0:07 But there's one thing I wanted to say before we go into these questions. I feel that I want to emphasize that as Christians, we must always seek to have a joy in our heart. 0:26 You know the Bible says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. That doesn't mean smiling. If you see somebody walking down the road always smiling, you'll think something is mentally wrong with them. It's not normal. So, I'm not talking 0:41 about smiling all the time. But something that doesn't make you look gloomy and unhappy cuz that's not a good testimony for the Christian life. And if you find that your personality is like that, mine was 1:00 like that. I was very serious and solemn and quiet and I felt Lord this is not a good testimony for the Christian. Please change my personality. And then that's what the Holy Spirit has come for. You don't have to have a supernatural 1:18 experience or speaking in tongues or anything like that. You don't need any supernatural experience. Just say Lord please make the life of Jesus more real in my inner life so that I can be a happy Christian inwardly. Forget about the outside. 1:37 Lord, I I want to be happy in my life because my sins are all forgiven to the best of my knowledge. I've confessed every sin that I know. Maybe I don't have perfect victory over every sin, but I'm working towards it. I'm battling 1:50 towards it. You're on the right track. But we should not be looking gloomy and sour. It's something we must work on. Any of I'm not saying that any of you are like that. I'm not talking about anybody I saw. But just as a general 2:06 exhaltation because some of us have temperaments that are very serious and solemn and others are happy golucky and cheerful. And I've seen some very happy golucky, cheerful people who are not even Christians. They're not even born again. 2:23 They're hollow, shallow, and it's a superficial thing. But I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about something that comes out of a inner conviction based on the fact that in my entire past life has been forgiven. Do you believe that? Do you believe that 2:41 when you came to the Lord and said, "Lord, I'm a rotten sinner." I've said that so many times. A good for nothing sinner and I'm saved by grace. I remember very vividly uh six years ago in Bangalore, 3:00 it's my home church where I've been for 50 years. They decided to celebrate my 80th birthday. I didn't know that it was a big more than one hour one or two hour celebration. Celebration meant different people got up and uh said nice things 3:17 about me. Well, what else do you do on his 80th birthday? You say some nice things and and it was all such an appreciation and all that and I I I appreciated their sincerity but I felt at the end of it all I can't close this meeting with all these people 3:35 think this is some super saint over here whose life I can never attain to. It's completely wrong. So, at the end of it, I said, "Give me time to do one thing." And I called my four sons and I said, "We're going to sing a song that I wrote 3:51 called I'm Only a Sinner, Saved by Grace." And so, we got up there and sang those two verses of I'm only a sinner, saved by grace. And if you could know the rotten, wretched sinner I was when I came to Christ, it's what a difference God has made now 4:08 in my life. I'm a sinner saved by grace. So that is our testimony till the end of our life. Brothers, we are sinners saved by the grace of God. And we'll never be anything more than that till the end of our life. But that doesn't mean we're 4:22 keeping on sinning. We are fed up with our sinning. And we seek to overcome. And if you're seeking to overcome with all your heart, you're on the right track. Then you can rejoice even if you haven't overcome everything. And think 4:37 of yourself like a kindergarten student who's come to the first grade. You got a long way to go to become a post-graduate PhD or something like that. But you're moving forward. You must be happy. I believe we must be happy Christians wherever we are. And 4:57 a happiness that comes from deep within in our heart. And part of it comes by ensuring that we don't have anything in our heart against any human being. That's one thing I want to emphasize before we proceed into the questions 5:12 right now. Be honest with yourself. You don't have to answer me. Answer God. Do you have anything in your heart right now against anybody? Start with the innermost circle against your wife. Maybe she may have done horrible things 5:31 to you. Have you forgiven her? Are you keeping some grudge against her? All of you answer that to God against one of your children who treated you badly. Have you forgiven them? You are a sinner just like them. Forgive them. Don't you want God to 5:48 forgive you? The Lord said, "I will not forgive you if you don't forgive others." So forgive at least for that sake. The best thing is you forgive because it's the right thing to do. Second best is I forgive because I want God to 6:00 forgive me. I think that's a pretty selfish reason. I want God to forgive me, so I'll forgive that guy. I hate the sight of him, but I'll forgive him because I want God to forgive me. It's not the right way. It's the second best 6:11 way. The best way is I'm a sinner. God's forgiven me so much. I must forgive other people. Please take that attitude right now towards anyone who you have got a hatred or a bitterness against. Please go away from this conference a 6:26 different person. I don't care what that person did to you. I don't care how much evil that person did to you. Remember the greatest crime ever committed on this earth was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And as soon as he was put up in the 6:43 grace and the cross was put into that ground, his first words were, "Father, forgive them." They don't know what a terrible sin they have just committed. They don't know. You think you don't know what you're doing when you hammer 6:56 nails into a person's hand? Of course, they knew what they were doing, but they didn't know how serious it was. They didn't know this was the son of God. This didn't they didn't know this was their creator. They didn't know that 7:07 this was the person who was dying for their sins. They didn't know all that. Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. And I want to tell you, the people who have wronged you, I don't know who they are. They don't realize 7:21 what a terrible thing they have done by hurting a child of God. You're a child of God. And that's a terrible thing to hurt a child of God. They don't know that. Forgive them. Follow the footsteps of 7:39 Jesus. Forgive them right now in your heart. Say, "Lord, I forgive that person." If one person comes to your mind, another person comes to your mind, "Lord, I forgive that person. forgive that person. So before we go into the 7:51 questions I want you to bow your heads for a moment of prayer. While our heads are bowed silently every name there may be 100 people whom you heard but two or three names come up to your mind. Think of only those who you have something against. 8:15 Maybe he cheated you, robbed you, stole your money or c caused a whole lot of problems for you, threatened you, maybe took you to court, all types of things. I faced all of that. Dear brother, in your own interest, for your own spiritual growth 8:35 so that you can become a better person before you get up from that chair, forgive them. Just say, "Lord, I forgive them right now." And if necessary, I name name them to the Lord 8:50 silently. This person, that person, this person, the other one, I forgive them in Jesus name. And I mean it. Lord, please help me to retain the spirit of forgiveness towards them till the end of my life. I 9:10 never want to go back from this position. I want to remain here and make progress. Thank you, Father, for hearing me. I mean what I say, Lord. You know, my heart is sincere. I want to be a better person. I want to go away from this 9:26 conference a completely changed person, a little more higher in the heavenlies. And I want to begin with forgiveness. I forgive completely. Thank you. You now cleanse me in your blood from all my unforgiving spirit and give me the 9:44 strength to retain this till the end of my life and make spiritual progress. You have forgiven me so much, Lord. I'll never know till I see you face to face the depth of my sin, the depth of my wickedness, and you forgive it all in 9:59 one moment. I want to be like that to everybody. Help me. Thank you, Father, in Jesus name. Amen. Praise the Lord. That's a good way to begin. Please remain there all your life. Okay. Many claim that 10:20 they are baptized in the Holy Spirit. They when they first spoke in