This sermon emphasizes the importance of having faith, humility, a pure heart, and love in our Christian walk. It highlights the need to trust God completely, maintain a good conscience, seek Him wholeheartedly, and love others sincerely. The goal is to have a heart that is fully devoted to God, free from jealousy, and overflowing with love for others, leading to a life of victory and effective ministry.

If we believe that God is more eager to bless us than we are to be blessed, I don't know if any of you have a doubt about that. But I want to tell you it's true. God is more eager to bless you than you are to be blessed. God is more eager to answer your prayer than you are with your request. God is more eager that you grow spiritually than you are. God wants every one of his children to be effective and useful in his kingdom. He doesn't want one of us to waste our earthly days. Moses prayed in Psalm 90, Lord, teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. Or like another translation says that we may one day present to you a heart of wisdom, a heart that has learned wisdom through the days we spent on earth. I want to ask you, my brothers and sisters, have you learned some wisdom? Are you learning more and more? Wisdom is God's nature. To learn more and to partake more and more of that is the purpose with which God has placed us on earth. Not just to be a witness for him to the others, but that as we witness concerning him, we ourselves grow in wisdom and partaking his nature. Then we can ask ourselves, why is it that with most believers, and I'm not here to criticize anyone, I'm just making an observation, what I have seen through 47 years of being a believer, the vast majority of believers never seem to make much progress. And even many whom I see 20 years after they are born again, they're still good people. They're still getting 100%. Would you be happy if your son got 100% every year for 20 years in school? Yes. But not if he's sitting in the kindergarten every year and getting 100%. That's what's happening. They're getting 100% but they're not growing. They're in the same class. They're good brothers 20 years ago, they're good brothers today. They're good sisters 20 years ago, they're good sisters today. But they're on the same level. And I thought of this verse in Hebrews 11, which says, God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. In the KJV it says like that. God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. That's not just in that verse. He rewards those who seek him with all their hearts. We speak about wholehearted believers. Even in the Old Testament, the Lord said similar words in Jeremiah chapter 29. And he says here in verse 13, you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. I want to share this with you, my brothers and sisters, that that is the reason why some find him and some don't. And some find more and more of him and some don't. It's all a question of whether you seek him with all your heart. And the circumstances that God allows us to face in our life are the means by which he is able to determine whether we are going to seek, whether we seek him with all our heart or half-heartedly. And those little events along our life's way, where we make decisions either to seek God wholeheartedly in that situation or sort of give him just some corner in our life, determine where we are going to end up twenty years from now, spiritually. And whether we are going to have regret in eternity over the way we lived on earth or we are going to have some satisfaction as we look back over our earthly life. Paul said in 1 Corinthians and chapter 9, an expression that has come to my heart this morning. 1 Corinthians 9, Paul says, I don't run without aim. Just think of that expression for a moment. 1 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 26. Therefore I run in such a way as not without aim. I'm not running without an aim. I've got a goal. I'm aiming for the finishing line and I'm not allowing other things to distract me. That's why that man accomplished so much in such a short life. I think he was converted when he was about 30. Many of us, by God's grace, were converted in our teenage years. Paul didn't have that benefit. He was converted around when he was 30. And he died perhaps when he was around 67. 37 years. What a lot he accomplished. And that person's life challenges me constantly. I've been a believer longer than him. But I haven't accomplished a fraction of what that man accomplished. And I see all the great men of God in history. They ran with an aim. They had a single goal. Paul says in another place in Philippians 3, I press toward the goal. There's only one thing I do, he says. Only one thing. He didn't dabble in ten thousand things or even two things. He says, one thing I do, I'm going to press toward the mark for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. And I want to say, even if you've never been like that till now, I want to encourage you, at least the remaining years of your life, whether they're long or short, determine that you'll do only one thing. The call with which God called you. Paul says in Philippians 3, I want to lay hold of that for which Christ laid hold of me. Think of that expression for a moment. Christ laid hold of me with a certain purpose. I want to lay hold of that before I leave this earth. I was gripped by that when I was 21 years old. And as I look back, I remember I don't regret the way I've lived. If it were not for that, I would have wasted many years of my life. And I want to say to you, brothers and sisters, be gripped by the fact that Christ laid hold of you with a purpose. Every one of you, you are not insignificant. You