0:07 Praise the Lord. And let's bow before the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, we know that all good gifts go from you. We want to humble ourselves before you and not take anything for granted. 0:24 And we don't want this even this prayer to be a ritual. but rather a real expression of our dependence upon you and our need of you every moment of the day. Help our lives to be a testimony for 0:42 your name and one that glorifies you throughout our life. Bless every family here and those who are attending online and [clears throat] pray that everyone's need will be met in some supernatural way by you. We are 0:59 incapable of doing that. So we trust you heavenly father being glorified in our midst and be present in our midst Lord Jesus as a risen Lord and head of our church. Thank you father for hearing us in Jesus name. Amen. >> [clears throat] 1:25 >> There's a great expression in Isaiah chapter 55 which we must always bear in mind and never forget. And more and more as we walk with the 1:43 Lord, we realize the truth of that statement that the Lord makes here in Isaiah 55 and verse 8. The Lord says, "My way of thinking 2:01 is not your way of thinking." It's very important to understand that if we want to walk with the Lord because sometimes we can think that God responds just the way human beings do and we can treat him like we treat some 2:21 elder brother with respect of course but he's not an elder brother he's almighty God and he says My way of thinking is not your way of thinking and my way of doing things is not your 2:41 way of doing things. So once we understand that [clears throat] we'll be very careful anytime we witness for the Lord or try to share something with others or what we feel that the 3:00 Lord is speaking to us. We'll be very careful to say this is what the Lord said to me. I find so many believers who so likely say the Lord said this to me and the Lord said that to me and the Lord said the other thing and most of the time I don't feel it was 3:15 the Lord at all. It was just their imagination. And so I am very hesitant to use that expression. In my younger days when I was a little more stupid I used it. The Lord said this to me and the Lord said that to me. I'm not saying God doesn't 3:32 speak. He does. He wants us to hear his voice and but you know it's it's only the prophets in the Old Testament who could dare to say thus said the Lord. So if you but I believe God can speak to 3:47 us and even speak through us provided we understand his ways and his way of thinking. And in order to do that, we must first of all understand this verse that my way of thinking concerning any 4:05 subject the Lord says is totally different from your way of thinking. Have you understood that? And my way of doing things is also totally different from your way of doing things. And if you think it's just a slight 4:22 difference, 20°, 30°, not even 90°, it's 180° different. The Lord says as high as the heaven as the above the earth. Or we could also say 180 degrees different from the way you think. So 4:40 it's completely different. And I've discovered that more and more and that's humbled me. And I'm not so quick now to say this is what the Lord spoke to me. And so many Christians lightly say the Lord said this to me and the Lord said 4:55 that to me. But I don't see much spirituality in their life. If the Lord really speaks to you, I mean God's word is such a powerful thing that if the man's hearing God's speaking to him regularly, his life will be completely transformed. 5:13 And so when I hear people saying that the Lord is saying this to me and the Lord is saying that to me, I have a big question because I don't see much progress in their spiritual life. So please keep this in mind dear brothers all your life that God loves us 5:28 immensely and he wants to make us like him. He wants to make us like Christ. And the way he makes us like Christ is by changing our way of thinking. so that it aligns more and more with his 5:47 way of thinking in everything in every area. You know our way of thinking as I said here is as different from the heaven and is from the earth. One classic example is in the area of money. All human beings have a particular way 6:05 of looking at money and thinking about money including most believers. And God says, "My ways are completely different from yours." God knows that money is useful on the earth, but he doesn't make it important. 6:23 So there's a difference between using money and making it important. That's one area where God says, "My way of thinking is very different from yours." In other words, the way God looks at money, for example, is very different from the way human beings look 6:38 at it. So if I am being conformed more and more into the likeness of Christ, I find myself more and more looking at money the way God looks at it as something useful to do a certain amount of work on this 6:56 earth to take care of our families and things like that but not something to be made so important in our life that we get very disturbed if we lose something or even if you lose your job. The Lord said if you seek his kingdom 7:13 first, every every believer, that's a promise. If you seek God's kingdom first, he will definitely add everything to you. And my brothers and sisters, we must be a living demonstration of that to an unbelieving