I want to read a verse in Galatians
in chapter 5.
I'll tell you quite frankly that one of
the things that has burdened me through many
years and even after the conference is over
and seeing and observing many things and many
people not only in CFC but in our
other churches and meeting and hearing and talking
to them I am surprised that after so
many years of hearing about legalism and living
under the law there are so many many
many believers even in our midst who are
still legalistic living under the law some of
the most common marks of that is that
they are not able to overcome sin in
their life there is no peace in their
home and they are very hard on other
people very judgmental these are some of the
common characteristics of being legalistic and under law
and I was seeking God about what is
the reason for this I've come to the
conclusion it says here in Galatians 5 that
the only way to be free from the
law is like it says here in Galatians
5 18 if you're led by the spirit
then you're not so if I try to
be free from the law I won't be
free from the law I can hear a
message on legalism and not being hard on
others or overcoming sin and I'll never be
free you know I if you look at
the law is something I got to get
rid of and I try to get rid
of it I don't get rid of it
it's like the man who cast out a
demon and cleansed his heart he ends up
with eight demons worse condition than before and
this is one of the things I have
observed in many people around the world in
different groups who pursue holiness they are in
the pursuit of holiness they become so hard
and so bitter and so judgmental of other
people and self-righteous and sour and hard
to get along with and it seems as
though the more religion they have the harder
they become now that's because man is a
religious creature by nature the world the maximum
number of people in the world are not
atheists the maximum number of people in the
world more than 90% I think in
the world are maybe less than 5%
atheists more 95% have got some religion
where did they get that religion from the
first man who went to hell Cain was
a very religious man he was not an
atheist and you find in all religions you
take all the main religions in the world
I mean Hinduism has got 1 billion and
people and Muslims have got 1 billion people
and Christians have got 1 billion people and
you find in all these religions there's a
there are fundamentalist forces who pursue their religion
according to their understanding with great zeal and
very often that religion hurts and harms other
people and that is the clearest proof that
that's false and now Christians may not hurt
and harm other people with bombs and grenades
and things like that but boy the amount
of hurt and harm a lot of Christians
impose and give to other people through their
words their attitude and their judgments is pretty
bad and I can only say that how
did so many 95% of the world
become religious it's just because you know in
our flesh there are certain lusts that are
common to all people in the world sexual
lusts it's universal love of money it's universal
to seek our own that's universal to be
selfish it's universal to judge other people that's
universal every religion it's these are certain universal
characteristics and to be religious to go to
some place of worship to deny myself something
to sacrifice something in order to please some
god I imagine is very happy with my
sacrifice that's a universal feeling and if you're
born in a Christian family you'll do that
in a Christian way you're born in some
other family you do that in that heathen
way that's all man's a religious creature now
I want to say this my brothers and
sisters that um if we don't just like
we hate those other lusts you know the
lust for immorality and greed and covetousness there
is a religious lust also we have to
crucify if you don't crucify it you'll just
become a religious person you'll be very legalistic
the thing is we don't think of this
religious lust as something to be crucified we
those other things are dirty we know oh
we got to get rid of that but
this looks very similar to Christianity and it
isn't that's why Jesus said to his disciples
you know the time will come when people
will kill you and think that they are
serving God thereby imagine that people can be
so zealous and to kill another person and
it actually happened some of the great names
in history like Martin Luther and John Calvin
are names which are highly respected by a
lot of Christians but history tells us that
they sanctioned the death of other believers these
great men how is that how is people
who could understand so much truth about being
justified by faith all that and who stood
against the Roman Catholic Church yet sanctioned the
death of other poor people who would not
take infant baptism but said I want to
be baptized as a believer and who stood
against state power things like that you know
we can say oh well that's those people
were like that but I want to say
this my brothers and sisters that the Bible
says the whole law it says here right
here in verse 14 the whole law is
fulfilled in one word you shall love your
neighbor as yourself but if you don't love
your neighbor as yourself you'll bite and devour
one another and then one day you'll be
consumed by one another now the only way
to be saved from this is like it
says in the next verse walk in the
spirit be led by the spirit verse 18
and then you won't be under the law
it's a wonderful thing to be led by
the Holy Spirit to live to walk in
the Holy Spirit means to walk in health
because where the spirit of the Lord is
there is liberty freedom from all condemnation all
sense of guilt it's wonderful the Holy Spirit
what the Holy Spirit brings he brings to
us the peace of God the Bible says
the Holy Spirit brings to us righteousness peace
and joy it brings the kingdom of God
into our hearts you know when Jesus once
was he told some people he says there
are some people standing here who won't die
till they see the kingdom of God come
in power he said that thing is Mark
9 verse 1 and that happened on the
day of Pentecost some of them died but
there were some people standing there who saw
the kingdom of God come in power 120
of them on the day of Pentecost and
see the kingdom of God is most perfectly
