0:00 So we will go through these questions. I found in question-answer sessions that I've taken in different places we can have two types of questions. 0:23 One is questions related to the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and the other is questions related to the tree of life. And the type of question you ask shows you, if you want to know, the type of person you are. If you're more interested 0:44 in knowledge than life, you know you're on the wrong path. So the type of question that arises in your mind when you hear a message or when you ask a question-answer time can be a tremendous revelation to you if you want to know the type of 1:00 person you are. And you may discover that you're not as spiritual as you thought you were by the type of question you asked. So those of you who asked questions or those of you who have questions and didn't ask them, what type of questions 1:16 arise in your mind that you want to know the answer to, even if you didn't ask them today. That's a pretty good indication of your spiritual condition. When you go to the scriptures, what are the things you want an answer to? 1:33 See, I get hundreds of emails and many of them ask questions and a lot of them are related to the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And I can see, I don't know who these people are, all anonymous emails, but I can see that they're on the pathway of 1:51 spiritual death. They're born again people but they have no interest in life. They may be defeated by a hundred sins but that doesn't bother them so much. It is what does this verse mean and what is that? It has got nothing to do with their defeated life. So it's very good for you to ask yourself in a time like this, even if you didn't write a question. What are the questions that arise in your mind? Are they related to life? Then you're on the path to life. 2:07 Are they related to just information, which you would like to know, accurate information. Then you're an intellectual living in your soul and it cannot go well. Because Christianity is not a matter of the mind. So it's very good for you to ask yourself in a time like this, even if you didn't write a question. 2:21 What are the questions that arise in your mind? Are they related to life? Then you're on the path to life. Are they related to just information which you would like to know? Accurate information. Then you're an intellectual living in your soul and it cannot go well. 2:34 Because Christianity is not a matter of the mind. It's a matter of the heart. And the heart asks different questions than the mind does. So here is a, most of these questions are very good, so I'm not referring to anything here. 2:49 If our conscience was killed or destroyed in our unconverted days and after that we really repent and start obeying God's commandments, can we revive our conscience again? Of course. The Bible says in Ephesians 2, we were dead in trespasses and sins. 3:08 And it says God not revived us but raised us up from the dead. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1, you were dead in your trespasses and sins. What was dead? Not your body, not your mind. It was your conscience. The conscience is a part of your spirit. 3:24 That conscience was thoroughly dead. Your mind was very alert and alive. Your body is alive. But your conscience was thoroughly dead. And God raised up that conscience. So what happens is, when a person is really born again, if his conversion is radical, unfortunately sometimes people's conversion is not 180 degrees. 3:45 Conversion is, you know, we face the world and sin with God behind us and repentance is turning around 180 degrees and putting sin in the world behind us and God and his word in front of us. Very few people are converted like that. That's the way it should be converted. 4:07 When those are converted like that, they have a tremendous progress in their Christian life from day one. But very often people are converted sort of 90 degrees with one eye still on sin in the world and one eye on God, trying to get the best of both. 4:22 And it goes very slowly. It will go very slowly until they realize their folly maybe after 20 years and gradually decide to turn 180 degrees. But then they wasted 20 years. The best would be to turn immediately. And when we turn immediately, our conscience becomes alive, which is thoroughly dead. 4:42 Think of conscience like a weighing machine, which is, you put five tons on it and the needle doesn't even move. No registration. Completely dead. And then you get born again, really born again. And you find, you put five tons and the needle begins to flicker a little. 5:04 Hey, something's happened. It didn't even move till now. And as you walk with the Lord more and more, you put one ton and it moves. And you put a hundred pounds and it moves. And you put one pound and it moves. And a few ounces and the needle's moving. 5:19 You see the conscience is becoming more and more sensitive. That is one mark of spiritual growth. That means you're coming closer and closer to God. And you are becoming more and more aware of His ways. So, it's not just that the conscience should be like it was before. 5:38 It has to go a million times better than it was before. Little children have a conscience. Because, you know, it's very difficult for a child to tell a lie and keep a straight face. They learn to keep a straight face as they grow a little older. 5:51 But a two-year-old can never tell a lie and keep a straight face. Because of their conscience. But we kill that conscience through the years. And then when you're born again, the Bible says you can be like a little child all over again. 6:04 And even better than a child, you can be like Jesus. Okay. How to be filled with the Holy Spirit always, 24/7. Or what should I do or sacrifice to be filled with the Holy Spirit always. If you can believe one thing. And that is, it's very difficult to believe. 6:25 Most people, it's actually very easy to believe if you read the scriptures. But because people don't read the scriptures, they don't believe it. And that is, a very simple truth. God is more eager to fill you with the Holy Spirit. 6:42 Than you are eager to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I find very few people who believe that. Jesus said, in Luke chapter 11. If any of you fathers was asked by his son for a fish. Luke 11:11. 7:03 Will he give him a snake? There are some people who feel that. Oh, if I seek God for the Holy Spirit. How do you know some evil spirit will not come upon us? I ask him for a fish and he may give me a snake. If he asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion? 7:19 These are the words of Jesus. Luke 11:12 and then 13. If you, being evil, that means the best father on earth. The best father on earth is evil compared to God. Many of us are good fathers. But I want to say to you that compared to God you are evil. 7:38 So Jesus said, if you being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? Not those who sit back and wait. But those who ask because they want it desperately. 7:54 How much more? So what I conclude from that verse is a definition of faith and unbelief that I have made up. Which I believe is accurate according to scripture. In this connection. Concerning all the promises of God, not only the promise of his Holy Spirit. 