0:07 Praise the Lord. Very happy to have you all here today. >> [clears throat] >> The theme for this conference is you most of you will already know is from Ezekiel and chapter 22. >> [snorts] 0:37 >> Towards the end of that chapter he says about Israel and the prophets verse 25. The prophets have devoured lives. They've taken treasure and precious things. 0:56 The priests verse 26 have done violence. The princes are like wolves. The prophets have smeared whitewash verse 28. So you read there from verse 25 to 28 he's denouncing the prophets and the priests and the princes 1:15 all having failed the Lord. You know, Ezekiel was a prophet >> [clears throat] >> after the Israelites had been sent into captivity in Babylon and the Lord is explaining to them why God sent his people to captivity. He said this is the reason. 1:34 >> [clears throat] >> And through the years he says to Ezekiel, I searched verse 20 This is the word This is the theme for our conference verse 30. I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall, the wall of 1:48 separation from the world. That's a great need even today. The Lord says in every church, I searched for a man who will build that wall of separation. You remember in the days of Nehemiah that wall was broken down. And Nehemiah had to 2:05 build it and there were many There was a lot of opposition to it. There's a lot of opposition today to the wall of separation between the church and the world being built. And that's why many pastors who seek for popularity will never speak against 2:20 worldliness. >> [clears throat] >> I searched for a man who would build up the wall and stand in the gap for me for the land so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one. Standing before the Lord, a man who will stand before the Lord. My dear brothers, 2:40 I hope every one of us will have >> [clears throat] >> a passion. Lord, I want to be a man like that. >> [clears throat] >> I remember when I was converted, I had that passion from a very young age. Lord, I want to stand before you. 2:56 And [clears throat] so as we consider that theme in these days, please pray for me as well that I shall understand the mind of the Lord alright. I depend on your prayers as you look to me to speak the word. >> [snorts] >> So I want to begin with Genesis chapter 3:15 1. Cuz there we have God's original plan for man. And always you go back to the original. It's like if you want to know how the church is meant to be, go to the first five chapters of Acts of the Apostles and you'll see how God 3:34 originally wanted the church to be. It's very different to today. So in the same way, to understand what God wanted man to be like, you have to go to Genesis chapter 1. Well, >> [clears throat] >> you know that he created all the 3:52 other >> [clears throat] >> everything on earth, in universe, and uh the birds and the fish right up to the fifth day. And then on the sixth day uh I hope you all know that. 4:09 It was not only man that was made. The first part of the sixth day he made the animals. Now, he could have made the animals on the fifth day as well because it says in verse on the fifth day he made all the birds in verse 20 and all the s- 4:24 fish and the other sea creatures in verse 21. Why didn't he make the animals also on the fifth day and leave the sixth day exclusively for man? There's something in it. And so on the fifth day, verse 23, that was over. In the sixth day he said, "Let 4:43 the earth bring forth living creatures, cattle, beasts, all the beasts of the earth, verse 25, were created on the sixth day. The first part of the sixth day. And God saw that it was good. And then the second part of the sixth day 4:59 God said, "Let us make man in our image." >> [clears throat] >> You know, there's very little similarity, almost no similarity between man and the birds. There's almost no similarity between man and the fish. We know that. 5:14 But when you come to man and the animals, such a lot of similarity. Four limbs, eyes, ears, tongue, even the internal organs of animals are all very similar to man's. And I believe >> [clears throat] >> you see, uh let me m- mention this. 5:33 As you see here, there was only one thing that made the difference. Animals have a mind. Some animals have a sharper mind than human beings. And they have a tremendous memory. Snakes, for example, have a tremendous memory. 