This sermon emphasizes the importance of faith and belief in God's promises, drawing parallels between the faith of Abraham in God's promise of a child and the need for believers to have unwavering faith in God's ability to keep them from falling into sin. It challenges listeners to have a strong faith that gives glory to God and to trust in God's power to overcome sin and provide victory in their lives.

Jesus said these words in Mark's Gospel chapter 10 and verse 27, it's a very beautiful word which all of us believe. Don't think there's a single person here who doesn't believe this statement. Mark 10 27, all things are possible with God. Do you believe that? Do you believe it? All things are possible with God. Do you believe it? Okay. Who said it? Jesus. I'll tell you something else that Jesus said. Turn to the previous page, Mark 9 23. Now don't forget the first sentence. Mark 9 23 says, all things are possible to him who believes. Do you believe that? Not so sure. It's the same person who said it. It's the same person who said it. Jesus. It's not a question of what I think. It's a question of whether the one who said it is trustworthy. Either that, the only other possibility is that there's some mistake in the Bible. Maybe it's not recorded right. But I believe it. Now, a logical minded man will say, well does that mean, brother Zach, you can do everything? Well, you've got to understand, when it says all things are possible with God, can God tell a lie? No. So there are certain things he won't do. Can, you know, when the Bible says, can God, let's say, can God forsake his children? No. So there are certain things that God will not do. Something which are contrary to his nature. So when it says, all things are possible with God, it's the things that are in line with his nature. For example, God is love and he'll never do anything contrary to the law of love. It is impossible. One day, we know, our minds can't understand that fully, but one day we will discover that which sounds so difficult for us to believe today, that when God sends people to hell, it's an act of love. It's difficult to understand today, right? But I believe we will understand it one day. When God sends people to hell, it'll be an act of love. I believe that. I have no doubt about it because I have such a confidence in God as a God of love. He never does anything, cannot do anything, contrary to the law of love. So when it says all things are possible for us who believe, it means that if there is something which is in the will of God, I can do it. That's what it means. And when I'm in fellowship with God, I don't want to do anything which is outside his will. I have no interest in doing anything outside of his will because anything outside of God's will will harm me, will harm other people. All the chaos and confusion in the world is because man has decided to do his own will. All the chaos and confusion in your life is because you do your own will. But anything which is in the will of God will only result in a good ending and something good. And that we can do. Everything that is in God's will, all things are possible if I can believe. And when I realized that God's will is so perfect and for my good, yet it may not be fulfilled if I don't believe. Some of us think that if God has willed something, it'll automatically be fulfilled. It's not true. Let me show you an example. In the book of Exodus in chapter 3, this is one of the earliest examples of where God's will was not fulfilled. Now we got to learn a lesson from that, so that don't think that everything God has planned for you will be fulfilled. No. I know lots of believers from what God has planned for them is not fulfilled. And here's one of the earliest examples of that. It should bring a little fear into our hearts. Exodus chapter 3 verse 17. The Lord told Moses to go and call all the leaders of Israel and all the people and he gave them a double promise. He didn't ask them to do it. He said, I will do it. Okay. He said, I will bring you out of Egypt. Number one. And I will bring you into the land. The last part of verse 17, flowing with milk and honey. There were two promises in that verse given to these people. I will bring you out of Egypt. I will bring you into the land of Canaan. It's two sides of the gospel, pictured in the Old Testament. But he said, you got to believe me. If you believe me, promise number one, kill a lamb, put the blood outside your door to show that you believe in me. And I will not kill your firstborn son. I'll take you out of Egypt. Now, I don't know whether all the Israelites did it. He doesn't tell us. Supposing there was some clever, smart Israelite who said, ah, what a stupid thing, kill a lamb and put the blood outside the door. Yeah, what have anything more silly than that? I'll pray. God said, he'll do it, he'll do it. God's not going to break his promise. Now, if some foolish Israelite thought like that, his firstborn son would have died. Now, after the child died, then he would have woken up to the fact that God keeps his word. If you believe, do what he tells you to do. Anyway, they came out of Egypt. Two years later, they came to the borders of the land of Canaan. And the Lord said to all of them, now, you remember the second part of the