found in heaven and that kingdom of God
came into the hearts of 120 people through
the Holy Spirit and I see that that
is what the Holy Spirit came to bring
that righteousness and peace and joy that is
found in heaven not the righteousness that is
found on the earth it's very important to
see that a righteousness which is totally coupled
with peace and joy that's the mark of
walking in the spirit otherwise we can have
a righteousness which is of the law and
Paul says in Philippians in chapter 3 for
many years he had the righteousness of the
law and it made him a murderer it
made him hate people who didn't agree with
him and they were usually I mean people
like Stephen who Paul agreed to be stoned
to death imagine stoning a young 25 year
old man who stones him you stand there
and support that whole thing how can you
do it as a Christian you know what
all Christians have done through the years to
other Christians hurt them the Bible says in
Romans 13 love never does any harm to
its neighbor let's not think of people who
have stoned other people I want to say
to you husbands and wives when you speak
a rude word to your wife or husband
you are under the law you can say
whatever you like I don't care what tongues
you speak in you're under the law you
are not baptized in the Holy Spirit one
of the greatest deceptions in the world today
is people who speak in tongues and think
they are baptized in the Holy Spirit it's
one of the masterpieces of Satan that he's
worked in charismatic Pentecostal circles speak in tongues
you're baptized in the Holy Spirit no you
walk in love you're baptized in the Holy
Spirit and you also speak in tongues that's
okay but if you don't walk in love
it is some other spirit without it down
you're like these people who you know they
can hurt one another and harm one another
and still think they are new covenant Christians
and and they don't judge them so the
sad part as I've often said through 25
years the sad part is not that you
fall into sin the sad part is not
that you fall into anger the sad part
is that after you fall you don't weep
that's the sad part that after you speak
that rude word you don't weep you don't
apologize that is the sad part the falling
okay you fell you can slip on a
banana peel and fall that's okay but do
you get up do you repent do you
weep do you ask forgiveness immediately from the
person you harmed why do you want a
diagnosis you are under the you never knew
that right you are and as long as
you remain like that you'll never know this
wonderful life in the Holy Spirit I never
knew even after we started as a church
I must say that for so many years
we were under it we had some influence
input from some brothers from Europe and it
brought such a legalistic heavy spirit of guilt
and condemnation it was a righteousness of the
law but I thank God I'm free from
it now my life has become so liberated
and I don't spend my time judging other
people now I have enough to do judging
myself I've really tasted something of what it
means when it says where the spirit of
the Lord is there is liberty you can't
get me to have a grudge in my
heart against you it's impossible you can't get
me to the place where I won't look
at you or I won't talk to you
no those are all fellas under the law
I had enough of that I spent years
with that miserable type of existence of being
depressed gloomy judging others and being hard on
others I did it I'm free from it
I want to encourage you to walk in
the spirit and allow the spirit of God
to fill your heart with love love you
know the way God loves us it says
here in Philippians 3 he says I don't
I want to be found in Christ verse
9 not having a righteousness of my own
derived from the law he says I don't
want to stand before God one day and
have any bit of that righteousness which is
of my own you know when Adam covered
himself with fig leaves God didn't put the
coat of skin on top of the fig
leaves no I hope you know that he
said Adam throw away those fig leaves I'll
give you something better it was not the
fig leaves plus the coat of skin like
some of us have we want the righteousness
of Christ plus something of our own righteousness
we've got to throw it away Paul says
I don't want it I don't want any
of that righteousness which is from the law
I want that which has come I don't
want any fig leaves he says in verse
9 I want 100 percent that coat of
skin through faith in Christ the righteousness which
comes from God in the basis of faith
and I'll tell you something wherever I meet
someone like that it's very easy to fellowship
with that person it's very easy to fellowship
with a person who has no righteousness of
his own it's very difficult to fellowship with
a person who has some righteousness of their
own Paul said I don't want an atom
of my own righteousness a man for 30
years he had only his own righteousness and
it was a very very good righteousness and
he says now I don't want a scrap
of it I believe that I could have
easily fellowshiped with Paul though he was very
very radical I think I'd have had wonderful
fellowship with him because the man had no
righteousness of his own and through the years
I found in Kerala Tamil Nadu and even
in CFC Bangalore there are some people with
whom it's very easy to fellowship because they
have no righteousness of their own and there
are some people they come here they come
here for 25 years but it's so difficult
for me to fellowship with them because they
have some righteousness of their own they've got
the righteousness of Christ but they also want
their little fig leaves and I say well
what can I do and these are the
people who don't come to victory over sin
these are the people who husbands and wives
who yell at each other at home and
then come to the church and judge other
people they are the number one people to
judge the young people why are they like
this and why are they like that go
and see what is the condition of their
homes pathetic but they don't judge themselves they
are ready to judge other people they've got
a righteousness of their own very difficult fellowship
they're so religious they pray so much and
they let everybody know how much they pray
and read the bible and they speak such
holy things it's very difficult to fellowship with
them the devil has done a tremendous work