tongues, what is a sign that I receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Jesus said very clearly, you shall receive power. That's what Jesus said, not tongues. Please go by 10:34 the words of Jesus and not by the testimony of anybody else. Acts 1 verse8 is very clear. When the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you shall receive power. Power for what? To be not to bear witness but to be my witness. That means 10:51 your life. So I believe the power of the Holy Spirit is something that makes you gives you power by your life to be a witness for Jesus Christ. Even if you never speak in tonesues in your whole life, speaking in tonesues is a gift. To 11:08 ask for it is like saying, "Give me the gift of healing. Give me the gift of raising the dead." No, don't ask for such things. God will give you whatever gift he wants you to have. And he will not give you the gifts which he thinks 11:20 will ruin you. So you say, "Lord, thank you for forgiving me. That is the greatest gift I want. and help me to reflect you in my life and give me the power of the Holy Spirit to be your witness. That's what he says here. You 11:34 shall receive power to be my witness. That is the mark of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Now, it may be in different ways that you're a witness. In my case, it is by preaching I'm a witness. In your case, it may be something else. But 11:44 be a witness in your place of work. and ask the Lord and don't be deceived by people saying other things because it says very clearly do all speak in tongues it so clearly let me just show you that verse so that you know it when 11:59 if people ask you that question one Corinthians and uh verse chapter 12 verse 30 all do not speak with tongues what more do you want middle of 1 Corinthians 12:30 30. The Apostle Paul 12:17 says, "All do not speak in tongues." Very clear. Okay. Next question. About 3 years ago, I was gripped by the truths and went through verse by verse in less than a year, but now it's all dry with sin, pride, and no longing for God, 12:33 word, etc. Have I lost my salvation? No, you're not lost your salvation, but you lost your love for the Lord. First of all, make sure you're really born again. Have you come to the Lord Jesus as a sinner and said, "Lord, I don't deserve 12:47 anything. I des don't don't deserve forgiveness. I'm a sinner. I acknowledge you don't have to make a list of all your sins because you cannot do it. There are too many. I'm a sinner. Lord, I but you died for all my sins. The ones 12:58 I remember and the ones I don't remember. And I want you to forgive me. Please have mercy on me. Forgive me. Cleanse me in the blood you shed on the cross. Come and live in my heart." You are, if you said that sincerely, you're 13:08 born again. And don't doubt it. And now we are talking about spiritual growth. For spiritual growth, you must read God's word and talk to the Lord every day and seek fellowship with God's saints. And uh if you do that, you will 13:23 grow spiritually. Knowledge of the word is good, but it's not. You you studied verse by verse through the Bible. Excellent. Do you know that for 1400 years people never had a Bible like this? How could they study verse by verse? But there were 13:38 some very fine saints in those 1400 years even though there was no printed Bible. So that teaches us it's the Holy Spirit who helps us to be spiritual. Not knowing the Bible. Knowing the Bible is very good but there are lots of people 13:50 who know the Bible who go to hell. So knowing the Bible is good but don't make that primary. It's a godly life that you must seek for. Next question. How can I know that I'm submitted to Christ's authority? I feel my godly authority is 14:03 not backed by God in my home. my conscience is clear and I continue to take up my cross and serve my family. If your conscience is clear, don't worry what other people think about you. Just live before God's face. Don't condemn 14:18 yourself. Where does the Bible say that we will have you know people have often told asked me this question? I have said that don't go to heaven and have regret in heaven that you should have lived a little better here on earth. And uh 14:34 because nowhere in the Bible does say we'll have regrets. It says he'll wipe away all tears from our eyes according to Revelation 21. I agree. He'll wipe away tears from our eyes. I'm not talking about other people. I talk about 14:46 myself. If I live for myself and I feel Christ has forgiven me. I'm absolutely sure of that. I'm not seeking to harm anybody else. I'm not seeking to hurt anyone to the best of my knowledge. I'm seeking to live free from conscious 15:04 sin. That's all I can be. I'm not deliberately trying to speak evil. I don't want to backbite. I don't want to gossip. I keep control of my tongue and I keep control of my eyes and I seek to do good I wherever I can help the poor. 15:21 But I live for myself. My aim in life is to live for myself, enjoy myself and uh do the don't do any inconvenient don't take up any too much problem trouble in serving the lord or anything just live for myself keep a clear conscience I believe I will have 15:40 tremendous regret for myself I'm not talking about you I feel I'll have regret in eternity when I see how much Jesus suffered for me and I see what a selfish self-seeking life I lived on earth and I see my savior what he went through that 15:58 day it'll grip me how much he went through I will have definitely I'll have regret I don't know about you I don't want a verse in the Bible for it and if you feel you'll have no regrets God bless you but I don't want to go to 16:12 heaven like that because I don't want to go to heaven and say oh I wish I had lived a little better you know our memory will not go away in heaven we will remember our entire life on earth much better than we can remember now. 16:27 Our memory is very weak now. You cannot remember. I can't remember all the things I did when I was three years old and four years old and 5 years old. When I get to heaven, my memory will be cleansed and made perfect. I will 16:38 remember every single incident from the time I was a baby till the end of my life. Everything will be in my memory crystal clear like on a on a video screen. And I look at those incidents, you think I won't have regret? I'll have 16:55 a lot of regret. That is why I say, Lord, I want to make up for the time lost by doing whatever I can for you. I know it's all cleansed in the blood. I know that's why I'm in God's kingdom, but I want to make up for the years that 17:10 I've lost in living for myself. That's what I feel. Okay. Next question is, I attend a CFC church, and I know the elders love the Lord and love us in the church, but the messages are not engaging. They are boring. I don't want to judge these 17:29 godly brothers, but I'm not sure what to do. Well, I'll tell you honestly, it is true. A lot of messages I've also heard are boring. But instead of judging, I see that man doesn't have a gift. What to do? He's a sincere man. Do you know do you believe 17:44 a man can be absolutely sincere in his life and have no gift of preaching? I believe that I met some very sincere Christians very sincere. You put them in the pulpit in 3 minutes they become boring honestly. But he's such a sincere honest 18:01 humble man. He doesn't have the gift of speaking. And there are other people who can speak so well and whose lives are not straightforward. I'd rather choose that other person who can't speak but whose lives are straightforward. So 18:12 don't expect that every person who gets into the pulpit has a gift of speaking. If you are called to preach, I give you one bit of advice. Evaluate every sermon you preach. My testimony is this. Almost every single sermon I preach, 18:30 almost every I try to listen to it again. When I go home on YouTube, it's there. I listen to it and see where did I not speak something clearly where did I boast perhaps foolishly 18:48 please help me to do it better next time I keep working on it you know that's how we improve in anything person who's playing any game why do they practice so much they want to throw basketball or soccer or anything they keep practicing so they 19:03 want to improve and I feel a lot of people who preach do not judge themselves They don't examine, they don't evaluate themselves. And that's why they remain the same boring preachers they are all their life. But pray for them. So next 19:17 time you before you criticize your elder, ask yourself, did you pray for him? Do you pray that he'll have light that God will have mercy on him? And then if his life is good, forgive him for not being a good speaker. But you 19:31 can go and gently speak to him if you know him well. Brother, I respect you tremendously for your life. To tell you honestly, you're quite boring when you get up and speak. So, please will can you I'm not telling you not to speak, 19:43 brother, but try and be a bit briefer. Instead of speaking for one hour, try and speak 15 minutes. Everybody will enjoy what you're saying. And uh if you get two or three others also to say the same thing to them, maybe he'll change. 