This sermon emphasizes the importance of knowing and following God's plan for our lives, highlighting the assurance that God loves us as much as He loves Jesus and has a specific purpose for each individual. It encourages believers to trust in God's guidance day by day, just like the Israelites followed the pillar of cloud in the wilderness, and to find security in God's love and leading, rather than in worldly circumstances or achievements.

Yesterday I spoke about how important it is that we know what is written in the Bible. And I know for sure that many of you have read the whole Bible. If not, try to read it, at least in the next six months. It is the most beautiful book in the world. There is an answer here to every single problem you can ever face in life. I have proved that in 57 years. I never found a problem for which there is no answer in the Bible. In the English Bible there are 31,175 verses. And I want to tell you the most wonderful verse in the whole Bible. If you believe it, it will change your life. He already knows what I am going to say. Because he has heard me many times. John 17, verse 23. I believe this is the most wonderful truth in the whole Bible. And it is mentioned only one time in the whole Bible. There are many verses that tell us that God loves us. There are many verses that tell us that God loves us. Both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. God so loved the world that he gave his Son. But this is the only verse that tells us that God loves us as much as he loves Jesus. This is the prayer of Jesus. And he prayed to his Father that we as believers would show the world that God loves us as much as he loves Jesus. John 17, verse 23, the last part. You know, that is Jesus' prayer for you and me. It is the last prayer he prayed before he went to the cross next morning. Think of that. That people who live around us in the world people who work with us in our offices and factories and they look at our life the way we live the way we bring up our children the way we react to difficulties in life and the way we react to sickness or poverty or the way we react when we get a lot of money that in all those situations they see God loves this man just as much as he loved Jesus. We all know that the Father loved Jesus. And one proof of that was that he planned every detail of Jesus' life. Particularly if you read the Gospel of Matthew. Many times it says this happened in Jesus' life so that the Scripture might be fulfilled. Let me just show you two examples. Matthew's Gospel in chapter 2. First of all, when he was born in Bethlehem. It says in Matthew 2, verse 5 and 6 it was written in the prophet in verse 6 from Bethlehem will come the ruler of Israel. And then you know when Herod tried to kill him they took the baby to Egypt. And that was also so that the Scripture might be fulfilled. In Matthew 2, verse 16. Out of Egypt I have called my son. And then when he came and finally lived in Nazareth, verse 23 so that what the prophet said will be fulfilled he shall be called in Nazareth. Then it says, so that what the prophet said will be fulfilled he shall be called in Nazareth. And you see this very often in the Gospel of Matthew. And even on the cross when Jesus said, I thirst then it says, so that the Scripture might be fulfilled. When you read the Gospels, you often find the statement that the Scripture would be fulfilled. From his birth to his death. There were so many things in the life of Jesus exactly planned according to the will of the Father. Now apply that to your own life. When I had just been converted I did not apply this at all to my own life. I was born again and I never knew that the Father loved me like he loved Jesus for 16 years after I was born again. Because nobody showed me this verse. I had to find it myself. And when I believed it, it changed my whole life. That the Father loves me exactly like he loved Jesus. What does that mean? That means he'll care for me like he cared for Jesus. You know how when Herod's soldiers were planning to kill him before they came, God took away Jesus from there. We read in Luke chapter 4 once when Jesus was preaching in the synagogue If you're not familiar with that story, read it sometime in Luke 4. It says initially the people were very happy to listen to what he said. But then he began to say that God loves the heathen people just as much as he loves the Jews in Israel. And that made them very angry. That God loves other people other than Israel. And you read that when they heard that they got so angry they pulled him down from the pulpit. He had just begun his message. They pulled him down. And they took him outside to throw him down the cliff. I don't know, maybe 200 people in that synagogue. All determined to kill him. And it says there, Jesus quietly walked and went away. How can that happen when 200 people try to kill you? That is how the Father cared for Jesus. Because that was not the way Jesus was supposed to die, thrown over a cliff. Because that was not the way Jesus was supposed to die, thrown over a cliff. He had to live another three and a half years and die on a cross. So if someone tried to kill him before that, he couldn't kill him. And if the Father loves you, like he loved Jesus, he'll do the same for you. You know, it says