in deceiving such people that they are spiritual
I want to say to all of you
ask God to show you whether you're really
led by the Holy Spirit or you have
a righteousness of your own how do we
know whether we have a righteousness of our
own we judge people by our standards that's
one of the clear ways a man has
nothing to judge other people by I mean
if you got zero out of a hundred
whom can you judge in your class if
you got ten you can judge the fellow
who got five or three or two or
one but if you got zero you're at
the bottom that's what it means to have
no righteousness of our own means that I
got zero you know the story of the
people who worked for 12 hours in the
day they got a hundred and they looked
at these other fellows who came and worked
at the last one hour who got only
eight they say you you're not equal to
us we got 100 you got eight and
those fellows who got eight that means they
worked only for one hour out of 12
that's what I mean eight percent and the
other fellows worked for 12 hours those fellows
got the reward first they didn't judge anybody
have you noticed that the fellows who worked
for one hour in that story in Matthew
20 they looked at this chap here he's
better than me he's worked for three hours
they look at another fellow that side he's
better than me he's worked for six hours
they look at somebody over there he's better
than me he's worked for nine hours they
look at somebody else here he's worked for
12 hours oh where am I I'm lost
blessed are such people who can look at
other people in the church and say but
thank God I've got the righteousness of Christ
I have no condemnation I'm not here to
show I'm better than you I'm not here
to be disturbed if God makes you equal
to me or superior to me because I
have no righteousness of my own to boast
about you examine yourselves and be honest my
brothers and sisters and be honest and you
will see that you have a righteousness of
your own to boast about and that's why
the Holy Spirit passes you by and you
can sing as much as you like pass
me not oh gentle savior hear my humble
cry but he will pass you by because
he always passes by those who have a
righteousness of their own and usually proud of
it it's the way you look at other
people that you know whether you have a
righteousness of your own when you judge other
people by your standards let me show you
another example of that in Romans chapter 14
in Romans chapter 14 we read of one
of the most wonderful chapters in Romans Romans
is a letter that's explaining the gospel it
starts with people in sin worldly people in
chapter one religious people in chapter two and
then it says in chapter three both are
sinners it says salvation is by grace and
it goes on from there how we are
justified by faith in chapter five we get
victory over sin chapter six we break free
from the law in chapter seven we live
in the Holy Spirit chapter eight we see
God's sovereignty in chapter nine and God's righteousness
in chapter 10 and God's faithfulness in chapter
11 and then in chapter 12 it says
present your body and you can become one
body with the others and the gifts of
the Holy Spirit in chapter 12 and he's
talking about there's all the gospel how we
finally get built as a body exercising the
gifts of the Holy Spirit in chapter 12
and then he says how the Christian must
live in society submitting to authority in chapter
13 and then it comes to this we
are reaching the pinnacle we are reaching the
absolute pinnacle of the temple of God and
that is how we treat one another that's
what it comes to in chapter 14 and
the conclusion of chapter 14 is in chapter
15 verse 7 accept one another just as
Christ has accepted us to the glory of
God you see a man who's got some
righteousness of his own he cannot accept another
person like Christ accepted him the man who's
worked for 12 hours cannot accept that person
who's worked for one hour as his equal
can you accept a newborn brother a person
who's born again a sister a brother who's
born again just last week can you treat
that person as an equal where can you
do it some of us who've got a
few gray hairs here you can't even treat
a young brother as your equal you got
this crazy stupid Indian idea that old age
means I'm to be respected garbage garbage a
lot of people with gray hair who've got
no humility no fear of God but they
got a conceited opinion about themselves that's about
all they want all the other young people
to respect them no and that's why they
have no ministry I want to be at
the level of the young people all my
life I want to be the level of
the children I don't want to have any
righteousness of mine I don't want to have
any seniority of my own I don't want
to think I'm 63 and the other fellow
is 16 no I am at his level
I wish a day will come when everybody
in CFC will feel like that we're not
like that right now we're all some of
us feel little senior superior because of age
or seniority or some righteousness or some way
in which we are better than others and
the end result is we don't feel the
others are equal to us we work for
12 hours we have lived on earth for
60 years that's like working for 12 hours
how can this fellow who's six years old
be equal to me he is brother sister
I'm sorry to surprise you the kingdom of
God's got different rules from the kingdom of
earth and you better get used to it
otherwise you won't get into God's kingdom in
heaven the kingdom of God is going to
bring the values of heaven down down to
earth when we get to heaven supposing Jesus
were to come right now and take us
into his kingdom do you really believe that
I'll be senior to you you may think
I'm senior to you now because I'm older
I've been believer a longer time or I've
got a ministry but the moment God's kingdom
comes you know I'll be equal to you
well I'm already in God's kingdom I've already
reached there and so I consider you equal
to me right now and if you cannot
consider another brother equal to you you cannot
consider another sister equal to you you are
under the law and that is one of
the fundamental reasons why you don't get victory
over your anger and that's one of the
fundamental reasons why you can't get overcome the
lust of your eyes take the diagnosis if
you like it's so difficult I'll tell you
it is so difficult to consider other people
