0:08 Good to see everybody. So, thanks for being here. Um I think everybody knows where we're planning a time now to celebrate our brother Zach's 80th birthday together. So, um praise God for what we've heard so far as uh Santosh was sharing we're standing 0:25 on the shoulders of giants. And uh brother Zach has been under us for a long time pushing us up so we can get closer to Jesus. So, we wanted it's right for us to take some time and say thank you and appreciate um him. Uh for 0:39 those that don't know how how long does brother Zach spend on the messages he preaches to us every week preparing? Uh I think the answer is 80 years. He spent 80 years to prepare what he speaks to us each week. So, we're deeply 0:52 indebted. We really are being pushed closer to Jesus and um it's right for us to express our appreciation and love. Um please real quick just turn to 1 Thessalonians 5. Verse 12 says, "We request of you, brethren, that you 1:10 appreciate those who diligently labor among you and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction that and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work." Um do we esteem brother Zach very highly 1:26 in love? I think one of the saddest things in Christendom today is ingratitude for um people that spiritual good labor for a person's spiritual good. There's a lot of honor for those who do physical good uh Mother Teresa will be written 1:39 about for many many centuries she and uh if the Lord tarries, but um for those who labor for something even more important than physical good, spiritual good, I hope that our church can be one that um doesn't uh lack in love and 1:54 appreciation, esteeming in love um uh brother Zach who has helped us so much to have life and as we heard today just the teachings I I totally agree with our brother Santos the teachings have been a fountain of life for me 2:11 and so our church here we just wanted to take the time and celebrate him and we don't want to be stingy with our gratitude so let's celebrate with a full heart today and as he's going to be turning 80 and so thanks everyone for 2:25 being here and for those especially who have traveled from some from really far we have some special things planned for today and we'll we'll eat together towards the end but for right now we're going to ask the children to come up and sing a song 2:41 my understanding is it's Brother Zach's favorite one I stand amazed and it's one of our favorites too so I'm I stand 3:09 amazed of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how he could love a sinner like me How 3:31 marvelous how wonderful and my soul shall ever be How marvelous how wonderful is my savior's love for me 3:51 for me he prayed the up our little flower. He had no tears for His own grief, but sweat drops of blood for mine. How marvelous, 4:11 how wonderful, then my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. He bore my sins 4:30 and my sorrows, He paid them and spared me all. He bore the burden to Calvary, and suffered and died How marvelous, 4:49 how wonderful, then my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. When 5:08 with the ransomed in glory, His face I then shall see. It'll be my joy through the ages to sing of His love for me. How marvelous, 5:28 how wonderful, then my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. How marvelous, how wonderful, 5:48 then So, 6:07 we'll have a few minutes now um just for the elders here of NCCF to take a little bit of time and speak about brother Zack and I wanted to start off a little testimony of what brother how God has used brother Zack in my life and what he's meant to 6:23 me. And I just a brief testimony. I in the early 2000s I was born again and trying to walk with the Lord but my life was an utter mess and I didn't know I didn't have a church. I just was listening to some things online but I was scattered 6:41 around. It was up and down and up and down never ending cycle. And then around 2004 2005 I heard a sermon by brother Zack online and it was titled an ambition to please God. And in that sermon 6:59 this wasn't like many of the preachers I had heard who were yelling at me and saying many giving a lot of teachings but it was very simple and it was gripped my heart and he's basically said he was speaking from 2 Corinthians 5 how 7:15 it talks about in heaven will definitely only going to have one ambition and he said it's not going to be to make money like so many have an ambition here. It's not going to be to please angels even though they have so much glory. It's not 7:26 going to be to please other men or saints in heaven. It's only going to be to please God and if we're spiritually minded we'll have one ambition here as well that same one to please God and I gripped it gripped me. It really 7:39 gripped me mean, the the spirit that it was said with and also the Holy Spirit just hit me. And so I kept listening and feeding off of the teachings and it was changing my life because of how simple and practical it was. And the Lord had sown some seeds 7:54 about the new covenant. He had spoken to my heart for a couple of years saying I need to understand what this is and but I had really didn't have any idea. And then it just came so clearly, it was like an answered prayer that brother Zach spoke 8:07 it explained it so clearly it's for me to know what this was and how it was important and to talk about victory over sin that we didn't have to be up and down forever in those extremes that we could go upwards. And so I really praise God for that and 8:25 and so God used brother Zach early on before I never ever knew him about that in the very first email I sent brother Zach I reached out to him around the beginning of 2010 and changed my life in a in a drastic way very just one little email emailing 8:40 brother Zach he put me in touch with Sandeep and I started coming into fellowship my wife and I started coming into fellowship with what is now NCCF it was just a little group at their house at the time. And so the Bible says God 8:51 places the lonely in families and God used brother Zach to place me and my wife in a family and so thankful eternally in a massive massive debt to brother Zach for what he's done for me and my family and so I'm happy that we're doing this today to 9:06 be able to say thank you and our and be will express from our hearts. I hope that we always have big hearts towards brother Zach for what he's done for us. There's this verse I was reading a little couple months ago in 2 Corinthians 6 it 9:21 says um He's Paul is talking to the Corinthians about all their suffering that he is suffering 2 Corinthians 6 starting from verses verse 11. He said our mouth has spoken freely to you Corinthians our heart is open wide. 9:39 You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections. Now, in a like exchange, I speak as to children, open wide to us, also. Like Paul is saying, "We love you so much. We poured out for you. Your heart is so 9:52 small towards us. Please open it up. Open up your affections." And I thought to myself, I hope that I'm my heart my I'm able to show my appreciation gratitude to Brother Zac for what he's done for us and what he's done for me. And so, 10:07 I'm really thankful and that we can do this today to appreciate and honor the one who's been laboring to place our hand in Jesus' hand. And so, I'm really thankful. So, thank you, Brother Zac, for all you've done. We have a eternal massive debt to pay. 10:24 We won't be able to pay it back, I don't think, but just a couple of things I appreciate about you. Personally, well, you're a lion in the pulpit, but personally, you're so such gentle compassionate eyes. I know whenever I share a struggle 10:38 with you or asking for some advice, I hear I see eyes of compassion and love and getting in my shoes with me to to guide me. And I know you're here always open for everybody in the church for that. So open giving your time and 10:53 and love and we never asking anything in return, not even for one dime. So, it's really humbling. You've been an example to to me to us and we we really owe you a lot. And my family as well, my my marriage is so blessed and my children we were 11:11 continuing to be blessed by you and Sister Annie and for all that you you you give have given to us and are giving every week. And I know it's it's not easy as you guys travel around. I I've been to India twice and I am just drained by that that 11:27 you guys travel so much and and uh so much always willing to give up anything that we ask you to do anytime you we will ask you to speak. And so um I just wanted to say thank you and happy birthday. Uh your your it's not just the teachings 11:47 but the life that has proven the teachings that give us the confidence that we definitely want to follow you as you followed Christ. Jesus said you know a tree by its fruit and we see the fruit proven by many many decades and so 