may be insignificant in the eyes of your relatives, in the eyes of people who work in your office, in your neighborhood. You may live in a little hut. It doesn't make a difference. Jesus lived in a very small little house in Nazareth, but He was not insignificant. He was the most significant person on earth. And I want you to know that you are significant in God's purposes and don't let anybody devalue your importance and don't devalue it yourself. God's got a purpose for you. He laid hold of you in Christ with a purpose. Now, but He can't do it without your cooperation. If God could make us spiritual, please listen to this, if God could make us spiritual without our cooperation, what do you think would be the result today? We would all be like Jesus today. Every single one of us sitting here. And I'll prove that to you from the planets. Think of Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Mercury, Mars, all these planets. They all obey God perfectly. And not just for one or two years. I mean, we find it difficult to obey God for one year. They've been obeying God split-second obedience for thousands and thousands of years. How do they do that? Because God gave them no choice. Mercury and Venus and Saturn and all don't have a choice. Shall I obey God or not obey God? That's why they, you know, like robots and things that are automatically programmed. God could have made Adam like that. He could have made you like that. Well, you don't have a will. Like Saturn and Neptune and Uranus and all these planets, you just go around doing God's will. But God didn't want that. Who wants a robot at home? You fathers, would you have children or robots? Which would you prefer? Robots are obedient. Children are disobedient. Which would you prefer? Tell me. I'd prefer children any day. I had four sons. They were not always obedient as they grew up. But I'd prefer them any day to four obedient robots. And that's how God is. Because in our heart, we still see a little bit of the father heart of God. He says, even if my children are disobedient, I want children. I don't want robots. I don't want millions of planets and stars. I'd rather have one son who chooses me voluntarily, who chooses me above everything that I have created. And he made one like that, Adam, and sent him into the garden to test only one thing. He said, will you choose me above everything I have created? I mean, the test could have even been, Adam, go into the garden and don't touch any tree. Just fast. And prove that you love me. Even that, he should have been willing to do. Sure, Jesus was like that. When he was tested at the end of 40 days, he was hungry, about to die. And the devil says, turn the stones into bread. And Jesus says, no. I'd rather die than disobey God. My father has not permitted me to turn stones into bread. But you'll die. You haven't eaten for 40 days. I'm ready to die. My father is everything to me. That is the exact opposite of Adam. Adam was only told not to touch one tree. And God made it attractive to test him, whether he would choose God above the most attractive thing in the world. I have a feeling that the tree of knowledge of good and evil was the most attractive tree in that garden. God made it like that to test him. Will you choose me above the most attractive thing I have created? Whether it be a tree, or a woman, or a man, or money, or a job, or a house, anything. Adam said no. Eve said no. What do you say? That's the test that faces us every day. You will seek me, and you will find me, when you search for me with all your heart, when I am more important to you than the most beautiful things I've created which you have opportunity to get. Not just evil things. Paul lived at a higher level than just rejecting evil. Let me show you a verse in 1 Corinthians chapter 6. 1 Corinthians 6 and verse 12. All things are lawful for me, and all things are not lawful for you. But not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. You know, when Paul says all things are lawful for me, that's different from some sinner saying everything is lawful for me. Everything in the world is not lawful. But Paul had forsaken everything sinful that he knew to be sinful. Such a man could say among all the things I've chosen now, which I've rejected all sinful things, everything is lawful. But still I don't choose everything that's lawful. You see, the first choice all of us have to make is the choice between what is lawful and unlawful, what is righteous and unrighteous. That's the baby level, Christian baby level choice. As soon as you're born again, you have to discern between good and evil. That is, is this God's will or is this not God's will? I choose between good and evil. This is good. This is evil. I reject evil. That itself is pretty good if you reach that standard where you have rejected everything that's unlawful and you consistently reject everything that's unlawful in your life and choose only what's lawful. But the spiritual man makes one more choice. That's the point. Among this list of lawful things, having rejected everything unlawful, he says now everything that I do is lawful. Within that, I'm making a further choice, he says. Out of all the things that are lawful for me, only 5% is profitable, is edifying, is going to glorify God. I have time in my life only to do 5% among all the lawful things on earth and I choose those. He selects out of all the lawful things the only things he has time for in the light of eternity. And such a man can say at the end of his life like Paul said, I fought a good fight. I think that fight was not only against sin. It's great if we keep fighting against sin and we should. But he was also fighting against the temptation