promise I told you? I will take you into Canaan. Did I fulfill the first part for you? Yes. That mighty army of pharaoh, more powerful than anybody in the whole world. They were the superpower in the world. I conquered them, I defeated them for you. Now, here is a land of Canaan ruled by people who are not even 10% of pharaoh's army. Will you believe me that I'll take you into this land? And they said, no, we don't believe it. They're too strong. But there were only two people who said, yes, we believe. And that was Joshua and Caleb. And they went in. And 600,000 people, men who said, no, it's not possible. They did not experience that promise. Now, all those 600,000 men had heard God say, I will take you into Canaan. But none of those 600,000 men went into Canaan. So, there was a promise of God not fulfilled. It was fulfilled for two people, but not fulfilled for 600,000 people. Now, let's apply that to today. Is it possible that among 600,000 people who believe that the blood of Jesus can cleanse us from all sin? Only two people will believe that by the power of the Holy Spirit, I can conquer all sin in my life. I think it's about the same proportion. I have met very, very few people who really believe that God can help me to conquer every sinful habit in my life. It's just like those Israelites. They look at the giants and say, no, no, no. It's too strong. Can you think of what those giants represent? Those giants represent the strong sins that have ruled the land of Canaan. The land of Canaan, by the way, is your body. That land of Canaan should belong to God, but other giants are ruling it. This land of Canaan, which we call the human body, is supposed to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. I'm talking about believers. I'm not talking about those godless people who are not redeemed by the blood of Jesus. I'm talking about 600,000 people who've been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. Out of that number, very few believe that the giants in this land can be killed. I think most of you here would believe that the blood of Jesus can cleanse you from all sin. I don't know if there's one person here who doubts it. If Christ died on the cross and shed his blood, that all your sins might be forgiven. That is a picture of redemption from Egypt in the Old Testament. Perhaps most of you, if not all of you, have also gone through the waters of baptism, just like the Israelites went into the Red Sea and came out. You know that is a picture of baptism. They went into the Red Sea and came out. And they had another baptism. A cloud came down from heaven upon them. This is a picture of a baptism in the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 10, it says here, in verse 2, that all these people who came out of Egypt had two baptisms. And a Christian must also have two baptisms. It says, they came out of Egypt and they were baptized in the sea. That's a picture of water baptism. And it says in verse 2, they were baptized by the cloud which came from heaven. It's a picture of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. So, there were people who were baptized, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, just like you. Baptized in water, just like you. And baptized in the Holy Spirit. But they still did not enter Canaan. It says, verse 5, God was not well pleased with them. Is it possible that God is not pleased with people who are baptized in the Holy Spirit? God's word says that. I have met hundreds and thousands of people who were baptized in water, baptized in the Holy Spirit. I am absolutely convinced God is not pleased with them. Because they allow the giants to rule the land of Canaan. They allow giants to rule in their body. Giants of anger, bitterness, jealousy, the love of money, sexual lust, an unforgiving spirit. Giants of gossiping, backbiting, accusing the brothers, cheating, lying, seeking the honor of men, murmuring, grumbling, complaining. Am I talking about unbelievers or believers? These giants rule the land. And like those old giants that stood in Canaan, when these spies came to look at the land, they said, such a beautiful land, we'd like to live here. And the giants said, I am ruling here. You are not going to conquer this land. We have ruled this land for so long. I know believers who've completely given up that battle with anger. Because anger stands there and says, ha, you think you're going to conquer me? I ruled your life for so long. I ruled your father and your grandfather and your mother and your grandmother. Don't you remember at home when you were a little child, how your mom and dad who claimed to be believers used to get angry with each other. I rule you. I'll rule you till the end of your life. Children, you're not going to conquer me. And he stood there in fear and said, okay, I'll never get victory over anger. And God is not well pleased. Why was He not well pleased with those 600,000 Israelites? Because they insulted Him. They insulted Him by saying, Almighty God who created this universe, He's not strong enough to defeat these giants who live in Canaan. They are 8 feet tall. 8 feet tall. How can Almighty God kill them? Sounds like a joke right now, right? That people can be scared that Almighty God can't kill these giants. You know, it's very easy to see where other people fail. Our problem is to see where we have failed. It's easy to see where other people displeased God by their unbelief. It's difficult to see where we have come short of God's standard by our unbelief. All things are possible with God. We all agree with that. Jesus also said, all things are possible to the one who believes. If God has said something and I put my faith in it, it will happen. 