This sermon emphasizes the significance of the two arms of the cross, the vertical representing Jesus reconciling man to God and the horizontal representing Jesus reconciling man to man. It delves into the importance of loving God with all our heart, denying ourselves, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. The message highlights the need for believers to die to self, prioritize God over worldly desires like money, and strive for unity and fellowship in the church as a greater work than miracles.

There is a message in the two arms of the cross, the vertical and the horizontal, and it's very significant that Jesus died on a cross. And the vertical piece of the cross speaks about Jesus reconciling man to God, and the horizontal arm of the cross speaks about Jesus reconciling man to man. You can't have a cross with only one piece. You can't be crucified with one piece. You need both. And in the New Testament, when somebody asked Jesus, what is the greatest commandment in the law? And that's in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 22. They expected, you know, for them, for the Pharisees who asked that question, they thought the greatest commandment is keeping the Sabbath. It's amazing how these Pharisees thought some of the greatest commandments were how to wash your hands, how to pay your tithes of all the little vegetables, and whether you carry your bedding on a Sabbath day or not, and whether you pick some fruit to eat on a Sabbath day. Their vision was so narrow that they looked at these little commandments. Why was it like that? Because these commandments did not require any sacrifice. It doesn't cost me anything to give 10% of the vegetables in my garden to God. It doesn't cost me anything to wash my hands a few times before I eat food. And that certain things I don't do on the Sabbath day. Religious people are great experts at focusing on commandments that require no sacrifice. And the Pharisees were experts at that. But we find the same problem with many Christians. Many Christians also focus on certain commandments that don't require any sacrifice. The Bible says in Luke chapter 16 that the Pharisees were great lovers of money. And when Jesus said that you cannot love God and money, they couldn't accept that. They were more interested in washing their hands properly. And we have to be careful that we don't become Pharisees also. You know, many Christians are so particular about little, little doctrines. Doctrines about external rituals. Doctrines about external rituals. A little more than 300 years ago, there was an atheist living in France. A philosopher and an atheist. His name was Voltaire. And he studied all denominations of Christianity in Europe in his time. Roman Catholics, Lutherans, all kinds of groups in the years of 1700. And he looked around and he said, all these people have different doctrines. But when it comes to the love of money, they all have the same doctrine. Money tests our devotion to God. And many Christians like to focus on doctrines that don't require sacrifice. And we can be very zealous for doctrines that don't require a sacrifice. And we think we are very spiritual. You can test your spirituality by your attitude to money. And by your attitude to other people. Not by your keeping little, little rituals here and there. A Christianity without sacrifice is a deception. But a Christianity without sacrifice is a deception. Ask yourself, what has my Christianity cost me? Does it cost me to go to some meetings? Going to a conference one or two times a year? Maybe reading the Bible a little bit? But a real sacrifice in my life? No, there isn't. And yet we can be very zealous for certain doctrines. And we need to ask ourselves, have we become like the Pharisees? We can think we love God a lot. In Matthew 22, verse 26, the Pharisees asked what the greatest commandment was in the law. I cannot tell you just one commandment. I have to tell you two. Because they hang on each other. The first is, you've got to love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind. That's the first. And the second is like that, he said. That's the horizontal section, you've got to love your neighbor as yourself. Now, why does the cross symbolize that? Because to love God with all my heart, I have to die to my own love for other things. If I love money, I can't love God. That is impossible. Jesus said that in Luke chapter 16. That is a verse on which almost nobody preaches any sermons. In verse 13, he said no one can serve two masters. If he tries to do it, he won't succeed. You have to serve one master. And he will hate the one and love the other. He will hold on to one and despise the other. And those two masters are not God and Satan. And those two masters are not God and Satan. Because there is nobody in the world who believes that you can serve God and Satan. No Christian believes that you can serve God and Satan together. But there are millions of Christians who try to serve God and money. There are television preachers who believe you can serve God and money. But Jesus said it is impossible. One of the two will be more attractive to you. And if you are drawn towards