to do a whole lot of lawful things which are not profitable. The temptation to be occupied with so many things which are not evil but which would hinder him from accomplishing God's will for his life. I'm not saying that Paul wouldn't go on a picnic or go to sleep and take rest. No, these things are necessary. We need to relax. We need a little bit of clean entertainment. That's all needed for our bodies because we are not disembodied spirits. We've got a body and we've got to take care of it. I'm not saying Paul wouldn't eat ice cream if it were available. But what I'm saying is he knew that he didn't have time in one life to dabble in so many things. Most of us don't realize that. We have only one life. And I tell you as I grow older it becomes more and more clear to me. Time is running out. Time is short. And I don't have time to dabble in so many things. I don't have time to know all about everything that's happening in the world. I have to concentrate. I have to finish the work God gave me to do before I leave this earth. Paul had that sense. He was gripped by that. What about you? Do you feel God has got a plan for you that there's a work for Jesus that no one on earth can do but you? If you don't do it, you'll miss out on something. God's work will still be done. Somebody else will do what you should have done. And somebody else will get the crown that you should have got. My own conviction as I read Luke chapter 6 is that Judas Iscariot was as wholehearted as Peter, James, or John on the day he was chosen. Because it says there in Luke chapter 6 that Jesus prayed all night and sought the Father. Whom should I choose from my multitude of disciples to be my apostles? And the Father gave him twelve names. God doesn't make a mistake. And we can't accuse God of selecting a crook just to betray Jesus. Don't accuse God of something like that. No. He was wholehearted and there's proof of that. It says in Luke chapter 6 Judas became a traitor. He wasn't a traitor to start with. So clear. He became a traitor it says that in Luke chapter 6. So here was a man whom God had chosen to be an apostle of Jesus just like Peter, James, or John. Do you think God would have had a plan for Judas Iscariot? I believe that. But he never fulfilled it. He was the cleverest of the apostles. I have no doubt about that. I think he had the sharpest brain of all the twelve. The others were mostly fishermen and even Matthew was not as clever as Judas. And the proof that Judas was clever was that he could live for three and a half years with those people day and night and they never discovered he was a crook. Don't you have to be sharp to live three and a half years with people and they don't discover you're a crook? He was really sharp. And my personal conviction, my opinion, was that God's plan was that he should write the epistles. But he missed it. God selected somebody else. I know the apostles threw lots and choose somebody. But God selected Paul to do that job. There's a verse in Revelation chapter 3 which says, and Paul is, the Lord is writing to the church in Philadelphia, which is one of the best of the seven churches, undoubtedly, to the elder who's the best of the seven elders. Now if he said this to a half-hearted elder, it would be different. This was the best messenger of all the seven churches. What does he tell the best of those seven leaders? Many good things. And then he tells him in verse 11, Revelation 3, 11, I'm coming quickly. Hold fast to what you have so that no one takes your crown. Crown is a reward that God's going to give you. God's going to give in eternity. How can somebody else take a crown reserved for me? I'll tell you. There was a crown reserved for Judas. Paul got it. In other words, Paul got his own crown for the ministry God called him for. In addition, he got Judas's too. That's my guess. Otherwise, what does that verse mean? Can somebody take my crown? Sure. See God has called me to do a particular job. I mean, he saved me when I was 19. And God said, okay, I'm going to give you say 50 or 70 years, whatever length of time God's planned for me to do a particular job for me on earth. And I've got a crown for you. He doesn't tell me all that. It's written in scripture. That's how I know. And I play the fool and I take it easy and relax and do my own thing and live to make money. Of course, I'm a good believer. I go to church. I give money for God's work and don't go into any great sin or anything, but I'm not gripped by God having a plan for my life. When I say God has a plan for my life, I'm not talking about full-time Christian work. My guess is, in my opinion again, is that 90% of people in Christian work in India today are not in God's will. They got into Christian work because they didn't get any other job. They couldn't get admission to good colleges, so they went to a Bible college. This is not God's work. 90% of the people I've met are like that. That's why there's no anointing on them. There's no power in them. There's no fire in their life. Because God doesn't anoint people whom he has not called who go into something which they went into, you know, third-rate, useless type of people very often in God's work. Why is that? Jesus never called an unemployed person to be an apostle. Show me in the scriptures. They're all working people who are faithful in their secular job. God said, leave that. Come and serve me. But that's not what we see in India today, unfortunately. But what I say is, if I play the fool like that and don't do what God wants me to do, and if you do like that, I come to the end of my life and I get, and I die, and I'll go to heaven. Sure. My conscience is clear. But I'm not going to get the crown God had for