equal to us and yet that's how salvation
came he who was above everybody came beneath
everybody to become the servant of everyone that
is the first and fundamental law of salvation
God so loved the world that he that
Jesus so loved the world that he humbled
himself and became the servant of all I've
seen people who get a little bit of
the knowledge of the scriptures and when they
speak this is legal expert speaking make everybody
feel small because of their tremendous knowledge of
the scriptures they can quote this verse they
can quote that verse and they can talk
on any subject under the sun and they
make everybody sit there feel small and the
next meeting they make them even feel smaller
you think these people are servants of Jesus
Christ rubbish they may know the bible thoroughly
just like the devil and they are servants
of the devil any brother who makes another
person feel small let me tell you is
a servant of the devil I don't care
what he's preaching he may be preaching new
covenant truth you can preach new covenant truth
in a way that you make other people
feel small you're a servant of the devil
where do we know how to hide Jesus
said when you fast anoint your face don't
let people know that you fasted if you
know the bible don't let people know that
you know it anoint your face hide it
true Christian life is a hidden life where
you don't let people know your spirituality you
don't let people know how much God has
used you you don't let people know how
much you pray how much you fast you
don't let people know how many demons you
cast out you don't let people know how
much more of the bible you know than
them you are you encourage them to share
something uh that they know with you now
you can hear a message like this and
say okay I'm going to practice that you
know this is the legalistic man he's going
to practice making other people feel important his
whole life is law he's heard one more
law in the on Sunday morning in CFC
make other feel he's already got about 2
,000 laws this is 2001 make other people
feel important so I said yes brother I'd
like to hear from you and you can
see by his attitude the fellow is a
snob he's a benefactor he's not a servant
he's just following law number 2001 which says
make the other fellow feel important okay brother
please tell me I'd like to hear from
you I'll tell you something you cannot put
on an act in the life in the
holy spirit you can hear one more truth
and make it law 2002 and think you're
spiritual any spiritual fellow can see through you
you have to be filled with the holy
spirit there's no other way there is no
other way any number of fig leaves will
not cover your nakedness dumb blind people may
be able to be fooled by you but
not a spiritual man you'll see through you
to be under the law Romans 14 says
accept the one who is weak that means
give a warm welcome to this brother who's
got a completely different opinion and from you
and don't pass judgment on his opinions can
you accept a person who is born again
whom Christ has accepted without passing judgment on
his opinions don't pass judgment on his opinions
his faith is weak he doesn't do certain
things that you do don't judge you know
it says even concerning one man regards one
day above another verse 5 first of all
it speaks about vegetables some people are vegetarians
verse 2 another person eats meat don't despise
a person because he eats something different from
you he talks only about two things here
eating different things and celebrating different days so
these are not important you don't you don't
have to be vegetarian like him no that's
not the message of this the message is
not because he's vegetarian you become vegetarian no
you eat meat as much as you like
but don't judge that man and the man
who was a vegetarian don't judge the fellow
who's eating meat the kingdom of God is
not eating and drinking in the same way
it says here one man regards one day
above another verse 5 another man regards every
day alike you know I have never had
a problem with people who celebrate Christmas never
so long as they don't force me to
do it but I know some people who
are against Christmas who have a tremendous problem
with other people who celebrate it you know
why because these fellows who don't celebrate Christmas
are under the law what is their law
the law their law is thou shalt law
number 1006 thou shalt not celebrate Christmas I
don't have a law like that I don't
have any law I'm living in the spirit
life is wonderful if somebody wants to celebrate
Christmas go ahead and do it and if
he says to me Merry Christmas I don't
turn my face away I say God bless
you brother I can't say Merry Christmas because
I don't believe in it but I'm not
against him that's his way of showing his
expression of gratitude to me somebody called me
up on Christmas day and said Mr. Poonen
Merry Christmas to you he was a Hindu
man I say yeah God bless you doesn't
disturb me one bit can you accept a
person are you such a religious snob who
thinks you've got it all right yourself you
don't realize your stinking pride is worse than
celebrating 10,000 Christmases is worse than celebrating
Diwali and Ganesh Puja and everything put together
your stinking pride but you don't see it
you don't see it because your laws don't
talk about pride your laws talk only about
Christmas I haven't changed my view on it
my view has always been the same the
last more than 30 years but the point
is I have learned to accept people who
have a different view one man celebrates a
okay I don't celebrate it let each be
fully convinced in his own mind it could
be in so many things it could be
in celebrating birthdays it could be celebrating Christmas
day it could be celebrating Easter or anything
one man celebrates another man doesn't I say
let let each follow his own conviction let
every man be fully convinced in his own
mind and don't judge the other who are
you worse for to judge the servant of
another think of that do you ever go
to somebody else's home supposing you're visiting a
home and you see the servant in that
home is not cleaned the floor properly you're
visiting somebody else's home remember and you're sitting
talking to that person in the home and
then you call say call the servant here
I want to ask why he is not