19:58 Okay? It's something like this. You see a black mark on my face. Will you tell me about it? Some charcoal came on my face. Oh, he's an elder. I better not speak to him. Rubbish. You're helping me because I can't see that. 20:14 Do you know that many people who speak boring messages, they don't have a clue that they're boring. It's like a mark on their face. They don't see it. If you know him well enough, tell him. But if you don't know him well enough, then 20:27 don't try. Okay. uh James 3:17 um says about being reasonable. How do I grow up in this relationship with others especially in the family while being uncompromising in God's ways? How do I know when to yield and when not? See 20:46 this uncompromising remember grace and truth uh where the glory of God is seen. You must remember this verse always. John 1:14. The glory of God was seen in Jesus 21:01 Christ. John 1:14 that is full of grace and truth. Is truth essential? Yes. But truth without grace is repulsive. And the best example I can use is 21:18 truth is like the bones in our body. Grace is like the flesh on top. Think of a person has got holy bones. It's like a skeleton walking up to you. Some believers are like that. You're so 21:36 repelled. It's all truth. Every one of those bones, I don't know, there are some 200 or something bones in our body and you speak for all the truth in the Bible. It turns people away. And there's people can say, "Brother, I spoke the 21:49 truth. Why did they run away?" I said because God has made us such there's flesh on top of the bones. That's why people don't run away from us. Otherwise, it's exactly like a skeleton walking up to you and saying all these 22:01 bones were created by God. All the truths I'm speaking are from God. But that's not the way to speak. Grace is what covers and that's what makes you know you put your hand around a doorork knob. If it were all bones, you don't 22:14 you're not able to hold it properly. But God's put flesh on top of the bones so it fits around even a doorork knob. And the same way, if you're only grace, all flesh, you won't even be able to stand up. You'll just collapse as soon 22:26 as you stand up. See the balance there is. And it says in John 1:14, "The glory of God was seen in Jesus full of grace and truth, flesh and bones, and it makes you attractive. So we need to help people to see that." And I I believe 22:43 that we should seek for that ourselves. Um sometimes God places a burden on me to pray and be a light for my family. But after something happening happens with my family members that disturbs or discourages me. How to get past this? 23:01 Well, I'll tell you the thing which I told you just now about forgiving others. The thing that's helped me the most to forgive others is to think how much I've hurt Jesus in my life. Meditate much. I do that many times. the 23:13 sins that God forgave me ages ago. I think about it again. Lord, those terrible things I did, you forgave me so freely. You don't even mention it. You say, "I will not even remember it for all eternity." Lord, please, I'm so 23:28 thankful to you. Help me to be like that to others. The memory remind remember remembering reminding yourself of what God has done for you is the way to be good to other people. How do I identify the areas where I'm not under authority? If I examine 23:42 myself, I don't see I'm consciously disobeying any authority. Uh, whatever I did set I said things right. Well, if you're not conscious of anything, nothing wrong with it. But ask God to give you more and more light. Remember 23:53 this. The level of our understanding of sin should keep increasing. If I have not discovered anything new sin in my life in the last one year, I'm not growing. 24:11 Let me tell you that plainly because there's a lot of unconscious sin in us. Conscious sin is easy. We confess it, it's gone. Unconscious, there's a lot of sin. I use the example of an ice cube. An ice cube in a glass of grape juice. 24:29 You cannot see 90% of it. It's under the surface of the grape juice. Only 10% you can see. That's a picture of our sin. 10% of the sin in your life you can see. So don't think you're so holy. 90% of sin in your life, you cannot see. 24:46 But someone who is more spiritual than you can see it. Maybe he's so gracious that he doesn't tell you because it will discourage you. But he can see it. I can see glaring sin in some believers. But I don't tell them because I say the 24:58 guy is not mature enough to see it yet. 90% and I'm sure the same way the other people are more mature than me will be able to see things in me I don't see myself. But if you are honest to acknowledge that my life is like an ice 25:10 cube. 90% of the sin in my life I don't see. I only see 10%. How will I grow spiritually? I'll tell you. Use the same illustration. If you could take a sharp knife and cut off that top 10% of that ice cube, what will happen? 25:27 Remove it. Something underneath will come up. Exactly. deal with the sin that you see in your life consciously. And as you deal with it, you'll suddenly see something new that you never even knew was wrong in your life. And you 25:46 deal with that and you'll see something new. This is spiritual growth. And if you're need not dealing with what you know, there'll never be spiritual growth in your life. A student in the kindergarten does everything. Learns that 2 + 2 is 26:02 four and b a t is bat and words like that and 3 - 3 is zero. Gets 100%. It's promoted to the first grade. And there they have to learn two multiplied by three. What is that? Oh, I never heard of two 26:22 multiplication. I only knew about addition. Aha, I'm learning something more. Same principle. I deal with what I know, then I learn something more. And they've learned a little bit of multiplication then in the first standard and then they go to division in 26:35 the next level. Education is a constant growth. Then you learn geometry and trigonometry and calculus and all types of things. In the same way in our Christian life, we should be growing more and more and more and more. 26:52 Evaluate yourself over the last one or two years. Ask yourself in the last one or two years. Have you discovered some uncristlikeness in your life that you never saw before? Praise the Lord. You're growing. If you say, "No, I haven't seen anything wrong 27:11 in my life." Rather, judge yourself a little more and go before God and ask God to give you light. Don't condemn yourself but ask God to give you light. Uh sometimes God gives me a real burden to pray for others to be a light in my 27:29 family but after something happens I discourages me how to get past this. Put the discouragement behind you and press on. We're all imperfect people on this earth. So be merciful to others. How to identify the areas where I'm not. We 27:45 covered this. Uh what does masculinity and being a man mean from a Christian perspective? Men must be men and women must be women. Masculinity means what? To be bold and um to stand for the truth. Women should also be standing for the truth. But God 28:04 has given men the place of leadership. Man must be the leader in a home and the leader in a church must be always men. Women are not given leadership in a church. So masculinity is to be a leader by example, 28:21 not by shouting and yelling like some military sergeant. No, by example. That is true masculinity. Okay. Revelation 19:10 says that those who have the testimony of Jesus, worship God for the testimony of Jesus, spirit of prophecy. What is a testimony 28:41 of Jesus? That is to proclaim Jesus Christ to testify who Jesus Christ is the son of God and unashamedly. That is the spirit of prophecy is to proclaim Christ not a doctrine. That is the primary and not to prophesy over 28:58 other people. A lot of people prophecy they prophesy over this God will do this. That is not prophecy. Prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. Revelation 19:10 is clear. To proclaim Christ. That is New Testament prophecy. We are not like 29:11 the Old Testament prophets who predict the future or expose people's sins. No. U Why did Barnabas have a falling out with Paul if he had been baptized in the Holy Spirit? Sure, people can be baptized in the Holy Spirit and 29:26 backslide. And I believe Barnabas, my conviction