8:14 But other promises like sin will not rule over you. And many other promises in scripture like if you seek the kingdom of God first, all your material needs will be added to you. These are all promises in scripture. And concerning every promise of scripture, if you believe that you are more eager to receive it, then God is eager to give it to you. 8:36 That is unbelief. And that's why you don't get it. You keep praying, oh God, I'm so eager to give me the Holy Spirit. But you don't say it, but you feel God doesn't seem to be so eager. That is unbelief. And that's why you don't, that's why you don't receive. 8:52 And you'll never receive. You can keep praying like that for 50 years. But the day, when the day comes in your life. When you believe, because you're convinced in your heart. God is more eager than I am. To fill me with his Holy Spirit. 9:10 To give me victory over sin. To control my speech. So that I don't get angry. To control my eyes so that I don't lust again. Not I am eager, God is a million times more eager than you got faith. Very few people have that. 9:28 They always feel. I am very eager. God doesn't seem to be eager. I remember a man many years ago telling me. Brother Zach, I have prayed for 40 years. To be filled with the Holy Spirit and it's still not happened. Well, if he keeps thinking that he's more eager than God. 9:45 He can pray for another 50 years, nothing will happen. It's not the length of time you pray. It's faith. Not for how many years have you prayed. And faith is this, in a very simple way. Concerning the promises of God. I'm not talking about praying for a better house or a better car. 10:00 There are no such promises in scripture. But to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire is a promise in scripture. In Matthew 3:11. Sin shall not rule over you. Romans 6:14. If you seek God's kingdom first, all other material things will be added to you. 10:16 Matthew 6:33. You have wonderful promises like this. My God shall supply all your need. Not all that you want, but all your need. According to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19. So, if you believe that God is more eager than you are to give you what he has promised. 10:39 Not you are eager. God is more eager than you have faith. That's the way we should always pray. So, find a promise in scripture concerning anything. And say, "Lord, I believe you are more eager than I am to be filled with the Spirit." 10:55 That's the first thing. And secondly, ask yourself whether any area of your life is not yielded. You know, we can receive the Spirit when we are born again. I believe the moment a person is born again, the Holy Spirit comes in. 11:10 In the first century they used to say, "Believe in Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit." Today we combine the two and say, "Receive the Lord Jesus Christ." So, when you ask Jesus to come into your heart, you know who comes in? 11:23 It's the Holy Spirit. But Jesus is in heaven. He hasn't come to earth yet. He comes in by his Spirit. It says in Romans 8:9 that when you receive the Spirit of Christ, you belong to him. If you don't have the Spirit of Christ, you're not even born again. 11:38 That's what it says in Romans 8:9. So, that's how we know very clearly that when a person is born again, the Holy Spirit has come in. Now, the reason why we don't just say, "Receive the Spirit" is in a country like mine. 11:52 If you tell a Hindu man to receive the Spirit, he's open to so many spirits. And he hasn't heard about the Holy Spirit. So, we have to specify it and say, "Receive the Lord Jesus Christ." That he understands. So, that is receiving the Spirit. 12:06 But Christ comes in through the Holy Spirit. And if our heart is like a house with ten rooms, one room is lit up. That's the room we always want to be lit up. That's the guilt room. Where I feel guilty about years of sin. 12:22 And we want the Lord to come in and cleanse us. We are all eager to open the door to that room. But, the Lord knocks at other doors in our heart. And says, "Can I come into..." I don't know how many of you watch television. 12:38 Can I come into that room and sit with you while you are watching television anytime? Would you be willing that he determines what you watch and what you don't watch? And if you do watch something, innocent things, clean things, how long you watch it for? 12:58 It's not just what you watch, but how many hours do you spend watching that? How much time do you have for the Lord? Is your time with the Lord and the scripture taken away by the time you watch on television? Can I sit with you? 13:13 And if your attitude is, "No Lord, I don't want you to come and control me over there. Give me a little freedom." No, it's just fine. I won't disturb you. Keep that door locked. He comes to your finance room and says, "Can I come into your finance room and see how you earn your money? 13:31 To see whether it's 100% righteous. Do you always speak the truth? Do you tell any lies here and there? Cut corners in order to make a little money? Do you cheat on your taxes? And how do you spend it? How do you spend your money? 13:46 Do you think it's all yours and just in a tight-fisted way? You say, "I'll tear down my barns and build bigger barns and say, "Soul, you have much goods laid up for many years. Relax." Or are you rich towards God? And you say, "Lord, don't come into that room. 14:03 Give me some freedom to handle money myself." The Lord says, "Fine. I won't enter that room. Can I come into your library?" the Lord says, and see the type of books you read, the type of magazines you read. And you say, "Well, Lord, there are certain things which I like reading." 14:19 Okay, I won't disturb you. You have this house with 10 rooms. You can say, "Is there light in it?" Of course there's light in it. The guilt room is lit up. Is it filled with light? Not at all. And such a man can say, "Oh, fill me with the Holy Spirit. Fill me with the Holy Spirit." 14:33 He can pray like that for a hundred years. But he's locked all the doors. How can the Holy Spirit come in? He'll never come in. This is exactly the reason why many people are not filled with the Spirit. They wonder why they pray and pray and pray and pray. 14:46 There are areas in your life you don't open the door. The Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He won't walk in where you don't allow Him. I stand at the door and knock. When I open the door, I'll come in. He'll come into every door that is open. 14:59 And you cannot be filled with the Spirit in a door that you yourself have locked out to Him. If something is more precious to you than Jesus, the Holy Spirit is not going to enter into that room. Like I said earlier, if you say, "I'm going to listen to Mama and Papa more than I listen to God." 15:13 Well, that room is locked up. Don't ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit. Or something else, "I love my wife so much I don't want to hurt her." Okay, keep that door locked. You won't be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit fills those for whom Jesus Christ is supreme. 15:28 No one on earth and nothing on earth means more to them than Jesus Christ and His will. They'll be filled with the Spirit very quickly. That's why I find some people just enter in so quickly. And the other thing is where people are expecting some physical experience or something. 15:46 And that's not what we're supposed to have. Jesus said when you, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you're filled, you'll be, you'll receive power. Power to be my witnesses. That means your passion in life is to be, not bear witness just with your words. 