In this sermon, the speaker discusses the characteristics of the Apostle Paul, emphasizing that he did not possess physical attractiveness but was chosen by God to be a mighty Apostle. The speaker highlights the difference between the old covenant and the new covenant, explaining that in the old covenant, people had to follow commandments, while in the new covenant, God's love and grace are emphasized. The speaker encourages the audience to meditate on God's love and rejoice in it, and to share this truth with others. The sermon concludes with the message that no matter how much of a mess one has made of their life, God can bring transformation and create something beautiful out of it.

So now we come to our last session, and I was thinking, how shall we conclude this? Messages, the missing messages in Christendom. I want to speak a little bit about the New Covenant, and especially to those who feel they have failed in many areas of their lives, in the things that they have heard in these days. There can be a feeling, well, I've made such a mess of my life. I've done so many things wrong. I never submitted to discipline before I was 35 years old. I wasted my life. I didn't bring up my children right. Some of them are not converted because of that. I did this wrong. I did that wrong. Particularly those of us who are older. And then some of you who are young people may say, boy, I wish I had known all this, and listened a little more to my parents. I've messed up my life. Is there hope for me? And the devil is quick to say, no, there is no hope for you. You are useless. You've blown it, man. The opportunity you had is gone. You know, if that's all we have to say from this pulpit, then I'd say the Gospel is a pathetic Gospel. But it isn't. The Gospel gives hope to every single man who is living, and woman, and child. As long as there's life, there's hope. And no matter how much of a mess you've made of your life in any area, I can say to you, in Jesus' name, that God can make a new heavens and a new earth out of that rotten earth that you read in Genesis 1 was without shape, without form, void. The Bible begins with an earth that has made a mess of itself. That's how the Bible begins. Isn't that great? The Bible doesn't begin with a perfect earth, except in verse 1. Verse 1 is a perfect earth, and verse 2 is an earth that's made a mess of itself. And we read there, the Spirit of God brooded. The word is brooded. And brooded is the picture of a mother hen putting its wings around the little chicks, brooding, protecting. The Spirit of God is pictured like a mother in the very first paragraph of Scripture. Because God is a father and a mother. And the Spirit of God brooded means like a mother hen. Jesus said to Jerusalem, How often I would have gathered you like a hen gathered its chicks under its wings. So, God is brooding over little helpless chicks that are unable to stand on their own feet, and unable to walk, and readily pray for vultures and eagles that will come and pick them up. And the mother hen is there, the Holy Spirit is there to protect us. And what we read in the first chapter of the Bible, is that God can take that shapeless, empty, dark earth and produce something so beautiful, that even when He examines it, He says on the last day, the sixth day, it's very good. Now, the question is whether you have faith for it. When you look at the wrong things you did in your life, and we all have done wrong things, first of all, we must believe that if we confess our sins, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our sins. And the devil may tell us, well, there are certain big ones. What about those big terrible things where you hurt other people too? You know, Paul murdered some Christians. Can you imagine how he felt when he was having a meeting and that man's mother is sitting there, and he knows he murdered that woman's son. Can you imagine how he felt when he stood in the pulpit? Did he feel, oh, I can't say anything, I better go and sit down? No. In his days of ignorance, he murdered that poor mother's child. That mother is without a son now because this guy, preacher, murdered him. But he did it in his days of ignorance. And he believed in the blood of Jesus Christ, who had cleansed it so thoroughly, that today he could stand up and speak as though he had never murdered anybody. That is faith. Faith is to believe the word of God. When it says that the blood of Christ, Romans 5.9, has justified you, it means that it is just as if, justified means just as if, you had never sinned in your whole life. You know how I stand here today? I believe I speak with authority. Because I believe, in God's eyes, I have never sinned for 67 years. That's what gives me boldness. You think I've never sinned? You may think I've sinned. God considers me as not having sinned because I believe in the blood of Jesus Christ. I honor that blood. You may not honor that blood so much. Too bad for you. I honor it. I believe exactly what God says about the blood of Christ. Some of you, you think you're humble when you say, oh, I'm such a sinner. You're not a humble, you're just an unbeliever. You're a man who's dishonoring God because God says something, the blood of Christ has cleansed you, and you say, no, no, no, it hasn't. You're a liar, calling God a liar. Stop calling God a liar. Even if you want to be miserable, go and be miserable, but stop calling God a liar and saying the blood of Jesus Christ has not cleansed sins that you have confessed. At least stop doing that. If you want to live your miserable life, go and live your miserable life, but stop calling God a liar. Your life will