0:18 So there are two words I want to speak on particularly in this session. That are important words for the last days, words that Jesus spoke about. So 0:37 let's look at 1 John chapter 4 and verse 17 and 18. 1 John 4:17 and 18. By this 0:56 love is perfected with us. And whenever the word Bible uses the word perfect, it means complete. Uh it doesn't mean perfect in the sense we are perfect like Jesus. It means complete in the sense that 1:13 of full, like a vessel is full. That means our heart has no place for hatred. There's no corner of our heart having hatred. Love fills the whole vessel, the whole heart. 1:32 By this love is perfected in us. And thus we have confidence in the day of judgment. So our confidence when Christ comes again will be if his love, love for him and love for one another 1:51 is perfected in us completely in us. And because as he is so also are we in this world. This is an amazing statement. As Jesus is 2:09 so are we in this world. So you know, when we are called the body of Christ there's a reason for that. The first body of Christ was the physical body of Christ that was born 2:29 and grew up in Nazareth and ministered in Israel. When he went up to heaven he sent the Holy Spirit and made us together the body of Christ. We are to do the same thing that the first body of Christ did. What is that? Fulfill the will of the Father. Thy will 2:49 be done on earth as it is done in heaven. That's what Jesus did throughout his life. He said in John 6:38 I've come from heaven not to do my own will but to do the will of him who sent me. In that one sentence he described his 3:08 entire 33 and 1/2 years. If you ask me, why did Jesus come? Many people say he came to die for the sins of the world. I see that's one small part of what he came for. He also came to show man how man should live. For 33 and 1/2 years 3:27 his dying on the cross was only 6 hours. I know that's very important. But many people concentrate on that and forget that 33 and 1/2 years he showed us how God wants man to live, how he wanted Adam to live. And today we are called the body of 3:45 Christ and our example is that first body of Christ. As he is so are we in this world. And if we believe that, that we can be filled with the Holy Spirit like Jesus was, 4:04 and that together all of us together are to fulfill the will of the Father, each one having a different ministry. Jesus did everything because he was the entire body of Christ. He healed, he preached, he raised the dead, he did everything, but 4:21 so many things. He was apostle, prophet, shepherd, teacher, everything. But we we are just small parts of that body, and each of us has a different function. And I cannot manifest the body the the ministry of the body of Christ by 4:39 myself, cuz I'm not the body of Christ. I may be a small nail. That's all. Or a tongue. And and neither of the tongue can not do anything by itself. So, we need one another. Very important 4:59 to understand that, particularly as we approach the end of time. All these people who try to live independently and don't care about other members of the body of Christ, who don't seek to build a fellowship in their local church where they work 5:11 together and love one another, I see they haven't understood anything about what it means it says as he is so are we in this world. Anyway, that's how we get confidence in the day of judgment. It says here this is connected with confidence in the day 5:27 of judgment. 1 John 4:17. I'll tell you this, if we don't see this, we are not going to have any boldness in the day that we stand before the Lord. And then he goes on to come and talk about fear and love. There is no fear 5:41 in love. Fear comes when we're not sure of God's love of of us, you know, like a adopted child in a family may wonder, "Does the father really love me like he loves all the other children?" 6:01 And there's fear, "Will the father kick me out if I break a plate or something like that?" And many of God's children, we are born of God. We're not adopted. We are born of the Holy Spirit. 6:19 When the New Testament in some places uses the word adoption, it's not adoption as we understand it now, not at all. It's speaking about being accepted as a son instead of being a child. It's quite a different thing. But 6:34 uh we are born. We were not adopted as somebody. We were not born to some other parent and adopted by God. We were born of God. That's being born again. And there's no fear. There's no fear that one day God will get fed up of us or No, there's 6:53 There is no fear in love because perfect love casts out fear. That means if I'm perfectly convinced that my heavenly father loves me, there will be no fear in my heart. No fear of that God will punish me as I said the other day. My only fear will be 7:11 that I may hurt God, not that he may hurt me. Not the fear that he will hurt me, but the fear that I may hurt God, and I don't want to hurt him. And there is no fear of anything else that's going to happen in the world. 