Hearing of how the new covenant is superior
to the old in many ways, and one
of the ways we read in Psalm 51,
David said when he had sinned and he
was repenting of his sin, he says in
verse 6, Behold, O God, thou didst desire
truth in the innermost being.
He didn't have it.
I don't believe anybody in the old covenant
could have it.
But he knew that God desired it, truth,
reality in the innermost being.
And that means that one's external life or
the impression one gives others of one's life
is exactly what one is inside.
That's the meaning of that verse.
Truth means reality.
God desires reality in the innermost being.
That means whatever impression you are giving to
your fellow believers about your spirituality must be
exactly the same, no difference.
And David realized that that was not possible
in his time.
He said, Lord, you desire it.
That's one of the blessings of the new
covenant, that that which David could not have,
that which these great saints in the old
covenant could not have, we can have.
And if we don't have it, then it's
because we don't want it.
And it's because of one reason, that we
seek the honor of men more than the
honor of God.
And it's amazing the number of Christians who
never think of this as a serious sin,
to seek the honor of men, to try
to impress people.
I remember many years ago when I was
young and I started preaching, and the Lord
asked me this question, do you want to
impress people or do you want to help
them?
I said, Lord, I want to help them.
And the Lord said, then stop trying to
impress them.
You have to make a choice, particularly when
you get up in a pulpit and I
know how it is for all of us
because our flesh is the same.
When we stand before people, whether it's before
a group of ten people or a thousand,
whether it's giving a message or a testimony,
whether it's even in private conversation with other
believers, we want to come across in an
impressive way because we seek honor from created
beings.
It's a terrible sin.
God desires truth in the inner being.
And I pray that we shall all become
lovers of the truth, of reality, that we
hate unreality, that we hate lying in any
form.
The Bible says Moses brought the law.
He could give commandments, many, many rules and
regulations.
It's easy.
Throughout the ages, religious people have been giving
their followers rules and commandments.
Every religion has got leaders who give their
followers rules and commandments.
The law came through Moses, but grace and
truth came through Jesus Christ.
What does that mean?
It means there was no grace that anyone
could receive till the Lord Jesus came.
It means that truth which Jesus brought was
not possible for anyone to have till he
came.
Wasn't there truth in the old covenant?
What does it mean when it says that
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ?
This life of reality was not possible under
the old covenant.
I don't want to judge others.
But I must say that the vast majority
of born-again believers that I have come
across are not real.
They are not genuine.
And that's why the flow of living water
through them is hindered.
And that's why God cannot walk with them.
That's why God cannot be with their mouth
when they speak, because they are not real.
I want to say to you, my brothers
and sisters, you know, the most important instrument
that God uses, the most important part of
our body that God uses in this new
covenant age is the tongue.
And that's why when the apostles were filled
with the Holy Spirit, there were tongues of
fire on top of their heads.
And they spoke in other tongues, but the
meaning of these tongues of fire was that
from now on, you would have a tongue
that was completely under the control of the
Holy Spirit.
And Jesus called the Spirit, the Spirit of
truth, who will lead you, He said, into
all the truth.
And He's going to control your tongue, so
that your tongue will always speak the truth.
Your yes will be yes, and your no
will be no.
And Jesus said, you don't have to swear
anymore.
Every word of yours will be as good
as an oath.
That's how God is.
Every word He speaks is true.
And in the new covenant, we can partake
of His nature.
I don't know whether you have a great
intense desire to cleanse yourself from all lying
of every form.
But I believe that that is something so
necessary in the day and age in which
we live.
If we are to be the light of
God in the midst of a crooked and
perverse generation, shining His light for Him.
If we love the truth, God will show
us more and more.
I want to show you a verse in
Jeremiah chapter 15.
If the tongue is the most important instrument
that God is going to use, why is
it that there are so few tongues that
God can use?
Why is it that there are so few
in every country on whose tongue God can
put His word, His prophetic word?
Here is the reason.
Many, many years ago, God spoke this to
me.
Jeremiah 15 and verse 19.
The Lord says, If you return, I will
restore you and you will stand before Me.
And if you extract the precious from the
worthless, you will become My mouth.
You will become My spokesman.
There is a condition for becoming God's mouth.
And I want to say to you, to
any brother or sister here.
Yes, even the sisters.
In the new covenant, the Holy Spirit has
been poured out on the sons and daughters
of God.
Every brother, every sister can be filled with
the spirit of truth.
Every brother and sister can be a witness
for Jesus Christ.
And the condition is this.
If in your conversation you extract the precious
from the worthless, you will be My mouth.
And there is no respect of persons with
God.
If you fulfill the condition and you stand
before Him.
It says, before Me, you will stand.
Get rid of that spirit of accusation that
comes forth through your tongue.
Get rid of that criticism, backbiting, finding fault.
Get rid of that complaining spirit that you
have in your home.
Complaining about this, that and the other.
Get rid of fellowshipping with other people in
your place of work and criticizing the boss
and criticizing the government.
Extract the precious from the worthless.
Throw away the garbage.
Be upright.
Speak the truth.
Always the truth, even if it goes against
you.
Even if you have to lose your life
for it.
And God says, you will be My mouth.
Is it worth it?
It certainly is.
The work of God suffers loss.
Because God does not have many men and
women like that.
Who are upright, honest, absolutely 100% truthful
in their business.
