0:00 You know that one of my favorite verses in scripture, 0:25 which I believe teaches one of the greatest truths contained in the whole Bible is John 17, verse 23. It's a prayer of Jesus. The whole of John 17 is his prayer. 0:46 And when a person prays alone, he is unburdening what is in his heart. Not so much prayer in public, because in public we are conscious of other people. But when you're praying alone, 1:07 and you've got a burden in your heart, you really know what is the greatest longing of your heart. It could be anything. It could be a material thing. It could be spiritual. It's when you're alone and you're praying and pouring out your heart to God 1:23 that you discover what is the deepest longing of your heart. And that's how I look at John 17. I see what is the deepest longing of Jesus' heart. There are, you know, all of us have deepest longings, and then other longings which are not so important. 1:45 So, the reason I want to know the deepest longing of Jesus' heart is because I want that to be my longing too. Because I want to be like Christ. I'll tell you honestly, I'm not so keen on being like Christ externally. You know, as far as we know, 2:06 he had long hair and wore a robe and he was a carpenter and he did miracles. I'm not so keen on that because he didn't come to make us like him externally. But it's that inner life. And I see something in John 17 of Jesus' inner life. 2:27 Now, if you look at some Christian churches and organizations and you watch them for a while and you see what is their greatest longing, you'll see that it's evangelism. You know, going, sending out missionaries and all, 2:46 it's great. I believe God is interested in that too. But Jesus speaks here about another type of evangelism. Not the commonly understood type. Not the type by, not by sending out missionaries and going out, but rather another way, 3:04 which is the burden of his heart. And that is by the world seeing his children and where the world can't see his children united and the world can't see my unity with children in other parts of the world, but in a local church. 3:23 That's why God plants a number of local churches in different parts of the world. That's why I personally don't believe in mega churches which are so huge that you don't even know the person sitting next to you. in a local church 3:41 it's meant to be like a family. We know one another and we love one another. In a mega church it's like sitting in a cinema theater. Maybe that's needed as a preaching center to reach out to great crowds. Great. But that's not a church 3:58 it's a preaching center. So here in John 17, 23 he says to the Father, I in them and you in me and when he says them you know he says earlier on in verse 9 I ask on their behalf 4:18 I do not ask on behalf of the world but of those whom you have given me for they are yours. So verse 12 while I was with them I kept them and I guarded them none of them has perished except the son of perdition. So that 4:35 he's talking about the leaven. His whole prayer here is for the leaven and then others who will believe because of them. but why doesn't he pray for all the others? Because these leaven were totally committed. I mean Jesus wasn't even praying 4:57 for the 500 believers who would see him after his resurrection. You know Jesus appeared after his resurrection only to believers and 1 Corinthians 15 says there were 500 of them. 500 at least. Why didn't he pray for them? 5:17 Why didn't he pray for the 120 who he knew would be seeking for the baptism in the Holy Spirit? Here's a group of 500 believers here's a smaller group of 120 seeking the baptism in the Holy Spirit and here's a smaller group 5:30 of 11 who are disciples. And in John 17 he's not praying for those believers or seeking the baptism in the Holy Spirit but for the disciples. So I see that I want to follow Jesus who said verse 9 5:51 I don't pray for the world I pray for the disciples. I'll tell you that's what I do. I don't pray for the world I pray for the disciples. And there are other people who have if you have a burden which you've got to make sure 6:11 the burden is not created by yourself or by some books you read but a true burden comes from God and I see that Jesus said I don't pray for the world I'm praying for these and that others will be added to these who are disciples like them. 6:28 He's not interested in the riffraff who come to Christianity for other benefits. I want Jesus to bless me I want Jesus to heal me I want Jesus to prosper me. There are multitudes like that. There were multitudes like that 6:40 in his day too. And it's interesting Jesus never wasted his time praying for them. He's the same yesterday today and forever. He said I pray for these who forsook everything to follow me who really want to be on this earth 6:55 a representation of God's kingdom. And I'll tell you something my brother sister if you happen to be that type of disciple you can be pretty sure Jesus is praying for you. But if you're one of the riffraff who come to Jesus 7:11 for healing and prosperity and some material blessing or you join the church because you thought that's a good club to belong to where people are nice and care for one another a good place for my children to grow up and all these 7:23 other reasons. Well I'll tell you God will bless you with material things that's for sure. He may give you a better job and better salary because God makes the sun to rise on the good and the evil. You only have to be good or evil 7:35 to get material blessings. He makes the rain to fall on the righteous and the unrighteous. You've got to be either unrighteous or righteous to get material blessings and everybody qualifies. And that's why you find a lot 7:47 of atheists who earn a lot of money more than you and you find a lot of atheists who are healthier than you who have less sicknesses than you because those things are given to everybody but you won't find an atheist who is more spiritual 8:01 