This sermon emphasizes the importance of knowing God as our Father and understanding His sovereignty. It highlights the significance of being filled with the Holy Spirit to truly experience God as our Father, leading to a secure and fearless life. The message challenges believers to seek God as their ultimate source for all needs and to recognize His authority over all circumstances.

I was thinking today about a word that Jesus spoke to his disciples in John 14. See, Jesus had been with his disciples for three and a half years, and this is the last night that he was going to be, after breaking bread with them, he shared a few things. And they have heard for three and a half years, the most powerful messages that any prophet or any man spoke on earth in thousands of years. See, hundred of our sermons cannot equal one of Jesus' sermons. And remember, they were listening to him for three and a half years. Absolutely correct doctrine, anointed, every message was anointed. At the end of the day, the disciples must have become spiritual. See, we sometimes think that just because we listen to a lot of good messages, we are going to be spiritual. One of the things we learn from the gospels is, you can listen to the best preacher in the world for three and a half years every day and not become spiritual. At the end of it all, we can say what Jesus says to them in verse chapter 14 verse 18, I will not leave you as orphans. You know what an orphan is? No father, no mother, very insecure. I don't know if anybody sitting here has been an orphan. No, that means from childhood, your father and mother were both dead. I met many people whose one parent died when they were very small. There were very few people I met in my life whose both parents were dead. I have tried to understand how an orphan feels. When I minister the word, I try to understand how everybody feels. Otherwise, I can't minister to them. So I tried my best to understand how an orphan feels because I was not an orphan. How does it feel not to have a father or a mother from childhood? And you are brought up by some uncle who may not treat you properly. An auntie who doesn't treat you the same way they treat their own children. Or from three years old, you are in some orphanage where you don't know who is who. You know, we need to be very grateful that we have parents. Many children are not grateful that they have parents. They are grateful only after their parents die. That's too late. But to be an orphan is one of the most helpless situations to be in the world. And Jesus said to these disciples, in the whole world among all the millions of people in the world at that time, these twelve were the most privileged people. Now one of them had gone away in chapter 13, so 11 were left. These 11 were the most sincere and most wholehearted people in the whole world. They had given up their jobs to follow Jesus. They had heard the finest preacher for three and a half years. But they were still orphans. That teaches me that most people in our churches are like orphans. They hear wonderful sermons, they are still orphans. They never miss a meeting, but they are still orphans. They see God doing many wonderful things, they are still orphans. And what is the mark that they are orphans? They are afraid. What will happen in the future? Who will take care of me? You know, a child who is even eight, ten years old who has got parents is not bothered. Even if the landlord has told them to get out of the house by tomorrow morning, you have not paid the rent. They don't have another house. Father and mother are awake, worried, but the eight, ten-year-old children are fast asleep. They are not worried. They say, no, my dad has got to take care of all that. I am not worried. We may believe that God is a father, but the test is when we are anxious. Orphans are anxious. They are very insecure. They feel that people are out to hurt them. And if they hear two people talking, they are sure they are talking about them only. And talking something bad only. They may not be talking about you at all. But that is how orphans feel. Suspicious. All women who are suspicious of their husbands, they are orphans. Husbands who are suspicious or upset with their wives, they are orphans. Those who are in competition with other brothers to show that I am better, they are orphans. Those who want to show that I am doing a greater work for God than that brother in that church, they are orphans. These are all, an orphan cannot work along with others. He can only work alone. The moment he starts working with somebody else, there is clash. Alone he can do wonderful things. He cannot cooperate. And his spirit of competition is there. Even when he prays, he wants to show that he can pray well. And when he preaches, he is not desiring to help people but to impress people. These are all, and you know when such orphans become parents, they communicate that spirit to their children. They communicate just like we communicate our facial features and diseases in our blood to our children, we communicate our spiritual