a lot in the Gospels, they couldn't grab him because his time had not yet come. Once they sent soldiers to catch him. You read that in John chapter 7. John 7, verse 44. It says, and some of them wanted to seize him, but no one could lay hands on him. And, you know, the Pharisees, officers came back to the Pharisees, and the Pharisees asked him, why didn't you bring him? And the officers said, in verse 46, we had never heard anyone speak like this man. They went to capture him, and they couldn't. Because his time had not yet come. It's a beautiful expression. Now apply all that to yourself. On the basis of the first verse we read. That this Father in heaven loves me just as much as he loved Jesus. That if 200 people catch me to try and kill me, they won't be able to kill me until God's time has come. That if they send the police to catch me, they can't catch me until my time has come. See, there are practical applications of John 17, verse 23. Our subject today is how to be free from insecurity. The world is full of people who are insecure. Just like little children. Especially orphans. You know, orphans, they don't have a father and mother. They are the most insecure people. Nobody to care for them. Many Christians are like that. They're always afraid, what will happen to me? Will I get cancer? Or some sickness? Will I die suddenly before my time? Or, if I die, who will take care of my children? Will I lose my job? These are all the marks of insecurity. Will somebody try to harm me? Especially in countries where there's persecution, which is not so here. You can live in great fear. The answer to it all is to know that the Father loves me just as much as he loved Jesus. I often thought, how did Jesus escape when those 200 people took him to throw him over the cliff? It's good to use our imagination. In our unconverted days, we used our imagination for a lot of filthy things. So, when you read the scripture, use your imagination. But now that you're reading the scripture, use your imagination. Imagine that 200 people want to grab Jesus to throw him off a cliff. And you have two or three of those cliffs. And they have a discussion among themselves, which cliff shall we throw him over? This cliff, or that cliff, or that cliff? While this big discussion is going on among these 200 people, maybe 10, 15 minutes, Jesus quietly walks away. And then they decide, over this cliff, we'll throw him over. But they look around, he's not there. That is how the Father cared for him. Not by sending angels. He doesn't have to send angels to protect you. He can control the minds and thoughts of people. You know, when Jesus taught us to pray, he said, don't pray like these Old Testament people. Oh, great and mighty, terrible God. He said, when you pray, say, our Father, who art in heaven. Why did he say, you must start your prayer like that? It's good to call him God and Lord, because he is. But I used to pray like that in the beginning. But I saw that Jesus said, when you pray, say, our Father, who art in heaven. Because he wanted me to know that I have a loving Father in heaven. I'm not an orphan. I don't have to be insecure. He's my Father. And so he loves me. And he's in heaven. So he can control everything in the universe. I have someone who loves me, who controls the whole universe, on my side. Who controls all the people who try to harm me. And who controls every circumstance of my life. This is one of the wonderful things of the New Covenant. The Israelites lived under the Old Covenant. They only had earthly blessings. God promised them a life. God promised them a land on earth, Canaan. And in the New Covenant, God has not promised us any land on earth. Millions of Christians throughout the years have not even had a house on earth. But God has promised us a home in heaven. The Israelites were promised money and material prosperity. But God has promised us spiritual prosperity. And the Israelites were promised many earthly children. But God has promised us spiritual children. And the Israelites were promised many earthly children. Do you know that if you are born again, you are supposed to have spiritual children. That means through you, God wants to bring other people to Christ. You may not have earthly children, that is not important. Because you are not an Israelite. But you are a child of God. It is God's will for every one of you to have spiritual children. And if you have not had even one spiritual child, you ask God to give you one. That through you, someone can come to Christ and be in heaven because of you. That is not for some special evangelist, it is for everybody. So, in the New Covenant, we have so many wonderful things. And these all come through the Holy Spirit. See, there is a lot of confusion concerning the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the world today. And who has brought this confusion? It is the devil. The devil has brought confusion so that some people are afraid of the Holy Spirit. They say, oh, we have heard some of these extreme teachings about the Holy Spirit. We don't want that. But, do you know who was the most perfect, spirit-filled man? Jesus Christ. You don't see anything funny in him. His life was so balanced. His life was so balanced His ministry was so perfect. That is the result of being