I was thinking this morning of a word
in John 17 and verse 23 with which
we are all familiar.
This is the prayer of Jesus to his
father and I believe we see something in
this prayer of Jesus' heart more than anywhere
else in all of the Gospels.
The reason is this, Jesus' life, we see
such a lot of goodness in him and
so many things in him, but the person
with whom Jesus was most intimate was his
heavenly father.
Nobody on earth could equal that.
I mean, the closest, Peter, James and John
were a million miles away compared to Jesus'
closeness to his father.
And you know that we open our hearts
much more to those we are very close
to.
The further away people are from us, we
don't open our hearts.
And this is the only place in the
Gospels where we read of the actual words
which Jesus prayed.
There is no other place in the Gospels
where we read of Jesus' prayer, his private
prayer to his father.
And it's really amazing because there we see
the burden of his heart.
And if you want to know the burden
of Jesus' heart, and I believe if you
are a Christian, you should know that, then
you must read John 17.
And then you will see how much we
have disappointed him, how much we have let
him down, how much we have come short
of what he wants us to be.
And I would encourage you, my brothers and
sisters, those who have a year to hear,
please study John 17.
One of the things that you see frequently
in John 17 is his burden, that we
should all be one.
Not everybody in the world.
In fact, he said here, I'm not praying
for everybody in the world.
He said that also here.
He said, I'm only praying for 11 people,
that they must be one.
And then he said, I'm also praying for
those who will listen to the words of
these 11 coming generations, that they all may
be one.
Now, why didn't he include so many others
who believed in him?
There were not only 11 people in Israel
who believed in him.
But if you see here, I want you
to just look at that verse, if you're
not familiar with John 17.
He said in verse 6, I have manifested
your name to the men whom you gave
me out of the world.
And he says in verse 9, I'm asking
on their behalf, I'm not asking for the
world, but for those you've given me.
And we know who they are, because he
says in verse 12, while I was with
them, I was keeping them in your name
and guarding them and not one of them
perished, but the son of perdition, so that
the scripture would be fulfilled.
So that means he's referring to Judas Iscariot,
who fell away.
So that verse teaches us he was praying
only for 11 people.
And he says in verse 14, these are
people whom the world has hated, because they
are not of the world, as I am
not of the world.
See, he's not praying for a whole lot
of Christians, whom the world loves, because they
are worldly.
There are a lot of Christians whom worldly
people love, because they are worldly.
I mean, Jesus may do wonderful things for
such people, but here he's not praying for
them.
He's praying for those whom the world has
rejected, whom the world has hated, because they
hated Jesus also, even as Jesus, he says
there, even as verse 14, as I am
not of this world.
That didn't mean he didn't live in this
world.
It meant that his whole way of life
was against this world system.
That's why the world hated him.
He was like a foreigner, who had come
to take people out of this world, his
country, heaven.
That's why he was hated, because the devil
wanted everybody.
Those whom the devil can trap through sin,
he traps through sin.
And those whom the devil can't trap through
sin, he traps through this world system, with
a lot of things that look very innocent,
but which he knows may not lead a
person into sin.
Listen to this.
The devil knows that some people he can
get away with, draw them away with sin.
But there are certain other people he can't
draw away with sin, and so he tries
a second method, and that is with a
whole lot of things in the world which
will not draw them into sin, but will
lead them away from God.
The devil is not interested in getting everybody
into sin.
He'd like to lead a lot of people
into sin, because they'll automatically be rejected by
God.
But he'd like to, if he can't lead
them into sin, then he'll try some other
way of just getting them away from God.
That's all he's interested in.
You know, like Adam and Eve.
He just wanted to get them away from
God.
I mean, they didn't go to hell.
In fact, for nearly over 900 years, they
were not in hell.
They were on earth.
The devil was quite happy.
How was he happy when they were not
in hell?
He was happy that they were not with
God anymore.
He hated a man like Enoch, who walked
with God.
I tell you, he'll hate anybody today who
walks with God, and who's going to lead
other people to walk with God.
But if you don't walk with God, and
you're not close to God, and you're, or
you're the other type of person who's just,
maybe you walk with God, but you're not
interested in leading a single other person in
the world to walk with God.
He's a harmless chap.
He's walking with God.
I've lost him, but he's not interested in
bringing anybody else in his whole lifetime.
He will not lead anybody else to walk
with God, so leave him alone.
But if you're the type of person who's
not only going to walk with God, but
determined to do everything in your power to
lead other people to walk with God, I
tell you, the devil will hate you like
he hated Jesus.
Jesus was just devoted to getting people out
of the world.
And the devil has so many methods of
leading people, you know, into all types of
entertainments.
And sometimes it may not be sinful entertainment.
Sometimes it may be just wasting time with
good entertainment.
A person can spend six hours watching a
cricket match and have no time to read
the Bible that day.
And the next day, there's another cricket match
for another six hours, and the devil's quite
happy.
There's nothing sinful about watching a cricket match,
is there?
Absolutely nothing sinful, and that's what the devil
reminds him.
You're not watching some filthy movie.
You're watching something good, healthy exercise.
Or you can spend so many hours of
your life, you know, playing games and reading
novels, not dirty novels, good novels.