insecurities also to our children. So I have seen one of the most important things is to be free from being an orphan. I will give you my testimony. After being born again for 16 years, I was an orphan. I was serving the Lord and I was an orphan. So I know from my experience what it is to be an orphan. And Jesus said to his disciples, I will not leave you orphans. We need to know God as our father. And most Christians don't know God as their father. Here is one test. When you pray in public or especially in private, how do you pray? Do you say Andavare or Appa? That shows whether you are an orphan or not. Most people say Andavare. There is nothing wrong in that. But why is it always Andavare, even though Jesus said, when you pray, say father. Even the word pithave is a formal word. Appa is the right word. My children when they come to me, they don't call me dear father. They say daddy. How do your children call you? Dear father. Is it so formal? We have to know God as our father. Look at so many of our songs written by people who don't know God as their father. Look at all the Tamil songs. How many songs do you find father? Lot of them are Yehovah. Is his name Yehovah? Yes. But if my children came to me and said Mr. Poonen, I would say, why? Are you angry with me? Why are you calling me that? Supposing your child came and called you by your official name. You'd really think they were angry with you. I'll tell you. I never call him Jehovah, even though he is Jehovah. For me, he is daddy. Jesus taught me to call him that. That's what I call him. I don't deserve it. I deserve to be in hell today. I'm not saying that to be humble. I'm absolutely convinced. I don't know about you. I'm convinced about myself. I'm deeply grateful for my salvation after 50 years because I'm absolutely convinced I deserved only hell. That's not a theological statement. It's a truth. I believe that many believers are not convinced about that. The more you are convinced that you deserve nothing but hell, you will be a tremendously grateful person to Jesus Christ. I'm not saying we shouldn't call him Lord because sometimes I do pray Lord. Even the apostles sometimes prayed Lord. He is Lord. There's nothing wrong in calling him that. Most of the time, if you call him Lord, it's possible that you don't know him as father. You know why many Roman Catholics pray to Mary? I don't judge them. They have been taught that way. I mean, if your children went to a school where they were taught 2 plus 2 is 5, they believe 2 plus 2 is 5. Don't blame your children. They got wrong teaching. You go to the slums here and ask the children, why can't you understand English? You are the stupid person to ask that question. They don't know because they were not sent to an English school like your children. So when I see some Roman Catholic praying to Mary, I don't judge them. That is as foolish as going to the slums and saying, why don't you speak English? I'm not such a fool. They were taught that way. And where did that originate from? They feel God is a person. Father is very strict. You've got to be afraid of him. So, even some of your children feel that way. The way to reach daddy is through mummy. So they go to Mary and say, please tell daddy that I need something. So that's how they feel. Now we may criticize the Roman Catholics for praying to Mary. But do you pray to the father yourself? Otherwise don't throw stones at those Roman Catholics because you are also guilty. Jesus said, when you pray, say father. It's a very small thing. But I know the change it brought in my life. Not to go through the ritual of saying our father who art in heaven. I used to say that from the time I was six years old. My parents taught me that. Every morning, I never got out of bed before saying our father who art in heaven. So, it's not just a question of calling him father. It's knowing him as father. Knowing that he loves me. More than any earthly father can love his child. Jesus frequently used illustrations to tell his disciples how much the father loved them. See, for example, the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I have met so many people who are not sure, will God baptize me in the Holy Spirit or not. You know what Jesus said? He said, you fathers, if your child asks you for bread, will you give him a stone? If he asks you for fish, will you give him a snake? No. Luke 11, 13. How much more your heavenly father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? Then why is it that people have that doubt? They don't know that God is a father. They don't know that he is such a loving father. In Matthew 7, verse 7 or 8 onwards, Jesus said, how much more will your heavenly father give good things to those who ask him? So, Holy Spirit or good things, God will only give me what is good. It is impossible for my father to give me anything bad. Even earthly fathers, by mistake, they may give me something bad. Not my heavenly father. When we are convinced about this, all insecurity disappears from our life. All anxiety disappears from our life. We are so happy to