0:00 Heat. [Music] Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. 0:32 Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. 0:56 [Music] Blessing children falling down before thee. Oh 1:08 world and heart and ever more shall be. Holy, holy, holy. Though the darkness hide thee, though 1:28 the eye of sinful man, thy glory may see. Only thou art holy. There is none beside thee, 1:46 perfect in power and love and [Music] purity. Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty. 2:05 All thy work shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea. Holy, holy, holy, merciful and 2:22 mighty God in three persons, blessed trinity. Please be seated dear brothers and sisters. Let's sing our next song. The Lord [Music] 2:43 reigns. So let me sing. The Lord reigns. The Lord reigns. The Lord reigns. Let the earth rejoice. Let the earth rejoice. Let the earth 3:02 rejoice. Let the people be glad. Let the [Music] race the Lord raise. The Lord reigns. The 3:21 Lord reigns. Let the earth rejoice. Let the earth rejoice. Let the earth rejoice. Let the people be glad. [Music] that I got fire goes before him and burns up 3:44 all his eneies. The hills felt like Christ in the presence of the Lord. At the presence of the Lord. The Lord reigns. The 4:02 Lord reigns. The Lord reigns. Let the earth rejoice. Let the earth rejoice. Let the earth rejoice. Let the people be glad that I heaven declare his righteousness. 4:28 The people see his glory. For you, oh Lord, are exalted over all the earth. Over all the earth. The Lord reigns. The 4:47 Lord reigns. The Lord reigns. Let the earth rejoice. Let the earth rejoice. Let the earth rejoice. Let the people be glad. I the race are the race. Are the 5:11 race the race. [Music] What a mighty God we 5:35 serve. What a mighty God we serve. Angels bow before him. Heaven and earth adore him. What a mighty God we serve. What a mighty God we serve. What a mighty God we 5:53 serve. What a mighty God we serve. Angels bow before him. Heaven and earth adore him. What a mighty God we serve. He's the king. He is the king of 6:11 kings. He is the Lord of lords. His name is Jesus. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Oh, he is the King. What a mighty God. What a mighty God we 6:30 serve. What a mighty God we serve. Angels fall before him. Heaven and earth adore him. What a mighty God we serve. 6:44 [Music] The next song, this is the day that the Lord has made. [Music] 7:10 This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice as we lift his name. This is the day that the Lord has 7:27 made. Come and rejoice. We will rejoice and be glad in him. This is the day. This is the day that the Lord has made. We will 7:45 rejoice as we lift his name. This is the day that the Lord has made. Come and rejoice. We will rejoice and be glad in [Music] 8:03 him. Whether the sun will shine, whether the skies will rain, I know that you are good. This is the day you made. Whether in life or death, whether in joy or 8:21 pain. I know the truth remains. This is the day you made. This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice as we lift his 8:38 name. This is the day that the Lord has made. Come and rejoice. We will rejoice and be glad in him. Now I can walk in faith. You will 8:58 protect my way. Your every work is good. This is the day you've made. I am a child of yours. You are the one who saves. I am redeemed by love. This is 9:15 the day you made. This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice as we lift his name. This is the day that the Lord has 9:34 made. Come and rejoice. We will rejoice and be glad in [Music] him. This is the day. Come and sing your 9:50 praise. For the Lord now reigns on the throne of grace. Soon is the day he will bring us home. And we have his hope. For we are his 10:09 own. This is the day. Come and sing your praise. For the Lord now reigns on the throne of grace. Soon is the day he will bring us 10:27 home. And we have this hope for we are his own. This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice as we lift his 10:46 name. This is the day that the Lord has made. Come and rejoice, we will rejoice and be glad in him. Whether the sun will shine, whether the 11:03 skies will rain, I know that you are good and this is the day you make. [Music] 11:37 You are Jesus, our savior, the lamb that was seen. You ascended to heaven and ever more will reign at the end of the age when the earth you reclaim. You will gather the nations before you. And the eyes of all men will be fixed on the 11:57 lamb who was crucified. With wisdom and mercy and justice you'll reign at your father side. And the angels will cry the lamb who sing for the world 12:22 ruling power and the earth will reply. You shall [Music] reign as the King of all kings and the Lord of [Music] 12:45 all. There's a shield in our hands and a sword at our side. There's a fire in our spirits that cannot be denied. For the Father has told us for these you have died. For the nations that gather before you and the ears of all men need to hear 13:05 of the lamb who was crucified, who descended to death yet was raised up to reign at his father side. And the angels will cry, hail the lamb, who will sing for the world, 13:34 rule, and the earth will reply, you shall reign as the king of all kings and the lord of lord. And the angels will 13:48 cry. And the angels will cry. Hail the lamb. Who will sing for the world rule? And the earth will reply, "You 14:08 shall reign as the king of all kings and the lord of all [Music] lords." We'll sing. I will give thanks to thee. 14:24 [Music] I will give thanks to thee, oh Lord, 14:47 among the people. I will sing praises to thee among the nations. [Music] Oh thous is 15:10 great is great to the heavens and thy faithfulness thy faithfulness to the cloud be 15:32 exalted oh above the heavens. Let thy glory be over all the earth. Be exalted. 15:58 Oh God above the heavens with the goodies. Let thy glory Let thy glory Let thy 16:21 glory be over all the earth. Let's all stand up and sing our last song. Dear brothers and 16:33 [Music] sisters, come let us worship and bow 16:57 down. Let us kneel before the Lord our God our maker. Come let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our 17:20 God our maker. Oh, he is our God and we are the people of his [Music] 17:39 pastures. As the sheep of his hand. as the shield of his hand. Let's sing that again for 17:57 the Come let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our God our maker. Come, let us worship and bow 18:19 down. Let us kneel before the Lord our God our maker. For he is our God and we are the people of his 18:43 pasture and the sheep of his [Music] hand. Just the sheep of his hand. [Music] 19:32 Dear brothers and sisters, let's uh bow down in prayer. And as we bow our heads in prayer, let us continue in the same spirit of surrender, reverence, and joy because this is the day which the 19:52 Lord has made. And we will rejoice and be glad today. And the Lord is on the throne. There is nothing difficult, nothing impossible for him. Like to read a few verses from Psalm 145 verse 8 20:09 onwards. The Lord is gracious and merciful. Slow to anger and great in loving kindness. The Lord is good to all and his mercies are over all his works. 