1 John chapter 1 verse 9 reads like this. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Don't you agree there? Don't you believe? That if we confess our sins, God is faithful and righteous to forgive us all our sins. There we have no problem. How do you know that? God's word says it. How do you know your sins are all forgiven? It says here, 1 John 1 verse 7, if you walk in the light of the blood of Jesus, cleanse us from all sin. The same word says in Romans 6 and verse 14 that sin will not be able to rule over you when you come under grace. The two sides of the gospel. I will take you out of Egypt and I will bring you into Canaan. And out of 600,000 born again believers today who come out of Egypt, we will find two who believe that God can bring me into the land of Canaan. That I can overcome anger. I can overcome bitterness. I can overcome the love of money. I can overcome seeking the honor of men. I can overcome murmuring and grumbling and depression and discouragement and self-condemnation. And every wretched thing that the devil has put upon me from my childhood and every wretched thing I inherited from my forefather Adam. Every giant that's ruled in this body. I cannot conquer them. But by the power of God's grace, I can bring them all under my feet. If you believe, it will take place. If you don't believe, it will not take place. Is there a promise in the Bible for those who don't believe? There is. I'll show it to you. For all people who don't believe in God's promise, here is the word. James chapter 1. It says in verse 6. Let him ask in faith when he goes to God. James 1 verse 6. Let him ask in faith without any doubting because the one who doubts is like the winds surf of the sea. You know the waves driven and tossed by the wind. What is the promise for those who don't believe? Here it is. Verse 7. Let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord. Very clear. You don't believe? Let not that man think he will receive anything from the Lord. That's a clear word. Now I want you to consider, my brothers and sisters, is it possible? Some of us are quite old. We've been believers a long time. Is it possible that in all these years, you have missed out on something God wanted you to have, perhaps 50 years ago? I know I wasted a lot of years in my life because I wouldn't believe. It's not enough to have a desire. Jesus said, if anyone thirsts, that's desire. John 7.37. Let him come to me and drink. Then he said in the next verse, he who believes in me out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. I remember as a young Christian I was 23 years old and I was probably born again. I was baptized in water. I used to read the Bible and I found a strange lack of power in my life. I had a tremendous thirst. I longed and I longed and I desired and I fasted and I prayed. I repented of everything that I knew to be wrong. I sought God. I would spend hours studying the Bible and seeking God. But I never seemed to receive the power of God in my life. Because thirst alone is not enough. You have to believe. You know the lights turn on when two wires touch. Every switch that you put on is only basically inside that switch two wires touch. When you turn off the switch the two wires are kept apart. When you put on the switch the two wires touch and suddenly everything starts running. Everything runs by a switch. Whether it's a computer or a washing machine or a light or an air conditioner. The moment they touch something happens. So when thirst and faith touch. Mine was only thirst. Desire, tremendous desire. I believe many people have a great desire to live an overcoming life and pray. And then nothing will happen. You can have any amount of current flowing through one of those electric wires. If it doesn't touch the other one there's going to be no light, there's going to be nothing. In every switch, in every house, there's current flowing in. But it doesn't flow to that electrical gadget that connects with the other wire. I found that in my life. But I remember when I began to have faith for something. Then things began to happen. Let me show you a verse in Matthew chapter 12. 