0:00 Thank you so much brother Zach for taking us through the foundation. I think it's so so refreshing to hear this foundational verses again even for the people who have been following the Lord for many years. It's always good to be 0:14 reminded of our foundation and um and thank you for the exhortation for those who get time to share in the churches like elders to consider that uh in the church there are people at different spiritual maturity from kindergarten to 0:29 PhD and uh we must make sure that everyone is helped and addressed and encouraged. Um uh may God help us uh in that responsibility and I take it very personally for for myself and um yeah as you read these verses from living Bible 0:48 I was feeling like sometimes it is the familiarity of the verses I I used to read King James and then NASB but if you read in a different version it comes alive again in a fresh way. Sometimes I go back and read in my own mother tongue 1:03 Telugu just to get a understanding of the scripture and now the living Bible uh the paraphrase version is so good to hear and thank you for explaining it slowly and uh so uh easy to understand not just for adults but even for 1:19 children. Uh definitely I think all of us have a homework uh in the next couple of weeks to read Romans 4:5. Uh you're right. We I think we go to Romans 6 most of the times are 8 but we uh have not dwelt so much on Romans 4 and five. Um 1:36 as you were explaining also I I felt like the believer on day one uh he's accepted as much as a believer who has been walking in with the Lord for many years and such a the generosity and the mercy of God. If you see it, it is uh my 1:54 heart is filled with uh the gratitude and thankfulness how good our God is. >> I will also say that [clears throat] I read Romans 4 and 5 today in the message translation >> which is also very very good. >> Yes, 2:11 >> I just mentioned that. >> Yeah. So [clears throat] that's not exactly like you say inspired word for word. But I find that reading it in the living Bible especially and in the message highlights certain things which we may 2:29 forget. >> I'll just pass that on to you for your consideration. Okay. Thank you. >> Yeah. The message Bible is also it's yeah it's super paraphrased but uh it helps us to get the point. Sometimes those versions uh bring a different 2:45 light into the verse that we are so familiar with. Um yeah and then uh yeah it's it's it's amazing in in the way God accepts us and sees us as equal with anyone who has been I mean I was thinking about this parable where Jesus 3:01 says someone who was hired later in the day were paid equal amount of wages and that shows God's heart how he treats everyone the same and is um uh yeah it's amazing to see God's love that way. Um That's a very important that's a very 3:20 important parable what you just quoted >> that the person who came at the last hour >> right >> the same wages of the person who came the first hour >> it sounds unrighteous but that is God's way and if anybody says 3:37 Lord how can you give me just the same reward as that guy that guy just came yesterday to the Lord that thief who died on the cross >> is he going to share heaven with me. He He lived all his life in sin and just last minute he trusted you. 3:53 The Lord says today he'll walk with me in paradise. This is this is the Christ we believe in. >> Yes. >> Who forgives so freely and graciously and if I have not understood that gracious forgiveness that could be the reason why there's so much hardness in 4:10 our heart towards other people. >> Yeah. Sometimes you're so what you said is so true. I fail to understand the heart of God and I can get hardened especially when God shows so much mercy and someone we think maybe may not 4:30 deserve it. I mean even I go back to the prodical son story many times how much God the father accepted him and he has welcomed him and he threw a party. The elder brother could not rejoice in the fact that his father had shown so much 4:43 mercy on someone who wasted away everything. >> Yeah. Uh I give you one example from the Old Testament. [clears throat] If you were to ask someone to read the sins that King Saul committed and the sins that King David committed 5:03 and ask him to assess on that basis which of the two should be accepted by God, the average person will say definitely Saul. He didn't kill somebody and marry his wife and he didn't uh do all the terrible sins that David did. 5:21 It's something we can't understand. God sees a person's heart, not just the sins he committed. >> But the attitude of repentance in the heart. That's what I want to emphasize in closing. A repentant heart is so valuable to God. 5:39 And if you lose that spirit of repentance, you will drift. I seek I'll tell you honestly I seek to have a spirit of repentance in me every day because I say one reason I have not yet 5:56 fully become like Jesus Christ. Therefore I repent. God is my witness that I repent every day as I seek to find out from morning till night. Lord I show me where I am unlike Christ. I want to repent. I want to 6:14 repent. I want to repent. And I I do that many times in a day. And I go to bed with a clean conscience and wake up praising God. And I begin another day of wanting to listen to God and being repentant. It's changed my 6:32 life completely. >> Yeah. And it ties to what you said about the definition of sin is falling short of the glory of Christ. as I compare myself with Jesus and I see the uncristlikeness so clearly rather than 6:49 comparing myself with others. Um yeah that lead us to the repentance. So one thing uh connected to that I also wanted to ask in a church where we have people as you mentioned at different spiritual levels and maturity. So it is 7:05 how do we be patient with others who making progress like show mercy um even they may not have the same light as I have today and someone who is ahead of me may be may be seeing something that I may not be able to see in a church. How 7:21 can we have fellowship with people of various degrees of spiritual maturity? Yeah, [clears throat] you know Jesus picked up little children and he wanted to have fellowship with them. >> How much did they understand about 7:37 justification by faith and all the doctrines of the gospel? >> God [clears throat] does not see as we see. He sees the heart. And that's what we should look for. Here's a person who's given his heart to Christ or here's a young boy or a young 7:54 girl who's given their heart. He's my brother. >> He's my sister. She's my sister and God has accepted him. I will accept him. Just like I you know when we look at our a father looks at his children. He sees so many mistakes in his children but 8:09 he's so forgiving and loving because they are his children. M >> but he may not have the same attitude of forgiveness to somebody