So long as you're not close to God,
it doesn't matter to the devil what you
do.
You can be busy with your work.
You can be busy writing software programs.
You can be busy, you know, doing your
business.
It doesn't matter what it is.
So long as you don't have time for
God, the devil is quite happy.
That's what the world does, and Jesus recognized
that.
And he knew the world is such a
busy place that it's so easy to get
taken up.
Even in ministry, there are a lot of
people in the ministry, Christian ministry, who have
no time for God because they're so busy.
Ministry, ministry, ministry.
And Jesus knew that.
He was so busy, but he always made
time, usually early in the morning before people
got up.
He would be alone with God because he
knew that was the only way he could
overcome Satan.
Have you all understood that?
If you haven't understood that, I want to
say to you, the devil has succeeded with
you, and you're living in that deception because
you're not sinning.
You're just so busy that you have no
time for God.
But the Lord's not really praying for such
people.
I mean, he wants such people to repent.
Sure.
God wants all people to repent and all
people not to perish.
He wants everybody to be saved.
But here in John 17, his burden is
praying for those who are not of this
world.
You want Jesus to pray for you?
I want him to pray for me.
The world is such an evil place.
I want Jesus to pray for me.
I want him to pray for me every
day.
And I see in the burden of his
heart here, whom he prays for, he specifically
says, I am not praying on behalf of
the world or the people whose interests are
in the world.
I'm not praying for them.
Yeah, God bless them.
Does God bless them?
He certainly does.
He blesses them with material things, not spiritual
things.
He blesses them with the sunrises and the
good and the evil.
The rain falls on the atheistic farmer's field,
just like on the godly farmer's field.
He sends the rain on the righteous and
the unrighteous.
He certainly blesses people materially.
So all those people who want only material
blessings, brother, sister, you don't have to walk
with God.
You don't have to have any time for
God in your life, because God is such
a good God that he'll bless you, even
if you ignore him.
Because that's his nature.
He'll bless you with sun and rain and
health and strength and material things.
But here Jesus' burden is not for them.
His burden is for those who have come
out of this, those who have heard that
call of God, recognize that I'm living in
a strange country.
This is not my home.
This is a strange land I'm in.
And I have really no interest in the
things this land offers me.
My heart is always longing for the things
of another land, where my home is.
It's amazing what a real new birth experience
does for people.
You know, a lot of people who say
they are born again today.
I don't know whether they are really full
-term babies.
You know, full-term babies who've been nine
months in the womb, who come out healthy
and strong and cry as soon as they're
born and healthy.
They cry out for milk and eager.
And then we have these babies that are
born five months, six months.
You don't know whether they'll survive or not.
You've got to keep them in incubators.
They hardly cry.
You've got to force them.
They don't cry for milk.
There are lots and lots of…
Yeah, they're babies.
Yeah, you can say such people have some
life in them.
But you don't know whether they'll survive.
Lot of so-called born-again babies today
are in that condition.
They're not healthy and strong.
When I say they're not full-term babies,
it means they have not repented.
Some evangelists pulled them out and told them,
Yeah, yeah, you're saved.
Let's baptize you.
Come on, you're a child of God.
Because they gave all the right answers and
they had said the magic mantra words, Lord
Jesus, come into my heart.
I'm sorry for my sins.
A lot of people are excited.
If you can get a whole lot of
people to raise their hands and say, Lord
Jesus, I believe you're the Son of God.
I'm a sinner.
I want to turn from my sins.
I believe you rose from the dead.
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.
Praise God.
Millions of souls are…
Okay, I hope so.
I'm sorry I don't believe that.
I don't know.
And I don't think Jesus believes it either.
And I don't think the angels in heaven
are rejoicing over that because Jesus said the
angels rejoice when one sinner repents, turns from
this world system, turns around and says, I'm
not going to live for money anymore.
I'm not going to live for my parents
anymore.
I'm not going to live to please my
parents or the world or I don't love
my job or my anything.
That's not the type of repentance we're getting
in today's conversions.
So the angels are not rejoicing.
Some guy who was keeping statistics here on
how many people raised their hands, he's rejoicing,
but not the angels in heaven and not
Jesus and not me.
Certainly not.
I'm not fooled by all this.
Neither are the angels and neither is Jesus.
We think just because somebody calls out in
the name of Jesus, that's a great thing.
Boy, one million people called out on Jesus.
Really?
With Jesus, the Jesus who has come to
deliver them from the world?
Or a Jesus who has come to bless
them and heal them?
You don't need to call out on him.
He'll bless you and heal you because he's
a good God.
Lots of people.
Yeah, I want to be among this crowd
here.
He said, I'm not asking you to take
them out of the world, but keep them
from evil.
He's praying for those who want to be
kept from all evil, kept from Satan, kept
from any contact with Satan.
If you're in that category, I want to
say to you the good news.
Jesus is praying for you.
If you have recognized the evil of this
system, this world in which we live, he's
not praying that we be taken out of
the world, taken to heaven straight away.
No, because he's got a purpose.
He wants us to be a witness here.
So he's not praying we be taken out
of the world.
But he says, in this evil world, they
are not of the world, verse 16, even
as I am not of the world.