20:27 All your works shall give thanks to you, oh Lord, and your godly ones shall bless you. They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and talk of your power to make known to the sons of men your mighty acts and the glory of the 20:45 majesty of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endowed throughout all generations. Our gracious loving heavenly father, we want to thank you and praise you with 21:03 all our heart for loving us, changing us, being patient with us. And Lord, we with all our heart, we want to bless you. You're a mighty God seated on the throne. Nothing is difficult for you. 21:21 Nothing is impossible to you. Thank you for your everlasting love. Thank you for your loving kindness. Thank you for the way you led us all these years. Thank you for giving us mana from heaven week after week and giving us strength to 21:38 endure in our struggles. So we praise you. We want to bless you and we want to take this opportunity Lord to to give you what you deserve, the highest place in our midst to give you the honor and glory. And Lord, we pray 21:53 that your glory will never depart from our midst. And Lord, we want to give you the praise from the depth of our hearts. Brothers and sisters, use this opportunity to thank him and praise him, Lord Jesus. We praise you, Lord. We 22:09 bless you, Lord. We give you all glory and honor. Lord, you deserve the highest place. You are the King of King, Lord of Lord. Thank you, Lord, for your immense love, Lord. We give you glory and honor. Oh, King of Kings, Lord of Lord. We 22:21 praise you and bless you. You're a mighty God, everlasting God. Lord Jesus, we praise you. We invite you, Lord, to our midst, Lord. Take the highest place, Lord. And Lord, as we gather here to hear from your mouth, Lord, speak to us, 22:34 Lord. Prepare our hearts, Lord, to receive the word from your heart, Lord Jesus. Lord, speak to us. Your word is mighty. Your word is powerful. Lord, you can speak to us, Lord. And Lord Jesus, we pray that Lord, we will endure till 22:46 the end. We give us grace, give us courage, give us strength, Lord. Fill us with the Holy Spirit, Lord. We give you the honor. We give you the praise and blessings, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Father, for hearing. In Jesus 22:58 precious and mighty name we pray. Amen. Please take your seat, brothers and sisters, as we look at our memory verses. So, we had a command last week. Please repeat after me. Luke 16:10. He who is 23:21 faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much. And for this week we have a promise from Matthew chapter 24. Matthew chapter 24:13. The one who endures to the end 23:42 will be saved. Let's repeat it once again. In Matthew 24:13, the one who induced to the end will be saved. Amen. So this morning we will 23:59 first hear a recorded me message from brother Zach. This is a short 20 minutes message. The title of this message is completing God's plan for our lives. The title of today's message is completing God's plan for our lives. So brothers 24:15 and sisters as we listen to this word let's uh open our heart and ask the Lord to speak to us not just listen to a message but uh remember even children young people teens God has a unique specific plan for your lives you know 24:30 the best thing for the clay is to surrender completely into the hand of the porter. So let let us have this attitude. Lord speak to us. Mold me according to your plan and your purpose. And after this message we will hear 24:44 brother John and brother Suresh. 13 God, you formed my inward parts. You 25:36 wo me inside my mother's womb. And I thank you that you've fearfully and wonderfully made me when you look at your body and how it functions so perfectly for so many years. I mean you young people just think of the miracle 25:51 of if you if you study a little bit I have read a little bit I'm not a doctor but I've read a little bit about the functioning of the human body the heart and the lungs and the liver and so many parts and I tell you there are a hundred 26:06 things that can go wrong and that could have gone wrong in you young people's lives that you may not be alive today. So I've come to see the very fact that you're alive even for one year is a miracle. So many things have to work so 26:21 much perfectly inside. It's like a machinery. You know one thing goes wrong the whole thing packs up and we are alive and I'm alive to 85 years. How many things could have gone wrong? And even if you're only 10 15 years old how 26:38 many things could have gone wrong that you would not be alive today? He's we are fearfully and wonderfully made. And then it says here in verse 16, God's eyes saw our unformed substance. Before 26:56 you were a proper body inside your mother's womb while you were being formed. Just think of it. Think of it seriously. Before you were formed in your mother's womb, God was his eyes were looking at you. Make it personal. 27:12 I like to think of that and my I was in my mother's womb and I was not even properly formed a bub as a body. God's eyes were on me and you can make that personal for yourself. God's eyes were on you and in your book in your book means 27:28 in God's mind God's book is in his mind were written the days that were ordained for me. I say, Lord, I'm one among the billions of people that have lived on the earth from the time of Adam. You mean to say that you are so 27:47 interested in me just being formed inside my mother's womb so small that in your mind there was a plan written down for my life with all the billions of people you got to take care of? True. I believed it. Has changed my 28:05 life. And I tell you, if you believe it and accept God's word, this is the only book in the world, the only book in the world that is 100% true. If it is written in any other medical book, I wouldn't believe it. But when it's written in God's word, 28:21 I believe it. It's 100% true. I don't care who you are. Before you were formed in your mother's womb, make it personal. God had in his mind a wonderful plan he made for your life. All the days that were ordained 28:41 for me before there was even one of them. That means before I was even born, he had already written down. I believe that I don't know how long I'm going to live. But I know one thing. God had it written down before I was born. 29:00 That's why I'm not in a panic. I'm not afraid or I may get cancer or something will happen. I'll have an accident. I don't know how the Lord is going to take me to himself. Whether it's by his coming from heaven, maybe that way 29:15 or some other way. But one thing I know that the days were written down for me and my job is to cooperate with him in fulfilling that plan. It's not automatic. It's not like a machine where God just starts it and 29:34 it's going to automatically fulfill. No, God's plan for your life will not be fulfilled if you don't cooperate with him. And anywhere along the way you rebel against him and say, "No, no, no. I don't want that." God say, "Okay, go 29:47 your way." And we can mess up God's plan. God forgives us. There can be days that are wasted. I wasted days in my life when I did not take my Christian life seriously. I think of 19 and a half years when I was born again at 19 and a 30:06 half. I say, "Lord, what happened to those first 19 and a half years? Wasted. I I wish I'd known the Lord when I was three years old." But there again, I'm encouraged by, you know, the Apostle Paul. He wasted about 30 years of my 30:21 life. I wasted only 19 and a half. He wasted 30 years of your life. And he did such terrible things like killing Christians. Imagine that. And God had his eyes on this guy who's going around killing his own God's children. He said, "Yeah, I'm going to 30:37 get a hold of him. I'm going to turn him around and make him my greatest servant on earth." It's amazing. And when Paul was realized that and he got converted, he always thought I am the greatest sinner whom God called. What 30:53 does he think about the his years that were wasted? 