one, you know that is your master. And if you have a choice between God and money, which will you choose? You can't serve both. Please remember this. That is the vertical arm of the cross. You've got to love God with all your heart. And one way to find out whether I love God with all my heart and soul is to see what is my attitude to money. That is one of the clearest tests of whether I love God with all my heart. It's not the only one. That's one of the tests. And whether you're a preacher or you're in a secular work, please remember this. Your attitude to money is a very good test of your devotion to God. It's not a question of your salary. Some people think if a man is a very rich man, he loves money. And some of you who may be a little poor may say, Oh, I'm poor, I don't love money. In India, in the streets, we have many beggars. They don't have a house, this. They sleep on the streets. They don't have a bank account, they don't have any money. But all of them love money. I've never seen a beggar in India who doesn't love money. So what does that prove? They don't have a salary, but they love money. The love of money does not depend on your salary. It's in our flesh. Whether you're a beggar or a millionaire, you can love money. Or you can be free from it. See, money is a terrible monster. But it's a very good servant. If you can make money your servant, you've conquered it. That means it must run your life. You don't make decisions on the basis of money, but on the basis of God's will. If you make decisions in your life on the basis of money, then money is your master. And there are numerous problems believers get into when money becomes their master. Now don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying you should not look for a job to support your family. And if your salary is little, there's nothing wrong in looking for a better job to take care of your family. There's nothing wrong in buying a house where you can accommodate your family. But the moment you begin to love those things, they become idols. Then the vertical arm of the cross disappears. I've got to love God with all my heart. That's what Jesus came to bring us to. When it says that Jesus came to save us from sin, sin is idolatry. Sin is idolatry. And what is an idol? An idol is anything that takes the place of God in my life. That which for me has become the most important thing. Your job can be your idol. Your house can be your idol. Your girlfriend or boyfriend can be your idol. Your car can be your idol. Your bank account can be your idol. There's so many things that can become your idol. We think idols are those Hindus or Buddhists who worship before some brass or wooden thing. But these unseen idols are more dangerous. So I cannot say that I love God with all my heart if there's something else I love in my heart. What is it that makes the bride of Jesus Christ into a harlot? What is a harlot? See, if a girl is engaged to be married to a man, and the man says, I'm going on a long journey, but I'll come back. Be faithful to me, I'll marry you. And while he's away, if she's faithful to him, and will not go with other men, she's a virgin, she's pure. But if she fools around with other men, she's a harlot. Now, we are engaged to be married to Christ who's coming back. But there are other things that are seeking to make us love them in this world. And one of them is money. It could be also worldly entertainment. There's a lot of entertainment in the world which can become like a god to you. There are many people today who watch television more than they read the Bible. Or they listen to television preachers more than they read the Bible. And that's why so many Christians are deceived today. They are deceived because they don't put God first in their life. They don't love God with all their heart. When you love God with all your heart, you don't have place in your heart for anything else. Everything else becomes a servant. Gold is a very good thing. Do you know that there is gold in heaven? Yeah, if it is in heaven, it must be a good thing. But, in heaven, do you know where the gold is? It's on the streets. You walk on it. It is under your feet. On earth, they put it on your head. That is the difference between earth and heaven. People who are earthly minded, gold is in their heads, in their minds. People who are heavenly minded have put gold under their feet. And heaven is prepared for those who have learned to put gold under their feet now. If you haven't learned to put gold under your feet now, you're not ready for heaven. You need to ask yourself, have you put money under your feet? Is it your servant? You can have one servant or ten servants, but they must not take over the house. You can have a lot of money or little money, but they must be servants. They must not run your life. You have to control them. That is the meaning of loving God with all our heart. That is why Jesus said that we got to love him even more than father, mother, wife, children, brother, sister. Nobody must be more important in our life than God himself. That is a true Christian. Do you know that Jesus said only once in his life, today salvation has