5:49 What is it that makes man superior to the animals? You read in the next chapter, Genesis chapter 2, that >> [clears throat] >> verse 7, the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, just like the 6:09 animals, and this is what made the difference. He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Now, didn't the animals have breathe breath as well? Yes, but God never breathed anything into them. Here, it's 6:26 not referring to this human breath. It's referring to the breath of life, which was a conscience. God breathed into man, and man got what we call a spirit. The human personality is a trinity like 6:47 God, spirit, soul, and body. You can read that in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, may God sanctify your spirit, soul, and body. Now, animals do not have a spirit. A soul is our mind and our emotions, and you know that animals have mind and 7:06 emotion. Dogs and other animals have a mind, they intelligent, they got emotions, they got feeling, and they got a body, but they don't have a spirit. Man is a trinity, spirit, soul, and body, and the spirit is what gives us a 7:21 conscience. No animal has a conscience. You can train a dog to avoid it to do something, to warn it not to do something wrong, but it doesn't have a built-in conscience. Man has it from Even a child has. So, man would God breathe into him, and he got a 7:41 spirit and which gave him a conscience. Now now I want to explain why he made the animals on the same day. The only thing that made man different from the animals was this conscience. Please remember this. The only thing that makes us different 7:58 from the animals conscious. Animals can be can run faster, they can have a sharper mind and so many things they have an advantage, but when it comes to a conscience they are zero. So I believe the reason God made the animals on the sixth day is to teach man 8:15 the only thing that makes you different from the animals is your conscience and if you violate your conscience you will descend to the level of the animals. There'll be no difference between you and an animal if you go against your conscience. 8:30 That's why he made the animals on the same day. The sixth day. And when he made man he said this. Also Genesis 1:26 Let us make man in our image. No animals were made in God's image. God 8:51 he was made in our image. That's the conscience is the thing that makes us aware of what God's God's image means the character of God. And it's our conscience that tells us what God's character is like. And it's very very important dear 9:08 brothers if you want to be the man who stands before God as God wants all of us to be. The type of man God is looking for is a person who keeps his conscience much more carefully than he keeps his mind or his body. We live in a world where 9:30 most human beings are exalt the mind. We study hard, we spend so much money education and in reading and getting to know facts and many who do spend so much time in keeping their body physically fit spend hours and even spend money to keep their 9:50 body physically fit. We go for check-ups and spend all types of time and money to keep our body and our mind alert. And yet more important than body and mind is our conscience. And that is where man has failed. 10:09 And unfortunately, that is where many believers who claim to be born again have failed. I mean, if you were to ask yourself from the day you were born again, forget all the days before that. Have you tried at least to keep your conscience 10:27 perfectly clear? Or have we ignored it sometimes because we say, "Oh, I can always confess my sin in the blood of Jesus will cleanse me from all sin." That is the problem with so many believers. And that is treating the blood of Christ 10:47 like tap water. Why is it we're not afraid to get our hands dirty? I mean, if tap water cost $1,000 a liter, boy, we would be very careful keeping our hands clean. Tap water is cheap. 11:07 It doesn't matter if you get our hands dirty 10 times a day, we can just wash it. Unfortunately, that is how many, I'm not talking about unbelievers, believers keep their conscience. Oh, it doesn't matter, the blood of Jesus is there to 11:21 cleanse me. If I slip up a little bit, it doesn't matter. If I got a little angry with my wife, it's okay. I can ask forgiveness, the blood of Jesus cleanses me. Turn with me, please, to Hebrews and chapter chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. 11:48 >> [snorts] >> It's saying here in verse 28, "Anyone who set aside the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses." That is the law of Moses. And now, "What about those who 12:08 how much severer punishment, verse 29, do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God? How do you trample under foot the Son of God? Have you ever considered that Christians could be trampling Jesus 12:21 under their feet? Have you meditated on this? One way is this. By regarding the blood of the covenant, the blood that Jesus shed on the cross, is called the blood of the covenant. And as regarded as the word unclean, the 12:41 real meaning of that Greek word is as treated as something common, not dirty, but as treated as something common, cheap. The blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified. That's what I mean. By treating the blood