be supremely happy when you say that God speaks the truth. When He says He loves me, He loves me. When He says that my sins are all forgiven, they're all forgiven. It's the people who keep on saying the devil is speaking the truth, God is a liar. The devil is speaking the truth, God is a liar. They are the people who are miserable. They deserve to be miserable. They deserve to go to hell for glorifying the devil. After all that Jesus did for them on the cross, they still call the devil truthful when he tells them, Oh, you're a terrible sinner. Oh, you have committed the unpardonable sin. Do you know how many people in the world I meet, different places, Oh, Brother Zach, I feel I've committed the unpardonable sin. Who told them that? The devil. They keep on believing the devil and they reject what God's word says. Well, they deserve to be miserable until they will humble themselves and say, God is speaking the truth and the devil is a liar. That's all you've got to say. I'll tell you something. If you don't learn anything else in this conference, just learn this, that God speaks the truth and the devil is a liar. I've told the devil numerous times, You're a liar. You were defeated by my Savior on the cross. You can't touch me. In the early days, he used to harass me so many times because I didn't know my authority. I even felt his physical pressure once, about 30-40 years ago. But now, he's scared of me because I became spiritual? No. Because I just started believing God. He'll be scared of you. The devil will be scared of you if you believe God. He doesn't want people to believe God. We live by faith, not by gritting our teeth and determining. No. What about if you sinned this morning? Will the blood of Christ cleanse you? When does it cleanse you? After you've spent one week in remorse? If we confess our sins and we spend one week in remorse, He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins? Where's that? Don't add to Scripture. When the Bible says, When you add to Scripture, you call God a liar. There's a verse in Proverbs that says, Don't call God a liar. I say that to you because you'd say, You're a liar. So it's very simple, really. Faith is the secret. You know, one day, some of you who may not listen to me, I hope you'll all listen to me, but if somebody's sitting here who still will not listen after all that I've said, that God can make a wonderful thing out of you, the mess you've made of your life, you may be like that earth in Genesis 1, 2, shapeless, empty, dark, good for nothing, and I tell you in Jesus' name, Genesis 1 tells you you can end up as very good and you don't believe it? Okay, what can I do? I can't catch you by the neck and make you believe Him and Almighty God won't do that. God doesn't even stop people from going to hell. But He tells you, you have the opportunity to believe right now. And if you trust God, I can tell you in Jesus' name, you will be healthy in spirit, soul, and body. Because your mind affects your body. I know the days when I didn't have faith, I was sick. Some of you don't know, before we started the church, my wife and I used to live in Belor and it was not a good place for me to travel from, so we prayed, shall we go to Madras or Bangalore? We knew more people in Madras, so we considered the two possibilities and God very clearly led us to Bangalore. We came here to Bangalore in April 1972 and we thought we would work among students because that's where I was working, among students. I had no interest in building the church or anything. I never knew anything about building the church. So I thought we'd work among students, but there was not much opportunity to work among students in Bangalore. We had this home that God gave us amazingly. And oh, I was sick with asthma every night. Particularly in the months of July, August, September, I'd sit up, wheeze and wheeze and wheeze. I couldn't sleep. I had to sit up in a chair. People told me, Zak, Bangalore is the worst place in India for asthma sufferers. You better move out of this city. And we had just moved here. And my wife was a doctor, but she couldn't help me. What can you do for a man who's got asthma? I sat there and used to get these pumps where you spray something into your mouth so you get a little relief to breathe for some time and the effect of that wears out. Again, you're wheezing and you can hear the sound of the wheezing. And I thought I'd live for the next years like this, never able to sleep at night, pumping my mouth and sit like this and like this and like this and like this. I decided to trust God. God filled me with the Holy Spirit and healed me completely. I can go out today in the winter, driving a scooter without even a jacket. Come home, I'm all right. I'm wise. I don't try to expose myself. I mean, if I go around breathing animal dander and house dust, I still get sneezing and a little watering in my eyes. But I can sleep perfectly at night. I can sleep in a car. I can sleep in a bus. I can sleep in a train, in a plane. I can sleep in any bed in any part of the world. I can sleep on the floor today. No problem. You know, faith makes a difference. I'll tell you that. You wouldn't believe that. You trust God and say, Lord, I want to glorify you. You don't want me to be sick and be a burden to other people. No. I want to be healthy. In Jesus' name. Jesus died for me. My spirit, soul and body. It says in 1 Thessalonians 5.23, May God... It's a beautiful verse. 1 Thessalonians 5.23. It says, May the God of peace sanctify you entirely. 