11:59 um Praise God I found the tree and I want to eat the fruit and have produce the same fruit myself and so um thank you. Happy birthday. May the Lord give you many many more years uh together of diligent filling with his spirit. Give 12:10 you many years to serve him and live for him and build up others. And we hope that uh we can never repay you for what you've done but we I hope that we can honor you um by continuing to carry the torch that you've given us and to um 12:22 spread these truths that have changed our lives and the the new covenant and these things that were are um getting uh just devotion to Christ and so um so thank you and um may the Lord bless you and uh we're happy to to 12:35 celebrate this 80 years with you. God bless you. I'm I'm thankful to get to say happy birthday to you brother Zach and that we get to celebrate you. I was also um 12:51 taking an opportunity to reflect on uh your impact on my life and on our church and really thanking the Lord. One of the uh as as I as I reflected, one of the things that's touched my heart as I reflect on my interactions with you 13:07 personally especially I was surprised by um what seems like a paradox. As Bobby just mentioned, you're a lion in the pulpit and you're a lamb in person. And I was delighted to reflect on the fact that every single time I spend time 13:24 with you my burden's lifted and I leave encouraged. And I'm I was surprised by that because I think I don't know anybody who proclaims his highest standard and is is uncompromising as you are. And you would think, okay, if I'm going to be 13:41 with somebody who proclaims high standard and is uncompromising, it's going to be rough. But that's that's my that's what I kind of my instinct is. But I've always been I can't tell you the number of times I've been driving home from a time with 13:54 you and think, Lord, your burden really is light. And I thank God for that. And I really am so grateful for your example. As as Bobby mentioned, not just your teaching, but your life. There's a verse that I was thinking of. 14:10 It's in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. It says in verse 8. 14:33 1 Thessalonians 2:8. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives because you had become very dear to us. And to me, when I think about you and 14:49 your ministry, it's not just that you've been imparting the gospel to us, but you've imparted your life. And you have I was also reminded of that verse in 1 John, the very first verse he says, what we have seen with our eyes 15:02 and and touched with our hands concerning the word of life, that's what we make known to you. And I feel like you when you share with us, even if it's in person or in the church, you're saying, let me tell you about my personal 15:15 experience with the Lord. I'm going to tell you what I've seen with my eyes and touch with my hands concerning the word of life. And I think, you know, like Paul said, you've had countless tutors, but you haven't had many fathers. 15:26 And I feel the Lord has been pleased to shine his love upon us and give us a spiritual father. And um in uh I think it's in 1 John it says that the fathers are those who know him who is from the beginning. And um you have 15:44 brought forth out of the abundance of your experience of the Lord to our church and um not just I think there's so many paradoxes like that, uncompromising and yet so encouraging. Proclaiming such a high standard and and 15:57 the the beauty of the new covenant and yet also warning us against the danger of Phariseeism. I don't know of anyone who's ever prepared who's encouraged me to consider the judgment seat more than you. And yet you're the same person who says, "God's 16:12 mercy is 365 times more important than the day of the the on and on." As we heard today, I was thinking about that this morning. On and on. And I And then I And I was thinking about all these paradoxes, and then I was reminded of something you 16:24 shared um at one of our conferences a few years ago, "The beauty of holiness is balance." And what I thought were paradoxes, it's just the balanced teaching of God's word and the balanced demonstration of his heart. That's the 16:38 beauty of holiness. And so it's a great joy. As Bobby said, we can't esteem you highly enough as far as I'm concerned, but it's a privilege to get to say thank you and to praise the Lord for you and pray that he'd be honored in this 16:52 celebration. Uh last thing I'll say, I remember one time, I think it was your 75th birthday in Bangalore, and I said, I I You and I had one moment and uh I can't remember exactly how it came up, but you said, "I'm not interested in 17:07 having a birthday party, but the Lord tells them to be thankful, and I want to give them the opportunity to obey the Lord." That blessed me so much, and I know today part of you, I'm sure, thinks, "I don't want a party." But you also know 17:21 the Lord commands us to be thankful. So, 5 years later, praise the Lord that we have the opportunity to be thankful for you. God bless you. Give you many more years. So, it's a privilege for me to also say a few words. 17:39 Um as you know, I grew up um with three other brothers. So, um we had uh lots of times to play. We had lots of lots of excess energy. And so, it was a privilege sometimes for my mom to give us a ball and a bat to us to go and play. So, we played a lot of 17:57 sports growing up. Um and one of the sports that I didn't really play till I came to America was basketball, but because it was so popular here, it was a sport that we ended up playing. And we spent a lot of time as brothers, primarily, playing 18:14 basketball and then playing with a lot of friends, playing basketball over the years. And so, some of you know that I try to play basketball, too. I'm not going to give you a yard. I'm going to try to do my best. And um so, we played many years. And And 18:28 as you guys know, anybody who plays basketball, anybody who's played the game of basketball, you guys You've got good days and bad days. You've got some days where the ball is just going in the hoop, even though you're shooting off one foot. And other 18:41 days, you've got the perfect form, and you're listening to all your coaching advice, and nothing's going in. So, I remember this one day when I was playing basketball. Some of you may have heard the story before, so I don't think 18:51 every one of you have heard it. There was this one day when I was playing basketball where it was amazing. The ball was going in, no matter where where I threw it from, how I was throwing it from, it was just always going into the hoop. 19:03 I couldn't believe it. And um but I was riding my luck. And I was shooting short, from far, and the ball was going in the hoop. And then I I went up to do a layup, and guess what happened? I kept going up to where I could dunk. 19:21 Where I could dunk the ball. And then I was like, man, this is a really good day for me. It's a really good I'm not lying. This is absolute true story. Um so I was going up, and then I found out that I had enough time that I could 19:32 do a windmill dunk. And then I did a one-handed slam dunk, and then a you know, hand behind the back posing dunk. And then I had a two-handed dunk. I'm like, this is unbelievable. What did I eat for breakfast? What did I eat for lunch? 19:48 And then you know what? Then I found out what the real reason was I was able to do it. I had lowered the hoop. When I lowered the hoop, all kinds of things changed. I was able to do all kinds of things I COULDN'T DO BEFORE. 20:07 I FOUND in my Christian life that there were many Christian leaders who I read books from and articles from, messages from pastors, famous otherwise, and they were telling me the Christian life who were somehow lowering the hoop. 20:25 How do you be a Christian? How do you be a disciple? How do you enter the walk on the narrow way? How do you get eternal life? There were so many ways in which people were lowering the hoop. And I thank God for my dad because I 20:38 spent many years going after many Christian leaders who were one way or the other lowering the hoop, who were not seeking to imitate Christ, who were not seeking to be a wholehearted disciple of Jesus, who were not seeking to run the race so as to win 20:55 the prize. And so I'm deeply thankful that I have someone who did not lower the hoop. And as you can tell, when somebody's gotten used to dunking the ball and then a coach comes in and says, "No, no, no, no, no. We got to raise the hoop." 21:13 It's frustrating. It can be disappointing because your shooting average goes down. You're not having as much success as you haven't. But, I praise God that a godly person raises the hoop to the level of God. 21:31 God commands us to be holy as he is holy. God tells us to love as he loved. This is There's no height high enough that a godly leader should really be raising it to. And I thank God for the ministry Dad that you taught and showed us and given 21:49 us a playbook that we've allowed NCCF to follow. Um and this is not us alone. If we had an open mic, every one of you would be rushing to grab the mic. We're none of that. So, what we did is we prepared a video so we can switch to that video. 