This sermon emphasizes the importance of being broken before God, drawing parallels from the lives of biblical figures like Jacob, Moses, and Paul. It highlights the need for humility, honesty, and a willingness to be broken by God in order to fulfill His purpose. The speaker stresses the significance of being a humble servant rather than seeking personal recognition or status.

There is an amazing word concerning Jesus in Isaiah 53. You know, Isaiah is divided into two parts. Just like the Bible, the Bible has got 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. Isaiah also, first 39 chapters are all about Old Testament stuff. And the remaining 27 chapters are all New Covenant prophecies. The first of course is Isaiah 40 about John the Baptist. And all the way up to the coming Kingdom of God in chapter 60 onwards. So in chapter 52, talks about Jesus. Verse 13, Behold my servant, that's referring to Jesus, will prosper. He'll be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. That everybody can understand. For a servant of God to be lifted up and exalted. But then, there is something that astonishes people. Verse 14, This servant of God, his appearance is marred more than any man, his form more than the sons of men. See, the Malayalam is much clearer than the English here. That his face does not look like the face of a human being. Is that how a servant of God is supposed to be? The one whom God exalts, is his face not like the face of a human being? There are many movies about Jesus Christ where they show him crucified. But there is one movie of Jesus Christ that I saw called the Passion of Christ. That shows the face of Jesus more clearly than any other movie I have seen. What it was like when it was beaten and hammered and the crown of thorns on his whole body. It's terrible. I think, Lord, you only had to die for our sins on the cross. Why all this hammering and all before dying? I think, Lord, you only had to die for our sins on the cross. Why all this hammering and all before dying? Why all this hammering and all before dying? So many people can't understand this. Verse 13 everybody can understand. Verse 14 people are astonished. How is this? And then when Isaiah is writing this, he says in chapter 53 verse 1, Lord, who will believe this message? Even today, how many people understand what a true servant of God must be like? Most people do not understand what a true servant of God is like. Because all the famous servants of God that you see on television, Christian television, 90% of them are Americans. They are all like film stars. Their face and their appearance and their dress and all the light shining on them and the money they collect also is like film stars. Where do you see someone like Jesus? Very rare. In my life, I have found very very few true servants of God. In my life, I have found very very few true servants of God. Let me tell you my opinion. You don't have to accept it. This is my opinion. I don't have a respect for any of these preachers who come on Christian television in India or Kerala. American Pentecostals or Indian Pentecostals. Men or women. They all preach wonderful things. They pretend to heal people. I am not deceived. I will tell you why. I have seen Jesus. I have seen true servants of God in the scripture like Paul. Those are the ones I follow. Not today's preachers and servants of God. And if you don't have a clear picture of a true servant of God, you may follow the wrong person also. You will be fooled by all these film star evangelists on television. You will be fooled by all these film star evangelists on television. But see how it was with Jesus. Who has believed our message? Who has really got a revelation on the arm of the Lord, the mighty power of God? Very few people. Most people don't understand what the mighty power of God is. They think it is in all these people on the platform doing all types of, I call it a magic show. They call themselves healers. It's a magic show. People are fooled. You know there are magicians who on the stage they cut a woman into two and separate and you think it is really happening. It's all a trick. And same way these preachers who pretend that they are healing people. It's all a trick and so many Christians are being fooled. If you want to see the power of the Lord, see it in people like Jesus. He did not look like a film star. He was not popular. Verse 3, he was despised and forsaken of men. And men hid their face from him, verse 3. And he was despised. And we did not esteem him. This is a true servant of God. And Paul said, I follow Christ, you follow me like I follow Christ. There are only two people in the Bible who said, follow me. Jesus and Paul. Nobody else. I take that seriously. Paul followed Christ, really looked for his footsteps and followed. So he was also despised and rejected. Paul did not look like a film star. His physical appearance is not described in the New Testament. There are other books written in the first century that describe his physical appearance. And they say he was less than 5 feet tall. Like one of these short girls. Shorter than that. Thin. Because he was fasting so much and he was not