than a disciple of Jesus Christ. Never. Nowhere in the world. Never in history. History has raised up many many dictators who are powerful and rich and healthy and who live long and all that but they've never raised up. 8:15 Satan's never been able to raise up a person who is spiritual. So if you ever think that material blessing or physical health is a mark of God's blessing you will join the crowd of atheists and dictators who've been blessed 8:27 in that way but if you really want the mark of spiritual blessing is that God makes you more and more like Jesus. If he's made you more or a little more like Jesus in the last one year he has blessed you. If you haven't 8:39 become a little more like Jesus in the last one year I don't care what job you got I don't care how much increment you got in your salary God has not blessed you with the spiritual blessing of the new covenant. So he says 8:54 I pray for them and the prayer is in verse 23 I in them and you in me it's like it's a connection Jesus in me the father in Jesus and I'm connected to almighty God and that they may become perfect in unity. Do I envisage a time 9:14 when all the born again believers in the world will become perfect in unity? No I don't. I don't think that will happen in Bangalore I don't think it will happen in the world I don't think it will happen in CFC because the Lord 9:27 is not praying for all of them he's praying for those who have decided to forsake everything in order to follow him for whom Jesus is more important than anything on this earth and that doesn't include every believer it doesn't 9:43 even include everybody in CFC a lot of other things are more important than many of you I mean be honest and if you don't see it I can see it pretty clearly a little difficulty or a little bit of rain or thing is enough 9:59 to make you complain against God or miss a meeting or perhaps some of you love money more than you love Jesus Christ so he says I'm not praying for them I'm praying for these who are really committed that they'll be perfected 10:16 in unity why because ultimately it's through that little group of people who are perfected in unity that God is going to accomplish his purpose on earth the rest can enjoy the blessings but these are the ones with whom I 10:30 don't want to be one of those who enjoys God's blessings I want to be one of those because I've got only one life to accomplish God's purpose on earth and he says I want them to be perfected in unity so that the world may 10:42 know and this is what the world has to see through you and me what should the world see we live in the world we meet people our neighbors our relatives many unconverted people our office co-workers and many people around us 10:59 we meet people in the bus auto rickshaw drivers railway porters we meet so many people the world around us when they look at my life I apply this to myself you can apply to yourself they must know that the father sent Jesus 11:16 and that God loves me as he loved Jesus that's what I want the world to know that when they look at my life they have to say there's no explanation for this man's 11:36 life except that there is a God in heaven who loves him is that what people say when they look at your life there's no explanation for this man's life except that there's a God in heaven who loves him immensely because there's so 11:57 many things I can't explain God in heaven who loves him that's what Jesus said for every one of us if you are a disciple of Jesus read it yourself that the world may know and I tell you not other believers in the church 12:13 will blindly say yeah yeah brother the Lord is with you but the world is not going to say that easily the Lord is with you you know that believers are kind and blind sometimes so they say the Lord is with you but the people 12:27 in the world are not blind they can see pretty clearly by the way you speak the way you live your attitude to them your attitude to money your attitude to so many things they are not going to be so quick to say the Lord 12:39 is with you like the believers around you so don't go by the testimony of kind blind believers but listen to what the world is thinking about your life and they watch you in your office in the bus in the train and in crowded 12:56 places if you want to see human nature at its worst watch out in crowded places there they must see well this man is different this woman is different your children must say my mom is different my dad is different 13:16 from all the others in the world around in a better way the world may know that God sent Jesus it's not by preaching and that the world may know that God loves me as he loved Jesus to understand that you know that 13:37 is the reason why we have so many problems we have not understood ourselves first of all how much God loves us the intensity of his love we have not known you know the first commandment that Jesus said when somebody asked 13:54 Jesus what is the greatest commandment in the law we read in of a Jewish man who asked this question in Matthew gospel chapter 22 verse 33 a lawyer a lawyer means not what we understand by a lawyer today but one who studied 14:13 the old testament law that's the meaning of that word lawyer in Matthew 22 verse 33 a man who studied the old testament law thoroughly and for them the great commandment was the sabbath you shouldn't do any work on the sabbath 14:27 day that was to them more important than almost anything so this guy wanted to test Jesus verse 33 and he asked him what do you think is the greatest commandment in the law and Jesus said none of the ten commandments but 14:44 the basis of all the ten commandments he said he said you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart all your soul and all your mind that is the first commandment the first commandment is not to know the Bible it's 14:59 not to read the Bible in the morning it's not to pray it's not to go to meetings it's not to get baptized it's not even