is God had selected Paul and Barnabas to work together and they went out together. Halfway through they first of all they took Mark along with them. Barnabas's cousin or nephew or whatever he is. 29:44 They should not have taken him because God did not call Mark and he went halfway along. Maybe because he was Barnabas's nephew or cousin, he said, "Paul, let's take him also along." And Paul agreed, but the chap dropped out. 29:58 As soon as he saw the one chap being rebuked by the Paul and the guy becoming blind, he said, "Oh, I better go away from here." and he ran away and Paul said, "We can't take this guy again." Barnabas said, "No, no, we must take him 30:14 and he had a fight with Paul and they separated." Can you imagine separating from a man whom God called to work with you just because you want to take your cousin or your nephew with you? That was absolutely wrong on Barnabas's part. You 30:28 read that in Acts 15. What is the result? I never read Barnabas's name again in the Acts of the Apostles. Never. But I see Paul again and again and again. So I know who was right and I see clearly don't ever support your 30:42 relatives against a man of God. That's a lesson I learned from that. Okay? Whether you're baptized in the spirit or not, don't ever support don't be partial towards your relatives. There's a common tendency among many many Christians that when their 30:58 relatives do something wrong, they try to cover it up. Don't be partial towards your relatives. That is the message you can learn from Barnabas supporting Mark fighting with Paul and never again being heard of in the Acts of the Apostles 31:12 after that. Okay. Uh is it appropriate for a woman to ask a man she's interested in about his current past pornographic use? I don't think it's right because you may not marry that man. Then what happens? Why should you know about somebody 31:28 else's pornographic use if you're not going to marry him? I think we must be wise. Ask your elder brother or your father or someone to inquire in those things. I don't think a woman should go and ask a man any such question. She may she may want to know 31:43 is this chap man who's always involved in sexual things. Better to ask your father or an elder brother to go and make such inquiries. And what should a man do if he's interested in a woman who's had a sexual past, evil past? Should that disqualify 31:59 her or should that her repentance and change behavior be considered? Definitely. Uh if Jesus could invite Mary Magdalene to be the first person to come and see his resurrection, her past was forgiven obviously. But so I believe the person's past can 32:15 be forgiven. But there must be proof of it. There must be some evidence that this prostitute has really thoroughly changed. So then it is possible definitely it's possible if m Mary Magdalene who was sexually wrong and had seven demons 32:30 could be so spiritual as to be the first to see the resurrected Christ it's an example then anybody can change but we have to be sure because there are some people who uh claim to be changed I believe you know the woman who was 32:42 caught in adultery and brought to Jesus and they wanted Jesus to stone her is a law you must stone her why didn't Jesus stone her I think Jesus had discernment being the son of God, he could see that this woman had really repented. So 32:57 there's no need for stone her. So that's why I believe Jesus let her go. So we need to seek for that discernment. Uh is it considered a sin for two people to live together and have sex with the intention of getting married in the 33:14 future? It's a ridiculous question. You can't have sex until you get married to a person. Marriage commitment to that person is first and then comes physical union. What is the best advice I can give to a brother or sister who's addicted to 33:30 alcohol? Give it up. Seek run away from it when you're tempted by it. Don't have friends who drink. Avoid being with friends who are alcoholics. For a long time, I've been struggling with the spirit of rejection and timidity. That's personality. These 33:47 feelings have deeply affected my life, creating barriers that prevent me from being the person I want to be. See, we all have temperaments. Some people's temperament is very inward-looking and some people are very outgoing, 33:59 happy, lolucky people. I remember reading a little book that helped me a lot called spirit controlled temperament. And I learned from there that everybody's got defects in their temperament. That outgoing chap who's very outgoing and very friendly with 34:14 other people, he's got defects in his temperament, too. He he's a person who cannot be committed trusted with a job to do it perfectly. But you go to this inward-looking person and you give him a job to do, he'll do it perfectly. But he's not the outgoing 34:26 friendly type. These are defects in our temperaments. But the Holy Spirit comes to help us to overcome those particular defects in our temperament that are uncristlike. And that helped me tremendously because I was a very very 34:39 inward-looking person all the time in my younger days. Anyone who knew me, even when I was in the military, it was very inward-looking. And anyone who knew me those days would say that when I learned, I read that everybody's got a 34:53 temperament. That guy who's outgoing is careless in his private life. I was very careful in my private life, but I was not outgoing and friendly. So I saw that he needs to overcome his fail weakness and I need to overcome mine. And I said, 35:07 Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit to overcome my weakness. and I want to be more friendly. I'm still not perfect in that area. I'm still pressing on. But whatever your temperament and weaknesses, the Holy Spirit has come to 35:19 help you to overcome that weakness. Please remember that. Um, what is your marriage view on remarage? If the couple had a divorce that is 35:35 allowed by Jesus' exception in Matthew, you I would say each divorce is a special case. You need to consider all the factors. You need to go to a elder brother who's godly and mention all the factors 35:54 in in the divorce. For example, I want to tell you one thing. If you read all the statements of Jesus on divorce in the gospels, Matthew and Mark especially and log Luke, all the statements of divorce, you never see about Jesus mentioning 36:12 about a woman divorcing a man. Have you noticed that he's always if a man divorces his wife, a man divorces, what about if a woman divorces a man? It's not even mentioned once. So that seems to be in a different category. 36:27 I'm not making a law in that. But if a woman has divorced a man, I think he's a little more free than if he has divorced his wife. That's my understanding. But you still need to seek counsel before you take my word and say, "Brother Zach said this in 36:43 the meeting, so I can go ahead and marry again." Don't don't don't misquote me. I'm just saying consider this as a factor and go to God. And if it is not your fault and some woman just said I don't want to have you, you go to God 36:59 and God will guide you. Uh the Ethiopian as parents we get discouraged when we are condemned by family or friends over disciplining our children sometime. Oh, forget about them. Forget what family and friends say. You have to discipline 37:16 your children. Bring them up. I was a very strict disciplinarian for all my four sons and sometimes when they were young they were angry with me about my discipline but as they grew up I my discipline stopped with them at a certain age I mean once a 37:33 child crosses 10 or 12 you don't discipline them physically but you still can discipline them in other ways like I'm sorry you're not allowed to go and play today play any games today sit down at home that form of discipline is also 37:47 there. But correction sometimes requires discipline and we are not to be bothered by what other people say. The Ethiopian unic and the Cornelius who listened Peter's teaching 3,000 of them were converted 38:05 after listening to a single sermon. Today we hear sermons week after week and read the Bible and progress is not noticeable. I think there is a reason if 3,000 people on the day of Pentecost traveled such a long distance. First of all, they 38:21 were God-fearing Jews. They were not all Gentiles. Every one of them was a Jew who came for some feast there festival in Jerusalem. They had some desire for God and fear of God. And that's how they came with ready-made hearts. And there 38:38 was an unusual anointing. It's the first time the Holy Spirit fell upon these disciples and was an unusual anointing on Peter's message and that's how they all got converted. In the same way in the case of the Ethiopian unic God 38:53 specifically asked Philillip to go there which means that man's heart was already prepared. So that's why such people needed just one sermon but we're not always talking to people with that type of who are ready like that. That's the 39:06 reason why sometimes people need to hear many times before they're converted. How can we be under authority when parents, elders, governments are corrupt? Yeah. Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Elijah stood against the authority of 39:23 their time. That's right. If they ask you to do something, I was in the Navy and I had an authority over me. But when they asked me to do something wrong, I said, "Sorry, sir. I can't do that." For example, I'll give you one one example 39:35 among many. I was in charge of all the boats in the naval base in Kochin in India. That's one of the towns in India. And I was the one who authorized if somebody used it and people to use it and they had to pay for it. 39:52 But uh my commander who's the second in command said lift and punin when the commanding officer uses the boat for his family picnic don't write it as family picnic write it as harbor inspection so that he 40:09 doesn't have to pay for it. So the commanding officer took the boat and I sent him a bill saying a family picnic and that captain had never got a bill from any boat officer before that and he he I'm too junior for him to call me. He 40:27 called his second in command. He says what is this that Lieutenant Pun has sent me? And so the commander called me and said didn't the previous boat officer tell you not to send such a bill sir he took it for a picnic so I had to 40:39 send him. The commander could not tell me tell a write a lie. He did something else. He transferred me in half an hour to some other place. Okay, I'm willing to face that. But I they knew that I would stand for the truth. 40:56 So we have to stand for the truth. But even if other people are corrupt against us, but we don't deliberately go against authority. That's wrong. If they ask you to do a difficult task, you don't say I won't do it. You have to do it. 41:11 And when they he transferred me in half an hour, I was transferred from that position because they wanted somebody else who tell make those false statements. I said, "Okay, I'll take it." When you stand up for the truth, 41:20 you must be willing to suffer the consequences. And I was willing to suffer the consequence. I'm willing to be transferred. I was willing to be inconvenienced. I was willing to be given a bad report that he's not a good 41:31 officer. I was willing for my promotion to be canceled. Everything. I'm willing for anything for standing up for the truth. You must be willing for anything. Okay. Um, Christ gives us authority over demons, but Paul handed over a man to 41:45 Satan. What does Paul's actually doing there? And what do we say, readers who read that as a warrant to invoke demons? You don't have a right to invoke demons on the flock. Paul had a spiritual authority which I've hardly met anybody 41:58 in my life who has the level of spiritual authority that Paul had. So, let's not ordinary brothers try to take that type of authority that Paul had. Paul is a man who I mean think of the authority with which he established 42:10 churches all over the Asia Minor. I mean God had backed him up so much. He had such spiritual authority. I respect such a man whom God has used to plant so many churches and with such a when he does something don't try to imitate him. I 42:25 don't try to imitate Paul. He had an authority that I don't have. We must all recognize the measure of authority God has given us and live within that. He had the authority to hand a man over to Satan because the guy was living 42:37 sleeping with his stepmother. And I believe Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to do it. And but then because of that the man repented. You read in second Corinthians that the chap changed. Okay. Can a born again Christian be oppressed by the 42:53 devil? Not demonp possessed but bothered and harassed? Yes, he can be if he does not know how to resist the devil. But if you resist the devil in Jesus name, a time will come when the devil will stop bothering him. Even after I was born 43:07 again, I used to be I didn't know the authority I had over Satan. And uh I didn't know but then I gradually discovered I found that I would resist him and Satan knew that I had authority over him. The Bible says in Revelation 43:20 12, they overcame him. You know that verse, Satan, the accuser, they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony. Not testimony in the meeting. Testimony to the devil. Satan, you got no authority over me. I resist you in Jesus 43:38 name. Get away from here. You believe he listen to you. You don't believe it. It will not happen. But if you believe that he was defeated on the cross and you say it and he listens to you, he knows that you know you got he's got 43:52 a you got authority over him. He knows that. So if you don't know it, you will keep on being oppressed unnecessarily. Okay. Can we teach our children karate or something for their safety and security especially because to teach 44:07 self-defense is okay. But some of these Chinese, Japanese uh forms of self-defense have got a little element of the demonic in their origin. So I would be careful of that. If it is just the physical part to protect yourself when somebody comes to 44:27 fight with you and you want to help your children, especially young girls, it's perfectly all right to learn them. But make sure it doesn't get far as the uh demonic. For example, I've heard that when you go to these places, you're 44:42 going to bow down before the person who teaches you. I don't think we should bow down to any human being. We bow down only before the Lord. Is that an act of worship? Then I should avoid it. If it is not an act act of worship but 44:57 just respect, it's okay. Even some people bow their heads in respect for a person that's okay. But if it's an act of worship, then it is different. So I don't know how it is in these karate classes and there's something else like that which Korean 45:14 it's also it sometimes that involves worshiping the teacher I should avoid that okay we are called to be leaders in our home but my wife is slowly moving away from God's word and does not respect her husband's leading and if you have 45:31 difference of options regarding options must be opinions regarding being separated ated from how can I lead my home for the Lord's glory. You got to pray and pray that your wife will change. If your wife is stubborn and 45:45 evil, you should pray that she will not think of separation because that's evil. Those whom God is united should not be separated. Prayer can accomplish a lot. But sometimes even in prayer if a person is evil and stubborn 46:01 they leave. What can you do? But you should not be responsible. That doesn't mean you give up the headship of the home, but it does mean that you are an example in your life and you forgive and that it's not that your behavior makes her fed up with you and 46:16 want to divorce you. What should someone do if the elders in a church are not setting a good example and so you don't feel comfortable having them to bless your marriage? Don't ask them. Go and ask somebody else. Simple. 46:31 Don't ask them to bless your marriage. Ask somebody else to do it. In a situation where a man marries a woman, leaves and leaves abroad without consummating the marriage, leaves her, that means they didn't consummate the 46:44 marriage but got legally married and keeps in touch for a few years and then cuts off all communication and marries somebody else. Is it fair for that woman to remain unmarried for life? See these are individual cases where you got to 47:00 consider all the factors and you get an elder to consider and in some cases it may be perfectly all right for that woman to be married. Again in some cases it may not be. So you got to think of all the factors. We cannot give a 47:13 standard answer. What are some keys to overcoming anger? You got to develop the habit of dying to self. When people are angry with you or do something to you, you say I use this example. What is the meaning of dying to self 47:32 which we speak so much in the church? The example I always use is here's a dead man here. Imitate him. Somebody tells him you're a good for nothing rotten useless fellow. Not a change in his expression. He's still smiling. 