even eating proper food many times. But he was healthy because he walked hundreds of miles regularly. He was not physically attractive. He was bald. Just like Elisha. He had a hooked nose. And he had eyes that were always dripping with some type of infection. The Bible says that, Paul says that in Galatians chapter 4. That once his eye problem was so bad. Sorry, please turn to Acts 16. His eye sickness was so bad. That Acts 16.7 Acts 16.7 They were passing through the Galatian region. And the Holy Spirit stopped them from going to Asia. No, verse 6. Forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. And then they tried to go to Bithynia but they were not allowed by the Spirit of Jesus. Now it doesn't tell us how the Holy Spirit stopped. In the case of Balaam it was an angel in front of the donkey. But here the Holy Spirit stopped Paul by making him sick. Because he didn't want him to go away from Galatia. He said you stay in Galatia. So when you turn to Galatians 4. You see Paul says that. Verse 13. In Acts we read the Holy Spirit forbade him from going from Galatia. Beyond Galatia. But here it tells us how. Galatians 4.13. It was because of a bodily illness that I stayed and preached the gospel to you the first time. Otherwise he would not have stayed there. He was trying to go somewhere else and the Holy Spirit stopped him with the sickness. And my physical trial in my body you did not despise it or loathe it. Why would you despise a person if he is sick? If he has got cancer or TB or something you can't see it. You don't despise it. You don't loathe it because there is no physical outward appearance of sickness in TB or cancer. But when a person has got leprosy there is a physical revulsion without seeing it. And when you see a person sitting here with eyes dripping with pus you really feel a little hesitant. Keep wiping it. And there he said you did not loathe me for that. But you accepted me as an angel of God even though I looked so repulsive. I bear you witness that you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me to replace my bad eyes. I bear you witness that you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me to replace my bad eyes. That's how much they loved Paul. That's how we know that Paul had this problem. That's how we know that Paul had this problem. Why should God make his greatest servant look like this? Not good looking like a film star. With weakness. Sickness. I believe this was the thorn in the flesh that Paul prayed and prayed Lord take it away. Because it was a visible thing that was repulsive to other people. You don't like to shake hands with such a person because he may have wiped his eyes with that. You don't like to shake hands with such a person because he may have wiped his eyes with that. You don't want to get infection. This is the mightiest servant of God in the first century. God's ways are not our ways. Do you know why he did it like that? Because Paul had the mightiest ministry in the first century. Because Paul had the mightiest ministry in the first century. He had such revelation that he was taken up to the third heaven. He had such revelation that he was taken up to the third heaven. He was in danger of becoming proud. No demon could stand before him. He planted so many churches. He was a father to so many elders. He could become proud. So God gave him a permanent sickness. So God gave him a permanent sickness. He says, I labored more than all the other apostles who did not have my sickness. He never said, oh this type of ailment, I better sit in Tarsus and get my family people to look after me. He never said, oh this type of ailment, I better sit in Tarsus and get my family people to look after me. He would travel. He had such a passion to plant churches everywhere. He was despised and rejected just like Jesus. He was despised and rejected just like Jesus. We read an amazing word in Isaiah 53. We read an amazing word in Isaiah 53. All these are crushing, breaking experiences. All these are crushing, breaking experiences. We read in 2 Corinthians 11 some terrible things Paul experienced. We read in 2 Corinthians 11 some terrible things Paul experienced. He was stoned three times. He was beaten with rods and whipped many many times. 195 times. Many times hungry. Sometimes shivering in the cold because he did not have a blanket. Sometimes shivering in the cold because he did not have a blanket. In prison, in Rome, he begs to Timothy, please bring my blanket, I don't have one here. In prison, in Rome, he begs to Timothy, please bring my blanket, I don't have one here. I don't know how many times Paul's things were robbed by robbers. I don't know how many times Paul's things were robbed by robbers. He was one shipwrecked and for 24 hours he was in the sea, we read in 2 Corinthians 11. He was one shipwrecked and for 24 hours he was in the sea, we read in 2 Corinthians 11. And you read all that and say, is this how God treats his greatest servants? And you say, is this how God treats his greatest servants? The greater the servant of God you are, the more God has to take you through suffering. The highest was Jesus who suffered the most. The highest