cleaned this floor properly anybody so stupid sitting
here I don't think anybody's so stupid but
that's exactly what we do when you judge
someone who belongs to the lord he's not
your servant and when you judge him you're
going into the lord's house and calling one
of the servants say hey why are you
like this why do you eat this why
do you celebrate this day why do you
dress like this whose house are you is
this your house I'm sorry brother sister this
is not your house it's not my house
it's the lord's house please leave his servants
alone he knows how to take care of
his servants without you putting your dirty hands
in his work I believe we can be
tremendously saved if we can just learn the
simple lesson the mind god can judge that
person it says here to his own master
he stands or falls and if one master
says that's okay it's I mean I'm not
bothered if this servant hasn't swept the floor
properly he's such a wonderful servant in 10
,000 other areas so I'll say to you
please leave my servant alone can you please
leave my servant alone I can handle him
that's what god will say to you when
you judge another brother for something or another
sister he'll say you holy person and you
know he's the lord's being sarcastic when he
calls you a holy person can you leave
my servant alone can you please leave my
servant alone and mind your own business and
you say no I've got something more to
tell him you better be careful the lord
will throw you out of his house there
are some manners in god's house and very
simple manners just leave his servants alone you
go home and deal with your servants when
you come to the lord's house leave the
lord's servants alone do you know you this
is god this is the way I believe
many many Christians are still under the law
they haven't come to this wonderful life in
the spirit why is it for example that
it's so difficult for god to bless a
person and keep him humble if he was
living in the spirit no matter how much
god blessed him he would be more and
more humble that's all but I have found
through the years when god blesses a person
it goes to their head I know people
who when they first came to the church
and you know they knew nothing they were
so humbled and god blessed them they traveled
in ministry here and there god used them
his service different churches were blessed and it
went to their heads and then god has
to push them down and now they're sitting
quietly in some churches people who were once
elders of churches because it was too much
for them I know people who came to
cfc who are poor so little they were
in debt they were humble then god blessed
them went to their heads and I found
usually it goes more to the head of
the wife than to the head of the
man the man somehow can handle it but
it's very difficult for a woman to handle
god blessing her particularly financially it really goes
to their head and they they become a
stink in the house of god but they
don't realize it there are a lot of
people who whose body order stinks like anything
but they don't themselves don't realize it it's
exactly like that spiritually there are people who
stink spiritually and they don't realize it themselves
a spiritual man can spell it distance just
the way they look the way they walk
there's something about legalism that makes a person
so obnoxious you know it's difficult to be
to fellowship with such a person and that's
why worldly people say I don't want to
be a saint some of them are so
hard to get along with I want to
have some friends at the end of my
life I don't want to be a saint
isn't that sad the impression people have of
saintly people you'll never have any friends there
you'll just turn everybody away with your legalism
you know let me tell you something I've
read about in the 1960s there was a
movement among the hippies in America called the
Jesus people movement these were people who were
hippies who had come out of rich homes
and were on drugs and all types of
immorality and they had long hair and all
kinds of funny dresses they never wore any
shoes they walked barefoot and with torn jeans
and and then some of them got converted
really converted but when they got converted they
never got rid of their torn jeans and
they never got rid of their long hair
and they never started wearing shoes they just
loved Jesus and I tell you they loved
Jesus a lot more than some of these
other prim proper people who went to all
the dead churches in the United States and
I remember hearing this story in one of
David Wilkerson's tapes he says how there's a
way back in the 60s he was invited
once to speak to one group of these
hippie converts who loved they invited him they
heard of his work among the drug addicts
and invited him to speak to him he
was a young man and he got there
and spoke to them and told them and
said see next time when you're coming by
the time you come to the next meeting
get a haircut and put some proper clothes
and wear some shoes and come that was
his understanding of Christianity you can't follow Jesus
unless you get a haircut and you I
mean they can accept Jesus with the long
hair but not the his followers or in
the Jesus probably wore with walked with sandals
but you got to wear shoes anyway David
Wilkerson said that this is his own testimony
and he says after the meeting was over
some of the elders of this movement came
to him they didn't criticize him they loved
Jesus so much they loved David Wilkerson so
much they just wept they said David we
didn't see Jesus in you today we didn't
hear Jesus from you today your clothes hid
Jesus your suit and tie hid Jesus from
us and David Wilkerson says he repented he
repented that he thought Jesus has to be
dressed in a suit and a tie and
he learned to accept those people exactly as
they were and there was a far greater
revival going on among those people that has
lasted even till today than there was in
all these holy congregations of people who are
dressed properly sitting in the meetings you know
I've never forgotten that story that David Wilkerson
said how God spoke to his heart and
I've learned through the years that the more
I despise other people the more revival will
not come to my heart I want to
live in a state of continuous revival where
the joy of the Lord is overflowing all
the time you know Jesus said that to
