clearer our conscience is, the louder we'll hear the voice of the spirit. Because it's sin that makes the conscience death, that makes a spirit death. And I believe if our conscience is 24:13 absolutely clear, that means we are very careful to immediately confess sin to God and man and set everything right in our life, God will speak to us every day. I seek to live like that now that I want say God to say something to me 24:29 every day of my life. But it was not like that in the early days. It takes time to get there. But make that your goal. Lord, I want to come to the place where I hear something from you every day when I It doesn't have to be 24:40 something new, but it is something from God. It's just like as I said the other day, if you're having breakfast, you don't get a new type of breakfast every day of your life, but you feel refreshed and healthy. Even if it's the same breakfast every day, 24:55 but it's healthy. It's fresh. It's not stale food that's kept for one month or something like that. It's fresh. So, we have to hear God like that. U keeping your conscience clear is the only thing that helps you to hear the 25:10 Lord clearly. Okay. Next is do you receive revelation from God's word every time you read God's word? If you mean by revelation something that changes my life. Not necessarily every time. In fact, you if you're obeying more and 25:28 more you're moving more and more your conscience, uh you'll probably need very little revelation. God will show something to you. You obey that. But as you go more and more you walk with the Lord, it's 25:47 more in your conscience that you keep away from sin and God's word gives you a revelation on that. For example, if you read the gospels and say, "Lord, I'll tell you the reason I read the gospels is I say, 26:05 Lord, I want to know how you lived on the earth." And little little things in this here and there I get a verse and I see how Jesus was. For example, how he would praise people. You know, we are sometimes so hesitant to say something good to 26:24 people. You you cons consider your own nature and ask yourself, do you really speak highly appreciatively uh about anyone? It's not human nature. We don't even appreciate our wives, leave alone any brother in the church. But Jesus was 26:43 so even to a Roman centurion, he once said, "I've never seen faith like this man's in all of Israel." Say that to a heathen. Jesus was a great at appreciating peach. You read the gospels and they make a study of this when you 27:01 go through the four gospels, the four gospels and see the number of times he would openly publicly appreciate somebody. And then you examine your own life, you'll find how reluctant we are. Even when we write emails to others, so hesitant to 27:19 say something really appreciating others well because that's part of our selfish nature. You yourself know what a tremendous encouragement it is when somebody write and says something to appreciate you or what you've done. Not 27:33 flatter you but sincere appreciation. You know what good it does to you? Why not do that to others yourself? It's a good habit to pick up. There's things that we can learn by when you read the gospels how Jesus spoke to 27:48 other people. Not not always to believers. At the same time, we see that um he rebuked people very strongly too. Many things we can learn about the way Jesus did things. Even though he said, "Learn from me for I'm gentle and humble 28:04 in heart." For example, gentleness. Learn from Jesus how to be gentle. So you meditate on that and then you read that he whipped all the Pharisees and the turned over the money changers and was he gentle at that time or not? I believe he was. He he didn't 28:23 live in with periods of gentleness and then lose that gentleness at some other time. So that teaches me that my understanding of the word gentle is completely wrong because if you saw somebody taking a whip and chasing all 28:35 the animals out and turning the tables of the money changers and I ask you do you think that brother doing that is gentle? You say oh no it is certainly not gentle. That shows how far our mind is from the mind of Christ. Because I asked myself this 28:50 question was Jesus Christ gentle at that time. Jesus didn't have spurts of gentleness and spurts of anger. He was not like us. He was consistently gentle, consistently humble. And the thing is, it's not our understanding of gentleness 29:05 and humility. He lived before his father's face. And his humility was seen in the fact that I'll tell you, he couldn't care less what you thought about his chasing people out of the temple. He couldn't care less what anybody else 29:20 thought about him. His humility was before his father's face. And his humility was seen in the fact that when a father told him, chase them out, he couldn't care less what people thought about him. There was his humility. In 29:34 the fact that he didn't care what anybody would think when he did that. Will I lose my reputation for gentleness? He didn't care about it. There we see Christ's humility. That's just one example of revelation. I know it's helped me a lot because a lot of 29:49 the ministry God has given me is strong correction and I know that uh the temptation has come to me well people think I'm a very hard man I see the example of Jesus your gentleness must be before God not for people to appreciate you say 30:07 brother Zach is a very gentle person or about you there's a very subtle desire in our hearts to get a reputation for something or the other oh he's a very humble brother or his gentle I'd say brother if you want to follow the lord 30:19 just forget it completely die to the opinions of men very very important and we think we have died we haven't died we care so much so these are little things we can learn as we meditate on scripture okay that's one example of revelation of 30:36 how can you be gentle when you're whipping people out of the temple group uh to overcome jealousy and discontentment is the answer in humility and being filled with the Holy Spirit. Well, I believe God gives us strength to overcome every temptation, 30:53 particularly jealousy. Jealousy is because that guy got some honor which probably I wanted or he got some reputation or he did something or or he shared something which uh I wanted to share but he got the chance to say it first. No, I can't say 31:12 it. All this type of stuff. You know, my attitude is if the, for example, if there's different people sharing in a meeting and the Lord's laid something on my heart and somebody else shares exactly the same thing before me, 31:27 you know what I do when my turn comes? I still say the same thing. I say, "Brothers, this is what I also got. I'd like to repeat it. I don't want to get a reputation for saying something new." These are the subtle ways. If you 31:39 examine your heart, you'll find there's a