else's children when they misbehave but towards his own children he'll be very forgiving because 8:24 he loves them. So I believe that's the way we should look at other believers and be open and remember that we are if they have known the Lord for a long longer time we have greater light on many areas and that person doesn't have 8:41 that much light but if I am more mature than him then I should be more kind than he is I should be more loving than he is because the true Christianity is a growth in love and compassion and patience Patience, particularly patience. I was I've been 8:58 frequently remembering James chapter 1 where it says, "Let patience have its perfect work so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1 verse4, it teaches us that the thing we require 9:15 more than anything else is patience. Patience with one another. Think of a think of a home where everybody's patient with one another. That will be a perfect home. Husband is patient with his wife no matter what she does. Wife 9:31 is patient with her husband no matter how he behaves >> with our children. We're not tolerating the error. We correct the error. But there's patience underneath it all. There's a foundation of patience. But as human beings, we are very 9:47 impatient people. Yes, >> even though we are not perfect, we expect perfection from others. We need to be merciful and patient with everyone. Yes, brother. Yeah, that's a great word. And also that reminds me of this verse 10:04 also in James 2:13. Um like mercy triumphs or judgment being merciful to others rather quickly judging. Um just like my heavenly father is so merciful to me, I need to be merciful to others. >> Right. 10:23 That does not mean we tolerate sin. >> Yeah. >> But it does mean we are merciful. And the greatest example to me is Christ forgiving that murderer on the cross. >> It doesn't mean he tolerated all that he did. >> But he said because he was so repentant 10:39 in that time and he said, "Lord, I'm not expecting anything. Lord, just remember me whenever you come into your kingdom. He didn't ask for anything. Just can you please remember me? >> Yeah. >> Said, "Not remember you, but I you'll 10:53 walk with me today in paradise." >> What a wonderful This is our savior. >> Yes. >> You'll never forget it. >> Yes. And same mercy show. I I read I heard of someone pre preaching about that like this that this u thief [clears throat] 11:12 goes to the gate of heaven and the angel asks him do you know what justification he says no I don't know what justification is do you know what sanctification is he no I don't understand sanctification he asked many things like this do you understand what 11:25 overcoming sin is no I don't understand then why are you here the man on the middle cross told me to come that's all >> that's all The man on the middle cross said I could come. I'm here. >> Yeah. >> And really blessed me to hear that on 11:44 the basis on which >> Jesus accepts us into his kingdom. >> Praise God. >> I tell you what we hear today. We are going to get many more surprises when Christ comes again. >> To see how gracious and good and kind he is. I believe we'll be shocked to see 12:03 how little we understood the kindness and the goodness and the patience of God when we see him face to face. >> Yeah. And that's why when we sing this song amazing grace, we get so familiar with those words. It is so amazing. I 12:20 think we have to stop and think about that amazing grace. >> Absolutely right. Even for Zakius when he did not even do anything, he did not even say I'm sorry or anything. He just started giving away the money. Immediately Jesus saw his 12:34 repentant heart. >> Yeah. >> He said today salvation has come. >> Yeah. >> Even though it may have taken Zakius a few years to pay back all the money he took. >> Yeah. >> But salvation came the same day. >> Same day. >> Wonderful. Wonderful. He just sees that 12:49 U-turn in his life and then his his mercy and grace is ready to be poured out to us. >> Yeah, that's right. We've got to be like that also to others, brother. >> Yeah. >> One of the dangers we have in CFC is because we preach such a high standard, 13:06 we can forget about important qualities like mercy, patience, kindness, longsuffering. those things can disappear from our life because we are talking about perfection, perfection, perfection. 13:24 >> Yes, brother. Yeah, it's very important as you said to meditate on the kindness of God so that we ourselves will not be hardened towards others especially those who are making progress. >> I want to say that what you heard today 13:41 is not a contradiction of anything that you've heard so far. It is just another side of truth. Truth has many sides and this is one side of the same truth we have always proclaimed which is to become like Christ. >> That is our goal. 13:59 >> Yeah. >> Brother, I got some questions submitted in the form. I'll just read them one by one. Um >> could you suggest on how to overcome jealousy and selfish ambition? When I get tempted, I try to resist. Praying 14:16 and asking God to give grace. Not sure if I am sinning. I feel I feel like I'm gloomy. Could you share your thoughts on this? Yeah, you know, I have been greatly helped by 14:33 seeing how I've said this before, how Paul progressed in his Christian life. And let me, you probably heard this me say this before, I'll repeat it. [clears throat] when 14:50 around 55 AD, when Paul was probably around 55 years old, he said in 1 Corinthians in chapter 15, he refers to himself 15:09 and he says in 1 Corinthians 15 in verse 9, I am the least of all the apostles 1 Corinthians 15:9 among all the apostles that are are in 15:26 the world I am the last and the least this is after he had established so many churches five years later when he writes Ephesians and there he says in Ephesians in 15:44 chapter 3 and uh verse 8. Ephesians 3:8. Now he has gone down lower. Now I'm the least of all the believers in the world. First he was the least of all the apostles. 16:03 Five years later he has become the least of all the believers. After another five years, you read in 1 Timothy 1:15, he says, "I'm the chief of all the sinners in the world." Do you see Paul's progression, spiritual progress? 