the woman of Samaria he says whoever drinks
of this water will thirst again and we
can point to everything in the world including
religion including the Christian religion you drink of
it you'll thirst again but he says if
I if you drink of the water that
I give you I will put a well
inside you a spring the real meaning there
is a spring a spring that's always springing
up springing up springing up into everlasting life
this is this is what Jesus does this
is a picture of the Holy Spirit an
everlasting spring that never runs dry and you
know water is always a picture of freshness
you travel through some places where there's been
no rain and everything is so dry and
brown and dust and then you move in
the train if you're traveling in a train
to a place where rain's been falling like
anything same type of ground everything's so green
this is how it is when the Holy
Spirit is poured out you see some brothers
sisters yeah everything's right about them they're so
dry there's no freshness about them there's no
sparkle in their eyes there is no spring
in their feet something is missing it's the
Holy Spirit the answer to everything is God's
Holy Spirit why they're so dry probably because
they spend their life judging other people see
one of the marks of our pride is
that we think we are the standard if
I'm a vegetarian everybody must be a vegetarian
if I don't celebrate Christmas nobody must celebrate
Christmas who in the world made you the
standard the way I dress nobody should be
more worldly than me I am the standard
if somebody is got more expensive clothes than
me they are worldly if somebody has got
less expensive clothes than me ah they are
ascetics so I've got ascetics and I'm the
standard if somebody spends more on you know
some of these people who judge other people
for their clothes they don't judge other people
for their food they eat very rich food
in their home never fast uh but they
never judge it because they are such gluttons
their gluttony is not one of their sins
in their mind of legalists and anybody who
eats more than them ah glutton anybody who
eats less than them ascetic then who's the
standard brother me of course who made you
a standard do you know that there's only
one standard that God has given Jesus Christ
and it's because so many brothers particularly the
most senior they become brothers ancestors they begin
to think their standard what I have in
my house is standard if you have something
in your house which I don't have you're
worldly and if I have some small luxury
in my house which somebody else doesn't have
that fellow's an ascetic this is this is
all right their house is the standard their
life is the standard their food is the
standard their dress is the standard these are
the number one legalists and I'm sorry to
say there's some of them sitting in CFC
for years they never seem to get light
another year has gone by we've come to
the last Sunday of the year but their
legalism has not departed from them I want
to say to you my brothers and sisters
I hope legalism will depart from you permanently
this year that you'll begin the new year
without legalism you'll begin the new year with
the Holy Spirit none of all these rules
and regulations and learn to mind your own
business in the new year let another fellow
eat meat if he wants let him eat
pork or whatever he likes let him celebrate
any number of days that's his business you
don't have to do it but accept that
person who is different and I tell you
some of you very so-called holy brothers
and sisters you just cannot let me tell
you you cannot accept another person because you're
such legalists and I'll tell you that's the
reason why you can't get victory over your
anger that's the reason why you get depressed
so often you know that a man who's
got the Holy Spirit bringing brimming up in
in him all the time he cannot be
depressed it's true God doesn't give the spirit
of depression to anybody the Bible says the
Spirit of the Lord has anointed me and
he's given me the garment of praise for
the spirit of heaviness have you read that
let me turn you to Isaiah chapter 61
Isaiah 61 the Spirit of the Lord is
upon me the Lord's anointed me to bring
good news to the suffering and afflicted he
has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted to
announce liberty to captives that's one of the
things he's told me to preach he has
sent me to tell those who are mourned
that the time of God's favor to them
has come and the day of his wrath
to their enemies to all who mourn in
Israel he'll give beauty for ashes joy instead
of mourning and praise instead of heaviness do
you know that God wants to give us
beauty joy and praise no heaviness when the
Spirit of God fills us you cannot bring
a heavy spirit into a meeting why is
it that some people you talk to them
such a heavy spirit on them and even
if they get up and speak for three
minutes it's it's so heavy it's legalism I've
seen elders like that I have and wherever
I've been you know I've been to numerous
meetings here and there in our churches and
sometimes I hear an elder brother get up
I listen to it and I say boy
that's heavy and I don't care who that
person is and I don't care if it's
time to close the meeting I say I'm
going to get up and drive that spirit
away before we close the meeting because that's
not the Spirit of God that's spirit of
heaviness and I've seen elder brothers bring that
spirit upon people why because the Spirit of
the Lord is not upon them that's all
if the Spirit of the Lord is upon
you you cannot bring heaviness into a home
into a situation into a meeting never can
you imagine what a wonderful brother or sister
you'll be if you'll never bring heaviness anywhere
this is you proclaim the day of God's
favor the time this is the time of
God's favor how you bless people everywhere and
people will long to fellowship with you because
you bless instead of burden legalism is a
burden you know I believe that we live
in a world where we have a lot
ever since the day Adam sinned we find
this people are afraid to be themselves before
us it says before man sinned there's a
lovely verse in Genesis 2 the last verse
it says they were both naked and they
were not ashamed as soon as they sinned
what did they do cover themselves from whom
was it because the lions were looking at