was Jesus who suffered the most. Paul was pretty close to him. Paul was pretty close to him. But there are many other deities who went down that path. But there are many other deities who went down that path. I have no respect for all of them. Most of them are not even servants of God. They are professional preachers, just like a man goes into business to make money, they go to preach to make money. And that applies to most Pentecostal pastors as well, who are so interested in your money. That is a mark of a businessman. There is a great verse, the last verse of Zechariah. How when the Lord comes, Zechariah chapter 14, he is speaking about the day, verse 9, when the Lord will be king over all the earth. And his name will be the only one exalted then. And in that day, verse 20, even the bells of the horses will have holy to the Lord written on it. Holiness everywhere, even the cooking pots in Jerusalem, verse 21 will be holy. And listen to this wonderful verse. There will no longer be any businessmen in the house of the Lord. See the margin of my Bible says, it is not Canaanite, it is businessman. There will be no merchant in the house of the Lord. You have an NASB, it is written there in your margin, that is what it actually says in the Hebrew. There will be no merchant in the house of the Lord. Jesus drove out the money changers in the temple twice. At the beginning of his ministry in John chapter 2. He drove them out. But within three and a half years they came back. And we read in Luke's gospel, he drove them out a second time. And in these two thousand years, they have come back again. They have all come back. There is hardly anybody to drive them out. There is hardly anybody to speak against them. They all want to follow them and make money themselves. But we are coming to a day when there will be no businessmen in the house of the Lord. And today we are building a church which is going to be a picture of that final church which Jesus will marry. We are nearing the end of the wedding of Jesus Christ. The servants of God are not like film stars. The servants of God are like shepherds after God's own heart. We have people like that in our churches, CFC churches. Not everybody but a number of our elders are like that. Shepherds after God's own heart. When I meet with our elders, more than a hundred elders we have now in many of our churches. I tell them, if you do not treat every person in your church as your own son and daughter, you are not fit to be an elder. If you do not treat every person in your church as your own son and daughter, you are not fit to be an elder. If you do not treat every person in your church as your own son and daughter, you are not fit to be an elder. Do you discipline them like you discipline your son and daughter? Do you discipline them like you discipline your son and daughter? I had to write to one elder once. Brother, the way you scold people in the church, Brother, the way you scold people in the church, Do you scold your children like that? Yes, we have to correct our children. But ask yourself, the way you speak to the people in your church, is that the way you correct your children also? Or you treat these people like some strangers and hit out at them? Or you treat these people like some strangers and hit out at them? Then you are not a spiritual father. You are not fit to be an elder then. I have scolded my children, corrected them, I mean. And disciplined them. And I will discipline people in the church the same way. And correct them the same way. And I encourage them the same way. And that is how I expect every elder to be. But we have to go through a lot of suffering in order to fulfill our ministry. But we have to go through a lot of suffering in order to fulfill our ministry. God has taken me through many many things even before we started CFC. And after we started CFC too. To break me and humble me. To be rejected by people like a false prophet or false teacher. All that has been good for me. But I think of this word. But I think of this word. Isaiah 53, 10. Isaiah 53, 10. It says about Jesus. The father was pleased to crush him and put him to grief. The father was pleased to crush him and put him to grief. But the Lord is pleased to crush him. How is that? But the Lord is pleased to crush him. How is that? It says, Jehovah was pleased to crush Jesus. It says, Jehovah was pleased to crush Jesus. That is how our saviour walked on this earth. That is how our saviour walked on this earth. God did not allow him to be born in a king's family. God did not allow him to be born in a king's family. But in a poor carpenter's family. But in a poor carpenter's family. I have often thought about the type of home Jesus must have grown up in. I have often thought about the type of home Jesus must have grown up in. He had four brothers and two sisters. He had four brothers and two sisters. Mark chapter 6 verse 3. Mark chapter 6 verse 3. Verse 3. Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon, and his sisters are here with us? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon, and his sisters are here with us? You know, whenever they wanted to insult Jesus, they would call him, not son of Joseph, verse 3, son of Mary. You know, whenever they wanted to insult Jesus, they would call him, not son of Joseph, verse 3, son of Mary. When they were happy with him, they called him son of Joseph. Yeah, you read that in Luke's gospel. Then they were very happy with him. Luke 4.22 They were all speaking well of him and they said, isn't this Joseph's son? How they suddenly changed in Mark 6 to call him Mary's son. That was to say, we don't know who the father is, we know he is Mary's son. How would you feel if somebody said, we don't know who your father is, we know who your mother is. I can imagine Jesus walking through the streets going to school with other children. And old people sitting by the side and pointing to him, you see that boy there? That boy in the middle, that is Mary's son, we don't know who the father is. All those other children we know the father, this is a small village, we all know everybody. And all his life he heard that, he is Mary's son, we don't know who the father is. Imagine if your child had to grow up like that. You think Jesus suffered only when he was 13? The time he started going to school at the age of 5 he was suffering. And he read about the 4 brothers and 2 sisters. And he said in Mark 6,4, a prophet does not have honor in his own hometown. And he does not have among his relatives and his family. Among his family members. And we read in John 7. And verse 5. Even his brothers did not believe in him. See these 4 little boys growing up, younger to Jesus in the house. And the mother was the same, Mary. And Mary tells those 4 boys of hers. This older brother of yours is not an ordinary boy. He was not born through Joseph like all of you. He was born from God coming upon you. He is the son of God. You would have thought all these 4 brothers would have respected him tremendously. No. They didn't believe it. Mummy is telling us that God came upon her. He is trying to cover up her sin by putting some good holy language for her. This is how Jesus grew up with 4 brothers in the house who irritated him, didn't believe in him. And it was a poor carpenter's house. Nowadays there are rich people who give one bedroom to each of their children. Not Jesus' house. They probably all slept on the floor in the sitting room. All of them. Poor carpenter's house. This is how he grew up. Why did God allow his son to come into such a house? Why did he allow his son to suffer such reproach all his life? Why did he allow him to have such brothers who would irritate him and not believe in him all his life? Because he had the greatest ministry that any man on this earth ever had. The greater the ministry God has for you, the more of private unseen suffering he will take you through. You know, Jesus said when the Holy Spirit has come, John 16. John 16.15 When the Holy Spirit has come, he will take up the things of mine and show it to you. Now the things in the Gospels, I don't need the Holy Spirit, I can read it here. I don't need the Holy Spirit. This is talking about something else. The Gospels declare the three and a half years of Jesus' ministry. You don't need the Holy Spirit, just read it. But what is the Holy Spirit going to show me about Jesus? What he endured in the things that are not written in the Gospels. Or some things written in the Gospels, you have to read between the lines, the things that are not written. And I have asked the Lord to show me, Lord show me some of those hidden things in Jesus' life. What he went through when he was at home in Nazareth for 30 years. How he obeyed his mother, even when it was difficult. How he never got irritated with his brothers when they were irritating him day and night. Why do I want to see that? Because looking unto Jesus, I can also run that race with patience. I can submit to authority above me, just like Jesus submitted to Mary and Joseph. To imperfect authority. Jesus was perfect, Joseph and Mary were imperfect. Jesus was perfect, Joseph and Mary were imperfect. How can you submit to imperfect authorities? It requires tremendous grace to submit to an elder in whom you see some imperfection. For more than nearly 34 years, up to the age of 34, for about 16 years of my Christian life, from the time I was born again, 19 to 35, God made me submit to so many imperfect elders. Not one or two years, for 16 years. I was never an elder, I was in different churches. And I had to submit to others who did not know the Bible like me, who did not overcome sin, but they were my elders. And the Lord said, submit to them. And if I had not submitted in those 16 years, I know one thing, God would not have given me any ministry. I would not be sitting here today. Maybe God would have used somebody else to start CFC, but not me. Maybe God would have used somebody else to start CFC, but not me. I see many people today who find it very difficult to submit. Young people, even young elders, I know God will never give them a ministry, not in 50 years or 100 years. Because they have never learned to submit to imperfect authority God has placed over them. They think they are so important. My parents were not perfect. But I honored them and submitted