7:25 Perfect love casts out fear. Remember these two words, love and perfect love and fear. A heart full of love and fear is a very important words in relation to the last days. Because fear involves punishment, it says in verse 18. That means 7:42 fear, the wrong type of fear of God means I'm afraid he'll punish me for what I did wrong or that he stopped loving me or some foolish thing like that. And the one who lives in that fear, his heart is not full of love, not at all. 7:59 He doubts the love of God. I want to tell you this, my dear brothers and sisters, if you have any type of fear in your heart, there's only one reason for it. You don't believe that God loves you perfectly. He who did not spare his own son, 8:21 but gave him freely up for us. I didn't ask God to send Jesus to earth. That was his idea, not mine. No man invited God to send his son to this world. We need to understand that. And when I 8:39 Romans 8:32, he who spared not his own son, but freely gave him up, how shall he not with him freely give us all things? And so Romans 8:31 says, "So, what shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against 8:58 us?" Very important to have that faith in these last days. Where there faith comes in, fear goes out. When fear comes in, faith goes out. So, it's important because we read in Luke 9:16 21, we saw that earlier, I think. Luke 21, it says, "In the last days, uh men will faint from fear." Luke 21:26. Luke 21:26, speaking about the last days, 9:33 "Men will faint from fear at thinking of all the things that are happening in the world. I mean, we begin to see that even now. A lot of people are living in fear right now. And we haven't begun to see some of the terrible things that will happen in the 9:51 future before Christ comes again. I mean, what we are beginning to see is only the beginning of these problems. And trials, I mean, if you can't stand today trusting God, you won't be able to stand 2 or 3 years from now 10:11 when it'll be worse. I'll tell you that. I'll tell you honestly, I'm not a prophet. I'm just telling you what the Bible says. So, men's hearts are going to faint from fear. I mean, fear is a it grips a person. Imagine a person 10:25 fainting not because he's sick, but because he's afraid. Fainting from fear when they think, "What is happening in the world?" The expectation of things that are coming upon the world. And it is then, verse 27, they'll see the Son of Man 10:43 coming in cloud. So, when these things not after they've taken place, Luke 21:28, when these things begin to take place, get rid of your fear. Straighten up and lift up your heads. A man who lifts up his head is a man who 11:02 is got no place for fear. People are afraid, they're always looking down or looking here and there to the left and right. People who are looking up are looking at their heavenly Father. No fear there. Where are the other people looking? It 11:17 says they're looking around at the things happening in the world. That's why they got fear. They look up. They look around, you sink. It's like Peter when he was walking on the water. I really believe that Peter walking on 11:34 the on the waters of the lake is a picture of our life on this earth. It is very uncertain. We don't have solid ground underneath us. Everything is so uncertain. Every step as we come to the end of time will be uncertain. It will be like walking on 11:50 water. And the only way to walk on water is to look at Jesus. The moment you turn around and like Peter and look at the waves and the wind, you're going to sink. I'll tell you that. And if you look back in your past life, 12:07 it's when you turned your eyes away from Jesus and looked at the wind and the waves and your circumstances and what people were saying and what you think people will do, that you begin to sink. You see, uh with all this 12:23 coronavirus going all over the world, you know what people are doing in many parts of the United States? They're standing outside gun stores to buy guns. There's never been such a craze to buy guns at this time. No, you 12:40 can't treat sickness with a gun. Why are they buying it? They're afraid there will be so much shortage of necessary items for living, for food, etc. that those who are poor 12:59 or those who don't have any morals will break into your house. So, people are buying guns to shoot those coming to their house. A very real danger. When people are starving and they see 13:18 their children starving, they'll do anything. And they'll see somebody living in a comfortable house there, they'll break into that house. And the average worldly person says, "Well, you need a gun then." What for? Well, if he breaks in, I'll just shoot 13:35 him. Men's hearts fainting for fear. It's happening right now. People don't go out going buy a gun out of love. It's out of fear. What will you do 13:52 as a believer? There's lots and lots of believers buying guns in the United States because it's so easy to get one in that country. Dear brothers and sisters, there's only one thing that will hold us in the last 14:11 days. We look up and say, "Our Father, who art in heaven, keep me in the shadow of your wings and let me live there." Perfect love casts out fear. 14:35 And we You know, we The purpose of our coming together in the church is not just to sing songs and pray, but to hear a word that will challenge us and strengthen us and encourage us for the days to come. What is prophecy? 14:52 Prophecy is a word that prepares us for the future. All the prophecies in the Old Testament were to prepare Israel for the future. So, the word of God in the church is to be prophetic in the sense that it's to prepare us for 15:09 the future, to strengthen us. So, there's no place for fear. Like that verse I've quoted, Isaiah 8:12 and 13 in the Living Bible, if you fear God, you need fear nothing else. It's absolutely true and 15:28 I want to say that the little things that happen in our life are little ways in which God helps us to overcome fear. The small things happen. Say the Lord says overcome that. Then we can go to higher classes where we can overcome 15:47 fear more and more and more and more. We can't do that without grace. No. It's not I'll tell you something. It's not the bold person who's going to stand when the times of fear come. No. 16:05 See, here's a for example a father with two children. One One son is about 20 years old and the other is about 2 years old. And some danger comes. The 20-year-old acts brave. He probably gets hurt when somebody comes to hurt them. 16:24 But the little 