me. Does that mean that that particular ministry which God planned for me to do will not be done? Oh, no. If Judas Iscariot was supposed to write Ephesians, God says, you don't do it, I'll get somebody else to do it. And he'll get you a crown. So I want to say, God's work will still be done. God's work is not going to be hindered because you play the fool and don't do what he wants you to do. I'm just saying somebody else will do it. But it would have been what you should have done. Think when you finally stand before the Lord and the Lord plays you a videotape, not of how you lived, but says, here's a videotape how you should have lived. Here's a videotape of what I wanted to do through you, what I wanted to accomplish through you. I sit there and watch that videotape and I say, boy, what a fool I was to make those empty choices on earth which had no value in eternity. How am I going to feel that day? Many people ask, tell me this, Brezhnev, you're one of those, almost the only person who I hear keep saying you'll have regret in eternity, you'll have regret in eternity. Won't you have regret when you discover somebody else took your crown? When you discover that all your life's work is burnt up in wood, hay and straw and the fire and you're saved? Sure. Some people think if I'm saved and go to heaven, I won't have any regret. I tell you it's not true. Bible says some people are going to be saved, 1 Corinthians 3.15, but all their life's work will be burned because they didn't do what God wanted them to do. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. Paul said, I don't run without an aim. I have an aim and I'm going for that. I want to turn to 1 Timothy and chapter 1 where Paul writing to Timothy says, here is the thing, here is the goal we, all of our preaching is to lead people to this goal, he says. And I want to tell you that goal is not Christian work or evangelism or being a pastor. That's specific ministry God calls different people to different things. I think he calls only 1%, 1% of Christian work of believers to full-time Christian ministry. 99% of God's people are not to be in full-time Christian ministry. That was true in the first century and it's true in the 21st century. And look around and see, there's less than 1% of Christians in full-time ministry. So when we talk about having a goal, we're not talking about full-time ministry. A lot of people in full-time ministry have a lot more time than many of you folks have who have got a secular job to do. But I want to say, do you think God has got no purpose for this other 99%? He's got a purpose for 100% of his believers, of his children. What is the goal? And if you keep this as your goal, I'll tell you, ministry will flow out of you automatically. I found that true more than 40 years of full-time Christian work. Ministry is not a strain. It flows out when you got the right goal. When you make ministry your goal, I want to be a great preacher, I want to be this or that, then it's a strain. But if that's not your goal, but your goal is, I want to be like Jesus. I want to be like Jesus in my life. Ministry flows out automatically. And to clarify, you know, like when we talk about white light, it's split up into seven colors. White consists of violet, indigo, blue, so on. But in the same way, when we talk about becoming like Jesus, we need to split that up and be more specific. What does it consist of? Everybody in the world, all Christians talk about wanting to be like Jesus, but we want to be more specific. And Paul says here, the goal of our instruction, 1 Timothy 1.5, the whole point of everything that we are teaching, in other words, all my preaching, all my teaching is directing people towards one goal. I don't run without aim. This is the goal. This is the aim. This is what we should all aim for. Love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Just think of those four things mentioned there. Love is the ultimate goal. From a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Love from a pure heart, love from a good conscience, and love from a sincere faith. So I just want to look at these. First of all, a good conscience. Let's begin with that because that's where we all have to begin. The first thing a sinner needs when he comes to God is to get his conscience clear. And to get our conscience clear means, it doesn't mean I have to confess all the sins I've committed in my life. That is impossible. Because our memory is not so good that we can remember all the things that we did in our life. The prodigal son, when he came back to his father, he didn't spend ten hours listing all the sins he committed. He said, Father, I've sinned. That's a cop. So I'm not talking about confessing all the sins you've committed. I mean, if there are some really prominent sins that come to your mind, confess them. Maybe three or four or ten. But we don't have to confess all our sins. Anything that's particularly bothering your memory, confess it and finish with it. But the blood of Jesus cleanses us. Now the point is this. A lot of people who when they first come to Christ and confess their sin and get a good conscience, unfortunately, don't maintain a good conscience throughout their life. They start with a good conscience. I know lots and lots of believers who had a very good conscience when they started. But after some time, they develop bitternesses. They sit in a church. They won't talk to somebody. They've got some wrong attitudes towards someone. It's terrible. I mean, it wasn't like that the day they were converted. The day they were converted, they were so ready to go and ask anybody's forgiveness and so ready to confess everything. They were so delighted that Jesus