pride there that wants to get some honor. But I say to all of you dear brothers, you should be sharing God's word when you get opportunity. And the number one thing you need to do to get revelation 31:53 from God is die to your own honor and reputation. Then God will speak to you much more clearly. And then there'll be no jealousy or discontentment. And the Holy Spirit will help you. When you say the fullness of the Holy Spirit will do everything. Yes, 32:11 the fullness of the Holy Spirit gives you the strength, but the Holy Spirit will not bend your will. You have to say no to your own will. It's Jesus who said not my will. The Holy Spirit guided him, but Jesus had to say, "Okay, I deny my will to do 32:28 what the Holy Spirit says." So, the Holy Spirit will make guide you what to do, but you're the one who's got to deny your will. You're the one who's got to take up your cross. But that responsibility is upon you. So being filled with the spirit is not 32:44 going to automatically make you spiritual. It's going to give you the strength. But you got to use that strength to put yourself life to death. Okay? Can the thoughts of comparing my lot with other people's lot be an example of a messenger from 33:06 Satan? No. Uh the only time we read of a messenger from Satan in the Bible is when Paul had a physical sickness, physical sicknesses. It was a messenger from Satan because it was troubling him so 33:24 much. So I do not give I'm very careful not to give credit to Satan unnecessarily. I say that wasn't Satan. That was some germ that got into my body and make made me sick. Why should I give the credit of the devil? I try my best 33:41 not to give credit to the devil for anything. He He's an accuser and I don't want to have anything to do with that spirit and I'm not going to honor him by saying he did this for me. He he's going to be crushed under my feet one day. He 33:58 was defeated on the cross and I always take that position. He was defeated on the cross. But uh so if thoughts of comparing my lot with other people's lot that is a simple example of your selflight. It's got nothing to do with Satan. It's this 34:16 wretched self wanting to exalt itself. Don't put the blame on the devil. He didn't do that. It's your self life which wants to compare yourself with others and to show that you're better than them. You've got to just put 34:32 that to death with the power of the Holy Spirit. So most of our problem is not with Satan. Most of our problem is with our own self-will. So if you do something wrong, don't blame the devil for it. Don't say he made me rubbish. You're glorifying the 34:50 devil thereby. You mean Christ and the Holy Spirit in you, but the devil won. No. But I'll tell you where who wins. It's your self life that wins by resisting the Holy Spirit. So the battle is it says you got to put the flesh to death. The flesh is 35:07 not the devil. You put the flesh to death. They that are Christ have crucified the flesh with its affections and lust. That is the way of the Christian life. So don't blame the devil or give him credit 35:25 for something which he has no power over us. He can tempt us. I agree. But very often it is our own flesh that is tempting us. Can you share some practical ways to be disciplined in giving to the church and especially to 35:39 the poor based on Ezekiel 16 and verse 49. Well, Ezekiel 16:49 35:59 says, "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom. She and her daughters, arrogance, abundant, careless, and did not help the poor and the needy." See there are a list of a number of things here which 36:17 shows us that sodom was not only homosexuality. The word sodomy is equivalent with homosexuality because that is one of the characteristics of the people in sodom. They were homosexuals a lot of them. But 36:34 it also says here that they had arrogance, plenty of food, careless ease, and they did not care to help the poor and the needy. So practical ways to be disciplined in giving to the church. I believe each person must 36:58 decide to himself how much he wants to give depending You know, there's no law on this. In the Old Testament, there was a law. If you were if you were living in the Old Testament, I'd say it's not just 10%. If you look at 37:11 the law, there's more than 10%. The 10% is the basic minimum. And then there are certain other extra gifts in addition to the texts that one has to give. Otherwise, you're not even keeping the law. But in the new covenant, there's 37:24 only one rule to give to the Lord cheerfully. So I say if you can't give something cheerfully don't give it. That's my simple principle. Well somebody will say I don't feel like giving anything. They say don't give anything 37:43 then God doesn't want someone who's reluctantly trying to follow some law which says I'll give or the other thing I say don't try to do business with God. That means you say Lord if I give you this what are you going to give me? 38:01 That's that's old covenant. It's like Jacob, you know, uh I'll do this and what will you do for me? That that was the way he argued with God. Or I'll do all this he please protect me. Uh see you see that for example and it's 38:19 a good example. You see Jacob met with God twice. One was on his way out when he was going towards his father-in-law's place who later became his father-in-law. But the other was when he came 38:37 back. So when this first is in Genesis 28 and he he slept somewhere on a stone and somehow God met with him there. The Lord 38:55 stood above him in verse 13 Genesis 203 and spoke to him. And when God spoke to him, look how Jacob responds. Lord, if you're with me and you keep me on my journey, verse 20, 28:20, and give me 39:13 food and wear clothes so that I can return to my father's house, then you'll be my God and I'll give you 10%. Verse 22. This is a contract. This is how Old Testament people were. This is how Jacob was. But when Jacob became 39:33 Israel in chapter 32, that's his second meeting with God. I often say God, many people need a second encounter with God. The first encounter is Genesis 28 where you're dealing a contract with God. I'll do this and you do this for me. But then 39:48 when he meets with the Lord a second time, that's in Genesis 32 and verse 24. That's in a place called Pineal. The first was Bethl. The first here in Pineal. He's not making a contract with God. Now he's saying verse 26, Lord, I 40:05 will last part of 26, I will not let you go unless you bless me. Now he's not seeking for 10%, I'll do this or that anything. I want you to bless me, Lord, and I will not let you go. That's a man who got a passionate saying, I want you. 40:20 I want your blessing. And the Lord blessed him and said, "Okay, from today onwards, you are Israel." He became Jacob became Israel. Verse 28, your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel to I've said to many, 40:39 