world around us that we have 7:33 a father in heaven who cares for us. That has been my goal. You know, I've been 60 years now in full-time Christian work, never taking a salary from anyone, never depending on anyone. Just like Jesus and Paul, they never took a 7:48 salary. They people gave them some gifts occasionally, but they didn't expect anything from anyone. And they didn't think that this person or that person would give anything. They trusted in their father completely. And I believe both of them had to live a 8:05 very simple life, both Jesus and Paul, because they would not go out of the way to try and get money for themselves like lots and lots of preachers today. So that's just one area where if we align our mind to God's way of thinking, 8:24 we will not be in a panic when money runs short or even if you lose a job. God God will definitely provide for you. If you seek his kingdom first, all the other things will be added to you. We must keep these promises in our 8:39 mind all the time. You've often heard me quote 1 Samuel 2:30, which is one of my favorite verses. Those who honor me, I will honor, says the Lord. And you've heard me, some most of you have heard me, but I'll repeat it again. What the way I say to the Lord 8:56 is, Lord, your word says, and that's from 1 Samuel 2:30, those who honor me, I will honor. Well, to the best of my knowledge, Lord, I'm trying to honor you. If I'm not honoring you, in some way, it will show me. I will definitely give up my own way 9:13 and seek to honor you in every area. I want to honor you in the way I speak to people. I want to honor you in the way I use my money. I want to honor you in the ways I use my time. and I want to honor you in every area of my life. 9:29 And when I'm trying to do that to the best of my ability and Lord, if you don't honor me, that will be the first time in 6,000 years that you broke your promise. I say like that to my heavenly father. You know why? Just to assure myself that 9:49 it it won't happen. That he will not break his promise. I say that more for my own uh my own to strengthen my own faith that I say it and I really tell the Lord that Lord if if I honor you and you don't honor me in that situation it'll 10:05 be the first time in 6,000 years that you broke your promise and when I say it like that my faith is strengthened how can he break his promise to me if he said those who honor me I will honor the little things like this my brothers is I 10:19 wish somebody had told me this what I'm telling you right when I was converted at the age of 19 and a half. If somebody had told me this, wow, how different my life would have been instead of my life was so up and down and up and down 10:31 because I never had a spiritual father to tell me these things straight. Trust God and honor him and he will never let you down. So I want to say that what I missed out in my life, I want to encourage all of you. Lay hold of God. 10:45 He will not let you down. I'll tell you to every single one of you and I want to say this. I don't know what um most of you I don't know who are listening to me. I don't know anything about your past life. Even the ones I know I don't 10:59 know anything about your past life. I don't know how you have lived. I don't know whether you have backsliden a lot or I don't know where you are today spiritually. I don't know how responsive you are to the word of God regularly. I 11:09 don't know whether you all listen to God speaking to you every day at all. I don't know even if you read the Bible every day. I don't know whether you listen to God. A lot of people read the Bible every day don't listen to God. So 11:19 I really don't know anything about you. But I can say this. If you develop the habit of taking these little promises, I promise you, you don't have to know the whole Bible. But if you can know some of these promises God has given, and lay hold of them, 11:36 your life can change completely. God's will is, and let me tell you this, I've been saying this repeatedly as this new year has begun everywhere. I encourage people to remember this verse. Please turn to 1 11:51 John and chapter 3. 1 John chapter 3. And I've been emphasizing that many people if you ask them what is your what is the hope you're looking forward to? 12:09 And almost every believer will say I'm looking forward to the return of Jesus Christ when I'll see him face to face. And I say what else? Yeah. Then I'll go to heaven and I'll be with him forever. Well, I say you got half of it right 12:27 that you're waiting for the coming of Christ and to see him face to face. But the second half is wrong. He's not coming here just to take us to heaven. So that's why I want you to turn to 1 John 3 and verse 2. The Bible 12:41 speaks about a hope and to most Christians the hope is to see the Lord when he comes face come comes back to earth. And I'll tell you that was my hope too for a long time till I began to study the scriptures. And I discovered 12:56 that is only half of the hope of the Christian that when Christ comes again I'll see him face to face. There's a second part of that hope which I've kept on emphasizing. Maybe some of you have already heard me say it but it is in 1 13:08 John chapter 3 and verse two. The last part we know that when he appears two things will happen. Not one one we will see him as he is and everybody