30 years. Paul of your life was you know he died when he was around 68 or so. So 30 years of that 68 is wasted. Not only wasted but going anti-Christian like an anti-Christian 31:09 killing God's children. What about that? That brought such sorrow in his life. Lord, I have messed up your plan for me. I have hurt your children. And that repentance was like a fire that made him 31:29 go full speed like a rocket. And that's the thing that came to my heart. Many people say, "I'm sorry for my sins, but that sorrow doesn't seem to act like a a rocket. to propel them to do God's will in future they say I'm sorry and God's forgiven me think of 31:47 the wrong things you have done my brother sister older people and younger people does it bring such sorrow in your heart that you weep and say Lord I've got to make up for that in some way it does bring in my life certainly that's 32:02 what made me Lord I've got to do something I can't just sit back and say I'll just go along to the meetings and attend the meetings and come home and go along next Sunday to the meeting that's not all for me. I have to make up for 32:14 the years that were wasted and I lived for myself and disobeyed God. That's what made Paul into a mighty apostle. And my brother, sister, God could have done a lot more for you. Let me tell you that. I don't want you to feel condemned, but if you 32:31 take it seriously today, God could have done a lot more for you if you had really felt sorry for the way you dishonored God in all those years. or even after you became a Christian, you've dishonored God by your foolish 32:46 conversation and the stupid things you go around doing and saying, "Does that bring a sorrow in your heart? Lord, I'm messing up my life. I've already messed up so much. I don't want to mess up anymore." That's what I said. I said, "I 32:58 don't want to mess up anymore. I want to make the rest of my life useful for you, Lord." And I've told young people, some of you have the privilege of knowing these truths which I came to know when I was 35 years old. You come to know when 33:14 you're 15. So you should be able to go far ahead of me in your Christian life than I have. But I said, I doubt it. Because I'll tell you why. Not because I'm better than you, but because the years that I wasted in my life with backsliding and all that 33:34 has brought such sorrow in my heart that it has made me run full speed. And I see that some of you young people, you take forgiveness so cheap that you're not running full speed. And that's why I'm going to overtake you because I'm running full speed 33:53 because of the regret I have over the times in my life that I wasted. And I don't see that regret in some of you. You take it so casually. You're so casual in your attitude to Jesus Christ. Even today, you're not zealous and 34:10 wholehearted. That's sad. And I want to tell you, you'll have a lot of regret when Christ comes back. Take it seriously. Now look what Paul said in Acts chapter 17. He said, "I had many years of ignorance in my life and I did a lot of 34:27 stupid things." But Acts 17:30 says, "God has overlooked all those times of ignorance, those 30 years of Paul's life where he wasted, God says, "Forget it. Forget it, Paul. I overlook it." 34:45 But now live a life of repentance from now onwards. So there was a point in Paul's life where he knew that God's blotted out the past, but I'm going to live in repentance every day. That is the way you run full speed. If you live in repentance every 35:05 day, God is my witness. I live in repentance every day. You say, "Brother Zack, what are you repenting of? Are you committing sins every day? Well, not what you would call sin, but I'm unlike Christ. You believe 35:24 I've become like Christ. I've not become like Christ. There are little little things which probably, you know, it's like when you're in the second grade, you don't understand what somebody is struggling with in the 10th grade or 35:38 11th grade. You you won't even understand if he talks about it. So, I won't talk about it. But there are things that you as you walk with the Lord, you discover what is uncristlike, which I never knew he was uncristlike 35:50 even five years ago. One mark of Christian growth is that you discover new areas of being uncristlike. Like the other day I said how expecting people to say thank you to 36:07 you. Do you feel that is uncristlike? I've never heard that preached anywhere in my life. But God showed it to me that expecting people to come and say thank you to you is uncristlike. I said how? Because it happened to me once many many years ago. 36:24 I've told the story how there was a young brother whom he helped a lot in Bangalore in the early days of CFC and he went away as he was so much blessed and he grew up in our he used to stay in our home sometimes and he went 36:37 away and he got away good job and I had never heard from him and I thought to myself what an ungrateful guy this is after all that we did to him he doesn't even write a thank you note telling us what he's doing that's when the Lord 36:52 spoke to me. Haven't you read my word which says when you do this to the least of my brothers, you have done it unto me. And the Lord told me, when you help one of my children, he's my younger brother in 37:10 Christ. You have done it for me. And if you did it for me, the Lord said, who should thank you, he or me? That day I learned that if I have done something unto man, I must expect thanks from him. But if I done it as unto the 37:27 Lord, even though it is a brother I help, but I did it under the Lord, then who should thank me? Not him. That day I realized that expecting somebody to say thank you to me is a sin for me. I mean, we teach our children to say thank you. 37:41 Of course, we got to say thankful. I would say thank you to others, but I don't expect anybody to say thank you to me. I was delivered of it many years ago. That's one example. I could give you instances like that which don't you 37:54 don't even think is sin. That's what I mean. You when you're in the second grade, you don't understand what 10th grade people are talking about. It's all sort of strange. Well, that's because you're in the second grade. But I hope 38:04 you will not stay in the second grade. I hope you'll move on to the third and the fourth and the fifth and the sixth and discover things that you never even thought were uncristlike. You say, "Boy, that was unclike in my life." all these 38:17 years and I believe there are uncristlike things in me today which I don't know. It's like the 10th grade students saying, "Hey, there are things in the graduate in college they're studying which I don't even know, right? 