come to this house? There is only once that he said it. Do you know when he said it? It's in Luke chapter 19. It's very interesting to see it. Today salvation has come to this house. Only once in his life Jesus said that about one person. Will Jesus say that about you? I want to say about my house. I want Jesus to say this about my house. Salvation has come to this house. Ask yourself whether Jesus can say that about your house. When did he say it? It was in the house of Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a man who loved money so much, he cheated so many people for so many years to make money. But God loved him. God loved him so much, that Jesus called him down from a tree and said, I'm coming to your house today. And there's a wonderful verse here in Luke 19 verse 8. I don't know how clear it is in the Dutch, but in the English it says in verse 8, Zacchaeus stopped. That means he came with Jesus to the gate of his house and at the gate of his house he stopped. And he said, Lord, you can't come to this house because this house has been built with money that I cheated from other people. You're a holy man. How can you come to this house which I have built by unrighteous money? Lord, I'm just stopping here for a moment. I want to make a promise to you before you come to my house. I've cheated many people. I don't know where they live. I don't know their address. So I cannot return the money to them. But I cannot keep it, saying I don't know where they are. So because I don't know where they are, I will give half my money to the poor. Because I can't keep it. Because it's not mine. It's not righteous. I don't want one cent in my bank account which is not righteously earned. And the people I know their address, I will go to them and give back four times. Because I cheated them many years ago and with all the interest, it'll come to a lot of money and to be on the safe side, I'll give back four times. Listen to this. A cheating tax collector, he didn't just say, I'll give back what I stole. I'll give back with interest. And little more than that, four times. And you know, how many people will do that? How many people will give back four times what they stole? And where they cannot return it because they don't know the person, they say, no, I can't keep that money, I'll give it to God's work or something like that. When Jesus saw this, he said in verse 9, salvation has come here. Salvation from what? For many of us, salvation is salvation from hell. No, Jesus was not talking about salvation from hell. He was talking about salvation from the love of money. Here is a man who loved money all his life. And look what's happened to him. Look at the attitude of money has changed all of a sudden, just because he met me. Yeah, I'm sure salvation has come. How do you know whether you have really met Jesus like Zacchaeus? Or whether you have met some imaginary Jesus in your mind? If you have met the real Jesus like Zacchaeus met Jesus, I tell you, your whole attitude to money and everything on this earth will change. That's what happened to me when I met Jesus 50 years ago. I was a naval officer in India and I had great ambitions in my profession. I had a goal in my life. I wanted to be the admiral of the Indian Navy. And I was working hard towards that. And one day Christ came into my life. I met Jesus just like Zacchaeus met Jesus. And my whole life turned around. Not gradually over a period of 10 years. I mean, Zacchaeus didn't change gradually over 10 years. I don't believe these people who say they change gradually. When Jesus healed a blind man, his eyesight did not gradually improve over 10 years. It was instantaneous. When Jesus saves us, something radically changes inside us. I'm not saying we become mature. But we turn around 180 degrees. See, that's what repentance means. I see many believers who don't make progress spiritually. It's because their repentance is not proper. The most important message missing in today's gospel is the message of repentance. I've preached repentance in my church for 34 years. And many people have come to our church already thinking they were born again somewhere else. And after spending one year in our church, they say, Brother Zac, I think I'm only born again now. Because I never heard about repentance in the church I was attending. And I didn't know what repentance was. I didn't know what sin was. Only after I come to your church I now hear what sin is. And only now I understand what turning from sin is. See, what is repentance? When we live as unconverted people, our face is towards the world. We love money, we love everything in this world. And God is at the back. We don't think too much about Him. Repentance means I've turned around completely. I'm facing God now. And behind me is all those things I lived for in the past. Now, if I don't turn around like this, I'm still looking at those earthly things and I say, I believe in Jesus. I'm not going to be saved. You have to repent and believe. God has joined repentance and faith together. And what God has joined together, nobody should separate. But just like there are divorces in Christian circles, preachers have divorced