acknowledges. The second is 13:28 more important really we will be like him just as he is. So in future dear brothers don't just make that a thing you get cuped in your head so that you give the right answer because I'll just come to the implication of that in a moment but be 13:47 gripped by the fact that our hope is twofold. One that Christ will come back and I'll see him and the second that at that time I will be like him. Now how do you know whether you have this hope? You heard me say this and say yeah I got it. I can 14:01 now tell everybody that my hope is twofold that I will see him and I'll be like him. But it could be just a something in your head. There's only one way to find out whether you really have this hope, this double hope of seeing 14:17 him and being like him. And I'll tell you how to find out. The next verse it says here, if you really have this hope, everyone without exception, if they have this hope, this is what they'll do. They'll keep on purifying themselves 14:37 till they reach Christ's standard of purity. Everyone who has this hope will keep on purifying himself until he reaches Christ's standard of purity. So my question is, 14:56 are you purifying yourself every day of your life? Are you seeking to judge yourself wherever you find yourself behaving in an uncristlike way or speaking to somebody in an uncristlike way? maybe speaking to your wife or your husband in a uncristlike 15:16 way in a way Jesus would never speak or usually we take advantage of those who are very close to us our family members we tend to take more liberties with them by being uncristlike in our conversation with them where we are very courteous 15:32 and more Christlike in our conversation to other people in the church you examine yourself and see if that is not true you know why because we want to have a reputation in the church as being wonderful Christians, but you have no 15:45 desire to have a reputation with your wife. You couldn't care less whether your wife or your husband thinks like that. You say, "Well, we are married forever. It doesn't matter what she thinks of me, what he thinks of me." But 15:56 that's pathetic if that is your attitude. Our aim should be to be Christlike. And let me say this, it must begin in your home. It must begin with your marriage partner. If you're not married, it must 16:14 begin with the way you behave towards your parents and your relatives in your home. If it because those are the ones you see every day. The people in the church you see once or twice a week. It's very and that also for just a 16:28 couple of hours in a whole week you see the people in the church. I mean you're sitting in the people in the church maybe for one and a half hours, one and a half hours, two meetings, three hours and out of those three hours, you may 16:39 meet most of them for maybe five minutes. That's it. You you evaluate for example in the last one week how many believers have you spent more than five minutes with person oneonone? Even if you go to church regularly, very 16:57 few, very little. But think of the number of hours we spend with our loved ones at home. That is where we have to purify ourselves. Like it says here, I have a hope that I'm going to become like Jesus one day. And the 17:15 proof of that is I'm purifying myself every day. If I slip up in one word that was not wise in the way I spoke to somebody, I want to judge myself. And if I hurt somebody, I want to immediately ask forgiveness because I want to make 17:33 my life absolutely clean in every area. This is the mark of a person who serious about his Christianity. So as I said, the hope is twofold. One is that I shall see him face to face and second that I shall be like him. And 17:51 let's not assume that's another thing where I warned people. You know many people say we are preaching um the principle of selection that the Lord will not accept all his children equally. Well, I'm not here to decide that because I'm not the Lord. My duty 18:10 is only to proclaim God's word and I'll tell you what God's word says and I'll tell you it straight. When the Lord comes, not every believer is going to be ready to meet him. Please take that personally. Take it to yourself. 18:27 You may be one of those who's not ready to meet the Lord when he comes. And other preachers may not tell you straight like this because they don't love you enough. I love you enough to tell you the truth. And I'll tell you where I get it from. 18:45 that when Christ comes there'll be two types of believers one who are ready to meet him one who are not ready to meet him not unbelievers believe that's understand believers and unbelievers will be separated but I'm talking about 18:56 born again believers one who are born again believers who are not ready to meet him maybe some of you listening to me right now and some who are ready to meet him and see that in 1 John chapter 2 just a five verses before 19:11 what we read same few verses before in 1 John chapter 2 and verse 28 you heard me this before then please listen to it again little children he's speaking to believers not unbelievers abide in him that means stay in him and 19:30 when I when I read the word abide I remember what Jesus said like the branch abides in the tree all the time the branch doesn't take a holiday once in a while he doesn't break off from the tree even for one in it. It's all the time ensuring that it is in 19:49 the tree and the sap keeps on flowing and beautiful fruit comes out. The you know that fruit is produced in a branch effortlessly. This is very important to understand. It's not by the branch struggling struggling to produce fruit. 