entrust our future into our father's hands. Knowing that he sees the whole future, which even our earthly fathers don't know anything about, he can guide us into the right path. He can guide our children into the right path. What a lot of anxiety, even many good parents have for their children. What will happen to my children? What will happen if I die? Do you know where that comes from? You don't know the father. Jesus said, look at the birds. Who feeds them? They don't have bank account, debit card, nothing. They have no storehouse where they store up for the food. But you hardly find a dead bird on the ground. How many birds have you found in your whole life, dead of starvation? I haven't seen one in 70 years. There are millions and millions of birds in the world. But I have never seen one dead of starvation. So, what shall we say? That our father cares for us. See, when we think of our earthly needs, we can naturally be concerned about our children. We want them to get an education. We want them to get married and establish a home. That's genuine concern. But if our confidence is in our ability to do that, you are going to have a lot of problems. There is a song which says, because Jesus lives, my little child can face an uncertain future. Our confidence must be that the Lord Jesus lives. The same father we have, our children must know him as our father. The greatest inheritance you can give to your children is to help them to know God as their father. Otherwise, even if you are good parents, you will still leave your children as orphans. Remember that. Even the best parents will leave their children as orphans if they don't lead them to God as their father. You can teach them all the doctrines in scripture. Salvation, justification, baptism in the Holy Spirit, everything. But most important is to know God as their father. When you read the teachings of Jesus, how many verses do you find him teaching on justification and sanctification? How many verses do you find on how to be justified, how to be sanctified? How many verses do you find him teaching on how to be justified, how to be sanctified? How many verses do you find him teaching on how to be justified, how to be sanctified? It's because they don't know God as their father. Turn to John 16. These are very interesting words in verses 25 to 27. John 16.25 to 27. These things I have spoken to you in figurative language. An hour is coming when I will no more speak in figurative language but will tell you plainly of the father. An hour is coming when I will no more speak in figurative language but will tell you plainly of the father. But you say, Lord, you have already told us so many things about the father. No, no, no. What you have understood is only theory. You have seen it as examples. You saw me comparing your heavenly father to earthly fathers. If earthly fathers can do this, how much more your heavenly father will do this? That is a figurative language. Now on I will not speak in figurative language. I will not try to compare heavenly father with earthly fathers and try to say he is better. I will show you plainly. Has he shown you plainly? Not just in figurative language comparing heavenly father with an earthly father. Plainly. God is my father. He is my own daddy. He is more close to me than anyone on this earth. More than my earthly parents. More than my husband. More than my wife. More than closer than any enemy or devil or anybody. My father. And he says, in that day, when you know God as your father, you will ask in my name. And I don't say that I will ask the father on your behalf. No. Because the father himself loves you. The father himself loves you. So I don't have to pray to the father on your behalf. Did you understand that? I am not going to request the father on your behalf. The father himself loves you. Because you love me. See I think ultimately that is the condition. If you love Jesus with all your heart, you will really know the father plainly. And if you don't know the father plainly, but you know him only in figurative speech, then I would say, dear brother, sister, you don't love Jesus. If you don't love Jesus with all your heart, all your life you will be ignorant of knowing the father plainly. The secret is to love Jesus with all your heart. Many people know me as a preacher. I am not a preacher. I am a lover. I love Jesus with all my heart. To the best of my knowledge, I can honestly say, I don't desire anything on earth other than Jesus Christ. I am thankful that God has given me many things. Ministry. I am not at all interested in ministry. I love Jesus. He tells me to do something, I do it. If he tells me not to do it, I won't do it. That's it. Many Christians, I find, they are so interested in some ministry. Their ministry is so shallow. They don't love Jesus with all their heart. Here it says, the father himself loves you because you have loved me. I know that. Father loves me because I love Jesus. So I want to say to all of you, my brothers and sisters, love Jesus more than you love your family. It will go better with your