And in every aspect of their life.
It's very common, you know, in our country.
In India, we used to have very high
customs duty.
If you brought anything in from abroad.
And when Indians go abroad, they buy many
things.
Electronic goods and various things.
And it's a very common practice to cheat
the customs when you enter the country.
I suppose it's true in every country.
But I remember once when I was coming
in back to India from somewhere.
And I had a few things and the
Lord said to me.
Everything you bought must be right on top
of your suitcase.
Not hidden anywhere like other people do.
So that when you open it, they can
see it, the customs officers.
And if you have to pay duty on
it, pay duty on it.
Whatever it is.
And then the Lord said this to me.
I have no shortage of money.
But I have a great shortage of upright
people.
So if you do something crooked.
Tell a little lie to save a little
money.
You are going to add to the shortage
of upright people that God has in His
church.
Don't ever do it.
Don't do it in your business.
Don't do it when you file your tax
papers.
Absolute truthfulness.
Do you want to be God's mouth?
Is it too big a price to pay?
He has no shortage of money.
He has a shortage of upright people.
It was not possible in the old covenant.
But in the new covenant.
Grace and truth are realized through Jesus Christ.
That's why it is very very important for
us.
To teach our children from very early in
life.
To speak the truth.
That was far more important for me.
Than whether they broke something in the house.
I didn't care if they broke something.
I didn't care if they turned the furniture
upside down when they were playing.
That was their home.
They could do that.
But they must speak the truth.
I believe that is very very important in
the day and age in which we live.
Now I want to turn to 2 Thessalonians.
And chapter 2.
It's more than speaking the truth.
You know there is a difference between.
Well let me give you Lakota's verse first.
It says about Jesus in Hebrews chapter 1
verse 9.
That he was anointed with the oil of
gladness.
For one reason.
There are many times in Hebrews where it
says.
God didn't do this because he was his
son.
But because of some other reason.
It says for example in Hebrews 5.
That his prayers were heard because he feared.
Now although he was his son.
He learned obedience through the things he suffered.
And why was Jesus anointed?
Hebrews 1.9 it says he was anointed
with the oil of gladness.
Because he loved righteousness.
And hated iniquity more than his companions.
That's why he was anointed more than his
companions.
The measure of the anointing oil being upon
our heads.
The measure of the anointing and the power
of the Holy Spirit being upon us.
And especially the oil of gladness of continuous
joy.
Of an overcoming spirit.
Depends on the measure in which we love
righteousness and hate sin.
Now there is a difference between avoiding sin
and hating it.
A thief may avoid committing a crime.
Because he sees a policeman around the corner.
It doesn't mean he hates it.
When we avoid sin.
We haven't reached great heights.
It's when we hate sin.
That we are following Jesus.
When we do righteousness.
We haven't reached great heights.
It's when we love righteousness.
That we are following Jesus.
It's not speaking the truth.
It's loving the truth.
That's what we read in 2 Thessalonians 2.
In 2 Thessalonians 2 it says here about
the last days.
When there is going to be tremendous activity
of Satan.
The great liar.
And verse 9.
With all power and signs and false wonders.
Wonders that are a deception.
Healing done in the name of Jesus.
Demons cast out in the name of Jesus.
And when they stand before the Lord in
the final day.
He will say.
Depart from me you workers of iniquity.
These people who did this.
It's an amazing verse in Matthew 7.
23 and 24.
He says many.
Not just one or two.
Many Jesus said will come to me.
In the last day and say Lord.
We prophesied in your name.
We cast out demons in your name.
It wasn't in the name of some heathen
God.
It was in the name of Jesus.
We did miracles in your name.
And he will say depart from me.
You who work iniquity.
Isn't that amazing?
That people who heal the sick.
In the name of Jesus.
Are finally going to hell.
That contrasted that with another passage.
Where Jesus said about people who stand before
him in the last day.
Where is Matthew 25.
Where he speaks about separating the sheep and
the goats.
And he says to the sheep.
Come you righteous.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world.
For I was sick.
And you visited me.
You never healed me.
Because you didn't have the gift.
But you visited me.
You didn't pretend to have the gift.
You just encouraged me.
And went away and I was still sick.
Come in.
The kingdom is for you.
Isn't that amazing?
That the man who healed the sick goes
to hell.
And the man who visited the sick goes
to heaven.
There are going to be a lot of
surprises when Jesus comes again.
The first will be last and the last
will be first.
It's not all these supernatural things God is
looking for.
He is looking for uprightness.
Honesty.
Do you know what is the first sin?
Mentioned in the Bible.
It's not Adam's by the way.
The first sin.
Not the first sin.
That of course is Lucifer's.
But the first sin mentioned in Genesis.
It's Satan telling Eve.
You will not die.
That's the first sin mentioned in the Bible.
A lie.
The first sin mentioned in the Bible is
lying.
Do you know what's the last sin mentioned
in the Bible?
I never went to Bible school.
That's why I know.
I studied the Bible.
Not what other people said about the Bible.
Revelation 22 verse 15.
It says about people who are outside the
kingdom.
Many many things and finally those who practice
lying.
Lying is the first sin mentioned in the
Bible.
And it's the last sin mentioned in the
Bible.
Jesus said, Satan is the father of lies.
You may be a born again child of
God.
When you speak a lie.
Something that is false.
