In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of love and unity among believers. He challenges the idea that miracles and signs are the ultimate proof of being God's people. Instead, he argues that the greatest miracle is to love one another and remain in love until the end. The speaker references Jesus' example of loving his disciples until the very end and compares it to the miraculous act of raising the dead or healing the blind. He concludes that throughout the history of the church, the consistent and enduring love for one another is a greater miracle than any supernatural sign.

I want to turn to John chapter 13. When we think of rivers of living water flowing out from our innermost being, what does it mean in practical terms? What does it mean in practical terms for rivers of living water to flow out? We read in John 13 that Jesus said, verse 34, A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. Now one would have thought that Jesus would think of something like miracles or speaking in unknown languages. As the mark by which others will know that we are the disciples of Jesus. And that is what appears to our human reason. Like we were considering yesterday, our human reason can't understand the things of God. God's ways are as much different from our ways, as heaven is above the earth. We read in Isaiah 55, 8 and 9. And God's thoughts or his way of thinking is as much different from your and my way of thinking, as heaven is above the earth. A lot of believers haven't understood that. A lot of believers think that God's way of thinking is just maybe slightly different. No, it's completely different. God allows a lot of things to happen which we would never allow to happen. And God doesn't answer many prayers which we think are very good for us. And God allows many trials in our life which we ourselves would never have chosen. What does it show? It shows that we don't have the slightest clue with our human reason about God's ways. In the same way, when it comes to how shall people know that we are God's people, that we are the church of the living God, according to our human reason, immediately what will come to our mind is if some miracles can take place here, if some blind eyes can be opened, some dead people can be raised, everybody will know that we are God's people. That sounds quite reasonable. But we are as much off the track as earth is away from heaven. That's how far we are away. If we were to teach people without Jesus having taught us that all men will know you are my disciples by this, we would not have chosen love as the manifestation of it. Because our human reason will say, yeah, but love is something which can easily be duplicated and even among human beings there is a lot of love. Friends have a lot of love for one another. That can't be the identifying mark of the disciples of Jesus. But miracles, that's what nobody can do. And yet Jesus, who knew human nature, who knew the end from the beginning, led by the Holy Spirit, who knew the Father, he said, this is the mark of my disciples, that they love one another. And when we read the history of the Church in two thousand years, and as I have myself seen Christianity in various denominations and groups through more than thirty years, I have come to one conclusion, that Jesus was absolutely right. That to love one another and to remain in love for one another until the very end is a greater miracle than raising the dead. Is a greater miracle than blind eyes being seen, being opened. It is a greater miracle, it is the greatest miracle of all. If you can, it says about Jesus in John chapter thirteen and verse one, that having loved his own, which were in the world, the first verse of the same chapter, it says in the first verse, having loved, the last part, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them until the end. That is the test. To love people in little spurts, that's easy. To be stirred, to love a person for a week, or a few days, that's easy. Or to set everything right before we break bread, once a month, that's easy. But to steadfastly love without it changing, without it being affected by the behavior of others, that is a miracle. It requires the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. Yeah, it does that. There are so many supernatural things that happen in the world with Satan's power. Even with human soul power, people do so many things. But to love with divine love until the very end, completely unaffected by the behavior of another, that requires a continuous fullness of the Holy Spirit. And when we don't have it, when we don't have such love, that means we don't have the fullness of the Spirit. That means we must seek God for it. We must not be satisfied with having it just before we break bread. That is a ritual. If I, before break bread, I set everything right and I break bread, and then I let go myself, it's like the rubber band, you know, stretched at the time of breaking of bread to love one another. I really stretch it and I love one another. And then the breaking of bread is over and the rubber band is released back to my normal condition of grudges and bitterness and all types of wrong attitudes. It's a normal condition. It should be the other way around, that my normal condition is love, but accidentally I may sometimes fall into being tempted to have a grudge, but I immediately pull back. That would be a mature person, person filled with the Spirit, who is immediately bothered that