to get baptized in the Holy Spirit it is to love God with all my heart so that there's no place in my 15:12 heart for anything else or anybody else no place in my heart for my wife children money job property house nothing it's God and whatever God gives and no place in my heart for whatever God doesn't give and with all my soul 15:27 with all my emotions and my mind will and everything I must love God if I haven't fulfilled the first commandment what's use saying that I do so many other things I pray so much every day I fast so much every day that's 15:44 what the Pharisees said I read the Bible every day and I go to so many meetings a week and I attend all the conferences what's use of all that I haven't obeyed God does not have complete control of my affections and my heart 15:57 and he says this is like a coin with two sides you can't get a coin with one side printed on it if it's only one side printed it's counterfeit when you get a coin look the other side both sides printed okay what's the other 16:10 side of the coin you must love your neighbor as yourself and for Christians so the second commandment is love your fellow believers as Christ loved you and love all others as yourself so 16:30 that's linked up to the first one in John says if you say you love God and you don't love your brother you're a liar you're not a believer you're a liar so that's like a counterfeit coin no one can say he loves God if he 16:43 can't love his fellow learn from that is one is dependent on the other and then Jesus said on these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets this is the foundation all the ten commandments and all the other 17:01 commandments are based on these two if these are not there the whole building collapses so when we try to do something for God without this foundation our whole Christian life will collapse and it deserves to 17:21 Jesus is the whole Bible the law and the prophets is the word for the Bible the whole Bible depends on these two the whole Bible is resting on these two commandments please remember that I want to say to all of you who thought 17:39 you have done many things for God if you don't have these two everything else is useless that's why the Lord told the elder in Ephesus you're doing so many wonderful things you've got so many meetings and so many activities 17:48 but you don't love me like you did at first what's the use of all this it's worthless I'm going to chuck you out imagine somebody being thrown out who goes regularly to meetings who prays so much and who is very active lives 18:02 a very moral upright life and gets thrown out by God just because he didn't love God with all his heart in fact this is so serious that let me show you one of those verses you probably haven't even read or if you read it 18:15 haven't noticed it it's one of those small verses tucked away at the end of 1 Corinthians 16 1 Corinthians 16 have 18:35 you read this verse verse 22 if anyone does not love the Lord he is to be accursed what a word curse the guy who doesn't love Jesus not 18:56 curse the guy who doesn't read the Bible or doesn't pray or doesn't come to the meeting curse the guy who doesn't love Jesus there doesn't be a cursing or as a message Bible says if anyone won't love the Lord throw him out 19:07 make room for the master make room for the Lord that's Maranatha so it's pretty serious and that's why the apostle John at the age of 95 when he knows he's writing the last he wrote five books John's 19:27 gospel one two three John and Revelation he's writing the last there were 61 books already and they were all written maybe 15 20 years before this now the last five books of the Bible he's writing and especially in John 19:41 and John's letters and episodes he uses the word love about 50 times love love love love 50 times and that's about one third of the use of that word throughout the New Testament so he knew what was important towards the 19:58 end of his life he looked around at backslidden Christianity in the churches around him and he knew what was missing what was missing was not tongues what was missing was not healing what was missing was not the prosperity 20:09 gospel what was missing was love love for God and love for man and as I look around at Christendom today it's pretty much the same there's plenty of the other stuff but fervent love for Christ fervent love for one another 20:26 fervent love in the home between husband and wife between parents and children those things are missing in the church fervent love where we don't speak evil and don't gossip and don't backbite it's missing you know if John said 20:46 in the John said in one John we are in the last hour in 9580 it was the last hour it was already 11 p.m. where are we now we're pretty close to 11 59 I think very close we're in the last minute 21:06 what should we be concentrating on love love for God why don't we love the Lord so much let me turn you to a verse in 1 John 4 1 John 4 19 we 21:27 read here verse 19 1 John 4 19 we love because he first loved us we love Jesus to the measure in which we understand his love for us because 21:48 we love because he first loved us have you noticed in your human relationships I mean this is true all of us you tend to love more those who show more love to you that's right you see somebody who shows such a lot of affection 22:08 for you it's very difficult not to love him you don't have to produce love for that person I mean you spontaneously do it because you see so many expressions of his love for you I mean you don't love somebody who just gets 22:22 up every morning and say hey I love you brother not that type of guy I'm talking about a person who manifests it in so many ways he doesn't have to tell you to love him you automatically love him it's spontaneous it's like that 22:37 with God but if somebody for example if somebody hasn't loved you enough heard which is the story of this mother who little girl looked at her mother and said 22:57 