22:05 And what we asked folks who kind of been coming to NCCF for a while to say was just give a minute to switch the audio. Nope. Nope. I don't have a production. Don't have a body. Don't have a video to do. Just take the sequence 22:21 from 1 to 10. That will be very useful. In the final day, there's not going to 23:44 be a doctrinal exam. The question is going to be, do I know Jesus Christ? Just like Jesus, I will submit to others crucifying me because I know with full confidence that the Father will lift me up. came through the pride of Lucifer, and 24:03 salvation came through the humility of Jesus. Growing discernment, but don't judge. Humility, humility, humility. The only thing that is serious is sin. Discouragement is a no entry road. For sin shall not be master over you. 24:21 Do not grumble or complain. Our double birthright for the children of God is to be saved from sin and to be baptized in Holy Spirit. Faith is to believe that God is more eager to give us whatever he has promised than we are eager to receive 24:35 it. Make the very worst thing that ever happened in your life work for your very best. Love me as you love Jesus. It is impossible to live the Christian life as we should without being filled with the Holy Spirit. The more spiritual person in the 24:52 marriage is the one who comes back to say sorry first. There are three secrets to a successful Christian life. One, humility. Two, humility. Three, humility. How long will you take to pull out a thorn that went into your foot? 25:09 Likewise, deal with your sin. Don't add to the shortages that God already has of righteous people who love him. The secrets to the Christian life, humility, humility, and humility. Expecting gratitude is sin. God doesn't need robots who always obey 25:26 him. He likes naughty children who would love and obey him with their free will. The truth is that every mystery of God has been plainly revealed in the scriptures. The essence of true worship is Psalm 73:25. I never want to offer to the Lord that 25:43 which costs me nothing. Always keep a pure and simple devotion to Jesus Christ. Do you value the opinion and approval of man more than that of God? Anything the gospel is not working at home, don't offer to somebody else. 25:58 It's good to study the Bible with your intellect, but that won't make you spiritual. Live by the tree of life. Simple, pure devotion to Jesus Christ. Humility. Humility. Humility. If you fall, instead of asking God to show you if you were proud, 26:17 you should ask him to show you where you were proud. Let the peace of Christ be your referee. Jesus came to save us from sins, which is not just forgiveness, but also to overcome them. Foundation of our faith is knowing God 26:33 as my loving dad. The secret to the Christian life is Humility, humility, humility. More useful we are to God, the more we will be attacked by the enemy. It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. Walking in the light is not being good, 26:52 but being truthful. Father loves me as he loves Jesus, so I will always rejoice. Encouragement and self-condemnation is a no-entry road. What is faith and what is grace? Grace is a hand that reaches out to you from heaven, and faith is a hand that we 27:11 reach out to God to hold the hand of grace. The moment Holy Spirit stop convicting you, you are gone. God is a loving father. Grace bird is given to those who don't deserve it. The little children Christ is the husband who wakes up with 27:30 you at 6:00 a.m. to get breakfast ready by 1:00 p.m., but eventually by 8:00 a.m. Be quick to ask forgiveness and even quicker to forgive. An apology is the cheapest gift I can give to someone because it only costs me my pride. 27:43 It begins with the marriage of Adam and Eve and ends with the marriage of Christ to his people, the church. God wants to bring our homes back to his original plan our days will be as the days of heaven upon earth. God is always on our 27:55 side against the devil, no matter what the devil may ever do in any home. God is in the business of redeeming homes. But as we all know, brother Zach has 28:42 taught us that the third story is the overflow of a life lived in God's love, the foundation in loving the Lord, being devoted to him, the first floor. And then the second floor is our home life and our family life. And then the 28:57 third floor is ministry. So, we've seen all of us are representing the third floor, but we thought it would also be good to hear from a few people who represent the second story of the structure as well. So, we'd like to invite first Sanjeev and 29:13 then Sunil and then lastly sister Annie to come and share some remarks as well. Sanjeev. Good afternoon, brothers and sisters. I think my dad would be the first to say that this is he does not like a lot of attention to himself 29:28 to his or to his family. So, we give all the glory to Jesus Christ on this day. Many of you who are young boys know that when you are a young kid, your dad is like your hero. And you've heard the story said that when a kid's like 5 years old, anything 29:46 the dad does is heroic. And then not so much when the boy turns 12, 13, 15. Then the dad starts becoming a little old-fashioned. And you don't think your dad's so much a hero and you don't want to be seen around with him. 30:04 Then maybe you turn 25 and maybe the dad is really old-fashioned then. And then things start to turn around, right? Life comes full circle. You come to your 30s. You come to your 40s. I'm now 50, my dad is 80 and you keep asking yourself 30:21 what would dad do when he was in a similar circumstance. I wish I could consult dad all the time and someday the day would come when dad passes away and you wish dad was around. And that's kind of my been my story and I'm deeply grateful for much of what I 30:36 got to so I'll see first hand. I just thought I'd share a few funny stories and then a few spiritual lessons. We used to joke about our dad because, you know, one of the things I think that keeps you entertained in the Navy when 30:48 you're on the ship is telling jokes. Now, he always told us the clean jokes. I'm sure there were other jokes, but we used to call them PJs because they were poor jokes. And we had them so I mean they were good jokes and funny it's funny that today I 31:01 tell my kids the same jokes and they tell me they're PJs. So they've come full circle making fun of me. But we would have the jokes so identified that we'd have them even have them even numbered. This was joke number one, five, or 10 and we'd say, 31:14 "Oh, here you go, Dad, joke number 10." And it's funny that my kids do the same thing to me today. So things come full circle. But he had a way of just making things so entertaining and lively at the dinner table. That's my memory through many, 31:31 many years, at least the first 18 years that I was there. And then ever since then since then he was always looking to make the the dinner table one where there was entertainment and there was good, clean fun and we could have a good time. And it 31:47 didn't matter what happened at school, it didn't matter if you were bullied, it didn't matter if you were not liked. You knew that when you came home and, you know, good part of your home at the dinner table was one you could remember 31:59 was one of safety and security. And I'm deeply grateful for that because that's the type of picture that I want to create for my own family. I know that's the kind of picture that he has created for many, many homes. Another story that, you know, I think as 32:16 I grow older my parents used my friends used to tell me your dad may not have a lot of hair on his head, but he's got eyes all over his head, okay? And he was watching us. Didn't matter that it was the front of his head or the 32:31 back of his head. It seemed like he had 20 eyes. Always watching what was going on and he had a spiritual set of eyes, too, which might be multiplied those 20 by 200, which is, you know, the spiritual eyes in the head. And 32:45 we couldn't get too far away doing naughty things before it would somehow come back to Dad, you know, giving us good advice. And then even when we traveled 3,000 mi away, when we came I came first to this country as an 33:03 immigrant, we couldn't get too far away. And as many of you know, the book that he wrote here, My Sons, was written based on a lot of what he wrote to us in those many years that we were away. In those days there were there wasn't 33:16 email, there was no phone. We would get, you know, typed or handwritten letters. There came a point in time when email became the became available in India, but even then he had to send an email on a disk through somebody who worked in the 33:33 university, and I would get that when I was in college. So this was just the old times when you just relied on those eyes that were looking for on looking out for you wherever you were. And I'm deeply, deeply grateful for that 33:48 because that's been the eyes that have been not just the physical eyes but the spiritual eyes that have watched over us all these many, many years. Let me just share three observations from the Beatitudes. Many of you know, in Matthew 5, 34:06 there are nine Beatitudes, but I think there's three that I would say out of the nine that have been things that the Lord has shown me through my dad's life that I would give the glory to the Lord because these are the things that are my 34:17 memory of him for years and years to come. And as you know, Jesus went up to the top of the mountain and probably was doing this away from the crowds and to his disciples. So this is sort of him giving advice to the closest people to him. 34:33 And I think these are the three that I want to take away as my own inspiration from my father. Number one is the first one. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Um and I think for many of you know that um 34:46 when my dad left the Navy um and uh my mom was a doctor, but she also quit her job um doing what they were trying to do without asking for a penny of support from anybody meant just taking their savings and making that and that's kind of, you 35:04 know, you think about today, it's humanly impossible to do that, but how the Lord was able to provide because they learned and taught to us a fundamental lesson about being poor in spirit and living on nothing, living on 35:17 very little. Um and uh that that that ability to treat um and and make friends with the poor in spirit, not the rich of the world was something that I got deeply ingrained in me at a very young age and to this day uh I have sought to make my friends the 35:35 poor, poor in spirit much more so than those who are rich and famous in the world and that's something that I'm and I think back to now, you know, 80 years later, the Lord has given him the the the wealth of the kingdom. Think about 35:47 the number here and maybe 4 or 5,000 believers across the 75 churches that are his his friends and that's the most important thing um that is the kingdom of heaven. And um I think about that and if we can all have that small aspect of of poor 36:05 poverty in spirit God gives us tremendous tremendous uh blessings. The other one is the fourth one where it talks about being hungering and thirsting for righteousness. I think I've seen this in my dad all the way along. Um it almost felt like, you know, 36:21 I think what Bobby was saying was right. You know, I asked my dad, "How long does it take you to prepare to give one of these sermons?" And he said usually the Lord reminds me as I'm walking up to the pulpit. But it's sort of right what Bobby said 36:32 it's 80 years of living and then maybe the last few seconds the Lord is reminding him what is the word that's relevant to to today. And I have seen that the hunger and thirst for righteousness has just been this persistent 36:48 strand through his life and that's inspired me because there's so many other things that can distract and I've seen the the sort of the teaching of the new covenant church. I heard this from the day from the age I was you know, five or six years old 1976 37:05 1975 six years old. So I've heard this thing over and over and over again and it doesn't seem to ever get stale. I could hear about the new covenant teaching from 1975 to 2025. Okay, and it just feels like it's still fresh and that's because I've seen that 37:22 hunger and thirst for righteousness at the core of that teaching which is very different from most Christians that just want a fancy message that tickles the ear. And that the second part of that verse is so true. You'll never be hungry. You 37:37 can always be satisfied if you have that core hunger and thirst for righteousness. And the third is something that you unfortunately if you are living this Christian life I think becomes part and parcel because it's not just you know, 37:53 chocolates and and all good food. We attitude number eight and nine has been also kind of characteristic of his life where he's been persecuted. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs the 38:04 kingdom of heaven. So that same kingdom of heaven that's all of these saints are also because people have reviled him, insulted him, taken him to court and I found in that God's actually made him even closer to not worrying about what a 38:21 single person thought on this earth. And it's easy to be a Christian when you're popular and everyone likes you. It's much harder when you're feeling like everyone is against you. And both my dad and my mom have had many people who are 38:35 so-called Christians turn against them, revile them, speak things that I was like, "Man, I cannot believe that someone as a Christian would say those things." But I've seen him stand true and faithful and that's a blessing and 38:50 I'm I'm tremendously inspired by that. So Dad, happy birthday. I have one final thing to ask you on your 80th birthday, okay? I would like you to grow a beard because if you took your glasses off and you had a beard, I think you'll look like that 39:06 man there, okay? And that is my picture of you. Really is. It really is. My dad, if he could hug every one of us and could every one every hug every one of you, that's what he would look like. So maybe that's the 81st birthday 39:22 gift you can give us. Praise God. Happy birthday, Dad. If you grow that beard, I promise to come up here with a towel on my head like the guy over there and make sure that I represent the full picture, full circle. Good afternoon, church. 39:43 What defines what makes a great man of God? I think Christianity around us defines a great man of God as somebody who preaches great sermons, draws people to themselves, glorifies themselves. That's how Christians have defined a 40:00 great man of God. That's one category. There's another category, slightly better, of great men of God who actually draw people to God through their sermons and their teaching and that's the second category of a great man of God. 40:13 What I consider a great man of God is one who manifests the life of Jesus in his life regardless of his ministry, how good his sermons are, whether his sermons lead people to God or glorify himself, regardless of that. And 40:30 that's that's that life of Christ. What is that life of Christ practically? It's It's the fruit of the Spirit, right? Uh we know what the fruit of the Spirit is. Maybe Sunday school kids can help me out. Is it a coconut or uh 40:44 What is it? A lemon or a cherry? Watermelon? Grape? No, what is it? Somebody help me out. Zave. Love, joy, peace, slowly. Patience, kindness, goodness. Gentleness, faithfulness, and 41:03 self-control. That's the That's the fruit of the Spirit. Good job, Zave. That's a Sunday school song for those of you who don't know that we sing. Um And to me that's that is what defines a great man of God. We The life of Christ is manifested through 41:21 the fruit of the Spirit. To me, my father is the greatest man of God I've ever met. And if he did not preach a single sermon to any of you, if he did not be known worldwide for planting churches as an apostle, he would still be the greatest man of 41:37 God I have ever known because of the life of Christ in him, not because of his ministry. And because of his love, joy, peace, patience manifested in in his life in the six and a half days of the week that you guys do not see him, but that I have 41:52 seen him growing up and I've seen him for many years, even now in my adulthood. The Christian life is meant to be practical. It's not meant to be theory. And the other analogy I draw on is this. Who do we consider the greatest 42:04 scientists in the world? It's not um It's not our high school science teacher, definitely, right? We don't even remember who high school science teacher was. It's these great great people like Galileo and Thomas Edison. 