of Christ like tap water, which is 13:00 one of the most common things we have. So, let me read it like that. How much severer punishment will be the one who ignores his conscience and tramples under foot Jesus Christ and treats the blood of the covenant as something 13:16 common. >> [clears throat] >> That it doesn't matter if my conscience is spoiled by something I did or said or even thought. You know, even a a dirty thought spoils your conscience. >> [clears throat] >> Why is it there are so many believers 13:32 addicted to pornography? Why is it people don't turn their eyes away whenever they are tempted with some things some picture of a woman in the uh on billboards or whenever you're looking at the computer 13:52 for something else and you're not looking for it but it comes up Why don't we turn away immediately? Because we think well I can always ask the Lord to cleanse me in the blood of Christ. Treat the blood of Christ as tap water. 14:09 So that's one of the first things that we need to think about. God breathed on man and made him distinct from all the rest of creation. And then he said let's turn back to Genesis chapter 1 now. Let us make man in our image 14:28 and let them rule. God designed, my dear brothers, that you should have authority. He wants you to have authority. That's how he created us. That was God's original plan. 14:46 And God created in his own man in his own image and God blessed him. Genesis 1:28 and said be fruitful and multiply and subdue everything on the earth. Let everything be under your feet. And rule. God's desire is that man should rule. 15:08 Especially rule over sin. And have everything under the feet. That sin should be under your feet. And Jesus defeated Satan so that even Satan is under our feet. And yet it's just like we read in Ezekiel, 15:27 God looks around today at the church, that's all the churches, many who speak such high-sounding stuff. People who speak about the baptism in the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues and make such a lot of noise in the meetings. Now, I'm not against speaking 15:42 in tongues. I speak in tongues myself every day for many years, but I never use it in public because the Bible says that something a man uses to speak to God. So, I'm not despising it. But when I see people using it in such a haphazard way, in a careless 15:57 way, in so many meetings and making a lot of noise and not keeping their conscience clear, I said that's absolute hypocrisy. Pretending that they are communing with God in a heavenly language and living in absolute sin in their thought life, 16:11 in the way they live at home, divorcing their wives. Divorce is something God hates. In fact, he says in 1 Timothy 3, a man who's divorced can never have responsibility in a church. How many churches practice that? This is the condition of Christendom 16:28 today, and in the midst of all this God says, "I'm looking for a man who will stand up for my standards and not sink to the level of all others who claim themselves believers." And I believe God is looking for such people. That's why he's brought 16:43 you here, my brother. You saw the announcement of these meetings and you saw what the theme was. And you read it and you decided to come. I believe you want to be the man whom God is looking for, every one of us. I know whenever I read it, it comes a 17:00 number of times in the Bible, "I look for a man. I look for a man." You read that in Isaiah 59. You read that in Jeremiah chapter 5, where God says, "I'm looking for a man." And you know, even in uh the New Testament, God's looking for a man 17:19 to be the type of man God wanted him to be. Not with the foolish type of authority >> [snorts] >> that many human beings exercise as kings and even some elders and preachers. Well-known preachers act like big shots 17:37 instead of acting like servants. And we need to see again, unfortunately, there are very few examples in Christendom of people I I'm from my own experience. I've been a Christian now for 67 years and I've traveled in many, many 17:53 countries and read almost all the um well-known Christian authors in my lifetime and come across a number of them and read about a number of them, but I tell you honestly, there are very, very few. I can count on my fingers the number of 18:08 people I have respected in my life who I really feel were men of God. There were a few. But it should be many, many more than that. And I pray that some of you will take up that challenge and don't say, "Well, I'm a nobody." Well, 18:24 God picks up people who are nobodies. We're all nobodies. And I hope you will remember that till the end of our life. We're just a nobody. When when the Lord anoints us, he makes us not it doesn't it doesn't make us somebody, but he uses a nobody 18:39 to convey his message and to build his church and to confound