many people, you have had one encounter with God when you were born again. And that time you came to the Lord with a lot of conditions. If you do this for me, I'll do this for you. And that's how most people begin. You need to have a 40:52 second encounter where you meet with God where you say I want you Lord to I won't let you go unless you bless me change my life change my name to a prince of God and God said to him you have 41:10 I've you have striven with God verse 28 and you have prevailed so and have you noticed this very interesting thing in Genesis 28 when he first met with God. These are little things that make 41:28 scripture very interesting for me. In Genesis 28, when we he first met with God, it says here, verse 11, he came to a certain place and spent 41:47 the night there. The sun had set and the sun had set on his life also. He was running away from his home and there he met with God and he called the name of the place Bethl verse 19. The second time he meets with God 42:06 the name he called the name of the place pineal verse 30 of Genesis chapter 32 and pineal means the face of God. Bethl is a house of God. It's like coming to become a member of a church. And then in pineal, it's face to face with God himself. 42:26 That's the second encounter. And then what does it say in Genesis 32:31? The sun rose. Little it was a physical event, but it was an indication that the sun set on Jacob's life in Genesis 28, even though he met with God. And then when he 42:43 met with God a second time, the sun rose. Why? Why why does the lord mention that simple thing like the sun rose the sunset because that is what is happening in Jacob's life. These are the little things that excite me when I read the 42:55 scripture carefully and compare it with other comparing scripture with scripture is one of the best ways to study it. Can you share some practical disciplines? Sorry. Yeah. Discipline and giving to the church. I was talking 43:11 about that. Okay. There's no law on this. Give cheerfully. give happily and give after having given to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. And that that's not only Caesar. Caesar means every human being or the government to anybody. 43:27 Don't give to God if you owe money to somebody else because then you're giving somebody else's money. So I followed that principle. I will always clear my debt and I've never felt at any time that I should give God 43:44 either according to a law of 10%. Or um believing that if I give God will bless me. These are all doing a contract with God. My relationship with God is not a business contract. He's my father and if I give nothing, he's still my 44:02 father. So my giving is not based on some calculated plan or anything. So that's the way I felt free. But I'd say that if you if that makes you indiced and selfish perhaps you need to start with a little discipline and 44:21 decide yourself how much you want to give to the Lord and how much you help help for the poor. We found in help you got to be very wise in helping the poor for two things. One is it can make that poor person attached to 44:38 you. You got to be very careful. So I made a rule in India in our churches there that if you want to give to the poor, don't give it directly. Put it in an envelope with that person's name and put in the offering 44:57 box. and person doesn't even know who it where it came from. The person who opens the offering box will pass it on to that person. And if you want to regularly help somebody, if you are wise, choose a different type of envelope each time and use a different 45:16 pen, change your handwriting so the person won't even know it's the same person. This is wisdom because you don't want otherwise he can slowly find out I think it's one person keeping on giving me. very dangerous and it should not be the same 45:31 amount also. We must be wise because I don't want that person to have a clue that I'm giving it and I don't want any gratitude from him. These are little little things you know we must be wise that in giving and we found another 45:48 thing in giving to the poor in India that people sometimes get too much one person because you know there's a saying that the baby that cries the most gets the milk and so some poor people advertise and broadcast their 46:07 needs in subtle ways and a lot of people give. So we had to be very careful. So we felt in India that the elders of the church should discern what the need is and 46:26 that I would some cases I give directly and if I see a need if you're prompted by the Holy Spirit by all means give otherwise the elders should probably give from something from the offering it to to the poor people that is always the 46:46 best way so that it doesn't come from any individual. So I would say give to the church and ask the church to give to the poor. That's the best way. And uh some practical disciplines that will help me to grow spiritually. 47:03 The most important practical discipline I would say is to read the Bible every single day and a little bit of the Old Testament but primarily the New Testament and if you can't you have time only for one some New Testament and ask 47:19 the Lord to speak to you and you must not miss a single day and I would say when you get out of as soon as you get up in the morning before you get out of bed talk to the Lord and believe Like it says in Isaiah 50, the Lord has woken up my heart to 47:36 listen to him. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from God's mouth. So this is my habit every day when I get up before I talk to my wife or before I pick up the phone to see who who sent a message and all that all 47:54 those things can wait. I I want to meet with God before I meet with people. It's a simple discipline, but if you do it, uh, you're putting God first in your life. Everything else in the world can wait. I'll tell you that. I'm wearing my dog. 48:16 Did I disturb something? I think the camera still turned off. Okay. Uh, so we That's one of the disciplines you must have soon you get up in the morning. It's been my practice. Uh as soon as you get up, talk to God. God, 48:33 call him dad. Be intimate with him and say, "Lord, is there a word that I need to hear today from you?" And if you're med, if you're regularly meditated on scripture, the Lord may bring something to your mind at that time. 48:50 And we have a tendency sometimes at night when you're in bed to think about a lot of things that we need to settle and all that. Okay. Cast all that burden on the Lord and make sure at that time when you begin that you have nothing in 49:04 your heart against anybody. Make your heart clear and flooded with love for God and for all people. It's a very good way to begin the day every single day because it can get corrupt by the next day. So we need to begin the day and end 49:22 the day also like that. Go to bed with a clear conscience and wake up with a clear heart and talk to the Lord. That is the best discipline of all. And be quick to acknowledge sin to ask forgiveness. Very good discipline 49:36 immediately. As soon as you know you've hurt somebody, your wife or your children, go and set it right. And you feel that there was some financial irregularity somewhere, set it right immediately. It's a good discipline. 