them or the cow why what what is
the fig leaves for I mean if there
were other human beings in the garden I
can understand their clothing but who were they
covering themselves from from each other Eve I
don't want you to see me like this
Adam I don't want you to see me
like this and ever since that day even
husbands and wives seek to cover themselves from
each other I don't mean physically it's something
they want to hide even in the brotherhood
they want to appear more spiritual than they
are all human beings are like that young
people when they grow up they feel inferior
all young people they grow up they say
I'm inferior they look at somebody else more
smartly dressed particular hairstyle they see that on
television some man or cinema star man or
woman dressed in a certain way wear certain
type of shoes certain type of clothes and
they feel inferior and they feel that the
way to become equal to that person is
to dress the same way comb your hair
the same way and behave the same way
they can come to a church young people
and they look at some other brother or
sister behaving in a certain way talking in
a certain way dressing in a certain way
they go home and say dad I want
that type of dress I want those type
of shoes it's all because they feel inferior
it's the same old habit so as I
was saying the will of God is that
wherever we go we bring a spirit of
blessing and freedom and liberty because we live
in a world where everybody's trying to hide
themselves we live in a world where everybody
feels a little inferior to the other person
they are not they are unwilling to be
known as they really are I believe a
lot of us sitting here like this you're
afraid to let people know you as you
really are because you feel that if they
know you as you really are they will
not accept you because you're so bad that's
the impression we give to people I will
not accept you if you're bad you know
even little children get that idea that my
parents will be happy with me if I'm
good I'm bad they won't be happy they
grow up feeling God will accept me if
I'm good I'm bad well God won't accept
me and a lot of Christians who feel
like that I've often thought Lord why is
it we don't have any converted prostitutes in
CFC you had a lot in your church
Mary Magdalene the woman caught in adultery of
so many there why is it we don't
have any converted drunkards and drug addicts in
CFC why is it we don't have down
and out people who lived in gross sin
I've asked the Lord that I said Lord
why is it we are just a bunch
of middle class people who got a little
bit of religion religious whitewash come together and
praise the Lord is our church the type
of church you wanted it I mean if
you were gathering people today is it because
in Bangalore there are no prostitutes to be
converted is it because in Bangalore there are
no drug addicts who need to be converted
or is it because we have failed because
of our legalism do you know there are
new sisters who come here to our church
and the first thing that some of our
foolish sisters will ask them sister why are
you wearing a chain why are you wearing
gold are you going to get that sister
to come back again to this church I'm
sick and tired of these foolish sisters they're
a pain in the neck I wish they
would go and join some other church but
they sit here and they've been here so
long that everybody thinks they are senior sisters
it's rubbish I don't even know if they're
converted no wonder the converted prostitutes you can
imagine if converted if a prostitute comes here
was not converted yet but once you hear
the gospel would you move to the next
chair why is it
I really believe we got to fall on
our face before God and ask ourselves Jesus
had all types of people in his following
him I believe the reason is there's still
a lot of legalism in our church I'm
not worried about other churches I'm talking to
this church there's a lot of legalism we're
taken up with the externals and we ourselves
are defeated in our homes that's the sad
thing at least if it's a godly man
or a godly woman who has come to
a godly life a Christ-like life speaking
about these things I can understand but some
of these people who have these attitudes are
people who have zero spirituality in their home
if you go and see how they live
in their home boy you think they are
unconverted people the way they live there the
way they talk to their husbands oh you
think they're thoroughly unconverted tell me you children
you children tell me don't don't answer loudly
how does your mother speak to your father
at home not in the church shall I
get them to testify mummies shall I get
them to testify how you speak to your
husband at all shame on you you belong
to CFC and you judge other people please
go and go home and judge yourself and
don't judge other people I wish that be
hippies here and unconverted drunkards and prostitutes I
wish they feel free to come here because
they can hear the gospel why don't they
come because of all these stiff religious brothers
and sisters sitting here make them feel uncomfortable
they want to hide I want to tell
you you know what God thinks of you
you're a stink in his nostrils those are
not my words Isaiah 65 read these words
Isaiah 65 in verse 5 he says these
people who say to one another don't come
too close to me you'll defile me I'm
holier than you they stifle me day in
day out they infuriate me God says I'm
sick and tired of these people who think
they're holier than others it's only on the
outside go and see how they live in
their homes and you'll see they are worse
than the unbelievers the way they talk to
one another in their homes but they come
to the church and act all this religious
stuff and speak about prayer and the Lord
and oh I can see through them from
a distance I can I can see through
many of you brothers and sisters I don't
tell you but I can see through your
religiosity I can see you're a humble and
I thank God for wonderful brothers and sisters
in our midst who are free from it
also but there are few I wish all
of us would be free I thank God
for some wonderful brothers and sisters who are
free from this legalistic spirit I'll tell you
one reason why I've never had a problem
in fellowship with brother Ian is because I
don't see the stink of legalism in him