Satan's plans on earth and to manifest his glory and to show through different individuals how God wants a man to live. And in order to fulfill that, he may 18:59 take a man through a lot of suffering and trial and humiliation and not the type of man God wants is not the average type of well-known preacher and certainly not the well-known political leaders. They are million miles away from what God 19:16 wants a man to be like. It's all a human authority. And we must not be not be fooled by that. Unfortunately, many preachers and Christian leaders are exercising the same type of authority that secular rulers exercise. And that's why God sent Jesus to Earth 19:34 to show us what he wanted man to be like. When you look at Jesus, we must see not just someone who came to Earth to die for our sins, but one who lived before he died. That was only 6 hours on the cross. But before those 6 hours on the cross, 19:49 there was 33 and 1/2 years where he demonstrated the type of man God wants every one of us to be. That's why he said, "Follow me." We We emphasize believe in Jesus, but if you look at the Gospels, he hardly ever said, "Believe in me." Most of the time 20:07 he said, "Follow me. Follow me. Follow me." And that's the word we need to hear more than believe in me. Of course, we need to believe in him. But the true belief in him will lead to a following him. And so, what type of person was Jesus 20:21 for us to see what spiritual authority is like? Let me read something to you which I copied down a little while ago. >> [snorts] >> The glory of Jesus Christ our Lord is in 20:40 this. He was God from all eternity. But when he came as a man, he had no famous genealogy or family status to boast about. Matthew chapter 1. And if you go to the You see, Matthew 21:00 chapter 1 is something interesting that you see there. Uh if you turn turn there, in in Jewish genealogies, whenever they listed the ancestors of a person, they never mentioned a woman's name. Even in the ancestry of Mary, 21:22 which which is given in Luke chapter 3, you never mention you don't even find Mary's name there. And that's her ancestry. That's how Jews who only mentioned men. But it's very interesting that in the first chapter of the first book of the 21:34 New Testament, there are four women's names mentioned in a genealogy. Why is that? Have you noticed that in Matthew chapter 1, it's the names of many men are mentioned, but in the middle of that, you read about Here's the first woman, 21:51 Tamar. Gen- Matthew 1:3. And you know who Tamar was? The daughter of Judah and uh his daughter-in-law. He committed adultery with his daughter-in-law and had a child 22:09 called Perez. Matthew 1:3. And Jesus chooses that person to be in his genealogy. Uh, wouldn't you be ashamed if you advertised the fact that one of my ancestors is he committed adultery with his own daughter-in-law and I'm 22:25 descended from that? One would think you want to hide it. Why does the Lord put it right there? The second woman is um Rahab. Verse 5. And you all know who Rahab was? 22:45 She was not a Canaanite. She Sorry, she was not an Israelite. She was the most well-known prostitute in Jericho. Imagine having that as an ancestor for you. How many of us would choose it? Or even if such an ancestor was in your 23:00 ancestry to proclaim it, to make a list of it, let everybody know this prostitute who was the well-known prostitute madam is one of my ancestors. Why is that put there? I'm trying to show you the glory of Jesus Christ, so different from what we 23:13 think is glory and honor in this earth. The third woman is Ruth. Verse five. Matthew 1:5. Ruth is a Moabite. You read about Moabites in the Old 23:32 Testament. Moab was the father of Moabites. You know how Moab was born? Lot committed adultery with his own daughter and was born and that through that was born Moab. And from that came Ruth. 23:51 How many of us would like to proclaim that one of my ancestors was a father who committed adultery with his own daughter? Look at this. We're thinking of the glory of Jesus Christ, the first chapter of the first book of the New Testament. 24:05 And the fourth woman mentioned is verse six, Bathsheba. Well, you know her story. How David saw this pretty woman having a bath and called her in and committed adultery with her and killed her husband and married her. 24:25 How many of us would like to have a woman like that in our ancestry? I'm just trying to show you the glory of Jesus Christ. So different from and we need to change our way of thinking. All this glorying in ancestry and this was my 24:38 father and this is my mother and this is where I got educated. I was educated in this college and from there and they all the stupid things that not only about unbelievers, that Christians glory in. Okay. [snorts] Let me read this to you. 24:52 Jesus was God from all eternity, but when he He as a man, he did not have any famous genealogy or family status to boast about. We saw that. And then he was born in a cowshed and kept in a cow's feeding basket. Imagine. 