42:18 And these are people who weren't just teaching science in theory. They had about an hour of theory, and then they went into their labs for days on end just practicing it and experimenting and proving it out. And to me, that again is the echo of if you 42:34 want an analogy of what a great man of God is. It is not a person who's preaching a great sermon up here on Sunday morning. It is a person who's going back home and exercising for the 6 and 1/2 days that you don't see him, for 42:46 the hours that he's not reading the Bible. Maybe he spends an hour every day studying the Bible and studying theory, but it's the hours that he practices that the fruit of the Spirit, the life of Christ is manifest in him, that makes 42:58 that makes a great man of God. Um to me, the best example of that is the way my dad we talked about the second level, the way he he prioritized family over church. The fact of the matter is you all of you know him for his ministry and his public 43:17 ministry, but there's not one word that he preached that he not that he not practice at home. He laid down his life for us as a family. We know the verse in in 1 Timothy 3 verse 5 which says, "If you cannot manage your own household, how can you 43:32 manage the household of the of God? If you cannot raise your household in with control and with dignity, how can you manage the household of of God?" And he took the time to teach us the ways of God, lay down his life for us, play 43:44 sports with us. I remember when I was a little kid, I I used to be like Eli right here sitting next to Sunday. I would sit next to my dad uh in CFC Bangalore, and he would help me read the verses of the song. This is right 43:55 before you go up and preach, and help me with my reading. And then I had trouble progressing because I didn't know you had to come back to the chorus. So, I went from second verse straight on to third verse, and I was like, "Where's 44:05 everybody gone?" And I was certain back up to the course. He helped me with that. He helped me navigate that. He helped me He spent time with that and that was far more important to him than ministering as much as I might say it 44:15 was more important to him than even ministering to the to the church. So, I'm really thankful for the ways in which he laid down his life for us, the way he spent time with us, the way he instilled the fear of God, taught us the ways of 44:30 God, and taught us to obey, to not rebel against authority, to be honest, to be sincere, to have that foundation of humility upon which these fruit of the Spirit grow. So, what should I I I I think one of the greatest examples for all of you All of 44:45 you have read the book Hero of My Sons or know of it. That is a prime example of my dad teaching us first before him publishing the church. Those were emails and verbal communications that he spoke to us to encourage us and to edify us. 45:01 Many people think the first church uh that my dad planted was 1975 CFC Bangalore. That's a misconception. The first church he ever planted was back in 1968, which was his home, which was the first manifestation of the body of Christ. And then that 45:16 that home progressed all the way to 1978 when I was born. And that was where he invested his time and his ministry as the first first church. And then we think about We've heard about apostolic ministry and spiritual grandchildren and 45:31 great-grandchildren. His ministry to equip Sunday Santo, Sunday even me as parents to our kids, to equip the grandchildren, to teach us about how we should raise our kids, to teach our grandkids about how they will have to grow up in an evil 45:46 generation, so that he's taken care of of that legacy to his physical grandchildren who are his primary spiritual grandchildren even before the rest of the apostolic ministry. So, what must be our response when we see such a great example? 46:01 Is it just merely that we sit back and we admire and say what a great man of God? No, that cannot be. It cannot be that we leave here just celebrating and praising a man of God. Let's Let me read a verse from Hebrews 6:11-12. 46:18 And this is This is I think what I would say Zac Poonen's desires for each of us. We desire that each one of you show the same diligence as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end. So, that you will not be sluggish, but that 46:33 you will be imitators of Brother Zac, who through faith and patience inherited the promises. There's no better example in my life that I know of someone who through faith and patience over the course of me watching him over the last 46:47 40 years has inherited those promises. What are those promises that we heard about? Sanjay mentioned a couple. Seek out hunger and thirst after righteousness, and you will be satisfied. I can't think of a more satisfied 47:00 living person that I know of than my dad, because he has hungered and thirsted after righteousness. A person who when people reviled him like reviled and persecuted him, considered him himself blessed because his reward 47:12 in heaven was great. A person who Matthew's like Matthew 6:33 said, sought God's kingdom first, and I am living proof that in times of poverty and times of not much need all of these things were added because he sought God's God's kingdom 47:28 first. There's a verse in Matthew 19 that says there's not one who gives up land, money, family, brothers, or sisters for the kingdom of God that will not be rewarded in eternity a hundredfold. And that's There's For those of you who know my 47:44 family, my parents have both have had to give up their physical brothers and sisters to some extent, land and money, and many other sacrifices for all the kingdom of God. And I've seen the fruit of their life, and like we heard eternity doesn't have 47:59 to wait till we get to heaven. I've seen that eternal reward in in terms of that intimacy with God a hundredfold much more than they would have gotten if they had preserved those familial relationships all that land or money 48:11 that could have been theirs. So let's be challenged. I'll I'll I'll close with one last verse Philippians 3:17. Brethren join in following my example. This is Paul talking we can say the same thing. Brethren let us join in following 48:29 brother Zac's example and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. So before you listen to your next Zac Poonen sermon consider his life. Consider the fruit of his life. Spend time with him and maybe 48:45 you don't have the opportunity to spend time with him to see the fruit of his life but we have godly elders here and we have some other examples of really excellent brothers like this verse says observe those who walk according to the 48:57 pattern that brother Zac has set for us. We have plenty of examples in our churches of people who are following that example and we can observe them and we can also inherit those promises. So like we heard let us be imitators of these godly 49:14 examples of the apostle we have in our midst so that we can follow Christ just as they follow Christ. Amen. Dear brothers and sisters thank you so much for spending 49:34 hours listening to everybody speaking. I don't want to take too much time but I've got so much to say but I won't say all that I want to say. You can take your time mom. First of all I want to I praise and 49:51 thank God for giving my husband 80 years of health and strength and spiritual uh strength and uh his mind is clear. And he's been able to do so many things which many 80-year-old people don't are 50:09 not able to do. So, I really want to praise and thank God. It's really a gift from God. We have traveled to so many places. We've had to uh eat different types of food. Um and gone without sleep, traveled in different vehicles, different modes of 50:27 transportation. Everything, but I really praise and thank God for the health he has given my husband. And I admire the the strength God has given him. You know, sometimes we we take it for granted. He speaks like three or four 50:47 uh sessions, like 1-hour messages in India, in other places, at the conference. He'll be speaking. And by the time I'll be just sitting there, but I'll be so exhausted I'll wait to go home. But he's just begun. His strength and 51:02 energy has just begun. He has time to talk to people and listen to them and give them godly advice. And he's still standing. Before he used to stand and speak, and he's still standing and talking to people. And he God has given him that freshness 51:18 in his life. That is still shows that it's the Lord who has led us and guided him and helped him. So, I want to give all the glory to God for everything that he's done in our life. When I think of my husband's um what would I summarize his like some 51:37 words which summarizes what type of person he is. I've now lived with him for more than 50 years. And I I this verse came to me in Matthew 22:14. You don't have to look to look up, but I'll just see you. There three words 51:55 there. called and chosen. Many are called and few are chosen. And I felt like that is the um typical way I can um say about my husband. God called him when he was a young man, when he had a good job, and good earning a lot of 52:14 money, and God called him and he accepted the call, and God chose him. Then in Revelation 17:14, it says, "The lamb overcame, and those who were with him were called, chosen called, chosen, and faithful." So, then one more step there is 52:33 um to be faithful. And I I can see uh testify seeing my husband's life that he has been faithful to whatever God has shown