Something that is not true.
It doesn't matter who you are.
The devil is the father of that lie.
And you are the mother.
It's through a union of the devil with
your mind.
At that moment that that child was born.
A lie.
The devil was the father and you are
the mother.
Imagine the number of times.
When we have allowed the devil to have
that type of union with our minds.
No wonder.
When we stand to speak God's word.
God is not with our mouth.
We can say a lot of clever things.
We can say a lot of eloquent things.
But when God is with your mouth.
He will take that word like an arrow
to people's hearts.
And convict them.
That's what we need.
In all of our churches.
We don't need more clever sermons.
We don't even need wonderfully arranged sermons.
We need things that will go straight to
people's hearts.
And for that God says, Get rid of
the garbage.
Take out the precious.
Be careful about what you speak.
Any brother, any sister.
Age doesn't matter.
You can be sixteen years old and a
prophet of God.
And you can be sixty years old.
And just an ordinary preacher.
Now let's turn to 2 Thessalonians 2.
It says here in the last days there
is going to be a lot of these
lying wonders.
Deceptive miracles.
And there is going to be the deception,
verse 10, of wickedness.
How can we overcome this deception?
You are not going to overcome it by
Bible study.
We are going to overcome it by God
giving us discernment.
Discernment.
And the more we love the truth ourselves.
In every area of our being.
The more we will have discernment on what
is true and what is false.
Outside of us.
But we got to love the truth inside
of us first.
If we want to see what is true
and false in Christendom today.
This is an age of deception.
The Holy Spirit speaks expressly.
1 Timothy 4.1 That in the last
days there will be a flood of deceitful
spirits.
That means the Holy Spirit has underlined that
verse.
Every, all scripture is inspired by God.
But that verse has been underlined.
That is the meaning of 1 Timothy 4
.1. The Holy Spirit speaks expressly.
He has underlined it.
That there is going to be a flood
of deceitful spirits in the world in the
last days.
And how are we going to avoid deception?
We must love the truth.
There is a lot of deception floating around
today.
There are a lot of Gospels being preached
today which sound right.
To those who don't have discernment.
There are preachers going around the world.
Who appear to be men of God.
Who are humbugs and hypocrites.
But who are fooling, undiscerning people.
How shall we give these people discernment?
So that they can see through these crooked
men.
Teach them to love the truth.
In their own life.
And then the anointing within them will tell
them there is something wrong with that man.
There is something wrong with that Gospel.
They don't need to.
Be believers for twenty, thirty years.
They are born again yesterday.
If they love the truth.
God will show them.
This is wrong.
Remember this brothers and sisters.
I am not against supernatural gifts.
I believe God can heal.
Every time I am sick I pray to
God to heal me.
Whenever our children were sick at home.
I would always lay hands on them and
pray for them.
I am not against medicine.
I would always give them medicine.
But I believe that the thing I should
do is commit them to God.
To heal them.
So I believe in that.
I believe in the gifts of the spirit.
But I say there is a lot of
counterfeit.
I believe in speaking in tongues.
But now I am not being critical.
Most of the speaking in tongues I have
heard in my whole life.
In many, many churches.
This is my opinion.
Is not of God.
It is psychological manipulation of people.
Now that is not because I am against
that gift.
I speak in tongues.
So you know I am not against the
gift.
But 90% of what I have heard
is not from God.
There is a lot of deception around.
By their fruit you shall know them.
And the fruit is not Christ like.
It is not Godly.
And lot of simple people are being deceived.
They are being manipulated.
Because they do not love the truth.
There is a lot of healing.
Which is just mental, psychological, psychosomatic healing.
Which is supposed to be some miracle that
Jesus did.
It is a deception.
There is a lot of it going on
in the world.
And because people do not love the truth,
they are being deceived.
I know in my country, thousands of believers
are being deceived by what is happening.
And when you get deceived, you begin to
think that anything supernatural is of the Holy
Spirit.
There are people falling down in my country
and barking and everything is supposed to be
the Holy Spirit.
It is amazing how, I cannot imagine a
man without any understanding of the Bible would
say that is not the Holy Spirit.
And here people are supposed to be born
again.
Who are thinking this is all Holy Spirit.
It is not.
The primary ministry of the Holy Spirit is
to make us like Jesus Christ.
And if he does not do that in
our life, everything else could be counterfeit.
There are spirits in the world.
There are spirits that can heal.
There are spirits that can make people speak
in tongues.
There are spirits that can do all types
of things.
The Bible says here, about the activity of
Satan, with power, signs, false wonders, with the
deception of wickedness.
And why did they get deceived, all these
people?
Here is the reason.
They did not receive the love of the
truth, so as to be saved.
And for this reason, God will send upon
them a deluding influence.
Just listen to this.
It is one of the most scary verses
in the whole Bible.
Do you know what it says?
Now, earlier on it speaks about Satan deceiving
people with false wonders.
That is not what is referred to here.
Here it says, God will deceive people.
Just think of that, dear brothers.
I have got, the Bible says in Ephesians
4, that I have got deceitful lusts in
my flesh.
Lusts that can deceive me.
And you know that as well as I
do.
Lusts that tell me, you will get a
kick out of this, you will enjoy this.
And ultimately it brings me to remorse, when
I have yielded to that lust.
That is deception.
Lusts, the lust for more money.
People think they will be happier if they
get it.