mom I love you so much there's every part of your body I love except your hands are so ugly so black and full of scars I hate your hands all scarred ugly hands she had all burnt and then she said well my little girl let 23:15 me tell you a story when you were a little baby accidentally you fell into the fire somewhere and I put my hands in and grabbed you out and saved your life that's why your body wasn't burnt but my hands got all burnt that 23:26 day then that little girl said mom I love your hands more than any other part of your body it's when she knew how much those hands meant then her love increased you see the devil keeps us from 23:47 a knowledge of God's love for us because he knows if you know how much God loves you boy you're going to love him with all your heart and the devil is determined to keep your religion just Bible reading praying going for 24:00 meetings and religious activity and even evangelism and all that other type of stuff so long as you don't love God with all your heart that's why he wants to keep you ignorant of how much God loves you so my brothers and 24:16 sisters we need to have our eyes open in the Old Testament God's love was only manifested in words words words Adam loved Adam and Eve loved something God had created a tree more than God himself and all human beings love 24:34 what God has created more than God himself that's why they sin when they sin with a woman it's because they love that woman not love they love the pleasure more than something which God has created more than God himself 24:46 when they love money they love something God has created more than God himself the same sin of Adam he loved what God has created every sin comes like this when you love something God created more than God himself or in 25:02 Adam's case he wanted to please his wife more than he wanted to please God that's another reason for sin whenever you want to please a created being more than the creator you sin all sin is there in Genesis 3 the root of 25:16 it all loving created things more than the creator wanting to please creatures more than the creator but you can't blame Adam because where was the manifestation of God's love for him if you asked Adam before he sinned hey 25:30 Adam how can you tell me God loves you oh well he says look at all these wonderful trees here there are mangoes and pineapples and oranges and all that I mean is that the proof of love somebody comes and brings you mangoes 25:45 and pineapples and oranges would you say that love maybe he does but that's all his understanding of love look at this beautiful heavens and the sky and the stars and all that it's wonderful God that was the only understanding 25:56 of love he had if you go to the Israelites they would say a little more well God delivered us from slavery brother we were slaves and if God delivered you from tough situations you can say that's a pretty good manifestation 26:09 of God's love the understanding of God's love increased in the time of Israel more than Adam had but what about us Jesus said in John 15 John's gospel chapter 15 verse 26:31 13 there is no greater love that anyone can have than this to lay down his life for one another that's the best way to love to lay down your life or 26:55 like they say in today's language put your life on the line for your friends you know that's that's what Jesus did and I want you to understand something of this when I was converted that was nearly 50 years ago 49 years 27:11 ago I'm very thankful that from the beginning the Lord made me spend hours meditating on the love of Jesus for me on Calvary so that my response and my giving my heart to the Lord was not to go to heaven or 27:31 to escape hell I think I can stand before God and say I had no desire to go to heaven or to escape hell that was not why I gave my life to Christ I know there are many people who give their life to Christ to go to heaven 27:45 I know there are many people who give their life to Christ to escape hell I know to get some material blessing or healing but not me I gave my life to Christ because I saw how much he loved me to such an extent where I said 28:02 Lord I would be ready to go to hell if you're there that's all I want I wasn't interested in the golden streets or the mansions or I mean I've never been interested in the mansions I said Lord you can give all my mansions 28:15 to everybody else the crowns whatever I have give it all to somebody else I just want you and in my first Bible I wrote in the front page of my first Bible which I 28:43 that's made a tremendous difference in my life that's why everything else that I've done or lived my life has been built on this foundation loving God with all my heart because he first loved me and I feel that many many 29:00 Christians have not understood like that little child didn't know how much her mother loved her I think many of us don't know how much Jesus loved us so I really weep 29:20 when you see there how Jesus was whipped and hammered and his one eye was swollen and all that I wept and I wept many times when I've seen films about Jesus being crucified but I remember in my younger years that all those 29:37 films it was only momentary you see it for a time you weep and then the next day you go and live as you like we need to understand something deeper because the suffering of Jesus on our behalf on the cross was not just physical 29:52 it's very important to understand that when we explain to little children who don't understand spirit soul and body and all that is right to say Jesus died on the cross and explain how they whipped him and hammered him and 30:05 that's what the Bible says you know when you're an outward Christian you see only the outward sufferings of Jesus when you move on when you go to college and you become an inner Christian then the Holy Spirit shows you the 30:21 inner sufferings of Jesus which are not written in the Gospels you know Jesus said that have you read this verse John 16 when