I want to turn to John chapter 13.
When we think of rivers of living water
flowing out from our innermost being, what does
it mean in practical terms?
What does it mean in practical terms for
rivers of living water to flow out?
We read in John 13 that Jesus said,
verse 34, A new commandment I give to
you, that you love one another, even as
I have loved you, that you also love
one another.
By this all men will know that you
are my disciples, if you have love for
one another.
Now one would have thought that Jesus would
think of something like miracles or speaking in
unknown languages.
As the mark by which others will know
that we are the disciples of Jesus.
And that is what appears to our human
reason.
Like we were considering yesterday, our human reason
can't understand the things of God.
God's ways are as much different from our
ways, as heaven is above the earth.
We read in Isaiah 55, 8 and 9.
And God's thoughts or his way of thinking
is as much different from your and my
way of thinking, as heaven is above the
earth.
A lot of believers haven't understood that.
A lot of believers think that God's way
of thinking is just maybe slightly different.
No, it's completely different.
God allows a lot of things to happen
which we would never allow to happen.
And God doesn't answer many prayers which we
think are very good for us.
And God allows many trials in our life
which we ourselves would never have chosen.
What does it show?
It shows that we don't have the slightest
clue with our human reason about God's ways.
In the same way, when it comes to
how shall people know that we are God's
people, that we are the church of the
living God, according to our human reason, immediately
what will come to our mind is if
some miracles can take place here, if some
blind eyes can be opened, some dead people
can be raised, everybody will know that we
are God's people.
That sounds quite reasonable.
But we are as much off the track
as earth is away from heaven.
That's how far we are away.
If we were to teach people without Jesus
having taught us that all men will know
you are my disciples by this, we would
not have chosen love as the manifestation of
it.
Because our human reason will say, yeah, but
love is something which can easily be duplicated
and even among human beings there is a
lot of love.
Friends have a lot of love for one
another.
That can't be the identifying mark of the
disciples of Jesus.
But miracles, that's what nobody can do.
And yet Jesus, who knew human nature, who
knew the end from the beginning, led by
the Holy Spirit, who knew the Father, he
said, this is the mark of my disciples,
that they love one another.
And when we read the history of the
Church in two thousand years, and as I
have myself seen Christianity in various denominations and
groups through more than thirty years, I have
come to one conclusion, that Jesus was absolutely
right.
That to love one another and to remain
in love for one another until the very
end is a greater miracle than raising the
dead.
Is a greater miracle than blind eyes being
seen, being opened.
It is a greater miracle, it is the
greatest miracle of all.
If you can, it says about Jesus in
John chapter thirteen and verse one, that having
loved his own, which were in the world,
the first verse of the same chapter, it
says in the first verse, having loved, the
last part, having loved his own who were
in the world, he loved them until the
end.
That is the test.
To love people in little spurts, that's easy.
To be stirred, to love a person for
a week, or a few days, that's easy.
Or to set everything right before we break
bread, once a month, that's easy.
But to steadfastly love without it changing, without
it being affected by the behavior of others,
that is a miracle.
It requires the supernatural power of the Holy
Spirit.
Yeah, it does that.
There are so many supernatural things that happen
in the world with Satan's power.
Even with human soul power, people do so
many things.
But to love with divine love until the
very end, completely unaffected by the behavior of
another, that requires a continuous fullness of the
Holy Spirit.
And when we don't have it, when we
don't have such love, that means we don't
have the fullness of the Spirit.
That means we must seek God for it.
We must not be satisfied with having it
just before we break bread.
That is a ritual.
If I, before break bread, I set everything
right and I break bread, and then I
let go myself, it's like the rubber band,
you know, stretched at the time of breaking
of bread to love one another.
I really stretch it and I love one
another.
And then the breaking of bread is over
and the rubber band is released back to
my normal condition of grudges and bitterness and
all types of wrong attitudes.
It's a normal condition.
It should be the other way around, that
my normal condition is love, but accidentally I
may sometimes fall into being tempted to have
a grudge, but I immediately pull back.
That would be a mature person, person filled
with the Spirit, who is immediately bothered that
he's grieved the Holy Spirit.
You know, it's very important, if we are
to live this life, that we obey what
Scripture says, let us run with patience the
race that is set before us, and then
what shall we do?
Looking unto Jesus.
That means there is only one person I
must have before my eyes, if I want
to endure in this until the end.
Who endured the cross, despising the shame, and
who loved until the end, as we read
in John 13.
Look unto Jesus who endured the cross.
I don't believe it was easy for Jesus
to love everybody.
If it was easy for Him, how could
He tell us to follow Him?
Because all of us have to testify it
is not easy for us.