him. Um in the mean I don't want to talk about church matters, but I can see how God used him to bring out certain things 52:52 which were not emphasized in other churches. And uh things we all know what were there. I'll just say a few of those things. Uh to be an overcomer, being a disciple, taking up the cross and following Christ, being built into 53:09 the body of Christ, faithfulness in money matters, exposing wrong doctrines, and the difference between religious being a religious person and a spiritual person. We've all heard that in the messages. But and he always used to speak and every 53:26 meeting when I first heard him speak, he used to end with the song, and the whole congregation would lead would sing the song, "I have decided to follow Jesus." And that has been his desire to follow Jesus. But living with him in the home, I can 53:42 see that he has been absolutely faithful in what he preached. Everything that he preached about, I could see that is true in his life. For example, money matters. We, um, lot of people give money to him to maybe we can use it as we like, but 54:01 every pie that we got, he felt and he made us realize, "This is God's money. This is not our money. We have our savings to live on, but all this is for what God has given and we have to spend it how God wants us to spend." And 54:17 what Jesus said, uh, "Buy what you need and give to the poor." Most of the time God would give us the, um, the opportunity and the privilege of serving poor people and God channeled that money to help. So, that faithfulness in money matters 54:34 was so important to him and that's why God gave him spiritual revelation. When he speaks, we know that he makes profound truths in the Bible so simple that even if you ask a little child, "What did the grandpa say today?" He can 54:52 say a just at least one sentence of what he got from. And I can see that that was because he's been faithful in money matters, faithful in time, the way he spends his time. You might see him just sitting here, but I can say how he spends his time at 55:10 home. Most of the time, he'll be, um, having to reply emails from elders, from other people who have questions. And he sits up till late at night replying those uh, emails. And I think that he must be so 55:29 tired, but God has given him that wisdom and that energy and that desire to reply, the love for people. That's what I have seen. Uh and as a wife I can say he's been so caring and so loving and so forgiving 55:48 and no demands on I know what things he likes to eat and drink. Over the years I have found out oh yeah, this is why how my husband likes his coffee or this how my husband likes his food. But he rarely has told me but over the 56:03 years I've discovered this is how he likes it and this is the time he likes it. And he's been so patient with us with me and with the children. I'm really thankful. I can go on and on to say about those virtues but one day in 56:20 eternity when the Lord gives out his rewards you'll see the rest of it. I don't want to uh spend lot of time in that but he's always tried to instill um spiritual values in us, in me and in the children. And 56:38 we have seen the sacrifices he made and we want to do that. I he always wanted to show the children and me that the meetings are most important. We we may we'll have time to do other things on different occasions but when 56:55 there's a Sunday meeting or there's a uh fellowship we should not um neglect that. We should put that uh foremost and put that most important and God has rewarded that. I can see the impact it has had on my children that they want to bring up their 57:14 children in that way. Um and we heard about taking risks for the kingdom of God and he has done that. I can see that he has taken so many risks. We just heard about opposition. Lot of people have opposed but we don't 57:32 look at opposition as such. He He used to say, "Opposition is like people throwing mud at you. If you try to remove it when it's wet, you make a big stain. But just let it be. It will just dry off and fall off, and there'll be hardly any stain on 57:48 you." That's what he's done. He's forgive been forgiving and ignored lot of things and God took care of it. Those people who opposed us, they'll come down in history as people who opposed Zac Poonen. But God didn't stop the ministry at all. 58:05 God didn't stop the work. His work has continued whether there's Zac or there's any somebody else. His work will still go on. So, the opposition it doesn't mean anything to to him. And we Today, we heard about the kingdom 58:19 of God um and how uh we are given different talents in the kingdom of God. That thought about the kingdom of God, I want to close with that. It's a way God comforted me. I I wanted to serve the Lord in God's kingdom, and the Lord showed me there's 58:39 one person you you can uh join with and serve in my kingdom, and I'll give you a as a husband. You just take care of him and support him and provide and see that it is his material needs are taken care of, and that's the 58:57 way you can uh build do my work in God's kingdom. You know, my children and my grandchildren mean a lot to us. Every time I leave them, we leave them, we are so sad. And we are quiet because we don't want to talk about it and make the other person 59:16 sad. This time when we were leaving Colorado, leaving Santosh's family, and they have the habit to come to the uh, Denver airport to see us off. And you know, they in that airport it's so good. They can watch us as we go into 59:33 the security line and put our bags on the belt. And then we go down an escalator and catch a train. And just at the foot of the escalator we can look up and wave to them. And as we're going down the escalator, there's a just a 59:46 glass between us and them. So we put our hand on the glass and they put their hand on the glass and we can touch each one of them. That's our last goodbye. So we did that and we're getting to the train. Everything happened so fast and 1:00:00 we had to rush and get into the train otherwise the door closes. Then we jump out of the train and then an escalator goes up to the gate. So we were both sad and we were going up and I thought this is our last visit to Denver for this time. But we were happy 1:00:15 for the good times we had together. And as I was going up um, I had a backpack. I usually take my things in a backpack and this backpack which I always carry was given to my husband by many after he spoke at a 1:00:33 naval officers function. They gave him a backpack. And I like that because then my hands are free to hold the rails and all that. I was going up that backpack and I mean going up that escalator. And just as I reached at the top of the escalator, 1:00:49 there was a young American couple who came behind me and they said, "We like what's written on the back of your backpack." And I thought, "Okay." Then I remembered what was written. I said, "Yes, what was written on it?" 1:01:03 So they said, "Christ has redeemed us." The King is coming. And I thought, "Really, that is the uplifting word for me. Christ has redeemed me. Christ has redeemed my children. They are safe. And my grandchildren, too. 1:01:22 Our King is coming and one day we'll all be together in that kingdom. That kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy. Why should I be sad? I have a little more time to work with my husband and do the work in the kingdom of God 1:01:38 and do something for him. Everything else will be okay. We'll all be together in that heavenly kingdom. And I told I looked at them and I said, "Are you a Christian?" They said, "Yes, we are Christian." And I thought, "Lord, how wonderful. In 1:01:53 this land when I don't know anybody, right here in this in this airport, you're giving me this comforting word through a fellow Christian a fellow pilgrim in this path." And all that they said was they just read what was in the back of my back 1:02:10 back part Our king is coming. So, brothers and sisters, our king is going to come very soon. We don't have much time. That kingdom Jesus said is not of this earth. It is for overcomers. And that's what my husband has been preaching and he's with all his 1:02:29 passion, be an overcomer. So, that's what I want to leave with each one of us and to myself that comforting word and to my grandchildren, be an overcomer. Our king is coming. We have a couple of cartoons uh that we wanted to share with brother 1:02:47 David Drew. So, uh Okay. Thank you. So, in the For the first one on the horse um in the Indian culture, we heard that in 1:03:07 in India the the man rides on the horse on on wedding day and the the woman walks behind uh on their wedding day, but um brother Zach has uh sought to bring equal dignity to a uh men and women. So, we see them riding together there. 