20:07 The sap the tree takes the responsibility for that. very important to understand this picture. I'll tell you because it has helped me tremendously that it is not my responsibility to become Christlike. It's not my responsibility to struggle 20:22 and struggle and become behave more like Jesus. The vast majority of Christians even in CFC listen to the message and say I must behave and become more Christlike. Brother, you can't. You first of all realize that all your 20:35 struggle will never make you Christlike. What the Lord wants you to do is abide in him. like the branch in the tree and the sap from the tree. The Holy Spirit will flow into you and it'll be effortless will flow into you and produce amazing 20:53 fruit in your life and in your ministry. It'll be entirely his work and the branch will get no glory for it. The glory will go entirely to the tree that produced that fruit. See this is the true Christian life. So little children, 21:09 1 John 2:28, abide in him. Stay stuck to him. If you do that, then you'll be ready. Otherwise, you won't be ready. So that when he appears, 21:25 we may have confidence and boldness at his coming. Oh Lord, thank you. At last, you've come. I can be like you now. And then there'll be another group of believers, not unbelievers, another group of believers. Remember, 21:43 it's written to little children. 1 John 2:28, another group that shrinks away in shame. What did you think when you read that verse? Did you consider that you could be in that number? You're a born again believer and you could be one of those who 22:02 shrinks away in shame. You say that doesn't that was not written for believers, wasn't it? Read it again. Little children don't shrink away in shame when he comes. Who are these little children? They're not unbelievers. 22:22 So that you don't shrink away in shame at his coming. I believe with all my heart that when Christ comes among the believers, the all Christianom says there'll be two groups, believers and unbelievers. and all the believers will 22:35 be taken up. Fine. They can believe what they like. I believe 1 John 2:28. And I preach it. In fact, I preach a lot of things that other Christians don't preach because I I believe it exactly as it's in the Bible. 1 John 2:28. I say 22:49 all believers, some will not be ready to meet him. Sh will shrink away in shame when Christ comes. Do you believe that you could be in that number? I want to fear because I don't want to be in that number. I want to be in those who say, "Oh Lord, I'm excited 23:06 that you've come and not shrink away in shame." Why do they shrink away in shame? Because there was something in their life they did not settle. They heard it again and again. And in CFC churches, you hear it repeated again 23:22 and again and again. If you got a grudge against somebody, forgive that person. If you have hurt somebody, go and ask forgiveness and forgive everybody on the earth. There's no, you should never not have a grudge against anybody in the world. I 23:37 don't mind repeating that a thousand times because I believe some people will listen to it and become ready for the Lord's coming because of that. So I I don't want to get I do not want to get a reputation of a preacher who preaches 23:50 something new every time. No, I want to get a reputation before the Lord that I prepared God's people for his coming more than to get a reputation that I always preach something new. I'll tell you the vast majority of preachers have 24:04 got a tremendous desire to get a reputation that I always preach something new in every meeting. I was like that in my younger days too when I was immature and I did not know the Lord. Then I was more dependent on the approval of men and I always wanted a 24:19 reputation that I'm preaching something new not the same old thing. I finished with that. I'm a servant of God and my calling is not to get a reputation myself of preaching something new. My calling is to prepare God's people for 24:33 his coming and to prepare all of you to be ready when he comes. And that's why I emphasize some of these things. Dear brothers and sisters, seek to purify yourself like it says in 1 John 3:3. And let me tell you one area that I've 24:51 been emphasizing a lot in these days as this after this new year has begun. The Bible says we are to press on to perfection. On the pulpit of our church in Bangalore, we put these words, let us press on to perfection. 25:10 A lot of people accuse us saying, "Brother Zack, you people think you're perfect." I say, "No, just read what's on that on the pulpit." When I say, "Let's press on to perfection." We are the ones admitting we are not perfect. 25:23 How can you accuse us of saying we are perfect? We are not. But we are pressing on to perfection. Unlike a lot of other Christians who sit in the same class year after year after year, let me ask you a straight question. Those of you 25:35 who are parents, how happy will you be if even one of your children sat in the same class next year as as in the past year? I don't think you'll be happy. You want your children to get promoted every year. But I want to tell you, God wants 25:53 us to be promoted in likeness to Christ every year. In other words, we need to evaluate ourselves in relation to last year. Have I become a little more Christ Christlike? And those who are married have got a great advantage. 