16:22 When he was 55, he said, "I'm the least of all the apostles." Five years later, when he's around 60 years old, he says, "I'm the least of all the believers." After another 5 years, when he's 65 years old, he says, "I'm the greatest sinner of all." 16:42 What does this indicate? That is what happens when a man gets closer and closer and closer to the blazing light of God's holiness. He knows that he knows so little. The greatest saints 17:04 are those who are most aware of their sin because they are so close to God. They see things that are sin which others don't even think are sin. So [clears throat] if I am growing like that, it's very easy to be patient with others and 17:24 forgiving and merciful because I'm aware. Then I asked myself, how is it I didn't see this in myself 5 years ago? I was blind to my own need because I was so far away from God. The closer I come to God, 17:42 I see so many things in me which I didn't even know I was was sin. And how merciful God has been with me. The things I don't see. I believe that many believers don't realize what a lot of sin there is in them. They come 17:58 closer to God. They see it more and more and more. That'll teach us to be extremely merciful to others. God hates pride, but he doesn't hate sinners. Says God resists the proud. And so 18:16 if I come closer and closer to God, that's the only way to be free from all these things that you mentioned in the jealousy and competition and all those things. >> We must ask God to show us, Lord, 18:35 >> show me more and more as I come closer to you areas of my life that are unlike Christ. And if we ask seriously, God will show it to us. >> Yes. Thank you, brother. I'll go on to 18:54 the next question. Why do I not feel any different after asking to be filled with the Holy Spirit? I've been asking consistently, but I feel I feel like I am staying stagnant in my Christian life. Yeah, I I felt like that many times. It 19:13 is mainly because we depend so much on feeling or we have heard other people's testimonies of what happened when they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they I want something like that and it has not happened to me and I get 19:26 discouraged. So [clears throat] I would say to such a person be completely blind and deaf to whatever you have heard about other people's testimony of being filled with the Holy Spirit. That's for them. It may not be for you. 19:43 There are different mentions of people being filled with the Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles. But one thing I see, each one is different. If you look at them, Acts chapter 2, Acts chapter 9, Acts chapter 10, Acts chapter 19, all of them are 20:00 different. And so what I learned from that is there's no standard way in which we can be sure. Just like salvation, God gives me an assurance in my heart that my sins are forgiven. The same God can give me an assurance in 20:17 my heart that he has filled me with the Holy Spirit. I don't need to convince anybody else but I must be sure myself. M >> so very often we are looking for the same experience we heard in some testimony or I'm sometimes very hesitant now to give any 20:34 testimony about my own experience because I feel that other people will say I must have the same thing. So this is a great danger of listening to a testimony then I want that same thing for myself but God may lead you into his life in a 20:52 different way. The important thing is so I say what one should look for is a life of overcoming sin and a life of being able to love unloly people. >> Let me repeat that. Loving unloly people. 21:12 That's what God did. That is the fullness of the spirit because it says in Romans 5 and verse 5, the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. That to me that is the greatest mark of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Not 21:26 speaking in tongues, >> not any other thing. But the love of God is shed abroad in our heart by the Holy Spirit. It says in Romans 5 and verse 5. So to me that is the greatest proof of being filled with the Holy Spirit 21:43 that the love of God has filled my heart that I'm able to love unloly people. And that is a mark of being filled. And if I've if I need if I'm not able to love someone who is not lovable, I have to pray Lord fill me with the Holy 22:01 Spirit. Because it says here the love of God is poured in our hearts, floods our heart through the Holy Spirit. And God so loved the whole world. And God loved the world when the world was full of sinners, not when they were perfect. 22:17 So that is to me the love of God is the greatest mark of being filled with the Holy Spirit. The other gifts of a service. God may gift one man a gift of teaching, another man a gift of evangelism and it's all different. But the love by love 22:36 in our heart is the I picture it like this. Health is what we must have in every part of the body. But function the hand has one function. The ear has one function. The eye is another function. So different people have different gifts. 22:54 Speaking in tongues is one gift. Bringing souls to Christ is one gift. Teaching is one gift. And being a shepherd for others many encouraging others is a gift. But basically that I the Lord helped me to be free from an unloving attitude to 23:13 love God with all my heart and to love others as I love myself is the ultimate end of the gospel. So if a person looks for that Lord am I increasing in love towards others am I increasing in love for you that can only be as I meditate on Jesus himself 23:31 looking unto Jesus that is how I found that my love for Christ has increased as I meditated on Christ's love for me the more I meditated on that the more my love for him increases and the more I'm able to love other people and not judge 23:46 them or condemn them. Thank you so much brother. That's such a one I think powerful answer you have given uh in terms of showing that love towards unloving people. Even I was reminded of this 1 Timothy 1:5 the goal 24:04 of our instruction is love from pure heart at good conscience and sincere faith. It starts with the love from pure heart and um that's that's only the spirit of Christ which cries out even for those who are crucifying him. Father 24:18 forgive them forgive them. Um um >> that's absolutely the right verse. 1 Timothy 15, the goal is love from a pure heart. >> Very important verse which you quoted just now. >> Yeah. [clears throat] 24:41 I'll move on to the next. I think again uh another question uh related to the Holy Spirit. Uh what does it mean by walk by the spirit, led by the spirit, live by the spirit? Also, how do we discern it's a spirit? Are we doing it 24:57 from our own will or by a Bible verse which is a commandment? See, remember that u the Old Testament, nobody had the Holy Spirit within them. They were only living by commandments. So, there's nothing wrong in that. And 25:16 but as we live by the Holy Spirit, we go beyond the commandments to the motive. For example, there was no I mean the Old Testament law was basically love God with all your heart and love others as you love yourself. But yet 25:34 it was the commandments given by Moses in the law that they kept. If they disobeyed that, they felt they were wrong. But ultimately behind all the commandments which became evident only when Jesus came and the Holy Spirit came 25:48 is that the ultimate commandment is to love God with all my heart and to love others as I love myself and to love the disciples as Jesus loved me. So that is the ultimate. So if I keep that as a goal, 26:06 I don't evaluate myself by just little few commandments that I kept or I don't keep. I must have always this goal. I must love my brothers and sisters. And it's something we grow in. We must not condemn ourselves. If we 26:23 don't reach that overnight and say Lord I want to pursue after love with all my heart and seek to love others as you have loved me. >> Can you answer that answer that ask that question again on let me get it clear clearly. 