1 Thessalonians 5.23. And may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. That means, till the coming of Christ, God is going to preserve. He's not saying, you preserve yourself. I can't. The God of peace will preserve my spirit, soul and body until the coming of Christ. And it's the God of peace again who crushes Satan under my feet. Romans 16.20. And who preserves my body. I've discovered one thing. One of the great things that delivered me from asthma was coming to rest in my mind. I had so many tensions. I had to cast them on the Lord. And say, Lord, I'm not fit to carry any burdens. I cast them all upon You. And as I consciously cast them and kept them on the Lord and refused to take any burdens on my mind, peace came into my heart and mind. And that brought healing. There's a very close connection between peace in the mind and healing in the body because mind and body are connected. You know, people who are always worried get ulcers in their stomach. How's that? It's got nothing to do with the food. It's this constant worry and anxiety. Ask God to preserve you. The God of peace. You know, heaven is full of peace. He wants you to have peace. He knows that we live in a world where there's anxiety and so many things to worry about. Particularly when something happens in our family. You say, how can we not worry about? But your worry doesn't solve the problem. Don't you realize that? And don't you realize that 99% of the things you worry about will never happen? Have you noticed that? 99% of the things you worry about never happen. I remember the... I'll never forget one brother from Kerala was speaking at one of our conferences here in Bangalore. And he told a story. He told a story of a mother looking at her little two-year-old girl playing on the ground. And she was so worried. And somebody asked, why are you worried? And she said, I'm wondering when my little girl grows up and gets married, how her mother-in-law will treat her. I'll never forget that. When this two-year-old grows up, how will her mother-in-law treat her after she gets married? I'm sure she grew up and had a very happy marriage. But this mother was worried, worried, worried. She probably got ulcers in her stomach too. Absolutely unnecessary. 99% of things people worry about don't happen. Leave it with the Lord. Cast your burden upon the Lord. The Bible says, roll it on the Lord. And say, Lord, it's too much for me to carry. I will not carry it. Now, don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying this is the reason for all the sicknesses in the world. It's not. There are many people born blind, people who have polio, people who have so many sicknesses. It's not because of sin. John chapter 5 tells us, a man was lame for 38 years and Jesus told him, it's because of your sin. He told him that. He said, don't sin again, otherwise something worse than this will happen to you. But in John chapter 9, there was a man who was born blind and the disciples said, whose sin was this? Jesus said, this is nobody's sin. Not his, nor the father's. So I see there are John 5 type of sicknesses and John 9 type of sicknesses. John 5 is sickness caused by sin. John 9 is sicknesses which have got nothing to do with sin. Because we live in a world which is cursed, you may get the flu, you may get a fever, I may get it. It may have nothing to do with sin. It's just that we live in a world if a thorn pokes your foot, it doesn't mean you have sinned. It just means you are living in a world under the curse. When you perspire, it's not because of sin. It's because we are living in a world under the curse. When we die, it's because we live in a world under the curse. So I'm not saying that every sickness is due to that, but what I say is, let's eliminate the sicknesses that are due to not trusting God to preserve me, my spirit, soul and body. At least we would have eliminated, even if it's only 10% of the sicknesses, let's eliminate those 10%. That's all I'm saying. So, it doesn't matter what mess you've made of your life in the past, I want you, dear brothers and sisters, will you trust God with me today, that God will make a new beginning in your life today. Say that to the Lord in your heart, Lord, I'm really trusting you today. You're going to make a new beginning in my life. There are areas in my life I'm defeated, but you're going to help me. There are sicknesses I have which I want to be healed from. There are tensions and anxieties, I don't know how to get rid of them, Lord. I hear this, but I don't know how to cast them on you. Please help me. Even that you can ask the Lord. Lord, I really don't know what this business is of casting anxiety upon you. I try to cast it on you, it comes back to me. Lord, help me, I don't seem to understand this. Ask God. Say, Lord, I don't know. It's like a child says, Mommy, I can't do this multiplication. I don't know how to do it. I don't think I'll ever get it right. I did 25 sums and every one of them is wrong. And you say, Listen, my son, don't give up. I did 100 sums and got it wrong before I got it right. So, you're okay. Just work on it. Work on it. And one day, your son's so excited. Mommy, I get all my sums right now. And one of these days, you'll understand what it is to cast your burden on the Lord. Don't give up. Don't give up. Cast your burden upon the Lord. Trust Him. I used to hear this as a young man. These type of things. And I tried to do it. It didn't work. Till one day, I discovered. You know, it's like victory over sin. You battle it and you say, This is God's will for me. I don't care how long it takes. That's how Jesus taught us to pray. In fact, that's one of the marks of faith. Let's turn to Luke chapter 18. Luke chapter 18. He speaks about faith. And faith is