the Holy Spirit comes verse 14 John 16 14 he will glorify me because 30:42 he will take the things of mine and will reveal them to you he will show you things that are not written here he once said to his disciples there are many more things I want to say to you but I can't explain them because 30:57 you can't bear them now that means you can't understand them now I mean you can't explain calculus to a first standard student not because there anything wrong in it calculus is a very useful subject but you can't explain 31:10 it to a first standard student you can't understand it now that's what the Lord was saying you know the more we grow in the Christian life the Holy Spirit is able to take some things of the inner life of Jesus and show it 31:22 to us and if you have not seen anything of the inner life of Jesus you're pretty much an outward Christian that's why you're occupied with what Jesus did outwardly his miracles he walked on the water he fed the 5,000 phylos 31:34 he suffered so much on the cross great it's all true that's all there is in the gospels but it's the glory of God it says to conceal a matter have you read that verse in Proverbs 25 it says in Proverbs in chapter 25 and 31:53 verse 2 it is the glory of God to conceal a matter God has hidden certain things in scripture concealed that's part of his glory but if you're a king in Christ it says there's the glory of kings to search that out but if 32:13 you're a slave of sin the slaves won't find it you got to conquer sin first it's no use trying to understand the deep things of Christ if you're still a slave to sin then brother I would say try and get rid of your sin first 32:30 become a king kings can search out and see things which God has concealed which God reveals you know Paul told the Ephesians I'm praying that God will give you the spirit of revelation he he doesn't say read my epistle ten 32:44 times and you'll understand it no Ephesians 1 17 18 he says I'm praying that God will give you a spirit of revelation there's no other way you fellows will understand it I can explain I can preach the same message a hundred 32:56 times you won't understand it because it's revelation when Peter said you are the Christ the Son of the living God he said blessed are you my father has revealed this to you that word revelation was not in the Old Testament 33:09 the Old Testament of study understanding the New Testament revelation the secret of the Lord is with those who fear him and to them he will reveal his new covenant that's Psalm 25 it says that so Paul tells even Timothy 33:28 in 2nd Timothy 2 he says think about what I'm saying verse 7 and the Lord will give you understanding he doesn't say read what I've written ten times see that's the fault with Bible schools you don't find a Bible school 33:43 that emphasizes revelation Bible schools emphasize study that's why Bible school graduates are boring preachers they've got no revelation in my life I've been blessed tremendously by men of God who never went to a Bible 33:58 school the other ones who blessed me the most it's a difference between academic intellectual study and revelation of the spirit you can sit in the meeting here and listen to a word that I'm speaking and it just goes into your 34:10 head you know what I say to you brothers thank God you're paying attention thank God your ears are open thank God your mind is not wandering somewhere I hope not right now and thank God you're listening but it's still only 34:22 entering your mind I pray that God will give you the spirit of revelation that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened that you may see what the death of Christ is the physical death of Christ is not enough to take away 34:37 our sins because if I were to ask you what is the punishment for your sin is it physical death did Jesus take the punishment for my sin or not I think all of us will say yes if he has not taken the punishment for our sin 34:51 we have to go to hell that's all we know he took the punishment for our sin on the cross what is the punishment for sin physical death if that is the punishment for sin listen this is logic if that is the punishment for 35:07 your sin then how should God punish you when you sin kill you okay when you die you're killed you've taken the punishment for every person who dies should go to heaven because he's died he's taken the punishment himself 35:26 so if we say that Jesus physically died and that was it wow he didn't have to die I could die myself but we know what the Bible says the punishment for sin is to be cast into hell forever the one who spoke most about hell 35:45 was Jesus Christ now even the apostle Paul never spoke about hell so much as Jesus Christ and I'll tell you why because Jesus loved people more than anybody else number one secondly he's the only one who had actually seen 35:59 hell before he came to the earth so he could tell people about it you realize that somebody who has seen a country can tell people more about it than somebody who's only read about it you know that somebody who's actually 36:17 seen a country can tell you more about it than someone who's only read about it Jesus had seen hell the reality of it the awesomeness the terrible the awfulness of it and he warned people more than anybody else of that danger 36:33 so we don't hear much preaching about hell these days I mean you listen to all the Christian television programs and see how many people preach on hell repentance hell and all are not found nowadays they're all preaching 36:47 all this psychology stuff feel good nice God's accepted you God's loved you and all but Jesus spoke about hell he spoke about the worm that never dies he spoke about the fire that is never quenched these are all pictures 36:58 he used pictures to show us the terribleness of eternal separation from God the fire the worms are all just picture language to show you that you'll be forsaken by God for eternity because that has to be the