to them. Your parents are not perfect. Learn to submit to them if you want God to use you. Because that is the way God breaks you. My father did not give me everything I wanted. I never owned a cycle. I didn't even have a watch. I had to borrow his watch for my examination time. And I never asked for anything. I submitted. Honor your father and mother. It will go well with you. I can testify. It has gone well with me. I have not only lived long on the earth, but God has preserved me in health all these years. I have not only lived long on the earth, but God has preserved me in health all these years. Everybody has minor illnesses here and there. But nothing has hindered my ministry. In 41 years, I have never missed a conference due to illness. God has been good to me. But he broke me for many years before those 41 years. Some of you are going through that initial period and you are not submitting. Young people. Younger elders. If you are like that, I can tell you straight to your face, I have no hope for you. You will drift along and along and along and finally the Lord will come. Has it pleased the Lord to crush you like it pleased the Lord to crush Jesus? Has it pleased the Lord to crush you like it pleased the Lord to crush Jesus? Whenever any crushing comes, do you immediately rise up and defend yourself? Do you know what it means to follow Jesus? Do you know what it means to follow Jesus? It is written in 1 Peter 2. Jesus suffered leaving you an example to follow in His steps. Jesus suffered leaving you an example to follow in His steps. Jesus did not leave you an example to follow in His steps. Jesus preached powerful sermons. He did not leave you an example. Jesus did not leave you an example to follow in His steps. Who wants to do that? Today when you talk about following Jesus, they say, I must heal the sick and cast out demons and do miracles. I say no, you must follow in His steps and suffering first. Not only that, following in His steps verse 22, who committed no sin, suffering, committing no sin, and no deception in His mouth, no lie in His mouth. and no deception in His mouth, no lie in His mouth. These are the areas we have to follow him. And when he was reviled, he did not revile in return. Somebody reviles you, you don't revile in return, then you are following Jesus. And when you suffer, he uttered no threats. He didn't say, wait and see, when I come in judgment, how I'll treat you people. He didn't say to people, if you hurt me, a servant of God, God will judge you. He kept his mouth shut. But he committed himself to the father who judges everything righteously. His attitude was, forgive them, they don't know what they are doing. They called me prince of devils, forgive them, they don't know what they are saying. They called me prince of devils, forgive them, they don't know what they are saying. This is the Christ we have to follow. And then if he wants, he will give you a mighty preaching ministry. He will heal the sick through your hands. He will cast out demons. He will plant churches through you. But your duty is to follow him in these areas. Many people don't think of this. They say, Lord, I want to heal the sick, I want to preach, I want to go and plant churches. But here is the preparation for it. Follow him who committed no sin. Follow him who never said a lie with his mouth. And there was no deceit in his life. Means no hypocrisy. Follow him who when he was reviled did not revile him with tongue. Follow him who when he suffered never threatened anybody. But kept on committing his cause to his father. Is this the Jesus you are following? Is this the Jesus you are following? Every servant of God whom God has used, he has had to break first. When did Jacob become a prince of God, Israel? How did Jacob become a prince of God, Israel? Turn to Genesis chapter 32. This is where God told him, you will no longer be Jacob. But verse 28, your name will be Israel. Because you have striven with God. And you have prevailed. Can you strive with God and get victory? That's what he says. That's what we read here. You have striven with God and you won. It's very important to understand how we can win when we strive with God. It's a wrestling match between God and me. And I win. It's amazing. Think of it. You strove with God and you won. Now I will show you how to win in your wrestling match with God. First of all, verse 24, Jacob was left alone. You have to take time to be alone with God. If you are so busy that you have no time to be alone with God, forget it. You will never be able to win with God. If you don't find any other time, be alone with God when you are sitting in the toilet. There you are alone. Spend time with God. Be alone with God on your bed before you go to sleep. Be alone with God if you wake up in the middle of the night. Be alone with God when you wake up in the morning. Before you get out of bed. There are opportunities to be alone with God. When you are travelling in a train. When everybody is looking around and watching all the rubbish and listening to all the gossip. You can sit there in the train and be alone with God. Or in a bus. There are plenty of opportunities to