25:11 You know how parents prepare for the birth of a child. Almighty God had 6,000 years, sorry, 4,000 years to prepare for the birth of Jesus Christ on Earth. You think he couldn't have kept one room open 25:29 in a inn in Bethlehem? He had 4,000 years to prepare for it. And yet he deliberately, God almighty, deliberately ensured that every room in every hotel would be booked up. And if some hotel a room was still open, 25:50 God would make that donkey on which Mary and was traveling with Joseph, slow down a bit because that room has also got to be occupied. So that by the time they reach Bethlehem, every room would be occupied. Remember, this is how Jesus God prepared 26:06 for the birth of his son. The stupid, foolish things that human beings glory in. And born in a cowshed, the son of God. I don't believe there's any human being that I've ever I've never heard of a human being, not even a beggar on the 26:20 streets in India, who had to be who had a baby born in a cowshed and to be kept in a feeding basket. He did not have any higher educational qualification. He never went to college. I'm sure and like all Jewish children, 26:36 he went to school. But that's about it. There was nothing to boast about. Many Christians who boast about their qualifications or even if they don't publicly boast about it because it'll be shameful, but who inwardly think, "I'm superior 26:51 because I'm so educated." Better. I don't know if anybody's like that sitting over here. Or is so cultured or so capable or who's able to speak well. Even preachers can Imagine, he had no higher education or qualification. 27:09 He lived in a backward village. God could have ensured that Jesus was born in Jerusalem, which is almost the capital of the world. No, he allowed him to be born in a remote town and to live and grow up in a remote almost like a village called Nazareth. 27:27 A backward village. And he lived in a very ordinary poor home. His father was a poor carpenter. I don't They had four Jesus had four brothers and two sisters. There were seven children in that family. And they did not have separate rooms to 27:43 sleep in. I believe like I've seen it in India how the poor people with seven children of a poor carpenter. I've seen a lot of homes like that in India. They have a very small house and they all sleep on the floor. Maybe the girls sleep in one room, the 27:58 boys in another. That's about it. And I believe Jesus slept on the floor all his life. And uh He was very He was only known as the son of man. He refused to take any other title. I am the son of man, which means I believe it means I'm an ordinary man. 28:17 Every time you read son of man in the gospels, read it as I'm an ordinary man. I'm trying to show you the glory of Jesus Christ. And he was called a friend of sinners. That's not a title a lot of people would like to have. 28:33 Like to be known as a friend of the president. Aha. Or the friend of the governor. But friend of sinners. And that's the only title he wanted. Friend of sinners. And remember this. I'm not saying all this to shame any of us. 28:50 I'm just trying to tell you when you say you're following Jesus Christ, please bear these things in mind. We are deceiving ourselves when we say we are following Jesus. God says, "I am looking for a man." He found one in his own son. 29:05 He's looking for others like him. And when he did a miracle, this is the amazing thing. He tried his best to hide it from everybody. Have you ever heard of a preacher in our day who did a miracle and wants to hide it from everyone? 29:24 All these fake miracles that so-called today's so-called preachers do on the pulpit to fool everybody like magicians. They're proclaiming lies. Whereas Jesus did genuine miracles and tried to hide it from me. He would always tell, "Don't tell anybody. 29:43 Don't tell anyone that you did that you experienced this." He withdrew himself. You read in John 6:15 when people wanted to make him a king. How many would withdraw themselves? Somebody comes and says, "I want to I want to make you an elder in the 30:01 church." Would you hesitate? Would you say, "Oh, thank you very much." Or some position of authority. He withdrew himself. They All the people in John chapter 6 after he had multiplied the loaves to feed 5,000, they wanted to make him their king 30:19 in Israel. He withdrew into the wilderness, into the mountains. >> [snorts] >> We read that he had no place to lay his head. Very often he would go and sleep under the trees in the Mount of Olives. It's not because he didn't have money. 