And ultimately they get more miserable.
The lust in the area of sex, thinking
that you can get some pleasure out of
it.
And ultimately it is remorse.
This is deceitful, deceitful lusts.
Satan is also a deceiver.
He is called the deceiver of the whole
world in Revelation 12.
And here I have got these two great
enemies, out to deceive me.
The lusts in my flesh, and the devil
himself.
And can you imagine, if in addition, God
also is out to deceive me.
I am finished.
I have got to be careful, at least
God is on my side.
Then I can stand the deception, against the
deception of the lusts in my flesh, and
the deception of Satan.
But here it says that God will send
upon them, a deluding influence, so that they
may believe what is false.
They will believe that is the gospel, when
it is not the gospel.
They will believe that the gospel is a
way of making money.
The prosperity gospel.
The health and wealth gospel.
They will believe that is it.
Why does God allow thousands and thousands of
people to believe what is false?
Why does He allow people to believe that
so many of these preachers who appear on
television, are men of God, when they are
not?
Why does God allow so many thousands of
people to send their hard earned money, to
many of these deceivers?
Why?
The reason is here.
They themselves, these people who are watching and
listening to these people, did not, verse 10,
receive the love of the truth, so as
to be saved.
And that applies to you and me.
There is no respect of persons with God.
I remember many, many years ago, as a
young Christian, I said, Lord, you see, I
came out of a Syrian Orthodox Church, which
is pretty close to the Roman Catholic Church,
and I did not know much of the
Bible when I was converted, 41 years ago.
And as I grew up, I saw so
many groups of Christians, all holding the same
Bible, and saying, we are speaking the truth,
we are the right group, and everybody else
is wrong.
And through the years, through the last 40
years, I have seen those groups multiply, so
many different groups, many more groups have come
up, all holding the same Bible and saying,
we have got the right thing and everybody
else is wrong.
And you can imagine how confused a young
Christian is when he sees all this, because
he does not know.
He is not smart to answer this cult
group and that group and the other one
group.
They are all quoting from the same Bible,
all things that look so convincing.
And this is what helped me.
Jesus said, you shall know the truth, and
the truth shall set you free.
And I saw that if someone was speaking
the truth to me, it would set me
free from sin.
Whatever doctrine it is, if it did not
set me free from sin, it is not
the truth.
Secondly, whatever doctrine a person preached, if it
brought me in bondage to him, it cannot
be the truth.
A man who preaches the truth will not
only set me free from sin, he will
set me free from being his slave as
well.
He will set me free from rules and
regulations and laws to follow Jesus in freedom.
You shall know the truth, and the truth
will set you free.
The Son shall set you free, you shall
be free indeed.
Jesus came to set people free.
The devil is always seeking to bring people
into bondage.
There are lots of believers sitting in bondage
to overbearing pastors and leaders and charismatic people
with charismatic in terms of personality, leaders who
have such a hold on people.
That's not the truth.
The truth will set people free.
If you are in bondage to any man,
you are in bondage to rules and regulations,
you can be sure that's not the truth.
The truth will set you free.
So, that became a guideline for me.
Okay, that's the way for me to test
the truth.
Is it making me more free?
More free from sin, more free from fear,
more free from the devil, more free from
the world?
Well, then it's the truth.
Is it bringing me more into bondage to
sin, more into bondage to some person, more
into bondage to a system?
That cannot be the truth.
And, this is the other verse.
The Lord said to me that if throughout
my life I would love the truth which
He showed me about myself and acknowledge it
so that I want to be saved from
my sin, I would never be deceived.
God would guarantee, He'd never allow me to
be deceived.
Because this verse says, It's those who don't
receive the love of the truth so as
to be saved who are deceived.
I have a close friend of mine, it's
not in our church, who went to a
healing meeting.
He was suffering from a serious sickness.
And, he said he got some experience there
and he went up on the platform in
that meeting and testified that he was healed.
Now, I never knew about this.
I read it in the magazine put out
by that healer who conducted this crusade.
And, I saw this photograph of my friend
there with his testimony.
I knew he was seriously sick with an
incurable disease.
And, here was his testimony that he was
healed.
Well, I'm like Thomas, unless I see, I
don't believe.
So, I said, well, I ought to find
out this.
And, I met him some weeks later.
And, I found he was much worse.
Much worse.
And, I thought, supposing he sends another testimony
to that healer.
Now, and says, well, what I said earlier
was not true.
Actually, would they publish that in that magazine?
With this photograph?
Never.
That's what I mean by deception.
That's what I mean by fooling people.
That's the first hand example that I came
across.
Of the deception with which lots of people
are being fooled today.
They don't love the truth.
Now, if that person really loved the truth,
he would publish that second testimony.
This fellow was not healed.
There's a lot of that going on.
It's not only in the area of tongues
and healing.
It's in many, many areas.
What was the first sin that we read
God judged publicly in the early church?
It was the sin of lying.
Again, first sin mentioned in the Bible is
lying.
The last sin mentioned in the Bible is
lying.
The first sin God judged publicly in the
early church is also lying.
Not adultery.
Not murder.
Ananias and Sapphira, they were not guilty of
adultery or murder.
They were guilty of a sin which millions
of Christians are practicing today.
What was that?
We read in Acts 5 that at a
time when many people were selling their property,
there was no command to sell property.