26:09 Ask your wife, she'll be honest with you. Ask your husband, he'll be honest with you whether you have become more Christlike in the last one year or you're just the same or perhaps worse. very important that somebody who's 26:26 honest with us will tell us what what they think of our conduct and our behavior and our attitudes because this is very very important and in this pressing on to perfection there are a couple of verses I want to 26:46 point out now to you which speak about how we can become perfect one is in James chapter 3, our goal is to press on to perfection. 27:04 That is to become like Christ. And here it says in 1 John chapter 3 and verse two. Please look at this verse. 27:23 We all stumble in many ways which is true in our thoughts, attitudes, motives, words, actions. We all stumble in many ways. But it says if you can control yourself in one area, 27:40 not 25 areas, one area, if you can control your tongue every day, 24 hours a day in what you speak, you're a perfect person. 27:59 Imagine a word which says that I can be perfect. Why here on the earth? If I control my tongue, the Bible says such a man is a perfect man. You think that word is written in everybody's Bible? Sure. And yet, why is 28:18 it that so many Christians don't pursue perfection in their speech? If if a student was told that in the final examination this is going to be the main subject that you're going to be examined in. 28:38 There are 10 different subjects but this particular subject will be the most important. You'll get 90% in this subject and 10% for all the other nine subjects. Which will you concentrate on? Supposing your child is told in school one subject 28:53 gets 90% marks all the other nine subjects get only 10% marks [clears throat] 1% each but 90% for this particular subject say mathematics. [clears throat] Won't you get your child children to concentrate on mathematics? They say it 29:08 doesn't matter if you don't get do well in the other subjects but concentrate on mathematics. And here's what the Bible says. If you concentrate to make sure your tongue is under control, your you are a perfect person. Those are not my words. Let me 29:26 read it to you. We all stumble in many ways. But if anyone does not stumble in the what he speaks, he's a perfect person because that means he can control the whole body. Are you having a problem controlling the 29:45 lusts in your body? You know the secret of con controlling sexual passion is by controlling the tongue. Have you ever heard that? It's in this verse. If a person can control his tongue, he'll be able to control his 30:04 whole body, all the other passions. What a promise. I say, Lord, I have a lot of passions in my body. I want to control. The Lord says, "Okay, begin with controlling your tongue." That means every time you're prompted by 30:20 your flesh or the devil to say something and you pull it back, put your foot on the brakes. You're headed for an accident. We know how to do that in a car. We're headed for a collision, we immediately press the brakes. We must do 30:35 the same with our tongue. you're suddenly provoked to say something in a particular situation to your wife or to your husband or to somebody in the in your office or a place of work or anywhere. Press your brake immediately. Press the brakes and 30:52 don't say it. A day will come when the Lord will say you become perfect. If a man is able to bridle his tongue, he is a perfect man and will be able to bridle his whole body. Have you ever thought of this verse seriously? Please 31:10 think about it seriously today to become more like Christ. Here is one area where we can all work on. And we'll slip up. We're not going to become perfect tomorrow. But when you slip up, immediately set it right. If for example you slip up and you speak 31:33 a rude word to your husband or wife, let me ask you a question, answer to yourself. How soon after you spoke that rude word do you go and apologize saying, "Darling, I'm sorry that I spoke 31:50 like that." You wait three or four hours or do you go the very next minute? That shows whether you fear God or not. That shows whether you're sitting on 32:08 your pride and on your reputation. You say to hell with my reputation. I don't want any reputation. I want to be like Jesus. That's my goal. Not to get any type of reputation. not even with my wife or husband say Lord I 32:25 want to be absolutely and if you do that I tell you in Jesus name I tell you the day will come very soon when you'll be able to control your tongue and the reason you not been able to do it till now is because you're not so quick to 32:40 set things right as soon as you're prompted by the Holy Spirit within you so let's work on that that's one area where if you work on and say and in your place of work as well where People are in offices nowadays. People talk all 32:54 types of rubbish. They're talking filthy things, sexual things, and stay clear of that conversation and be like a pure person bringing purity into that midst so that when people are