2-year-old, he doesn't even try to fight with that person. He just clings to his dad and says, "Dad, I want to cling to you." Who's going to be safer? The one who clings to his dad because the dad is strong enough to protect him. 16:39 So, it's because he's weak that he clings to dad his dad. The older boy, teenager, he thinks I can stand on my own. And there are Christians today who are quite proud and confident that they can stand on their own. I never want to be 16:54 like that. I say to the Lord, "Lord, my flesh is so weak. I'm basically a coward. I'm not the brave type. I'm not going to stand in front of the battle and say let the bullets come at me. No. But if you give me grace, I'll stand 17:12 before anything. Anything. But without your grace, I can't do it. That is going to be That's a strong person. A strong person is the one who has experienced God's grace making him strong. And to whom does God give that grace to 17:30 overcome fear in the last days? Come with me again to 2 Corinthians and chapter 12. Where we have a definition of grace. Here is a good definition of grace. 2 17:48 Corinthians chapter 12. Whatever our circumstance may be. For example, our circumstance may be verse 10, 2 Corinthians 12:10. It may be weakness that you have. Maybe insults from other people. 18:07 It may be distresses. Trials and distresses in your home and family. It may be persecutions. It may be many difficulties. And difficulties is a big word that covers almost everything. For Christ's sake. When I'm weak, 18:28 then I'm strong. That's what Paul said. We think of Paul as a brave person who could confront people and not be afraid. But he says, "No. I've learned through the years that my human strength will not help me. God had to make me weak. He gave me a 18:47 thorn in the flesh to make me weak. So that his power be manifest in me. That's what he says in verse seven. A thorn was given me in the flesh. So that I will be humble. Why should I be humble? Because God 19:04 gives his grace only to the humble. And Paul was in danger of being puffed up. I want to say to you, my brothers and sisters, every one of you and me, all of us are in danger of pride. So many things can make us proud. Maybe 19:20 you're better than some other brother in your church. It can make you proud. Maybe you're better than some sister. Maybe you're more spiritual. Maybe you know more of the Bible. Or we can compare ourselves with people in other churches. 19:36 Say we are better than them. Like the Pharisee said, "Lord, I thank you. I'm not like that sinner over there." A lot A lot of people in CFC can have that attitude, and I think they do. Lord, I thank you that I'm not like 19:48 those people in that church over there, that dead denomination church. I'll tell you, brother, sister, there are some believers in those dead denomination churches who are better than many believers in CFC. I've seen it. 20:03 Cuz God does not look at denominations. He looks at individuals. And he looks to see at individuals. We may have the right doctrine in CFC, but that doesn't mean every single person in CFC is filled with the Holy Spirit. 20:19 No. Or that everyone is receiving grace. God gives grace only to the humble. And it's very, very important that we never become Pharisees, imagining that we are better than anybody else in our church or better than anybody else in any other church. I 20:35 guarantee, if you let that thought come into your mind, you will lose the grace of God. Like that Pharisee who prayed in the temple. So here, he says, "God God had to keep Paul humble." And one way he came made him humble was 20:53 giving him a physical sickness. Physical sickness is a way of keeping us humble, one way. There are many other ways, but in Paul's case, it was a physical sickness by which God made him humble, and the purpose was God gives us grace to the 21:10 humble so that God could give him grace and the Lord said to him in verse nine, "My power in the Living Bible is beautifully translated. My grace is enough for you because my power shows itself best in weak people." You get that? 21:30 God says, "My power shows itself best in weak people." So, my grace, the Lord says, is my power. That's a definition of grace. Grace is God's power given to weak people. 21:49 People who recognize they're weak. And if you think you're strong, well, you won't get it. You probably need a sickness or something to break you and humble you. That's why God has to very often break many of his children 22:08 through circumstances, through difficulties, trials, sometimes through a difficult wife or a difficult husband or a difficult child to humble that proud man or that proud woman so that they become small and weak 22:26 and God can give them grace. So, accept the circumstances of your life. Don't complain against them. Don't say don't envy somebody else. Your circumstances God has arranged for you are perfect. For Paul, it was some type of thorn in 22:42 the flesh. I believe it was a infirmity in his eyes which made him sick in his eyes often and he suffered with that. I don't have time to go into that. You can read about it in Galatians 4 when you get time. For Timothy, it was a constant stomach 22:59 ache that he had. He never seemed to be free from his stomach ache. You read about it in 1 Timothy chapter 5. Verse 20 21 he says Paul says you got frequent stomach aches. I'm sure Paul prayed for Timothy numerous times. Timothy must have asked, 23:13 "Hey Paul, pray for me. I'm having frequent stomach problems." Paul prayed and prayed and prayed. Nothing happened. He never got healed. And Apostle Paul lays his hands on Timothy and prays and he's not healed? Yeah, Timothy needs a thorn in the 23:29 flesh, too. To keep him humble. To keep him dependent on God. Particularly those who