This is something people did voluntarily and they
felt like doing it.
If there was a command like that, it
would have been mentioned in the Epistles.
It's very dangerous to follow examples in the
Acts of the Apostles if they are not
mentioned in the Epistles.
I just want to mention that to you.
There are many things in the Acts of
the Apostles like Paul quarreled with Barnabas and
all.
These are not doctrines for us to follow.
Paul shaved his head and certain good things
too, but it was done voluntarily.
They sold all their property and they gave
it.
And in the midst of that, Ananias and
Sapphira, they sold some property.
Let's say they sold it for $50,000.
And then Ananias and Sapphira sat and discussed
it and they said, We'd like to keep
a little bit back for ourselves for the
rainy day.
And we'll give $25,000 to God.
Now tell me, today if somebody sold his
property for $50,000 and gave $25,000
to God, we'd call him a wholehearted believer.
How many people would give 25,000, 50
% of their sales proceeds to God?
That wasn't wrong.
That was excellent.
But, it was this impression he was trying
to give when he stood in the queue
in that meeting place, that he was giving
everything.
That was the sin.
God never told him to sell his property.
It was his property.
He need not have sold it at all.
He could have kept it.
God loves a cheerful giver.
There's no law in the New Testament saying
you must even give 10%.
Everything is voluntary.
And he need not have sold his land.
And even after he sold his land, he
need not have even given 1% of
it to God.
It was still his.
And Peter made that very clear to him.
But Peter said, Ananias, Acts 5.3, Why
has Satan filled your heart to tell a
lie?
Now what lie did Ananias say?
He didn't even open his mouth.
Do you know you can tell a lie
without opening your mouth?
There was a queue of people coming up
to Peter and laying the money at the
feet.
And Ananias also with the pious look that
all the others had, he also stood in
the queue and quietly left the money there
without saying one word.
And as he was going, Peter said, Come
back.
Boy, we need more men like Peter in
our churches today.
I really believe that's the greatest need.
And if we love the truth, we will
be like that.
We can be like Peter.
Who can have discernment, who can see through
the humbugs, the deceivers.
And he called Ananias and said, Why have
you told a lie?
He hadn't opened his mouth.
It was an impression he gave that I'm
also wholehearted.
I'm also giving everything.
And Peter said to him, You have not
lied to men, verse 4, you have lied
to God.
And his wife came later and did exactly
the same thing.
Now, let's just examine our hearts.
Have you ever been guilty of this sin?
Have you ever tried to give an impression
when you talk about prayer, that you're a
great man of prayer?
Have you told people honestly that your thoughts
also wander when you pray?
Mine does.
Even after 41 years of being a believer.
It's a battle.
Do you give people a wrong impression when
you talk about fasting?
Do you give people the impression that you're
a great faster?
One who fasts and prays.
What a lot of lying there is.
In testimonies, reports of Christian work.
I come from a country.
There's a lot of mission work going on.
Hundreds and thousands of reports being sent from
India to the United States and other places.
And everywhere, it's supposed to be revival.
I live there and I know it is
not true.
But I see all these reports going on
and all these gullible people in the West
just believing it all and sending money back.
I'm amazed.
I've seen so many people come from Western
countries to India with a great lust to
start an organization.
To start a mission.
And to start something which they can go
back home and report was a success.
And when you come to a country like
India where there's such a lot of unemployment.
Even among Christians.
There are multitudes of people ready to believe
any doctrine you preach.
To agree with everything you say, provided you
pay them.
And willing to give you any report you
want.
They're happy.
You're happy.
The devil's happy.
Only God is not happy.
This is what's going on.
And why is it?
It's because of this lust for statistics.
I heard it said by someone, there are
three types of lies.
Black lies, white lies and statistics.
You know, there's a tremendous lust for statistics.
In the Christian world.
To impress people with the size of our
work.
The number of people there are in our
church.
How it's growing.
This is all basically the sin of Ananias.
Wanting to impress.
It may not be in exactly the same
way, but it's the same spirit.
Wanting to impress.
Why?
Because we seek the honor of men.
More than the honor of God.
We care for the approval of men.
More than the approval of God.
We want to be known as men of
God.
You want to be known as a man
of God?
I tell you, I don't.
I look at Jesus, who called himself the
son of man.
An ordinary man, that's what he meant.
He became like his brothers in all things.
In order to save us.
It's the first principle of Christian ministry.
To become like other people in all things.
That's why he said to his disciples, don't
even take a title.
Don't be called rabbi, reverend, pastor, nothing.
Just be a brother.
Just be a servant.
That's our calling.
To be like our brothers in everything.
But, do you think Christian preachers and leaders
want to be like that?
No.
They want to give the impression of being
great man of God.
One who brings a sense of awe upon
other people.
Great prophet, great preacher.
Who is admired.
Who cannot mingle with the ordinary people.
Have you seen in these great meetings and
crusades the preacher?
He just come on the platform before the
meeting and disappear after he's spoken.
You can never meet him.
He's not an ordinary man.
He's a great man of God.
This is not Christianity.
This is some other religion.
It's another Jesus.
And so many are being deceived.
Jesus became like us in every way.
He mingled with ordinary people.
He never disappeared after preaching a message.
He never appeared suddenly on the platform just
before he spoke.
This is all the spirit of the film
star.
Of the actor and the actress.