talking filthy stuff and they say you come there, 33:10 they'll stop. That's the reputation we should have. I've I I wanted to have a reputation like that when I was in the Navy. You know what sailors are like? Their language is filthy. And here I was in the midst of a ship with so many naval 33:26 officers and sailors around them who all they could think of was something impure. And I said, "Lord, I want to be such an influence that when I come there, they'll stop talking that say, "Oh, Zach has come. Let's not talk 33:43 about that." No, get a reputation like that in your office that you're the type of person who's not interested in that type of conversation and you'll pull away and go away. What a wonderful thing it is if the Lord can have lights like that burning for him in 33:59 every single place. So that's the first area I want to emphasize in uh becoming like Christ in the control of our tongue and ask the Holy Spirit to help you. I believe that's one of the significance of the gift of tongues 34:17 given on the day of Pentecost. It's almost as though the Lord was saying, you know, when the Holy Spirit fell on them, we read a tongue of fire came on top of their heads. And we read that in Acts chapter 2, a tongue of in the shape 34:32 of fire, a fire fiery tongue sat on everybody's head. It was not a fiery hand or a fiery leg or a fiery ear. It was a fiery tongue. God took one part of the body and 34:49 made it fiery and put it on top of their heads as if to tell them from today onwards the main part of your body that I want to control is your tongue. That to me is one of the significance of speaking in tongues on the day of 35:06 Pentecost. It's not just a gimmick. It's not something that'll make you spiritual. And I'll tell you why. The most spiritual man that walked on the earth, Jesus Christ, never spoke in tonesues. So you don't become spiritual by 35:25 speaking in tonesues. And if you're spiritual, you don't have to speak in tongues because Jesus was the most spiritual person that walked on the earth. But it is a gift that God gives to some people. Not everybody has it. 35:37 And we leave it to just like the gift of preaching, God gives it to some people. The gift of healing, God gives to some people. The gift of praying. I've discovered that also. We all pray. But some people have a special gift of 35:48 praying. I've seen that with some people. I I wish I could be like them, but I can't. You know, I can be like that only if God gives me that gift. Just like somebody can preach like me only if God gives him that gift. Everything is a matter of gift. 36:02 And so if he recognize this and say Lord I want to control my tongue and I want to apologize as soon as I slip up even slightly towards anybody. I will only immediately apologize. I tell you this if you follow this simple rule that as 36:20 soon as it happens with anyone you will apologize. You mark my word. Your language will become completely different in one month. In the next four weeks, your language and your speaking will be will become so pure because you decided to immediately 36:38 set it right. It's the same thing with lusting with the eyes. If you as soon as you're tempted, you're lust with you turn it away. Turn your eyes away. And if there was slightest impurity, immediately you confess it. In one month you'll be a 36:52 different person in the area of sexual purity. All men believe me it will be true. If you don't believe just try it out for one month and see what happens. Your thought life will become so pure that you'll be able to hear God very 37:07 clearly. Okay. The second area. So perfection is 1 John 3:2. If any man does not stumble in his speech, he is a perfect man. What an expression. And the second thing is also in James 37:29 and that is in chapter one. You know, it's interesting that the James speaks so much about being perfect. In James chapter 1, he says in verse four and in the I think it's the King James version, it says, "Let patience 37:48 here it says, let endurance in the NASB, let patience have its perfect result in you so that you will become perfect." So one is the use of the tongue. 1 John 38:07 3 verse sorry James chapter 3 verse two by which we become perfect. And the other is we become perfect by becoming patient. And boy all of us get plenty of opportunity to 38:24 to practice becoming patient right especially if you're living with troublesome people. Why why does a husband ever complain that my wife is such a troublesome person? He should say gl I've got wonderful opportunities to learn 38:41 patience in my house. Why does a hus wife complain that a husband is such a troublesome person? She instead she should be saying I've got wonderful opportunities to become perfect in my house because I'm all my patience is being 38:54 tested and tempted all the time and I'm determined by the power of the Holy Spirit to become patient. Why? Why do you get upset with people who provoke you? Opportunity to become patient, brother, sister. And if you, it says 39:07 here, if you allow the Holy Spirit to do that work in you, you will become a perfect person. You know, ever since I read one many years ago in there this word in Hebrews in chapter 6 39:25 in Hebrews 6 and I I you know when I started reading the Bible NASB was not published which I use now that was way back in 1959. It was only King James version in those days. So a lot of my language is from the King James version and in the King 39:44 James version I read in Hebrews chapter 6 verse1 let us leave aside the elementary fundamental principles of Christ and let us press on to perfection here it says maturity let us press on to perfection 40:02 that gripped me Lord I want to press on to perfection Paul said forgetting the things that are behind I want to press toward the mark. That mark is perfection. And in that connection, I told you two things here, both in the book of James. 