he's grieved the Holy Spirit. You know, it's very important, if we are to live this life, that we obey what Scripture says, let us run with patience the race that is set before us, and then what shall we do? Looking unto Jesus. That means there is only one person I must have before my eyes, if I want to endure in this until the end. Who endured the cross, despising the shame, and who loved until the end, as we read in John 13. Look unto Jesus who endured the cross. I don't believe it was easy for Jesus to love everybody. If it was easy for Him, how could He tell us to follow Him? Because all of us have to testify it is not easy for us. We have to testify it is easy for us to love certain people, but to love everyone, and to love them until the end, that is not easy. Because we have a flesh, and Jesus had the same flesh, and it says, we read in John 13, He loved until the end, which means He must have endured a cross in His life, which of course was in secret. I mean, people didn't know that they were getting on His nerves, and irritating Him. They didn't know it. Because He died so secretly to Himself, that the other person didn't even know that Jesus had to die to something to love that person. The flesh. And that is wonderful, where the other person doesn't even have a clue that I have had to bear with something. What a wonderful husband you will be, if you never let your wife know, at least in the future, that you have to bear with something in her. I mean, if you bear with something in her, and make it very obvious, you know I have to bear with you, but I am going to do it, that's not love. And vice versa, what a wonderful wife you will be, if you can bear with your husband, and never let him know. That is the way it was with Jesus. He died, and it was in secret. The real sacrifice that God has value for, is that which is done in secret. That which you blow the trumpet, and display to everybody, see now everybody, I am being crucified here. That is honour-seeking. But that which is in secret, where only God sees, like Abraham on the mountaintop, it was just between Him and God, He made that tremendous sacrifice. If He can be like that, that is tremendous. That's how it was with Jesus. If He loved His brothers in His house in Nazareth, for thirty years, after they irritated Him in so many ways, they never knew it. They never knew, that He had to bear with them. It was hidden. He offered Himself without spot, unto God, through the power of that Eternal Spirit. And to be wholehearted means that, to have a burning desire, to offer ourselves without spot. Now, if I make a sacrifice, and I let other people know about it, there is a spot. There is a spot in that sacrifice. That's not without spot. That's a lamb with blemish, which I am offering to God, and God will say no. It was a good desire you had to offer that lamb, but it's got a blemish in it, I cannot accept it. And the Lord will say, yeah, that was good that you died to yourself, but, you let other people know about it, and so, I cannot accept that, sacrifice of yours. I believe that there are many people, who have heard about the way of the cross, who will discover in eternity, who will discover the judgment seat of Christ, that hundreds of times, when they bore the cross, God did not accept it. Hundreds of times, when they died to themselves, God did not accept it, because there was a blemish in it. And the blemish was, that they let other people know about it. They let other people know, that they were dying. That is a dirty, that's a terrible, that's a skinny, lame, blind lamb. Don't offer it to God, brother. It's good to offer that to yoga, or to Buddha or something, but not to Jesus Christ. No, never. He wants a lamb without blemish. He wants sacrifice without blemish, and we see how difficult it is, to do that. How difficult it is. That's why God encourages us, to seek for the power of the Holy Spirit, always, to run to the throne of grace, for grace to help us, in our time of need. Is there ever a time, when grace will not be given to us, in our time of need? Always available, if I go. So we see that this word of Jesus, is the greatest miracle. And if you don't believe it now, you will see it at the judgment seat of Christ, that the brother, who endured in love, I mean let's say, let's say we've all failed, right up until today. And I'm already 53. Let's say I've failed up until today, in that area. And if I have say, 10 or 15 years more of life. At least, if it can be said, that the last 15 years of his life, he endured in love. You will see, in the final day, that that will be a greater miracle, than the man who raised 10 dead people, from the grave. You'll see that. Or a hundred dead people from the dead. So brothers and sisters, do you want to do the greatest miracle of all? What is the thought that comes to your mind, when we sang a little song, a song earlier? Lord in thy presence we are met, a full salvation to proclaim. Make this a Pentecostal hour. And then one line says, let signs and wonders, from the Lord be done, in our midst. How do you sing that? You sing that with faith? Or do you sing, yeah, I don't expect any sign or wonder to happen, but anyway, we'll sing it. It's in the song book, so we'll sing it. Of course, I don't expect. We've sung that so many times, and no signs and wonders ever took place. I'm not expecting any sign or wonder to take place today. But I'll tell you, the greatest sign and wonder I'm looking for, is that, God