It's not the spirit of Jesus.
Why is it Christians don't see through this?
Because they don't love the truth about themselves.
There's deception in many, many, many areas.
What did we read here?
2nd Thessalonians.
Let's look at that verse again.
2nd Thessalonians and chapter 2.
God for this reason.
And that is the reason.
They did not receive the love of the
truth so as to be saved.
For this reason God will send upon them
a strong deception.
A deluding influence.
I want to ask you my brothers and
sisters.
When you study the scriptures.
And you find something there that does not
seem to fit.
With the doctrine you have believed for the
last 30 years.
Are you willing to change?
There your honesty is tested.
And there you can be tempted to squeeze
that scripture till it fits into the mold.
Of the doctrine you have believed for 30
years.
Or the doctrine your denomination has believed for
30 years.
You are not willing to change.
And in that moment.
God has seen that you don't love the
truth.
And he'll allow you to believe that lie.
I had a friend who worked for Kodak.
And he was in the research department.
And he was doing a number of experiments.
I think it was about 10 experiments.
And 9 of them the results came out
right.
As expected.
And the 10th one.
The result did not come out right in
the laboratory.
And he said he found a great temptation
to fudge the results.
And just make it similar to all the
other 9.
He could have done it.
But he decided to be honest.
He went for a swim.
And while he was swimming.
He suddenly thought.
Hey this must be the reason.
Why that 10th experiment didn't work out like
that.
And he went out.
And he discovered something.
And it was a new discovery that Kodak
patented.
And used.
And he says.
How he would never have made that discovery.
If he had not been honest.
You know when you come to scripture.
And you read something.
And it doesn't seem to fit.
With what you always believed.
You are at a fork in the road.
You can get a new revelation from God.
That can change your life.
Or you can fudge the results.
And just believe what you always believed.
Because that's safer.
You don't want to be different from the
crowd.
I know the times in my life.
Where God has tested me on this very
point.
And I said Lord.
I don't care.
Which church I get thrown out of.
I don't care who rejects me.
I don't care where I never get called
back to preach again.
I don't care what anybody thinks.
If this is your word.
I'll believe it.
And it's opened up new areas of revelation.
Things that have changed my life.
Be open.
Love the truth.
Don't love the honor.
Of your denomination.
Or the people.
Don't seek comfort.
And security.
In people.
Find your security in God.
When we are secure in God.
We don't need a thousand people telling us
you're right.
Let them say you're wrong.
It doesn't matter.
These are areas where we discover whether we
love the truth or not.
And if you don't love the truth.
I assure you.
You'll be deceived.
You may not go to hell.
But you'll miss out on God's best.
And you're going to have a lot of
regret.
When you stand at the judgment seat of
Christ.
And the Lord points out to you.
Saying at that particular point in your life.
When you were 35 years old.
I showed you something.
That could have revolutionized your life and ministry.
But you didn't want to accept it.
Because the church you were in didn't accept
it.
Your leader said it was all wrong.
Well.
You can have your choice.
I want to love the truth.
And I want to be honest with scripture.
God's word is true.
Let God be true.
And every man a liar.
Heaven and earth will pass away.
But this word will not pass away.
What about honesty in the impression we give
about victory in our life.
Particularly those who preach holiness.
If you study the holiness movements through the
years.
We find that some of them preached entire
sanctification.
That means you couldn't possibly sin again.
But the honest people among them.
Later discovered that they were sinning.
The dishonest ones sort of pretended that they
didn't.
But the honest ones discovered they were sinning.
And then what to do about this.
Because we've already testified one year ago or
last week.
That we don't sin anymore.
So they called it a mistake.
Now the sad thing is the blood of
Jesus does not cleanse mistakes.
It only cleanses sin.
So if you've made a mistake.
I don't know what you're going to do
with it brother.
You've got to live with it.
If it was sin you could confess it.
And the blood of Jesus would cleanse it
away.
And that's where dishonesty crept into the holiness
movement.
And what's the result?
We have lots of people entirely sanctified.
Making mistakes every day.
It's tragic.
If it were not so tragic we could
laugh at the whole thing.
But it's tragic.
God allows them to be deceived.
Because they won't honestly admit that was a
sin.
I yielded to my lust.
I sinned in my thoughts.
That was an unkind word.
That was not the way I should have
spoken to my wife.
That's a sin.
And I have to go to her and
say, Darling, please forgive me.
That was sin.
The blood of Jesus cleanses us.
I can be justified.
I'm declared righteous by God.
But not if I call it a mistake.
Not if I'm dishonest.
When we give people the impression.
We don't have any fears.
We don't have any depression.
Well, you must be better than the Apostle
Paul.
Because Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 7.
He says in 2nd Corinthians 7 verse 5.
When we came to Macedonia.
Our flesh had no rest.
We were afflicted on every side.
There were conflicts outside.
And fears inside my heart.
Fears inside the Apostle Paul's heart.
This mighty prophet and Apostle had a fear
in his heart.
He was an honest man.
I thank God for the honesty of the
Apostle Paul.
Haven't you had fears, my brother?
Why are you ashamed to admit it?
Why do you lead those poor young brothers
astray?
By pretending to have a life.
Which you don't have.
And which is perhaps not possible in this
world.
That's why you can't be a mouthpiece of
God.
God loves honest people.
God loved Paul.
He was with Paul.