died for a wretch like me. Hey, Lord, I'll do anything. Let's see them ten years later. They've got all these bitternesses. Somebody hurt them and they won't forget that. Somebody cheated them and someone they don't like. It's terrible, isn't it? It's amazing what the devil accomplishes with so many of God's children. Messes up their life. So a good conscience is not something you just start with way back in the beginning. It's something we have to maintain every day. Paul said in Acts 24.16, I do my best to maintain a good conscience always in two directions. Toward God and toward men. That means if I've hurt God, for example, I had a dirty thought. That was a sin towards God, not towards men. I don't have to confess it to men. I immediately clear it. In other words, if you have a dirty thought tomorrow morning, don't wait till the evening to confess it. Immediately. You know why many believers don't get victory over dirty, lustful thoughts? I'll tell you. They don't confess it immediately. I mean, if they were caught in adultery, they'd confess it, but that proves nothing because they were caught. I mean, if a thief is caught by the police and he says, I'm really sorry for having stolen. You don't know whether the guy's really sorry or not. He was caught. He was sorry for being caught, but we don't know whether he is sorry for stealing. Sorry about stealing. I don't know whether he is really sorry about that. And so when you're caught in a sin and you feel so bad about it, oh, how terrible. It doesn't mean that you're really sorry or you've repented. That's where God tests you. He tests you when you have sinned and not a soul knows about it. Not even your wife knows about it. It was in your thoughts. And God said, let me see whether this person fears me enough to confess a sin which nobody saw, nobody knew, and nobody will ever find out. Those are the areas where God finds out whether you fear him or not. And I'll tell you, the vast majority of Christians do not fear God. And that's why they don't become wise. Because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It's the ABC of wisdom. It's like in the kindergarten, they teach you the ABC. Now, if you don't study ABC, you can't study history, you can't study geography, you can't study physics, chemistry, you can study nothing. You've got to start with ABC. And so when it says the fear of the Lord is the ABC of wisdom, it means if you don't start with the fear of the Lord, you're never going to be wise in the things of God. And the fear of the Lord is tested, let me tell you, in those areas in your life where you sin and nobody knows about it. And nobody will ever know about it. You'll never get caught in your whole life. The vast majority of people don't have the fear of God. I mean, the world, we can understand it. The sad thing is a lot of believers don't have the fear of God. And to seek God with all my heart means you shall seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. You see, think of two believers born again on the same day, attending the same church, okay, same opportunities, listening to the same messages, having the same amount of free time, maybe in the same job. 10 years later, why is one way ahead of the other spiritually? It's true, I've seen it before my eyes. It's because that one person, as soon as he sinned, would confess it. Oh, Lord, I'm sorry, that was a dirty thought, that's evil. Or it may be a bitter thought against somebody, some bitterness against someone who did you some harm. Oh, Lord, I don't want that. I want to get rid of it. That person, by battling it, seeking for the help of the Holy Spirit and grace from God, becomes an overcomer. The other guy says, hey, nobody's catching me, it's just my thoughts. You see him 10 years later, sluggish, bitter, sour, hard to get along with, easily offended. And the other guy is becoming spiritual, wholehearted, with a radiance in his face and effective for God. You could have been like that if you had been a little more sensitive in your conscience. And not only toward God, but toward men. I've given this prescription for all people who want to overcome anger. And I don't think the prescription has failed. Many of you, if you're honest, will admit that you haven't been able to overcome anger, even after many years of being a believer, even after being baptized in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. It appears as though the Holy Spirit cannot control your mother tongue. Sad, isn't it? It's true of a lot of people who speak in other tongues, they can't control their mother tongue. I see, I wonder whether that is the Holy Spirit. What type of spirit is it, which controls you and makes you speak in other tongues, but cannot control your mother tongue? I would have put a big question mark on that. Sure. I know when I got baptized in the Holy Spirit, one of the things that happened in my life, my mother tongue began to get under control. More and more, not all of a sudden, as I yielded more and more and more and more. I found I got a control over my tongue. And that is a mark of spiritual growth. You know, in the olden days, way back a hundred years ago, if you went to a doctor and you said you had fever or you were sick, you know what he'd say? Stick out your tongue, let me have a look at it. I'll tell you. He could look at a tongue and say whether you're sick or not. It's the same spiritually. Let me see your tongue. Tell me how you use it at home. I'll tell you whether you're spiritual or not. It's that giving a recording of your speech when people don't know you all the time, if you're a recorder working all the time. That's a pretty good indication of whether you're spiritual or not. Now