16:04 Some people confuse that. There's a difference between bearing witness and being a witness. Bearing witness is with words like in a court, you are a witness. But being a witness is with your life. He didn't say you'll bear witness. 16:16 He said you shall be my witnesses. And if your passion in life is to say, "Lord, I'm not a good enough witness for you in my office." Or I remember when I was seeking God to be filled with the Holy Spirit, I said, "Lord, to be honest, I'm a bit ashamed of publicly acknowledging that I'm your disciple." 16:35 There may be some consequences. And I say, "Lord, deliver me from it." I don't want to ever be ashamed of being known as disciple of Jesus Christ. If it costs me my job, I lose my job. Fine. If it hinders my promotion, fine. 16:52 Nothing is important for me than to please the Lord. And if you seek the Lord like that, I can guarantee in no time at all, you'll be filled with the Holy Spirit. And this is continuous. You have to keep all those areas open to the Lord. 17:06 Always. Because it's possible to lay an Isaac on the altar and after a while to take him back. Is this working? Okay. You can give up something to the Lord and then take it back as well. So be very careful. To be continuously filled with the Spirit, you must always check your life. 17:24 Sometimes you are careless in your conscience about something that the Lord spoke to you in your conscience. Maybe to go and apologize to someone and you're hesitant. Well, as long as you don't, you're not filled with the Holy Spirit. 17:38 There's an area that's locked up there. It's too humiliating to go and ask forgiveness from that person. The Lord says, keep that door locked. But don't ask me to fill you with the Holy Spirit. So this is the reason why many, many people are not filled. 17:51 I remember hearing of a preacher in the 19th century. I read of him. How he really, he heard of people like D.L. Moody and Charles Finney and all baptized in the Holy Spirit. And he was a very famous preacher in a particular city in the United States. 18:05 And he wanted to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and he prayed and he yielded everything. And he heard how D.L. Moody became a mighty preacher and Finney became a mighty preacher. And he was praying, Lord, I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 18:16 And he yielded everything as far as he knew. And he wasn't filled. And said, Lord, show me. And the Lord said, you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit because you want to be a great preacher. Give that up. And then he realized there was an area that he thought was spiritual. 18:36 He wanted to be a great preacher. And you know there's honor in being a great preacher. When you long to preach like somebody else, it's not necessarily a spiritual desire. So he gave that up. And he was filled with the Holy Spirit. 18:48 And the Lord took him away from that pulpit. And made him join the Salvation Army in England. And William Booth, who was the founder of the Salvation Army, was a wise man. He was this great famous preacher coming from America to join the Salvation Army. 19:01 And you know what job he gave him? To polish all the shoes of the Salvation Army soldiers. You see, you do that for a year. Then we'll see how you progress from there. So, there was a spiritual man and he grew up to be a very godly leader in the Salvation Army. 19:15 Okay. Did Jesus physically heal everyone he came in touch with except for those who didn't have faith? Well, not true. We read in John chapter 5 that he went into the pool of Bethesda where we read there was a multitude of people. 19:33 That's exactly what it says. Does not mean 5 or 10. A multitude of sick, blind, lame. John 5:3. I presume there must have been 100 or 150 people. Sick, blind, lame, withered around that pool. And Jesus goes in and Jesus lived by the Father's witness. 19:55 And the Father said, "Go to that man lying down in that corner." So, Jesus goes to that man and says, "Do you want to be well?" And he says, "I've been 38 years here." He says, "Get up. Take your bed and walk." And he's healed. 20:08 And Jesus walks out. What about all the other 150 people there? Not healed. So, Jesus did not heal everybody. It's a misconception to say that he healed everybody. I told you the other day that he did not heal the man sitting begging at the gate of the temple. 20:25 Because he lived by the prompting of the Holy Spirit. He didn't have laws. Thou shalt heal everybody. See, we like to live by laws. And the Christian world tries to reduce Jesus also to one who lived by laws. He did not live by laws. 20:39 He lived by the prompting of the Holy Spirit. For example, sometimes the Pharisees would ask him a question and give them a very detailed answer. But other times they'd ask him a question and he'd say, "Well, I'll ask you a question. 20:50 You answer that." And they say, "We can't answer that." And he says, "Well, I also won't answer you then." How was that? What law did he live by there? You know, there's a verse in Proverbs 27 which says, "Answer a fool according to his folly." 21:03 Have you read that verse? It's a very interesting verse. Proverbs chapter 26. First of all, it says in verse 4, "Don't answer a fool according to his folly." Proverbs 26 verse 4. 21:23 And you say, "I got the answer now. I must never have answered a fool according to his folly." But the next verse says, "Answer a fool according to his folly." What's that? The Bible is full of contradictions. For an unspiritual man, the soulish man cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God. 21:43 We considered that yesterday. It's foolishness to him. Two contradictory verses. They're not contradictory. If you're led by the Spirit, you know that this is fool A and this is fool B. Fool A, you don't answer him. Fool B, you answer him. 21:56 That's how Jesus answered the Pharisees sometimes and other times he didn't answer. So Jesus didn't live by laws. Thou shalt not answer a fool or thou shalt always answer a fool. He didn't live by laws. He lived by the leading of the Holy Spirit. 22:10 I say to all of you as a general principle, we all like to get rules. We read the testimony of some great man of God, how he did it in a particular way. I say, "I'm going to do it in that way." It becomes a law for you. 22:22 And you get into bondage. We're not meant to live by laws. We're not meant to do exactly what some other man of God did in a particular sentence. His example can be a challenge to you to listen to the Holy Spirit. Not just to imitate him. 22:38 See, imitation is a very dangerous thing. Because we read in Hebrews, listen to this verse. The danger of imitating others. To follow a man as he follows Christ. That's a great thing. Follow me as I follow Christ, Paul said. 22:54 But to imitate the action. What exactly did he do in this time? I'm going to do the same thing. That's not the same as following the principle by which Paul lived. When Paul said, "I follow Christ." He wasn't imitating Christ. 23:06 He was following the principles by which Christ lived. And he said, "We must follow the principles by which Paul lived." It says in Hebrews chapter 11, that by faith, that's in verse 29, the Israelites passed through the Red Sea. 23:21 They were led by the Lord. Walk. And it says in the same verse, that the Egyptians imitated that and they were drowned. So you see a man of faith doing something because he heard God and he did it. And you imitate that, you'll drown. 