are being used by God a lot. And who are mightily anointed. They need something to keep them humble. I mean the useless believer will just 23:46 sit in the corner and is not interested in living for God. He probably doesn't need it. He'll probably live live healthy life. Because he's good for nothing. But a person who's really going to be used by God, God has to keep him weak so 23:58 that he can give him his grace. God gives his grace to the humble. And then he'll be able to overcome fear. Because God's grace is like a mighty power that can face anything. You have pictures of that. Pictures. Like Samson in the Old 24:16 Testament. What he experienced physically is what we can experience spiritually. Samson could face a lion. He could face 300 Philistines. No problem. And something like that is true of us spiritually. We can face 300 demons or 24:35 any opposition from anybody if we are if we are weak and we get God's grace. Samson needed God's power. And we need God's grace. Then we can overcome fear. And when men's hearts are failing around us for fear, 24:52 what we need is grace from God to overcome fear. So that there's no fear in our hearts. And God trains us for this from little little things. You know, uh in Philippians 4 it speaks about anxiety. 25:11 Anxiety is something that comes to all human beings, particularly if you've got little children. And they suddenly get sick and they don't seem to recover. Or they are they come back from school on their own and one day they are very 25:26 late and they haven't come back. And you wonder what happened. Did they have an accident on the way? Oh, so many things. Or a child in hospital seems to getting worse and worse. Anxiety. It can come to anyone. 25:46 And as long as we live in the world, we'll be tempted to be anxious for something or the other. Right now, for example with the coronavirus, do you know how many people are anxious and fearful? Will I get this? Did I touch something? 26:03 And is it on my fingers now? But to be careful is one thing. We must be careful. Don't be foolish. Don't be stupid. If you're advised to wash your hands, wash your hands. And if you're advised to protect yourself with a mask, do it. 26:22 If we don't protect ourselves saying, "Oh, God will take care of me." That's as foolish as the devil telling Jesus, "Jump off the temple. God will protect you." No, he won't. Jesus said, "It is also written, don't tempt the Lord your God." 26:37 So don't say God will heal me and tempt him by doing foolish things. Use your common sense. Common sense is as much a gift of God as faith. Sure. And Jesus used his common sense. He said, "Why should I jump? There are stairs here. I can walk down the 26:53 stairs." Why should I say I'll trust God to heal me when I've got a medicine I can take that'll help me? Or I can protect myself by wearing a mask. It's common sense. We're not foolish. Don't let the devil tempt you to do foolish things saying I 27:09 trust God. There are people who do that. And we're not like that. There are churches in some countries who defy the government laws and say, "We don't We're not afraid. We'll come and meet together and we won't keep the distance from each 27:24 other. God will protect us." I think they're stupid. They're people who have no fear of God at all. They're not showing their faith. They're showing their stupidity. Faith and common sense go together. And the Bible says we must 27:38 obey the authorities. If the authorities tell you to stay at home, stay at home. That's the rule here and I stay at home. I don't try to boast saying, "Oh, I trust God. I can go anywhere." That's like jumping off the roof of the 27:52 temple. I won't do it. So, faith is not stupidity. It's not doing There are a lot of people who do stupid things like that. No, we're not going to do that. Philippians 4 says in uh verse 6, be anxious for zero. Zero. 28:13 You believe that? Nothing means zero. That means there's not a single thing in the world I must be anxious about. That's a command of God. In the Old Testament, there commands like don't murder. Today we have commands like 28:36 don't be anxious. The same God gave both commands. There's no commandment in the Old Testament which says don't be anxious. I'll tell you why. Cuz they didn't have the Holy Spirit. They didn't have Jesus as an example. But today 28:56 it says don't be don't be afraid. Don't be anxious. I want to take that as seriously as don't commit murder. Don't commit adultery. The New Testament commandments are here don't be anxious. Philippians 2:15 it says don't murmur or 29:14 complain. I want to take it seriously. Just like those Old Testament people took don't murder, don't commit adultery seriously. I've gone beyond the Old Testament. We're not in the kindergarten. Those are all kindergarten things. It's 29:31 good. We must not commit murder. We must not commit adultery. We must know our ABCD, sure. But we're not to spend all our life in the kindergarten just saying CAT is cat and BAT is bat. I won't murder. I won't commit adultery. 29:45 Okay, fine. Now, but what about moving on to a higher class? Or you're going to sit in the kindergarten forever? What about moving on to a higher class where you learn new things like not just don't murder, don't commit 29:58 adultery. We have gone past the kindergarten stuff. Don't get offended. How about that? Don't get offended with what people do or say about you. Don't worry about people's opinions. Throw people's opinions in the trash can. 30:17 Are you have you come there? Are you trying to pass that particular subject? Well, here's another subject. Don't be anxious. This is in scripture. And the God who gave grace, not grace, the God who gave power to the Old 30:33 Testament people not to commit murder even when they were angry and not to commit adultery even when they were tempted can give us grace to obey the command which says, "Don't be afraid. Don't be anxious." Without grace, I can't do it. 30:52 I'm the first person to raise my hand and say, "I cannot do it." Even a small thing will make me anxious, worried. Especially if it affects my little children. But I can be free from it if God gives me grace. 