repentance and faith. And some people, when they turn, they don't turn 180 degrees. They turn maybe 90 degrees. A little bit of this and a little bit of God. Or 120 degrees. A little more of God, but I still want a little bit of this. These are the half-hearted, carnal Christians. You don't even know whether they are saved. And they ask always questions like this. What type of movies can I watch? How can we rejoice always? Naturally, we get discouraged sometimes. How can I be anxious for nothing? How can sin have no dominion over me? How can I forgive everybody? Some people have done me so much harm. Can I do this? Can I do that in the world? And some girls will ask, what's wrong in dressing like this? That's the modern fashion. That is how some of these film actresses dress now. Who are the people who ask these questions? The people who have turned 90 degrees, 120 degrees. Those who turn around completely, they don't have any such questions. This is the tragedy of Christendom today. And there are pastors and preachers trying to build a church when these people have turned half. You'll have a church full of problems. I'd rather have 10 people in my church who have turned 180 degrees than 30,000 people who have turned 90 degrees. You know, Jesus chose 12 people who turned around 180 degrees. One of them turned back. But with the other 11, he turned the world upside down. He didn't need 11,000 people. He needed only 11. But with the type of believers today, even 11,000 people wouldn't have turned the world upside down. What is missing? Total repentance. They don't love God with all their heart. Jesus said, the first commandment is you've got to love God with all your heart. But you see, the Bible says I've got to love my wife. Yeah, you've got to love your wife after loving God with all your heart. If you try to love your wife without loving God with all your heart, you will fight with her. You will quarrel with her. Like a lot of Christian husbands do. But if you love God with all your heart first, you will never quarrel with your wife or husband. Not once in 365 days in a year. But people think that type of life is impossible. I agree. It is impossible for those who turn half. It is possible only for those who turn 180 degrees. I have been in so many question and answer sessions. I can see by reading the question, these are people who have turned half, wondering how to live the Christian life. I have one word for these people who have repented half. It is impossible for you to live the Christian life. You cannot. Even if you try a hundred years, you cannot. Sin will rule over you. You will be defeated. You will always keep on sinning. Because right at the beginning, you love the world and you love God. You love money and you love God. Your girlfriend and God. Your boyfriend and God. You are doomed to a defeated life. Jesus called people to repent wholeheartedly. That means you love God with all your heart. Like the psalmist said in Psalm 73 verse 25. Lord, who I desire nothing on earth but you. I don't desire anyone on earth but you. That is true Christianity. The rest is all half-hearted. And he says in that verse whom have I in heaven but you. When I come to heaven, Lord, I'm not looking for a mansion or a crown, I'm looking for you. And when I live on earth, I'm quite happy if I have you and nothing else. Everything else if God gives okay, thank you, but I don't need that. That is a true Christian. He's got the vertical arm of the cross right. And that is so easy when we see the glory of Jesus. It's so easy to turn from sin when we see how much our sin costs to Jesus Christ. But there is this horizontal arm also Jesus said. The second commandment is you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The two arms together make the cross. And Jesus said a new commandment I give you. Love one another as I have loved you. How did Jesus love me? See, why is it a new commandment? Wasn't there a commandment in the Old Testament love your neighbor as yourself? That's the old commandment. What is the new commandment? Not love your neighbor as yourself. Love one another as I have loved you. Now that was not said in the Old Testament because people couldn't understand the love of God. But after Jesus came and died we understand the love of God. I am to love my fellow believers the way Jesus loved me. Moses came with ten commandments. Jesus came with one. Love one another as I have loved you. You know you can keep all the other commandments and not keep this one? You have disobeyed God. You can be so particular about these little, little, little commandments in the Bible. And so many Christians miss out on the main one. I want to explain to you what it means to love one another as Jesus loved us. Then we can understand the glory of Christ in fellowship among fellow believers. Now the reason I mentioned the vertical arm of the cross first is because we cannot love our fellow believers the way God wants us to do it if we don't love God first. We cannot love our fellow believers the way God wants us to do it if we don't love God first. What does it mean to love our fellow believers as Jesus loved us? In the love of