will give us such grace, that we shall love one another, as Jesus loved us. That will be the greatest sign. What does it mean to be a sign? That the heathen may know, that we are the disciples of Jesus. What is that sign and wonder, that the Lord is going to do, that's going to make the heathen know, that we are the disciples of Jesus. What is that sign and wonder? Is it going to be, are you expecting, when you sing that song, are you expecting the raising of the dead in our midst? No, I confess, I don't have faith, to go to a cemetery, or to go to a funeral, and expect to raise the dead. I don't think any of you have faith, and I don't have faith either. But I want to have faith for myself for one thing, that by the grace of God, from now till the time I die, or till the time Jesus comes, I want to remain rooted in love. That nobody in the world, and no demon in hell, will be able to shake me out of that. I want that. I want that sign and wonder. And if God can gather a few others like that, yeah, those few will manifest to the world, that these are the disciples of Jesus. We can never expect, that all believers will do that, because all believers are not willing to take up the cross. So it will not be true in all believers. But you can make sure it's true in your life. That is the greatest sign, that is the greatest wonder. Jesus said, an evil and an adulterous generation looks for a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights, in the belly of the sea monster, so the Son of Man will, what's the sign? He will go down. He will go down. Into the heart of the earth. Not just we say put our face in the dust. We often use that expression, put our face in the dust. Okay, that's low enough. But Jesus is going to go further below the dust, into the heart of the earth and disappear. Disappear altogether beneath the ground. Just like that seed, you don't sow the seed on the surface of the ground. The seed is not putting its face in the dust. It's going into the earth, let's say into the heart of the earth. Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground, goes inside and dies, remains alone. That is the sign. That is the only sign Jesus said will be given to this generation. And that is the sign that you and I are called to demonstrate, in our daily life, that others will see in us, that sign of going into the heart of the earth. When you abuse me, you will not get a reply. You will not get a response. No, I shall go to the heart of the earth. That is the sign that Jesus has said this generation is going to get. Only that sign. And the person who is seeking to follow Jesus in that area, will definitely endure in love until the end. Dear brothers and sisters, make that your goal. Make that your goal in life, to endure in love until the end. There are two places in the New Testament, where Paul prays that we might be strengthened with the Holy Spirit. Look at them. Ephesians 3, When we pray for the power of the Holy Spirit, I tell you, from the depth of my heart I say this, I would rather love than speak in tongues, any day. Any day. If God were to take away from me the gift of tongues, I wouldn't stop Him. But I say, Lord, don't take away the spirit of love. Give me that. For he who speaks in tongues is not greater than he who loves. You can speak in tongues even of men and angels, and still get zero, the Bible says. If you don't love. I would rather love than prophesy. Imagine to be a powerful preacher, shaking people, stirring them. You hear such people and you wish you could speak like that? You haven't understood the Gospel then. When you see a person who can love and never give up, wish that you can be like that person. That is the greatest person in the church. Not the person who speaks with the tongue of angels, not the person who can preach so powerfully that people hang on his every word, but the person who can love without giving up. That is the greatest brother, that is the greatest sister in the church. And you can be that. You can be the greatest and the most wonderful brother and sister in the church, because nobody is stopping you. It's got nothing to do with speaking in tongues or prophesying. It's got nothing to do with even doing miracles. It's got to do with love. So we read in Ephesians 3, he says, verse 14, I am bowing my knees before the Father, and what is his prayer for these wonderful Ephesian Christians? That he would grant you, verse 16, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner man. Isn't that what we are praying for? We are praying that we might be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit in the inner man. What for? Not to speak in tongues, not to raise the dead, not to prophesy. No, that we so that Christ, Jesus Christ himself, may dwell, means make his permanent home, in our hearts through faith, so that you being rooted and grounded in love. That's what we need the power of the Holy Spirit for. Why do you need the power of the Holy Spirit? So that you can be rooted and grounded in love, so that Christ will always dwell in your heart. Otherwise he won't dwell in your heart. I'll tell you something, a lot of people who say, Lord Jesus come into my heart, on the day they are converted, the day they repent of their sins and ask Jesus to come into their heart, I really believe he comes into their heart. Because on that day they are really broken and repentant. But see those same people ten years later, and I don't believe Jesus is in their heart