31:10 I can obey every command of God in the New Testament with the grace of God. That's what you must say. If God says in the last days people's hearts are going to faint from fear, they're going to be anxious and worried about so many things, you must lift up 31:27 your head. Lord, by your grace I can do it. That's the positive confession of our faith. So, don't be anxious. But how to overcome it? Make your request known to God. What it says in verse six. What is the 31:46 thing that's making you anxious? This particular thing, tell God about it. Lord, this particular thing is worrying me now. Whatever it is, name it. And then it says here, before you finish your prayer, it says, "Add a word of 32:03 thanks." Thanks is saying, "Lord, I believe the request came upon your table. Now you're going to act on it." It's like you send a request to some government official to act on some problem you're having in your house. And uh 32:22 the government official says, "I've received your complaint." Ah, thank Thank you. That's what we are saying to God. When I pray in the name of Jesus, how do I know it's reached God and he's accepted it? Thank you, Lord. I believe you heard it. 32:41 Make your prayer with Thanksgiving. And then the peace of God will It says in the word here is like an army garrison. You know, like they have an army surrounding a city to 33:01 protect the city. The army of God's angels will guard your heart and your mind in Christ. And if you want to think about something, don't think about things that make you anxious. It says in the next verse, think about things that are 33:16 honorable, verse eight, and right, and pure, and lovely, and of good report, whatever has got excellence and worthy of praise. Use your mind to think about these good things that God has done for you. Look back over your past and think of 33:30 the numerous things God did for you in your past life. That'll strengthen your faith. Many times when I'm tempted to unbelief, you know what I do? I First of all, I look at the Bible and see how Jesus never failed his disciples 33:45 whenever they asked him to do something. There was no problem Jesus couldn't handle. And then I look back over my own past 60 years as a born-again believer. And I say, "Boy, I can think of numerous situations in my life 34:05 where God took care of me. Twice when I fell off my scooter in Bangalore and I could have died, I didn't. Once my skull was cracked when It was not my carelessness. It was 34:24 a railway crossing and that chap lowered the railway bar before I crossed it. He wasn't looking. And I hit it and I got thrown on the railway track. This was 1993, 27 years ago. I was riding my moped. 34:43 And it hit me on the chest and I got knocked out and I was unconscious, right lying on the railway track. And they had closed the gate for the train to come. I don't know what happened. When I woke up from my unconscious state just a few 34:59 minutes later, somebody had already lifted me up and parked my moped there, my scooter, and made me stand. And I was wondering what happened. Till today, I don't remember what happened. I just know this thing hit me and that 35:15 was I got conked out. And that memory is gone from my mind, thankfully. But they pulled me out before the train came. And I went home. I had to get a My arm was in a sling for a number of weeks cuz my shoulder was dislocated. 35:35 But you know what I said 27 years ago? I said, "Lord, you did so much for me on the cross. My life is a way of saying thank you to you. And I have not finished saying thank you 35:55 to you so far. Please help me to finish saying thank you to you." It's like I was writing a letter saying t h a, you know, thank you is spelled t h a. I said, "Lord, I haven't finished. You can't let me die now. No, sorry. 36:11 I got to complete saying thank you to you." And the Lord has given me 27 years after that. Perfect health. I still haven't finished saying thank you to you. I don't know what point in that sentence I've come. But I say Lord 36:31 I don't want to finish. For I say thank you for dying for me. I want my life to be an expression of gratitude to you for having given your life for me. Well, God cares for us. He protects us. His angels are around us taking care of 36:48 us. We don't fear. Look back over your life and you'll see many many occasions where God has saved you, cared for you when when I when we had financial need, God provided for us, took care of us without our ever asking anybody. We never sent a prayer 37:07 letter in all these 15 4 years that I've served the Lord. Never sent a prayer letter to anyone asking for money or taken a salary from anyone. We just trusted God and he is a faithful father. And as you get older, some of you may be 37:26 older. Don't have any Don't have to have any fear. You know in India a lot of people get fear when they get older. And that fear is who's going to take care of us when we are old? And so 37:47 they say they they say we hope our children will take care of us. Well Yeah, that's that's okay. It's perfectly all right for children to take care of their parents, but I'll tell you honestly, I prefer to depend on my heavenly father. 