it's been so easy through the years to
fellowship with a brother like that wherever there
is legalism I have to say God have
mercy I don't know what to do don't
you see God speaking to you by your
defeated life at home that you're a legalist
when I mean God's yelling at you God's
yelling at you and saying look at your
relationship at home that proves you're a legalist
but you can't hear you're going around still
judging other people this person's like that and
that person's like that and that sister's like
that and that brother's like that dear sister
dear brother please listen to me how many
years have gone by you've come to the
end of another year and I tell you
if you continue like this end of 2003
will be the same unless you take some
radical steps to say God I'm a legalist
I go into a home and I immediately
look to see if they've got a television
here and what else they have there how
are their children dressed how expensive are their
curtains God says you're a stink in my
nostrils you're a stink in my nostrils if
you got rules follow them in your home
and leave other people's homes alone judge yourself
and please don't make miserable for your life
for your miserable for your children I'll tell
you some of you mothers and fathers your
children will grow up they'll be free from
legalism and they will never respect you and
I won't blame them for not respecting you
because they respect godliness they'll respect a spiritual
man and they'll say that they'll see their
fathers and mothers yell at each other and
are stinking legalists how can you expect children
to respect you and come to the cfc
and pretend to be holy people that's the
worst part much better to be a heathen
who doesn't talk about all this religion what's
used sisters covering their heads and you don't
submit your husband at home take away that
covering from your head come and sit here
and speak the truth say I don't submit
to my husband at home I wish there
were some honest sisters like that I don't
cover my head because I don't submit to
my husband at home but these biased holy
sisters sit there and judge oh that sister
is not covering her head who's that probably
she is submitting to her husband 10 times
more than you do at home all legalism
it spreads it's it's like 11 all over
and you can see it when your eyes
are sharp to pick faults in other people
and you don't have any eyes to see
your own condition the holy spirit has come
to set us free to make us a
happy people I'll tell you I'm a very
happy person I have this verse written on
my table at home the happiest people in
the world are those who judge themselves always
and never judge other people I'm a very
happy person believe me I don't judge you
I tell the truth what God says to
me to share with you but I spend
my life judging myself every day and I'm
a very happy person I can fellowship with
people who celebrate Christmas I can fellowship with
people who pray with the rosary if they
are born again no problem if they love
Jesus Christ I don't care whether they cover
their head they cut their hair or they
wear shorts or no problem jeans or pants
or no problem I may not agree with
them I don't have to agree with the
person to fellowship with that person I'll tell
you that I got rid of that long
long ago and I consider my eat myself
equal to the five-year-olds and the
six-year-olds and the 16-year-olds
and I want to spend my life talking
at their level being happy with them and
if I grow older I'll grow a little
younger fellowship with I want to encourage you
to go that way let's be a happy
people in 2003 as a church where people
can feel warm when they come into our
midst now am I doing the right thing
am I saying the right thing brother sister
with me you're always saying the right thing
and you're always dressed properly as far as
I'm concerned and you're always behaving properly as
far as I'm concerned you can be absolutely
free with me definitely you can be absolutely
sure after you go away I will not
judge you also because I'll tell you why
because I'm a selfish man I don't want
to make my own life miserable that's why
God bless you all let's bow our heads
before God we have come to the last
Sunday of the year and believe me I'm
not here my dear brothers I hope you
don't think I'm here I spoke that to
condemn anybody here it was not it was
to liberate you not to condemn you God
does not come here to condemn us he
comes to liberate us but I plead with
you in Jesus name allow God to set
you free many of you got far more
legalism than you think you have and some
of you who are most religious are the
most legalistic some of you who pray the
most are the most legalistic some of you
who know the bible the most are the
most legalistic and you're wasting your life you're
wasting your bible knowledge you're wasting your prayer
and I really wish I've shaken you up
today so that you can become free God
wants you to be free where the spirit
of the Lord is there's liberty and you
can give freedom to other people to be
themselves that they don't have to act in
a special way or talk in a special
way to be with you humble yourself yes
heavenly father we thank you for the gospel
it's always setting us free thank you for
the holy spirit that's setting us more and
more free and I say in Jesus name
I want to be more free in 2003
than I've ever been in my whole life
I don't want any of that stinking legalism
hanging on to me I don't want any
of my stinking old righteousness in any area
absolutely none Lord I don't want anyone to
feel uncomfortable around me at any time in
their life even a thief or a gambler
or a drunkard even a backslidden believer need
not feel uncomfortable Lord make me like you
Lord Jesus make us like you how you
were so holy so pure and yet so
full of love and compassion and humility that
the worst sinners in the world felt comfortable
with you make us like that Lord we're
not like that we're not like that we're
so stiff there's so much of stiffness and
legalism and heaviness in our meetings and so
many things like this we got to get
rid of all that in the coming year
please help us Lord that all of us
will come with a spirit of freedom and
joy and as none of all this heaviness
in the new year help us Lord each
one we pray each one here bless every
family Lord in Jesus name Amen