anymore. He is not dwelling in their heart. Because they are not rooted and grounded in love anymore. The day they were born again, they had no problem loving everybody into the church they came into, because they knew nobody. They felt they were the greatest of sinners, and they were so happy to be given even a last seat in the midst of God's people, that they were so grateful, that they had no bitterness in their heart against anyone, they loved everyone, and Christ dwelt in their hearts. See those same people ten years later, and it's another story. It's quite another story ten years later. Christ is not dwelling in their hearts, because they are not rooted and grounded in love. I believe this, according to this verse, that Christ cannot dwell in my heart, if I am not rooted and grounded in love. He may have been there in the past. There may have been a person who lived in your house ten years ago, who is not living in your house today. Isn't that possible? You can't say he never lived in my house. Yes, so and so used to live in my house ten years ago, but he is not living there today. He left. I invited somebody to come and stay with me. He stayed, but he found the place so filthy, and smelly, and dirty, that he left. He wanted to look for a cleaner place. And it's possible like that, for Jesus to come and dwell in our heart, and then, some years later, he is not there. I believe that. I don't know whether you believe it or not. I believe God's word, that I need the strength of the Holy Spirit, so that Christ may dwell in my heart. I am just reading scripture. I need the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, so that Christ may dwell in my heart. I asked him to come into my heart, 34 years ago, more than 34 years ago, nearly 40 years ago, for the first time, when I was sure, only 34 years ago. But, I need that strength of the Holy Spirit, that he may dwell in my heart today. And be always there. Because without the strength of that spirit, I can never, never, never, be rooted, and grounded in love. To be rooted. That means the storm can come, and the tree is there. You hear of trees that are uprooted in a storm. And then there are other trees, that no storm can shake. I have read that in California, they have huge trees called Sequoia trees. So, I don't know, many, many feet, the circumference of the tree, and there have been hundreds of storms, and they have been there for hundreds of years, I think. Many, many centuries, they have been there. Deep roots. They are always there. What a wonderful thing to be like that. And grounded. We read of buildings that are broken up, by a bomb blast or... What a wonderful thing, if no bomb blast can shake me. They can put any type of bomb, but I am grounded in love. Let the blast go off right outside my building, makes no difference. And the world's most devastating explosive, makes no difference. Can we aim for that? That people use the most devastating explosives, right in your face, and your building does not shake. Let's covet such a life. That's how it was with Jesus. They said, you have a prince of demons. And he said, it's forgiven. Have you spoken a word against Salman? It's forgiven. It was an explosive, bang in his face, forgiven. What a life! That's the life we can partake of. Where nothing will shake us from the rest. What does it mean to be at rest? Not tossed about. At rest means storms, bombs, blasts, explosives. We are there. Buildings around us. A thousand fall on the left side, ten thousand on the right, but it will not come near you. It will not come near you. You are because you have made the Lord your refuge. You've gone to the throne of grace, for grace to help you in your time of need. Brother, sister, this is true holiness. This is the power of the Holy Spirit that we need to cry out to God for with all of our hearts. It goes on to say, when I am wounded and grounded in love like that, I will be able to comprehend, that is to understand, with all the saints. I want to do it with all the saints. It's one of the things, personally, to the best of my knowledge, from the beginning of our time in the church, that we have started meeting as a church, and to the best of my knowledge, in the last nearly eighteen years, I have always felt, that I can understand God's ways, only along with all the saints. If I stick to one little group, and say, they are the only ones who can teach me God's ways, I'll miss out on something. I've looked through our old hidden treasures for the last seventeen years, and I've seen right through in every year, we've sought to have writings from all of the saints, from different groups and denominations, just Godly people, who knew God. Because it says, it's only with all the saints, that you'll be able to understand, the breadth and the length, and the height and the depth. The love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge. It's beyond knowledge. Knowledge has only got three dimensions, here there are four. Length and height, and depth and breadth. That's beyond knowledge. And knowledge baffles me, when it gets to four dimensions. It's something which I've got to experience it, not understand it. It's not something I can measure, length, breadth and height and all that, no. It's beyond knowledge, it's experience. And like that, along with others, we can be filled up to the fullness of God. It says Jesus had the fullness of God, when he finished his earthly life. And we, can have that fullness of