49:55 Have you seen a time of as much global upheaval as we've seen in the last 5 years? How do we keep our focus and rest 50:12 in the Lord and not earthly events? You know throughout history there have been times of tremendous upheaval. In the first world war millions have died and people would have thought that's this is the end of the world and the second world war even more 50:29 people died. It went on for year after year. And so what we talk about a lot of upheaval is not as bad as it was during the first and second world wars. If you read about what happened during particularly the second world war, imagine 6 million Jews 50:48 being killed and so many millions dying everywhere and war going on and on and on, never ending. Yeah. So, the world has always been corrupt and I don't know that it's much worse 51:05 today than it was in those days. So people who have not studied history may think this is a very difficult time that I've read a lot about particularly the second world war I know where it 51:23 was. So it is a time of people in many areas but the world Jes said things will go from bad to worse and he said lift up your heads and wait for the Lord's coming. 51:40 So we need to meditate on the Lord and make sure our conscience is clear and towards God and towards men. That is the best way and recognize this world is not our home and to know 51:59 that he will never leave us nor forsake us. So some important promises that we can remember as such times and that he will never allow us to be tested beyond our ability. Be absolutely sure of that. God will not allow you to be tested 52:13 beyond your ability. I don't care what happens in the world. I will not be tested beyond my ability. And I don't care what happens in the world. My heavenly father will provide all I need if I seek his kingdom first and his 52:25 righteousness. I don't know about the others, but he's promised that. So there are certain promises in scripture that can never fail. I remember one brother in Europe once saying I seek the Lord with all my heart that you know they eat bread in 52:41 Europe mostly that if there's only one loaf of bread in the city it'll come to me because I'm seeking God with all my heart. I mean looks like a very arrogant statement but he said if I'm seeking God with all my heart he's not going to let 52:55 me starve. I don't know about the others. There's no promise for all the others, but there's a tremendous promise for those who seek God's kingdom first and his righteousness. All the other things will be added to you. I have proved that being in 53:09 full-time Christian work for 60 years, never taking a salary from anybody, never asking for money, never sending a circular, and somewhere or the other, God provides all my need. I've never lacked anything in all my life. 53:26 Um, how can I endure till the end? See, uh, if you look at that phrase, endure till the end, it is found in Matthew 24. And if you see it in its context, Matthew 53:52 24:13, it says there, "But the one who endures to the end will be saved." What is the context? Because sin will increase. Verse 54:07 12, the love of many people will grow cold, but the one who endures in love to the Lord and to people until the end, you will be saved. So the endurance is referring to 54:26 remaining in a heart devoted in love for the Lord and love for our fellow believers. That's the thing you need to concentrate on when things are getting bad all around lawlessness has increased. Love of many will grow cold. 54:40 I can see that in Christendom. A lot of people in many many churches they're not loving Jesus with all their heart. They're not seeking to love one another. They keep grudges. They fight with their wives at home. They never talk uh seek to 54:54 overcome anger and other sins. But they go to church regularly and sing so many songs and imagine everything's all right, everything's not all right, everything's wrong with them. Endure in love until the end. That is endure in 55:07 love for the Lord and love for other people until the end. That that is how we endure until the end. Just make sure that there's anything contrary to the law of love in your heart, you're not going to endure. Okay. I see your life has been so 55:24 effective for the Lord. What can you share that I can experience the same? Well, I never started out thinking that I I'm going to be anyway useful to the Lord. I just lived my life with a good conscience. I tried to set everything 55:39 right right from the beginning of my life. Uh anything I was very very careful in finances that in my unconverted days the things that I cheated I set it right financially so that it was all clear. I could start my Christian life with a clear conscience 55:55 in the matter of money and thereafter I was very very careful with money not to owe anybody anything and I even in times of great need I never borrowed one cent from anyone. I told my life wife we'll just live with what we 56:13 have and God never allowed us to starve. We always had three simple meals at least every day and we never stopped. But we decided we'd never never borrow from anyone because Romans 13:8 says, "Owe no man 56:30 anything. And if in some emergency you do have to borrow, please make sure that within 24 hours you return it or at the earliest possible." I find a lot of Christians are not very careful in this area. And I've seen people suffer 56:47 because of that. Good believers, people who preach, people who preach in CFC churches, I've seen they're careful in this careless in this area of money get into debt. Even when you, you know, if you, 57:05 for example, I've always said, a house loan that you get from a bank is not a debt. I'll tell you why it's not a debt. Because if you die, the bank will just take the house. You're not there's no you're not you're not in debt. Your wife 57:19 won't be burdened with the debt because the documents are with the bank. Or if you uh you know, you take a loan for a car, if the car is insured, you're not in debt. Not in debt. If the car is damaged, the insurance covers the cost. 57:34 Debt is when you taken some money and there's no capital to replace it. So we be careful about that. So but sometimes even you know when you try to go to buy a house and say yeah take taking a house loan from a 57:53 bank is not a debt. But you got to be careful what size of loan you take, what size of house you build or want to buy because you got to see can you handle it with the amount you with your income. Don't look at somebody else's. 58:09 Don't compare yourself to somebody else. These are areas where you must be very careful. How much can I handle? I must be very careful that I'm not going to compare myself to anybody else. That's one thing I decided myself. 