47:51 You praise him. Boy, you're the greatest prophet I have ever met. No change expression. That is what it means to die to self. Think of an example of a dead man. What is his response to your words? If you kick him or whatever you do, praise him, 48:09 criticize him. Very few people understand what dying to self is. Here is the best example which I have practiced myself and which I've taught others. Think of a dead man. What will be his reaction? If you want to know what debt to self is, 48:25 if you get angry with him, what is his reaction? Uh my left my wife left me and divorced me and all. I did all I could to fight for my marriage and I lost everything. I'm single now for the first time. Struggling with temptation and am I 48:43 allowed to marry again? I would say you go to a elder brother and consult him and I would say go by his advice. I would say there's a possibility you know but you know in such a case I would say don't get married in a church go to 48:59 a civil court and get married and I would say to such a person that you should never take any responsibility in any church. I would not allow such a person to be an elder because the Bible says an elder must have only one wife 49:10 and I would not allow such a person to have any responsibility to preach in a church. But in some cases if depending on the circumstances we may permit him to marry again because it his wife who left him and she divorced him not he did 49:25 not divorce her. Uh but I wouldn't make that a law. I'd say each case must be considered individually. What's the difference between punishment and discipline? In disciplining children, it's what is your intention? Is it just 49:42 to get rid of your anger? That's punishment. Discipline is I want to change that son of mine to become a better person. What is your motive? That is what determines whether it is punishment or discipline. If you have may have a decision for personal 49:57 discipline in your life which are not which is not sinful and you make certain vows to God like for example I'll skip a meal once a week or something like that is a good discipline to fast or some other thing that I'll spend so much time in prayer 50:14 every day very good discipline and if you don't do that one day will you feel condemned no you don't need to feel condemned because you know not disobey the word of God you're just a discipline you made for yourself. Don't condemn 50:26 yourself but seek to practice it and you'll improve in your disciplined life. In the when it says let your yes be yes, does it mean that any mundane worldly thoughts come into your mind or that you're discussed with anyone cannot be 50:43 altered? Can you clarify this? That is verbally the meaning is if you made a promise to somebody you must keep it. That means when I say yes, I mean yes. It's not that I change my mind because circumstances change depending on the circumstance. You seek 51:01 advice from an older person if you're doubtful. I struggle relating to those who profess Christ but live in pride or sexual sin. I don't want to be judgmental but I lack peace in close fellowship with such people. How can I set healthy 51:16 boundaries? Now if a person is proud it's not easy to fellowship with him. I would generally speaking pray for him but seek fellowship with others who are humble and avoid people who are boastful and people are living in sexual sin. If you don't 51:35 have the authority to correct them if you have authority you must correct them. If you don't have that authority just avoid them lest you pollute yourself. I have certain family members who tend to cross boundaries with my children if 51:50 given the opportunity. Is it appropriate to create some distance in order to protect children? Absolutely right. Keep your children away from such relatives and others who cross their boundaries. I have a responsibility to bring up my children 52:04 and I will not allow any relative to interfere with that. I sincerely confess my sins and examine myself thoroughly before taking part in communion. But after a few days I fall into sin and regret for falling. How do I consistently stay free from 52:20 sin? I must not avoid sin just because do I want to take communion? No. Every day I must judge myself and cleanse myself because I want to please the Lord whether I'm taking part in the breaking of bread or not. That's not a that's 52:33 just a helpful line to draw that you take judge yourself before you break bread. But as a wholehearted Christian doesn't do that only when he breaks bread. He does that every day. I judge myself. God is my witness. I judge 52:45 myself every single day and many times a day I wake up in the morning praying to my heavenly father saying Lord fill me with the Holy Spirit and throughout the day many times a day I judge myself. Could I have done that better? Even 52:59 today I say Lord can I do that better? We must live like that every day of our life. uh my wife does not have the same understanding in certain areas and understanding of scriptures as I have and argues with me trying to prove her 53:15 point is correct. Okay? Don't let it get into an heated argument. But if it's a friendly discussion, it's good for your wife to be honest with you and say, "I don't agree with that." And show her the scripture. And if you don't know the 53:29 scripture, find the answer from someone and tell her. But don't let your unity with your wife be dependent on interpretation of scripture. You love your wife because she's m she's your wife and married to her. And even if you defer in the explanation of some 53:44 verse, you must still be loyal and faithful to her. I prayed to be filled with the Holy Spirit for many years, but I still don't have the experience. Constantly defeated by anger and discouragement. What shall I do? Ask God to show you. 54:00 See, when it says about overcoming sin in Romans chapter 6, he doesn't say be filled with the spirit and so you'll overcome sin. How does it see? You study Romans chapter 6. That's the chapter that deals with overcoming sin. When you were 54:16 baptized, you were baptized into the death of Christ. You died with Christ on the cross and you rose again. Therefore, sin will not rule over you because so you need to ask yourself to show you not baptism in the Holy Spirit but Lord show me how I died 54:36 with Christ. Baptism in the Holy Spirit is help me to see how I died with Christ on the cross and sin's power over me is broken because of that. That is how we are free. Read Romans chapter 6. That's the answer. In a bit to show Christlikkeness to my 54:53 children, I sometimes allow them to choose whatever meal they want to eat, whatever treat they want before I pick my own my own choice. I'm concerned that it's rather creating a spirit of entitlement within them. Yeah. Be wise. 55:06 We all we must definitely give place to little children, not only our own children. If we are in a party, we always allow children to go ahead and our own children also. But that's because they are younger. We always give 55:17 preference to younger people. We give preference to ladies so that they go ahead of us and um that doesn't we should not allow them to think that they can always take advantage of us because of that. We must still be firm with them 55:30 as a father and correct them and lead them to choose the right path. U our young teen kids want to go for Christian concerts. We're not allowing them. We feel because it's mixed with worldly things among other godly things. 55:46 Would you recommend such concerts? Well, you can't say because some concerts are clean all the way through purely Christian. So, it depends on each particular case. If you feel uneasy about it, don't go. Or if you go with 55:59 them after some time, you get up and walk out. If you find that it's going in a wrong direction in submission to husband, can a husband authority extend to the entire sphere and activities of the wife? What extent can an unconverted husband's control be 56:16 in his converted wife's life? Yeah, that's a difficult thing. But a wife needs to have a lot of wisdom there. If the husband asks you to do something against your conscience, you have to say, "Darling, I can't do that. I'm a Christian. I love you very much, 56:33 but that goes against my conscience. Please don't ask me to do that." Do do say it in a gentle way. Don't say, "Who the hell are you to talk to me like that?" That's not the I'm a child of God. If you're a child of God, you won't 56:45 speak like that. See, it's all a question of how you speak to your husband, you know. So, if you say it graciously, humbly, that's part of your Christian testimony. My wife's family is Hindu. Can I send my 57:03 children there to stay there? Very dangerous. I say be very careful in allowing your children to go and stay in some relative's home. Go with them. Put some boundaries for them when they go into an unconverted 57:19 relatives home. Protect