here's a prescription. Every time you get angry with someone, sinful anger, I mean, and you realize afterwards that was wrong. I'm not asking you to go by my standards. Your own conscience tells you that was wrong. It was rude. It was evil. It was unchristlike. Go, confess it to God. Say, Lord, that was wrong. That was sinful anger. That was not righteous indignation or anger. That was sinful anger. I confess it. Please forgive me. And here's the difficult part. Go to the person you got angry with, not tomorrow, the same day, not even in the evening, as early as possible. If the person is not there, make a phone call and say, I'm sorry for the way I spoke. Please forgive me. Okay? Maybe six hours later, you get angry again with the same person. Does that happen? Does it happen in your home sometimes? Do the same thing again. Say, oh, it's so shameful to go to the same person again six hours later and say, I'm sorry. Is it shameful? You'll never get victory over anger. Twenty-five years later, you'll still be struggling. You won't take the prescription. There are people who are given a prescription by a doctor, they don't take it and they say, doctor, I'm not healed. You'll never be healed. I told you to take it three times a day and you took it once in six days. How are you going to be healed? Take this prescription and tell me in one year whether you're not delivered. I guarantee you'll be delivered. You won't be delivered tomorrow because the pit is so deep in which you have sunk. But do it. Do what Paul says, I keep my conscience clear toward God and toward man always. That's a clear conscience. Second thing mentioned here is a sincere faith. Faith. I'm not talking about faith for bigger houses and bigger cars. Jesus never came and said, I'll give you a bigger chariot if you trust me. Or I'll give you a bigger house if you trust me or a better job. Where do we find that? That's Old Testament. Deuteronomy 28, it says you obey me and I'll prosper you and I'll give you a lot of money and I'll make sure that your enemies don't defeat you, etc, etc. But we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Not in earthly places. Ephesians 1.3. Moses said, I'll bless you in earth. God says, I'll bless you in earthly places in Canaan. People haven't made that shift from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. That's why they're occupied with all these earthly things. Does that mean God doesn't care for our earthly things? He certainly does. I've proved Him in over 40 years. If I seek God's kingdom first, whatever is necessary for me, He adds on to me. Do you know who's a rich man? Here's a definition of a rich man. Not a person who's got a large bank account, because if that's the case, God is not rich. He doesn't have a big bank account. Not a man who's got a lot of money in his wallet. God doesn't even have a wallet. God is the richest person in the universe, even financially. The mark of a rich person, let me show you from scripture, is Revelation chapter 3, verse 17. You say, I'm rich. I have become wealthy. I have need of nothing. Did you get that? The mark of a rich, wealthy person is, I don't need anything. God says that. He doesn't have a bank account. He doesn't have a wallet. He says, I need nothing. And if you are a person who says, God has given me enough for me. I need nothing. You are a rich man. You are the richest man in Bangalore. Godliness with contentment is great gain. And I tell you some people who get 10% of your salary are richer than you, because they are content. They have need of nothing. That's a rich man. That's why Jesus was a rich man. He didn't have much of this world's goods, but he had need of nothing. That's the way we are to be. So I'm not talking about faith for material things. God gives us enough for our needs. But I'm talking about faith for the things that God has promised. God promised Abraham a son. And he got it 25 years later when he was 100 years old. He couldn't have trusted. I mean today a 90 year old man can't say, Oh God, you gave Abraham a son. Give me a son. Well, you can have a son if God promised him to you. Not otherwise. So faith, the Bible says Romans 10, 17, Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. Faith is based on a specific promise that Jesus gave. Why do I know that my sins are forgiven? Because of a promise. Why do I know that I'll spend eternity with the Lord in heaven? Because of a promise. And certain things God will not give us now. He'll give us in eternity like you've often said. Like I've often said to you, one day you will see me, believe it or not, with a full head of hair. I promise you, you'll see me if you come where I'm going. That's important also. When Jesus returns, but you won't see me before that with a full head of hair, no matter how much I trust God, no matter how much I have faith, because it's not promised in Scripture. But the Bible says one day, you know, it's promised to me in Scripture that one day my body will be like his. And he wasn't bald. And I'll tell you another thing, I won't be wearing glasses in heaven either. Because my body will be like his. But not yet. Not yet. I can trust God as much as I like and I may still have to wear glasses till the end of my life. I'm not having faith for all these silly, unnecessary things. I'm trusting God for more serious things like sin shall not rule over you. Romans 6.14. I want no sin to rule over me. No sin. I'll tell you honestly, I'd rather have backache, headache and stomachache all my life than have anger rule over me. God is my witness. I'm not saying I want those. I don't want those either. But I'm saying if I have a choice, I'd rather choose backache, stomachache and headache