58:22 I saw when I grew up a lot of other believers able to afford a lot of things. I said I told my children I can't do that for you. I never took my children on a vacation tour of any place. I'm sorry I can't afford 58:41 it. I'm not against other people who doing it who can afford it by all means. So things like that we live within our income. That is one of the main things my wife and I sought to do. Never never to live outside our income. It's like a 58:59 boundary. I is a boundary God drew around me and it was very small boundary in the beginning and God graciously increased it more and more. But when it was small, we lived within that small boundary. I remember the early days right at the 59:15 beginning and my first son was born my wife would say I wonder if we can even my money to buy milk powder for our kid but we never starve God took care of us and because all it's wonderful experience but then that's because I was 59:29 in full-time Christian work all of you got regular jobs but whether you have full regular jobs or not just make sure that you always live think of your income as a circle God has put around you and uh you must save some of that 59:46 money. That's one thing I've been very careful about. Even when I had little, I would save something. Uh because in proverbs 6 says go to the ant and the ant saves for the I don't understand how it works but the bible 1:00:04 says in harvest time ants got some type of intelligence to know a time is coming when you know their food will not be so friendly available so it goes and stores up for the time of for winter time I can't understand when I see ant I 1:00:20 said what's how small the brain is that ant is and inside That brain has got an idea of saving up something for the future for its children and all that. Boy, I got to be wiser than that. God, the Lord says, "You lazy man, go to the 1:00:32 ant and learn from it." In Proverbs 6. So money is the one area I've sought to be very careful with because I find Jesus said there are only two masters in the world. Luke 16:13, God and money. So if I want to serve God, I got to be completely free from 1:00:49 money. Otherwise, I can't serve God. So if you want to love God with all your heart, you got to make sure you don't love money. That's why money has been one of the most important areas where I have sought to be very careful. And the 1:01:00 other is immediately confessing sin as soon as you're aware that you've done something wrong. Go and set it right. Go and ask forgiveness. Go and write a letter. However humiliating it is. And if there's a amount of money you have to 1:01:15 give somewhere, if you're unsure, give a little more rather than less. you won't lose by giving a little more. So these are the areas where we must be very careful keeping our conscience clean, being very faithful with money, reading the scriptures every 1:01:30 day, asking God to fill us with the Holy Spirit every day. Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit, and always looking out for some opportunity to serve the Lord. Lord, is there somebody you want me to speak to? Give me an opportunity to be a 1:01:45 witness to somebody, to help somebody in some way. always available. Many months may go by with no opportunity, but okay. But when I get an opportunity, I'm ready to serve. So if you keep your attitude like that, I believe God will lead you from step to 1:02:02 step by step to step, open up the way before you. Uh that there's a promise. No, Proverbs 4:18. No, it says the paraphrase of that is a I read a lovely paraphrase of that once. Proverbs in chapter 4 verse 1:02:24 12. Uh Proverbs 4:12. One paraphrase of it is like this. As you go step by step, I will open up the way before you. It's a beautiful paraphrase. As you go, Proverbs 4:12, I will step by step I will open up 1:02:44 the way before you. Okay. Okay, now some questions concerning marriage and family. How were you able to tell when you were too harsh in disciplining your children? And what are some practical 1:03:01 ways we can avoid it? I don't think any father has done it perfectly from day one. And I think I was more strict with my elder son. And then as you go down the line, the youngest one gets the least spankings. Usually I think it's usually 1:03:21 like that with most parents. Uh because we ourselves grow a little more mature. In the beginning suddenly we landed up with a naughty person in our family. We don't know how to handle this and we don't have full control over our 1:03:38 anger. uh but we repent and we you know when I I disciplined my children sometimes I felt it was too hard and I would go and lock myself up in the restroom and weep before God and say Lord I've slipped up I'm sorry the 1:03:55 discipline was right my anger was wrong though I did that many times and later on my children knew every time dad smushes into the restroom think we know what he's doing that he's repenting before God. That helped him to realize that I was 1:04:14 god-fearing even in my spanking that that I didn't take it lightly. I wanted to make sure that it was right. So we all are harsh in the beginning and we repent and as I repented and repented before God, it became easier and easier 1:04:31 and then you come to the place where you can discipline without anger. I remember that one of my children where he did not some not something very seriously wrong but he tried 1:04:49 to pull me. It was not a crime or a sin but um he went to play a game and he should have gone to school but it was in the school itself they were having some sport which he it was all right for him to go. He could 1:05:07 have told me I let him go but he tried to deceive me and go. So he by the time he came back he knew I had discovered it. So I I said, "Let's go to the other room and talk about 1:05:24 this." And I didn't ask him a thing. I said, "Let's kneel down and pray." That's all I said. And I prayed. I never said a word about I think he knew and I knew that there was he made a mistake. And so I 1:05:41 knelt down and I prayed. I said, "Lord, I don't know why my son had to deceive me in this little thing. If he had told me, I would have let him go. It's not a crime or something he was going to commit. Please help me to be a better 1:05:57 father. Thank you in Jesus name." I say, "Okay, son. I got nothing more to say." That prayer affected him and changed him much more than any spanking God given him or rebuke or any such thing. [Music] 1:06:15 He just saw that I was grieved before God that my son had done this pray. I I used to always pray after spanking always pray that she pray with the