filled with the Holy Spirit. He was so secure in his Father. You know, most of us want people around us to find security. We won't join a church if there are only three members there. Because we feel insecure. Only three people, that can't be a proper church. But Jesus said, if two or three are gathered in my name there, I am in the midst. You can go to another church with 3,000 people and Jesus may not be there. Where would you rather be? With 3,000 people without Jesus in a church? Or three people with Jesus there? I know what I would choose. We started like that about 40 years ago in my home with three or four people in our house. And Jesus was there. And that's how it grew and grew and grew into many, many churches. But we did not look for people. We didn't see how many people came to our church. We wanted Jesus there. Because sometimes when Jesus is there people don't come. They go away. Did you know that? I'll show you John chapter 6. In John chapter 6 we read in the beginning verse 2, a great multitude was following him. But by the time you come to the end of that chapter it says in verse 66 many people withdrew and were not walking with him anymore. John chapter 6 is a wonderful chapter. He spoke there about walking the way of the cross. Of death to self. He spoke there about verse 54 about eating my flesh and drinking my blood. That is spiritual language. Eating my flesh and drinking my blood means sharing in my death. Like Paul said I am crucified with Christ. He said the world is crucified to me and I am crucified to the world, Paul said. That's what Jesus was speaking here. The way of the cross. The way of self-denial. The way of brokenness. The way of putting self to death. That's the meaning of eating his flesh and drinking his blood. And when people heard that they said oh, this is a hard statement verse 60 who can listen to all this? Oh, this way of the cross and death to self. Even today people say the same thing. This is a hard statement. And many people go away from a church that preaches the way of the cross. They like to go to a church where they don't talk about death to self. They like to go to a church where they clap and sing and dance and things like that. But Jesus spoke about the way of the cross and many people left him, verse 66. And verse 67 there were only 12 left. And he said even among the 12 verse 71 of you is a devil. So, how did this chapter start? Great multitude. It says here there were 5000 people who ate just the bread and the fish. Verse 10 Plus women and children. That multitude was about 10,000 people. How did Jesus get these 10,000 people down to 11? Now, today we hear about churches that started with 11 and became 10,000. Have you ever heard of a church that started with 10,000 and became 11? Only Jesus can do that. You know how to do it? Preach the cross. Preach death to self. Preach holiness. Preach putting self to death. Very quickly 10,000 will become 11. But you'll have 11 people who can turn the world upside down. That's how those disciples were. I would rather have 11 people who can turn the world upside down for Christ than 10,000 useless believers sitting in a church. I would rather walk with 11 people who are taking up the cross every day than 10,000 people who just sing songs. Now, what did Jesus... Was he disturbed all these people left? Most pastors would be disturbed if the number kept reducing, reducing, reducing every Sunday. And when there are only 12 left he said, I hope you won't go away. That's not what he said. He said, you also want to go? How was Jesus so secure when people left him? We found that when we did our work in India too. Many people came and then the numbers became less because we preached the cross. But we were not unhappy. We always said if you want to go, you can go. If you want to come, you can come. We don't grab people. But you know what happened later on in John chapter 16? Now Jesus was left with 11 and he tells them in John 16, 32 now there are only 11 people left. John 16, 32 An hour is coming and it has already come when all of you, 11 also will go to your own home. These 11 will also leave him and you will leave me alone. Does he feel scared because he is alone? Is Jesus scared because he is left alone? He says, but I am not alone. My father is with me. And that is the secret of that security. Even if 10,000 turn into 11. If 11 turn into 0. But still I have security because my father is with me. Do you see, many of us seek our security in other believers. Oh, I am glad that there are other believers around me. But how will you feel if every believer that you know will leave you? Can you then say, I am not alone. My father is with me. And that is the life in which God wants to lead every one of us. That is the life in which God led me. Where I did not find my security in other believers around me. And hoping that they will never leave me. I say, I don't care. They can go if they want. I am going to preach the cross. I am going to preach death to self. I am going to walk the way of death to self. I am going to preach the fullness of the Holy Spirit. And if people get offended and go, they can go. If 10,000 become 11, fine. 11 become 0, makes no difference. I am not alone. Because my father is with me. Then you know that God loves you as