together than anger or lust or love of money. I don't want a bit of love of money in my life. I'd choose perpetual migraine over the love of money. Would you say that? Would you say, Lord, I'd rather be completely free from the love of money even if I have to have a migraine all my life. You have to make a choice. Lord, I seek you more than anything on this earth. All that you have created. I have faith that you will do this for me. Faith that everything God has promised in Scripture will be mine. We are more than conquerors in all these things. It says in Romans 8.37. Lord, I want that to be true in my life. In every trial, tribulation, distress, persecution, hatred, bitterness, I'm going to come out as a conqueror. I want to have faith for that. I don't want faith for some silly thing like a four bedroom house or a bigger car or something like that. No, I don't want faith for those things. I want faith for the things that will last for eternity. That's sincere faith. I want to tell you one little thing about faith. You know, Jesus was very surprised when He saw two things. Can you imagine Jesus being surprised at something? It says He marveled when He saw the centurion's faith in Matthew 8. And in Mark 6 it says He marveled at people's unbelief. The two things that surprised Jesus when He was on earth. Faith and unbelief. That's all. And you know when He sees unbelief in you, He's really sorry. And when He sees faith in you, He's really excited. Because He's the same yesterday, today and forever. And I noticed two people in the Gospels. It really challenged me. Whose faith was fantastic. And Jesus was so thrilled when He saw their faith. And the interesting thing is, both those people were not Jews. In today's terms, not Christians. Maybe Hindus. Do you think Jesus would be excited to see faith in a Hindu? Or are you so prejudiced? You know, the Roman centurion was no different from a non-Christian. The Syro-Phoenician woman who prayed that the demon would be cast out of her daughter was living in Tyre and Siloam. Non-Jew. They manifested more faith that Jesus Himself said about the centurion, I have never seen such faith in all of Israel. Sure. It can happen today. That somebody who's in some denomination that you don't think is very spiritual may manifest more faith in God than you who got all the right doctrines. God is no respecter of persons. And that Roman centurion, these two were the only ones I see. The Roman centurion said, Lord, you don't have to come to my house. You speak the word here, 25 miles away, my servant will be healed. Jesus said, I've never seen such faith. Most people think only if I come and touch that person, he'll be healed. This man says, no, 25 miles away, just speak the word here, the disease will go. And the other woman also said the same thing. You know, the Lord tested her. Listen, I can't give children's bread to the dogs. And she said, okay, give me a crumb. A crumb is enough to cast the demon out of my daughter. That's faith. I don't need a whole loaf of bread, Lord. One crumb. But what was the similar thing in both these people? That's the thing that came to my heart, which I wanted to point out. You know what the Roman centurion said? Lord, I am not worthy that you should come to my house. If Jesus came and knocked at the door of your house, would you say that? No, you'd say, come in Lord. Not the Roman centurion. Lord, you are such a holy person. I'm not worthy that you should come to my house. So just speak the word here itself. Humility. What about the Syrophoenician woman? When the Lord said, I can't give children's bread to the dogs. Yes, Lord, I'm a dog. Humility. In both cases, where Jesus was surprised at their faith, the common factor was humility. Do you know that humility goes along with real faith? Wherever there is humility, there is faith. Wherever a person takes a low position, Lord, I'm nothing. Where there is respect, what tremendous respect that Roman centurion and Syrophoenician woman had for Jesus. We're living in a day when people have lost respect. Children don't respect their parents. In the world, people don't respect secular authorities. And they don't even respect servants of God. I've noticed that in my life through the years. God is my witness that from my youngest age, I have always honored and respected every genuine servant of God I have met in my life, whatever denomination they were in. I don't mean all the crooks. I mean genuine servants of God whom I saw God attest their ministry. I've always honored them more than anybody on earth. Why? Because of the word of Jesus. I don't know whether you read this verse. In John chapter 12, Jesus said in verse 26, last part, if anyone serves me, my father will honor him. If God honors somebody, I won't honor them. And I want to tell you, it's gone well with me through all these 47 years because I've honored those whom God honors. But it's not true today. Today, people are so disrespectful and talk so lightly and so carelessly without respect. It is a proof and evidence that they don't respect Jesus also. Because you don't respect Jesus' representative, how in the world are you going to respect Jesus himself? And therefore, faith is not there. Faith and humility go together. So if you find a lack of faith in yourself for the promises of God in scripture, if you don't have faith that you can live a life that rejoices always and is overcoming, perhaps the reason is you don't have humility. The next thing it says there in 1 Timothy chapter 1 is a pure heart. Now a pure heart is different from a good conscience. A pure heart means a heart that has got place for nothing and no one but God. No place for your father, mother, wife, children, job, house, nothing. In