We have to testify it is easy for
us to love certain people, but to love
everyone, and to love them until the end,
that is not easy.
Because we have a flesh, and Jesus had
the same flesh, and it says, we read
in John 13, He loved until the end,
which means He must have endured a cross
in His life, which of course was in
secret.
I mean, people didn't know that they were
getting on His nerves, and irritating Him.
They didn't know it.
Because He died so secretly to Himself, that
the other person didn't even know that Jesus
had to die to something to love that
person.
The flesh.
And that is wonderful, where the other person
doesn't even have a clue that I have
had to bear with something.
What a wonderful husband you will be, if
you never let your wife know, at least
in the future, that you have to bear
with something in her.
I mean, if you bear with something in
her, and make it very obvious, you know
I have to bear with you, but I
am going to do it, that's not love.
And vice versa, what a wonderful wife you
will be, if you can bear with your
husband, and never let him know.
That is the way it was with Jesus.
He died, and it was in secret.
The real sacrifice that God has value for,
is that which is done in secret.
That which you blow the trumpet, and display
to everybody, see now everybody, I am being
crucified here.
That is honour-seeking.
But that which is in secret, where only
God sees, like Abraham on the mountaintop, it
was just between Him and God, He made
that tremendous sacrifice.
If He can be like that, that is
tremendous.
That's how it was with Jesus.
If He loved His brothers in His house
in Nazareth, for thirty years, after they irritated
Him in so many ways, they never knew
it.
They never knew, that He had to bear
with them.
It was hidden.
He offered Himself without spot, unto God, through
the power of that Eternal Spirit.
And to be wholehearted means that, to have
a burning desire, to offer ourselves without spot.
Now, if I make a sacrifice, and I
let other people know about it, there is
a spot.
There is a spot in that sacrifice.
That's not without spot.
That's a lamb with blemish, which I am
offering to God, and God will say no.
It was a good desire you had to
offer that lamb, but it's got a blemish
in it, I cannot accept it.
And the Lord will say, yeah, that was
good that you died to yourself, but, you
let other people know about it, and so,
I cannot accept that, sacrifice of yours.
I believe that there are many people, who
have heard about the way of the cross,
who will discover in eternity, who will discover
the judgment seat of Christ, that hundreds of
times, when they bore the cross, God did
not accept it.
Hundreds of times, when they died to themselves,
God did not accept it, because there was
a blemish in it.
And the blemish was, that they let other
people know about it.
They let other people know, that they were
dying.
That is a dirty, that's a terrible, that's
a skinny, lame, blind lamb.
Don't offer it to God, brother.
It's good to offer that to yoga, or
to Buddha or something, but not to Jesus
Christ.
No, never.
He wants a lamb without blemish.
He wants sacrifice without blemish, and we see
how difficult it is, to do that.
How difficult it is.
That's why God encourages us, to seek for
the power of the Holy Spirit, always, to
run to the throne of grace, for grace
to help us, in our time of need.
Is there ever a time, when grace will
not be given to us, in our time
of need?
Always available, if I go.
So we see that this word of Jesus,
is the greatest miracle.
And if you don't believe it now, you
will see it at the judgment seat of
Christ, that the brother, who endured in love,
I mean let's say, let's say we've all
failed, right up until today.
And I'm already 53.
Let's say I've failed up until today, in
that area.
And if I have say, 10 or 15
years more of life.
At least, if it can be said, that
the last 15 years of his life, he
endured in love.
You will see, in the final day, that
that will be a greater miracle, than the
man who raised 10 dead people, from the
grave.
You'll see that.
Or a hundred dead people from the dead.
So brothers and sisters, do you want to
do the greatest miracle of all?
What is the thought that comes to your
mind, when we sang a little song, a
song earlier?
Lord in thy presence we are met, a
full salvation to proclaim.
Make this a Pentecostal hour.
And then one line says, let signs and
wonders, from the Lord be done, in our
midst.
How do you sing that?
You sing that with faith?
Or do you sing, yeah, I don't expect
any sign or wonder to happen, but anyway,
we'll sing it.
It's in the song book, so we'll sing
it.
Of course, I don't expect.
We've sung that so many times, and no
signs and wonders ever took place.
I'm not expecting any sign or wonder to
take place today.
But I'll tell you, the greatest sign and
wonder I'm looking for, is that, God will
give us such grace, that we shall love
one another, as Jesus loved us.
That will be the greatest sign.
What does it mean to be a sign?
That the heathen may know, that we are
the disciples of Jesus.
What is that sign and wonder, that the
Lord is going to do, that's going to
make the heathen know, that we are the
disciples of Jesus.