he loved Jesus. This is the secret of security. That is why he has sent the Holy Spirit. So let me show you the first time that Jesus spoke about the Holy Spirit. So that we understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit properly. In John 14, verse 16, I will ask the Father and he will give you another helper to be with you forever. The Holy Spirit is a helper. Always think of that. He is a helper to help me. Isn't it good to have a helper? Right in the beginning when God made Adam, he said, I'll make a helper for him. He said, it is not good for Adam to be alone. I will make him a helper to help him do his work. And I come to the New Testament and I see Jesus saying, it is not good for you to be alone. I will give you a helper. Wonderful. Who doesn't want a helper? I want a helper. Eve could not be with Adam forever, but this helper is going to be with me forever. He will be with you forever, verse 16. Don't you want this helper? Why should we be afraid of the Holy Spirit? Why should we be disturbed if some people have gone to some fantastic extreme teaching on the Holy Spirit? Do you know why there is so much confusion and deception concerning the ministry of the Holy Spirit today? Why there are so many counterfeit gifts? Because the original gifts are very precious. What do people make counterfeits of? Nobody makes counterfeit newspapers or a counterfeit brown paper They make counterfeit gold, counterfeit diamonds, counterfeit currency notes, only valuable things are counterfeited. People think which doesn't have a value is never counterfeited. So when somebody says to me, there are counterfeit gifts of the Holy Spirit brother, then the original gifts must be very valuable. There are counterfeit operations of the Holy Spirit in the world. Then the original operations of the Holy Spirit must be very valuable. Why should I be afraid of getting real gold just because somebody is making counterfeit gold? I've got to be careful that the devil doesn't cheat me, but if I read the word of God and I look at the example of Jesus, the perfect spirit-filled man I will never go astray and I'll know God as my father. He said here in verse 18, I will not leave you as orphans in connection with the Holy Spirit. That's the only time Jesus said, I will not leave you as orphans. So the Holy Spirit is a helper to save me from being an orphan in this world. All Israelites were orphans. They did not have a father in heaven. They had a God who was master of the universe, but nobody could call him daddy. Nobody. Not Moses, not even John the Baptist. This is the wonderful blessing of the new covenant. And it's not just a question of saying father in prayer, but really knowing him as a father. See, Jesus said, we all know that when we are born again we have eternal life. But if you were to ask the average believer what is eternal life, what is this eternal life you've got? I think many people say, I'm going to live forever. But I say, people who go to hell also live forever. Have they also got eternal life? People don't die in hell, Jesus said they never die. They live forever. They are suffering forever. But then what is eternal life? Jesus gave us a definition of it in John 17, verse 3. He said, this is eternal life. That they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sinned. And then he went on to say that they might know that you love them as you love me. So here is Jesus' definition of eternal life. It's not living forever. But knowing God as my father. Knowing God as one who loves me just as much as he loved Jesus. You know, the implication of this is amazing. Because if God loves me as he loved Jesus, he'll do everything for me that he did for Jesus. Let me show you a verse. Romans chapter 2. It's a very small verse. But we must not skip through verses like this. We must meditate on it. So, let me teach you to meditate on one small verse of the Bible. And show you something which you may have never seen before. Have you all read Romans chapter 2? Let me show you something there you've never seen before. Romans chapter 2, verse 11. There is no partiality with God. Do you believe that? I'm sure you all believe it. There is no partiality with God. With men there are partiality. With God there is no partiality. So, we don't want to rush through that verse. We want to stop and meditate on that verse. So, I apply it to myself. God is a father. I'm also a father. I've got four sons. And I ask myself, was I partial to any of my sons? Did I do something for one son which I would not do for the other? Did I make special clothes like Jacob made for Joseph which I would not make for others? I never did that. What I did for one son I did for the other three. The education I gave one, I gave the other three. If I bought clothes and shoes for one, I bought clothes and shoes for the other. My wife and I gave the same food to all of them. There was no partiality that I showed towards my children. I didn't tell my eldest son, you're my eldest, I'll do something special for you. I won't do it for the others. That would be partiality. Don't you think so? If I did something for my eldest son and I didn't do it for the other three? Now the next question is, it's easy to answer, all of you can answer. Is God a better father than me? There's no