13 rather. Matthew 13. I think these are one of the saddest words. One of the saddest words found in the Gospels. Matthew 13 verse 58. Jesus did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief. Okay, let me ask two questions. Did those people need a miracle? Yes. Did Jesus want to do a miracle for them? Yes. Got it right? Did they need a miracle? Yes. Did Jesus want to do a miracle for them? Yes. Did they get a miracle? No. Isn't that amazing? They needed a miracle? Jesus wanted to do a miracle for them? They needed it? Jesus wanted to do it for them? But they didn't get it. Because of their unbelief. Now apply that to yourself. Do you need a miracle in your life? Probably yes. Does Jesus want to do it for you? Probably yes. Will He do it for you? No. What's the reason? Same thing. He could not do many mighty works there. Because of their unbelief. I'm not telling you anything. I'm not told myself. I look over my life and I see there are so many things that I missed in my life in my earlier years. Which I wanted. Which Jesus wanted to do for me. But it never took place. Because I wouldn't believe that He would do it or He could do it. There were giants that ruled in my life for many years after I was born again. And my dear brother, sister, let me say this very lovingly. Be honest. Are there giants ruling in your body today? Which should not be ruling? Your body is supposed to be the temple of the Holy Spirit? What does it mean to be the temple of the Holy Spirit? This is how I understand it. Jesus had a body just like mine. He had ten fingers and two eyes and a mouth and two ears. He was exactly like me. I like you and me. And His body was the temple of the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit that you say you received. And that we say we received when we are born again. Or when you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, this Holy Spirit filled me. Is it the same Holy Spirit that filled Jesus Christ? If so, He should produce in you the same life that He produced in Jesus. The life of purity and humility. And where no sin could overcome Him. It was impossible. The power of that life was so great. There is a lovely verse in John chapter 1 which says about the life of Jesus. In Him was life and the life was the light of man, John 1.4. And John 1.5 says, When this light began to shine in the darkness of the world, the darkness could not overcome it. That's a lovely verse. When the life of Jesus began to shine like a light through His body, all the darkness in the world could not overpower it. The light shone on. We can see that from electric light or even a candle light. You know, a candle, if you light a candle in the darkest place outside, the candle never says, it's too dark here, how can I shine? Never. Whether you light a candle in a lighted room like this or in pitch darkness outside, it will burn. It's Christians who say, oh brother, things are so difficult in this office. It's difficult to be a Christian here. I can be a Christian in the midst of a church building where everybody loves the Lord and we are all singing the praises of the Lord. There I can be a Christian. It's like a candle saying, I can shine where there is plenty of light. Don't light me up in the darkness because I can't shine there. Have you ever heard of a candle like that? Lots of Christians like that who told me, oh brother, it's very difficult to be a Christian in this office. But when I come to the church, I should shout and sing and praise and I can shine as a light there. It's a deception. What you call shining in the light in the church is just your emotion. If the power of the Holy Spirit fills us, the darkness cannot overpower the light. If you find the darkness, it's very clear here, the life of Jesus is like a light, John 1, 4 and the power of darkness cannot overpower that light. If you find in some situation where you were in, where the power of darkness around you crushed out what you call the light in you, brother, sister, that was not the life of Jesus. It was your own religion. Maybe a Christian religion is certainly not the life of Jesus. A lot of people really don't have the life of Jesus. They've got a Christian religion. And the Christian religion is like a painted fire. The life of Jesus is like a real fire. There's a world of difference between the two. I don't believe that the powers of darkness can quench the life of Jesus in me. It is impossible. I don't believe that the powers of temptation can come and overpower the Holy Spirit within me. That's what the 600,000 people believe. Oh, these giants are so powerful that Almighty God will just tremble in front of these giants. That sounds so ridiculous. But you know that's what you're saying. Oh, brother, when sexual lust gets into my mind, even the Holy Spirit can do nothing. This giant is so powerful. Or people say, oh, when I get angry with my husband or wife at home, even the Holy Spirit can do nothing. Anger is very powerful. Okay? Is that what you believe? So be it. In your home. According to your faith, be it unto you. You believe that anger is more powerful than the Holy Spirit, so be it. According to your faith, be it unto you. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. And he who believes, all things are possible to him. Anything that God has written in His Word. We have missed out on so much in our life, brothers and sisters, because we don't believe His Word. We say the Bible is the Word of God, but we don't believe it. It doesn't work. You know, in my younger days, when people ask me, how do you believe the Bible is the Word of God? I had all the standard arguments that I'd read in books. Then the Bible was written by 40 authors over 1600 years. How can it all be united unless it was God's Word and some archaeological discoveries? All these stupid arguments I used to say in those days about some mud that was dug up in Israel and some scrolls found in some caves. This is not the proof I have of the Bible is the Word of God today. I said, today, I've proved this in my life for 50 years. You don't need to dig up some scrolls in some cave in Israel to find out if it's true or not. I can read it. Prove it in your life and you'll see it's God's Word. It's true. It brought heaven down to my home. My life. Changed my life. Changed the life in my home. That's why I know it's God's Word. I think of the story where Jesus was, it's Matthew 9, 27 it says, as Jesus was going out from there, two blind men followed him. Crying out. That means they had a tremendous desire. What are the two things I said you need to get from God? Thirst and faith. Desire and faith. Intensity of desire. See the intensity of desire here in these men. They cried out, have mercy on me, on us, Son of David. Two blind men. It was not enough. Their desire and their cry was not enough to heal them. They came to Jesus and they followed Him crying out, have mercy. I don't know how many times they said it. It says they followed Him crying out, have mercy on us, Son of David. Maybe ten times. They followed Him all the way inside the house and He was crying the whole time. They were crying the whole time. And when they came to Him, He said, let me ask you a question. Do you believe that I can do this for you? Your desire is not enough. All through scripture it's the same thing. Your desire is not enough. Some of you can sit here and desire victory over sin more than anybody on earth. You won't get it. He'll ask you a question. Do you believe I can do it for you? Not, do you believe you can manage it? No, no, no. Do you believe I can do it for you? That's easy to believe. I mean, if the Lord were to tell me, do you believe you can conquer your anger? I'd say no. I'd say that long, long ago. Do you believe you can conquer those sins that rule in your body? No. Joshua and Caleb, do you believe you can kill those giants? No, we can't. But do you believe if God helps you, you can do it? Oh, sure. That's the point. Do you believe I can do this for you? He didn't ask those blind people. Try opening it a little bit. See if you can see a little bit. Go and do some exercises and I'll call you back after a few days. See if you can see a little better. That's trying to live under the law. Try a little harder, brother. It's psychology. All the techniques to overcome anger and bitterness and all that. Jesus is not teaching psychology. Today's preachers preach all that. Jesus said, do you believe I can do this for you? He said, yes, Lord. He said, be it done for you according to your faith. I thought about this story. One of those blind men went into the room and Jesus asked him a question. Do you believe I can do this for you? And he says, Lord, I'm not so sure whether you can open both eyes, but I believe you can open one eye. I believe you can do that. You know what Jesus would have told him? Exactly the same thing. Be it done for you according to your faith. He'd come out with one eye open. And he'd be so excited about it. Boy, I was totally blind. Now I can see. Don't you think a blind man who got one eye open would be really excited? Yes or no? He'd be totally excited. Man, 30 years, he never got his eyes open. Now he's got one eye open. He'd be jumping for joy, going all over town excited. Then the second blind man goes in. And then God asks him the same question. Do you believe I can open? Sure, Lord. What's impossible for you? You can open both my eyes. And he comes out with both eyes open. And he meets the other guy who's got only one eye open. And the guy says, how did you get both eyes open? This must be some heresy, some wrong teaching that Jesus opens both eyes. I don't believe that. Jesus opens only one eye. And so these people sought two denominations. One is the one-eyed denomination. This is the history of Christendom, I am telling you. This is exactly what has happened in Christendom. Jesus only forgives sins. He can't do anything more than that. The other guy says Jesus forgives sins and he gives us victory over sin also. There are two different denominations. Which one do you believe? It's not according to your desire be it unto you. If it were like that, we would have all got victory long, long ago. Neither is it Jesus saying according to my desire let it be unto you. No. What is it? According to your faith. You believe Jesus can do only one thing? That's all you'll get. And you say, Lord, you can do both. Because your word says so. I believe you can take me out of Egypt. I believe you can take me into Canaan. According to your faith, be it unto you. Only Joshua and Caleb believed it. Consider, my brothers and sisters, whether there are many, many things in your life which you completely missed out because you thought it was going to be according to your desire. No, sir. You thought it would be according to Jesus' desire. No, sir. It's according to your faith. Of course, you've got to believe. I mean, faith is based on something God has promised in his word. I mean, I'm talking about today we have all kinds of books on faith for things God has not promised in his word. Supposing I have a... I'll tell you what I'd like. I'd like a good head of hair. You guys don't realize how good it is to have hair on the head. You know, especially