What is that sign and wonder?
Is it going to be, are you expecting,
when you sing that song, are you expecting
the raising of the dead in our midst?
No, I confess, I don't have faith, to
go to a cemetery, or to go to
a funeral, and expect to raise the dead.
I don't think any of you have faith,
and I don't have faith either.
But I want to have faith for myself
for one thing, that by the grace of
God, from now till the time I die,
or till the time Jesus comes, I want
to remain rooted in love.
That nobody in the world, and no demon
in hell, will be able to shake me
out of that.
I want that.
I want that sign and wonder.
And if God can gather a few others
like that, yeah, those few will manifest to
the world, that these are the disciples of
Jesus.
We can never expect, that all believers will
do that, because all believers are not willing
to take up the cross.
So it will not be true in all
believers.
But you can make sure it's true in
your life.
That is the greatest sign, that is the
greatest wonder.
Jesus said, an evil and an adulterous generation
looks for a sign, but no sign will
be given it, except the sign of the
prophet Jonah.
For as Jonah was three days and three
nights, in the belly of the sea monster,
so the Son of Man will, what's the
sign?
He will go down.
Into the heart of the earth.
Not just we say put our face in
the dust.
We often use that expression, put our face
in the dust.
Okay, that's low enough.
But Jesus is going to go further below
the dust, into the heart of the earth
and disappear.
Disappear altogether beneath the ground.
Just like that seed, you don't sow the
seed on the surface of the ground.
The seed is not putting its face in
the dust.
It's going into the earth, let's say into
the heart of the earth.
Except a corn of wheat fall into the
ground, goes inside and dies, remains alone.
That is the sign.
That is the only sign Jesus said will
be given to this generation.
And that is the sign that you and
I are called to demonstrate, in our daily
life, that others will see in us, that
sign of going into the heart of the
earth.
When you abuse me, you will not get
a reply.
You will not get a response.
No, I shall go to the heart of
the earth.
That is the sign that Jesus has said
this generation is going to get.
Only that sign.
And the person who is seeking to follow
Jesus in that area, will definitely endure in
love until the end.
Dear brothers and sisters, make that your goal.
Make that your goal in life, to endure
in love until the end.
There are two places in the New Testament,
where Paul prays that we might be strengthened
with the Holy Spirit.
Look at them.
Ephesians 3, When we pray for the power
of the Holy Spirit, I tell you, from
the depth of my heart I say this,
I would rather love than speak in tongues,
any day.
Any day.
If God were to take away from me
the gift of tongues, I wouldn't stop Him.
But I say, Lord, don't take away the
spirit of love.
Give me that.
For he who speaks in tongues is not
greater than he who loves.
You can speak in tongues even of men
and angels, and still get zero, the Bible
says.
If you don't love.
I would rather love than prophesy.
Imagine to be a powerful preacher, shaking people,
stirring them.
You hear such people and you wish you
could speak like that?
You haven't understood the Gospel then.
When you see a person who can love
and never give up, wish that you can
be like that person.
That is the greatest person in the church.
Not the person who speaks with the tongue
of angels, not the person who can preach
so powerfully that people hang on his every
word, but the person who can love without
giving up.
That is the greatest brother, that is the
greatest sister in the church.
And you can be that.
You can be the greatest and the most
wonderful brother and sister in the church, because
nobody is stopping you.
It's got nothing to do with speaking in
tongues or prophesying.
It's got nothing to do with even doing
miracles.
It's got to do with love.
So we read in Ephesians 3, he says,
verse 14, I am bowing my knees before
the Father, and what is his prayer for
these wonderful Ephesian Christians?
That he would grant you, verse 16, according
to the riches of his glory, to be
strengthened with power through his Spirit in the
inner man.
Isn't that what we are praying for?
We are praying that we might be strengthened
with power through the Holy Spirit in the
inner man.
What for?
Not to speak in tongues, not to raise
the dead, not to prophesy.
No, that we so that Christ, Jesus Christ
himself, may dwell, means make his permanent home,
in our hearts through faith, so that you
being rooted and grounded in love.
That's what we need the power of the
Holy Spirit for.
Why do you need the power of the
Holy Spirit?
So that you can be rooted and grounded
in love, so that Christ will always dwell
in your heart.
Otherwise he won't dwell in your heart.
I'll tell you something, a lot of people
who say, Lord Jesus come into my heart,
on the day they are converted, the day
they repent of their sins and ask Jesus
to come into their heart, I really believe
he comes into their heart.
Because on that day they are really broken
and repentant.
But see those same people ten years later,
and I don't believe Jesus is in their
heart anymore.
He is not dwelling in their heart.