God. Amazing word. The Bible speaks about the fullness of the Holy Spirit. It speaks in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 13, about the fullness of Christ. And it speaks here in Ephesians 3.19, about the fullness of God. I must be filled with the Holy Spirit, so that, like it says in Ephesians 4.13, I can grow up to the fullness of Christ. And along with all the others, who are going that way, along with them, I can come to the fullness of God. That's the whole Trinity. That's why I need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. That the fullness of God, can come into his body. You know the fullness, I can be filled with the Holy Spirit alone. That's clear. But the fullness of God, that can never come into me alone. That is along with all the saints. That's clear. Along with all the saints, I'll get the fullness of God. Now if I cut off one saint, because I don't like him, or I cut off another person, because he doesn't agree with me in some doctrine, and I knock off one person as a harlot, because he doesn't sit with me in CFC, and he may be a God-fearing person. May be far more God-fearing than some people who sit here. Who is going to lose the fullness of God? Me. I don't want to lose it. Dear brother, be open. We can't work together with everybody. That's clear. I can't work together with most Christians, because I find that they compromise on so many things. So I find when it comes to working, it's a very small circle of people, with whom I can work, because I find that most of them will compromise on some small thing or the other. And lower the standards of God's word. But, that doesn't mean I narrow my heart to them. No. That doesn't mean I judge them and condemn them. Then I shall be a loser. We don't have to work together with everyone. We don't have to go visiting everybody's homes for our heart to be open to all of them. No. But humble yourself. Keep your heart open to all of God's saints. And say, Lord, I want to come to the fullness of God in my life. And the other verse is in Colossians. Colossians also, it speaks about being strengthened with mighty power. Again, Paul prays for the Colossians and says, for this reason, Colossians 1 verse 9, Since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will. That's a good thing to be filled with. To be filled with the knowledge of His will. What is your will, Lord? And the Lord will say, My will is that you love one another as I have loved you. Yeah, but in this other area, Lord. Yeah, we get to the other area. Let's deal with this one first. First things first. Don't we sometimes say to the children, Yeah, I'll do that for you, but you finish your lunch first now. Then we'll do the other thing. Finish this work I told you to do. Then we'll go to the other thing. And just like we tell our children, the Lord says to us, Ah, that's before you ask my will in other things. Love one another as I have loved you. That I might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. Oh, what an expression. That I can walk on earth in a manner worthy of the Lord. That in private and in secret and in public, when people hear about how I'm living and how I'm walking and how I'm speaking to my wife and how I'm speaking to people in my office and how I speak to the peons and the class 4 workers in my office and how I speak to the beggars on the street and how I speak to the little boys who put petrol into my scooter or so many people. We encounter the bus conductors and various people and the person who stamps on my feet in the bus and people see all these things. They shall see that there is a person walking in a manner worthy of the Lord. Worthy of the Lord Jesus. What a wonderful thing that is. Worthy of the Lord Jesus. Worthy of the Lord Jesus. Let's take that challenge. Lord, that I may walk in a manner worthy of You because I have taken Your name. You know this word Christian. The Bible says in Acts 11.26 that the disciples were called Christians. They became disciples first and then they were called Christians. Today it's the other way around. Today we have to make disciples out of the Christians. But in the early days they were disciples first and then they were called Christians. It's like if somebody marries someone they take his name. If his name is John and somebody marries him she will be Mrs. John. So, Christ and the persons who are married to Christ take his name. Christian. It's exactly like that. They were disciples of Christ. Christian. That word has become so devalued today. It has become a religion. Worthy of the Lord. Worthy of that name. I mean before I got married I had another name. Child of the devil. I could do what I like. But now taking the name of this husband who is such a godly person this husband Jesus Christ to walk in a manner worthy of Him to please Him in all respects to please Him in all respects in every area of my life See, all this has got nothing to do with people. It's only got to do with me and my husband. Full stop. It's got nothing to do with the whole jingbang lot of people in the world. It's only got to do with me and my husband. That's all. Just to please Him in all respects. Bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Increasing in the knowledge of God. And then comes this expression again which we read in Ephesians. Strengthened with all power. That's the Holy Spirit's power again which we are praying for. Strengthened with all power so that according to His glorious might or the strength