when you go out in the sun and it's burning hot. I've got to wear a cap. You chaps who've got hair, you don't need a cap. I'd like to have hair. I'll tell you honestly. But if I... I have tremendous desire to have hair on my head. Intense desire. But I can't claim it. Lord, by tomorrow morning I'm going to have hair. I'm going to confess my hope that I shall have hair on my head by tomorrow morning. This is the stupidity that a lot of people have today. Has God promised it? Yes, he has. It says in Philippians 3.21, one day he'll make my body like his body and I'll have a full head of hair, believe it or not, when Christ comes again. And there won't be one gray hair on it. But I've got to wait for it. There's a time for it. Not on this earth. Well, on this earth, but when Jesus returns. So there are many Christians seeking for things which are not promised for us right now. They're seeking for better cars, better houses, all types of things which are not... But the things which he has promised, sin shall not rule over you. That's not for eternity. That's for now. That's not when he comes back again. And that's far more important. You know, I think the reason is that most of us don't realize what a serious thing sin is. I can stand before God and say without a shadow of doubt that if I had cancer and I was a slave to anger I would first ask God to deliver me from anger. Not from cancer. Because cancer can never send me to hell. Anger can send me to hell. If I had leprosy and I had the love of money I would first ask the Lord to deliver me from the love of money. Lord, I can live with the leprosy. How many of you can honestly say the same thing? That if you had leprosy and you had the love of money you would first ask the Lord to deliver you from the love of money. You see how shallow your Christianity is? You think that sickness is worse than sin. If only I could convince people, if only I could convince believers that sin is a million times worse than any sickness I feel I would have done my job. You know, it's because we are spiritually illiterate. You know the meaning of being illiterate? That means you are not educated. If you go to the remote villages of India you find many women who have never read, they can't read or write, they are totally uneducated and illiterate. And if some doctor gives them a scan and says you've got cancer, it's spreading all over your body. Oh, they are quite... Thank you for telling me and they go back to sleep. They are not bothered about it. You know why? Uneducated. They don't know that cancer is a deadly disease that can destroy them. But if a doctor were to say the same thing to an educated person Boy, that fellow will not sleep that night. What's the difference between these two? Both have got cancer. And the doctor gave the report to both of them. One sleeps peacefully. Sleeping peacefully doesn't mean the cancer is going to also sleep. No. The cancer will still kill that old lady. And he will never seek a cure. But this other person who is educated goes and gets the surgery done and gets the cancer removed and is healthy. Now apply that spiritually. When the Bible speaks about some sin in your life like some of the sins I listed. Jealousy and bitterness and an unforgiving spirit and murmuring and grumbling and complaining and sexual lust and anger and all that. See, you've got these things in you. It's alright. Most believers have it. We are human. We've got to live with these things. You are exactly like that illiterate woman. Who doesn't know the seriousness of the disease. But a person who is spiritually educated Lord, I had a bad thought about somebody. I want to be free from it. He is educated. He knows the seriousness of sin. If you want to see the seriousness of sin you've only got to go to two places. One is Eden and the other is Calvary. If you go to Eden Genesis 3, you'll see that Adam and Eve were turned out of paradise for one sin. Not for two. One sin. If you want to know how serious sin is in God's eyes, go and read Genesis 3 again. And see how many times they disobeyed God. And see how serious that sin was. Did Eve murder her husband? No. Humanly speaking, it was such a small thing. You know, if you when you are leaving your house, you tell your little child now, don't go and put your hand in that cookie jar or that biscuit packet and eat anything. Suppose you come back and like all naughty children they've done it. You kill your child? How many of you will kill your child? Because he put his hand in the cookie jar and took out the biscuit. Looks pretty strict, isn't it? That God turned out Adam and Eve just because they took something God told them not to take. We haven't seen the seriousness of sin. The seriousness of disobedience. The point is not what was done. Whether it was murdering your husband or eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they are in the same category because they had disobedience to God. It's a disobedience to God that is involved there. And disobedience to God is punishment. If you want to see the seriousness of sin, you see it in Eden. The second place where you can see the seriousness of sin is Calvary. Where you see the Son of God hanging there between heaven and earth. There's a hymn written by a very godly man