Because they are not rooted and grounded in
love anymore.
The day they were born again, they had
no problem loving everybody into the church they
came into, because they knew nobody.
They felt they were the greatest of sinners,
and they were so happy to be given
even a last seat in the midst of
God's people, that they were so grateful, that
they had no bitterness in their heart against
anyone, they loved everyone, and Christ dwelt in
their hearts.
See those same people ten years later, and
it's another story.
It's quite another story ten years later.
Christ is not dwelling in their hearts, because
they are not rooted and grounded in love.
I believe this, according to this verse, that
Christ cannot dwell in my heart, if I
am not rooted and grounded in love.
He may have been there in the past.
There may have been a person who lived
in your house ten years ago, who is
not living in your house today.
Isn't that possible?
You can't say he never lived in my
house.
Yes, so and so used to live in
my house ten years ago, but he is
not living there today.
He left.
I invited somebody to come and stay with
me.
He stayed, but he found the place so
filthy, and smelly, and dirty, that he left.
He wanted to look for a cleaner place.
And it's possible like that, for Jesus to
come and dwell in our heart, and then,
some years later, he is not there.
I believe that.
I don't know whether you believe it or
not.
I believe God's word, that I need the
strength of the Holy Spirit, so that Christ
may dwell in my heart.
I am just reading scripture.
I need the mighty power of the Holy
Spirit, so that Christ may dwell in my
heart.
I asked him to come into my heart,
34 years ago, more than 34 years ago,
nearly 40 years ago, for the first time,
when I was sure, only 34 years ago.
But, I need that strength of the Holy
Spirit, that he may dwell in my heart
today.
And be always there.
Because without the strength of that spirit, I
can never, never, never, be rooted, and grounded
in love.
To be rooted.
That means the storm can come, and the
tree is there.
You hear of trees that are uprooted in
a storm.
And then there are other trees, that no
storm can shake.
I have read that in California, they have
huge trees called Sequoia trees.
So, I don't know, many, many feet, the
circumference of the tree, and there have been
hundreds of storms, and they have been there
for hundreds of years, I think.
Many, many centuries, they have been there.
Deep roots.
They are always there.
What a wonderful thing to be like that.
And grounded.
We read of buildings that are broken up,
by a bomb blast or...
What a wonderful thing, if no bomb blast
can shake me.
They can put any type of bomb, but
I am grounded in love.
Let the blast go off right outside my
building, makes no difference.
And the world's most devastating explosive, makes no
difference.
Can we aim for that?
That people use the most devastating explosives, right
in your face, and your building does not
shake.
Let's covet such a life.
That's how it was with Jesus.
They said, you have a prince of demons.
And he said, it's forgiven.
Have you spoken a word against Salman?
It's forgiven.
It was an explosive, bang in his face,
forgiven.
What a life!
That's the life we can partake of.
Where nothing will shake us from the rest.
What does it mean to be at rest?
Not tossed about.
At rest means storms, bombs, blasts, explosives.
We are there.
Buildings around us.
A thousand fall on the left side, ten
thousand on the right, but it will not
come near you.
It will not come near you.
You are because you have made the Lord
your refuge.
You've gone to the throne of grace, for
grace to help you in your time of
need.
Brother, sister, this is true holiness.
This is the power of the Holy Spirit
that we need to cry out to God
for with all of our hearts.
It goes on to say, when I am
wounded and grounded in love like that, I
will be able to comprehend, that is to
understand, with all the saints.
I want to do it with all the
saints.
It's one of the things, personally, to the
best of my knowledge, from the beginning of
our time in the church, that we have
started meeting as a church, and to the
best of my knowledge, in the last nearly
eighteen years, I have always felt, that I
can understand God's ways, only along with all
the saints.
If I stick to one little group, and
say, they are the only ones who can
teach me God's ways, I'll miss out on
something.
I've looked through our old hidden treasures for
the last seventeen years, and I've seen right
through in every year, we've sought to have
writings from all of the saints, from different
groups and denominations, just Godly people, who knew
God.
Because it says, it's only with all the
saints, that you'll be able to understand, the
breadth and the length, and the height and
the depth.
The love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge.
It's beyond knowledge.
Knowledge has only got three dimensions, here there
are four.
Length and height, and depth and breadth.
That's beyond knowledge.
And knowledge baffles me, when it gets to
four dimensions.
It's something which I've got to experience it,
not understand it.
It's not something I can measure, length, breadth
and height and all that, no.
It's beyond knowledge, it's experience.
And like that, along with others, we can
be filled up to the fullness of God.
It says Jesus had the fullness of God,
when he finished his earthly life.
And we, can have that fullness of God.