Jesus for me there was a cross on which Jesus died. Let me say that again. In the love of Jesus for me There was a cross on which he died for my sin. In my love for my fellow believers, there must be a cross on which I die when he sins against me. Have you got it? In your love for your fellow believers, there must be a cross on which you die. When your wife sins against you, when your husband sins against you, when your brother sins against you, when your sister sins against you, you have to die. If you are not willing to die, then you are not loving people as Jesus loved you. This is a great mystery. It's a mystery. Many people don't understand it. They think love for one another means helping them when they are sick, or giving some money to the poor, or taking some food to the house when they are sick. Even the people in the worldly clubs do that. The Freemasons do that. No the love of Jesus is different. I cannot love God without dying to my love for the earthly things. I cannot love my fellow believers without my dying to myself. Why is there so much conflict among believers? It's because they are not willing to die. Do you know the meaning of this verse? John 14 and verse 12. I told you that I will show you a few verses that you never understood in your whole life. Now you will understand John 14 verse 12. Listen carefully. You got to read this slowly. There are two things in this verse. Number one. I truly, truly I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, shall he do also. That's number one. The second part is, greater works than these shall he do, because I go to the Father. So let's look at them separately. This is not for apostles. This is not for prophets. For whom is it? Everyone who believes in me. You know, it's just like that other verse which says, he who believes in me has eternal life. Many of you say you got eternal life because you believe in Jesus. The same word belief is used here. It's not only apostles who have eternal life. Anyone who believes has eternal life. And listen to this verse. Anyone who believes can do the works that Jesus did. What are the works that Jesus did? You go and ask any believer in the world, tell me some of the works that Jesus did. And I tell you, 99% of believers will give answers like this. You test it out. Then say, he turned the water into wine. He raised the dead. He healed the sick. He walked on the water. He opened blind eyes. He fed 5,000 with five loaves and two fishes. I say, hang on, hang on. You're talking only about the last 10% of his life. You're talking about the last three years of his life. Did he live on earth only for three years? You're telling me only what he did for a small part of his life. You mean he did no other works for 30 years? You say, we don't know what he did for 30 years. I'll show you at least three verses which tell us what he did for 30 years. You read the Bible carefully, you'll find out. Let me show you those three verses. And then you will understand the works that Jesus did. Not just during the last three years of his life, but all 33 years of his life. The first verse is John 6, 38. Now, here is a one-sentence autobiography of Jesus' life, where he tells about his whole life. Many people write thick autobiographies of their life. Jesus gave his autobiography in one sentence. He said, I came from heaven to do what? Never to do my own will, but always the will of my Father. His whole life could be summed up in that one sentence. I do not do my own will, I do the will of my Father. I deny my own will to do the will of my Father. To follow Jesus means to deny your own will and to do the will of God. Where your will crosses the will of God, that's where you got to die on a cross. Jesus carried a cross all through his life. He denied his own will and he did the will of his Father. Right from childhood. Here is one example. That's the second verse, Luke chapter 2. He came back from Jerusalem at the age of 12. And he went with Joseph and Mary to Nazareth. Luke chapter 2, verse 51. Here is what he did for 30 years. He went to Nazareth. And what did he do for the rest of the time until the age of 30? He continued in subjection to Joseph and Mary. You think that was easy? You ask your children whether it is easy for them to obey you as the parents. How many children will say, it's very easy to obey my parents? I'm always very happy to obey my parents. It's not easy. You see that even in a two-year-old. There is something in that two-year-old that doesn't want to obey its parents. Because that will has to be broken. And it's so difficult to even get a two-year-old to obey you. I heard of a five-year-old boy. The father told him, sit down. He won't sit down. Daddy said, sit down. He said, no, I'm not going to sit down. So daddy took his stick and said, sit down. So he sat down. And he said, daddy, inside I'm still standing up. Now my question is, how can you make that inside boy sit down? That's not possible. You can make the outside boy sit down, but the inside boy is still standing up. That requires brokenness. Jesus was broken. You know, it is in little things that we test our children's obedience. Supposing you tell