40:20 One is control your tongue and the other is be patient in every situation and ask the Holy Spirit's help in that. You can't do it without the Holy Spirit's help. That's why there's no such command in the Old Testament because nobody 40:35 could keep it. The Old Testament commandments were don't commit adultery, don't kill anybody, don't steal, don't tell lies, and all these external things. In the New Testament, the commandments are all inward. Control your tongue. Be patient with 40:48 people because that's how we go into perfection. You cannot go into perfection just by not murdering and not telling lies and all that external stuff. That's being under the law. The law could make nobody perfect. But now 41:02 the Lord is doing a work through the Holy Spirit to make us perfect. And you must have a passion. If you're a real disciple of Jesus, you must have a passion to be perfect. And to all of you, I say in Jesus name, if you don't 41:15 have a passion to be perfect, permit me to say this. Don't get insulted. You are a disgrace to the name of Jesus Christ. You certainly are. If you don't have a passion to become perfect, even if you're a young person, I wish you'd be 41:31 gripped by the fact I want to be perfect in my life. You won't get that overnight. But if you work at it, work at it, you'll find the end of 2026 finds you way ahead. You would have made more progress in this year than all the past 41:46 years. If you say, "Lord, I want to press on to perfection. I want to learn to control my tongue. I wanted to learn to be patient in all the situations that you're going to set up for me in this coming year to teach me that lesson. These are the two subjects 42:02 I want to get good marks in and please help me and I tell you God will take you seriously and as a result of that tremendous blessings will flow from you. It's it's the imperfection in our life that prevents the rivers of living water from flowing 42:20 out. I believe that the Holy Spirit you if you've accepted Christ, Holy Spirit has come inside you but he's not able to flow out through you because there all these rocks and garbage I call it of imperfection and uncontrolled tongue all blocking the 42:38 river from flowing out. Imagine if all that gets washed out and the rivers of living water start flowing out. You'll be a com I you mark my words and you can call me up on that by the end of this year and see if it's not true that you 42:54 can be a different person by the end of this year. Take this new year very most much more seriously than you took any year in the past. Say, "Lord, I'm determined. I want to be more Christlike this year. I want to be ready for your 43:07 coming. I want to become like you and I want to purify myself more and more and more." Okay. What? And I want to turn to one more verse in one Corinthians and chapter 13. We saw, do you remember the two things 43:30 we mentioned in James? If you can control your tongue, you're a perfect person. And if you allow patience to have its work in you in the different provocative situation you face, you will become perfect. And now when it speaks about love is the 43:45 greatest, love is the greatest. That is the last verse of 1 Corinthians 13. Love is the greatest. So I have sometimes asked people what is the chapter on love? A lot of Christians know 1 Corinthians 13. All the characteristics of love are 44:02 mentioned there. What is the number one characteristic of love mentioned there? Do you know? I'll tell you. 1 Corinthians 13 verse4 love is patient. Love is not just saying nice things to 44:21 people or getting them gifts or anything else. Love is number one patient. That means you can bear with people who provoke you. You can bear with people who are not efficient, who are not as efficient as you, who 44:40 like they say get on your nerves. They used to get on my nerves. They don't get on my nerves anymore because I've learned to be patient. Are there people who get on your nerves? Work on it so that you'll be a different person by the 44:53 end of this year that you can handle any number of people who try to get on your nerves. I tell you honestly, nobody can get on my nerves now. Let me tell you, give you a little testimony. Uh I had three new year conferences 45:12 in the last week or two because there were new new year meetings everywhere. One was in CFC and the state of Kerala in India. The other was CFC uh conference in the state of Tamil Nad in India. 