children. So because we had to make tell them that 1:06:34 it's not you me that you disobeyed God. And what do you find the most practical way to hold devotions in our in your families? Well, I don't make a rule on this. There's no command which says you must have family 1:06:51 devotions. So, I'll not make a law. But I found the best way to do it is more informally. And we found the best time was dinner time. Morning was usually rushed in India. All rushing to school. Daytime was busy. By the time you came late 1:07:07 evening to dinner time, everybody's around the table and that is a good time. You would I would take a small portion of scripture and read it and uh and then pray together and then while we are eating talk together about some 1:07:26 of the things that the spiritual outlook on what happened during the day. Let's talk about that and uh something about what we read in the scriptures in an informal way while we are eating. That's the way we did it. I don't ask everybody else to do it. Some 1:07:44 people have a formal family prayer time every day. Good. We in our home, we found it wasn't always possible. So each must must do it the best way they can. Our aim was that all our children should grow up to follow the 1:08:01 Lord. And I found that happened. This is the way we did it. And okay, next question is being more than a conqueror. Would this refer to this is Romans chapter 8. It says in verse the closing verses that we are more than 1:08:18 conquerors. Would this refer to conquering sin in our private life and also aiding others such as family members to do the same? I think it's a spirit of victory that applies to every area of our life. Because if you see the context of it in 1:08:38 Romans 8, it's talking about uh verse Romans 8:35, tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, battles, sores. It doesn't make all these things. Verse 37, we are more than conquerors. That means we are overcomers. We don't let all these 1:08:55 circumstances and everything that people do or say about us crush us. we come out victorious and triumphant through the power of the Holy Spirit. So it's not just sin. It's it's an attitude towards our circumstances and everything 1:09:11 else because that's what we see in the context there. It can refer to sin as well. Uh and how do we aid others in our family to do the same best is by example and by honest testimony. 1:09:29 See, it's good to for us to tell our children that we were not always very holy people. That we started where they started and that we bungled up and failed. And I'm not saying you should give detailed details about your failure 1:09:47 because that's not going to help anybody. But for them to recognize that you have failed and whenever you have failed, you can't confess it honestly to the Lord and the Lord forgive you. And that like a child learns to walk. You fell and fell and got up and 1:10:04 fell and got up and gradually you learn to walk and even then sometimes you trip up or you get up again. So the Christian life is not a perfect life but pressing on to perfection where it becomes better and better and better every day. So we 1:10:19 have to encourage them that way. Okay. Concerning the church, how can I be sure of the hope of my calling in the church? Ephesians 1:18. Ephesians 1:18 is referring to that you may know the hope of your 1:10:40 calling. And that is not referring to a particular church is referring to our hope of our calling in Christ. And when you whenever you think of hope, faith is something for immediate. 1:10:58 Hope is for the future. And the hope I have is that I will be like Christ completely one day. That is the hope of my calling. And hope always refers to the future. And our hope 1:11:16 is, let me compare scripture with scripture. 1 John chapter 3 it says that we know verse 2 John chapter 3:2 1:11:36 the last part we know that when Christ appears we will be like him because we'll see him just as he is and if you have this hope in you you'll purify yourself every until you reach his standard of purity. If anybody 1:11:54 who really believes that I'll become like Christ completely when he comes again and not just a theory, it's a reality. I'm going to be like Jesus Christ when he comes again. I have the soul. What am I going to do? I'm going 1:12:08 to purify myself towards his standard of purity day by day by day by day. This is spiritual progress. So that is the hope of my calling. It's not particularly relating 1:12:26 to some ministry in the church. If I am seeking to cleanse myself, God will give me whatever ministry he has for me. And I must be willing to accept any ministry in the church. I must not have a lust or a covetousness for something that God has 1:12:46 not called me for. See if we see the church as a body of Christ, not every part of this body has the same function. God may call you to be a finger or like sometimes I say a nail is encourages people. That's what I call 1:13:02 scratching ministry. Encouraging people where they itch and uh there are some like the tongue who got ability to speak. Some like the hands and ability to help people there different ministries in the body. Just think of the body. And then there are 1:13:16 invisible ministries like the blood vessels. Nobody sees them, but they're constantly working. The heart, the liver, the kidneys, all these things that are invisible parts of the body that pray for others and support others. 1:13:30 I think a lot of people do that for me. I don't even I'll see them all when Christ comes again. So, everyone has a ministry and God will equip you for that particular thing. And if you're wholehearted and serious, I believe you 1:13:45 can know it very early in your Christian life. I mean, I got understanding of ministry two years after I got baptized and I sought for the baptism of the Holy Spirit and it became pretty clear to me immediately what my calling in the 1:13:59 church was. I wanted to be an evangelist and that's I started out trying to witness to everybody, witness to everybody, but I didn't have much success. But when I began to teach God's word, I had tremendous success and freedom. So I saw that was my calling. 