which speaks about the load of sin. It says that he who could bear the world could not bear the load of my sin. When he hung on the cross. It was too much for him. He could bear the world, but my sin crushed him. Have you seen it? Those petty fights that you have as husband and wife at home, they'll all stop immediately when you see the seriousness of sin. It's an absolute shame that Christians haven't seen it. We so glibly say the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. Was it a cheap price he paid on the cross? To free us from sin? I know when I saw the seriousness of sin I said, Lord, I'll never again fight with anyone in my life. I will never get angry with my wife or anyone henceforth. Because that's what crucified you. I'll never have a bad thought by your grace against anyone. I will finish with all murmuring and grumbling and complaining completely. I will never worship money again because you said money is the alternate master to God. It's a form of idolatry. Sin became very serious to me when I saw what happened on the cross and I had a tremendous desire to be free from it. I mean, sometimes I had leprosy and I would long to be free from it. Is there anybody here who would have leprosy and you don't long to be free from it? Would you have cancer and not long to be free from it? I'll tell you honestly, I longed like that to be free from sin in my life. And I believed that Jesus could do it. And my desire met with faith and it happens. I pray that you will have desire and faith to believe that the same Jesus who forgave your sin at such tremendous cost Was it easy for Jesus to forgive your sin? For you to confess it is easy, sure. But for him to forgive you, that wasn't easy for him. What a fantastic price he had to pay to forgive your sin. Don't ever forget that. But he did it. And the Bible says in Romans 8.32 that this God who did not spare his own son but delivered him up for us on the cross He who did not spare his own son but gave him to be crucified like a criminal on a cross to save you from sin How will he not with Christ give you everything else that you need? Will he deny it? Impossible. When I was an enemy he loved me and now I am his friend. Is he going to do more for me or less? More. What shall we say to these things? Romans 8.31 If God be for us who can be against us? No giant. So my brothers and sisters I hope that all of you, I think of all of you lovely young people you are the luckiest of all to hear this message when you are young. From your young age you can live a godly life. I wish I had heard this when I was 19, when I was converted. I could have lived in victory much earlier than I really began to live in victory. I never understood the message of victory until I was about 35, 36 years old. I had already wasted 16 years of my life forgiven, yes, but defeated. But I thank God a day came in my life when both eyes were open. I saw that Jesus could not only forgive me he could keep me from falling. It says that in Jude 24, Jesus can keep you from falling. The law of sin operates on all of us. But Romans 8.2 says the law of the spirit, it is another law The law of the spirit is different from the law of Moses. The law of Moses was 10 commandments thou shalt, thou shalt not, thou shalt, thou shalt not, thou shalt not, etc. It's what we are supposed to do and nobody could keep all of them. But Romans 8.2 says the law of the spirit is not a bunch of commandments. The law of the spirit equals Romans 8.2, the life of Jesus Christ. That's what it says. The law of the spirit which is life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. How did I get set free from the law of sin and death? Paul's experience. Not by keeping a whole lot of commandments but by allowing the life of Jesus to completely take me over. I'll give you an example. See, here is a law called the law of gravity. It operates even on the Bible by the way. It doesn't matter what it is. You can be the holiest person on earth, the law of sin and death will pull you down. It's like the law of gravity. You go to any place on the earth, sin is like that. All the time, 24 hours a day trying to pull you down. 7 days a week. Right or wrong? Absolutely right. The law of sin trying to pull you down to make you un-Christ like in some way or the other. If not in your words, in your thoughts. And attitudes and motives. Always trying to bring you down and corrupt you in some way. But see how it's not falling now. Why is it not falling? Isn't the law of gravity pulling it down? It is. But there is another law. The law of life in my body. Which is preventing it from falling. And if I can keep this Bible from falling You think Jesus Christ can't keep you from falling? From the law of sin and death? According to your faith, be it unto you. Don't insult God anymore from today onwards by saying, Lord, the giants are too big. This is too big a sin in my life. Even you cannot keep me from falling. We don't realize how unbelief is an insult to God. That's why it's such a serious sin. Faith is to have confidence in God. And what he says he will do. Let me show you one verse in closing. Romans chapter 4. This is a great verse. It's encouraged me greatly. It speaks about Abraham's faith. See how it says. And Abraham, Romans chapter 4 and verse 19 and 20 Please meditate on it when you go home. Romans chapter 4, verse 19 and 20. Abraham did not become weak in faith when he looked at his own body. Which was as good as dead. He was 99 years old and he didn't have a child through Sarah. Sarah was about 89 years old and she didn't have a child either. I don't know how long they were married. 