As much as I am not of the
world, they are not of the world.
Boy, what a standard.
What a standard.
As much as I am not of this
world, they are not of the world.
That means as much as Jesus had no
interest in the things of this world, these
people have no interest in the things of
this world.
They live here.
Jesus ate and drank and earned money and
lived.
And when he was a full-time worker,
he received gifts and all that because he
had to live.
But his interest was not here.
His interest was not in money.
This is all a temporary thing.
It's like traveling in a train.
And in the train, you get some food,
but it may not be the best food,
but it's only to survive till you reach
your destination.
The seats may not be comfortable.
Some of it may be torn.
You find cockroaches and all types of things
running around.
But you say, that's okay.
It's only for two days.
When I reach Delhi, I'll get off this
train.
I'm not settling down in this train.
How many Christians are living like that in
the world?
They're not of this world.
This train is not my home.
I've got a destination I'm going to.
Jesus is praying for people like that.
I want to tell you, my brothers and
sisters, please listen to me.
Please listen to someone who has tried to
walk with the Lord for 45 years.
I'll tell you something.
If you live like this, it's the most
blessed life you can ever live.
That's why I rejoice at you young people
in this church.
I rejoice because you folks have got the
opportunity to live this life from now.
From now, you say, Lord, I'm going to
live for you.
I'm not going to live like all these
other people in the world.
I'm not going to live this up and
down, up and down life, sometimes loving you,
sometimes loving the world.
I'm going to be radical.
I want to follow you.
Now you say, I haven't yet been filled
with the Holy Spirit.
Okay.
Pray to God to be filled with the
Holy Spirit.
But I want to tell you the good
news.
These people whom he prayed for, they were
not filled with the Holy Spirit either.
But they were still not of the world
because they'd made a decision.
So even if you're waiting and praying to
be filled with the Holy Spirit, never mind.
But you can still be like these people.
You say, Lord, these disciples could forsake everything
and follow you before they were filled with
the Holy Spirit.
Why can't I?
I don't want the devil to keep taunting
me saying, Oh, you're not filled with the
Holy Spirit.
You'll never amount to anything.
What do you mean?
Look how those disciples were.
Look how Jesus prayed for those disciples before
they were filled with the Holy Spirit.
They were not of the world, even at
that time.
It's possible at that time.
Of course, when they were filled with the
Holy Spirit, the whole thing became much more
real.
But he says for them, one prayer, he
says, sanctify them.
Sanctify them in the truth.
The word sanctify means separate them from everything
of evil and everything of the world.
Because the more you get separated, it's another
way of saying you get closer to God.
Sanctification is a word which means holiness.
So the devil and the world are here
and God is here.
The more you get separated from the devil
and the world, you're automatically getting closer to
God.
Sanctify them through in the truth.
Truth is one of those words which is
very rarely found in the Old Testament.
Because people could not have truth.
David prayed in Psalm 51, thou desirest truth
in the innermost being.
But he could, I mean, if I were
to expand his words, he was saying, but
Lord, I can't make it.
I want it, but I can't make it.
I'm good on the outside, but truth, reality
in the innermost being, I don't have.
That's one of the wonderful things that's happened
on the day of Pentecost, that Jesus said,
the spirit of truth will come.
He made me love the truth.
He made me love the truth about myself,
first of all.
God has shown me different things through the
years and he continues to show me.
I made a decision before God many years
ago that changed my life.
And that was that as soon as I
discovered something about myself, I'd immediately acknowledge it.
I'd say, Lord, that's true.
There's something in me which needs to change.
And it's made all the difference in my
life.
Because I love the truth.
I get letters, you know, when a person
who serves the Lord like me, we get
a lot of critical letters and emails from
sometimes stinging, hurting, insulting.
I always read them.
Because I say, in the midst of all
this mud, there may be a little bit
of gold.
I mean, this guy flings all this mud
at me, but if I can get a
little bit of gold out of it, I'll
be rich.
There may be a little truth in all
this mud this fellow is flinging at me.
And I picked that little gold bit of
truth out of all that one ton of
dirt.
I got one gram of gold from it.
And he's made me rich.
He didn't know it.
His aim was not to make me rich.
His aim was to dirty my face and
my clothes and everything else.
But little did he know that I serve
a God who makes all things work together
for my good.
And I can tell you testimony after testimony
after testimony how that's happened me through the
years.
I want to say to you, my brothers
and sisters, love the truth.
That's the only way you'll be sanctified.
And if you have not grown more in
grace, if you have not experienced the anointing
of God more upon your life, it's because
you have not wanted to be anointed with
the spirit of truth.
Will you pray that the spirit of truth
will so grip you that you will immediately
acknowledge the possibility that you could be wrong,
there could be some evil in you, there
could be some love of money left in
you, there could be something of the world
that's hindering you from following the Lord, there
could be still a little bit of an
unforgiving attitude, there could be some anger against
someone which has not been cleansed away.
Who are you destroying?
You're not destroying the other person you're angry
with.
You're destroying yourself.
Oh, dear brother, sister, love the truth about
yourself.
You know what the difference it will make
to your life?
If you love the truth about yourself, you
can't be holy by sitting in a holy
church, no.