one of the great things in the New Testament. Luke chapter 18. He concludes with this phrase. Verse 8. When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? What is the mark of faith? You read in the previous verses. A poor widow who was being oppressed by the devil. Oppressed, oppressed, oppressed, oppressed. And she came to a judge and said to the judge, verse 3, Give me legal protection from my enemy. My rights are being violated. Protect me. And the judge didn't bother. She kept on going. Finally, he said, Okay, I'll do something. And he gave her protection. And Jesus said, Did you listen to what the unrighteous judge said? Verse 6. And don't you think God will bring justice for you? He's elect. Who do what? Who cry to Him day and night. That means, it doesn't mean literally crying. It means many times I go back to God and say, Lord, I'm not going to give up on this. I asked you for victory over sin. I tell you, I'm not going to give up if it takes 10 years or 20 years. Lord, I asked you for physical healing. I'm not going to give up. I'm going to ask you for it if it takes 10 years or 20 years. I asked you to baptize me in the Holy Spirit and fire. You... I'm not going to give up, God. I'm not going to give up. If you think I'm going to give up, you're mistaken. I'm not going to give up till I'm actually filled with the Holy Spirit and fire. I know I have a tremendous problem understanding this baptism in the Holy Spirit because I grew up in a denomination that told me that such things don't exist. So it's a bigger battle for me. Or some of you may say, I grew up in a denomination where they had all types of counterfeit experiences which helped nobody. Whatever your background is, say, Lord, I want the real thing and I'm going to get it. I'm not going to give up till you give it to me. You're going to make me a useful servant of God in your church. That is your will for me. You're a useful member of your body. I'm not going to drift along like a passenger in the train. I'm going to start driving the train. I'm going to help. I'm going to be a blessing in the church I belong to. You've got to speak positively because that is God's will for you. When you, you know, to confess the truth means to say the same thing that God says. If God says, I will make you a blessing, you say that, Lord, I'm going to be a blessing. Because your word says that. That's your will for me. When it says in the Bible, He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire, take that promise and say, of course He's going to baptize me in the Holy Spirit and fire. You read a verse like we said earlier, all your children will be discipled by the Lord. Great! I have two children, four children, six children, seven children, eight children. All of them are going to be discipled by the Lord. And I'm going to do my part, of course. But, I believe that. It's faith that makes the difference. If you trust Him and say, Lord, it's going to happen. You're going to do that in my life. Because your promise says so. Your word says so. I'm going to claim that promise. And it's going to be true in my life. Go to some promise in the New Testament. This widow went on again and again and again and again and again and got it! Are you being oppressed by the enemy like this widow? In some area in your life, the devil is oppressing you with memories of your past failure, depression because you've messed up your life, anxious thoughts about your children or your family, or guilt about somebody whom you hurt and harmed. You say, how can I ever rectify that? Or maybe you're in such terrible debt. You say, well, I don't know when in the world I'll ever be able to clear my debt. I tell you, the one message I get from the Gospels is God can solve every problem. I love to tell people that. God is always on your side against the devil. I don't care if you're the biggest crook. God is always on your side against the devil. If you're proud, He'll resist you. But He will never get on the side of the devil. That's for sure. God can never be on the same side as the devil. God is always against the devil. And wherever you are in between them, it makes no difference. God is still against the devil. So if you ask God for help against the devil, He's always on your side against the devil. Even when you've made a mess of your life. Has the devil put something on you? Or your family? Do you think God will help you to get rid of it? Of course He will. He's on your side. Trust Him. Say, Lord, I believe that. You're on my side against the devil. Don't glorify the devil by saying, oh brother, the devil's doing this to me, he's doing that to me, he's harassing me here, he's harassing me there. You know, I met a pastor once who said, oh brother Zach, some years ago, this neighbor of mine did some witchcraft on me, and I was knocked out in bed for so many months, I was lying in bed. I said, where was Jesus Christ all that time? Was He dead? You know, one of the most glorious truths in the Bible is that Jesus Christ is risen. We are to be a living demonstration to the world around us that we have a living Savior, not a dead one. The other leaders of religions are dead and gone, but we have a living Savior. And your life and my life must demonstrate to the world around us that we have a Christ who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If you want to have a favorite verse, here it is. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. What He did for others, He'll do for you. He has not changed. He is living. Like Paul says, if Christ did not rise from the dead, then 1 Corinthians 15, we are the most miserable people in the whole world. You and I are just fooling ourselves if Christ did not rise from the dead. All these wonderful teachings and all are useless if Christ did not rise from the dead. The one thing that distinguishes Christianity from all the other religions in the world is that Christ rose from the dead. He's living. And even if you feel so weak, that you say, oh brother, I don't even have the faith to persist like that widow. Ask God for that. What is it you can't go to God and ask for? Lord, I don't even seem to be able to persist. Lord, help me. He's a Father who'll help you. He's not a director. He's a Father. You can have a relationship with Him that nobody had in the Old Testament times. Come to Him with faith. You're missing so much in your life. It's all free. If you come with faith and say, Lord, I'm not going to give up until you give me this. You know, God will test you. We read in the Old Testament in Genesis chapter 32 how God came in the form of an angel and struggled with Jacob because He wanted to bless him. Genesis 32 verse 24 Jacob was left alone and a man wrestled with him. God came in the form of a man, not physically, in some type of vision and struggled with Jacob. And, you know, God could have crushed Jacob with one blow, but He allowed Jacob to struggle with him for a long time just to teach him a lesson. Jacob, you're struggling against Me. That's why I can't bless you. Just stop struggling, man. Stop struggling. Just submit to My discipline. Submit to what I'm telling you to do. But the struggle goes on and on and on and on and on. Finally, He says, Okay, I've got to break you. He dislocates his thigh. And Jacob suddenly becomes weak. And do you know what are the wonderful truths in the Bible is? When I am weak, then I am strong. Jacob, he was a strong man, maybe 50-60 years old. In those days, 50-60 was very strong because they lived up to 180. It was like today's 30-year-old man or 25-year-old man. Imagine a 25-year-old man who's dislocated and who's going to walk with a cane. How would you feel if you were 25 years old and you had to walk with a cane? That's what God did to Jacob. And He said to him, Jacob, I have to break you. Okay, I've broken you, verse 26. Let me go. The sun is rising, I have to go. And Jacob says, I will not let you go unless you bless me. That's what God was waiting to hear from him. Do you think God wanted to let him go? He said, I'll let you go to test him to see whether the fellow would let him go. And sometimes God will test you. You asked for something, you didn't get it. You asked for it again, you still didn't get it. And God says, let me go. And you say, what do you mean let you go? I'm not going to let you go till you answer this prayer. I've asked you for the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I'm not going to let you go. I asked you to give me victory over this habit of mine. Lord, I'm not going to let you go. I asked you to heal me of this sickness. I'm not going to let you go. I asked you to make me a blessing in the church. I'm not going to let you go. I will not let you go unless you bless me. My brother, sister, take that word with you. Take that word with you and use it regularly before God. It's from scripture. I will not let you go unless you bless me. Do you believe God wants to bless you? Of course He does. Galatians 3.14 says, the blessing of Abraham is not only for Jacob, it's for me. That He will make me a blessing to all the families of the earth. God wants to make you a blessing to all the families of the earth by blessing you. That means every family you touch will be blessed. You know, like I told you earlier, I want everybody who comes to me to be blessed in some way. Some way they should be blessed. They should be blessed spiritually. They should be blessed materially. They should be blessed physically. Whoever enters my home should be blessed. And we should be a blessing to every family on the face of the earth. I will not let you go. And then, one more thing I want you to see here. God asked him, what is your name? Do you know the meaning of Jacob? Deceiver. What is your name? Lord, I am a crook. You know, once upon a time his father asked him, what is your name? Oh, I am Esau. Because Esau used to speak like that. Bluffer. Liar. Now God asks him, what is your name? Just like Isaac asked him earlier. Now he speaks the truth. I am a deceiver. You know, God just wants you to be honest with Him. Lord, I have been fooling people in the church. That I am a very spiritual man. I am not. If they knew my private life, if they knew my thought life, they would know I am an impure man. I will tell you the truth, Lord. What is your name? Impure man. Crook. Hypocrite. Lord, that is my name. The Lord says, your name will no longer be deceiver. Great. Your name will no longer be hypocrite. Your name will no longer be impure man. Your name will be a prince of God. What did he do to qualify for that? Honesty. Absolute honesty. Like the thief on the cross. I deserve this. Oh, you deserve it, okay. You deserve to be crucified, is it? Well, you will be with me in paradise today. Paradise is made for honest people who will say, I am a deceiver. I fooled everybody in the church. I made them think I am a very spiritual man. And I only spoke like that. But Lord, you know, I am a crook. I am a deceiver. I am impure. And the Lord says, this is the day I was waiting for. You are going to be different. Your name will be a prince of God. Because you have striven with God. And you have prevailed. When did he prevail? All the time he was struggling with God, he did not prevail. When he was broken. Dislocated. And God prevailed over him. That's when he says, now you have prevailed with God. Do you know when we prevail with God? When we allow God to break us. Until then, you are struggling, struggling, struggling. That is why I say, the most important lesson you need to learn in the Christian life is the lesson of brokenness. You are a wonderful piece of bread. But until he breaks you, he cannot feed the 5,000. God gives thanks to you. Jesus gave thanks for the bread. 