30:36 So many people were giving gifts to Jesus. Judas Iscariot had a bag and a The bag I believe was such such a lot of money and I know how I know why I'll tell you why I say that. Because Judas was stealing from it. And none of the disciples could discover 30:53 it. None of the disciples sensed it. And the only way that can happen is if there's such a lot of money in it that if somebody steals a little bit from it, you don't even realize it. And with all that money, Jesus didn't 31:04 say, "Let Let me go and book a room in a hotel." No. He would save money and go and sleep under the trees. Religious leaders accused him of having a devil. >> [snorts and clears throat] 31:22 >> And Jesus said, "If they've called the Son of Man they called him Beelzebub. How much more the members of his Matthew 10:25. If they've called the head of the house Beelzebub. 31:41 Prince of devils. They called the head of the house prince of devils. Matthew 10:25. How much more will they malign and give evil names to the members of his family? Let me read it again. 32:00 The disciple must become like his teacher. I'm reading Matthew 10:25. And the slave must become like his master. If they have called the head of the house prince of devils. How much more 32:19 the members of his family? Dear brothers, are you a member of his family? What is the worst name anybody called you because you're a Christian? Not because you did some stupid things somewhere. But because you're a Christian, 32:39 I have been called the devil numerous times. I remember the early days pretty soon after I was converted and I would stand on the streets as a naval officer in off-working hours, I would stand on the streets and preach the gospel and there were 32:54 numerous people who'd call me the devil. And since then when you when I denounce corrupt Christianity, there are people who've written articles against me as the devil. Have you been called the devil? Jesus was called. How much it says here, 33:11 if they call the head of the house the prince of devils, how much more the members of his family. Have you read that verse? How have you applied it? And I'm not saying you should go around deliberately getting people to call you the devil. 33:25 I'm asking you, why did the Jesus Why did they call Jesus the devil? He stood up for something and that was so much against what they understood in their religion, and that's why they were upset and called him the devil. 33:38 And there's so much in Christianity today that is corrupt and not according to the New Testament, and if you stand up against it, they'll call you a few names. I'll tell you that. But have you been diplomatic and just try to please everybody? 33:54 That's why God says, "I'm looking for one man." He wants many. In Mark chapter 3, his own relatives, verse 21, said he was mad. That's an interesting place there 34:15 in Mark chapter 3. It says, "He when he came home Mark chapter 3 verse 20, such a crowd gathered around him that he didn't even have time to eat a meal. Has that ever happened to you when you 34:36 were so busy preaching that you didn't have time to eat food? And when his disciples when his own people, his family members, saw him like this, they said, "He is He has lost his senses. He is mad." He never hesitated to wash and wipe his 34:56 disciples' feet. That was a very lowly job in that those days. Today, we don't need to wash people's feet because we wear shoes and socks. But in those days, like like I whenever I go to the villages in India, I always wear a pair of slippers. 35:09 And the dust on the road then it's all dusty roads, they're not tarred roads. And I've been there for 30 40 years going to these villages preaching the gospel. And I know what it is. And it's the most refreshing thing to have some poor water poured on your 35:27 feet when you enter a person's house because you wash off all that dirt. And that's how they had in every Jewish home, like the rich homes, they'd keep a bucket of water and a slave who would come and wash people's feet. And in that upper room, the last 35:41 supper, the Lord said, "I don't want anybody there. It's a private meeting with the disciples." So, that rich man kept the bucket of water there, but no slave. And they all came with dirty feet. And every one of those disciples knew 35:52 what the procedure was. When you enter a house, the feet are washed. But there's no slave. Everybody looks around. Matthew says, "I'm a chartered accountant. I don't go washing people's feet." John says, "I'm a relative of the high 36:06 priest. I don't wash people's feet." Everybody was important. They go down the line. Nobody is small enough to do that. So, Jesus said, "Oh, well, I suppose I'm the only one who here is really small." So, he pick up some picks up the bucket 36:20 and washes people's feet. He did not hesitate to do that. And remember, that was on the last day of his life on Earth. Usually people in the ministry, by the