26:40 >> Okay. What does it mean by walk by the spirit led by the spirit live by the spirit also? How do we >> Yeah. [clears throat] Also >> also how do we discern it's a spirit? Are we doing it from our own will or by a Bible verse which is like a 26:59 commandment? >> I don't think we should evaluate ourselves on that. If we have done the what we feel is right, forget about where it came from. >> U because we we are not able to analyze ourselves so perfectly. >> I believe that in our conscience God 27:15 will show us. Conscience to me is the greatest guide. Does your conscience convict you that you've done something wrong? Said it right. You'll move on to a higher level then that even if you did what is right, the conscience show you 27:31 did you did not do it with a good motive. You did it for honor or something else. So there's a growth in our conscience as we initial we only take out the action. Is it right or wrong? But then we go beyond that to say what is the 27:46 motive behind that action and then I judge myself at that level. So there's a spiritual growth in this where I'm able to get more and more light on where I've come short. That's a mark of spiritual growth that I get more and more light on 28:02 that that is not the right way to do it. Or there's someone who for example if there's any I've say if there's any human being anywhere in the world whom you have not forgiven or whom you got a grudge against you can't really walk with the lord it's 28:19 not possible you but yet you may have walked with the lord for many years because you didn't have light in that area but we must get light in that we must ask lord show me is there any human being maybe he doesn't agree with me but 28:33 If I lack love in my heart towards him or if I wish something evil for him, I'm not like Christ. I must judge myself. And that can come even in a mature saint. You know that something can crop up and you can have a wrong attitude towards 28:52 someone because he turned against you and there you see your own shortcoming. >> So I believe I must always examine whether I love everybody. Love from a pure heart like you read in 1 Timothy 15. That is the goal. A good conscience 29:08 and love from a good conscience. >> If any of these things are lacking, I judge myself >> and there will be a growth in it. I'll understand more and more of the motive behind certain actions and like that I grow. >> I think the crux of the question if I 29:26 understand you know am I doing am I obeying something by my own will or by the power of the Holy Spirit? How do I know uh the distinction? >> I say, are you feeling more and more helplessly dependent upon God? Then you're depending on the Holy Spirit. 29:44 >> Are you feeling more and more confident that I can do it? >> You don't see God's power in prayer or seeking for his help constantly. Then you're depending on yourself. But the mark of a person who feels helpless is there's a cry in his heart. 30:00 always there's a you know when it says pray always there's only one thing that we are told to do prayer always means just like I breathe always in order to live to pray always means I must always have this prayer is the mark of a helpless 30:20 dependence on God that's how I see it so I must always have this feeling of a helpless dependence on God for everything and that's one mark of spirit spiritual growth that for everything I'm helplessly dependent on God whether to 30:36 not just when I'm asked to preach but just to love people also I'm helplessly dependent upon God. So the more I feel helplessly dependent upon God the I say the more I'm growing in dependence upon God. That is how we evaluate our 30:53 spiritual growth. >> Yeah. Are you feeling more and more helplessly dependent upon God? I always use the example of the branch in the vine. >> The branch if it the day it recognizes I can do zero >> without being dependent on the branch. 31:11 It has come it's perfect. But if ever I feel there are things I can do without seeking for the power of the Holy Spirit. I haven't yet grown to the place where I'm totally dependent. Jesus attitude was I can do nothing without the power of the Holy Spirit. 31:26 >> That is perfection. But we haven't got there. We must come to the place where I say Lord I can never do anything pleasing to you >> without being constantly dependent on the Holy Spirit to be seeking for the help of the Holy Spirit. Not consciously 31:43 unconsciously. See our breathing for example is unconscious. We say for example I cannot live a single moment if I can't breathe. >> But I'm not breathing consciously all the time. It has become an unconscious action. So in the same way when I say I 32:02 cannot live the Christian life without being dependent on the Holy Spirit even a single moment. But I'm not have to be I don't have to be conscious of it just like I'm not conscious of my breathing. M >> so it's something dependence on the holy 32:17 spirit is something like breathing and we are not conscious of our breathing gradually it becomes it's only people who have sickness who are unaware of their breathing otherwise in normal person is not aware of his breathing and 32:31 if we walk with the lord dependent on the holy spirit all the time that is the perfect Christian life and we have to grow into that because so easily we depend on ourselves And that's where we have to cleanse ourselves from. Many people think of 32:47 cleansing themselves from obvious sin. But I believe we need to cleanse ourselves from our dependence on our self. >> Yes. >> That is what makes us strong in ourselves. And that is the strength of self that needs to be broken. 33:04 >> Yeah. Thank you so much, brother. The helplessness is the proof that I keep going back to the Lord uh and asking for help. I remember Santo shared this many many years ago about a blind man looking for the stick. As soon as he gets up 33:18 it's like >> as soon as he wakes up he looks for a stick. >> Yeah. So we cannot do anything um useful or produce a Christlike attitude a character without the power of the Holy Spirit. I'll say one more thing in this connection. 