45:30 And the third was in our big church in Bangalore in India. And something very similar happened in all three meetings. Something went wrong with the internet zoom connection. Not for one or two 45:47 minutes. In one case for 45 minutes we were sitting there. They were struggling along and I couldn't speak a word. Another place it was about half an hour, another place for 15 20 minutes. It's significant that the new year began like 46:06 that for me in three places. And by the grace of God, it did not disturb me one bit. I said, "Well, praise the Lord. There must be something God's trying to teach everybody through this." And I did not get one bit irritated with 46:26 all those people controlling the these things. I say we all make mistakes and what can we do? I I say in the midst of such situations, you know what I said? I said Lord I thank God for Zoom. Why should I complain that it's held up 46:44 for half an hour or so? Because five years ago I could I could not have se seen them even for one minute. But now that Zoom has come out 10 years ago, we never had all this. But we have this. So I'm very thankful sometimes 46:56 when we have a privilege for a long long time, we get upset and irritated when I don't have it every minute the way I want it. That's what happens. I find this you know I spent 80 years in India and I drove on all the roads in India 47:10 and I tell you that's another place you can learn patience if you drive on the roads in India. Boy, you really do. And then I come here to America and I find everything so orderly and everybody's in their lane and they wait for others and 47:24 all that. There's no such thing in India in in India is the survival of the fittest. Whoever is the fastest and the fittest on the roads survives. So but I'll tell you I learned patience there in driving and I drove there for 47:39 so many years and I learned some patience. But I say God plans our lives and everything. So I say these when there was all these delays and so how do you think I started my message in all these three places? I'll tell you in all those 47:55 three places I said dear brothers and sisters you all know that the chapter on love is one Corinthians 13. What is the first characteristic of love mentioned in that chapter and they all learned something that day? Love is patient. 48:14 So, were you loving during this half an hour break or 45 minute break? Or did you get worked up and upset with the people who were organizing it or upset with the whole internet system or or were you perfectly at rest? God is in control and 48:30 I will not let this disturb me. In the olden days, I would get disturbed. I admit I'd get disturbed with people saying, "Why aren't you more efficient in all this?" It has I died to that completely. And I want you to come to that place 48:45 where and you know they all all three in all three cases they wrote letters of apology to me. Oh brother Zach we're so sorry that we delayed you. I said not at all. Don't worry. It didn't disturb me one bit. I think we become more 48:57 spiritual through all this. Our aim in life is not to have a perfect internet connection. I said our aim in life is to become Christlike to be more patient. And if that was accomplished, I don't care whether the internet worked 49:11 properly or not. Please remember that in future when you face some situation where things don't work out exactly as you anticipated in this coming year or somebody who doesn't do things exactly the way you do it. Maybe you're a very 49:25 efficient person and the other person is not. And there are a lot of people in this world who are not efficient. We got to bear with them. I I remember when I used to sometimes in India you know we fix an appointment somebody and say 49:44 okay we'll meet with such and such a time and you know because I was in the military for 11 years I'm always on time at least 5 minutes early and invariably some of these brothers would turn up late sometimes half an hour late and say 49:59 oh brother I'm sorry and I tell you I learned some patience there when people don't turn up to a meeting with you or which you fixed an appointment with somebody and they don't turn up on time. Think of James chapter one. Let patience have its 50:16 perfect work in you that you will become perfect. Don't complain against that person. God is in control. It's a wonderful life, the Christian life. The devil can never get power over you. Your flesh can never overpower you if 50:32 you understand the truth of God's word and say, "Lord, I want to live by that." God has given us his word to live by. And I'll tell you this, he will give you the power of the Holy Spirit to do everything that I have spoken to you so 50:45 far. And he'll stop there. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we believe with all our heart that you never give us a command which you will not give us the power of the Holy Spirit to obey. Impossible. Heavenly Father, you will always give us 51:04 the power of the Holy Spirit to do what you have commanded. I believe that with all my heart. Our callings may be different. Our function in the body is different. But every member of the body, I know, is called to be patient. And I believe that 51:21 you will help each one of us to pursue that. each one in the bodies called to control their tongues. So particularly these two areas Lord in patience in all circumstances and the control of our tongues in every situation. Please help us in these two 51:38 areas every day of this year so that by the time we come to the 31st of December we become a lot more spiritual than we are today. That's your goal and we want that to be our goal too. We pray 51:55 in Jesus name. Amen. [music]