family then. Love Jesus more than you love your job. More than you love money. More than you love your house. All the plans you have made for the future. It's good. Make those plans. But love Jesus more than all those plans. Always. I will tell you another thing. It's possible to love Jesus and after a while not love him so much. I think most people who are really converted, really love Jesus with all their heart on the day they are converted. But after sometime, they mingle around with half-hearted believers and they become like them. You know, if you are sitting in a room where a lot of people are smoking cigarettes, even though you have never touched cigarettes in your life, you come out, your shirt is smelling of cigarettes. They say, brother, have you been smoking cigarettes? I have never touched it in my life. You are smelling like a smoker. That's what happens when we mingle with people who are proud, we become proud. We mingle with people who don't have standards in morality, we become like that. So, let me share with you some things about knowing God as our father. What did he mean when he said, in that day you will know the father? A little phrase in verse 26. In that day. Which day is that? When Jesus comes again? That's too late. I don't want to know God as father when Jesus returns. Jesus used that expression many times, in that day, in that day. In some occasions, he was talking about his second coming. But most of the time, he was talking about the day of Pentecost. When these disciples would be baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire. You know why I am not a Pentecostal or charismatic? Though I believe and I have experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit, my whole life and ministry is based on the baptism in the Holy Spirit. But I don't believe in this counterfeit that's going on in these Pentecostal charismatic churches. That's like saying, I don't believe in counterfeit 500 rupee notes, I want a real note. And the real baptism in the Holy Spirit, some amazing results come in our life. Mainly, I don't know the father through illustrations, I know him plainly. How does a little child recognize its mother? Have you seen little children? They are about one year old. You try to take them. It will cry immediately. It will reach out to its mother. Who explained to that child, this is your mother? Was it some illustration or example? No. It's a spontaneous inner knowledge. This is my mother. Do you know God like that? Many believers don't. This is what the baptism in the Holy Spirit brings first. That's what he meant here. An hour is coming, verse 25, when you will no longer know this figuratively. See, I can use so many stories and illustrations about fathers and mothers. No. In the Old Testament, Isaiah 49.15, the Lord said, can a mother forget her sucking child? They may forget, I will not forget you. That is how he used examples to show God is like a mother who cares for you more than a mother will care for her sucking child. I don't need such illustrations now. I don't need illustrations like, my earthly father will not give me a stone, so therefore my heavenly father will not give me back. It's like in mathematics. A equals B. B equals C. Therefore, A equals C. You got it? Very simple. A equals B. B equals C. Therefore, A equals C. Your father will not give you a stone. Therefore, your heavenly father will not give you anything back. It's like studying algebra. But that is not how a little child knows its mother. You tell a one year old, strangers will not look after you, little baby. This must be your mother. That is not by illustrations. There are many good illustrations. And for those who are not filled with the Holy Spirit, they need that to preserve them. Many Christians are under the law. Under the law, they did not know God as a father. Was the law necessary? I always say, old covenant is better than no covenant. Israelites were million times better than all the other people around in the world without any covenant. See what it says in Galatians 3.24. Verse 23. Before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law. Being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore, the law was our tutor to lead us to Christ. Verse 24. Now, one of the best paraphrase of the word tutor here is ayah. Mummy has gone to work. This child is two years old. If you leave it alone, it will burn itself or go into the street and kill itself in no time. So, you pay an ayah. The ayah is to look after this child. You see some of these ayahs taking the six year old children to school. It is not the mother. It is an ayah. It may be a very faithful ayah. It says here, it shuts you up. That means it keeps the door locked until mummy comes. Verse 23. But after the mummy comes, what type of child is this still hanging on to the ayah? No, mummy has come. Mummy has given up her job now. There is no need of any ayah now. Jesus has come. The Holy Spirit has come to show me that God is now my father and my mother. I don't need an ayah anymore. That's why I don't need the