Judas Iscariot sat in the holiest church on
earth, with the holiest preacher of all, and
heard him preach for three and a half
years, and he became the most evil man
of all, teaching us forever one truth, that
you don't become holy by sitting in a
holy church.
You don't become holy by listening to the
greatest preacher in the world.
You've got to have a heart that loves
the truth.
How many times Jesus tried to draw him
to the truth?
Once he said, one of you is a
devil.
One of you is a devil.
There are twelve of you, but one of
you is a devil.
Didn't Judas recognize that he was speaking about
him?
There were only twelve, and if Jesus said
twelve, one of you is a devil, even
if the others didn't know it, he knew.
He should have gone home and said, Oh,
God, that is about me you are speaking.
I see something wrong in my heart.
Is the Lord saying something to you this
morning?
You've got a wrong attitude to someone.
Don't get offended with me.
That won't help you.
Judas got offended with Jesus, even though he
didn't name him.
I've said different things on the pulpit here.
I don't name people.
It's not my business.
I see some of you are sitting on
the fence, fence sitters.
People get offended with what?
With me.
Okay.
Has it changed them?
It won't change them any more than it
changed Judas Iscariot.
I mean, if it doesn't apply to you,
forget it.
But the fact that it disturbs you probably
shows you are a fence sitter.
It disturbed Judas, and he didn't do anything
about it, because he didn't love the truth.
These are warnings.
Sanctify them in the truth.
We cannot be sanctified.
We cannot be separated from evil if we
don't love the truth.
You know, if you don't love the truth,
what will happen gradually is, the devil will
convince you that watching those type of movies
is okay, provided you fast forward some of
those places.
It's okay.
He won't tell you that you are financing
his kingdom by buying such movies.
He won't tell you that you are financing
his kingdom by a lot of things that
you buy or see or money that could
have been given for God's work.
Do you think Jesus would spend money to
finance the devil's kingdom?
See, that's what happens when I don't love
the truth.
Gradually, my sensitivity to the things of God
go away, and I become like Adam, who
says, I know what is good and evil.
I don't need God.
I know what is good and what's evil,
and I don't choose what's evil.
I've eaten of the tree of knowledge of
good and evil.
I know what's good, and I know what's
evil, and I know what is right.
You know, that's how a lot of upright
people in the world live, who don't know
God.
There are a lot of atheists who are
very upright, who will not cheat in exams.
We know of IAS officers in the country
who stand up against the minister and say,
I won't do that, it's wrong.
And they are not Christians.
They are not Christians.
Have you read about in the paper, somebody
is transferred, some upright police officer is transferred,
he is not a Christian.
Where did he get that sense of uprightness
from?
From Adam, who ate the tree of knowledge
of good and evil.
It's come down to all of us, we
know what's good and what's evil, but there's
no contact with God.
And that type of knowledge of good and
evil kills us, like it killed Adam.
In the day you eat, you will die.
You know, that's the great danger of knowing
good and evil without God.
I don't want to know good and evil
without God.
I wanted my knowledge of good and evil
to come from my contact with God, because
then God shows me certain things I thought
were good.
Certain things I thought were good for my
children are not good.
But if you apply the worldly standards, the
world says, hey, what's wrong with that?
Don't be so legalistic.
As soon as I hear the word legalistic,
I get scared.
It's almost like...
I'll tell you this, I'd rather be legalistic
than worldly, and like the devil, any day.
I know legalism has protected my own children
from many worldly things when they were in
my home, because they were not under grace
yet.
Don't be afraid of the devil's hurling words
he knows you're afraid of.
And that's the word I fear some people
are afraid of today in our church.
Legalism, oh dear, no, I'm not a legalist,
I'm quite worldly, I'm okay.
Don't let the devil make a fool of
you.
Jesus wasn't deceived.
He said, they are not of this world.
Sanctify them in the truth.
So I want to say to you, love
the truth.
When you see something in God's word that
you are not obeying, don't try to get
around it by mental manipulation of words and
say, well, that doesn't mean that, brother, we
can't be so strict about every little word.
That's like being a Pharisee.
You know who's telling you all that?
It's the devil.
I'll tell you when you're legalistic, when you
impose those rules on other people, that's when
you're legalistic.
That I'll tell you, don't do that.
My brethren, don't be many teachers.
That means don't, in the Amplified Bible, it
says, don't be a self-appointed censor of
other people's actions.
Don't be a critic.
Then you become legalistic.
But if you're doing it for yourself, you're
not legalist.
I'll never be a legalist if I obey
scripture down to the last jot and tittle.
Jesus said that.
Not one jot or tittle will pass away
till I fulfill everything.
He was not bothered about people going, you're
a legalist, worrying about all the jots and
tittles.
No, he was not a legalist.
He said he's going to keep all of
them, he said in Matthew chapter 5.
I want to follow Jesus and obey every
jot and tittle in God's word, in the
new covenant.
Especially, and at the same time, give complete
freedom to other people to be worldly if
they want to.
It's none of my business.
Jesus gave people complete freedom to be worldly
if they wanted to.
That rich young ruler said, it's too much
of a price to sell all my money
and give to the poor.
Jesus said, okay, go.
