In this sermon, the preacher provides a summary of the book of Romans, highlighting its key themes and teachings. He emphasizes that salvation is by grace and that both worldly and religious people are sinners. The preacher also discusses the concepts of justification by faith, victory over sin, and living in the Holy Spirit. He emphasizes the importance of unity within the body of Christ and the exercise of spiritual gifts. Additionally, he encourages believers to live in society, submitting to authority, and to love their neighbors as themselves.

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