law. Because I have God himself. See, these people who try to keep the law, one day or the other they will disobey. Because it is difficult. It is like a pig being controlled by chains. It is like some of these Alsatian dogs tied with chains in a house. And it is barking, barking. Even though you see the chain, you are scared to go inside. I would be scared. Because I don't know how strong that chain is. If it breaks, I am finished. So these ten commandments is like holding a pig with ten chains saying, don't get dirty, don't get dirty. Sometimes that chain will snap and the pig gets dirty immediately. So people who live under the law one day or the other, they will break these commandments. They may tell lies. They may commit adultery. They may covet something of their neighbors. Anything can happen. Because the law is not the permanent solution. The permanent solution is to be baptized, filled with the Holy Spirit and to live under that waterfall everyday. All the time. Live under this waterfall of the Holy Spirit. I know God as my Father. And I know that the Father himself loves me. See Romans 8 it says, when the Holy Spirit has come, it says here, we have received, verse 15, we have received the spirit of adoption which cries out, Abba Father. One is the spirit of fear. If you got fear in you, it is a mark that you are not filled with the Holy Spirit. When you have the spirit of God fill you, you say Father. Almighty God becomes my Father. And the Holy Spirit bears witness with me that I am a child of God. And we have a need, we go to our Father. Yesterday I was telling the pastors here, I said if your Father is the richest man in this country, your own Father, and you have a financial need, whom will you go to? Will you go to your neighbor or go to your Father? Definitely, unless you have a fight with your Father, you will definitely go to your Father. Why is it so many believers when they have a need, they go to man instead of God? Because they have a fight with God, they are fighting with their Father and that's why they don't have communication with their Father. I don't have a fight with my Father. If I did something wrong, I apologize and say Lord it's my fault, forgive me. And so I can go to my Father for anything. If I have a sickness, I go to him and ask him to heal me. If I have a financial need, I tell him please take care of that. Anything on earth, any need, you have a Father, we can go to him. And even, you know, I find a lot of Christian workers, I was speaking to the pastors yesterday. I said, why is it that in India, so much of Christian work, they don't go to God for their needs, they go to man? One of the richest men in India is a man called Ambani who owns his Reliance Industries. Supposing I am a partner in the company, and it is one of the richest companies in India. And I am wholeheartedly doing the work of that company. And there is a need for investment, some money to buy some land or something for the company. Who will I go to for money? To you? To my neighbors? Or to the boss? I say, sir, I am doing your work, we need some money to expand this company's work. And he will give me enough. That shows me that most people in India who are serving the Lord are not serving the Lord. Or they don't have a good relationship with their master. I have had a very good relationship with my master for so many years. And in all of our churches, 35 years, we have never, never gone to a man for our needs. We have gone to the proprietor of the work, Almighty God. For my family needs, I say, Lord, my family is your family. I am saying that to you for your benefit. Dear brother and sister, all your problems are solved when you know God as your father. Not with examples like, if your earthly father did this, therefore your heavenly father will do that. But just like that little child knows, this is my mother. Not because of any proof that somebody drilled into his head. The Holy Spirit spontaneously shows me, oh, I've got a daddy in heaven. There is nothing he cannot do. You know, I have been amazed that the most powerful statement on the sovereignty of God in the whole Bible was spoken by a heathen king. Do you know the most powerful statement on the sovereignty of God in the whole Bible that I have found? Spoken by any human being. It is spoken by Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 4. After God humbled him and broke his pride, this is what he said in Daniel 4, verse 34 and 35. He says, when my reason returned to me, I raised my eyes toward heaven. I'll tell you, anybody whose reason has returned to him will lift his eyes toward heaven. Those who are still looking at earthly things, their reason has not come back to them. I remember one brother came to my house once. He was little mentally retarded and had some sort of psychological problem. His parents would give him electric shock and all that. Psychiatric treatment and tablets and all that. But he had given his heart to Jesus. He had a lot of unnatural behavior sometimes. His parents would say he is abnormal. Neighbors, relatives, all