38:32 You will discover it when you go to college." The Christian life is exactly like that. So, if you take it seriously, it'll go better and better. And one last verse I'd like to share, you know, this is the verse as I get older and older, the word that comes 38:51 to me is this. John 17. Jesus didn't live a very long life. You would think what a blessing he would have been if he had lived up to 80 or 70. He died at 33 and a half. He never went to China or Africa. What have 39:10 been a blessing he'd have been if he had gone to China and Africa and America and Europe and all that, you know, he didn't even go outside Israel except one visit to cast out a demon somewhere. All the time he was in that small nation of 39:25 Israel. The one human being who he God became man who could have been a blessing to millions. He lived in a small area. And what did he say at the end of that? John 17 and verse four. 39:44 Father, I have glorified you on earth. How do we glorify God on earth? by finishing the work you gave me to do. That was his last day. He was just about to go to the cross. That night he was captured in Gethsemane. This is just a 40:02 few minutes before that. I have finished the work you gave me to do. I preached only for three and a half years. I was making stools and benches a lot of the time for 12 years. From 18 to 30 I was making stools and benches. And 40:19 before that I was helping my mother Mary at home and helping my younger brothers and sisters. But one thing I stayed free from sin all these years and all the places people I was supposed to meet I have met and even though I did not travel outside my 40:38 country a lot of people like to travel to so many countries. Jesus could have done it. He only wanted to finish the work God wanted him to If he had taken a oneweek holiday to Rome, he'd have missed one week that God had something for him to do in Israel. 40:57 That's how strict he was with his own life. And I say, Lord, I want to be like that. I didn't have this light earlier on when I was converted, when I was 19, 20 years old. But you've shown me more and more the seriousness of life. And 41:11 the important thing is not what I do, how many people I witness to, but have I finished the work God gave me to do. And if God's plan for Jesus was 12 years, he got to be a carpenter. If he had gone around preaching, he would have 41:23 missed the will of God. So preaching can be outside the will of God. If God's called you to be a carpenter for 12 years, he preached for three and a half years. He was a carpenter for 12 years. But he finished the work God gave him to do. So don't 41:40 think only those who get up and preach who got a gift of preaching are doing God's work. You may be a mother with many children looking after them. You can finish the work God gave you to do. I hope you'll be gripped by one 41:53 thing. God has got a plan for my life which was formed before I was born. Lord, help me to know that. Seek with all your heart to know that plan. And I want to tell you something. If you want to know that plan, keep a good conscience. 42:13 Keep a good conscience. Don't let any sin stay on your conscience. If you have hurt somebody, go and ask forgiveness. If you've gossiped, stop gossiping. You'll you're defiling yourself and you won't be able to know God's 42:30 plan. Let your past failures bring you to deep repentance and say, "Lord, at least the rest of my life, I don't want to mess up anymore." Be thankful. Be thankful for brothers and sisters who can help you. Seek their help. Don't be so proud to 42:47 think you can do everything on your own. You cannot. There's no part of this body that can function on its own. No, not even the heart. The heart does such a lot of work, but it is dependent on the hand picking up food and the mouth chewing the food and the 43:02 stomach digesting the food and so many things and converting into blood and coming into the heart. The heart is also dependent on others. There's no part of this body that's independent. And and you are not independent. No matter how 43:12 gifted you are, I know I'm not independent. That's why I've learned to value the body. Dear brothers and sisters, I say to you with all my heart, fulfill God's plan for your life. It's not going to be automatic. If you don't 43:28 take it seriously, I give you my word. You will have tremendous regret when Christ comes back and you stand before him. So if you have a year to hear that, I pray you will hear it. Let me pray for a minute. It's a bow before 43:47 God. Once again, I have to say what I always say at such times. If you have to forgive anybody, forgive them now. Whatever wrong they did against you, forgive them. Release them. Don't think about it again. And if you have to ask somebody's 44:05 forgiveness, make a decision right now that at the first opportunity you'll write a letter or call the person and ask forgiveness. And then from now on, keep this forgiveness area absolutely clear that you will forgive everyone 44:20 immediately as soon as they hurt you and that you will ask forgiveness as soon as you have hurt somebody else. This is a very very important area because we are taught to pray father forgive us exactly as we forgive others. Heavenly father please help 44:37 everyone here to take that the plan you have for their lives seriously especially the young people and the older people. So many of us have wasted so many years. Help us to make the best of what we have left before you come 44:51 again. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Praise the Lord for his word. So 45:16 convicting. I don't know how many times I heard this again and again. There's something called condemnation which comes from Satan. There's a difference between condemnation and conviction. Conviction 45:35 from comes from the Holy Spirit. That is to convict us of our condition. Convict convict us of our calling. And this conviction gives us hope. Yes, 45:53 come to me. That phrase which Jesus often said, come. That is that is a call from someone who understands our weakness. He has compassion for us. He 46:10 speaks with burden. I could sense that burden when Brazak was speaking that it's a burden. Paul wrote to Tim um Philippia sorry Ephesians he writes I write with tears that you will 46:28 know your calling and he says I'm afraid that Satan can deceive you uh like he deceived Eve. He had a burden. He was somebody who was 46:45 convicted, not condemned, convicted and responded to that conviction. I would like to read that verse which Razak quoted. Act 17 verse 30. Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring 47:05 to men that all everywhere should repent and I was thinking about some verses before that that's in 26. This is what Paul was 47:23 speaking to the 10ians when he saw that all the adultery which was happening. Um verse 26 he said he made from one every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth. This 47:41 includes all of us having determined their appointed times and boundaries and their habitation that they should seek God if perhaps they might grow for him and find 47:59 him though he is not far from each one of us. This is something very very important. This is the gist of what we heard that God arranged all circumstances, situations. He he uh determined our boundaries where we 48:18 should live, what we should face, maybe disappointments and troubles and difficulties and challenges, failures, all that he allowed so that we seek God if perhaps might grow for him and find him. 48:37 You know Jesus said something like this in John 16 verse 7. But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the helper helper will not come to you. But 48:55 if I go, I will send him to you. And he when he comes will convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. When the Holy Spirit has come, he will convict. Now whom does he convict? Why? 49:13 There is a difference of life uh level of life, spiritual life in all of us. There are people who come 5 years back, 10 years back, 20 years back. There is a difference like brother Zach was saying he says he has such a deep um uh 49:32 regret that he has wasted his life that that was the conviction came from the holy spirit to him that I have wasted my life I don't want to waste anymore you know Jesus said blessed are the poor in spirit that is poverty of spirit I 49:48 wasted my life I don't want to waste my life see Jesus also did not come and plan his life uh first uh uh 15 years I'll be going to school and after 17 years I'll take up the carpentry job maybe around 30 I no plan as such and 50:06 many many godly people there was no plan sitting and even Paul did not plan see they followed a principle that's why we need to see that why we have to grow for him and find him is it one time job that we grow for him and find him no it is 50:22 every moment of our life in fact Jesus simplify to an extent where you live one day at a time what is the need of the hour Lord is there something give me light am I going wrong please help me see that that's how godly people lived 50:39 and they sought God's guidance every moment by moment that for them only it will be revealed in fact Ephesians 2:10 says like this for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehands so that we would walk in 50:58 them means it's all God has plan but I don't know that and in the history of life even in the Bible if we see there are few who found this way why large number in fact if you see in Bangalore I 51:16 don't know what's the population why some have found salvation why majority have not found salvation. Why? Even among us maybe most of us are born again. Some are of us are not born again. 51:32 Why? There is something about seeking seeking God. Those who seek him and God is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him. That principle never changes. The in the history of humanity also God looked for people to seek him and find 51:49 him. He's not far from us but uh he's not found just like that. The the proverbs 29:18 says where there is no vision the people are unrestrained. You know another translation say people 52:08 perish. So perish King James says perish but uh here it's good translation unrestrain. That means they just no restrain. They just do what they want to do. They they live for their own lust. Peter I think second Peter 1 he 52:25 says they will be saved from the lust. when we understand his plans and purposes. But the other ways if you don't have vision that if I don't have faith rather I put it this way if I don't have faith that God has a plan for 52:43 me and I am unrestrained that means I just keep doing what I like good I I keep on living for myself I keep doing what is right in my own eyes but happy is he who keeps the law that's what the scripture says and Psalm 25 says like 53:02 this verse Vers 14 the secret of the Lord is for those who fear him and he will make them known to known his covenant. This is the the principle which God follows. See even myself I 53:19 feel so challenged. I say Lord I wasted my life. I want to live for you. I I don't want to have any plan this that Lord I want to fear. I want to fear that I miss you. I fear that I miss your plans. Maybe you 53:36 want to go this way. I may go this way. I may miss your plan. I don't want that. That's how Jesus lived. Why secret of the Lord was revealed to Jesus? Why secret of the Lord was revealed to Paul? Why many godly people when we see Zach? 53:52 No, we don't have to feel condemned. Why? God is not a God is not uh God doesn't have any favorites. God is not partial to anyone. He no partiality. When Peter went to Cornelius's house, the first word he uttered was God is not 54:10 partial because he was stunned by the way God works. God is not respector of people or he doesn't have any favorites. He just uh whoever meets the criteria of fearing him and eagerly seeking for him 54:27 and say that I I don't want anything else apart from his will. We see that over the the in the scriptures even Jesus went on to say in Matthew 11:25 this is what he said I praise you father Lord of heaven and earth that you have 54:44 hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to it babes infants. Yes father for this way was well pleasing to your sight. You know this is the secret Jesus understood 55:01 that what is the calling let's keep like brother Zach was mentioning let's keep our heart clean keep our conscience clean let's not defile so that we lose vision that means we become blind we we can't see then we will be unrestrained like we 55:21 keep doing whatever we want to do and then at the end of it say oh nothing is going right brother it's not going I I'm not able to um make out what is right and wrong and we mess up but uh if we seek God with pure heart then Jesus has 55:41 promised God father you have revealed them to babes but hidden these things wise and intelligent all most of us have come to salvation because it it is hidden hidden from the whole world 99% of people have not come to repent 55:57 repentance and faith and salvation. No, they have not come because it's hidden. Somewhere we responded to God's conviction. Lord, uh I want to be honest with you. Then suddenly something opened up. Then we received uh the faith like 56:15 Jesus said, he will convict you of sin. We we understood that, oh, we are sinners. We're completely wrong before God. And then we received faith that Jesus died and received the the assurance of forgiveness and the joy of 56:32 forgiveness. And that's how it continued doesn't end there. It continues continues till end of our life. It continues that continues so wonderfully in Paul's life. And uh would like to read one more verse in what Paul himself 56:49 wrote 1 Corinthians 2:14. He says I would like to read it in living Bible. But the man who isn't a Christian can't understand and can't accept these thoughts from God which the Holy Spirit teaches us. They sound foolish to him 57:06 because only those who have the Holy Spirit within them can understand what the Holy Spirit means. See so simply explained. Others just can't take it in. But the spiritual man has insight into everything 57:26 and that bothers and baffles the man of the world who cannot understand him at all. See this is the privilege we have. So that's why we have to live so carefully where it's not that oh Lord I want to do this do this. No no no no we 57:44 don't have to uh strain ourself. We must confine ourselves to Lord. You tell me what to do. You tell me what to do. I just I walk in the path you set before me. They just given me light. Maybe a little bit light I have. I'll walk in 58:01 it. And then I have a faith that he he will talk to me. See this is a wonderful verse which I read in Isaiah chapter 30. Isaiah Isaiah chapter 30 21 says like this. It's a well-known verse. Isaiah