40, 50 years? No children. But God had told him. God gave him a promise. Sarah will have a son. And nothing seemed to happen for a long time. God was testing his faith. God gives you a promise. Sin will not have dominion over you. Just like Abraham. It looked impossible for Sarah to have a child. Every doctor said impossible. She's gone long past the age of bearing children. She's 89 years old. He said, My body is dead. Sarah's womb is absolutely dead. But I will not look at my body. I will not look at my wife's womb. I will look at the promise of God. And the promise of God was Sarah will have a child. And I'm not going to waver in unbelief. Romans 4, 20. I will give glory to God by being strong in faith. Do you know how you give glory to God? By being strong in faith. If you are not strong in faith, according to this verse, you don't give glory to God. Many Christians are not giving glory to God because they are full of unbelief. They are unbelieving believers. And here is faith. Here is a good definition of faith. Verse 21. Being fully assured that what God had promised God was able to perform. Not what God had promised Abraham is able to perform. No. What God had promised God was able to perform. That's faith. Lord, if you have promised that you can keep me from falling, you can keep me from falling. I trust you. It's you who opened those blind eyes. It's not the blind men somehow did some exercises and opened their eyes. No. You opened their eyes and what you did for those blind people you can do for me. Because you said according to your faith be it unto you. Lord, my faith is that you will keep your word. That sin will not rule over me. I believe it. You know, I remember when I was seeking for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And I went to a church. I was young. I didn't know what baptism of the Holy Spirit was. I didn't know what Pentecost was or any of those things. I didn't know which denomination was what. Somebody told me, go to this group of churches. They'll tell you about baptism of the Holy Spirit. I went there and I found a lot of noise and shouting and yelling and I said, Lord, that's not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for power. Not just to make a lot of noise. So I went to my room and I knelt down and I said, Lord, I don't want what those people have. It appears to me to be a counterfeit. I want the real thing that Peter, James, and John got on the day of Pentecost. And if it takes me ten years to get it, I'll wait. I don't want any cheap counterfeit to boast that I joined the club. What club? I'm not interested in joining any club. I want power. The same power that Jesus said in Acts 1.8, You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is called upon you. Power to overcome sin. Power to be a bold witness for Jesus Christ. Power to be able to speak God's word when I stand in the pulpit. I said, Lord, that's what I want. And I said, I will not let you go unless you bless me. You remember what day Jacob prayed to God? Jacob had spent his life grabbing other things. He came out of his mother's womb grabbing his brother's leg. As he grew up, he grabbed his brother's birthright. He went to live with his uncle and grabbed not one of his daughters but two of his daughters. And after that, not satisfied, he grabbed his sheep and his property. Finally, God met with him and he emptied out his hand of everything and said, Lord, now I'm grabbing you. I will not let you go unless you bless me. I want to say this, my brothers and sisters. When you let empty your hands of all the things you're grabbing on this earth, like Jacob. The empty honor of men. The empty pleasures of this world. You want acceptance with people in your church. Forget it. Empty your hands of all those things and say, grab ahold of the Lord and say, Lord, I want you. That's all. I will not let you go unless you bless me with the power of the Holy Spirit, with an overcoming life. The Lord will say to you, your name has changed. You will not be called Jacob, a deceiver anymore. You will be called Israel, a prince of God. Because you'll have power with God and power with men. God did it for me. It's good for you. According to your faith, be it unto you. Dear brothers and sisters, don't miss out on your inheritance. That's great. While I head about in prayer, I want to encourage you to respond. Faith comes by hearing. And hearing by the word of Christ. Have you heard the word of Christ today? Respond in faith. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. Heavenly Father, deliver us from intellectual faith that just resides in our head and accomplishes nothing. Give us faith in our hearts to trust you. To yield everything to you. To let go of all the wretched things we are clutching and clinging on to. And help us to lay hold of you. We know that you will not disappoint anyone who trusts you. Thank you. In Jesus' name. Amen.