5,000 are still hungry. God can bless you. He blessed the bread. The 5,000 are hungry. But when he broke it, everybody got fed. God can bless you. People around you are hungry. But when he breaks you, and if he can keep you broken, God taught me that truth many years ago. I am very thankful. It was one of the greatest truths I learned as a young man, 24 years old, as I was seeking God for the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The Lord showed me the way of brokenness. Go down. Humble yourself. When people speak evil of you, don't retaliate. And allow me to break you in all types of circumstances. And I said, sure, Lord. You can break me. You can humble me. You can do whatever you like. You can humiliate me before anybody. I couldn't care less. I want you to break me and bless me. Do you know what happened when the alabaster box, when the alabaster bottle was broken by that woman? The whole house was filled with the odor of the ointment. If I had a big bottle of these expensive perfumes and I broke it here, this whole house would be filled with that. If I kept it in the bottle, you wouldn't smell a thing. I believe many of us Christians are like that. We got the most powerful perfume inside us, the aroma of Jesus Christ. But it's all bottled in. You just got to break it. You want people to admire the bottle? Then the aroma will never go out. That's the trouble with a lot of people. We want people to admire us. What a beautiful bottle. Perfume bottles come in different shapes, you know. What a lovely bottle. Is that all you want? No. Break it, Lord. Break it. And it says He blessed Him there. Verse 29, last part. I want that to be fulfilled in my life. God blessed Him there. And He said, I've seen God face to face. What is the result? Verse 31. The sun began to rise on His life. The darkness disappeared. The sun rose upon Him. It doesn't say the sun rose on the earth. The sun rose upon Him. And the sun will rise on you and on me. And in the book of Hebrews chapter 11, to the end of Jacob's life, we read this amazing thing. You know Hebrews 11? Where we read these amazing things. 90 year old women got children like Sarah. Moses split open the Red Sea. Joshua pulled down the walls of Jericho. Daniel shut the mouth of lions. Many others put enemies to flight by faith. What is it Joseph predicted that one day in the future, God will take you back to King. All types of wonderful things. What is written about Jacob? Very interesting. His name comes there. By faith Jacob He worshipped. Verse 21. Leaning upon His staff. He was an old man. Much more than 100 years old. And He was leaning on His staff that He had for 50, 60 or many years. What's so great about a man leaning upon His staff? Is that fit to be put in the same category as splitting the Red Sea and pulling down the walls of Jericho? It's a greater miracle than all of that. When a strong man like Jacob or like you or me is broken. And that staff was reminding Jacob you're a nobody. But Jacob if you lean upon me like you lean upon the staff you can go through life and be an Israel. So this great Israel you know how He walked? This Prince of God like this. Does He look like a Prince of God leaning upon His staff? The great Apostle Paul with a thorn in His flesh. 4 feet 11 inches tall. Apostle Paul speaking to everybody. Do you believe that? He was 4 feet 11 inches tall. History tells us that. He had a hooked nose. He was bald. He was the mightiest apostle the world has seen. He didn't look like a film star. No God does not make His servants attractive to men. He breaks them. Like Jacob. He makes them lean upon Him. And makes them a blessing. I'm telling you He wants to do that for you. The great difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant is this. In the Old Covenant you had to do it all by yourself. They were all commandments. We get sick and tired of commandments. From childhood we got commandments from our parents. When we were teenagers our parents told us you shall not do this. And you must do this. You must not do this. You must do this. God gave a law to Israel. You must not do this. You must do this. When am I going to finish with the commandments? And then you come to the church. And some churches you hear. You must not do this. You must not dress like this. You must not wear that. You must do this. When am I going to be free from all this? Until we come to the New Covenant where God says I will do something in you. Will you let me do it? Hebrews chapter 8 God has abolished the Old Covenant. The days are coming. Hebrews 8 verse 8 where God says I'll make a new covenant. And I tell you this is the missing message in Christendom today. That God will do it. It's certainly missing in many of our churches. We have tried for years to deliver people from legalism. I'm sorry to say many of our elder brothers are still legalists. They don't see it. I see it crystal clear. I try. I've tried for years to help them to see it but many of them don't see it. They are so legalistic. They are so hard on people. So many demands. A legalistic man has so many demands on others. I was like that. That's how I know. I know everything about legalism because I was a