time they come to the last day of their life on Earth, they were ascended to 36:36 some amazing height, well-known, they have a title, they are usually Reverend Doctor or something or the other. Jesus never had any of that. He was a washer of feet, a slave. Is this the Jesus you're following? Or are you following some 36:56 ex- some preacher who's not at all like Christ? At the end of his life, he was falsely accused. You know how it was, all the accusations people made against him. He did not have any advocate 37:19 to speak on his behalf. He couldn't afford one. And he didn't didn't want one. He kept silent when he was falsely accused. >> [snorts] >> Matthew 26:63. I've had sometimes people 37:37 accuse me falsely. And I say, "My answer is in Matthew 26:63." Jesus kept silent. So, that is our example. He did not have any friends or 37:56 supporters to stand with him. We've been tremendously blessed. I believe in every one of our churches if we face trouble, there are people in our church to stand with us. But Jesus did not have the soldiers spat on his face, 38:11 beat him with their fists. Some slapped him and mocked him. And finally, he was hanged on a cross like a convicted murderer. Like the other two on the other side each side of the cross. And even when he was hanging there, 38:30 people who passed by hurled abuses at him, wagged their heads in scorn, and they mocked him saying, "If you're the son of God, come down from the cross." In this state of being reproached, he died. This is the glory 38:52 of our Lord, the one who we claim to be following. And now he says to us, "Take up your cross and follow my example." Think about these things, dear brothers. 39:11 This is the type of man whom God is looking for. That's why when he looked at Jesus and at the end of 30 years, that the Father had watched his life from the time he was born, and how he submitted to imperfect Joseph 39:29 and Mary. How difficult we find it to submit to an to an elder in a church who's imperfect, or to parents who are imperfect, because we are better than them, or we think we are better than them. 39:47 Jesus was the one who he was sinless. Let me ask you, do you think Joseph and Mary argued with each other? They didn't have They didn't even have the Holy Spirit. Today there are people who claim to be filled with the Spirit, who are husband 40:05 and wife who yell at each other. How do you think Joseph and Mary lived? Don't think they were saints. Then he's not Saint Joseph and Saint Mary. No, I'm not a Roman Catholic. They were ordinary people under the old covenant. And I've seen how married 40:21 couples in the new covenant behave. And I can imagine how they behaved under the old covenant without the Holy Spirit, without a Bible, without Christian fellowship. They must have argued and yelled at each other. And Jesus 40:36 never despised them. If he did, he would have sinned. He submitted to them. To imperfect authority. Have we ever submitted to imperfect authority if God kept us there? How quick we are to 40:59 judge authorities. We have a long way to go, dear brothers. I believe God is looking for a man in in Christ, he has given us an example. So, >> [clears throat] 41:17 >> if you turn back to Genesis, God made a man and he said, "Let him rule." Now, I want to say this, dear brothers. I believe God wants to give us authority. As I have sought to go through the I 41:37 mean, as I have sought to preach the gospel in the last 60 years that I've been doing full-time Christian work, in many lands and different situations, some difficult countries and some easy countries. >> [snorts] >> The reason I've gone 41:55 is to make disciples. But the reason is not like many people say, "There's a need there." The usually usual missionary appeal is, "There's a need out there in those countries in Africa or in Asia. There's a need there. Who will go and 42:13 tell them that is not the basis on which I have gone. I'll tell you the basis on which I have gone to make disciples. Please turn with me to Matthew 28 and verse 42:31 19 first. Have you read this carefully? Therefore, go and make disciples in every nation. Whenever you read the word therefore 42:50 in the Bible see what it is there for. Do you get it? Whenever you read the word therefore in the New Testament, see what it is there for. Go back to the previous verse. There is a great need all over the 43:08 world. Therefore, go. No. That is the basis on which almost all missionaries go out today. That's not the basis on which I will go out. I've been to countries where it is forbidden to preach the gospel. I didn't go out 43:26 go there because there was a need. And I remember when I was going to one of those countries this is the verse that came to my mind. Lord, shall I go? Verse 18. All authority in heaven and on earth, including in 43:46 those countries, including in that particular country you're going to, is given to me, the Lord Jesus Jesus says. Therefore, go. If the Lord doesn't send you, don't go. But if the Lord sends you, you can go to the most difficult place on earth. 