chapter 30 21. Your ears will 58:23 hear a word behind you. This is the way. Walk in it. Whenever you turn to the right or to the left. See why the word come from behind. That is because if I am walking in the 58:42 light God has given me, I am responding to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I'm going. But there's a tendency that I depend on my own understanding or something. I put keep my feet to the left or right. Then see the condition is 59:01 that you walk, you keep walking, keep seeking and walking and the word will be behind you. Holy Spirit will be watching your steps and he will say ah no otherwise uh we may think that oh I should sit here and keep asking Lord 59:17 tell me tell me oh I am thinking that voice will come from in the front that tell me I I won't do anything until you tell me no that is not the way I see it here it says no you walk in the light you have received and the voice will 59:32 tell you and his steps will be u planned And as we take steps like I think of a there is a uh game usually I observe in our picnics or some youth meetings uh not youth youth meetings I I don't know 59:51 maybe there will be partners the couples they keep them together and uh the blindfold one of the partner and the other partner will be standing that side and there are a lot of chairs uh it's a very wonderful uh game and the one 1:00:10 partner should recognize other partner's voice maybe behind or forward I I don't remember so they must walk exactly what the other partner says go to the left go to the left otherwise you touch the chair that's a beautiful picture that's 1:00:29 how carefully we need to live on this earth and uh I would like to turn to verse [Music] in Hebrews chapter 11 it talks about faith see I I see 1:00:48 faith as a power of God faith is not a see it's not an intellectual belief faith is not an intellectual belief because the James I think chapter 2 or four it says that even devil also believes it says intellectual faith but 1:01:04 this faith what it talks about. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of the things not seen for by it the men of old gained approval. It talks about many godly men and uh what is this faith which helps us 1:01:23 to gain approval. That means the they received that kind of a conviction and power that they could hear God Lord has a plan for me. I must quit all that I have and respond to his call. And that is faith. Responding to his call. Oh, I 1:01:41 don't see anything. Yeah, of course, it says we can't see, but we have a hope that God has a plan for me. He's going to tell me and he will uh lead me step by step. That's how they gained approval. By faith we understand that 1:01:58 the worlds were prepared by the word of God. See by faith we believe that the world may not believe that but we believe that God created by his word. So that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. See we we are 1:02:17 so we are blind to um God's realities. We may live by sight. Oh, I I want clarity. I want to see. I want to understand. No, we don't understand that way. See these people by faith Abel 1:02:33 offered up a right sacrifice. How he received faith the faith I say power of God. He he or conviction of God. He received a conviction that he should offer the best. But uh Cain could not receive. See there's a difference. God 1:02:52 is God was not partial but Abel received a conviction a faith a power clarity which Cain could not receive. That can happen to any of us. Even myself, I can be blind. Suddenly, if I neglect, I I if 1:03:10 I'm not careful, if I'm not seeking God and I I may become blind and think that something is right, but it may not be right. But Abel received faith and conviction. And Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death. See, and 1:03:26 then he uh it says at the end, taken up he was pleasing to God. Then it says without faith it is impossible to please God. See Enoch responded and he was given faith. He he he was given faith because he responded. That is what we need to 1:03:43 understand brothers and sisters. I I feel that Lord I want to be more careful more careful that you are speaking and then you have a plan. I don't want to miss it. See the I Noah Enoch stepped see the for 300 years actually around 1:04:01 when I he was about 300 years after that about 65 years yeah he walked with God and see the thing was he walked with God after he received the conviction then about Noah verse seven we read that Noah also 1:04:19 was living in this world but all of a sudden he received that conviction And then he responded to that conviction and then he fit himself into God's plan and purpose. See before that he was not 1:04:35 he was not he's no life was not clear but when he responded to God the things started becoming clear and 120 years he preached righteousness he said no God has a plan. See how he he was clear when the whole world was going in one 1:04:55 direction he was clear. It can happen to us even today. See if if we are not serious we may not see something which is which is God reality. We may be blind and then about Abraham it says verse 8. So he he was called he obeyed uh and 1:05:13 going out of the place which he was to receive for for an inher in inheritance and he went out not knowing where he was going. See this is again faith that means it's it's a intimate relationship with God and a man see like Jesus 1:05:31 demonstrated that kind of life. Jesus was not thinking and planning oh this I will do this I will no no no no no no he he always wanted to have that relationship with God the inner uh it's not known by others even disciples could 1:05:48 not make out what is this Jesus does this sometimes he doesn't do that so many things but uh Jesus was very clear there is a path which will be made known to me by my father I will walk in I don't want to do what I like to do but 1:06:06 I want to do my what my father is telling me to do. That's how he lived. That's how Abraham lived. Abraham received that faith when he was 75 years old. Before 75 he was not having clarity. He was living for the world and 1:06:20 things of the world and uh things were so important to me important to him. He was a righteous man. Everything was going well. But we can be like that that yeah I'm doing brother everything is okay. everything is okay but it's all uh 1:06:35 set my mind is set on things of the world and then when Abraham received faith he took a step and it says verse 10 uh he was looking for the city which has foundation whose archite architect and builder is 1:06:53 God may the Lord help us even Joseph it talks about Joseph he he prophesied because he received faith He he got clarity from God. So what I'm trying to say even Moses it says he refused to be called and he endured with 1:07:11 godly people and he accepted the reproach. Why? Because he received faith. May the Lord help us. I'm challenged. I would like to walk this path and receive faith from God to walk this path of intimate relationship with him so that I'll hear his voice and do 1:07:30 what he has planned. Then like brother Zach said, "Oh, I have a regret that uh I wasted my life. I don't want to waste my life." Even today, yesterday evening I heard uh brother about 39 years in one of Tamil Nadu church heart attack he passed 1:07:47 away. It was only 39 years. He's got wife and children. So death