1:14:14 So when you seek to do something for the Lord, if you sit back and wait for the Lord to give you some revelation from heaven, nothing will happen. But if you go out and say, "Lord, I want to do something for you." I believe God, if I sit back, I'll 1:14:29 never know God's will for my life. Do what? Do the little that you can. And God will show you what your calling is in the church. And little by little, it'll become more clear to you. And that is how you can be fulfilling your ministry 1:14:44 in the church. The last question is in what way can I be of maximum help to this church? I would say that everybody should pray for the development of this church and seek to ask the elders is there any way in which I can serve or 1:15:03 help in any way according to my ability. And if you offer yourself like that, be faithful to do what you're told to do. You must not let down the elders. If you take up a responsibility, do it faithfully. If you're not able to 1:15:19 because of family circumstances or work, you can't take it up. Just don't offer yourself for such a ministry. Tell them straight, I'm sorry, my work will not prevent prevents me from being able to do that. But if there's anything else I 1:15:32 can do so but all of us should offer ourselves to say Lord there's something I can do maybe you know if sometimes I see that if you're alert and you look around always when you're in a church and somebody new has come go and talk to 1:15:49 them. I remember particularly in conference times. In conference times, I would look around for people who were lonely or standing all by themselves. I would go and talk to them. [Music] 1:16:06 So there's always if you're alert, God will point you, point out some ministry for you to fulfill. Okay, we've come to nearly 8:00. Are there any questions based on what my answers or anything else you want to 1:16:25 ask? Please feel free. I have a question. Yeah. Yeah. 1:16:45 Um, so when we see the the the difference between an old covenant, sometimes we think of like having an old covenant view of God and new covenant view of God 1:17:00 in a sense where the new covenant god is um Jesus kinder, gentler I would say than he say the god we see in the old covenant. How do you see that? 1:17:22 I from being at CFC and listening to your summons, I I know that we we experience the new covenant truth and the new covenant God. But I but see that's that's where I start getting tripped up is where I say, "Well, it was it's the 1:17:38 same God, right? The father didn't change. But it's the same. 1:17:56 Yeah. Well, I'll answer. I don't know whether I'll answer your question, but I can try and understand what you're saying. But let me tell you one thing. The old covenant God is exactly the same as a new covenant God. God never 1:18:09 changes. His nature has been the same from all eternity and will be the same in future eternity. The way he deals with people is different. It's like a father. How does he deal with a very disobedient child and how does he deal with a very 1:18:26 rebellious child? The father doesn't change but he deals with these two people in two different ways. Secondly, how does a father instruct a 2-year-old and how does a father instruct a 22 year old? Two different ways. The father is the same, but 1:18:44 depending on the level of that person, you speak at that level. So the old covenant people were at a certain level and God spoke to them at that level. And uh the new covenant, God treats us more like adults. And new covenant, old covenant, 1:18:59 I think he treated them more like babies. That's why everything the old covenant has got more to do with prosperity and comfort and all your enemies are all defeated and all everything was earthly and because we can say in one 1:19:15 sense they were just babies. God could not deal with them with to teach them how the fellowship of his sufferings and things like that are absolutely unheard of in the Old Testament. They were not mature enough to know that God was the 1:19:27 same. But he could not lead people into that life that he wanted to lead them until Christ came and demonstrated what true Christianity is. I mean, the way God wanted man to live. When God made Adam, he wanted him to live the way Jesus 1:19:46 lived. But for thousands of years, nobody lived like that. till Christ came along and showed this is the way God wanted Adam to live. See now I have lived the way I live is the way God wanted Adam to live and neither he nor 1:19:59 anybody else lived like that. So therefore God hasn't changed but because the Holy Spirit has come now to indwell us which is not there in the Old Testament. They did not have the ability. It's like saying electricity came we could do a 101 things which they 1:20:17 couldn't do when they had no electricity. So it's something like that the Holy Spirit has come and we can do so many things today which those days they didn't have the Holy Spirit living within them and therefore he couldn't do 1:20:33 it. Therefore God demanded also less for example there's no command in the Old Testament which says you must not lust after women. There is there's the 10th commandment. The 10th commandment is you must not lust after anything. But it was 1:20:47 just put there to see how many people will take it seriously. Paul took it seriously and that's why he came to a better life. Otherwise the other nine commandments any even a heathen can obey who is not a Christian. But the 10th one 1:21:00 was the one that everybody got stuck in and God put it there just to see how many people will be honest and say Lord I can't make this. I can't keep this. Paul was honest. That's why he came to a victorious life. And I find the same 1:21:13 principle in the new covenant. There are certain commands in the New Testament and God's kept it there. You know, some of them are quite tough. Honestly admit, Lord, I just can't seem to make 1:21:31 it. For example, try their best never to be in debt because the Bible says, "Oweow no man anything." And even if they have to struggle and deny themselves, they try to avoid debt completely. I tell you, God will honor such a person 1:21:48 tremendously if he denies him. That's just one example. Or he sees that lusting with the eyes is so bad that it's better to pull out one eye. Lord, you take that so seriously. Well, I'm going to take it seriously immediately. 1:22:04 And God is the same. God is again against lusting with the eyes even in the Old Testament. I'll show you one example. went to the book of Job. Job did not have Old Testament or New Testament. He lived 500 years 1:22:24 before any book of the Bible was written. Job is the first book in the Bible. And but see what he says. He talks about his own life from chapter 29 onwards 3031. But see, one of the things 1:22:42 that Job writes when he did not have an Old Testament, did not have a New Testament, did not even have a Holy Spirit, did not have an example of Jesus Christ, had absolutely nothing. One thing he had, the fear of God. Now turn 1:22:57 to chapter 31. Imagine a man who has only got the fear of God. No, Bible says, "I have made a covenant with my eyes. How can then I lust after a virgin girl? Where did he get that [Music] 1:23:16 from? Well, God said about him, a man who fears God and turns away from evil. The fear of God taught him things without a Bible that he almost comes to a New Testament standard of life. This is Matthew chapter 5, lusting after 1:23:33 women. How in the world did you get that idea? That teaches me that the fear of God can teach you much more than just reading the Bible. Look