23:39 Where he goes safely through, you'll drown. That's a great verse that warns you about the danger of imitating. We must follow the principle by which a man lives. The leading of the Holy Spirit. Okay. How do we overcome discouragement when we see others not seeking or following the Lord? 23:57 Well, you mind your own business and have compassion for them. But you don't let another person's disobedience discourage you. Think of Jesus. He was surrounded by people who are not following Jesus. Did it discourage him? 24:09 Not at all. He was full of the joy of the Lord even the night before he went to the cross and he told his disciples, "My joy I give unto you." Imagine if you knew you were going to be hanged tomorrow morning. Or put on the electric chair and you go around encouraging everybody this evening saying, 24:23 "I've got plenty of joy today. I'm going to be hanged tomorrow morning. That doesn't matter. I've completed God's will for my life." That's how Jesus lived. He was never discouraged. He was full of the joy of the Lord, but he was surrounded by people who were not following the Lord. 24:39 That should not affect you. You can have compassion for them. You must have a desire to share the word with them. But I don't let another person's behavior discourage me. If I let other people's behavior, even the behavior of other believers discourage me, 24:51 I'll be discouraged all the time. Because a lot of backsliders everywhere I go. I'm not going to let that discourage me. And that is a wrong attitude. And it may be people who are very close to you. It doesn't matter. You must have a burden for them. 25:08 If your relatives are unconverted or people in the church whom you love very much are not going the right way, you have a burden for them. But don't let their life discourage you. Even Peter's denial did not discourage Jesus. 25:19 We must not allow the conduct of another person to discourage us. We can have a burden for them. We can pray for them and encourage them with words. But never allow that person's behavior to affect my relationship with the Lord. 25:34 The Bible says if I love righteousness and hate iniquity. It says in Hebrews 1:9. Jesus loved righteousness, hated iniquity. Therefore God anointed him with the oil of gladness above his companions. And I'm one of his companions. 25:52 And you are too. And I will be anointed with more gladness than he anointed me because he loved righteousness and hated iniquity more than me. And I will be anointed with more of the oil of gladness than another of my companions because I love righteousness and hate iniquity more than him. 26:11 It all depends on the measure in which you love righteousness and hate iniquity. The proportion of gladness and joy in your life is directly proportional to how much you love righteousness and hate iniquity. If you are gloomy, let me tell you, it's because you don't love righteousness and you don't hate iniquity. 26:29 It's very clear. That is the principle on which God anoints people with gladness. The oil of gladness. Okay, what must I do if I feel the local church that I go is operating on soulish methods? This is the only CFC church in my area. 26:53 CFC church? I have responsibility for CFC churches. Tell me, you really mean a CFC church or you mean some other church? Also, is it correct to celebrate harvest festivals and Christmas or baby showers as a church? How do I stand against it when I know it's wrong? 27:14 Well, I would encourage you to read Romans chapter 14. Romans chapter 14 says, One man celebrates one thing, another man celebrates another thing. If it's not sinful, let him do it. You don't have to do it. Let him do it. 27:30 I personally don't celebrate Christmas or Easter because I think they're heathen festivals. But some people don't feel that. They don't have the light on that. They are celebrating the birth of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus. 27:41 I appreciate that. And I go into the homes of some believers who have Christmas trees and stars and I say, I have no problem. So long as you don't tell me to put a Christmas tree and a star. I respect you, you respect me. 27:54 There's a freedom. If you don't live in that freedom, you'll be back under the law. And Romans 14 is a great chapter for that. There are some people in those days who kept the Sabbath. You know, the early Christians, many of them were Jews. 28:09 And so they've been keeping the Sabbath for 50 years. And all of a sudden they become Christians and you tell them, you know, you can do anything you like on a Saturday. And they just can't do it. They just don't feel like doing anything on a Saturday. 28:23 So they say, no, no, no, we won't do that. We are Christians. We don't believe Sabbath is the way of salvation, but we won't do any work on Saturday. Paul says, let them do that. You don't have to follow them, but give them freedom. 28:34 We have Hindus converted in India who have, never eaten beef in their whole life because the Hindus worship the cow. They don't eat beef. And then after 50 years they become Christians. They've never touched beef. My gospel is not, you must eat beef. 28:52 It's got nothing to do with that. You don't have to be, if you don't want to eat beef, don't eat it. It's perfectly okay. We must give freedom to one another. Somebody wants to celebrate a harvest festival. Are they dishonoring the Lord? 29:03 No. What's wrong with the baby shower or wedding shower or whatever it is? Let them do it. I mean, it's something you're blessing somebody. You don't want to do it in your case. Tell everybody, listen, I don't want any baby shower for my baby. 29:17 Fine. But let the other person have it. So we have to be very careful that we don't become legalists. This is a mark of a legalist is this. He has certain principles for himself. Good. But he makes that laws for other people. 29:32 I get up at 5:30 in the morning reading the Bible. I say everybody in my church must get up at 5:30 in the morning to read the Bible. That's a legalist. You'll kill your church. I'm just taking an example. You must not, or I spend half an hour in prayer every day. 29:45 All of you must spend half an hour in prayer every day. That's a legalist. That's a way to kill a church. So the Bible says in Romans 14: Do you have faith to do something? Do it. Give the other person freedom. In those days it was a question of whether you eat meat offered to idols. 30:01 One chap says, I don't believe an idol is anything. It's just a block of wood. If somebody hang a piece of meat in front of it, that's not going to defile the piece of meat. I eat it. But the other guy says, no, I've been 50 years, 30:12 I've been used to worshipping idols and I'm scared. Okay, don't eat it. So it's very, very important. I believe the mark of a church that is not a cult, is that it gives people freedom. The freedom mentioned in Romans 14. 30:26 To have different opinions on what to wear or not to wear. For example, some churches say a woman must not wear pants or trousers, whatever you call it in this country, I don't know, like men. Well, the Bible doesn't say that. 30:45 I mean, I know it's there in the Old Testament. But we don't live under that Old Testament law. But the Bible says you must be modestly dressed. And that's the important thing. That's what we stress. The woman's dress must be modest. 