Because he was honest.
Sinai had fears.
This is what God has shown me.
God has taken me through situations where cult
groups have taken me to court in India.
Because I exposed their wrong doctrines.
And first time I went, I've never been
to court in my whole life.
Never knew what the inside of a court
looked like.
And naturally when you go into some new
situation, there are some fears.
And the Lord showed me something about fear
at that time.
He says, it doesn't matter the fears.
It's only a temptation.
Don't act on that fear.
Then you're okay.
So I decided, well I can't do anything
about these feelings.
But I'm not gonna act on my fear.
I'm gonna act in faith.
In God.
He's my father.
And He's gonna take care of me.
So the fact that you have some fears
in your heart, doesn't mean anything.
Be honest about it.
Don't act on them.
Paul was honest.
Not only fears.
He says in the next verse, he was
depressed.
God who comforts the depressed, comforted us.
And the interesting thing here is, He didn't
comfort Paul with a verse from scripture.
He comforted him by giving him the fellowship
of a younger brother called Titus.
And that's perhaps the way God may comfort
you.
If you can value that younger brother.
May not be through some older brother.
Maybe through a young brother.
But Paul felt that.
But he was not gonna act on the
basis of his depression.
He's not gonna pass on his depression to
others.
That's the point.
I praise God for the honesty of these
men of God.
They did not give people the impression that
they lived a life which is impossible to
live on this earth.
A victorious life does not mean a life
where we will never face any pressure.
Where we will never face any temptation.
Jesus was tempted.
As we are.
And we're gonna be tempted and face the
pressure of temptation till our dying day.
What is temptation?
How does temptation comes to us?
Let's be honest.
A thought flashes into our mind.
That's temptation.
It's not sin.
It's when I yield to that in my
mind.
That is sin.
So if I'm gonna expect to live a
life where no thoughts will flash into my
mind.
I gotta be in heaven.
It's not gonna be here on this earth.
And let me say that to all of
you young people who have got a wrong
understanding of the victorious life.
I don't have to yield to it.
That's the point.
It's like somebody said, I can't stop the
birds from flying over my head.
But I can stop them from building a
nest in my...
I don't have any hair.
But if I had any...
On my head.
That's the point.
I can't stop temptation from flashing into my
mind.
But I can stop them from building a
nest in my mind.
I say, no, I don't want it.
So don't get condemned because some thought flashed
into your mind.
You say, no, I don't want it.
It could be a filthy thought.
It could be an evil thought.
I say, no, I don't want it.
That's not me.
I'm a new man in Christ.
So many people are being condemned because of
the unreality of people preaching in a false
type of victorious life.
And they are not honest enough to tell
them that they are struggling.
Is the Christian life a struggle?
I'll tell you it is.
It's a struggle for me today.
But I'm not struggling with the same things
I struggled with 25 years ago.
Think of a student studying mathematics.
He's struggling when he's 5 years old in
the first grade.
He's struggling when he's doing a doctorate in
mathematics at the age of 28.
But he's not struggling with the same thing.
When he was 5 years old, he was
struggling with addition.
When he's 25 years old, he's not struggling
with addition, but he's still struggling.
That's how the Christian life is.
We go on, we're struggling all the time.
Remember, Jesus struggled in Gethsemane.
What about perplexity?
A lot of people think, if you're a
Christian, you're never confused about anything.
You always know God's will perfectly.
I tell you, I don't.
Most of the time, I'm perplexed.
I don't even know what to do.
That's the honest truth.
After 41 years of being a born-again
believer, many times I seek God and I
say, I don't know what to do.
And I say, OK, well Lord, I'm doing
the best I know how, and I step
forward.
And I look back years later, I find
God somehow led me.
That's all I can say.
That's guidance.
I don't hear voices from heaven saying, now
go right or go left.
Don't be fooled by all these testimonies and
biographies and books written nowadays.
I find that most of these biographies that
are written in the last 50 years are
not honest.
There were more honest testimonies written before the
Second World War.
There were more godly people.
There's a shallow, empty Christianity in the world
today that's fooling lots of people.
It's a deception.
If you love the truth, you will be
saved from it.
There's a lot of it floating around all
over the world.
And I believe God needs many people who
are bold enough to expose it.
And if you're honest, I believe God can
make you His mouthpiece too.
Never give an impression, particularly to young people.
I remember when I was a young Christian,
you know how young men, one of their
biggest problems is in the area of sex.
I used to go to an assembly where
I never heard a single message on that
subject.
I heard about justification, and I heard about
glorification, and I heard about sanctification, but my
problem was not these things.
My problem was sex.
They never spoke about that.
Everybody pretended that they never had a problem
with that.
They kept quiet about it.
And you know what the result was for
me as a young Christian?
I thought I was a sex maniac.
I'm just being honest with you.
Years later I discovered I was perfectly normal.
But all these preachers were just dishonest and
trying to fool me.
And I decided one thing, and I've practiced
that the last 25 years in our churches
in India.
I decided I would speak straight to young
people in this matter.
And show them that Jesus can give them
victory.
But it'll be a battle.
And there will be a struggle.
If you have a struggle in this area,
even as a married man, if you have
a struggle, that's not abnormal.
All I say is don't give in.
The Lord will help you.
You can be an overcomer.
I suffered because people wouldn't tell me the
truth.