your children. So many young children, I know it's true in India and in the West are sent innocently to stay with one of their relatives, uncle's home or something like that. And that's the time 57:38 they are molested sexually by somebody and their first experience of being forced to some type of sexual molestation as a boy or a girl homosexually happens there and it scars them for life. 57:57 Be very careful. Many many testimonies have come of people who were molested in the homes of their uncles and aunts. They were sent there to stay overnight or stay a couple of days. Be extremely careful. Be very very careful. You have a you 58:15 have a responsibility as a parent to protect your innocent children because they don't know these things. They don't know what sexual evil is and people do something to them saying this is an expression of my love or something like 58:26 that and they believe it and they are ruined. So don't ever permit it. protect your children as new as new covenant believers. Can we circumcise our male children? Circumcision is was a religious act for the Jews, but it's physically done for 58:45 health purposes. So, a doctor will tell you what that is. There's nothing wrong in it. I'm trying to overcome being critical of others, especially my family members. I want a clear conscience before God and man. But sometimes I 58:58 don't know to what extent to set things right with others. Things that stem from wrong attitudes. If you keep your attitude right, I believe it's right to correct where there's something wrong. But if you don't have responsibility for 59:11 someone, don't try to correct. If it is your own family member and you're the head of the home or you're the wife, you got a right to mother, you got a right to correct your children. See whether that person is within your sphere of 59:22 responsibility. If it's a mother, your children are within your sphere. If you're a father, within your sphere. Some of those other children are not in your sphere of responsibility. Don't try correcting them. Um, do I apologize to others for being 59:38 in a bad mood? If I'm still struggling, no, you don't have to apologize for if you have not hurt them. But if everybody's having a good time and you sit there with a long glum face, you probably need to apologize later on and 59:50 say, "I'm sorry that I spoiled all your mood that day with my long face." There's nothing wrong in acknowledging that. Or go away from there. Don't spoil their atmosphere by your long face there. Even if you didn't say anything 1:00:04 angrily. Uh and even with your wife, if you sit there with a long face, it's nothing wrong. Maybe something was worrying you. And so tell tell your wife, "Darling, I'm sorry I sat the long face. Something was on my mind. I'm 1:00:21 really sorry that I sat there with a long face. There's nothing wrong. And it's very good to apologize for that to your wife or anybody. Can you help to know how to distinguish between the life of Christ being manifested through 1:00:32 taking up the cross daily and difference between that and living a disciplined self-controlled life?" It's any amount of self-discipline cannot equal dying with Christ. A person who's dying with Christ will be way above someone who's just disciplining 1:00:47 himself because of motive. The motive there is the glory of God. Here the motive is I want to have a good testimony as a disciplined life or I want to improve my quality of life. That's not why I choose the way of the cross. I choose the way of the cross 1:01:01 because I want to glorify God in my life. There's a world of difference between the two and therefore the result will also be better because if one person can discipline himself and be very proud worthless he physically he'll be fit but he won't 1:01:16 be an easy person to get along with. But when a person chooses death to self for the glory of Christ, it'll be easy to get along with such a person because he's dying to self. In the matter of health, at what time can a disciple of 1:01:29 Jesus see a doctor? Anytime. There's nothing wrong seeing a doctor. God has provided doctors. Medicines are go God's means of health. See all so many medicines in nature. A lot of the medicines we have as pills come from 1:01:46 leaves and things in nature from so many metals etc. So there's nothing wrong in taking medicine and seeing a doctor for anything or a dentist or anything. When the Holy Spirit gives power to have victory over sin, is it a gradual 1:02:05 process to get better? I already told you we seize very little of our life. God deals with that 10% that you can see. Then gradually he'll give you light on that is unseen. That's how we overcome more and more. If I discover 1:02:19 that I have an item in my home after I already bought it in the store, is it unclike to return it to the store for a refund considering the way we buy? Well, that depends on the rules in that store. If many some stores permit you to 1:02:35 return get a refund, take it and uh even if you for any reason you don't want it. Some stores say once you're bought that's it, you can't return it. Then you got to follow the rules in the store. Uh, can I can you explain about God's 1:02:48 imputed righteousness and imparted righteousness? Imputed is what Christ puts into my account and say, "Okay, you're not perfect, but you trusted in me. I put my righteousness to your account. You're clothed with my righteousness. You're accepted before 1:03:03 God." Even though the lower part of the ice cube, you know, the 90% is still there in you. You're considered righteous. That is imputed. Imparted is where that lower part of the ice cube becomes less and less and less and less 1:03:15 as you judge yourself. That is imparted righteousness. If you have unbelieving parents give you a gift without your hinting or asking for it, is it can I take it? Sure, take it. It doesn't matter if they are unbelieving 1:03:29 or not. A parent is a parent and a parent has got every right to give a gift to their children, whoever they are, even if they are atheists or non-Christians. If a working woman is eager to share the gospel with people by giving them some 1:03:43 Christian books but the unbelieving husband refuses to pay give the money for that then I would say don't get into a conflict with your husband just because you want to witness to somebody witness to that person without a book 1:03:56 speak to that person 1 Corinthians 10:13 your God will not allow you to be tested beyond your ability is this promise only about temptation to sin Yes, it is primarily referring to temptation to sin. You will not be tempted beyond your ability. But also 1:04:14 link it with Romans 8:28 which says God will make everything work together for your good to make you Christlike. So that is also to be considered along with this. Ephesians 4 it says lay aside the old self and put on the new self. That 1:04:29 means I put to death this thing which I'm tempted with. Lord, give me the power of the Holy Spirit to put my self-life to death. I'm being tempted to be very bitter against this person. I put it to death just now. Oh, for a little while ago, I asked you all 1:04:45 to just forgive somebody. You are putting to death that unforgiving spirit within you. Very good thing. Uh in are there parts of the Bible that are written only for Jews that don't apply to Christians? Yeah, the Old Testament, 1:05:01 a lot of those commands are not for Christians. You don't have to go killing bulocks and offering incense and all. It's all written for the Jews. It's written for us to learn some things from it. They apply spiritual lessons from 1:05:13 the Old Testament, but they're not for us to obey. How can I remain broken? I find God breaks me many times and I'm helps me to be merciful and but then I don't remain broken. The only way to remain broken is by constantly looking at Christ. We run 1:05:29 the race looking unto Jesus all the time. My eyes must be fixed on Jesus. When I drifted away, I come back and say, "Lord, how did you live your life? You took up the cross and followed. I want to follow you." Okay. Uh whenever I hear about Babylon, 1:05:45 it makes me angry and a lot of the time it turns into wrong attitude towards other Christians. How can I grow in this? When you see other Christians in Babylon, don't get angry with them. You got to feel sorry for them. Once upon a 1:05:56 time, you were also there. God pulled you out of it. So we have to have compassion on people who haven't understood what it means to be in a false Christian system. Okay? There's no use being angry with them. If I'm in my late 20s and my 1:06:12 mother and father are separated, hearing about family life, I sometimes try and apply this to myself at home with my mother and sometimes makes mistakes. See, if you're in late 20s, you're an adult. If you're 27 years old or 29 1:06:28 years old, your mother must recognize you as an adult and you're living with your mother. There's nothing wrong in saying, "Mom, I don't think I should do that. Please excuse me, but don't be rude to her." But you're an adult. 