thorough legalist myself. I can give you a whole message on legalism because I went through it all myself. I've given it up. I was a sinner. But I'm not sinning now. In areas where I have life. I mean other areas where I don't have life. But it's the same. I was a legalist. Paul was a legalist. But he finished with it. I've discovered that there is a better way than the way of the law. And the Lord says I've finished with that old covenant. I'm making a new covenant. You know what the old covenant was? The Ten Commandments? Many a church you go to that's what you hear. Why are you like this? Why are you doing this? Why are you doing that? People get sick and tired. I'm not surprised that young people go away from that. From such a message. If young people run away from my message, I say something is wrong. If they say church is boring. Something is wrong with your church. Church is not meant to be boring. How is it those godless TV programmers produce a TV program which can entertain people for three hours? Who gave them that intelligence? My Heavenly Father created them with the intelligence to produce a TV program. People gripped for three hours. And you think my Heavenly Father will not give me the anointing of the Holy Spirit to hold people gripped? He will if I have faith. But if you think your Heavenly Father will give ability to a godless TV programmer to produce program to grip for three hours and will only give you some boring sermon to keep people bored for three hours, according to your faith be it unto you, you will bore people till the end of your life. But if you allow God to break you, He can give you far more ability than that man is using his ability for the devil. And I want to use it for the Kingdom of God. Don't you think He'll give it to you? We are so weak in faith. We think God will help those godless people more than He'll help us to build His church? Impossible! This is the work, building the church which God is most interested in. He's not interested in those TV programs on science or animals or any such thing. He's interested in building the church. But He wants people who will trust Him. Who will allow Him to break them. Like Jacob. Be one of them from today. Who will be free from legalism. Who will be free from making laws to other people. And being hard on other people. And holding grudges against other people. It's sad! When elder brothers are like that. And the Lord says, I will make a covenant with them. And this covenant, it is not thou shalt, thou shalt not, thou shalt, thou shalt not. But, what will it be? Verse 10 to verse 12. I will, I will, I will, I will. When you get time, read the Ten Commandments in Exodus chapter 20 and compare it with the New Covenant in Hebrews 8, 10 to 12. You'll see one big difference. The entire Ten Commandments is thou shalt, thou shalt not. That's all. But the New Covenant, God says, I will, I will, I will, I will. That's the difference. In there, it is man. Oh, I can't do this. I have to do this. I can't do this. I have to do this. Oh Lord! I give up. And the Lord says, you give up? You tried all night and you couldn't catch any fish? Have you learned your lesson? Many of us haven't learned it yet. Then you've got to wait a little. But if you believe that no matter how hard you try, no matter how much you grit your teeth, you will not be able to accomplish the will of God in your life. You come to God and say, Lord, I can't do it. Do it in me. And the Lord says, I will put my laws into your minds. Verse 10. I will write them on your heart. I will make you do my will. This is through the Holy Spirit. I'll give you power within. Oh, how sad it is that God's people have been led astray to think the Holy Spirit's power is only speaking in tongues and healing the sick. Much greater than all that. He will give me power in my mind and my heart to walk in the way Jesus walked. That's a tremendous thing. I can walk as Jesus walked because the same Holy Spirit that dwelt in Him dwelt in me. Let me use an example. Supposing I've got a rotten old car that doesn't run too well and I sort of struggle and struggle and struggle to keep it going on a scooter or whatever it is. And I see another fellow driving a fantastic modern vehicle with very powerful power steering and latest engine, some Rolls Royce or Mercedes Benz, whatever is the latest, best type of stuff. And I say, if that engine can be put into this car and if all that equipment can be put into this car, I don't care the shape of this car, it'll run just like that. It's not the shape of the car. It's the engine. And that's I say, if that engine that powered Jesus' life could be put into this rotten old car, it'll produce the same result. That's the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit that made Jesus overcome every temptation as a young man that anointed Him to speak so powerfully, that anointed Him to do the will of God. If that engine is put into me, if that same Holy Spirit comes into me and takes control of my life, I can do the things that Jesus did. That means the will of God. It doesn't mean you'll be able to preach like me, but you'll be able to do the will of God in your life. It doesn't mean I'll be able to raise the dead. That may not be in God's will for my life. I can do something that Jesus could not do. I can make two believers one. Jesus could not make even His twelve disciples, any two of them one, because they didn't have the Holy Spirit. He said, you will do greater things than me, because I believe the Holy Spirit has now come. The answer, my brothers and sisters, is in the Holy Spirit. Honor the Holy Spirit in your life. Seek