fact, that's the first commandment. You must love me with all your heart, soul, strength and mind. Now if I love God with all my heart, where is that place for my wife or children or job or ministry or anything? It's God. And you say, you mean to say brother Zach that I'm not supposed to love my wife? You'll love your wife better when you love God with all your heart. Yeah. If you love God with all your heart, you'll never raise your voice at your wife 365 days of the year. Do you want a life like that? Your wife certainly wants it. Love God with all your heart. That's the way. Why do husbands and wives yell at each other who say they love each other? They don't love God with all their heart. They don't. A pure heart is one where you love God. You're not afraid of losing your job. You're not afraid of starving. You're not afraid of anything because you love God with all your heart. There's no place in it for job. God gives you a job, that's okay, but you're not going to love that. You can take it away. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away, that's fine. God will give you something better. I want to say to you, my brother, sister, if you want to live a happy life, if you want to have a peaceful life at home, love God with all your heart. Don't leave room in your heart for a love for anyone or anything. That's a pure heart. Now a lot of people have a good conscience, who don't have a pure heart. What did Jesus say? Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see only God. Wherever they look, what do they see? God. They look this side, they see God. You know, in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Judas Iscariot came to betray Jesus, Peter saw Judas Iscariot. Ah, this crook, the Roman soldiers, but who did Jesus see? The Father. He didn't see the soldiers, he saw the cup which the Father has given me. I don't care which postman brings the cup. I see the Father here. Send me a cup to drink, great, I'll take it. You'll see God everywhere. You'll see God when Roman soldiers are surrounding you. You'll see God when Judas comes to betray you, because your heart is pure. But if your heart is not pure like Peter's, you see Judas and you take out your sword to chop off his head. Blessed are the pure in heart. This is the third thing, and finally, love. The ultimate goal of all this is that I can have a heart where I love people, where I'm not jealous of people. If you are jealous of one person on the face of the earth, I want to say, you don't love. It's like saying, I love everybody else brother, but this one person, you're a bit jealous. He's got a better job than you perhaps, or a better house than you, or his children are doing better than you, or he's got a better looking face than you, or whatever it is. You may be a very good person in every other way, or you're like a person who's made a beautiful chicken curry with only one dead lizard inside it. Oh dear. You say, but brother Zach, it's a beautiful curry. I say, no thank you, I'm not feeling hungry right now. That's how God says, when he sees your heart so good, so zealous, so this, that, and the other, you've got jealousy, just one dead lizard against one person. Are you like that? Get rid of it. Get rid of it. Why do you want to spoil everything with one dead lizard? There's a lot of jealousy. Do you know what was the first sin committed outside the Garden of Eden mentioned in the Bible? Jealousy. Cain was jealous of Abel. God said, Cain, you know why your face is like this? Why you can't look me straight in the face? You've got jealousy. Can you look at people straight, cheerfully in their face? Why is it you can't look cheerfully and bright eye to eye with certain people? I'll tell you. You're walking the way of Cain. Your face has fallen because you've got jealousy. Cain didn't listen, and you may not listen. You know what happened to Cain? Be careful it doesn't happen to you. The goal of all our instruction and all our teaching is that we might ultimately end up with a heart that's made perfect in love towards all human beings, starting with a little church. Like Mother Teresa said, Jesus didn't ask us to love the whole world. He asked us just to love one another. Isn't that good? I mean the world, just leave that brother. That'll come maybe a hundred years later. But let's start with loving one another. That's great. I love that. You don't have to love the whole world. Just love that person whom you meet and that other person who sits next to you and the other person in the church whom you're a bit jealous of. And if you find it difficult, ask the Lord to help you. Lord, I really want this in my life. I want to love you Lord Jesus, and I want to love others. In fact, the Bible says if you don't love one another, you can't love a God who's invisible. The person whom you can see, and like I've often said, do you love the brothers and sisters in Argentina? Oh yes. You love the brothers and sisters in Russia? Oh yes. And so many countries people I love. I love the brothers and sisters in the Philippines and Hawaii and Africa and Congo and Ghana. Who do you find difficult to love? Even a lot of believers in Bangalore I love. But this few people sitting in my church. To such people John says, if you can't love the brother whom you see, the sister whom you see, don't fool yourself that you love God. Paul said, I don't run without an aim. I've got an aim. I'm running for something. I want to have a clear conscience. I want to have a sincere faith. I want to have a pure heart, and I want to love everyone. And what about ministry that will automatically flow out of you like rivers of living water. Let's pray. Let's bow our heads.