44:00 Not because there's a need there but because the Lord says all authority in heaven and earth is given to me, therefore, go. That is the basis on which I have gone from the time the Lord called me out of my naval job 60 years ago. 44:17 And I've seen the results in many, many countries. This is the basis on which God wants every one of us to go. You don't have to be a full-time Christian worker. Jesus said, "You're all witnesses." If the Holy Spirit has come upon you and 44:34 filled you, you are a witness. You can be in a secular job. In fact, 99% of Christians are witnesses being in a secular job. Less than 1% are called to full-time Christian ministry like me. And maybe some here called to full-time 44:50 Christian You God bless you. But you don't go on that basis. You go on the basis that Jesus Christ has got all authority in heaven and earth. He died, rose up from the dead, and ascended to heaven. He's the right hand of the Father, and he's got all 45:02 authority in heaven and on every country on the earth, over every part of this earth. If you don't believe that, don't go. If you believe that and the Lord's called you, go on that basis. And I'll tell you this, he will 45:17 stand by you through thick and thin. And you don't need any human support. You don't need financial support. I've never received a salary in 60 years from anybody. I preached in many churches. I've never taken a salary from them. 45:34 God's taken care of me just like he took care of Jesus and Paul. God urged different people to give him gifts here and there, and they And I've never starved. I have four sons, and they never starved. I could educate them. 45:49 Simply, not with grand style and >> [snorts] >> uh I never had a car in India. I rode a scooter for 42 years. I couldn't afford a car. That's okay. And I had a wife who stood by me in in that type of situation because she had 46:02 an equal calling. What I say is if you really want to serve the Lord, you must be an example. I'm speaking to those who are called who are doing any type of full-time Christian ministry. Be an example. I'll talk about the subject of money 46:17 another on another another session. But this is very important. I hope you have understood a little bit of what it means when God says, "I am looking for a man who will stand in the gap between God and man. Stand there for 46:35 me." I have not said this to condemn anybody here. Condemnation is never from the Holy Spirit. And I have spoken it to challenge you, my brother, as I have challenged myself. I have gone through all these things 46:53 that I shared with you. I've meditated on myself. And I applied it to myself first. I dare not speak something which I have not applied to myself first. And I want to challenge every single brother here you're in a secular job, 99% of you are 47:08 in secular jobs, to hear the cry the Lord says even today, "I'm looking for a man who will follow me." This is what Jesus says. And I believe that if we do that, we'll see a tremendous result in our 47:27 life, far far more than we have experienced so far. And I pray that this weekend will be a turning point, a real turning point in your life. Where 47:46 you come to a new experience and understanding of what the Lord wants from you. And he wants every one of us to be that man who will stand before him and seek to follow Jesus in the way he lived on this earth. 48:05 Let us pray. >> [snorts] >> Heavenly Father, the challenge is so high. The standard is so high. Thank you for the gift of the Holy 48:23 Spirit. We wouldn't dream of even attempting this without the power of the Holy Spirit. And so, Lord, give give us each one a tremendous hunger and thirst for the power of the Holy Spirit in our life. Help us, we pray, to really follow 48:43 the example of Jesus. Never to have a complaint about our circumstances or our the limitations of our personality. None of these can hinder your authority and power being manifested through us, Lord. We believe. It's only our unbelief 49:01 that has hindered us all these years. We want to trust you from now on that you who called us to be your witnesses will equip us with power, whoever we are, however limited our gifts may be, however weak our personality may be, 49:19 however limited our influence may be. We believe the Holy Spirit will make up for everything. Help us, Lord, to really trust you, to be filled with the Holy Spirit before we leave this place this weekend, and to go back as different people from 49:34 the way we came, to be the type of man you are looking for in this day and age. Heavenly Father, hear us in Jesus' name. Amen. >> [music]