punishment for 37:16 sin sin is like the wire the electric wire if it's just broken even half a millimeter the car light goes it doesn't have to be broken and set apart one meter away for the current to go it's just broken one millimeter the 37:36 power is gone it's like that sin you don't have to commit 25 sins or 2 million sins to be broken from God one sin I don't think many Christians understand that or the water leak out you don't need 25 holes whether it's one 37:54 hole or a thousand holes it's gone whether the break in an electric wire is half a millimeter or hundred meters it's the same whether you've committed one sin or a million sins is the same your fellowship with God is broken 38:07 and the punishment for one sin or a million sins is the same the punishment for the Pharisees who never committed physical adultery never committed physical murder it's exactly the same as for the worst prostitute and the 38:19 worst murderer in the world if you understand that then you understood a little bit of what sin is separation from God forever that's what hell is to be with demons and the devil forever and ever and ever when you spend 38:36 10 million years there 10 million years you think one year is long 10 million years you just begun brother it's awesome awful to be separated from God forever William Booth who was the founder of the Salvation Army once said 38:56 when he was training people to preach the gospel he said after I taught them how to preach the gospel at the end of their one year course I wish I could suspend them over hell for 24 hours and watch what's going on in hell 39:08 and then send them into the streets to preach boy they would preach it's true I don't think many of us have seen the awfulness of hell the terribleness of being separated from God we don't understand that on earth because 39:21 nobody is forsaken by God on the earth people sometimes talk about a God forsaken place there is no God forsaken place on this earth the only truly God forsaken place is hell why is it there are so many atheists and people 39:34 who rebel against God who are so healthy who are so rich who live long who live comfortably whose children are blessed what does that prove that proves God has not forsaken them even though they hate him he sends the rain 39:47 and the sun on the atheist farmer to bless his field there's nobody on this earth who's forsaken by God if God had forsaken this earth you know what would have happened every non unbeliever would have been filled with demons 40:01 just like that legion cutting themselves and running around naked do you see the world like that no why is it the demons can't get in in these unconverted people why is it the demons can't get inside some of you backslidden 40:14 believers the demons would have got into you long ago with your backsliding and your hypocrisy it's because God hasn't forsaken you yet but if you remain like that you're on your way I'll tell you that that is hell it's 40:33 terrible so that is the punishment for God so when Jesus hung on the cross if he did not take that punishment he did not take my punishment it's so clear he had to take that punishment in order take the punishment for my 40:49 sins to pay my debt and that's why he hung six hours on the cross and as I understand it the first three hours he was not bearing that punishment he was doing a lot of other things like saving that thief do you know that 41:08 place where it says that they took a sponge of vinegar to Jesus and Jesus refused it but at the end of when he was hanging on the cross you read that in towards the end of John 19 at the end when he said I thirst they 41:29 gave him some vinegar that's John 19 verse 29 they put he said I thirst a jar full of sour wine John 19 29 they put a sponge full of it and brought it to him and Jesus received it then said it is finished they offered him 41:47 the same thing at the beginning as soon as he was crucified they give it to all the crucified people it's a sort of anesthetic you know like when you're suffering when you're going through painful surgery they give you an 41:59 anesthetic to relieve the pain this was a type of anesthetic a little mercy that the Roman soldiers showed to these fellas okay fellas here's a little bit of relief for you drink a little bit of this and Jesus said no you 42:14 know why because if he was anesthetized and hanging there how could he save that thief on the cross there I see something of Jesus tremendous love as that anesthetic was brought to his mouth the Holy Spirit said don't take 42:29 it okay I know it will relieve my pain but the Spirit says no I won't take it boy I want to be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit like that this is what it means to follow Jesus that those little little times the 42:45 Holy Spirit says no don't go there don't say that don't do this it's always a purpose stop that spend two minutes in prayer now it's always a purpose and I regret those times that I have not obeyed I want to obey and little 43:03 later there was this thief needing to be saved how could an anesthetized sleepy Jesus say anything to him he had to be saved those words of Jesus saved him how could he take care of his mother he has the eldest son he has 43:20 got a responsibility for his mother he couldn't trust his other brothers he had to hand him over to John how could he say the words my God my God why have you forsaken me so that we would understand what he went through 43:37 on the cross he did not take the anesthetic thank God he did not take the anesthetic till the six hours were over at the end when he knew the time was over he could take it and say it's finished I mean after that was just 43:51 less than a minute and it was all over but I see Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane praying like this in Matthew and chapter 27 you know that prayer he was praying in the garden 44:11 of Gethsemane and he said Matthew 26 sorry father if it is your will