1:06:42 You're not a four-year-old child. Be wise. If you say say things gently in instead of rudely, many problems are solved. How should I approach submission to my parents in my home if in my late 20s and if my parents are not spiritually 1:07:00 minded? Wherever it disturbs your conscience, say, "Dad, mom, excuse me, but my conscience doesn't permit me. Please allow me not to do that. You're asking me to do or be gracious always when speaking because after all, they 1:07:15 are your parents. They brought you up when you were a little child. So always be respectful to your parents even if you're much older. uh how to respond to a mother-in-law who's a Catholic and wants me to take her to her church. Does 1:07:32 taking her amount to your supporting? I mean, if you have to drive her because she wants to go to her church and you want to win her to Christ, but she still wants to go there, drop her off and wait in the car outside when she's finished. 1:07:44 Don't go inside. Pick her up when it's over. What is the difference between judging and discerning? Discerning is I'm not saying anything. I discern that that person is not a spiritually minded person. I don't want to mingle too 1:07:56 closely with them. I'll be corrupted. Judging is like condemning. It's a the word judge not in Matthew 7:1 is actually condemn. Don't condemn a person as if you're the judge sitting on the throne. Discerning is you have an 1:08:10 opinion and I want to avoid a person for that reason. Should I confess my wrong attitudes to other people? No, if something is inwardly in your attitude, that person doesn't even know it. Once he's going to him and saying, 1:08:24 "Hey, I had a wrong attitude towards you." That'll spoil your fellowship with him in any case. Keep it to yourself and die to it. Don't be stupid. And uh if you have a wrong attitude, God won't hear you. That's true. God will 1:08:38 not hear your prayer if you got a wrong attitude a person. Even if the other person doesn't know it, we must cleanse ourselves of wrong attitudes. Uh I want to know the New Testament what the New Testament taught about marriage. 1:08:52 Are we supposed to pay a dowy? No, not at all. I have stood against dowry. Dowry is a very common thing in India. Every single I mean it's almost every family in India pays a dowi. Dowi is if you folks in America don't know those who are in 1:09:07 India know it. The principle of dowry is a man says I've spent millions of rupees giving my child my son a good education and as a result of it he's got a good job and now your daughter comes and 1:09:26 marries my son and gets all the benefit of that without you having paid 1 cent for my son's education. So you must pay for part of my son's education by giving me a couple of million rupees. That's called dowry. I have stood against it tooth and nail 1:09:42 all my life. Whenever I conduct I conducted numerous marriages in our church, I always ask the bride and bridegroom to give me a written certificate. I have never neither me nor my parents have ever asked for or given or taken any money 1:09:59 from my partner's parents. And I say if you don't give me that certificate, I will not conduct your wedding. Go and conduct do it somewhere else. The dowry is against God's will. It's not right for us to ask. We trust God for our needs. 1:10:13 And don't make a girl's parents pay for the education of your son. It's completely uncchristian. What they give you voluntarily without asking anything. I always say that put it into the girl's account. Don't put it into the boy's account. I said 1:10:27 definitely not into the boy's father's account. That's dar. Uh I'll tell you what the equivalent in India that in America that I've stood against. Any type of asking for money is what I've stood against in India. Jesus 1:10:46 did not ask people for money. People gave him gifts voluntarily. He took it. You read that in Luke chapter 8 very clearly. First three verses of Luke 8. People voluntarily gave gifts to Jesus. He took it. But he didn't say, "Hey, 1:10:58 listen. I'm serving the Lord. You guys should support me." Neither Paul nor Jesus ever said that. And no true servant of God will ever say it. And asking people for money, support my you're marrying my daughter, give some 1:11:11 money. Wrong. Okay. What is dowry? We don't have dowy system in America as far as I know. But what you have in America, I'll tell you, which I've stood against equally, is called registries. Wedding registry, baby registry. You 1:11:26 know what that is? Begging. I'm getting married. Here's a list of all the items you all should get me. This thing cost $200. This thing cost $300. This thing cost $50. Please take off what you want. Isn't that begging? Absolutely. It's downright begging. Or 1:11:45 my baby's been born and here's another list of items. We had one case in one of our churches where people asked a list for $6,000 worth of gifts for that baby and a trolley worth about $500. When things are available for $85, you go to 1:12:01 the most expensive store and get a list of it. I ask people this question. First of all, do unto others as you would have others do unto you is the principle of the New Testament. Would you buy such an expensive thing for somebody else? 1:12:17 Number one. Second question, would you buy it for yourself? In most cases, the answer will be no. But I'm hoping this guy will buy it for me. It is covetousness, greed, and Colossians chapter 3 says greed is idolatry. Now, you may not have heard other 1:12:34 preachers say that, but there are a lot of things you heard me say which other preachers don't preach. I don't believe Jesus would ever send out a registry saying next month is my birthday. So, birthday registry, I'm my robe is getting old and I'd like 1:12:51 a new robe. My slippers. I've been walking from Kaepernom to Jerusalem many times. Is worn out. And make sure this list is sent to Joseph of Parimeia. He's the richest man in town. So, make sure he gets a copy of it and he'll get me a 1:13:07 really good robe and a good pair of slippers. If you can't imagine Jesus doing it, don't do it yourself. Always ask yourself this question. Would Jesus send out a list like this? I'm not preaching what I don't practice. 1:13:22 In India, every man who's got sons ask dowry. I have four sons. I never asked for dowry for any one of them from my their wife's parents. I'd be ashamed to even mention it. I took care of the expenses of their 1:13:43 wedding myself or they did it themselves. But we didn't ask anyone else for any money. Okay. Uh what is the meaning? He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire. Fire that's just an expression of a picture 1:14:02 of the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit is pictured like rivers of living water or pictured like a fire is something that purifies. And so the Holy Spirit is pictured as something that purifies. Rivers of living water is a picture that 1:14:17 you can bless so many people when the Holy Spirit is allowed to work through you. Uh spiritual life discipline discipline is a very important part of the Christian life. Disciplining yourself to get up at a certain time to spend time in prayer 1:14:33 to read the Bible regularly etc. Discipline is very very important. Now there are so many questions and I don't think you'll ever be able to finish. Well, I think I finished most of those 1:15:00 questions and I trust that there are any you can ask the Holy Spirit to tell you how to answer that or you can write a letter to cfcindia.com and the other thing is if you go to our 1:15:17 CFC website cfcindia.com there's a list of 800 or more questions to which there are audio answers. So if you there's a search column, put your question into that search column in cfcind.com and you may find the answer 1:15:33 there. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, please help us to live. I believe all these people have asked questions have sincerely asked it for living a godly life. Please help them to find the right 1:15:52 answer to live that life that pleases you in everything. Thank you Lord for your word which guides us and for your holy spirit is always there. Please every help every one of us to live god-fearing lives that we can be a 1:16:05 testimony to others around us to draw people to you. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.