38:04 I remember See, these are things that can cause fear for any of you who are older. And I'll share with you a word that the Lord gave me many years ago. He said, "You don't have to worry about your children taking care of you. I'm 38:17 here. I'm your father. I'll take care of you." And the word the Lord gave was in Isaiah chapter 46. And this is what he said to me. Isaiah 46 verse 3 and 4. The middle of verse 3. 38:38 From your birth I bore you and I carried you. Not only from your birth, from the womb. Before you were born I was carrying you in your mother's womb. Did you know that? The Lord's telling me. 38:57 And then from the time you were born and I want to tell you to your old age I will be the same father who bore you in your mother's womb. And when your hair is gray I am the one who will bear you. 39:16 You don't have to trust in any man to take care of you. I made you and I will carry you. I will bear you and I will deliver you. To whom can you liken me with? Are you going to compare me with your children who take care of you? No, I 39:36 will take care of you. Are you going to make me equal with whom? Some idol, he says in verse 6. Sometimes your children can be your idols. Oh, my children will take care of me. That's an idol you have. 39:53 Trust in your heavenly father. There's so many idols that believers have. They don't even realize it. It's not made of brass and stone, it's made of flesh and blood. The Lord says, "I will take care of you." And whatever may happen in the world 40:11 around let there be no fear. Perfect love, knowing the perfect love of my father casts out all fear. And I want to tell you in Jesus' name, you will need this word in the days to come. Be rooted in the perfect love of your 40:29 heavenly Father for you. He who spared not his own son but gave him freely up for us all, won't he give you freely all things? Look back over your life and think of the numerous things that he's done for you. Other people thought you were doing 40:45 foolish things. But God took care of you. I remember when I resigned from the Navy and the secure job I had 54 years ago, my colleagues in the Navy thought I was being foolish. One of them, one of those friends of 41:03 mine said, "Hey, Zach, how are you going to live? You're not going to join any organization or so nobody's going to pay you. How are you going to live?" I said, "Do you believe I'm going to serve God?" He says, "Yeah, well, you 41:17 say that." I said, "When I worked for the Navy all these 7 8 years, every single month, every single month on the 1st of the month, they gave me my salary. They never failed me." And I told him, "Do you think God Almighty is less faithful than the Navy? 41:35 Huh? Then you're an atheist if you believe that. You say God God God God and all that, but you believe that the Navy is more faithful than Almighty God, then you don't believe in a God in heaven." I said, "That's the God I worship. He'll 41:49 take care of me." I said that very boldly 54 years ago, but today I can say after 54 years of testimony what looked like a foolish step to many people was God's call. I don't ask other people to do it. I say you must never leave 42:04 your job if God doesn't call you. But he called me. But whether he calls you to full-time work or not, he will take care of you according to your need. Not always in the same way, but he does. So, there's no need to put 42:19 fear. The other thing I want to mention is from Matthew 24. Matthew chapter 24 in the last days. Matthew and chapter 42:37 24. It says one of the dangers in the last days, we saw one of the dangers is fear. It's going to be there in a lot of people's hearts. The other danger here is because there's so much sin and worldliness 42:57 in the world around today, and we are living in that time. Matthew 24:12 says, let me paraphrase it, because there's going to be so much sin and worldliness and sinful pleasures, sinful movies, and a relaxed, easy way of life where 43:15 you don't have time to read the Bible, where you neglect the Bible, and you neglect fellowship with God because there are so many other forms of entertainment and relaxation, many people's love will grow cold. Not many, but most people's. And he's 43:32 talking about believers. Grow cold means once upon a time it was hot. A worldly person never had any love for the Lord, so it's not a question of worldly people's love was dead from the beginning. Ice cold. But here it says some people 43:47 who were hot are becoming cold. My dear brothers and sisters, I want to speak to all of you personally now, all of you who are listening to me right now. Was there a time in your life some years ago when you loved the Lord more fervently? 44:07 When you were willing to sacrifice anything for him? When you always began the day with him first? Always. You never start a day without Christ being first. Have you slackened off in that? You feel you're a mature believer now, 44:25 you don't need to do that. I've been a believer 60 years. I'm helpless if I don't begin my day with God first. You have to go to work, I know. 44:44 But I'm not asking you to spend 1 hour reading the Bible. You may not have time for that in the morning. But putting God first is not a question of reading the Bible. The moment you wake up, you say, "I want God to be first in my life." 45:03 I remember Santos using an illustration. You know, he spoke to you a little while ago, but once he spoke an illustration where he said, "What does a blind man look for as soon as he wakes up from bed?" A cane. He can't even move 45:23 without that cane with which he feels his way around. That's the way we should because he's dependent on it to find his way. He's helpless without it. And so, 45:41 we must begin with God. Say, "Lord, I can't move this day without you. I want to depend on you." I like that phrase in Hebrews 11. It's a beautiful word. 46:01 Hebrews 11 is a chapter full of people who did fantastic things in faith. They split the Red Sea like