can come so quickly. I I cannot say I'm going to live or do this, do that. No, not like that. And all of a sudden death can come or lord 1:08:05 can come. But uh we don't have to break our head about I'm what should I do and big plans nothing. No Jesus never lived like that big plans or anything. He lived one step at a time and we can focus on today Lord I want to be 1:08:21 effective witness for you today Lord fill me with the Holy Spirit I don't want to think I want to do this do that no no Lord you tell me you tell me and you will tell me I'll go by that we can walk step by step may the Lord help us I 1:08:36 mean we'll sing a song and then we'll hear brother Suresh [Music] 1:09:14 We'll sing this song. I do not know how long I live, but while I live, Lord, let me give. [Music] I do not know how long I live. But while 1:09:32 I live, Lord, let me give some comfort to some in me by smile or not kind word or 1:09:45 deed. I only want to love like thee. Lord, help me live on earth like thee. Lord, help me live on earth like thee. Lord, help me do whatever I can to 1:10:11 do to these things for my fellow man. I only want to do my part to lift a tire very 1:10:25 high. I only want to love like thee, Lord. Help me live on earth like thee. Lord, help me live on earth like thee. If I can make folks love again, then I 1:10:50 will not have lived in vain. And I'll not care how long I live if I can love and give and give. I only want to love like 1:11:09 thee. Oh Lord, help me live on earth like thee. Lord, help me live on earth like thee. I only want to love like 1:11:29 thee. Lord, help me live on earth like thee. Lord, help me live on earth like thee. [Music] Praise God for what we 1:12:12 heard. I was thinking of the Apostle Paul. He said, "I want to lay hold of that." This is in Philippians chapter 3 and:12. He said, "I have not already obtained or become perfect. But I press 1:12:30 on so that I may lay hold of that for which I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus." I I know brother Victor often speaks of Paul being arrested by by Jesus by the Holy 1:12:49 Spirit. And uh he was arrested and uh but why was he arrested? Was it just so that he would stop persecuting Christians? No, he understood there's much more. And even though I spent 30 years of my life like this, God has laid hold of me for a plan 1:13:08 and a purpose and he's arrested me and now I belong to him. And Paul didn't say, "I want to lay hold of God." No, God has laid hold of me. I don't have to cling to him. I want to lay hold of that for which he has laid hold of me. 1:13:26 It's not a, you know, somehow survive and go to heaven even though I persecuted Christians. No, no, no, no. God has a wonderful plan, a glorious plan. I can follow in Jesus' footsteps. I want to lay hold of that. And Paul 1:13:42 said at the end of his life, he has finished the course, fought the good fight, run the race. Yeah. this. See, I I thought of my own life and what I just said about Paul. Brother 1:14:01 Zach, brother Zach said when he was 19, you know, the Lord showed him a light and and things changed and he thought, "Oh, I wasted 19 years of my life. I I thought of my own my own life. See, when the Lord arrested me, he 1:14:16 didn't arrest me in a moment like he arrested Paul. It took maybe 5 years of my life or maybe more than that. Lord was trying to you know somehow I'll escape. I'll get stirred up again. I'll go back. And brothers and sisters, I 1:14:30 feel many of us may feel like this. And my big regrets in life are not what I did before I was born again. No, I have far more regret for the way I have lived. I have not responded in fullness uh of zeal and strength and 1:14:46 love the lord as I should after I was born again and uh what what shall we do? What is the right attitude the biblical attitude to take to this? I was thinking of the church in in Leodysia uh where Jesus says this is the last of 1:15:05 the seven churches. Revelation 3:19, Jesus says, "Be zealous and repent. Repent with zeal." What is the problem with the church in in Leodysia? They thought, "Hey, we're okay. We're doing okay." You know, they 1:15:24 did not recognize their eyes were not opened to see that they were wretched, naked, blind, poor. Oh, may a day like this stir up our hearts once again and uh for us to be zealous and 1:15:42 repent and and you know I was I was thinking of what is it that that leads us to repentance or okay let's start with what a what a zealous repentance looks like so let's go to second Corinthians 1:16:00 chapter 7 where Paul talks about the Corinthians and and how they had repented. 2 Corinthians chapter 7 uh and verse 1:16:24 11. Behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow. And the verse before that says you know he talks about a repentance without regret. So he says the sorrow that is according to the will of God a godly 1:16:43 sorrow produces a repentance without regret leading to salvation but the sorrow of the world produces death. And verse 11 he says what earnestness this thing this godly sorrow has produced in you. What vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, 1:17:00 what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong. In everything you have demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter. And sisters, when we are zealous and repent, then these things come out of our life. This fruit comes 1:17:14 out of our life. There is a zeal, an earnestness, a vindication, a fear of God, a longing for God. And he says that there are um that there are you know two kinds of 1:17:31 sorrow. He makes that clear in verse 10. He says the sorrow of the world. The sorrow of the world that produces death. And then he says there is a sorrow according to the will of God or a godly sorrow that produces a repentance not to be repented of. a 1:17:51 wholehearted repentance, you know, where this sort of fruit, this sort of zeal comes out of my life. I want to sorrow according to the will of God. I don't want to think about what I have lost. Oh, these years of my life 1:18:10 have gone, have been stolen away. I want to think about what God has lost because that is what is really worth thinking about. I want to think about the sorrow that I have brought to the heart of 1:18:27 God and allow that to melt me. Yeah. It's uh you know it's it it's when we think about repentance this verse often comes to our mind. Romans chapter 1:18:47 2 and uh verse 4. Do you think lightly of the riches of his kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? See, the kindness of God 1:19:05 leads us to repentance is a phrase that stays with us. But if we read it in context, we understand that it's talking about, hey, every day God is putting up with you and forgiving you and being patient with you and tolerant with you 1:19:23 and his mercies on you every day. And as our life grows longer and longer, if we don't zealously repent, you know, it says, "Your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wroth for yourselves." Brother and sisters, I 1:19:40 don't want to bring any anyone under condemnation or fear. But we shouldn't, you know, be like the Leodyians and imagine everything is fine. Oh, God is good to me. He's forgiven me. One more day. No, the kindness of God is meant to lead 1:19:55 us to repentance. We don't want to take lightly the things that cause him sorrow. We want to take it seriously. I I was thinking of this phrase uh brother brother John spoke 1:20:12 about Abel and how faith in God led Abel to give his best. And there's this phrase at the end of of this entire chapter on uh faith 11 Hebrews 11 Hebrews 12. Uh it 1:20:31 says Hebrews 12:4. If you can turn to Hebrews 12:4, Jesus the mediator of the new covenant. So there is a new covenant. Jesus is the mediator. 