1:03:23 It's a beautiful picture. Um we really appreciate that. Uh just like Jesus, the Jesus was one who did more for women than anybody else. And so, and on this one right here, so um our brother Sanjay talked about uh Brother Zac being his hero. And so, us 1:03:40 here at NCCF, we consider Brother Zac and Sister Annie our superheroes. So, yeah, that's a very fitting picture. Uh superheroes need superpowers. What's their superpower? I think we heard about it already. A lot of people said they have three three 1:03:55 superpowers. Number one, humility. Two, humility. Three, humility. So, uh thank you praise God uh for Brother Zac and Sister Annie. Thank you guys uh Thank you, Brother David, for these pictures. Very special. So, we we wanted to pray together uh for 1:04:14 both of you if you could come up, please, uh and we'll pray for you. Please stand, everybody. Father, we just uh first of all, just 1:04:40 want to thank you for the privilege it is to celebrate Brother Zac and Sister Annie today. Lord, they're a gift from you to us. Each of our lives. Thank you for this wonderful gift of this couple that you've given to us. What you've done in our lives. Thank 1:04:59 you for the spiritual father and mother they've been to us. To care for us, to guide us, to teach us. Thank you for um the fact that you that when the Holy Spirit comes into our lives love is poured out Lord and we've seen 1:05:17 that love coming through them to us in so many ways. So, we just want to glorify you and thank you Lord. All glory to you. Thank you for changing our lives to be um uh following in their footsteps Lord and devotion to Christ and the the closeness 1:05:32 they have with you. Not just religion or a set of doctrines, but a genuine life with Jesus one-on-one. be worshipers, what it really means to be a disciple. Lord, we thank you for showing us the way so clearly and simply. It really is a gift that I feel 1:05:47 like just fell on our laps Lord. We didn't deserve it, but you gave it to us through them. So, thank you Lord. We want to um just pray for them and ask that you would continue to fill them with your spirit and continue to 1:05:59 minister powerfully through them um in all the the time that they have left in the years Lord. We ask that you would give them fill them with health and energy to do what you called them to do. And uh Lord, we claim where it says in your word that the life 1:06:16 of the the godly, the righteous shines brighter and brighter. Continue to make their life even brighter than it has been Lord. As as bright as it has been Lord, you can continue to come that path. And so um thank you Lord for what you've 1:06:31 done for them. Continue to do this for them and fill them with your spirit. Give them many more years of health and um and grace and walking with you. Uh days of heaven on earth Lord, I really feel like we're experiencing that 1:06:43 a taste of heaven um through from what you've done for us through them. Lord, we are What a joyful life we have with you walking with you Lord and you've shown us a lot of what it is through them and so continue to do that 1:06:56 Lord. Use us in the same way as we go forward in our lives. We want to um the best way that we can honor them is by following in the footsteps and um obeying the teachings that we've seen the fruit of. So, we give you glory and thank you and 1:07:11 we pray these things for them. Bless them and their families as well. And uh and all the children and grandchildren and the churches that you've planted, Lord. Fill us with your spirit. Help us to be a powerful witness in these last 1:07:23 days. You're coming soon. We're eager for it. While we're here, we want to um shine your light um as they have. So, thank you, Lord, for this time together. Bless the rest of the time in fellowship and let them know how loved and special 1:07:34 they are. In Jesus' name. Amen. W- While we're all standing, can we sing happy birthday to Brother Zach in the NTCF uh fashion? In CFC fashion? You have it now. We know it, I think. Roughly. 1:07:50 Birthday greetings, we pray. May God bless you, we pray. Live for Jesus dear Brother Zach. May God guide you always. 1:08:06 Happy birthday to you. To Jesus be true. May God's richest blessing be ever with you. You got to You have to blow out the 1:08:30 candles. All right. Okay, everyone can have a seat. Everyone can have a seat. He's the next to speak, yeah. And Brother Zach has to say a couple of words. Kids, don't worry, there's a bigger cake. There is a bigger cake. So, 1:08:47 this one's for Brother Zach, but there's more cake. Brother Zach is going to share a few words, but as he does or as we get him his Bible, if I could have Brother Zach's family just stand up so that we could um acknowledge all the family members. 1:09:01 Let's see, we've got Sandeep, Laura, and grandchildren, too. I won't name all the grandchildren. Yes, Sunil and Anu, Sister Annie's here. We've got Megan and Santosh, and then Sanjay and Cathy. Let's all Let's give all of his family a 1:09:17 round of applause. We're glad you're all here. You guys can be seated. We're We're thankful to God for all of you, and thankful that you could all be here today. God bless you. Well, you know, saying nice nice things about somebody on a birthday is not 1:09:37 special for Christians. Every Everybody in the world does it, and the person whose birthday it is is supposed to get up and say something very humbly. And if there's one thing I've hated, it's false humility. You're either a humble person or you're 1:09:52 not. And whatever you may say, it doesn't make you humble or proud. But I'll tell you what I've honestly pictured in my mind for many, many years. See, I have the privilege and honor of being up in front like a leader and 1:10:12 standing in the pulpit, and because of the gift God's given me, not because I'm better than others. It's a gift God's given, and I always distinguish between gift and fruit. But it's like a you know, in in the United States, you say George Washington 1:10:25 was the one who liberated America from Britain and brought independence to America in 1776. But who knows those many, many soldiers? Nobody knows even their names who fought battles and died 1:10:43 to liberate this country. And the And those are all forgotten. Nobody knows their names, but it will not be like that when Christ comes again. When Christ comes again, and he says he's going to give me a reward 1:11:03 for my ministry. You see a few thousand people going up before I go there. And you'll wonder who these people are. These are the people who were the hidden 1:11:22 members of the body of Christ who supported me spiritually in prayer. I don't mean financially, we don't depend on anyone. But who prayed in different parts of the world. Some I've never seen. I'll see them at the judgment seat of Christ and say, "Oh, 1:11:41 you're the one who prayed for me. I never knew." But I am a firm believer in that. And since I know that is true, I'm not imagining. And it's certainly not artificial humility. I see in my mind that final day this millions of people. I picture in my 1:11:58 mind, you know, we've used our imagination for a lot of filthy things in the past, all of us. Why not use our imagination for real good things now? And I imagine the final day when Christ has come and this huge I see a heads and heads and heads and where's 1:12:17 Paul, Peter? I don't know. Can't find them. Where's Zacchaeus? I don't know. Jesus, he's there. He's the only one everybody's concentrating on. And I look forward to that day when every knee will bow and we'll only think 1:12:30 of Jesus. And then the time for reward comes and I'll tell you honestly from CFC from many many people who prayed for me I see many people going up to get a reward from the Lord 1:12:50 before me. I've got a lot of honor here. Those people whose names you don't even know, who faithfully serve. You know, like if you take a human illustration, the liver, the kidney, who thinks about them? You marry a person because you like his 1:13:12 face, eyes, ears, not because his liver and kidney are good. It's like that. So, people see this outward person. See, "Oh, great man of God." and all that. I want to tell you, those of you who stand behind the scenes supporting, 1:13:29 you are a tremendously important part of the body of Christ. That's what I've taught. I believed it with all my heart. And I'm very thankful. For example, the fact that I've never had to go for 51 years to a hospital with any type of sickness. It's minor 1:13:49 surgeries. Apart from that, sickness, not even one hospitalization in 51 years. Because you know, like these great presidents have doctors going with them wherever they travel, I've had a doctor traveling with me wherever I go. 1:14:08 Uh that's my wife. And she gave up her profession because God said, "You look after my servant. That's enough." And she's told me uh um you know, this thing, if some I have some symptom, there was a song I recently heard, "Don't Google your 1:14:28 symptoms because you you'll hear all kinds of things that'll make you think you're terribly sick." But uh I don't do that. I ask her and she's like, "Oh, that's not serious." So, she'll give me some little tablet and I'm okay. That's how I've been able to 1:14:40 live uh healthy and strong with my normal blood pressure and uh no diabetes, and uh everything normal, I check my blood at once a year, and I'm okay, and I'm healthy, and this is to be able to travel. 