Amazing word.
The Bible speaks about the fullness of the
Holy Spirit.
It speaks in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 13,
about the fullness of Christ.
And it speaks here in Ephesians 3.19,
about the fullness of God.
I must be filled with the Holy Spirit,
so that, like it says in Ephesians 4
.13, I can grow up to the fullness
of Christ.
And along with all the others, who are
going that way, along with them, I can
come to the fullness of God.
That's the whole Trinity.
That's why I need to be filled with
the Holy Spirit.
That the fullness of God, can come into
his body.
You know the fullness, I can be filled
with the Holy Spirit alone.
That's clear.
But the fullness of God, that can never
come into me alone.
That is along with all the saints.
That's clear.
Along with all the saints, I'll get the
fullness of God.
Now if I cut off one saint, because
I don't like him, or I cut off
another person, because he doesn't agree with me
in some doctrine, and I knock off one
person as a harlot, because he doesn't sit
with me in CFC, and he may be
a God-fearing person.
May be far more God-fearing than some
people who sit here.
Who is going to lose the fullness of
God?
Me.
I don't want to lose it.
Dear brother, be open.
We can't work together with everybody.
That's clear.
I can't work together with most Christians, because
I find that they compromise on so many
things.
So I find when it comes to working,
it's a very small circle of people, with
whom I can work, because I find that
most of them will compromise on some small
thing or the other.
And lower the standards of God's word.
But, that doesn't mean I narrow my heart
to them.
No.
That doesn't mean I judge them and condemn
them.
Then I shall be a loser.
We don't have to work together with everyone.
We don't have to go visiting everybody's homes
for our heart to be open to all
of them.
No.
But humble yourself.
Keep your heart open to all of God's
saints.
And say, Lord, I want to come to
the fullness of God in my life.
And the other verse is in Colossians.
Colossians also, it speaks about being strengthened with
mighty power.
Again, Paul prays for the Colossians and says,
for this reason, Colossians 1 verse 9, Since
the day we heard of it, we have
not ceased to pray for you, and to
ask that you may be filled with the
knowledge of His will.
That's a good thing to be filled with.
To be filled with the knowledge of His
will.
What is your will, Lord?
And the Lord will say, My will is
that you love one another as I have
loved you.
Yeah, but in this other area, Lord.
Yeah, we get to the other area.
Let's deal with this one first.
First things first.
Don't we sometimes say to the children, Yeah,
I'll do that for you, but you finish
your lunch first now.
Then we'll do the other thing.
Finish this work I told you to do.
Then we'll go to the other thing.
And just like we tell our children, the
Lord says to us, Ah, that's before you
ask my will in other things.
Love one another as I have loved you.
That I might be filled with the knowledge
of His will in all spiritual wisdom and
understanding, so that you may walk in a
manner worthy of the Lord.
Oh, what an expression.
That I can walk on earth in a
manner worthy of the Lord.
That in private and in secret and in
public, when people hear about how I'm living
and how I'm walking and how I'm speaking
to my wife and how I'm speaking to
people in my office and how I speak
to the peons and the class 4 workers
in my office and how I speak to
the beggars on the street and how I
speak to the little boys who put petrol
into my scooter or so many people.
We encounter the bus conductors and various people
and the person who stamps on my feet
in the bus and people see all these
things.
They shall see that there is a person
walking in a manner worthy of the Lord.
Worthy of the Lord Jesus.
What a wonderful thing that is.
Worthy of the Lord Jesus.
Let's take that challenge.
Lord, that I may walk in a manner
worthy of You because I have taken Your
name.
You know this word Christian.
The Bible says in Acts 11.26 that
the disciples were called Christians.
They became disciples first and then they were
called Christians.
Today it's the other way around.
Today we have to make disciples out of
the Christians.
But in the early days they were disciples
first and then they were called Christians.
It's like if somebody marries someone they take
his name.
If his name is John and somebody marries
him she will be Mrs. John.
So, Christ and the persons who are married
to Christ take his name.
Christian.
It's exactly like that.
They were disciples of Christ.
Christian.
That word has become so devalued today.
It has become a religion.
Worthy of the Lord.
Worthy of that name.
I mean before I got married I had
another name.
Child of the devil.
I could do what I like.
But now taking the name of this husband
who is such a godly person this husband
Jesus Christ to walk in a manner worthy
of Him to please Him in all respects
to please Him in all respects in every
area of my life See, all this has
got nothing to do with people.
It's only got to do with me and
my husband.
Full stop.
It's got nothing to do with the whole
jingbang lot of people in the world.
It's only got to do with me and
my husband.
That's all.
Just to please Him in all respects.