33:33 The highest truths in the Christian life cannot be explained verbally or in written form. >> They are [clears throat] it's like trying to explain how do you explain your love for your wife? Can you put it down in writing? You know 33:51 whether you have it. You know whether it's increasing. [clears throat] You know whether it's decreasing. But how do you put it down in writing? It's like that our love for the Lord or love for another. Spiritual growth is 34:02 like that. It's very difficult to define it. You know, we are the more educated we are try, we try to get everything down in black and white. But our relationship with God is not possible to write it down in black and white. You 34:16 sense in your spirit something is wrong [clears throat] and you respond to that and set it right. Difficult to put it in black and white. >> Yes. Yeah. Difficult to verbalize. Yeah, you're right. You have to know it by experience. Uh 34:33 >> yeah I'll move on to the next question. Uh if anyone has a question please post it in the chat. Uh I will read them. Uh so I meanwhile I have few more questions. Uh this is uh question. Is it okay if I am friends with someone who is 34:49 LGBTQ like a friend in a school or a college or something like that? I guess we are to be friends with the greatest of sinners, [clears throat] but we must not let their sin 35:06 >> affect us or come into us. And if you see that something is wrong in another person and God has put you in touch with him, it must be always to help him to come out of it. 35:25 If I see LGBTQ as a a pit that a person has fallen into, can I be friendly with a person who's lying inside a pit? Sure. Can I be friendly with a man who's tied down with so many chains? 35:43 Sure. But I must help him to be free from it as much as he's willing. But if he says, "No, I want I love these chains that are tying me. I can't force sin but I must see a LGBTQ person as a person who's bound by chains of the devil in 36:00 something which is so contrary to God. >> So there's Jesus was friends with the greatest of sinners but u we must Jesus came to help them. So we 36:19 must remember that. >> Sure. Yeah. Thank you for the words of wisdom. Um yeah, we we all need to Yeah, I think we encounter maybe in workplace or in our friendships in the from the past. Yeah, 36:38 it's a it's a great word. Thank you for that. Um, [clears throat] next question is, um, may I ask your advice about how to relate to church members who stay close with those who are disciplined by the leadership and have since left the 36:55 church, how can I handle it with love and wisdom? >> Yeah. Sometimes, for example, if someone who has left the church is a blood relation of yours, 37:13 you have a relationship with that person as a blood relation. For example, if it's your son or your brother in the same family, there's no way to avoid him completely. So, I'm not here to judge such a person. And uh I only say we must be wise that 37:32 because Jesus said if you want to be my disciple you got to hate father, mother, brother, sister, love, wife, children, everyone. In other words, Christ must be first in our life. So that's all I would say to such people. Just make sure that 37:44 Jesus Christ is first in your life >> and that Christ is always there between you and that person. That you don't compromise. Not the standard I preach. No, that the standard you see that Jesus had of purity and uprightness and goodness and if that 38:03 person has compromised on that, you're not helping him by being a friend with him and keeping quiet about it >> and you're not [clears throat] faithful to Christ. Jesus taught us very clearly that to be his disciple, I must love him 38:17 more than everybody else. So that's the way I must look at it. I must love this person. But Christ is in between. And I find that if he's compromising in some area, if I have the freedom to tell him, tell him that he's compromising, but he was 38:34 not willing to listen to me. I don't want to keep pestering him. But I must not be influenced by his compromise. That compromise comes into myself and I must not give him the impression that everything is all right if I see 38:49 something is wrong in him. M >> how would a doctor supposing a his own son has got some sickness just because he loves his son he's not going to ignore the fact that there's some sickness in him he'll want his son to be 39:02 healed from that sickness and as a doctor he'll see more and more clearly this is a dangerous sickness that my son has got so if I see sin as a sickness it's not a question of whether a person disciplined by the church or not but is there a sin 39:18 there which the person is not aware of. So think of it in relation to sin, not whether he belongs to my church or some other church. If there's sin in him which he's not aware of, I must help him to see it for his own good. 39:33 And that is the way I should have. But I need to be wise in how I express it to him. He may be so hardened that he doesn't see it. I can't force myself on him. Then I should be wise in how much of a relationship I have with him that 39:48 he does not pollute me. I say if you see a person in a pit, by all means go and help him out of the pit, but don't jump into the pit with him. That's the way I would put it. >> So if you see that there's something wrong in that brother, he's in a pit, 40:07 help him out if you can, but if he doesn't want to and you want to stay in the pit, you can't do anything. But don't go and join him in that pit. That's the way I would express it in relation to people who are disciplined 40:22 by the church for some something wrong in them. >> Perhaps there may be you may feel that it was wrong for the church to discipline them. That could also be in that case it's a question of submission to the elders. If you are in a church, 40:38 you must submit to the elders of that church. And if you are in conflict with the elders of the church, I would suggest to you go and find some other church. But it's wrong to not be in submission to the authority of the 40:55 church you are attending. That's a sin. >> Yeah. I think also I just want to clarify this question. This question is also asking about someone. What is my relationship with someone who is in touch with the person who is 41:12 disciplined? >> Yeah. >> Yeah. I have to warn him. Don't get polluted by the wrong attitude the other person has. I I must you know if I see that someone is friendly with someone who's got some bad 41:29 habits how would I supposing I know that someone is friendly with someone who's always watching pornography what advice will I give him? >> Mhm. >> I say you may not be watching it yourself now but you be careful. If that 41:45 person is always watching pornography you're going to have problem after some time. He will drag you. you must drag him out. So my advice to such a person would be are you helping that person to come closer to Christ or is he dragging 41:58 you towards his