be alone with God but you don't take them. You are doing what everybody else does in the bus and train. Looking around and seeing all the useless things. Listening to what other people are talking. What a waste of time. Most of the Bible that I learnt, I learnt in buses and trains when I was travelling. I used to keep a pocket Bible in my pocket. There are plenty of times you can get. If you want to be alone, God will show you. But He sees you are not interested. You will never find it. If you want to be alone, God will show you. But if you are not interested, you will never find it. Secondly, you have to say to the Lord. Verse 26, I will not let you go until you bless me. Not that you try little while and nothing happens. Not that you try little while and nothing happens. I prayed for something, it didn't come. I will pray again next week. I will not let you go, Lord, until you answer me. I remember the days when I prayed for the fullness of the Holy Spirit. I would pray, nothing would happen. Again I would pray the next day. I would pray with others. I would fast and pray. I would again and again and again seek God. Lord, I don't want any cheap counterfeit like these other Pentecostals have. I want the real thing. If I don't get the real thing, I am willing to wait 10 years. They wait 10 days, I will wait 10 years. But I will not let you go unless you bless me. You show me somebody like that here, I tell you that person will be filled with the Holy Spirit. Then thirdly, the Lord asked, what is your name? God asked, what is your name? He said, my name is Grabber. That's the meaning of Jacob. Do you know why they called him Jacob? He was a twin with Esau. And he wanted to come out first and be the elder twin. But he saw Jacob, he saw Esau going out. He grabbed him by his leg and said, get back, I want to go out first. But Esau was a strong person and got out. So Jacob missed it. The elder position. From that day, he was thinking how to get this elder position back. So one day when Esau was tired, he said, I will give you some soup. Just give me your birth right. And he grabbed it. He was a grabber. He went to his uncle's house. He saw a pretty girl and he wanted to grab her. But his uncle was cleverer than him. I don't have time to show you. He told Jacob, let's have a feast before the wedding. Feast is usually after the wedding. Let's have a feast before the wedding. And he got Jacob thoroughly drunk. Jacob comes to the wedding like this. He can't even see properly. And here is this girl with a veil on her face. This is Rachel. Hold hands and marry her. Rachel, I promise to be true to you. Rachel, I will be faithful to you all my life. They go to the tent to sleep. He is so drunk, he is fast asleep. He is so drunk, he is fast asleep. The next morning when he got up, he said, who is this? He said, Leah, I never wanted to marry her. Yesterday you held hands with her and you married her. So you had to work another seven years to grab the second daughter. He was a grabber, grabber, grabber. He was a grabber, grabber, grabber. He said, Lord, that's what I am. You have to be honest with God. Tell Him what you are. I remember the day God filled me afresh with the Holy Spirit in 1975. I preached there for six months. I was a hypocrite. The Lord said to me that Sunday morning, January 12, 1975, I will never forget it. January 12, 1975, I will never forget it. The Lord said, will you stand up in the church today and say, I am a hypocrite. The Lord said, will you stand up in the church today and say, I am a hypocrite. There was another preacher preaching that day. I heard him in other places. I knew he would give an invitation. I knew he would give an invitation. I am a grabber. I am a grabber. I was waiting for the end of the meeting. He finished the message. He finished the message. He went and sat down. He did not give an invitation. I said, Lord, what will I do now? I said, Lord, what will I do now? Afterwards the Lord told me, the people sitting in the church are bigger hypocrites than you, so I didn't want you to say that in front of them. I just wanted to see if you were willing. I saw you, laid the eyes on the author, your reputation. I gave back to you, I didn't want you to kill that Isaac. That day, a few hours later, God filled me with the Holy Spirit. Suddenly, I found myself speaking in tongues, unexpectedly. I switched back to English. Again, I found myself speaking in tongues. I did not want to. That was the day God turned my life around. But I learned another thing that day. You have to be honest with God and stop being a deceiver. I decided from that day onwards, I will never deceive any group of people I preach. I will never preach what is not true in my life. I have followed that for 41 years. That is the day God said to Jacob, what did he do to him? It says here that God touched the hollow of his thigh, verse 25, and broke it. Here we read, God touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh and broke it. He was walking with a limp for the rest of his life. It says here, God wrestled with him, verse 24. God wrestled with him till the morning. And Jacob was not giving up. God broke his