Bearing fruit in every good work and increasing
in the knowledge of God.
Increasing in the knowledge of God.
And then comes this expression again which we
read in Ephesians.
Strengthened with all power.
That's the Holy Spirit's power again which we
are praying for.
Strengthened with all power so that according to
His glorious might or the strength and the
might and the power of His glory For
what?
For what?
Listen to this.
For the attaining of all
steadfastness and patience to bear with a person
once or twice You don't need the power
of the Holy Spirit for that.
But to bear continuously steadfastness and patience endlessly
till I reach the finishing line.
That requires the power of the Holy Spirit.
How many of us can start a marathon
race?
Can you start a marathon race?
26 miles?
You can make it 100 miles, brother.
I am ready to start it.
It's not difficult.
Who finds it difficult to start a 100
mile race?
I mean, I may give up after 100
meters.
Some of you younger people may give up
after a mile or so, but 100 miles
to finish, that's another thing.
It's like that, you know, when we run
Supposing we all decide to run from here
to Madras I mean, I may go up
to the level crossing you may go a
little further but somewhere along the way we
all sort of give up.
The man who can endure, endure, endure till
he reaches that's the point here.
Steadfastness.
Let us run with endurance looking unto Jesus.
He who endures till the end will be
saved.
So we can say in this matter of
love and patience it's like different people who
are stopping at different points.
Some people stop after 100 meters, some people
after 1 mile, some people after 2 miles.
But what does God's word say?
Endure until the end.
If you've got 15 years more of life
on earth then all those 15 years to
be strengthened with all the power to be
steadfast and patient and to run the race
not looking whether this person is falling down
who are the people who fall down?
The people who fall down are the people
who stop loving.
Has this brother stopped loving?
Ya.
Get up brother, I want to encourage you
but if they don't well, I've got to
press on.
That other sister falls down, somebody else people
falling down all the time along the way
looking unto Jesus who never fell down continuing,
continuing, continuing.
Paul says, you know that many run in
the race but one wins the prize so
run that you may obtain.
So run that you may obtain.
So it says here to the attaining of
all steadfastness and patience joyously giving thanks to
the Father.
In other words, at the end of it
all I have no complaint against anybody but
only joyously giving thanks to the Father that
I was given the privilege to run in
this race.
When I was about 21 years old I
wrote in the first Bible I had these
words that have remained in my mind for
years mere tears of mine can never repay
the debt of love I owe.
Here Lord, I give myself away as the
least that I can do.
Mere tears you know we can get moved
when we hear something and shed tears mere
tears of mine can never repay the debt
of love I owe to the Lord.
Here Lord, I give myself away as the
least that I can do.
I want to encourage you to remember that
words are not enough.
Words spoken in prayer flowery language testifying here
not enough.
But if you can give yourself in the
moment of trial in the moment of temptation
to give yourself that's the least we can
do.
Then I am repaying my debt of love.
For that I need the power of the
Holy Spirit.
I'll tell you something you don't need the
power of the Holy Spirit to pray you
don't need the power of the Holy Spirit
to testify.
Most believers who pray are not filled with
the Spirit but they pray beautifully.
Most believers who testify and share the word
are not filled with the Holy Spirit they
can do it beautifully.
It means nothing but to die to self
consistently from morning to night even for one
day that requires power.