He didn't go running after him and he
doesn't go running after any of us.
But these eleven, they were radical.
And they got a privilege which that rich
young ruler didn't get.
Jesus prayed for them.
Jesus revealed his heart to them.
He said, sanctify them in the truth.
Separate them more and more and more and
more from all that is worldly.
Father, give them discernment about what is really
of the world, which they won't have discernment
if they don't contact you.
If they just use their senses, they will
be deceived.
Thy word is truth.
And verse 18, John 17, 18, as you
sent me into the world, I've also sent
them into the world.
How did he send me into the world?
I said, well, Lord, I was born into
the world.
Yeah, that's true, the Lord says, but a
day in your life, you became a full
term baby.
I took a long time to come to
assurance of my salvation.
Perhaps about six years after I first accepted
Christ.
I don't know when I accepted Christ.
Maybe when I was 13 or so.
I don't know.
But it was only at 19 and a
half that I came to assurance of salvation
and I was born as a full term
baby.
I turned not only from sin, but from
loving everything in this world, including my job,
which was my ambition in life.
To get on in the world, I said,
I turned around, I said, Jesus, you're Lord
of my life.
And that day, the Lord took me out
of the world.
And then he sent me back into the
world the same day and said, okay, I've
taken you out, but I'm putting you back.
But now, you're not like you were before.
I sent you into the world just like
my father sent me.
And what is one of the wonderful things,
and this is before I go on there,
verse 20.
I'm not asking only for these people, these
11 here with me, who were there listening
to him praying.
But also those who believe in me through
their word.
That applies to you and me sitting here.
That's where your name comes in.
My name is in verse 20.
And I hope you see your name in
verse 22.
But this is not every person who just
happens to say, I believe in Jesus.
Millions of them.
There are more than 1 billion people in
the world today who say they believe in
Jesus.
Perhaps near 2 billion people in the world
today say they believe in Jesus.
But here, he's talking of the type of
belief which these 11 had.
Not like the type of belief that a
lot of other people had.
These 11 had a radical type of belief,
which separated them from the world.
They were not of the world.
And Jesus says, I'm not only praying for
these 11, but other people like these 11,
who will come in the next 2,000
years or 2,100 years in history.
Other people like these 11, I'm praying for
them too.
And that brings a desire in my heart
to be like those 11.
Because then I know, he's going to include
me also.
But not every Christian can say, I'm included
in verse 20.
Are you like those 11?
I'm not asking you whether you left your
job like those people did.
That's not the important thing.
That was for a period.
Paul continued to work afterwards.
Paul worked all through his life in a
secular job and God may keep you in
a secular job.
That's not the point.
But are you detached from it?
You can work in a secular job attached
to it or detached from it.
And I know when Jesus became Lord of
my life, I still worked in the Navy
for many years, but I was no longer
attached to it like I was before.
I was no longer attached to my bank
account like I was.
I still had a bank account.
I still have one today.
But I'm not attached to it.
I still had my parents, but I was
not attached to them like I was before.
I was attached to Jesus.
I had my friends.
I didn't give up my friends, but I
was not attached to them anymore.
Now I sought to influence them towards Christ.
That's how it was with those people.
And I say, Lord, I want to be
like that.
Because it says here that you include me
also there.
And then I want to come to verse
23.
This is what I was telling you about.
You know, we like verse 22 where it
says, The glory which you have given me,
I have given them.
I want that.
He doesn't say I will give them.
I have given it to them and I
believe that includes me if I fit into
verse 20.
That includes me that the tremendous glory which
the Father gave Jesus, He has given to
me.
He's given it to me.
That's what's changed my character.
That's what's given me victory over sin in
my life.
That's what's changed many things in my life
that are on Christ's life.
There's still more to come because I have
to partake more of that glory in the
coming days.
But it's getting better and better.
And it was slower in the early days,
but it's getting faster and faster as the
time goes on.
Getting better and better.
I hope it's like that with you, the
glory which the Father gave Jesus.
He's given me.
I praise God for that.
I mean, it's for you too.
If you're like these eleven, that's for you
too.
It's the most wonderful life you can ever
live.
You may not make as much money.
I think if I didn't seek to go
this way, I could have probably made a
lot more money in the world.
I don't have any doubt about it.
Because I would have set my mind on
making money.
But I decided that's not worth it and
I don't regret it.
I never start.
But I say this, this is so much
better to have enough to live on in
this world and to have the glory of
heaven.
And then he says, here is my responsibility.
This is what I wanted to show you.
The responsibility that we have, my brothers and
sisters, all that I said so far was
an introduction to verse 23.
What is our responsibility?
Why did Jesus keep us in this world?
Why didn't he take you to heaven as
soon as you were born again?
You know, a lot of people who say,
well, I'm going to heaven when I die.
Well, why doesn't God kill you straight away?
What are the advantages of being killed as
soon as we are born again?
Can you think of something?
First of all, we won't backslide, right?
There won't be any backsliders if everybody is
killed as soon as we are saved.
No, everybody, this question of once saved, always
saved, we won't even be there.
Because if you're once saved, you're always saved.
Because as soon as you're saved, God kills
you, takes you to heaven.
Of course, there won't be any believers on
earth, right?