at the millions and millions of so-called born again believers who lust with their eyes. And here says, 1:23:51 "How in the world can I lust after a virgin? What is the portion of God for such a man?" And He says, "If I've spoken lies, verse five, let God judge 1:24:09 me." If I have been, verse 9, "In my heart, if I have been enticed by some woman or by my neighbor's wife and I hung around near his door, may my wife be punished so that she becomes unfaithful 1:24:28 to me if such a thing happens." No, that'll be a terrible crime. A lustful crime. Verse 11. It'll be an iniquity that should be punished by judges. What? Lusting with the eyes that pun to be punished by the judges. Even the Old Testament people 1:24:44 didn't have that life. How did Job understand this without a Bible, without the Holy Spirit? One thing he had the fear of God. See, that teaches us that the Old Testament God, New Testament, God is the same. But that first sentence, I always 1:25:01 call this the first sentence in the Bible because Job is the first book of the Bible as far as I'm concerned. He lived 500 years before Moses who wrote Genesis. And the first sentence in the Bible is about a man who feared God and 1:25:16 turned away from evil. Job 1 verse one. You you ask me what is my first verse in your Bible? The first verse in my Bible is not that created the heaven and the earth. The first vers in the Bible is I got to fear God and turn away 1:25:29 from evil. That's the first verse in my Bible. And if the books were put in chronological order, Job would have come first. But Job because it's a poetic book, it's written put along with all the poetic books, Psalms, Proverbs, it's 1:25:45 more based on theme rather than time. But what I'm trying to say is the Old Testament it was the fear of God from verse one. In the New Testament also it is the fear of God that keeps us from 1:26:03 sin. So that's what I would say. Thank you. There there's a question brother that came in and it's for I think this could be for people who are living outside. they don't have a church fellowship. Mhm. Um this brother is writing to us 1:26:22 and says that they could not find a church in their locality and so they started following RLCF from 2020. But sometimes when we have certain problems, we don't have any elders or like-minded people to reach out. How are we able to know what is the 1:26:41 right thing to do in those kinds of situations? I would say that if you are attending a local church online, you could uh write to the elders of the church or somebody in that church will be able 1:27:00 to maybe guide you in that matter. That's what I would say they should do. and [Music] um and pray that God will lead them to someone if there is someone in that locality who's not necessarily part if you're sincerely 1:27:20 seeking I believe God will lead you to someone who can guide them either online or through a church if they're already attending online meetings maybe somebody in that church can guide them if they are that's all I say but I think they should pray also if 1:27:40 I were in a place like that and I was a young Christian and I'm attending some online I mean I realize I can't keep harassing the elders of those churches all types of questions they got enough on their plate already but wherever something is needed 1:27:57 I would probably send a brief email and say can you please reply me in two three lines I'm sure somebody from there would reply that's one but the second thing I would pray is Lord Give me one or two brothers here with whom I can fellowship so that we can 1:28:13 start a little fellowship here. That's what I would pray if I were alone in some place. Lord bring me get me in touch with one person at least. That's what I've said to many people in India where you are. I pray that God will lead 1:28:26 you to one person. Many of our churches have started with one person and then somebody else comes and somebody else comes and that's how so many churches have come. So but if people are laidback and lazy and say okay there's nobody here I'm 1:28:46 sorry but you take that attitude in 100 years there'll be nobody there but if you're passionate and say Lord I'm sure somewhere there must be in this town some people are seeking God and I just I'm not asking for some great 1:29:04 saint some young person or person who's very new in the faith, give me bring me in touch with one or two people that we can start a fellowship of just two or three people that meet regularly in that place to be a witness for 1:29:19 Christ. God wants a witness, he said in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the uttermost parts of the earth. Is there a single place on the earth where God does not want a witness for his name? I don't think so. I don't care which town. 1:29:32 And when you live in countries where there are so many at least nominal Christians who got a Bible in their home, surely there's somebody whom God can reach make you reach out to. But if you are laidback and lazy like most 1:29:49 Christians are waiting for somebody else to pamper them like they're grown up babies. Many Christians are like grown-up babies who do absolutely no no sense of responsibility waiting for somebody else to do something for them 1:30:00 all the time. nothing will happen. I think they'll go to heaven and discover that they wasted their life. And I hope that happens to nobody. We must be passionate and say, "Lord, those who seek me with all their heart will find 1:30:17 me." So I would encourage everybody to seek God with all their heart and say, "Lord, where can you give me give me one or two people who can fellowship with me and we can build a little fellowship. We don't we're not calling it a church or 1:30:31 anything. Just two or three people who want to meet with God and come together and then that'll God will add that's how we started. We started just two families 50 years ago in Bangalore. We didn't know who would come. Okay. Then somebody else came, some 1:30:45 came, some left, some came, some left and finally we had a church and we've seen that in many places. But it needs somebody in each of these places. At least one person. Like they say, one person with God is a majority in any place. One 1:31:04 person with God is always a majority. But God finds so few who have that passion because most people are just downright selfish or they want somebody else. They want to be pampered like babies. Somebody else must do everything. So we need people with a 1:31:22 sense of responsibility towards the Lord. Lord, you've done so much for me. What can I do for you? At least I can pray that you will bring at least one person to meet with me. One or two people that we can have a fellowship, a 1:31:32 church here of three people. Great. And we seek to love one another, encourage one another. God can do miracles in any place in the world. [Music]