Think of it think of let's say let's
take one 24 hour period you try it
say from tonight till tomorrow night just see
whether you can die to yourself consistently in
every single temptation that you face at home,
in the office, anywhere and you'll find one
day it's so difficult one day it's so
difficult where, it's like even 100 meters is
too difficult to run where are we going
to endure till the end we need the
power of the Holy Spirit it is impossible
without that it's impossible without that that's why
God never gave these commandments in the Old
Testament in the Old Testament if God had
given these commandments that would be like putting
a MSC paper question paper in the front
of these second standard students they just gave
it and give it back we can't answer
these questions God didn't give it He only
told them certain external things which even the
heathen understand don't commit adultery don't bear a
false witness in a court and honor your
father and mother and I mean even Hindu
people many of them know and follow these
laws don't kill anyone, don't steal other people's
property those things which they could manage and
when a person was fed up of his
wife God said ok, you can divorce her
that was permitted in the Old Testament not
commanded, but permitted but in the New Testament
Jesus said to the Pharisees because of the
hardness of your heart Moses permitted so many
things in the Old Testament but it's not
God's will it's not God's will that you
should divorce your wife just because you are
fed up of her you got to endure,
you got to die that's a new covenant
that's God's will so in the Old Testament
what does a person do when he is
fed up with his wife divorce her what
about in the New Testament die to yourself
you divorce your self-life that's what you
divorce in the New Testament not your wife,
your self-life you get out, you self
-life now that is another divorce that's what
Jesus taught and so also endure with all
the brothers and sisters until the end that
was not in the Old Testament no in
the Old Testament it was only things like
if you see your neighbor's donkey fallen in
the gutter, just go and help him don't
let him struggle with his donkey alone those
type of things which even the heathen people
do but there was no command in the
Old Testament that you must not you must
endure and be patient and bare and never
let the other person know about it, these
things were not there because the Holy Spirit
was not given but now the Holy Spirit
has been given we think of rivers of
living water flowing out through us let's ask
ourselves what exactly are we praying for when
we cry out to God and say Oh
God fill me with the Holy Spirit and
the Lord says what do you want the
Holy Spirit for what's your answer what's your
answer you say Lord because I find it
so difficult to endure in love till the
end I want the power of the Holy
Spirit in my life I want to be
strengthened with might so that I can attain
all steadfastness and patience joyously giving thanks to
the Lord not that I can pray better
and testify better and get some honour in
the church as some great saint that's all
fit for followers of Moses no but that
I can in secret grounded in love those
are the two places in the New Testament
where there is a prayer a prayer Paul
prays that the Ephesian Christians may be strengthened
with the power of the Holy Spirit he
prays for the Colossian Christians that they may
be strengthened with the mighty power of God
and in both places we see the same
goal that we might endure and be patient
and be filled with love until the very
end so that the prayer of Jesus can
be fulfilled that all men will know you
are my disciples when you love one another
so that that greatest sign and wonder will
be performed in our midst Lord let signs
and wonders be done in our midst today
that's our prayer that is a tremendous wonder
those of us who are married isn't it
a miracle if you and your wife can
live for 365 days without any disturbance with
one another that is an amazing miracle just
365 days and imagine if it can go
on for 15 years like that till Jesus
comes how can we do it?
only the power of the Holy Spirit no
other way who will keep me to the
cross I am always tempted to jump down
from the cross but I have to ask
the Holy Spirit to tie me there Lord
never let me come down always and what
a wonderful church ours will be, what a
wonderful church it will be a sign and
a wonder in this country if God can
find a church like that where everyone is
really asking God for the power of the
Holy Spirit to keep him nailed to the
cross Lord give me the power of the
Holy Spirit to keep me nailed to the
cross everyday so often we are looking for
emotions, we are looking for the wrong thing
and that is why we are praying and
praying and nothing much happens because God doesn't
want to just give us a tickle down
our spine and like people say, they got
an electric shock well, you don't need the
Holy Spirit to get an electric shock, just
put your finger inside one of those plug
points, you will get it that's not what
we are praying all night for no, no,
no, we are seeking God for power to
endure until the end may God give us
that, let's have our goals right let's go
to God in prayer now you are kneeling
down I believe that the Lord has been
moving in our midst in these days and
not moving with tornadoes and earthquakes and fire
but like a dove in a gentle way
in our hearts it's good to make some
transactions make some decisions, some transactions while you
are kneeling down there before God there are
certain sins that you need to confess that's
part of that transaction sins are you enslaved
to some habits that you need to confess
and ask God to forgive you and cleanse
you in the blood of Jesus make a
transaction you are not making a promise that
you will never do it again I don't
think any of us can make that promise
but you are saying Lord I want to
please you I don't want to dishonor you
in anything in my life is there an
attitude that you have to someone that you
need to bury at the cross put it
into that grave of Jesus and finish with
it and say Lord cleanse my heart with
your blood when we sing Lord I lift
my cup to you Lord fill it up
that cup must be clean offer to the
Lord a clean cup make a transaction there
again you are not promising that you will
never have a grudge again in your life
but you are saying Lord I never want
to have one God is not asking you
for promises even if we make promises we