thigh. And he could have said to Jacob, now I have won. But he told Jacob, you have won. Have you understood that? When does God win? When do you win the wrestling match with God? When He breaks you. When He makes you lame. Not when you are strong. I have seen many brothers, they are not broken. That is why their name is still Jacob. They will never be Israel. Because they are still wrestling with God and God is not able to break them. They want a mighty ministry or they want to do something great. It says in Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews 11 is a chapter full of miracles. How Abraham had a son when he was a hundred. How Moses split the Red Sea and took the Israelites out. How the walls of Jericho were pulled down, verse 30. How people shut the mouths of lions, verse 33. How the dead were raised, verse 35. In the midst of all these miracles, you see another miracle. Jacob, verse 21, leaning on the top of his star. What type of miracle is this? What type of miracle is this? Is this the same category of miracle as splitting the Red Sea and pulling down the walls of Jericho? Is this the same type of miracle as splitting the Red Sea and pulling down the walls of Jericho? It is a greater miracle. Because God succeeded in breaking a deceiver and a grabber. The star was a picture of God. Jacob said, I will lean upon him for the rest of my life. What is the difference between Isaac and Jacob? Isaac was never broken. He got everything on a plate. He got all the wealth of his father. He got all the wealth of his father. He got a beautiful bride. His father brought him. His brother tried to kill him. His brother tried to kill him. What do you see Isaac at the end of his life? He says, I love dear curry. He says, I love dear curry. That's what I like. I like that he says to me at the end of his life. Whoever brings me that, I would give him the birthright and blessing. and everything. Even though his mother, God had told Rebecca and Isaac, the younger will be blessed. And to Isaac. But he said, this venison curry makes me feel so nice. Forget about what God said, I'll bless that guy. If you can't fool God, God did not allow it. His eyes were dim. Isaac's. When Jacob came and Jacob said, I am Esau, he felt all the animals came and everything. Oh, this is Esau, yes. And he blessed him. Now see the end of Jacob. You read that in the last chapters of Genesis. His eyes are also dim. He cannot see, he is an old man. And Joseph brings his two sons to him. Manasseh and Ephraim. Manasseh is the older one. So he puts Manasseh near Jacob, the right hand. And Ephraim on the left hand. Manasseh, he crosses his hand and blesses Ephraim. And Joseph said, no, no, no, no. It's a son I know. You've got eyes, I've got spiritual vision. What? How do you get that vision? He was a broken man. This is the lesson he writes, he writes through scripture. Moses, when he was forty-four, God could lead him to deliver the Israelites. He was so strong that with one blow he could kill the Egyptians. And he thought one by one he'd go and kill all the Egyptians and deliver the Israelites. What a fool he was. I've got so much influence in Pharaoh's palace, I will deliver the Israelites. What did God tell him? You are too strong Moses. You are not fit to be a leader. That is what God has told many, many elders and preachers. You are too strong. You are not fit to be a leader. That is what God has told many, many elders and preachers. You are too strong. So God takes him to another university called the University of the Wilderness. And breaks him. How does he break him? He makes him live in his father-in-law's house for forty years. Have any of you lived in your father-in-law's house for even one year? That means your wife's father's house. And worked for your wife's father also in his business. One year is enough to break you. Imagine forty years. He is eighty years old and he is living with his father-in-law. Working for his father-in-law. Doesn't have a tent of his own. This is how God broke him. Who is this man? The man who is going to be the next Pharaoh in Egypt. And at the end of, at the age of eighty, God says, now you are ready. But he is so broken now, he says, no, no, I am not ready. I am just a useless man. You know, I have always said, the number one qualification to be an elder, is to have zero desire to be an elder. If you have a desire to be an elder, you are not fit to be an elder. And if you are an elder and you always want to remain an elder, you are not fit to be an elder. And there are people like that, we have seen in CFC. They became elders. The moment they were asked to step down, they left the church. More than one, in Kerala. You don't know the whole story. Some of these people who left, they left only because they were told to step down and be an ordinary brother in the church. Unrighteousness in money matters. We don't publicize it because we want to protect their testimony. And arrogance and lording it over others, trying to cause a split in the church. And God removes them. It says in Zephaniah chapter 3. In Zephaniah chapter 3, verse 11, you all know where Zephaniah is. If you have been in the church