1:20:49 And it says the sprinkled blood which is the blood of Jesus which speaks better than the blood of Abel. See when we think about Abel there is a sorrow that comes up a sympathetic sorrow. Oh this was a 1:21:06 righteous man. He gave his best and then his brother murdered him. Oh that's wrong. That that should not be there. There is a cry for revenge and and this cry is very it comes up in our own life when we see 1:21:25 that people wrong us or we we see people wronging innocent people around us. Oh that's wrong that's wrong that's wrong but it says the blood of Jesus speaks better than the blood of Abel. The blood of Jesus speaks for forgiveness. 1:21:46 And the big thing is not what Abel lost. Because if we look at what Jesus has done, you know what Jesus has done is he has redeemed Abel's 1:22:04 life. See why are we talking about Abel today? as being a righteous man because of what Jesus did. Because of what Jesus did, Abel is mentioned here as an example of faith for us. And it says even though he is dead, he still 1:22:18 speaks. So Abel's life was cut off at a young and early age, but he still speaks. He's speaking to us. He's speaking to so many believers over the generations because of what Jesus did. Oh, is it possible that we will lose out? It is not possible that we 1:22:35 will lose out if we give our best for the Lord. But the blood of Jesus speaks better. Jesus deserves all that we can give. See, this was the cry of the Moravian missionaries. They said, "May the lamb that was slain receive the 1:22:53 reward of his suffering." And they went out and gave their lives with with no count, not counting the cost. And at every point in our life to turn away from worldly sorrow. Oh, I'm missing out. I lose something. I lost so 1:23:10 many years. No, no, no. Lord, you lost something. You loved me. I caused you grief. That is the loss. Let this challenge me and and stir up uh yeah a godly sorrow in me. And I I 1:23:27 was also thinking that see brothers I think you know the the problem is this that we we have moments in time when we feel like this and then you know it dies out or it goes away and uh I what what happened to me? I felt like that on 1:23:45 Sunday, but you know, Monday to Saturday, at least by the middle of the week, this this zeal, this fire wears out. And uh brothers and sisters, what we need for that is is the Holy Spirit. That's that's exactly what as brother John was 1:24:03 saying, it's the Holy Spirit that you know when when it came upon Jesus, this is how John the Baptist described it. He says the Holy Spirit came and remained upon him. We need the Holy Spirit to remain on us. Uh I I'm I'm thinking of David. We 1:24:23 we recently heard from brother Victor about how David even though he committed such gross sin, he fulfilled the plan of life, God's plan for him in his generation. And uh when David said, you know, he realized his sin, he said two things in 1:24:43 the same verse. Uh Psalm 51:10, we can turn there. He said, "Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me or sustain me with a willing spirit." 1:25:01 Lord, I don't want this to be just a moment in time. you have to do something that keeps me on this track. And that's that's a a wonderful prayer and that is how it must be because without the Holy Spirit we will have you know emotions and respond to a 1:25:21 message and it's only the Holy Spirit that can really sustain us with that willingness. The love of God that carries us. Yeah, I was uh in in closing I want to read 1:25:40 this poem by Amy Carmichael, a wonderful godly woman. She says for the love. So the the the poem 1:25:59 is is thanking God for our daily blessings. For the love that like a screen sheltered from the might have been, the might have been. All the things that could have happened to us. Oh, the same God who kept us healthy, 1:26:18 who prevent us from having so many physical ailments, that love, if we respond to it, is able to turn all things in our life for good and fulfill God's full plan and purpose for our lives. For the fire could never burn us, 1:26:38 deeps could never drown or turn us. For our daily blessings, Lord, be thy name adored. Many a storm has threatened loud and then melted like a cloud, seeking to distress confound us. It met thy great wings folded round us for our daily 1:26:56 blessings. Lord, be thy name adored. Brothers and sisters, let's come as we are in our need and trust that the Lord is able to sustain us with a willing spirit day by day as we come to him, as 1:27:14 we recognize his great mercies, we recognize that he has a plan for our life and he's able to turn everything, even our failures, uh even our dullness, our sluggishness, if we repent with a zeal, We come to him and we come to him with that faith. He's 1:27:34 able to turn things around in my life. Loving father, Lord, we thank you and praise you for what we heard. We thank you, Lord, for these precious words. We are utterly undeserving of them, Lord. And you are the one who chose us. You're the one who arrested 1:27:50 us, who laid hold of us. You have a good plan and purpose, Lord, for each of us here who is listening and responding at this time. We thank you and praise you for your presence and your power. Lord, it's much more than a feeling, Lord. You 1:28:03 will you're able to finish the work that you've begun in us for your glory. We want to recommmit ourselves into your hands, Lord. Uh thank you, Lord, for this time. We pray in your mighty name, Jesus. Amen. Yeah, we'll have the 1:28:22 announcements. Presenting the book of this month, Gaining God's Approval by Brother Zak [Music] 1:28:42 Pun. Christendom is filled today with believers who are seeking for God's material blessings. Very few seek for God's approval over the way they live. It is one thing to be accepted by God. It is quite another 1:29:01 thing to be approved by him. In this book, we read about how God tested Adam and Eve, Job, Abraham and Lot, 1:29:19 Moses, Saul and David, Elisha and Gazi, and Peter and Judas. We also read about how Jesus was tested and how we will be tested. It is in the ordinary things of 1:29:41 life that God tests us in our attitude to money, pleasure, earthly honor and comfort. Many are called, few are chosen, but few are still are faithful. 1:29:59 These are the disciples of Jesus who have not only been accepted by God but who have been tested by him through many circumstances and who have been approved by [Music] him. When we stand before the Lord in 1:30:16 the final day, we will discover that the wisest people on earth were those who sought to gain God's approval more than his blessing. Then it will become clear to everyone that it was worth it all to be utterly 1:30:34 true and faithful to God in all things, both big and small. May this book help you to seek to gain God's approval upon your life. [Music] You can read this book free online at 1:30:53 [Music] cfcindia.com/books/aining God's approval. [Music]