doubt about that. You know, Jesus once looked at people and said, if you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly father give good gifts to those who ask him? Why did Jesus call all fathers evil? I don't believe I was an evil father. Why did he say, if you being evil? You know what the meaning of that is? Compared to God's goodness, the best father is evil. It's something like the light of the stars at night. Do the stars have light at night? Yes, but you look up at the sky now, the stars have become darkness. They haven't disappeared, but the light of the sun is so bright that you can't see the stars. That's a picture. God's love is so great that my love is almost like evil. That's why Jesus said, all of you are evil fathers compared to God. So we learned one thing. There is absolutely no partiality with God. I would do for my youngest sons what I did for my oldest son. God will do for all his children what he did for his eldest son. Who is God's oldest son? John 3.16 God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. When Jesus came to earth there was only one. Only begotten son. Very clear in John 3.16. But after Jesus rose up from the dead, on the day he rose up from the dead, these are almost the first words that he spoke. John 20.17 As soon as he rose up from the dead, he told Mary Magdalene who came to see in the garden, John 20.17 John 20.17 The middle of that verse. Go to my brothers and tell them I ascend to my father and your father, my God and your God. This is only three days after he was killed. You know what he told them before he was killed? On the last night when he had the last supper with them. Let me read to you what he said to them. John 15.15 This is about maybe 12 hours before he was crucified. He said to them, John 15.15 I don't call you slaves anymore. I call you friends. In the Old Testament they were slaves. Now he says you are my friends. That's higher. But after four days, after three days, what does he say? John 20.17 My brothers, do you see how it changed? My slaves became my friends. My friends have become my brothers. We need to recognize that. Something happened at the resurrection that Jesus was now no longer the only begotten son. You probably never heard that before, but it is in scripture. Now what is he called? Read Romans chapter 8. Verse 29 Whom God foreknew, that is us. We are the ones whom God foreknew before the foundation of the world to be his children. And he had a plan for us. And do you know what that plan is? It is not to take us to heaven. That is not our goal. A lot of Christians, their goal is to go to heaven. My goal is not to go to heaven. My goal is to become like Jesus Christ. Why do I say that? Because it is written in Romans 8.29 Whom he foreknew, he predestined to be conformed to the image of his son Jesus Christ. You know predestination? It is a big word that many Christians argue about. They argue about does God predestine people to go to heaven or to hell? There is not a single verse in the Bible that says God predestines people to go to heaven or to hell. That is an invention of man. Here it says we are predestined to become like Jesus. That is what scripture says. What does predestination mean? That means a destination decided beforehand. When you get an airplane ticket it may be written there from London to Amsterdam. You get your ticket you have not gone to the airport yet. You are in London but you got a destination already written on your ticket. Amsterdam. That is called predestination. So you go to the airport and you look for the plane that is going to Amsterdam. That is the meaning of predestination. God has given me a ticket with a destination and listen to this it is not heaven. You know what is written there? To become like Jesus Christ 100%. Tell me which is better? Which would you prefer? To go to heaven where the streets are made of gold nice mansions and no sickness no trials but you behave like the devil. What sort of heaven is that? What about if you go to some place where the streets are not gold the streets are dirty no big houses but only a little hut but you will behave like Jesus 24 hours a day. Which do you prefer? I know which I prefer. I don't want streets of gold I want to become like Jesus Christ. That is the destination it is written here predestined to become like Jesus. I was so excited when I saw this what is written on my ticket for so many years I thought it was heaven no it is to become like Jesus. When I said Lord I will be happy to be in hell forever if you are there and I can become like you. I am not worried about the fire I am not worried about the worms if Jesus is with me that will be heaven my heaven is not streets of gold and big mansions my heaven is the presence of Jesus Christ and he is making me like him and the surroundings don't matter and that is why I say you can start your heaven here with all the problems in your life and the little hut you live in and I know some of my brothers and sisters in India live in little huts and that is their heaven because Jesus is there it is not mansions it is not streets of gold it is a wonderful thing when you realize what God predestined you to be why did he do that because of John 17 verse 23 that he loves me like he loves Jesus the most wonderful verse in