Moses. They pulled down the walls of Jericho like Joshua. They shut the mouths of lions like Samson. They had a son born when they were 46:23 100 years old like Abraham. Many, many fantastic things. Moses delivered a whole nation of 2 million people out of Egypt single-handedly. And in the midst of all these fantastic actions, we find little one little action that 46:41 doesn't look so fantastic. Read this. Hebrews 11 and verse 21. By faith, Jacob what did he do? 46:58 He leaned on the top of his staff and worshipped God while he was blessing the sons of Joseph. What did he do? While he was worshipping blessing the sons of Jacob, he worshipped God 47:15 leaning on the top of his staff. What's so great about a man walking with a cane, leaning on that cane and walking? Is that a fantastic act of faith? By faith, Jacob leaned upon his cane and walked. But we've seen a lot of old people 47:35 walking with a cane. But for Jacob, that cane on which he had to lean upon, that staff was a picture of his dependence on God. He was a strong, independent young man 47:52 till one day God dislocated his thigh. His joint of his thigh with his over there, wherever he's leaning upon that. His body was was dependent on that. He dislocated his thighbone 48:10 and he had to take a staff to for the rest of his life. And that was the day God broke him in a place called Peniel, where he called the face of God and God said, "Today you'll be called Israel." You know when he experienced the power 48:26 of God? When he was broken. And that cane was a symbol of his dependence upon God. That's how we are to be. So, it says in Matthew 24 that the love of many people will get cold in 48:46 the last days because sin is increased. But, Matthew 24:13, the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. The one who endures to the end will be 49:08 saved. Endures in what? See, the always read a verse in its context. People are going to fail in love. It's love which is going to grow cold. But, the one who does not get cold, 49:24 but endures in a fiery love for the Lord and fervent love for one another, he will be saved. So, the other thing, the great danger in the last days is not only fear. The other great danger is people are going to lose their love for 49:41 Jesus. They're going to lose their love for one another in the church. Some little thing will happen and they will start criticizing each other each other. They're going to lose their love for their husbands and wives. They'll be fighting at home. 50:01 And in the midst of all these husbands and wives who are fighting and losing the love they had when they were first got married, endure till the end. I want to say to all of you husbands and wives, whether you're young or old, 50:17 endure in love till the end. Bear with one another. Forgive one another. The primary mark of love is patience. Love is patient. Ask God 50:35 be merciful to forgive your partner because you yourself have got many weaknesses. You think you have to bear with her? She has to bear with you. You think you have to bear with him, that difficult husband? He has to bear with you, my dear sister. 50:55 Don't look down on each other. Let God be the final judge of whether he or you are spiritual. Leave that to God. Your duty is to love until the end. The one who endures in love until the end will be saved. And in the last days, many people's love is 51:14 going to be cold. That's the thing that's going to determine whether we're going to get into the Lord's presence when he comes. In the next chapter, Matthew 25, he told a story that illustrated that. Matthew 25, he spoke about 51:34 10 virgins. Matthew 25:2, five were foolish and five were wise. Now, the interesting thing is, the only difference was all ten had lamps, it says there. Verse one, Matthew 25:1, all ten had 51:53 lamps that were burning. They had oil in the lamp. Oil in the lamp speaks of the external life. But the wise took some extra oil, verse 52:10 four, in their flasks. That speaks of oil in the hidden life. So, the foolish ones had only oil in their lamp. In their external life. 52:28 The wise ones had oil in their plus oil in their hidden life, somewhere in their pockets. They had a flask full of oil. And and for a long time the bridegroom didn't come. There was a delay. 52:45 Bridegroom delayed in coming. Verse five. And we know that the bridegroom is delaying. We thought Christ would come earlier. But he hasn't come yet, he's delaying. And then suddenly this voice comes, "The bridegroom is come." 53:02 And by the time the lamps of the foolish died out. It was dying out. See, it says in verse eight, "Our lamps are going out." That means it was burning up till then. But they could not endure till the end. 53:21 They had a little bit of love, but it died out before the bridegroom came. He who endures till the end will be saved. He whose lamp is burning until the end will be saved. What is this oil? Oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit. 53:38 The anointing oil, the anointing with the Holy Spirit. So, when the Holy Spirit fills our hearts, and we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, and we are filled with the Holy Spirit, that's a vessel that is full of oil, that's 53:55 externally, and a flask that is full of oil internally. That's the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Inwardly, outwardly. What is that What does the Holy Spirit fill us with? I know most Pentecostals will say 54:14 speaking in tongues. I believe in speaking in tongues, but I don't believe that's the mark of being filled with the Holy Spirit. I'll tell you what the mark is, what the Bible says. Romans 5 and verse 5. The love of God fills our hearts through 54:36 the Holy Spirit. Romans 5:5 the mark of a spirit-filled man. And never