your child when it goes to school in the morning, now keep the commandments. Don't murder anybody today. When you go to school, don't commit adultery. Don't rob any bank on the way to the school. Yeah, I kept all the commandments. That's not where you test a child's obedience. But when a child is playing games with his other friends, I don't know what is the most popular game here in India, I don't know what is the most favorite game here in India, you play with the bat and the ball. And while in the midst of that very interesting part of the game, you tell your son or daughter, now come home, I've got some work for you. What does the child say? Just, mommy, wait five minutes. Five minutes means 45 minutes usually. Children are the same all over the world. I've thought about Jesus. I thought about Jesus when he was in Nazareth playing with other children at the age of 12. And a very interesting part of the game, Mary says, Jesus, come here. I want you to go to the well and draw some water. You think it was easy for him to give up that game and go and carry water from the well? Something in him had to die. I want to play. But mommy is calling me. He continued in subjection to them. And when he went with that wooden bucket to the well, he did not fill half the bucket and bring it home. He filled a full bucket and brought it home. And if his mother said, I need another bucket of water, he would have gone and brought that. You think it's easy for a little 12-year-old when his friends are all playing there to do that? Those are the works that Jesus did. Why did he do it? Because his father told him. I want you to be subject to Joseph and Mary so that you can be an example to all children for 2000 years. Are you 5 years old? Jesus is your example because he was also 5 years old once upon a time. Are you 12 years old? Jesus is your example. He was also 12 years old once upon a time. Are you 18 years old with all the passions of youth in your body? Jesus was also 18 years old once upon a time. And he never sinned. He never did his own will. He was tempted in all points as we are. And here is the third verse. Hebrews 4 and verse 15. We don't have a high priest who cannot be sympathized with our weaknesses but one who is tempted in all points as we are and yet did not sin. Jesus denied his own will. In that one sentence you know what Jesus went through for 33 years. He was tempted in every point that we are. He was tempted to be angry but he never got angry once. He was tempted to be irritated with people but he never got irritated. He was tempted to be jealous but he never got jealous. He was tempted to speak back to his father and mother to Joseph and Mary. He never did it. When his four younger brothers irritated him he was tempted to get angry with them but he wouldn't get angry. He was probably tempted when he was in school to be rebellious against his teachers but he wouldn't be rebellious. When he became a carpenter and started earning money he was tempted to use inferior wood but he would not use inferior wood. He was tempted to cheat people but he would not cheat. He would be tempted to love money but he wouldn't love money. He was tempted in every point as we are. If some little child came into his carpentry shop and broke something that Jesus had made he wouldn't get irritated with that child. He'd pick up that child and kiss it and say, it's alright. I love you more than I love that thing. God gave us people to love and things to use but sin has reversed that. We love things and we use people but when you get converted when you repent you become like Jesus. Where you love people and you don't love things, you only use them. That's how Jesus was. If he made a stool for some widow and the widow said, what is the charge? He said, you're a poor widow, that's free for you. You can't become the richest carpenter in Nazareth if you work like that. You cannot become the richest carpenter if you go around giving gifts like that to poor widows. What are the works that Jesus did? I gave you some examples. If you believe in Jesus, you can also do those works in your life. You can also be good to other people. The life of Jesus is described like this in Acts chapter 10 and verse 38 it says here in the middle of that verse that Jesus was anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit and he went about doing good. What did he do for 33 years? He went around doing good to other people. If you believe in Jesus you can do the works that he did. Now we go to the second part in John 14, verse 12. Greater works than he did. What is that? Not for apostles, for everybody. He who believes in me will do greater works than I did. What does that mean? If Jesus raised Lazarus who was in the grave for three days does greater works mean that I will raise somebody who was dead for six days and not only me, but every believer? Which believer is doing it? Even apostles are not doing it. So what does it mean? If you believe, you will do greater works than I have done. You know, when you come to a difficult verse in the Bible if God sees you are not serious to find out its meaning you will never find out its meaning in a hundred