and the might and the power of His glory For what? For what? Listen to this. For the attaining of all steadfastness and patience to bear with a person once or twice You don't need the power of the Holy Spirit for that. But to bear continuously steadfastness and patience endlessly till I reach the finishing line. That requires the power of the Holy Spirit. How many of us can start a marathon race? Can you start a marathon race? 26 miles? You can make it 100 miles, brother. I am ready to start it. It's not difficult. Who finds it difficult to start a 100 mile race? I mean, I may give up after 100 meters. Some of you younger people may give up after a mile or so, but 100 miles to finish, that's another thing. It's like that, you know, when we run Supposing we all decide to run from here to Madras I mean, I may go up to the level crossing you may go a little further but somewhere along the way we all sort of give up. The man who can endure, endure, endure till he reaches that's the point here. Steadfastness. Let us run with endurance looking unto Jesus. He who endures till the end will be saved. So we can say in this matter of love and patience it's like different people who are stopping at different points. Some people stop after 100 meters, some people after 1 mile, some people after 2 miles. But what does God's word say? Endure until the end. If you've got 15 years more of life on earth then all those 15 years to be strengthened with all the power to be steadfast and patient and to run the race not looking whether this person is falling down who are the people who fall down? The people who fall down are the people who stop loving. Has this brother stopped loving? Ya. Get up brother, I want to encourage you but if they don't well, I've got to press on. That other sister falls down, somebody else people falling down all the time along the way looking unto Jesus who never fell down continuing, continuing, continuing. Paul says, you know that many run in the race but one wins the prize so run that you may obtain. So run that you may obtain. So it says here to the attaining of all steadfastness and patience joyously giving thanks to the Father. In other words, at the end of it all I have no complaint against anybody but only joyously giving thanks to the Father that I was given the privilege to run in this race. When I was about 21 years old I wrote in the first Bible I had these words that have remained in my mind for years mere tears of mine can never repay the debt of love I owe. Here Lord, I give myself away as the least that I can do. Mere tears you know we can get moved when we hear something and shed tears mere tears of mine can never repay the debt of love I owe to the Lord. Here Lord, I give myself away as the least that I can do. I want to encourage you to remember that words are not enough. Words spoken in prayer flowery language testifying here not enough. But if you can give yourself in the moment of trial in the moment of temptation to give yourself that's the least we can do. Then I am repaying my debt of love. For that I need the power of the Holy Spirit. I'll tell you something you don't need the power of the Holy Spirit to pray you don't need the power of the Holy Spirit to testify. Most believers who pray are not filled with the Spirit but they pray beautifully. Most believers who testify and share the word are not filled with the Holy Spirit they can do it beautifully. It means nothing but to die to self consistently from morning to night even for one day that requires power. Think of it think of let's say let's take one 24 hour period you try it say from tonight till tomorrow night just see whether you can die to yourself consistently in every single temptation that you face at home, in the office, anywhere and you'll find one day it's so difficult one day it's so difficult where, it's like even 100 meters is too difficult to run where are we going to endure till the end we need the power of the Holy Spirit it is impossible without that it's impossible without that that's why God never gave these commandments in the Old Testament in the Old Testament if God had given these commandments that would be like putting a MSC paper question paper in the front of these second standard students they just gave it and give it back we can't answer these questions God didn't give it He only told them certain external things which even the heathen understand don't commit adultery don't bear a false witness in a court and honor your father and mother and I mean even Hindu people many of them know and follow these laws don't kill anyone, don't steal other people's property those things which they could manage and when a person was fed up of his wife God said ok, you can divorce her that was permitted in the Old Testament not commanded, but permitted but in the New Testament Jesus said to the Pharisees because of the hardness of your heart Moses permitted so many things in the Old Testament but it's not God's will it's not God's will that you should divorce your wife just because you are fed up of her you got to endure, you got to die that's a new covenant that's God's will so in the Old Testament what does a person do when he is fed up with his wife divorce her what about in the New Testament die to yourself you divorce your self-life that's what you divorce in the New Testament not your wife, your self-life you get out, you self-life now that is another divorce that's what Jesus taught and so also endure with all