1:14:58 It's God's provision. I don't give glory to any human being, but God prepared her for that ministry. Like that, I'm saying different people whom you don't see who've done that. And you know, I'm very thankful for her, because she had so 1:15:14 many proposals from rich people, and I'll tell you honestly, sometimes I wake up in the night when she's still sleeping, and I look at her face, and I say, "Wow. Out of all the world, you chose me. I'm so thankful." Yeah, I say that. I said that numerous 1:15:35 times. I've said it when she's awake, also. I believe that husbands must admire their wives. It's part of our responsibility to It's an expression of love. 1:15:53 And I want to be an example in that. I tell you honestly, I admire my children. I admire my grandchildren. There's so many things that I'm not expecting perfection from them, but there's so many things in every one of them. 1:16:06 And I pray for all 17 of my grandchildren, and my children. I'm very, very thankful. So, I don't want to slight anything that happened today. They are well, they're not important. No, I respect and value very highly the efforts you have made to 1:16:25 greet me. I will not despise it, because the Bible says you must express your gratitude, and I want to be like that. Jesus taught us to be thankful for one another. It's been one of my great teachings that Jesus said he would not even forget 1:16:41 a cup of water that somebody gave to a disciple. You know that verse in the end of Matthew 10. That's been a great example for me that if somebody gave me a cup of water, I must not just say the thank you which culture teaches me to say, 1:16:58 but to be really thankful. Somebody helped me somewhere. Sometimes on a New Year's Day, I've sent a greeting to someone whom I've not talked to for 20 years. I say, "Brother, I remember 25 years ago when I uh was at your place and I needed a 1:17:17 I I couldn't get a cab and I needed to go to my visit my son who was in a college. You drove me there. You took time to take me all the way there and back. I I'm very thankful. I learned that from Jesus who said he'd be thankful for a cup of water and never 1:17:35 never want to forget the little things people have done for me through the years. And I have want to forget all the evil things that people have done. In fact, sometimes I pray, "Lord, I can't remove some of this from my 1:17:48 memory, but I don't want to have it in my heart. I don't know I don't have any wrong attitudes to anyone." That's That's one reason I I'm a very very happy person. I really mean that when I say and I pray it will be so with all of 1:18:01 you. I just want to finish with saying the great Apostle Paul has been my example for many many years. Jesus Christ has been my example in personal life. Nobody greater than that. But Jesus never did showed in his life 1:18:19 how to plant churches, how to appoint elders. So, that's why I have another example. Paul said, "Follow me as I follow Christ." So, I've studied the life of Jesus for my personal walk. I'm always doing it. I read the Gospels numerous times to 1:18:36 see how Jesus lived. And I study the uh epistles to see how Paul planted churches, how he corrected and led people. And I see in Paul's life when he was you heard me say this before, let me repeat it. Approximately when he was 55 years old, 1:18:55 he wrote in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 9, "I am the least of the apostles." I believe he was the greatest. But in he he he's inspired by the Holy Spirit. There's so there's no artificial 1:19:14 humility here. He really If he didn't really believe it in his heart, the Holy Spirit would not have allowed him to write it. Deep in his heart, he looked at all the other apostles, and he said, "I am the least." He believed it. 1:19:31 Five years later, when he's 60 years old, he wrote in Ephesians in chapter 3, he's growing now in grace. Now he's 55 years old. Now he's 60 years old. He writes in Ephesians 3:8, "I am the least the very least of all 1:19:50 the believers in the world." Again, not artificial humility. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, who's telling Paul to write down exactly what you believe about yourself in your heart. Write it down. I believe deep down in my heart, Lord, in your presence, 1:20:08 I am really the least of all the believers in the world. Five more years, and he's 65 years old now, and he writes in 1 Timothy, again, no false humility, inspired by the Holy Spirit. He's writing what he really thinks about himself deep down in his 1:20:28 heart. He says, verse 15, "I am the worst sinner. 1 Timothy 1:15, of all the sinners in the world. You see Paul's progression in holiness. The least of all the apostles, the least 1:20:47 of all the same believers, and the least and the worst of all the sinners. Now, how is that possible? It's because the closer you come to God, really. Paul wasn't committing adultery or stealing. He was the most upright man of 1:21:06 his generation. But, the closer you come to God, the light of God shines so bright that you begin to see so many things in yourself that you never saw before. And any thought that you're somebody all disappears when you come into God's 1:21:25 presence. It's impossible to live in the presence of God and to think that you're a somebody. No, impossible. So, there's a song I heard the other day on the internet, which uh I can't sing it because it's 1:21:47 it's all this cowboy style and I'm not a cowboy. But, the words was I mean, the truth in it was so good that I just modified it to a tune that I know and added a few other things. And uh 1:22:06 I said, "This is my testimony, too." So, I want to sing it to the tune of uh Londonderry Air, which is a well-known tune. And now, I'm not as you know, I'm not the world's greatest singer, so I can't sometimes reach these high 1:22:26 pitches. So, if you'll bear with me, but this is really the truth. I sing it from my heart as my personal testimony. If you could see the wretched sinner I once was, and you could see where I started from, uh 1:22:50 Okay, let me try and sing it. If you could see the wretched sinner I was once, if you could see where I had started from, 1:23:10 you'll know it was a miracle that Jesus did when he reached out and saved a wretch like me. Today I stand 1:23:26 a miracle of God's great grace, a grace that changed me down and holds me firm. And every day I'll say that till I see his face, 1:23:45 that I am just a sinner saved by grace. How can I boast of anything that I have done? How can I glory in what 1:24:03 God has done? Where would I be if God had not forgiven me? Each breath I have is what he gives to me. And And my life is his alone forever. 1:24:27 I'll never live to do my will again. But all my life I'll sing this as I run this race. That I am just a sinner 1:24:46 saved by grace. Join me. And now my life is his alone forever. I'll never live 1:25:03 to do my will again. But all my life I'll sing this as I run this race. That I am just a sinner saved by grace. 1:25:23 Thank you, brothers and sisters. Let's pray together. Dear Father, we want to thank you so much for writing letters on human hearts, Lord, and displaying your goodness and your glory 1:25:43 in the lives of undeserving and unworthy sinners, Lord. You've done amazing things, Lord. You do all things well. Thank you for putting the hope in our hearts, Lord, that there's no partiality with you. That you long to touch and 1:25:59 strengthen and help us all, Lord, just as you have helped our dear brother Zac. Lord, pray that you would continue to strengthen him, continue to fill him with the Holy Spirit, and anoint him, Lord, to proclaim your word 1:26:10 uncompromisingly, to put the life of Jesus on display. Please bless him and sister Annie many more years years of fruitful service, Lord, and help us to take our lives seriously, Lord, in light of the example that you've given 1:26:26 us. Help us take our lives more seriously. Take you at your word, Lord. Grab a hold of the promise full of faith, Lord, that you are able to finish the work that you've begun in us. Thank you, Father. We praise you. We thank you for this day. In Jesus' name. 1:26:40 Amen. I realize that I was supposed to ask brother Zach and sister Annie to cut the cake and I forgot. So, would you would you guys mind to come cut the cake? Stanley, would you maybe take a photo? Nice and Is that okay? Okay.