would say he is abnormal. I was the only person who loved him and said, you are normal brother, don't worry. You know, we have so many of these type of people who come to our church. I asked the Lord, Lord, how is it all these mentally abnormal people come to our church? The Lord said, because you are the only ones who love them. Praise the Lord. So one day he came to my house. He said, Brother Jack, everybody is calling me abnormal. I said, no, you are not abnormal. The abnormal people in the world are those who have not surrendered their life to Jesus Christ. They are really abnormal. If you have given your life to Christ, you are perfectly normal, don't worry. This is what he said. When my reason returned to me, I lifted my eyes to heaven. And I blessed the most high. And I praised and honored him who lives forever. That's how you know whether your reason has returned to you. That you praise and bless him who lives forever. Otherwise you are mentally imbalanced. And he said, his dominion is an everlasting dominion. His kingdom endures from generation to generation. And listen to this. This is the most powerful statement on the sovereignty of God in the whole Bible. All the inhabitants of the earth are like zero before him. Your boss, your landlord, the person who is troubling you, all the evil people in the world, all the anti-Christian forces in India, everybody is zero. When your reason returns to you, you recognize that. You think, oh they are so big, they can harm me. Your reason has to come back to you brother. You need to learn from Nebuchadnezzar. We need to sit at Nebuchadnezzar's feet and say, brother please teach me something about the sovereignty of God. And he will tell you some more. This almighty God does exactly what he wants in the heaven. And he does exactly what he wants among all these zeros on the earth. And no one can stop his hand. And no one can say to him, what are you doing? You try and find a more complete statement about the sovereignty of God in the whole Bible. I haven't found it. I have learned from Nebuchadnezzar. Don't be so proud to think that Nebuchadnezzar cannot teach you anything. Nebuchadnezzar can teach you what some preachers cannot teach. God, Jesus when he said, he didn't say pray our father. He did not say pray our father. He said pray our father in heaven. There is a lot of difference. Oh God is my father but I don't know whether he has got power. No, no, no, our father who art in heaven, before whom all the inhabitants of the earth are zero. He can do anything in the heavens. He can do anything on the earth. No one can stop his hand. No one can say to him, what are you doing? Now I am ready to pray. That first statement, our father who art in heaven is the foundation for our faith. Don't even start to pray until you say our father who art in heaven. How much the devil has cheated us. I get mad at the devil because he has cheated God's people of their inheritance. What would I think of a lawyer who cheated poor people of their inheritance from a rich father. I will call him every name in crook and deceiver and cheat. You cheated this poor people of their inheritance which their rich father gave them. That's exactly how I feel about the devil. Dear brothers and sisters, don't let the devil cheat you anymore. God is your father. Talk to him. Jesus said, the father himself loves you. I will tell you, you can understand this message. It's only figurative way you know that God is your father. Ask God to baptize you in the Holy Spirit. You don't need me to lay hands on your head. My empty hands on your empty head, nothing will happen. Ask Jesus to lay his hands on your head. Fill you with the Holy Spirit and you will know God as your father. Just like that little baby knows his mother. You may not be able to explain it like I can explain because I am a teacher. But you will know. You ask that little one year old baby, can you explain how this is your mother? He says, I don't know anything about it. Okay, if you are a teacher, God will teach you how to explain. But you don't need to be a teacher to know God is your father. That child is not even educated. It knows it's mother. How secure that child feels. No worry, no fear. See that child sleeping in the cradle. Not a fear, not a worry. That's how we are supposed to live on this earth. Because we have a father in heaven who cares for us. Let's pray. While our heads are bowed in prayer, will you pray that God will give you the fullness of the Holy Spirit in your life? So that, number one, that you will know God as your father. Never mind if you speak in tongues or not. No, God is your father. That's more important. Lord, fill us with the Holy Spirit. Jesus purchased this for us on the cross. We open ourselves to you. Father in heaven, this is our birthright. Pour out your spirit upon us. We don't want just an emotional, temporary experience. We want the deep reality of God himself coming inside and filling our being. Changing our inner being. Making us secure in God. Thank you, Father. In Jesus' name, Amen. In Jesus' name, Amen.