Because everybody will go to heaven.
I don't know how anybody else will get
converted.
But why did he keep us on earth?
Is it only to tell other people that
Christ died for their sins?
Or is it more than that?
That's what I want you to see in
verse 23.
It's much more than that.
It's a tremendous responsibility we have.
A tremendous challenge that comes to us.
If you can look at it like this,
it's like God saying, listen, I'm going to
double your salary.
You go to the office tomorrow and you
hear the boss say, hey, I'm going to
double your salary.
Are you going to be depressed or excited?
I don't know about all you spiritual people.
I'll be excited.
See, so many of us try to act
spiritual.
There's nothing wrong in being excited if the
boss says, I'm going to double your salary.
Because the cost of living is going up
and we can live a little more comfortably
and perhaps have a little more to use
for God.
So, God says, listen, there's a lot more
to living on earth than just telling other
people that Christ died for their sins.
It's like doubling your salary.
Hey, that's great.
Let me know about it.
And that is, that the world may know.
See the middle of this verse.
This is the purpose of which God has
placed you in this world and me in
this world.
That the world may know that the Father
sent Jesus.
Do you think everybody in the world believes
that the Father sent Jesus?
Do you think everybody in the world believes
that Jesus Christ is the second person of
the Trinity?
No.
There are a lot of religions that believe
Jesus is just one more among thousands of
incarnations of God on earth.
There are some religions that believe that Jesus
was a prophet.
There are some cults in Christianity that believe
that Jesus was the younger brother of Lucifer.
And there are cults in Christianity that believe
that Jesus was just a prophet or a
created being and all types of things.
No.
People who look at my life must see
that the Father sent the Son.
And they must see, the world must see,
that this Father loves me just as much
as he loved Jesus.
It's not just that I know it.
So often we have emphasized in the church,
do you know that God loves you as
he loved Jesus?
That's great.
You got to know that yourself first.
But it doesn't stop there.
Jesus' prayer was not, oh, that these believers
may know that you love them as you
love me.
He says, no, the world must know it.
That means the world must look at your
life.
There's a man's life I can't explain.
I can't explain how he takes such risks
of faith and he seems to succeed.
I can't explain that man's life.
I can't explain that man's family life.
I can't explain that man's business, how it
prospers and whatever he does seems to go
well with him.
You know what it is?
Because I'm highly favored by God.
Highly favored.
You know, that's what the angel Gabriel told
Mary.
Hail, highly favored one.
You think it was only Mary?
The same Jesus that came to Mary came
into my heart too.
And I'm also highly favored.
It doesn't matter whether you know it or
not, or you believe it or not.
I have experienced the results of it in
my life over more than 40 years.
And it just made me happier and happier
as time goes on.
More and more free from the opinions of
people.
More and more free from the opinions of
worldly people.
And what is more difficult?
More and more free from the opinions of
people in CFC.
That's a little more difficult.
Because I'm highly favored.
And you know that's not just for me,
that's meant for you.
God wants you to live on earth in
such a way that people say that, boy,
this person, he must be some favorite of
God or something.
Does that mean you're going to be very
rich?
Was Jesus very rich?
Does it mean you won't have any trials?
Did Jesus have no trials?
Does it mean nobody will kill you?
Did nobody kill Jesus?
What about the apostles?
Almost all of them were killed, all 11
of them.
Except perhaps John, I don't know how he
died.
So I'm not saying the world's idea of
blessing is only money and health.
That's all.
And I'm not talking about that.
If you go by those standards, Jesus lived
only a short life, 33 years.
And even the apostle Paul, maybe 67.
That's not very long by today's standards.
Most of the apostles in their 60s.
James, when he was 30, head got chopped
off.
I mean, are these people loved by the
Father?
Fantastically.
It's not by the world's standards.
Loved by the Father.
Supremely happy.
I can imagine James going with a cheerful
face.
Well, the fellow lifts up his sword and
says, God bless you before you chop off
my head.
I can imagine James saying that.
He was a man favored by God.
I mean, who in the world can go
like that to have his head chopped off
and bless the man who's taking out the
sword?
Only a man who's highly favored by God.
A man who's got no bitterness.
A man who's ready to meet his Creator.
A man who demonstrates that God is a
good God.
You know, that's our calling.
To show the world around us that the
God we serve is a good God.
Jesus went about doing good.
He went about doing good to people who
hated him.
One of the last things he did was
heal the ear.
The last act of healing.
Heal the ear of somebody who came to
capture him.
Imagine that.
Helping him to capture him.
Say, listen, if your ear is cut off,
you won't be able to capture me.
Let me heal it.
Then you can tie me up better.
It's great.
Imagine blessing somebody who's coming to hurt you.
He went about doing good because he served
such a good father.
And his whole life he tried to teach
people, God is a good God.
And I tell you that's so difficult for
people to believe.
It's so difficult for a lot of people
sitting here to believe that God is a
good God.
That everything is good.
God is good all the time.
And our life must be a testimony to
the fact that in my whole life I
have no complaints.
Jesus is not a disappointment.
I just want you to see this song.
Can you just put that up on the
screen?
He is not a disappointment.
You know, we've sung this many times.
I just want you to listen to the
words of this.