direction? >> That would be my advice to such a person. >> Yeah, thank you brother for that. [clears throat] So yeah, I encourage everyone if you have any question please post it in the chat. Um I have few more I'll be asking 42:18 but if you have any uh please post it. Um [clears throat] the next question I wanted to ask you brother Zach is how to overcome the spa sin of spiritual pride and self-righteousness that comes by comparing myself with others also 42:35 sometimes assuming the worst in others. For example, like the Pharisee and the tax collector uh the story that Jesus uh spoke, Pharisee assumed the worst and the tax collector, I'm better than this person. Uh things like that that comes 42:50 or even the elder brother judging the young younger brother who just returned assuming that he would have done the worst possible sins. uh the yeah the spiritual pride and self-righteousness um the great dangers we can fall into 43:04 when we are so good at a doctrine or so good at external life uh can you please share >> yeah one thing we must not evaluate ourselves our spirituality by the accuracy of our doctrine in this the devil understands all 43:25 doctrines accurately he doesn't follow them but he knows what the truth is. It doesn't make him spiritual. So [clears throat] understanding truth accurately is not indication that I become spiritual. So it's good to know the truth 43:43 accurately but it's when the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts towards people that is the proof that I'm becoming more and more spiritual. So I must never evaluate myself on the b of truth of doctrine. And of course 43:59 truth of doctrine is important because our life is based on true doctrine. But please repeat that question again. >> So [clears throat] uh how can I overcome the sin of spiritual pride and self-righteousness that comes by comparing myself with 44:18 others? >> Okay. >> Sometimes even assuming the worst in others. If I evaluate spiritual growth by knowledge of doctrine, I'm wrong. That is how spiritual pride comes. That I know more of doctrine or know more of the Bible. 44:35 It is only if spiritual spirituality is love for God and love for others. >> If I can't love that person, I'm not spiritual. Whatever doctrine I may understand. So we can evaluate ourselves by the truth of doctrine. For example, 44:50 some things we spoke of today and you can say, "Oh, I understood something truth today and be proud of it." No, I say if you don't love people, we are we have not grown any more by understanding of doctrine. >> So, we must never evaluate ourselves by 45:05 the understanding of a certain doctrine. Always evaluate ourselves by am I loving the Lord more fervently? And how do I evaluate my love for the Lord? Here's one proof of it. Love not the world nor the things in the world. 45:22 If I find myself, for example, Jesus said, you cannot love God and money. So if I love God more and more, I should be more and more free from the love of money. >> That's one way I can evaluate myself. A lot of Christians don't evaluate their 45:38 love for God by that basis. If you see God and money as absolute opposites, I say the closer I come to God, the more I must be away from the love of money. That's one example. So if I'm not evaluating myself in relation to my love 45:54 for God and that I'm not and my love for others, I'm not spiritual. Spirituality is to love God with all my heart and to love others as Jesus loved me. That's a very high standard. And if I evaluate myself by that 46:13 standard all the time, >> yeah, >> not possible for us to look down on others. I'll be judging myself all the time. >> Yeah. >> That is the safest path to go. The path of walking in the light is not standing still in the light. Walking in the light 46:30 means with every step I'm getting more of God's light means I'm seeing myself more, >> not other people more. I'm seeing myself. I'm judging myself. That's for example, that is how I found in myself. >> If I don't live every day in judging 46:47 myself, I'm not walking with the Lord. I should be getting light on myself regularly. areas that I never even knew were uncristlike that I get more light on that on in the area of humility, in the area 47:05 of love for others, forgiveness and being good, being free from anxiety and things that only I will know inside. These are all inner attitudes. If I am not free from these things, I have to say, Lord, I'm not really growing 47:22 spiritually. Yeah, I I heard your sermon recently that you spoke to RLCF about judging ourselves. Uh yeah, I was very blessed by that. Um so that's a similar thought I had in the recent past couple of weeks. I've been meditating on the on 47:39 the blessings of judging myself and just and stop there and towards others just be thankful. Um I remember you mentioned >> and in judging ourselves I should not condemn get into condemnation that's important that's yeah yeah I remember 47:58 you mentioned about the happiest people are the people who are judging themselves >> always >> always >> but will never condemn themselves for it >> you know if I discover tomorrow some area of uncristlikeness in me which 48:12 I did not know today I should be delighted boy that's an area I can cleanse myself >> and not condemn myself. >> Yeah. >> Oh Lord, I'm thankful that I got some light on that area. It's like >> learning something new in eighth grade 48:28 which I did not know in the seventh grade. >> Yeah. Yeah. That's how we should look at it. Not condemnation, but >> thank God God showed me the light and I can cleanse it right now before >> absolutely right. >> When I have time. 48:41 >> Okay. I got one more question in the chat. [clears throat] The Bible tells us to obey our parents. As Christians, how should we handle parents or in-laws that seem to act at the that seem to act at the parents of your children 48:58 and also seem to take charge when they come to stay with you. I tend to be quiet, but it's something I don't like. But I also think of what Bible says about honoring the parents. I think parents interfering with our own 49:13 children when I think that's >> you mean grandparents. >> Grandparents. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. [clears throat] We had to be wise but uh it depends on how spiritual our parents are. You got to see that if they are not 49:30 spiritually minded sometime and by ourselves we must tell our parents dad mom please you know you had your turn in bringing up children >> now it is our turn please allow us to bring up our children the way we have 49:47 liked and if you see something wrong in us please tell us but don't interfere in how we bring up our children I think we have to say it gently to them because usually they are saying it out of love. >> But uh many parents are foolish. They 50:04 don't know where to stop in their >> Yeah. That's a that's a problem in some of the families I've seen. Yeah. >> No, in many families rather all over >> I think it's more common among Indian parents than others. But uh it's something we have to be 50:23 watchful about and but we must be firm. >> I said I said dad you had your turn in bringing up children. Now this is my turn. Please allow me and if you have some advice for me I'm happy to listen to you >> but please allow us to do it or we don't 50:42 interfere in the way we bring >> in a respectful respectful way but >> absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. I got one more question, brother. Sometimes I hear other believers and children using God's name in a way that seems in vain. Like when they when they 51:01 are surprised about something, they use this word, "OMG." How should I try to encourage them not to do that or should I ignore it? >> No, you should not ignore it. If you know them well enough, you don't know them well enough, you ignore them. 51:14 >> But if you know them well enough, you must tell them, say, "We should not use the name of God in vain." is one of the commandments >> in the even in the Old Testament. >> You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 51:26 >> Yeah. >> So to say oh God or oh my god or even shorten it to oh my OMG or >> oh my gosh oh my gosh is actually just they slightly twisted oh my god into oh my go oh oh my gosh. >> Yes. >> We should avoid those things because 51:42 it's originated with people who had no fear of God at all. >> Yeah. Yeah, recently I had the same experience. I had to tell that with my own relative like it takes I take I have to take a risk of but out of love you got to tell 51:59 >> yeah you got to say it in a calm way and perhaps not immediately not in the presence of others >> but at some other time when they're alone >> you say uh my dear friend you know I heard you use this expression yesterday 52:16 better to avoid it say it in a gentle Okay. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Um I have one question brother about um um we read [clears throat] uh Ephesians uh 5 uh where Jesus Christ is compared to the 52:35 bridegroom and church being the bride where it says he might sanctify her having cleansed her by the washing of the water with the word that he might present to himself the church in all her glory having no spot or wrinkle or any 52:52 such but that she should be holy and blameless. Again, I was reading uh Revelation 19 verse 7. This is about the marriage of the lamb. Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to him for the marriage of the lamb has come and his 53:10 bride has made herself ready. So, how do we balance this like where Christ is cleansing the church to be holy and blameless where here the bride has made herself ready. Yeah, that means I'm cooperating with Christ as he tries to cleanse me. 53:27 >> When the Lord shows me something in my life that needs to be cleansed and I cooperate with it's not that I just lie down there and the Lord does an operation on me. It's not like a surgeon doing an operation on a person. 53:40 Spiritual growth comes by my cooperating >> with the Lord showing me something >> because otherwise the Lord will be overriding my will and making me like a robot. No, there's no growth spiritual growth in a robot. So I cannot ask the Lord to 53:58 override my will and do it in me. If my will is not yielded whenever he shows something to me, I will not become spiritual. Then I'll be, you know, think of the planets. They obey God 100%. >> Without even the slightest disobedience, 54:17 but they are not spiritual. No planet is spiritual just because it obeys God 100%. Because of one reason, it doesn't have free will. It's only a person with free will who can become like Christ. And that means that means I have to respond to wherever 54:34 the Lord shows me. Yeah. Cooperating with him as uh he cleanses us and as he shows gives us more light. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. The word readiness has been stuck 54:52 with me and as a believer how I must be ready for the coming of the Lord. Um >> according to the light we have we cleanse ourselves and we are ready. >> Ready. Yeah. And if there are longing for Christ to come, but if I'm really walking with the Lord, 55:11 I'll become more and more detached from attachment to the things of earth, to the honor, >> position, and everything of this earth. >> Yeah, >> I'll still have these things, but I won't be attached to any of them. >> Yes, sir. I got one more question. 55:28 Again, this is related to the previous question. uh the OMG uh about taking God's name in vain. Can I also do the same when people say by luck or luckily uh without giving glory to God uh or instead giving glory to god giving glory 55:46 to the chance people casually saying by luck or luckily or something >> it depends who you're talking to. Supposing you're talking to a colleague in the office he'll think you have what's called nitpicking. Yeah, >> nitpicking is an English word which 56:01 means you pick up on small little defect in somebody and uh he'll get fed up of you if you talk about all these things. I think a lot of these things we got to just ignore >> and you have light on something. For example, I have light on certain things 56:16 when I see even other believers >> they talk in a certain way I ignore it because if I keep checking them out they won't want to have anything more to do with me. They'll say this child is always coming and finding some fall in 56:27 some small little thing here, small little thing there. I'll lose fellowship with him. >> So it's better not to say like that. And if at all you want to say uh say it as a testimony of your own life like say sometime ago the Lord showed me 56:44 something in my life in this area and that way you can point out what you see in him if you have seen it in your own life first and that way you can give him lightwise saying you saw it yourself and cleansed yourself. M yeah that's a good 56:58 point when they say yeah luckily you did this no no I can tell no it's not like I God help me then you give the glory to God yeah >> thank you brother for the practical advice I got one more question um what is the biblical relationship between 57:16 faith and repentance and why is repentance essential to the salvation >> see In Tamil the word for repentance is manantul which is a very good way manantul means 57:35 the turning of the mind or in military terms about turn. That is repentance. >> That means what was behind me now comes in front of me and what is in front of me comes behind me. That is what an about turn the military command about 57:51 turn happens. That is real repentance where I my back was towards God and my face was towards self and the world. About turn means the self and the