31:00 Any type of dress can be modest or tight-fitting and immodest. Basically there are two rules for immodest dress. One is where it exposes so much of your flesh or skin. And the other is where it's tight-fitting. Do you know in certain parts of India and Malaysia, 31:20 all women wear something similar to a pant? Everyone. You can't change the culture there. So if you go with these rules, which are not written in the Bible, you're going to have tremendous problems. So that's what I mean. 31:34 We must give freedom and stick to what Scripture says. And not go beyond Scripture. Anyone who adds to what's written here, Revelation says God will add to him the plagues written in this book. Anyone subtracts from what's written here, 31:47 God will take away his part from the tree of life. So I never want to add to Scripture. The Pharisees were the ones who added to Scripture. You shall not lift your bed on the Sabbath day. You shall not proc grain on the Sabbath day. 31:57 God never said that. So there are a lot of Christians who do these type of things and bring themselves and others into bondage. You must not listen to them. Break free from them. Live in Romans 14. Okay. I want to watch and play sports. 32:13 And sometimes I feel they become idols. What do you think? I should avoid having them become idols? Yeah, sure. Anything can become an idol. Money is a very good thing, but it can become an idol. Sport can be a very good thing. 32:26 Participating in it, it can become an idol. Watching sport on television. There's nothing wrong in it, but it can become an idol. When does something become an idol? When it has taken the place of God in your life. God wants you to do something and you have to say, 32:43 God, wait, I've got to watch. I've got to see whether this team is going to win or not. Well, that's become an idol already. So, we've got to be careful that we don't allow anything to take the place of God in our life. 32:59 And you know at what point, maybe for many years it was under control, God was primary. And at a certain point you became so fascinated, it could be anything. And that's become a God in your life. That's an idol. Okay. A couple of my friends don't have children and they are worried. 33:20 What shall I do apart from prayer and fasting? So that I bless them with a child, how can I encourage them? I don't know why God has not given children to some great saints I know. They never had any children. But in the Old Testament, it was a mark of God's blessing. 33:40 But not in the New Testament. And God has a different plan for each family. Children are the gift of God. And when people come to me and say, that means they themselves are very eager to have children. I say, I can pray for you, but it's like praying for healing. 34:00 I can't guarantee that God will heal you. I've prayed for people and seen them healed. And that's only about 1%. The 99% I prayed for were never healed. But I pray for them. I'm talking about major illnesses. So I don't know why. 34:16 I'd like to see everybody healed. So certainly it's good to pray, but there's no guarantee that they will all be healed. And to be healed from sickness sometimes is far more important than having children. Think of a person who's dying with cancer. 34:28 He'd be far more interested in being healed of his cancer than to have another child. So, even in such cases, I don't know why some of God's children die of cancer. I don't know. One day I'll know, like we sang in that song, Father along, we'll understand why. 34:42 When we see Jesus face to face, we'll understand the reason for everything which our small mind could not understand. The thing that's comforted me is to know that God's wisdom is like an ocean. My mind, even the cleverest person, his mind is like a cup. 34:59 And it's a crazy person who thinks he can fit the ocean into that cup. The cleverest man or woman in the world, his intelligence and wisdom is like a cup. And he's an idiot if he thinks that he can fit God's ocean of wisdom into that cup. 35:19 He has to say, "A little bit, I know." But there's an ocean out there which I don't understand. God's ways. The thing that's helped me in this area is to compare a dog with a human being. And a human being with God. We know there's a lot of difference in the way dogs think and human beings think. 35:42 Well, the difference between a dog and a human being is probably about one inch. Compared to the difference between a human being and God which is millions of miles. It's millions of miles the difference between God and me. 35:56 But the way I think and a dog thinks. A dog needs food, I need food. A dog needs rest, I need rest. A dog looks for sex, I look for sex. All those things are okay. There are certain other things a dog doesn't understand. 36:10 Why do these human beings wear clothes? The dog says, "We never wear clothes." They're crazy. Why do these human beings go to school? Why do they force their children to read and study? Why do these human beings keep money in banks? 36:23 I don't keep any bones in any bank. The dogs think we are absolutely crazy. But we are not crazy, we know that. Other human beings understand it, but dogs don't. That helps me to explain. If someone who is one inch lower than me, a dog, can't understand what I do, 36:44 I'm not surprised that someone who is a million miles over me, I can't understand why he does certain things. Humility will gladly say, there must be some very good reason. A humble dog will say, I don't understand why they wear clothes, but there must be a very good reason. 37:00 I don't understand why they have bank accounts, but there must be a very good reason. They say the same thing. I don't understand why God has allowed sickness. I don't understand why he doesn't give some people children. 37:09 I don't understand why he's allowed so many young girls to be exploited and made prostitutes. I don't understand so much evil going on in the world. So many innocent people being killed by suicide bombs and all that. Why doesn't God put an end to it? 37:23 I don't know. But like that dog will say, I will say, God's wisdom is way above mine. And I know there must be a very good reason, which I can't understand. A humble person will have no problem saying that. So remember the illustration of the dog and the man. 37:42 The next time you want to question God, and you think you know the answers, you think you can fit his ocean into your cup, you're pretty foolish. What is the least commandment that Jesus wants us to obey? What are the very tiny things that we need to obey God so as to please him? 37:59 I'll tell you. There are legalists who will take that verse. It's a verse in Matthew 5:19. If you keep the least of the commandments, you'll be the greatest of the kingdom of God. And this is how a legalist will take it. 38:12 One of the least commandments is that women should wail their heads when they pray or prophesy. And they think they're obeying that verse. Far from it. They are just promoting their opinion. It's true. I believe with all my heart that a woman should wail their heads. 