Jesus.
He's not a disappointment.
I want to ask you today.
Is Jesus a disappointment to you?
Are you disappointed that something you wanted him
to do he didn't do?
Or are you perfectly satisfied?
My testimony is after 45 years of knowing
him, I'm perfectly satisfied.
More than satisfied.
This is my song.
He is not a disappointment.
Jesus is far more to me than in
all my glowing daydreams I had fancied he
could be.
I never knew it would be so good.
I never knew that I could live a
life without being depressed or discouraged or being
in a bad mood or any such thing.
I never knew that God could give me
victory over shouting at people who don't obey
traffic rules on the road.
Can you imagine living a life where you
never get angry with somebody who goes in
front of you and doesn't obey the traffic
rules?
Isn't that great?
With shopkeepers who shout at you and people
who let you down and disappoint you.
The world is full of people who cheat
you and disappoint you and that you're just
happy.
Because you see, my God is in control
of everything.
Everything.
Then in all my glowing daydreams I had
fancied he could be.
And the more I get to know him,
the more I find him to be true
and this fact also to be true.
And the more I long that others should
be led to know him too.
Because he's been so good to me, I
say, oh, I wish that other people would
know Jesus in this way.
They don't know him.
That's why so many Christians are so miserable.
That's why they always have grudges against somebody
else.
You know you have a grudge against somebody
because you're insecure.
Jesus is a disappointment to you.
That's why you have a grudge against somebody
else.
That's why you got a bitterness against someone
else.
That's why you can't forgive somebody because Jesus
is a disappointment to you.
Well, I want to tell you, there's not
a soul on earth that I have not
forgiven.
And I think a lot of people have
done me a lot of harm than they
have done you.
Partly because I've lived longer and partly because
I serve the Lord.
But Jesus is not a disappointment.
He's made everything work for good.
He's not a disappointment.
He has saved my soul from sin.
That's one of the best parts of salvation.
It is the best part.
Because sin is worse than AIDS, worse than
any disease.
Think if you had AIDS and leprosy and
tuberculosis and cancer.
We won't go into more horrible names than
that.
But think if you had all four.
And one day Jesus healed you from all
four.
What would you think of Jesus?
He healed me from leprosy.
He healed me from AIDS.
He healed me from cancer.
He healed me from all the mess I
made of my life.
He's not a disappointment.
Sin is worse than that.
He saved me from losing my temper.
He saved me from lusting with my eyes.
He saved me from fighting with people over
money.
He saved me from arguing with vegetable vendors
over whether I should pay one rupee more
or less for that thing.
And He saved me from arguments with landlords.
And He saved me from arguments with my
boss.
He saved me from getting upset when my
boss yells at me.
He saved me from a hundred and one
things.
He saved me from a frustrated, disappointed home
life.
He saved me from always complaining.
He gave me a life where I'm satisfied
with whatever God gave me.
He saved my soul from sin, all the
guilt and all the anguish which oppressed my
heart within.
I tell you, guilt has gone from my
life completely.
And I want to tell you in Jesus'
name, don't think that all of you are
free from guilt.
I find some of you are so prone
to guilt that God doesn't want you to
be.
There's a right type of guilt which comes
when the Holy Spirit convicts me.
But sometimes, you know, human beings and preachers
have a way of making people guilty.
I know I was foolish in my earlier
days when I used to preach.
I thought the way is to get people
to feel guilty and we'll save them.
I was mistaken.
I've been through that route of Phariseeism and
finding the way of eternal life.
I didn't reach the New Covenant straight from
No Covenant.
I went through the Old Covenant to the
New Covenant.
And I think most people go that way.
But I've discovered that you don't save people
by making them feel guilty.
Leave that to the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said, if I be lifted up, I'll
draw all men to me.
And I've finished with this business of trying
to make people feel guilty.
I'm not interested.
And I want to say to you in
Jesus' name, don't let any human being make
you feel guilty or make you feel condemned.
God did not send His Son into the
world to condemn the world.
Don't you accept that?
When somebody tells you something in conversation, or
you listen to something in a message, or
you watch something on television, and you feel
all condemned and guilty, that's not of God.
When the Holy Spirit convicts you of sin,
He'll tell you what is wrong.
This particular thing, you know, it's like I've
often used that example.
Supposing your son got his arithmetic wrong for
the 50th time.
What the average father or mother or teacher
say, You're good for nothing.
You'll never learn anything.
Nothing will come out of you.
You know what the Holy Spirit will say
when you've done something wrong for the thousandth
time?
Not 50th, thousandth time.
Say, No, my son, my daughter, there's a
better way.
Oh, that's the type of conviction I want.
Not somebody who tells me I'm good for
nothing and useless and nothing good will come
out of me.
You believe that and that's how you become
like that.
Don't you believe those voices which say nothing
good will come out of you.
I want to say to all of you
sitting here in Jesus' name, I don't care
how much you've made a mess of your
life.
In all your life, I want to say
to you today in Jesus' name, listen to
the word of liberation.
Something good will come out of you.
Something good will happen to you.
Don't you believe the lie of the devil
anymore?
But you say, Oh, brother Zach, you don't
know.
I know.
It doesn't matter.