Don't let people suffer, my dear brothers, preachers.
Don't make your poor congregations suffer by being
dishonest with them.
By not telling them the struggles you're going
through yourself.
The struggle is not sin.
It's the clearest proof that you hate sin.
That you don't want it.
You're standing against it.
You're fighting against it.
Be honest with people.
I believe one of the greatest needs in
the pulpit today is honesty.
Absolute honesty.
Loving the truth.
Total 100% truth.
Your yes is yes and your no is
no.
That's how it must be.
You know that verse?
I just want to say one more thing
before I close.
You know, a lot of people also give
people the impression, we have this logical type
of understanding, this mathematical way of thinking, many
people, that makes them pigeonhole various things, you
know, to put the Bible down into neat
little doctrines.
And I discovered the Bible is not written
that way.
I remember preaching in a seminary once and
those students said, Brother Zach, you have broken
every law of preaching that we were ever
taught in this seminary.
You don't have an introduction.
You don't have three points.
You don't have a conclusion.
You don't have a subject matter.
But you speak to our hearts.
So, I said, well when Jesus spoke, He
didn't give any introduction.
He didn't say what subject He was going
to speak on and He didn't give three
points and He didn't have a conclusion.
But people's hearts burned within them when they
heard Him.
So, I said, when I was a young
Christian, I decided not to make any preacher
my example but to look at Jesus and
see, well how did He speak and try
to speak like Him.
And one of the things I've seen is
that many people give the impression that say,
you know, God's got a perfect plan for
our life.
That's true.
You heard me say that yesterday or the
other day.
God's got a plan for our life.
So, now, therefore, logic tells me that if
at a particular point I miss that plan,
say I took the wrong turning, then for
the rest of my life, it's finished.
I can never get God's perfect plan again.
It has to be God's second best and
if I miss another turning again, then it'll
be the third best.
And if I miss one more turning and
by the time I'm a believer for five
years, I'm probably only going to get about
the hundredth best of God's plan because I
made so many mistakes already.
Is it like that?
No, it isn't.
The first page of the Bible shows me
a world which God created perfectly in verse
1, which became chaotic in verse 2 because
of Lucifer's sin and which God remade.
That's the message of the first chapter of
the Bible.
That that which is messed up by sin,
God remakes and at the end of it,
He says, it's very good.
And then we go to the third chapter
of the Bible, Genesis chapter 3 and there
we see God had a perfect plan for
Adam.
Now, let me ask you a question.
Was the cross of Calvary part of God's
eternal purpose or not?
Yes, we have no doubt about it.
Was it part of God's perfect plan for
man?
Are you doubtful?
Yes or no?
Okay.
Now I'm going to catch you.
That perfect plan was necessary because man failed.
So, are you implying that Adam had to
fail for God's perfect plan to be fulfilled?
Otherwise, there'd be no need for Calvary.
I'm just trying to show you you can
use logic in mathematics but you can't use
it when you come to scripture.
God says, my ways are not your ways.
As the heaven is high above the earth,
so my ways are not your ways.
What am I trying to say?
I'm trying to say, even if you messed
up your life, brother, you can still fulfill
God's perfect plan.
Logic doesn't seem to fit with that statement,
but it is true.
What's the meaning of those people who, you
know, when Adam and Eve sinned, God immediately
came and said, He didn't tell them, well,
sorry, you fellows have missed my perfect plan.
He said, no.
How long before this?
I've already made plan.
The seed of the woman is going to
crush the serpent's head.
I praise God for that message.
Jesus said about those people who came at
the eleventh hour.
That means they'd messed up ninety percent of
their life doing nothing.
Ninety-two percent to be exact.
And they had only one hour left.
And they got their reward first.
God can pick up people who messed up
their lives in so many ways for so
many years.
Maybe even after becoming a believer, and your
back's slidden, and you've gone astray.
I want to say to you, the message
of the Bible is a message of hope.
You can turn to God today, and He
can make your life so glorious.
From the mess of your life, He can
create a new heavens and a new earth.
That's the message of the gospel.
I want to say, brothers and sisters, let's
love the truth.
Let's be honest with this younger generation that's
growing up.
And as we love the truth, God will
give us discernment on all the false gospels,
the false preachers, the false Christianity, another Jesus,
another spirit, another gospel that is abounding in
the world today.
There's a great need for men and women
who have discernment.
May God help you and me to be
among that number.
Amen.
Bow before God.
There is a proverb that the journey of
a thousand miles begins with a single step.
And perhaps there is one area in your
life where you must begin to be honest
from now on.
Don't think of a hundred areas.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with
a single step.
Think of one particular area in your life
where you've not been absolutely honest, where you've
given impressions that are not true.
Think of what you've lost all these years.
Lost the opportunity to be God's mouthpiece.
Say, Lord, I'm going to take that step.
I take a decision sitting here right now.
Let it cost what it may.
I'm going to take that step.
I want my yes to be yes and
my no to be no from now on.
I want to love the truth.
And when you show me something in my
life, I want to acknowledge it instead of
trying to justify myself and find some excuse
for it.
I want to say, Lord, I'm guilty.
Forgive me.
That's sin.
Heavenly Father, help us to be honest, to
live before your face, not to let you
down in this time of need in your
church.
Raise up men and women who will be
your mouthpieces.
We ask in Jesus' name.
Amen.