verse 39 Matthew 26 44:31 39 if it is your will let this cup pass from me but not as I will but as thou wilt you know Jesus when he was praying to his father in heaven he said I don't want to drink this cup what was this cup it wasn't physical death 44:45 Jesus would have been willing to go through a hundred calvaries for you and me martyrs have gone singing to their to be when they were being eaten by lions and being burnt at the stake Jesus wouldn't be a coward he was not 45:00 afraid of the shame the ridicule the mocking strung up there in an underwear despised and laughed at by everybody he was not afraid of all that he would be to bear any shame out of his love for you and me even if we are 45:16 ashamed of him he was not ashamed to hang on a cross for us but what was he shrunk from only one thing Jesus valued more than anything else which we sometimes don't value fellowship with the father he had that from all eternity 45:32 not millions of years but trillions and trillions and trillions years from all eternity there was one thing he valued fellowship with the father and he had that even when he came to earth he became a man he had fellowship 45:43 with the father it was the most precious thing to him on earth that's why he would go and spend time alone with the father sometimes he valued that more than physical comfort more than food more than clothing more than fellowship 45:55 with the father think of the number of days when you have broken fellowship with the father and doesn't even bother you because we don't value it so much you know it's like people who live in the slums they're quite used 46:15 to dirt and filth and all they don't bother but if you who live very hygienic surroundings you go there you don't even want to be there for five minutes that's how Jesus was he didn't even want to break fellowship with the 46:27 father for five minutes it was like you going and living in the dirtiest slum oh boy I don't want to live there for five minutes that's how Jesus felt about fellowship with the father perfect hygiene is perfect fellowship 46:39 with the father and Jesus wanted it all the time like you want perfect hygiene all the time you don't go to a dirty filthy stinking hospital with muck lying around for treatment you wouldn't want to go to that hospital even 46:53 for five minutes and we understand how fellowship with the father is really the most valuable thing on earth we will never want to lose it by one angry word one dirty thought one wrong attitude towards somebody even the 47:06 slightest sin Jesus was like that that's why he never sin you know one of the ways in which we can overcome sin is when we learn to value fellowship with the father like we value physical health and hygiene so he valued 47:22 this so much and he said father I don't want this to be lost I don't want to drink this cup but obedience to you is more important to me than anything even this terrible thing if you want me to lose it I lose it but I don't 47:39 want to drink it and I can imagine a conversation going on you know we got to apply this personally whenever you read the Bible make it personal not Christ died for the sins of the world but Christ died for me make it personal 47:50 Christ died for the sins of the world is just history Christ died for me that's testimony that means I'll tell you what it means if all the people in the world were good and I was the only sinner in the world Christ would 48:07 have come from heaven for me okay something more than that if all the people in the world were good and I was always good except I got angry once once Christ would have had to come for me will you take anger more seriously 48:24 from now on if all the people in the world were good and I was always good and I lusted after a woman once in my mind Christ would have had to come and die for me will you take that more seriously from now on we haven't 48:39 seen sin we haven't seen the awfulness of sin it's so light we just talk about it so lightly as if it's just a you know a little bad food which gave us a little stomach upset we get over it it's not like that it's worse 48:54 than poison poison never sent anybody to hell only sent him to the grave sin sends people to hell which is worse so Jesus valued this fellowship and he said father don't take it away and and then I want to make it personal 49:11 now Jesus is that all the people you can make it personal too and get so many he's praying preparing to go to the cross for me I can imagine a conversation going on with the father okay father says son you can come up here 49:28 you never sinned come straight up here but Zach will go to hell don't forget that Zach will go to hell okay okay okay father okay father and 49:49 go for his sake I remember some years ago when Jesus opened my eyes to see his love for me not on Calvary but in Gethsemane he loved me and for my sake he said I'll drink that cup I say Lord I never want to forget it 50:09 all my life that's why the truth of Christ death for me is always a new song always a new song in heaven it says they sang a new song revelation five what is that new song thou hast died thou shed thy blood you say that's 50:26 a new song I've heard it a thousand times why is it new because it's always fresh when you're filled with the Holy Spirit the death of Christ is always fresh it's as if I'm hearing it for the first time how marvelous how 50:39 wonderful that you could die for a wretch like me and I tell you this my brothers and sisters whenever the death of Calvary becomes an old story to you you can be pretty sure you're backslidden when you sing it we sing so 50:57 many songs about the death of Christ it's like shaking our hips like these rock stars and it's all a wonderful melody and all that please consider yourself a backslidden Christian if it doesn't touch your heart doesn't bring 51:12 tears to your eyes it's an old song you're not ready for heaven they sing a new song there Christ died for my sins I've