Him. Seek Him. Don't go to this one extreme like some Christians have, neglecting the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the power of the Holy Spirit. And don't go to the other extreme where you think Holy Spirit is just emotion and speaking in tongues and healing. No. It's to enable you to walk as Jesus walked. The perfect example of the spiritual man is Jesus Christ. He wants you to walk as He walked. I will do it, He says in you. I will make you like that. I will cause you. Here's this lovely verse which I pointed out to folks in CFC the other day, in Ezekiel 36. Let me show it to you. It's a fantastic verse. I have never found another verse like that in this connection anywhere in the Bible. It's so clear. Verse 27 Ezekiel 36, the prophecy about the future. That when I put My Spirit within you, the Lord says, I will cause you to walk in My statutes. And you will be careful to observe My ordinances. Now notice the difference between saying, you must walk in My statutes and you must be careful to observe My commandments. No, no, no. That is old covenant. You must be careful to walk in My commandments. You must keep My commandments. No, He says, I will cause you. You don't have to push the car. This engine will take over. This is the new covenant. And you will be careful to keep My commandments. And you will live the life that I want you to live. And I'll save you from all your sins. What is that unclean, filthy habit you have? I will save you from it. And verse 30, I will make you so fruitful that you will never again be a disgrace among the people of the world. And when all that happens, you will hang your head and say, Oh God, I lived such a filthy life. Verse 31. You will loathe yourself because of your sinful, unbelieving ways. And you'll give all the glory to God when He makes your life such a tremendous blessing to other people. And He says, I'm not doing this for your sake. Verse 32. I'm doing it because I want My name to be glorified through you. My brothers and sisters, God loves us immensely. Far, far more than you realize is God's great love for you. I like the picture, you know, when it says that God loves us like a mother. Isaiah 49, 15. A mother may forget her sucking child, but I won't forget you. I've sometimes seen, you know, women who never had children for a long time, suddenly they get a baby. Oh, it's like heaven for them. And they coo at them, and they speak, but the baby can't understand a thing. But they speak as if the baby's understanding everything. It's so precious to them. And I say, that's how God picks me up for a week. It's like that baby, helpless, makes a mess of its pants all the time, and cries and yells, and but the mother's still so delighted. And God says, He picks me up like that, and He knows that I'm going to mess up so many things in my life. It doesn't make a difference to Him. He loves me, and He coos at me, and maybe I can't understand what He's saying, but He's delighted in me. I like, I like these word pictures. I don't know about you, but these word pictures help me, because the Bible is full of them. Jesus used it. I like to think of them. I like to meditate on them. They are much better than a lot of TV programs you fellas watch, I'll tell you. To meditate on some of these things, and see how much God delights in me, and to rejoice in that, and to share this wonderful truth with other people who are so miserable. Will you be a person like that from today onwards? Say, Lord, I want to rejoice in the fact that You love me. I've finished with being a legalist. I want to love other people like You love me. I want to be an encourager who goes around lifting up people's spirits. God's been good to us these days. Amen? Let's give Him thanks. Let's stand up. It's the righteous thing to give thanks to God for all that He's done for us in these days. And if you believe you deserve none of it, then you will raise your voice louder than everybody else's. Let's lift up our hearts and our voices in Your hands. Sisters are also permitted to raise their hands if you feel like it. Let's praise the Lord and thank Him for all that He's done. Thank You, Father. Praise You, praise You, praise You, Jesus. Glory to Your name! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You. Thank You, Lord. We praise You. Praise You, praise You. Pour out Your Spirit now upon people, Lord, and heal the sick in Jesus' name. We bind Satan and all his activities on everyone here in Jesus' name. We command you, Satan, to take your hands off every one of God's children. You've got no right to oppress any of them anymore. We rebuke you. Jesus rebukes you. We resist you and rebuke you in Jesus' name. Satan, you were defeated on the cross. You have no right to touch any of us anymore. Not in our mind, not in our body. We belong to Jesus. Our bodies are members of Christ. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. And we believe that God will sanctify us entirely and preserve our spirit, soul, and body until the day Christ comes again. And we believe, Lord, that You'll make us one body in the different churches to be a living demonstration. You'll bring a revolution in our homes that our homes will be a testimony for You. Thank You, Father. You'll help us to raise godly children. You'll change the relationship of husband and wife to be glorious. You're going to do wonderful things in the days to come. We believe it. Nobody's a failure here. Everybody's going to be a success. Every single one here is going to be a success in the days to come. In Jesus' name. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! God is good all the time. Amen.