world have come behind me and God is in front. That 58:06 is true repentance. The turning around. Yeah, thank you brother for that answer. And I got one more. When our children believe they have been saved because they have asked the Lord to come into their 58:24 hearts. But you as a parent believe that they have not been saved. Should we keep telling them that they have not been saved? I sometimes think of the children of Samuel in the Bible. I wonder how they turned out so differently from 58:39 their dad. No, I would say that we must teach them more about repentance >> as a continuous act. You've received Christ into your life. Yeah, I believe that. I ask him to the best of your knowledge, I would tell if 58:57 it's my son, I say, listen, to the best of your knowledge, do you want to give up living in a wrong way and wanting to please God in everything? Good. I'm very happy you got that desire. You want to please the Lord in everything. Okay. Now 59:12 you believe that he died for all your sins, all that you did in the past and you don't want to do it again. Fine. Now when you fall in some area, immediately admit it and don't try to cover it up and make any excuse for your sin and ask 59:27 the Lord to give you like you learn more and more in mathematics in every class in school. Ask the Lord to show you more and more of the corruption of sin in your life. And as you see it, whatever you see, confess it to God and seek to 59:44 get rid of it. Ask God's help, the Holy Spirit to help you to overcome it. And then explain to them how spiritual growth is gradually. Anything that's uncristlike in your life, you want to eliminate it completely. This is like, you know, we want to when 1:00:01 we cook a meal, we want to eliminate all infection from the food because you'll get sick. In the same way I want to eliminate all sin from my life is just as bad as infection in the food. We are so careful about infection in the food that we're 1:00:17 not as careful with sin in our life but this is worse. So there should not there no condemnation there but there must be an honest acknowledgement that this is wrong and I want to be free from it because I want to be Christlike. 1:00:33 But especially [clears throat] with children, we have to encourage them not to get into condemnation but uh without condemnation to know that Christ forgives and overlooks many things. >> Yeah. 1:00:52 Teaching them to repent quickly once they see something is wrong. As >> soon as you're aware of something, acknowledge it and get rid of Yeah, thank you brother and uh I will end with one last question. uh this is I think I am asking on behalf of a few of 1:01:11 us who have I think you're experiencing this last one year there has been a increasing concern that AI is going to become more and more prevalent and impacting many jobs uh especially in knowledge based industry that many of us 1:01:26 are in and um there is in this country also there has been a lot of backlash against immigration and all of that pushing many the future of many families into uncertaintity So what is your encouragement to those who are going through this uh situations 1:01:42 at this point a job in security or immigration insecurity? >> I believe there's been some type of insecurity from the beginning of time >> and it's not something new now it's all different forms. So my standard answer to that is if you 1:02:01 seek the kingdom of God first and his righteousness, the Lord said you can be anxious for zero. >> Be anxious for nothing. Seek the kingdom of God first and his righteousness and all that you need on earth will be added 1:02:19 to you. >> Yeah. And we believe that that promise will be fulfilled. That if I really deep down in my heart want only God's kingdom and his righteousness, he will not allow me or my children to 1:02:38 starve just like he would not allow Jesus to starve when he was on earth. >> So there's a verse in one John which says as he is so are we in this world. It's a tremendous verse that I like to 1:02:54 point out to people in 1 John and chapter 2. As he is, so are we in this world. >> Yeah. >> So, as the Lord the father cared for Jesus, he would care for us. And times may change. A thousand years ago, people 1:03:13 may have thought certain things are very dangerous. The world will come to an end. >> But it did not come to an end. and different different things people have discovered and say oh this is going to be the end of the world it's not 1:03:24 happened so now the latest scare is AI >> but I say if you trust in the lord there's nothing that god did not foresee >> god's care for his children extends no matter which 1:03:41 >> period of time we are living in >> yes >> his care for his us today is just as much as it was a 100 years ago when there was no AI and no flights and you know like flight planes having an 1:03:58 accident I mean 150 years ago there were no planes there was no kind of flights having an accident but we live in an age where flights are dangerous can there be accident hijacking all these things but it doesn't matter there are different 1:04:12 dangers at different stages in human history but if you see God's kingdom First, we could be living in an age of plague. We seek God's kingdom first. We will fulfill God's plan for our life. Nothing can touch us. >> Yeah. 1:04:29 >> Something happens, God will help us to overcome it in some way. >> I believe the solution to everything is seek God's kingdom first. And God's kingdom is Romans 14:17, righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 1:04:47 So, are you seeking righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit and seeking to please the Lord in everything in your life? I can give you a written guarantee. >> If you honor God, he will honor you. And he will always give you enough for 1:05:05 your need because he taught us to pray, our father who art in heaven, give us this day our daily bread. M >> so we can pray for that for ourselves and our children and God will provide definitely. >> Yeah. Thank you brother. And I was also 1:05:25 reading this verse at the beginning of the meeting. Um and the young lands do lack and suffer hunger but they who seek the Lord shall not shall not be in want of any good thing. >> Yeah. Right. >> Um I think Yeah. And then Yeah. Matthew 1:05:42 6 33 is also the one that you >> did you give them the reference? >> Yeah. Yeah. So it is Psalm 34:10. >> Yeah. And in Psalm 37, there's a verse which says, "I've been young and now I'm old." >> Yeah. >> I've never seen a righteous person 1:06:00 forsaken. Or his children begging for bread. >> Yes. >> That's another great verse in Psalm 37. Yes, brother. Yeah, with that note, uh we can um end our meeting. Thank you very very much 1:06:19 for speaking to us again this month. Uh it's always a joy. >> I've been happy to share it.