I remember when I was telling somebody, you
know, we can really love our wives and
never be bitter with them ever.
He said, Oh, brother Zach, that's easy for
you because you've got a good wife.
I said, It doesn't matter.
It's got nothing to do with the type
of wife you've got.
The Bible doesn't say, Husbands, don't be bitter
with your wives if they are good.
No.
I mean, if you've got a good wife,
praise the Lord, then you don't need so
much grace.
But if somebody's got a really bad wife,
he needs more grace.
You think God won't give it?
Of course He will.
You know, I sent my son to the
shop to buy something worth 10 rupees, I
give him 10 rupees.
If I send him to buy something worth
100 rupees, I give him 100 rupees.
So, if you need more grace in a
particular situation, He'll give you more grace.
My grace is sufficient for whatever situation.
He's not a disappointment.
All the guilt which oppressed my heart, He
has banished by His presence and His blessed
kiss of peace has assured my heart forever
that His love will never cease.
There is a verse which, it's not even
in, you know, the same song as in
the Golden Bell, slightly differently worded.
But there's a verse here, which we don't
have here in this, where it says, He
is not a disappointment, He's healed my body
too.
And one line in that says, it always
comes back to my mind when I seek
God for physical healing for myself whenever I'm
sick.
Has He lost His heart of pity when
on earth He healed diseases as they pressed
Him in the throng?
When on earth He healed diseases as they
pressed Him in the throng?
Has He lost His heart of pity?
Is the risen Christ less strong?
Has He lost His heart of pity?
Is the risen Christ less strong?
It always comes to me.
When on earth He healed diseases as they
pressed Him in the throng?
Has He lost His heart of pity?
Is the risen Christ less strong?
I don't know the answer to everything.
I'm not saying, I don't go around preaching
healing.
But I believe that there are some sicknesses
we have not been healed from because we
have not trusted in the Lord enough.
We should seek Him.
It's not the answer to everything.
I publicly say I don't have the answer
to this whole issue.
But I certainly believe that there are some
things we could trust the Lord a little
more for.
Anything, any storm in life.
When there was a storm in the boat
once, there was a storm in the lake.
They were in a panic.
Oh, are we going to drown?
And Jesus said, Oh ye of little faith,
why did you doubt?
Is the Lord going to let you drown
or sink with some problem you are facing
right now or some sickness you are facing?
Will you trust Him?
Will you take that rebuke, Oh ye of
little faith, why don't you trust Me?
One of my favorite pictures is years ago
I got a calendar.
This picture from the Living Bible, Children's Bible
story book of Jesus holding a little child.
And the Living Bible paraphrase of John 14
verse 1.
Don't be afraid, just trust Me.
Jesus looking at this little child saying, Don't
be afraid, just trust Me.
And I always think of myself, that picture
of me like that little child.
And Jesus looking at me in the different
situations of life and saying, Don't be afraid,
you can trust Him.
He's not a disappointment, He's coming by and
by.
Verse 3, In my heart I have the
witness that He's coming, draweth nigh.
All the scoffers may despise me, doesn't make
a difference.
No change around me see, but He tells
me He's coming and that's quite enough for
me.
He's not a disappointment, that's my testimony.
He's all in all to me, Savior, Sanctifier,
Helper, Healer, Baptizer, Coming King.
The unchanging Christ is He.
He has won my heart's affections.
It's really true.
I've never loved anyone like I love Jesus.
I never will.
I believe I love Him more today than
I loved Him first 45 years ago.
And He meets my every need.
He's not a disappointment, for He satisfies indeed.
There was an old man who lived in
the second century called Polycarp.
He was an elder of the church in
Smyrna, the same church that you read of
in Revelation chapter 2.
And he was an old 90-year-old
man, a godly man, and they came to
capture him.
He told the soldiers, can you just wait,
let me pray.
And he prayed and he told people to
set some food before these soldiers who had
come to capture him, let them eat before
they take me.
And they took him and the magistrate there
felt sorry for this old white bearded man,
90 years old.
And he said, just deny Jesus, just say
Caesar is Lord and I'll let you go.
You know what he said?
He was converted at the age of four.
Can four-year-olds be converted?
Polycarp was.
And he served God for 86 years after
that.
And he said, 86 years I have served
my Savior and He has done only good
to me.
He's done nothing but good to me.
How can I deny Him?
I will not.
And they burned him.
And I heard, I'm not sure how it
was, and they tried and tried to burn
him and some say a fragrant aroma came
when his flesh was burned.
Some say he couldn't be burned and they
had to kill him in other means.
It's amazing, a man who loves Jesus, even
from his burning body an aroma comes out,
or they couldn't burn it or something.
But I love that.
I say, Lord, I want to be like
that.
I want the world to know that You
love me like You love Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, let's take that challenge.
Let's pray.
While our heads are bowed in prayer, I
want to invite you to respond to this
loving Heavenly Father who says to you, my
son, my daughter, come up higher.
Give up that bitterness.
Give up that grudge.
Give up that anxiety.
Give up that fear.
He loves us far, far more than we
realize.
Be good to people around you because God
has been good to you.
Heavenly Father, help us as a church and
as individuals to be what you want us
to be.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.