known that personally for 49 years but it still brings tears to my eyes when I think that Jesus said 51:31 yes for me he didn't want to have and then when he hung there on the cross and for three hours said my God my God why have you forsaken me that's the only time Jesus in eternity in all eternity 51:51 only once Jesus called his father God every time he called him father father father father father father once he called him God because he was not standing before his father now he was standing before the God of the universe 52:07 the judge of all the universe and being punished for sin which God treated as if it was his when it was mine you know it says in 2nd Corinthians 5 in verse 21 God 52:29 made him to be sin who knew no sin you ever thought of that he made him to be sin now don't change the words don't say he took our sin and all that just say it like it is God made him to be sin who 52:49 knew no sin that's worse than falling into a septic tank or any filthy thing that you can think of to be made to be sin to do it for somebody else how many of you would jump into a septic tank to help somebody particularly 53:05 your enemy this is a million times worse than that he made him to be sin who knew no sin he said my God my God why have you forsaken me the only prayer of Jesus that was never answered never 53:26 answered every prayer of Jesus answered immediately except this one why have you forsaken me why because God doesn't answer the prayers of people who are in hell and what Jesus experienced those three hours was hell think 53:40 of all the suffering you're going to go through if you miss heaven in hell and for eternity eternity eternity all that suffering of demons harassing you the devil harassing you and forsaken by God and no understanding of 53:54 God and suffering torture of mind and body concentrate that eternity into three hours and you'll understand something what Jesus experienced on the cross more than that not just your suffering multiply that by all the billions 54:11 of human beings who've been on earth since Adam so this suffering multiplied by billions so many people put into three hours Jesus suffered that on the cross he actually suffered hell like 54:31 one hymn says ever when I'm tempted make me see beneath the olives moon pierced shade my God alone outstretched and bruised and bleeding on the earth he made and 54:52 make me feel it was my sin as though no other sins were there that was to him who bears the world a load that he could scarcely bear that was to him who bears the world a load that he could scarcely bear he 55:13 did it for you he did it for me I will be grateful to him all the days of my life I never feel I've lived long enough to show my gratitude to Jesus I keep praying Lord give me another 20 years to show you that 55:34 I'm thankful for your dying for me not in words but with a life poured out for you to serve you I will never in my life think that I have made any sacrifice for Christ when I think of what he did for me sacrifice I don't 55:49 know the meaning of that word like the stars disappear in the light of the sun if you can see the sacrifices you have made you must be in the darkness because only in the see any stars when you see the sacrifice of Christ 56:09 all your so-called little sacrifices disappear like the stars in daylight do some of you think you've done something for the church you've done something for the Lord you're in darkness brother that's why you see those stars 56:25 I'm in the bright sunlight of Christ's love for me and I tell you honestly I'm not trying to act humble I don't feel I've done a single thing for the Lord because I see the greatness of his love for me and at the end of 56:38 it three hours he said it's finished it was over then he could call him father again father into your hands I commend my spirit the relationship was restored don't confuse what I said now with the false teaching of many 56:56 charismatic preachers whom you see on many television channels who say that Jesus went to hell for three days and was tortured there by the demons that's blasphemy when he said it's finished it's finished that's because 57:13 people read the King James version he went to Hades he went to the paradise section of Hades he told the thief today I'll meet you not in hell in paradise he was for three days in paradise then he came what shall we render 57:32 unto the Lord for all his love towards us he doesn't want words mere words of mine will never repay the debt of love I owe teach me Lord on earth to show by my love how much I owe we love him because 57:53 he first loved us I hope all of you will have learned to love him a little more today and love one another a little more he died not only so that we might be forgiven listen he died so that you might forgive your 58:13 brother what he did against you that you might forgive your sister that you might forgive your wife forgive your children forgive your parents forgive your husband whoever it forgiveness may be our way of life I 58:35 pray that God will open the eyes of your heart so that you get revelation let's pray let's bow our heads for a few moments before God is this going to be the emotion of a moment like 58:56 many other sermons you have heard that stir you and that have not accomplished a permanent change in you I speak to you sinners backsliders half hearted and also to the whole hearted what does the death of Christ mean to 59:14 you what are you going to give in return to him meeting attendance Bible reading or all of your life Lord all my heart from this day I love you because you first loved me it was my sin that took you to the 59:34 cross heavenly father my words are so inadequate I feel at the end of it all I haven't done justice I'm absolutely conscious of it Lord have mercy let your spirit reveal what I could not explain make it real to us that we 59:53 can love you with all of our hearts and one another as you loved us we pray in Jesus name Amen