forget this. is the love of God, and that means three things. First, 54:54 my belief that God loves me perfectly. The Holy Spirit fills my heart with a deep assurance of the love of God for me. That's the foundation of my life. I'm secure. Secondly, the Holy Spirit fills me with a fervent 55:12 love for Jesus Christ. My flask is full of love for Christ inwardly. It's not what people see. Yeah, people can see a little bit in the lamp burning. That means my actions through that come out of the love of Christ, they can see. 55:28 But the hidden flask of oil, they don't see. That's the important thing. Not just the outward actions that we show our love for Christ. All of us go to meetings and do so many things that people see that you love Christ. That's 55:40 great. But do you have a hidden heart full of love for the Lord? In secret? That's the important thing. That's the thing that matters when the Christ comes. And thirdly, it's a fervent love for other believers. You they 55:55 love one another as I have loved you. So, three things. One, God's perfect love for me, the Holy Spirit fills me with that assurance. Secondly, the Holy Spirit gives me a fervent love for Jesus Christ. And thirdly, the Holy Spirit gives me 56:09 love for difficult believers. There are difficult brothers in every church. Don't think it's only in your church there are difficult believers. It's easy to love a very nice believer who is very kind and generous and good 56:23 and never troubles you in any way. There's nothing great about that. But the test is if you can love a person who is really born again but who's a little awkward, who's crude. He doesn't know how to speak properly. Maybe he's a bit rude in the way he 56:40 speaks or I'm not saying that we go to fellowship with all the believers, that's not possible. But to love everyone, sure. You see, Jesus had degrees of fellowship. There was the multitude, he loved them. Then there was a group of 70 disciples, he loved 56:59 them. Then another circle inside of 11 disciples, he loved them. And inside that there was circle of three. That is Peter, James, and John. So, we also will find closer fellowship with some believers than others. That's 57:14 natural. But we must love all. Our fellowship may be more with some people, but our love must be for everyone. And he who endures in love till the end is going to be saved. Now, I want to endure it in love till the end. 57:32 I may not have be able to fellowship with all believers as much as with some believers. I have to say I do it I do have closer fellowship with some believers than with others even in CFC. Just like Jesus had more fellowship with 57:44 Peter, James, and John than with many others. It's natural. Those are more devoted, but I love even the others. My love is not limited to the few people in my inner circle. My love is for everyone. I can bear with them. I can forgive 57:58 them. In love I can correct them. You know, Jesus said in Revelation 3:19, "Those whom I love I rebuke." Yeah, that's also a mark of love. If you're a father, you will rebuke and discipline your children. Otherwise, you 58:13 don't love them. And if you're an elder brother, I've many times had to rebuke and discipline brothers in the church or even elders in a church. When I'm an elder, I have to do that. It's part of my love for the Lord and 58:29 love for that person. To save him from calamity. I want to endure in love. I want to have a flask that's full of oil. I must never do anything out of bitterness or hatred or partiality or revenge. Oh, no, that's of the devil. 58:46 If I'm upset with somebody who hurt me and I try to do something in the form of revenge, I'm inspired by the devil. If somebody does something wrong to you, the first thing you must do is forgive him immediately. I have the habit of 59:00 No, saying, "Lord, I forgive that person." As soon as I hear that somebody spoke against me or did something against me, I say, "Lord, I forgive him." I don't wait for him to come and ask forgiveness from me. No. If he doesn't for ask forgiveness, I 59:15 still forgive him. But I may not have to be able to have fellowship with him. Fellowship is based on settling matters. But other But love is not dependent on whether somebody asked me or not. When Jesus hung on the cross, 59:25 nobody asked for forgiveness. He said, "Father, forgive them." They don't know what they're doing. They're all so foolish. And we are surrounded by foolish people who don't know what they're doing. Forgive them. Say it to many people around you, 59:36 "Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. They're so foolish. They don't realize how they are serving the devil when they don't love when they do that foolish thing." Lord, I want to endure in love till the 59:46 end. So, dear brothers, please remember cast out all fear and make sure your flask is full of love for the Lord and love for one another. And we'll be ready for the coming of the Lord when he comes. He opens the door and we can go and 1:00:04 rejoice with him. Let us pray. Heavenly Father thank you for your word. Help us to endure until the end. Help us to remember all that we have heard 1:00:23 in this weekend. And help us to live by what we have heard so that the devil doesn't come and take away the seed that has been sown. We want to see a better life in ourselves and in our families 1:00:41 as a result of this conference than we have ever experienced in our entire life so far. A better husband-wife relationship, better father-children relationship better brother-brother, better sister-sister relationship than we have 1:00:55 ever had. Work that, Lord, and build these dear little churches in Australia and wherever people are listening to this message. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