38:33 But that's not the meaning of that verse. That is a commandment in scriptures like baptism, breaking of bread as I said yesterday. But I think it's referring to that least prick of conscience in your own heart. Not for you to tell somebody else. 38:51 But where your conscience has pricked you about something very small. Go and apologize to your wife right now for that rude word you spoke. Lord, I'll wait till the evening. That's why you're disobeying that word. But very often we like to take a verse like that and hammer somebody else with it. 39:13 You're a legalist. The word of God is like a two-edged sword. It must cut to you first. Remember that always. So be careful how you use words like that. And especially when you're using scripture to hit somebody else. Scripture is not a hammer given us to hit people on the head with. 39:35 A lot of preachers do that. You know they are disturbed by somebody sitting in the audience who is doing something wrong. And they keep hammering that person in the message. That person is not being led by the Holy Spirit. 39:53 For example, you know in some churches in India they are very strong against women wearing jewelry. So, here's a church where they don't believe in jewelry. And the preacher is seeking the Lord for a message. And he doesn't have to speak on jewelry because nobody in his church wears it. 40:13 And he's preaching on something else and the devil says, "God, I can make him change his message this Sunday." And the devil just sends one woman loaded with jewelry into that meeting. Immediately the preacher changes his message. 40:28 See how the devil succeeded? And that can happen to any preacher. He sees somebody whom he wants to give a word to. And the devil says, "I can make that guy change the message God gave him." Don't be a fool. Listen to God and don't let people change your message. 40:48 You know, whenever Jesus spoke, he always had Judas Iscariot sitting in that and he knew he was a devil. And Jesus didn't always preach on betraying and don't go and take money from the priests. And that was not his message. 41:03 He preached about so many other things. When you preach God's word, don't look at the half-hearted backsliders sitting there. Look at the whole-hearted ones and make them more whole-hearted. And it's more likely that your message will be from God. 41:17 Yeah. And God gives you a prophetic word, that's different. So, the least commandments are the ones that God speaks to your conscience, where you are pricked. And where you're not trying to control somebody else. How to differentiate between God's voice and my voice? 41:32 To hear God's voice clearly. How to, so that I can hear God's voice clearly. Okay. Look at Pat Moss in the Revelation chapter 1, he heard God's voice like a trumpet. But a deaf man can't hear the trumpet. He says God isn't speaking. 41:50 Of course God is speaking. You're deaf, that's why you can't hear it. It says in Hebrews 5:11, that some of you are dull of hearing. Hebrews 5:11. You can become dull of hearing. How do you become dull of hearing? It's by keeping on killing your conscience. 42:08 Your conscience tells you go and set that matter right now. And you say no, I'll do it later. You killed your conscience. You're on the way to getting deaf. You do that a few times and you won't be able to hear the Lord's voice so clearly. 42:23 Because when he told you to do something, you didn't do it. I've had that experience in my earlier days where, you know, I was very busy writing something. Maybe an article or something or working on something and the Lord says now just drop that. 42:36 And spend a little time with me alone, talk to me and let me talk to you. And I say just hang on Lord, I just got to finish this. In half an hour I'll be finished and then I'll talk to you. And I finish that and half an hour later, okay Lord I'm ready. 42:47 I can't hear him. He's gone. I say I want to hear you Lord. Can't hear him. You know there's a passage like that in the Song of Solomon. Where it says, My beloved came knocking at the door. 43:09 It's the Song of Solomon chapter 5 verse 2. I was asleep, spiritually, when my heart was awake. A voice. My beloved was knocking. Spend a little time with me. Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my perfect one. I want to talk to you. 43:27 And what is the bride's response? Oh Lord, I've taken off my dress. You want me to put on my clothes again and come out with you now? How can I put it on again? I wash my feet. I can't dirty them again, coming out with you. 43:39 My beloved, extend his hand through the opening. And my feelings were aroused for him. And I waited a little. And I said, okay, I'll get up. I arose to open my beloved. And he wasn't there. Verse 6. He had gone. Then I searched for him. 43:58 Verse 6. And I couldn't find him. And I went and asked the elders. The watchmen here are the elders. And they just gave me some legalistic messages. They struck me and wounded me. And he missed. The bride missed something. 44:13 Because when the bridegroom called, she was too busy doing something else. Have you had that experience? I've had it. And I've regretted. Really regretted. Because when I decided that I would meet the Lord at my convenience, 44:30 he was not ready. He has got to be Lord of my life. Or he will not be Lord of anything. To be Lord of my life means, when he tells me to drop something, I have to drop it. And listen. I've learned the hard way. I say, Lord, I want to listen. 44:51 It not only affects my life. The Lord may have something to say to me. To tell others. And I may not have that word to others. And a little later in the day, that weary person comes to me. And the Lord wanted to give me a word for him. 45:10 Early in the morning. But I was too busy. And this guy comes to me now. And I don't know what to tell him. I give him some of my human wisdom and quote some verses to him. But God could have given me the exact word for him. 45:22 But I didn't listen. Sometimes when the Lord wakes you up, earlier than you normally get up. You know what you should say? What Samuel said. Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening. Sometimes we wake up in the middle of the night unexpectedly. 45:40 I always do it. I said, Lord, are you telling me something? I want to hear. Isaiah 50 and verse 4 is a lovely verse. Which says, The Lord God, in the middle of that verse, wakes me up in the morning. 46:00 Isn't it wonderful to be waken up by the Lord? An unexpected alarm clock wakes me up. He wakes me up because he wants my ear to listen as a disciple. And if I listen to him as a disciple, it's the last part of Isaiah 50 verse 4. 46:21 Then the first part of that verse will be fulfilled. Which is, The Lord will give me a tongue to sustain the weary one who comes to me that day with a word. So, in order to, that I might have a word for that weary one who comes to me sometime during the day that the Lord knows 46:41 he's going to come to me later. He wakes me up in the morning to give me a word. But if I say, Lord, I'm a bit too tired now. Don't disturb me. I'm going to sleep now. That weary one comes along. And I don't have a word for him. 46:53 I have a lot of human wisdom to give him and probably 10-15 verses to quote to him. But he goes away without his need being met. Because I was too lazy to hear. You know, there was a man called Cornelius who was really seeking God and God needed to speak to him. 47:09 So, way another, miles away, God speaks to one of his servants called Peter. And because Peter was willing to set aside his prejudice and listen and go, Cornelius' need was met. What if Peter had said, Lord, I'm sorry, as Jews, we just don't go to the house of Gentiles. 47:29 You think God would not have met Cornelius' need? Of course. God said, Peter, okay, Peter, you stay here. God would have called somebody else. Maybe John. John, you better go. Peter's not willing to go. You go and meet Cornelius. 