for more than two years and you cannot find Zephaniah, you should hang your head in shame. If you have been in the church for more than two years and you cannot find Zephaniah, you should hang your head in shame. Have you read this book? You will meet Zephaniah in heaven. He will say, I wrote only two pages. Did you read it? You ask him, who are you? I don't know. I hope that won't happen to anybody in CFC. Or when Obadiah comes, he says, I wrote only half a page. Did you read it? Or when Obadiah comes, he says, I wrote only half a page. Did you read it? Read these books before you meet them. Zephaniah 3, verse 11, middle of the verse. I will remove from your midst your proud, exulting ones and you will never again be haughty on my holy mountain or in my church. I will remove from your midst your proud, exulting ones and you will never again be haughty on my holy mountain or in my church. And when I remove those people, verse 12, I will leave among you a humble, lowly people who will take refuge in the name of the Lord. And this remnant will tell no lies. And they will not be hypocrites. And this church, verse 14, can shout for joy because, verse 17, the Lord your God is in your midst. But he has to remove the proud ones first. And he continues to do that. In Acts 2, verse 48, it says, the Lord added to the church. That's the last verse of Acts 2. And here it says, he removes from the church. How do you know the Lord is in the midst of a church? By adding and removing. If he only adds, something is wrong. If he only removes, something is wrong. But when the Lord is in the midst, he adds and removes. Whom does he remove? Not the person who accidentally fell into sin. Not the one who still has not overcome his anger. He can stay. He is still struggling. Those who are defeated by sin can still stay in the church if you are battling it. But the proud person, God will remove him. That's the only person God removes. So you have to be scared only if you are proud, not if you are defeated by sin. If you don't know the Bible, you can still stay in the church. But if you are proud and seeking your own and trying to promote yourself, I can prophesy one day or the other, God will remove you. Because I have seen it happen in many churches in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra in the last 40 years. So what shall I say? Let the Lord break you. Break you like he broke Jacob and Moses and Paul and every true servant of God in these 2000 years. Leave it to him how he does it. There are different ways for doing it with different people. But if God does not break you, he can never fulfill his full purpose through you. So get along with God. Be honest with him about your sin and your condition. Let God break you and hold him and say, I will not let you go unless you bless me. Then he will use you. Don't just say, Lord bless me. Jesus took the 5 loaves and 2 fish, blessed it. Still 5 loaves and 2 fish. Nobody was blessed. But he broke it. 5000 men plus women and children, 10,000 people were fed. What do you learn from that? You let Jesus put his hand upon you and bless you. Most believers pray, Lord bless me, bless me, bless me, bless me. The 5 loaves were blessed, nobody was fed. God has blessed you but nobody is being blessed through you. Because there is one more step. After blessing you, he has to break those loaves. You know God has put a parable in nature. You take a piece of wood and break it, nothing happens. But you take something very very small, very so small that you can't even see it. It's called an atom. And science has found a way to break it. That thing is so small. Bacteria. No, not bacteria. Atom. That atom is so small. The atom of uranium. When it is broken, it can give electricity to a whole city. That is called nuclear power. How does it come? Through brokenness. Small atom broken. That's a parable God has put in nature. You may be the most insignificant, smallest unknown person in the church. Like an atom. But if you let God break you, you will be a blessing not only to your church but to many other churches. I have learned that through my life. Not just in the first 16 years of my being a Christian. It has become a way of life for me. And I say, Lord, I want you to continue to break me. Till the end of my life. I never want to go any other way. This is the way of the cross. Like Jacob leaned upon his staff, I want to lean upon the Lord. And that's how I want to live till the end of my life. You can do that too. God can make you a blessing to hundreds of thousands of people. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, Guru Sanayi Pitabhai, I think of so many wonderful people, young people here. And some wonderful older people too. Tremendously gifted. Who know the Bible. And who know you. But who are not broken. Please help them to know the way of life. The way of power. Let them not be deceived in their Christian life by the devil. Welcome to see these truths in scripture. Following your footsteps. Following false footsteps. The footsteps of every genuine servant of God through the years. We know the way of brokenness is the way of genuine holiness. Thank you in Jesus name. Amen.