years. But if you are serious, Lord, I want to know the meaning you said that verse, teach me the meaning of it in a few days you will understand it. I came across that verse and I found it was really difficult. What is a work that even Jesus could not do when he was on earth? Which I can do. What is it? I told you earlier about how I can calculate something faster than Albert Einstein not because I am cleverer than him but because I have a computer. What is it I can do today that Jesus could not do? That Jesus did amazing miracles but there was one thing he could not do he could not make his eleven disciples into one body even at the last day they were still quarreling who is the leader who is the greatest you Matthew or me John or Peter or Andrew after three and a half years of listening to the greatest preacher that walked on this earth Jesus said now I am going to the Father I will send the Holy Spirit inside you and then something will happen which has never happened till now you will become one that is the greater work that we can do gather two or three people or nine or ten people or twenty or thirty people and they can become one body that is the greater work because Jesus could never do it why couldn't he do it? not because of any limitation in him but because nobody had the Holy Spirit inside them even two people in the Old Testament could not become one that is why all the prophets worked alone Jeremiah, Isaiah, Habakkuk they all worked alone but in the New Testament Jesus always sent people two by two and he said if two or three agree together they have such mighty power there they can ask the Father for anything they can bind satanic powers they can release people from satan's grips it all depends on unity two or three who have become one that is the true church and that is possible only if we are willing to die this horizontal arm of the cross if this brother and I have to become one with each other both of us have to die on the cross he has to be crucified I have to be crucified if my wife and I have to become one both of us have to die on the cross then there is fellowship now if only he is willing to die on the cross and I'm not willing to die we won't have fellowship but at least we can have peace so if your wife is not willing to die on the cross and you're willing to die there will be peace in the home when is it there is no peace in the home? when both husband and wife refuse to die a lot of noise in the home then have you ever tried making a noise with one hand? you can't if one hand wants to fight and the other hand refuses to fight there is no noise there is peace so if your wife refuses to die, you die if your husband refuses to die, you die you may not have fellowship but at least you'll have peace in the home but if both are willing to die then there is something better than peace fellowship and that's how it should be in every home where the husband is willing to be crucified the wife is willing to be crucified and that's unity, fellowship and the same thing in a church where all are willing to die love one another as I have loved you there is fellowship there is unity and the building of the body of Christ but the devil doesn't want that and so he says the main thing is build a large congregation do you know that 30,000 people sitting in a meeting cannot bind satan but if two people are united, they can bind satan's powers that's what Jesus said this is if two of you agree if two are there, I am in the midst and whatever you bind will be bound and so the devil is not afraid of large congregations you know I am not excited when a church grows in size I want to know whether they are united fellowship is where we are one with each other and two people who are one can accomplish more than 30,000 people who are not one so when people talk about unity the Lord doesn't want a mega church where 30,000 people come together every Sunday it impresses believers who have no discernment but it doesn't impress me I know the Bible and I know that Jesus said it is the body that overcomes satan not a congregation in the old covenant they had a congregation 600,000 people, men came out of Egypt that wasn't a body they couldn't overcome satan but in the new covenant, even two people who were one whether it's Peter and John or Paul and Barnabas when they are one, they have authority over satan and that's the type of church Jesus wants to build today that is the greater work which even Jesus could not do in his lifetime and that is what satan is fighting with all his heart I tell you, satan doesn't like this message that's why he hides the message of the cross from the minds of believers this is the way to unity in the home and in the church and that's where the glory of God is seen in the home and in the church let's pray while I head about in prayer you need to answer this question to God yourself am I willing to walk the way of the cross so that I can do my part to build the body of Christ don't worry about your husband or wife or the other brother just ask yourself leave the other person's answer to God Heavenly Father, help us to take a personal decision before you today humbly ask in Jesus' name Amen