won't keep them beyond one week He is
not asking for promises He is saying my
child do you want to do my will
just say that you want to and the
devil will be put to shame say Lord
I want to I want to be clean
I want to be pure I want to
be humble I want to be loving I
want to be what you want me to
be on this earth Lord I am ashamed
of myself I am ashamed of the number
of promises I have made to you in
past years I never want to make promises
to you again because I will break them
but Lord I say to you with all
sincerity I want to be your disciple Lord
Jesus I want to love you I want
to follow you all the days of my
life forgive me my past my past hangs
over my head all the time Lord remove
it remove it from my eyes remove it
from my memory blot it out in your
mercy the Lord invites you He says I
will blot out your transgressions like a cloud
I will bury them in the deepest sea
He will not remember your sins or your
iniquities anymore even the sins that you committed
right up to the time you came to
the meeting so great is the mercy and
goodness of God He forgives and forgives and
forgives then you need to make another transaction
that you will forget what God has forgotten
that you will not keep on bringing to
your mind and allow the devil to bring
condemnation into your heart overcome him make a
decision on your knees that you are going
to overcome Satan not by your determination but
by the blood of the Lamb you are
going to overcome Satan by confessing not your
determination not your promises you have tried that
long enough and you have always failed and
the devil has got the upper hand from
now on you are going to confess the
blood of Jesus the blood of Jesus has
cleansed your past and the devil cannot keep
on bringing that to your mind anymore it's
gone it's gone don't dishonor the blood of
Jesus what God has cleansed don't call unclean
anymore what God has cleansed don't call unclean
anymore don't keep on confessing things that God
has already cleansed what you need to confess
is what you can commit in the future
not what you have done in the past
make that transaction these are transactions we can
make no promises but expression of our desire
Lord I want to please you I want
to turn from all my sin thank you
Lord for cleansing me in the blood of
Jesus thank you Lord for blotting out my
past thank you Lord for giving me your
spirit I lift a cup to you Lord
I lift my heart to you it's clean
cleansed by no merit of my own but
cleansed by the blood that Jesus my savior
shed for me on Calvary cleansed completely the
devil cannot touch me I lift up this
heart to you Lord to be filled with
the Holy Spirit I want to open my
mouth and drink right now right now I
want to drink of your spirit I want
to come under your waterfall unworthy though I
am because Jesus died for me I can
claim the gift of the spirit forget your
worthiness you'll never be worthy to receive the
Holy Spirit in a hundred years you'll never
be worthy to receive the Holy Spirit forget
your worthiness forget it, forget it, forget it
say because Jesus died for me because Jesus
purchased the gift of the Holy Spirit for
me unworthy though I am I am cleansed
in the blood therefore I can receive the
Holy Spirit again in all his fullness into
my heart praise you, all you children you
can receive the Holy Spirit right now, take
it seriously you children pray to Jesus concentrate
your mind on Jesus now and say Lord
Jesus you died for me cleanse my little
heart from sin cleanse me from my hypocrisy
and my guile and my deception Lord Jesus
cleanse me cleanse me from the lies I
have said from my fighting spirit with my
brothers and sisters for cheating and telling lies
to my parents cleanse me Lord Jesus, children
will you say that and ask Jesus to
fill you with the Holy Spirit right now
yes, Jesus listens to your prayer, now, right
now open your heart, it's just like opening
your mouth open your heart like you open
your mouth and say Lord Jesus I want
a drink I want a drink thank you
Lord thank you, thank you Lord just say
thank you, that is the mark of faith
thank you for hearing me Lord thank you
for hearing even me even a sinner like
me you heard me tonight thank you for
cleansing me thank you for filling me with
your spirit I make that transaction and now
the spirit will give you strength to handle
those problems that you could not handle till
now to remove those mountains in your life
that could not be removed till now he
will give you strength to make transactions now
before him Lord, I'm never going to remember
what others have done to me the evil
that others have done to me I'll never
remember it anymore as you have promised that
you will never remember my sin Lord, I
will not remember the sin of others, I
make a transaction I make a little grave
right here where I'm kneeling down I make
a grave and I'm burying something here and
I'm putting a tombstone over it right now
in Jesus name I put a tombstone and
I've finished with it, I'm going to be
a new person, I'm going to start a
new leaf, turn over a new leaf, start
a new life I'm going to look at
my brothers and sisters with new eyes not
remembering the past I want to love Lord
till the end of my life even if
I get nothing else, I want to love
I want to love Lord till the end
of my life say that to the Lord
Lord, I want to love with your divine
love till the end of my life I
want to love my brothers and sisters say
that, say it to the Lord from your
heart Lord, I want to love my brothers
and sisters no matter what happens no matter
what happens I want to endure in love
until the end say that, you husband say
I want to love my wife as Christ
loved the church say it Lord I really
want to love my wife as Christ loved
the church say Lord express that desire to
the Lord say it, say it to the
Lord you have not because you ask not
you wives, say to the Lord Lord, I
want to submit to my husband like the
church is subject to Christ, I want to
submit to my husband like the church is
subject to Christ, help me Lord and you
children little children, will you pray this prayer,
you asked Jesus to fill you with the
Spirit, now pray this prayer Lord Jesus, help
me to honor my father and mother help
me to obey my parents help me to
respect my parents till the end of my
life help me to honor my parents till
the end of my life ask Jesus to
help you, you need power, you can't do
it we older people cannot do it without
power how can you do it without power
ask Jesus for power