47:42 Peter would have missed the opportunity. Is it possible that you have missed opportunities of service because of prejudice? Or because you were not willing to listen. You were too busy. You got a program. And you can't afford to change that. 47:58 Even if the Lord wants you to change it. No, no, no. I've got my program. I can't do it. I decided in my life that I would never have a program. I'd make programs, but I'd be willing to change any of them. If God wanted me to change them. 48:12 There's a place in the Gulf, in the Persian Gulf, where we planted a church. There's a wonderful church there today. Because God changed my program and my plan. And I was stuck there. I had no plan to be there. And today there's a wonderful church. 48:29 So I see that God, you must allow God freedom to change your plan. We become familiar with God's voice by listening to it regularly. You recognize your mother's voice on the other side of the wall in the midst of other women speaking. 48:47 Why? Because you've heard your mother's voice so often. Why is it I can't recognize it? Because I haven't heard your mom's so often. We recognize a voice which you have heard often in the midst of the din of other voices. 48:59 So if you become familiar with God's voice, you'll be able to recognize it. Then you say, "How do I become familiar?" Here's a book which is 100% God's voice, the Bible. Read it. Read it. Obey it. Listen to it. That's how you become familiar with God's voice. 49:16 And then in some situation that you face, when there's no answer written in the Bible directly. Whom you should marry, which job you should take, where you should go, what you should do. You would have become so familiar with God's voice that you will know the Spirit prompting do this. 49:34 One more verse. Romans 8:6 says, "The mind of the Spirit is life and peace." That's a great verse for knowing the voice of the Spirit. As you consider a certain course of action, and you feel an increasing peace in your spirit to go that way, 49:52 that is usually an indication of God's will, if you're totally surrendered. But if you have prejudices, then you can choose something where you force yourself to accept something. You ask God for a sign, but you want a sign, you want something to be fulfilled, so you ask for an easy sign. 50:11 You've got to be careful. I use an example sometimes. You know, in India, marriages are usually arranged by parents. And like Abraham did for his son Isaac. So supposing your parents arrange a marriage for you, in India, to a girl called Grace. 50:35 And you don't like the sight of her, even though she's born again. And you don't want to marry her. But your parents want you to seriously consider it. And one day you read, "My grace is sufficient for you." And you got it. 50:51 You tell Dad, "God's grace is enough for me. I don't want this one." Now another guy is in love with a girl called Grace. Okay, desperately wants to marry her. He reads the same verse, "My grace is sufficient for you." I got my guidance. 51:05 This is the one. This is the grace God has chosen for me. You see, from the same verse, do people get opposite guidance? Because that's the way their mind is bent. Be careful about this type of guidance, where you want something. 51:17 And then you imagine that you're hearing God's voice in the Bible. You've got to be totally surrendered. And say, "Lord, I'm willing to accept anything." Whatever you choose. So, okay. Can you speak to the covering of women's hair? 51:39 I'm finding difficulty in understanding how it relates to my relationship with the Lord. Well, simple obedience. If you want to know more, go to our CFC India website. www.cfcindia.com And go to articles. There's a full article on head covering. 51:57 Two articles. One that I've written and one that my son Sandeep has written. Read both of them. And you'll see very clearly from scripture what is the right position on it. I believe it's balanced teaching. Okay, sometimes I stop hearing words from the Holy Spirit. 52:11 My spirit feels like God is far away from me. That he stops dealing with me. And so far I can tell it's not because of any sin. Do you ever experience this? Do you know why it happens? Is there anything particular I ought to do in this state or to avoid it? 52:25 You know, part of living by faith is that we don't hear the voice of God as clearly as we did in the younger days. I'll tell you my own experience. I've had some amazing leadings of God from scripture when I was very young in the faith. 52:44 And I don't get such fantastic reading dealings like that. Now I'll give you one example. This is way back before I was even married, way back in 1967. I had gone for a conference in a distant part of India. And I had to be there for five days. 53:08 And the day I reached there, I got a telegram. You know, we didn't have phones in all those days. No cell phones. Communication was by telegrams. And I got a telegram from my dad saying, I've been diagnosed with cancer. 53:26 And the doctor says, you've got to come immediately for an operation. So I was his only son in India. So dad said, can you please come down immediately? Because I don't want to go into the hospital without you being here. 53:38 So I said, Lord, what shall I do? I'm here, these people will understand. If I don't, another speaker can take my place. But I want to know your will. And that was around the end of October, I was there. And I had the habit of going through scripture day by day by day by day, 54:00 one chapter at a time. And that day I was in Deuteronomy chapter 1. And I read there, on the first day of the 11th month, verse 3, Deuteronomy 1:3, The Lord said, verse 7, Turn and set your journey and go. 54:20 The first day of the 11th month. And that was still four days later. Because it was on the 27th of October. I said, okay, I'm going to travel on the first of November. So I went to the train station and booked my, changed my ticket to the first of November. 54:38 And I sent a telegram back to my dad. I can't come immediately. I'll come five days later. Because I'm only going to start from here on the first of November. First day of the 11th month. And when I reached home, my dad said to me, 54:56 it's a good thing you didn't come immediately. If you had come immediately, I'd have been on the operating theater. But because you said you couldn't come for the next five, six days, takes two days by train to reach there. 55:10 I decided to get another doctor's opinion. And I submitted the, all the x-rays and all to another doctor. And he said, you don't have cancer. That was the wrong diagnosis. And so, he didn't have to go in the operating theater. 55:24 And he never had cancer till he died. It was an amazing experience for me. In a little thing like that. To listen to God. But you know, now I don't hear guidance like that. And I wonder why. I'd be wonderful if anything, 55:42 I had to find some words in scripture and, you know, like the guy who said, "Lord, give me a guy, give me a verse." And he opened a verse and Judas went and hanged himself. It's very dangerous to look for scriptures like that. 56:05 And so, I realized now, it's like God's now treating me, not like a child. That time I was a child. Now I'm a mature adult. You know how we tell little children, go and brush your teeth, go and change your clothes, go and have a shower. 56:21 You don't tell your 25 year old, go and brush your teeth, go and have a shower, go and change your clothes. No. You leave it to them. They know. You know that they're going to do the right thing without having to be told everything. 