the brothers and sisters until the end that was not in the Old Testament no in the Old Testament it was only things like if you see your neighbor's donkey fallen in the gutter, just go and help him don't let him struggle with his donkey alone those type of things which even the heathen people do but there was no command in the Old Testament that you must not you must endure and be patient and bare and never let the other person know about it, these things were not there because the Holy Spirit was not given but now the Holy Spirit has been given we think of rivers of living water flowing out through us let's ask ourselves what exactly are we praying for when we cry out to God and say Oh God fill me with the Holy Spirit and the Lord says what do you want the Holy Spirit for what's your answer what's your answer you say Lord because I find it so difficult to endure in love till the end I want the power of the Holy Spirit in my life I want to be strengthened with might so that I can attain all steadfastness and patience joyously giving thanks to the Lord not that I can pray better and testify better and get some honour in the church as some great saint that's all fit for followers of Moses no but that I can in secret grounded in love those are the two places in the New Testament where there is a prayer a prayer Paul prays that the Ephesian Christians may be strengthened with the power of the Holy Spirit he prays for the Colossian Christians that they may be strengthened with the mighty power of God and in both places we see the same goal that we might endure and be patient and be filled with love until the very end so that the prayer of Jesus can be fulfilled that all men will know you are my disciples when you love one another so that that greatest sign and wonder will be performed in our midst Lord let signs and wonders be done in our midst today that's our prayer that is a tremendous wonder those of us who are married isn't it a miracle if you and your wife can live for 365 days without any disturbance with one another that is an amazing miracle just 365 days and imagine if it can go on for 15 years like that till Jesus comes how can we do it? only the power of the Holy Spirit no other way who will keep me to the cross I am always tempted to jump down from the cross but I have to ask the Holy Spirit to tie me there Lord never let me come down always and what a wonderful church ours will be, what a wonderful church it will be a sign and a wonder in this country if God can find a church like that where everyone is really asking God for the power of the Holy Spirit to keep him nailed to the cross Lord give me the power of the Holy Spirit to keep me nailed to the cross everyday so often we are looking for emotions, we are looking for the wrong thing and that is why we are praying and praying and nothing much happens because God doesn't want to just give us a tickle down our spine and like people say, they got an electric shock well, you don't need the Holy Spirit to get an electric shock, just put your finger inside one of those plug points, you will get it that's not what we are praying all night for no, no, no, we are seeking God for power to endure until the end may God give us that, let's have our goals right let's go to God in prayer now you are kneeling down I believe that the Lord has been moving in our midst in these days and not moving with tornadoes and earthquakes and fire but like a dove in a gentle way in our hearts it's good to make some transactions make some decisions, some transactions while you are kneeling down there before God there are certain sins that you need to confess that's part of that transaction sins are you enslaved to some habits that you need to confess and ask God to forgive you and cleanse you in the blood of Jesus make a transaction you are not making a promise that you will never do it again I don't think any of us can make that promise but you are saying Lord I want to please you I don't want to dishonor you in anything in my life is there an attitude that you have to someone that you need to bury at the cross put it into that grave of Jesus and finish with it and say Lord cleanse my heart with your blood when we sing Lord I lift my cup to you Lord fill it up that cup must be clean offer to the Lord a clean cup make a transaction there again you are not promising that you will never have a grudge again in your life but you are saying Lord I never want to have one God is not asking you for promises even if we make promises we won't keep them beyond one week He is not asking for promises He is saying my child do you want to do my will just say that you want to and the devil will be put to shame say Lord I want to I want to be clean I want to be pure I want to be humble I want to be loving I want to be what you want me to be on this earth Lord I am ashamed of myself I am ashamed of the number of promises I have made to you in past years I never want to make promises to you again because I will break them but Lord I say to you with all sincerity I want to be your disciple Lord Jesus I want to love you I want to follow you all the days of my life forgive me my past my past hangs over my head all the time Lord remove it remove it from my eyes remove it from my memory blot it out in your mercy the Lord invites you He says I will blot out your transgressions like a cloud I will bury them in the deepest sea He will not remember your sins or your iniquities anymore even the sins that you