56:33 So, one mark of maturity I find, is God tells you less and less. He expects you to act and do what He wants you to do, the right thing, without His specifically telling you. That's how we grow up to maturity. So, that has to be balanced with you. 56:51 You may not be hearing God's voice because you've got a bad conscience. But also, it may be that you've become so mature now, that you don't have to get a prompting from God for every little thing. That could also be the reason. 57:03 What can parents do to lead teenagers to Christ, that were not brought up in the Word of God? How can you balance love and laws to encourage? See, when children are small, we have to keep them under law. Let's not do what you like. 57:20 Children, little children in the home are under law. You have to obey your parents. It says very clearly in Ephesians 6:1. Children obey your parents. For this is the first commandment with promise. And that is in the New Testament. 57:37 So, children have not come under grace yet. They don't have victory over sin. So, we don't give them freedom to make a choice when they're small. We say whether you feel like it or not, you're going to do what I tell you to do. 57:48 Because I'm your dad. God's given me authority over you. But a certain stage comes when we, you know, we give them more and more freedom as they grow up. And, if you have trained them up properly, you release them little by little by little. 58:05 And, there are no laws in that. It depends on how your children are. But, if you didn't know the Lord when they were small, and they've gone astray, and they are now worldly, God doesn't hold you responsible for the days of your ignorance. 58:21 But, you can still pray. And, what I tell parents of children who are teenagers, and are wayward is, I say, if I, I tell you parents, if you will promise me one thing, that you and your wife, will really seek to live with a clear conscience, 58:40 all the time. Be very sensitive, and keep your clear conscience clear between God and man everyday. And, that everyday you will kneel down, and pray to God, that your son or daughter, will be brought back to the ways of the Lord. 58:56 Spend a few minutes, even if it's only five minutes, in prayer everyday, or even two minutes. Lord, bring them back. But, keep a clear conscience, very important. And, everyday you do it, I can guarantee God will do something, 59:10 and bring your daughter or son back. I have faith for that, because I believe God is on your side. God doesn't want your daughter to go out in the world. He realizes that, you were not converted when your children were small. 59:22 So, there's hope for everyone. So, don't give up. And, even when they are teenagers, we still need to have certain laws for them. Like, because they don't know what's good for them. We may have rules concerning what time you have to come home. 59:39 I want you home if you go out. And, if you are going out with a boy, I want to see him. I want to decide, whether I will allow you to go out with that boy or not. Most of the time, I will not. In India, we don't have dating and all that, 59:52 in our churches. So, we are very careful in this area, because, we are living in a very dangerous world, and sometimes, young innocent children don't know, how in five minutes, they can mess up their whole life. Especially young girls. 1:00:06 Many, because they are brought up in a protective atmosphere in a home, when they have been in a church, where everybody is good to them, and then they suddenly face the world, they don't realize the world is full of wicked people, 1:00:17 who are trying to take advantage of you, and exploit you in every way. And, the protection for all young girls and boys, is to listen to their parents, even if they are 18, 19, 20 years old. They don't realize that five minutes, 1:00:29 less than five minutes, is enough to mess up your whole life. Especially for a girl. And so, we have to make laws for them, even if they are 19, 20 years old. If you are living at home, you obey dad and mom, and you, don't go out with certain people, 1:00:45 if I don't want you to go out with them. Even, bad company, girls that are not, God fearing, I don't want you to go out with them. We'd be strict with that. That's very important. And I believe that, there a father is, being a good father. 1:00:58 Okay, what is the role of husband and wife, when it comes to household, and raising children. I spoke about that, extensively yesterday. You can listen to the, tape, if you are not here. But remember, it's the responsibility of parents, 1:01:14 to bring up their children aright. And the first thing you need to do, is to love your wife, as Christ loved the church. and have a good relationship, as husband and wife. And try your best, to bring the atmosphere of heaven, 1:01:27 into your home. Which is an atmosphere of peace. Without grumbling, and complaining, and fighting, and quarreling. That is most important. Then we can think of, teaching them the scriptures. But if you don't seek to have, 1:01:43 the atmosphere of heaven in your home, and you just teach them the scriptures, you'll raise a legalist and a Pharisee. So, the greatest inheritance, that you can give to your children, is not in dollars. It's in, allowing them to see, 1:01:59 the atmosphere of heaven in your home, such that, they will want to have that atmosphere, when they raise a family. That must be the most important thing, that you must seek for. God delights in those who do his will, on this earth. 1:02:16 God delights in those who fear him. God delights in those who are humble. Brother Zach, can you add to that list, and tell me the other people, whom God delights in. It will take me a few hours, so I won't go there. Okay, 1:02:28 the last question is, I don't know, is, what does Luke 4, more? Can you please explain Luke 4:23? Luke 4:23. No doubt, you'll quote this proverb to me, "Physician, heal yourself." 1:02:48 Whatever you heard, and done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well. I don't know who asked this question, it seems to be a tree of knowledge, a good and evil question. How will it help you, to live a more godly life, 1:03:00 knowing the answer to this? Will it help you in some way, to live a godly life, to know the answer to this question, or is it just curiosity, to know what did Jesus mean, when he said, "Physician, heal yourself." Whatever we have heard, 1:03:15 done at Capernaum, do here. I don't think it's important to know, to help you to live a godly life, so I won't answer that question. I think our time is up. Let's bow before God. Our Heavenly Father, I pray you will help us. 1:03:35 Concerning those areas where we probably didn't get an adequate answer, or other questions, that may be in our minds. Thank you that we have the Holy Spirit, and your word to guide us. Help us to live, in a way that will please you, 1:03:52 so that when we come to the end of our life, we'll be able to live, look back over a life, where we avoided a lot of folly, because we allowed your word, and your spirit to guide us. We pray, even though many of us have done foolish things in the past, 1:04:08 we thank you that you overlooked our times of ignorance, and now you tell us to repent. Help us, Lord, to really turn around 180 degrees away from sin in the world, that we can please you. Help each one of us. In Jesus' name. 1:04:23 Amen. Amen. Amen.