committed right up to the time you came to the meeting so great is the mercy and goodness of God He forgives and forgives and forgives then you need to make another transaction that you will forget what God has forgotten that you will not keep on bringing to your mind and allow the devil to bring condemnation into your heart overcome him make a decision on your knees that you are going to overcome Satan not by your determination but by the blood of the Lamb you are going to overcome Satan by confessing not your determination not your promises you have tried that long enough and you have always failed and the devil has got the upper hand from now on you are going to confess the blood of Jesus the blood of Jesus has cleansed your past and the devil cannot keep on bringing that to your mind anymore it's gone it's gone don't dishonor the blood of Jesus what God has cleansed don't call unclean anymore what God has cleansed don't call unclean anymore don't keep on confessing things that God has already cleansed what you need to confess is what you can commit in the future not what you have done in the past make that transaction these are transactions we can make no promises but expression of our desire Lord I want to please you I want to turn from all my sin thank you Lord for cleansing me in the blood of Jesus thank you Lord for blotting out my past thank you Lord for giving me your spirit I lift a cup to you Lord I lift my heart to you it's clean cleansed by no merit of my own but cleansed by the blood that Jesus my savior shed for me on Calvary cleansed completely the devil cannot touch me I lift up this heart to you Lord to be filled with the Holy Spirit I want to open my mouth and drink right now right now I want to drink of your spirit I want to come under your waterfall unworthy though I am because Jesus died for me I can claim the gift of the spirit forget your worthiness you'll never be worthy to receive the Holy Spirit in a hundred years you'll never be worthy to receive the Holy Spirit forget your worthiness forget it, forget it, forget it say because Jesus died for me because Jesus purchased the gift of the Holy Spirit for me unworthy though I am I am cleansed in the blood therefore I can receive the Holy Spirit again in all his fullness into my heart praise you, all you children you can receive the Holy Spirit right now, take it seriously you children pray to Jesus concentrate your mind on Jesus now and say Lord Jesus you died for me cleanse my little heart from sin cleanse me from my hypocrisy and my guile and my deception Lord Jesus cleanse me cleanse me from the lies I have said from my fighting spirit with my brothers and sisters for cheating and telling lies to my parents cleanse me Lord Jesus, children will you say that and ask Jesus to fill you with the Holy Spirit right now yes, Jesus listens to your prayer, now, right now open your heart, it's just like opening your mouth open your heart like you open your mouth and say Lord Jesus I want a drink I want a drink thank you Lord thank you, thank you Lord just say thank you, that is the mark of faith thank you for hearing me Lord thank you for hearing even me even a sinner like me you heard me tonight thank you for cleansing me thank you for filling me with your spirit I make that transaction and now the spirit will give you strength to handle those problems that you could not handle till now to remove those mountains in your life that could not be removed till now he will give you strength to make transactions now before him Lord, I'm never going to remember what others have done to me the evil that others have done to me I'll never remember it anymore as you have promised that you will never remember my sin Lord, I will not remember the sin of others, I make a transaction I make a little grave right here where I'm kneeling down I make a grave and I'm burying something here and I'm putting a tombstone over it right now in Jesus name I put a tombstone and I've finished with it, I'm going to be a new person, I'm going to start a new leaf, turn over a new leaf, start a new life I'm going to look at my brothers and sisters with new eyes not remembering the past I want to love Lord till the end of my life even if I get nothing else, I want to love I want to love Lord till the end of my life say that to the Lord Lord, I want to love with your divine love till the end of my life I want to love my brothers and sisters say that, say it to the Lord from your heart Lord, I want to love my brothers and sisters no matter what happens no matter what happens I want to endure in love until the end say that, you husband say I want to love my wife as Christ loved the church say it Lord I really want to love my wife as Christ loved the church say Lord express that desire to the Lord say it, say it to the Lord you have not because you ask not you wives, say to the Lord Lord, I want to submit to my husband like the church is subject to Christ, I want to submit to my husband like the church is subject to Christ, help me Lord and you children little children, will you pray this prayer, you asked Jesus to fill you with the Spirit, now pray this prayer Lord Jesus, help me to honor my father and mother help me to obey my parents help me to respect my parents till the end of my life help me to honor my parents till the end of my life ask Jesus to help you, you need power, you can't do it we older people cannot do it without power how can you do it without power ask Jesus for power