the whole Bible and now there is a new title for Jesus he is not the only begotten now he predestined me to be conformed to the image of his son Romans 8 verse 29 so that Jesus might be the first born among many brothers and sisters see when I had only one son in the beginning we had one son I could introduce him to people saying this is my only begotten son my wife and I had only one son but the moment I got a second son I no longer said this is my only son what do I say now this is my first born son then I had two more he is the first born among many brothers do you understand this verse now John 3 verse 16 he was the only begotten sent to this earth and until his crucifixion he was the only begotten son God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son but on the day of his resurrection he said tell my brothers what a word I have become his brother I am not a slave I am not even a friend Abraham was called a friend of God what a wonderful thing to be the friend of God but who is closer to you a friend or your son I am a son you are a daughter not just a friend I am closer than Abraham Abraham was only a friend of God Jesus told his disciples in John 15 I call you friends but after the resurrection he said you are my brothers now you need to know that Jesus Christ is not the only begotten son today he is the first born among many brothers and that is why God has destined that we become like Jesus Christ it completely changes your outlook on life when you see your destination written on your ticket you know there are so many people believers who are fed up with their problems in life they say I want to die and go to heaven I never say that because heaven is not my destination I want to be like Jesus I am not fed up with my life on earth we may have aches and pains we may have trials and enemies this world is full of problems but why do you want to leave this world to go to a place where there is no problems and sicknesses but if you go there and behave just like you are behaving here now that won't be heaven that will be hell that is hell I want to be like Jesus before I get to heaven otherwise I will behave like a miserable old child of Adam and then heaven will be a terrible place if we all behave like we are behaving now do you know what is written on my ticket I am going to become like Jesus Christ and if you believe it that is written on your ticket too destination determined before hand why because the father loves you exactly like he loved Jesus it was written Jesus should be born in Bethlehem it is written about me that I should be born in India do you believe that I believe it see Psalm 139 there are amazing verses in the Bible which teach us this Psalm 139 David had a revelation from God and he inspired and he wrote this he is telling God oh Lord verse 13 you formed my inward parts and you wove me in my mother's womb do you know that God formed you in your mother's womb and he gave you certain abilities because he knew that you have to fulfill a certain ministry in the church it is wonderful verse 16 your eyes have seen my unformed substance that means in my mother's womb I was not even like a human being I was small and you could see me through a microscope and my father in heaven saw me you know when my father saw me my heavenly father inside my mother's womb I am so happy to know that that my unformed substance he saw me he wove me it says in verse 13 inside my mother's womb and not only that in his book verse 16 all the days that he planned for me were already written down before the first day was there I was born on the 5th of November 1939 you know when God knew that my parents knew that on 5th of November 1939 but do you know when God knew that before Genesis chapter 1 verse 1 Ephesians 1 verse 4 says he chose us before the foundation of the world do you believe that I believe it I believe every word in the bible that has brought freedom from anxiety in my life if you want to be free from anxiety believe what's written in the bible if God chose me Ephesians 1 verse 4 before the foundation of the world when did God know that Zach Poonen will be born where he will be born before Genesis 1 verse 1 there are some verses before Genesis 1 verse 1 in God's mind there is a little baby going to be born in India called Zach Poonen I'm applying it to me you can apply it to yourself it will bring tremendous comfort to you all that insecurity will disappear from your life when you realize God planned your life long before you were born long before your grandfather was born long before Adam was created he knew me if you're born again he knew you why are you so afraid why are you so fearful something may happen to you you have a father in heaven I read a little poem once Jesus said the father cares for the birds won't he care for you so there were two birds talking to each other and one bird is asking the other bird why are these human beings always so worried and anxious all the time and the other bird says maybe they don't have a father in heaven like we have when the birds look at your life what are they saying to each other look at that couple over there in Netherlands or Germany or Ireland or England or India look at that couple there the birds say always worried always afraid always worried what's going to happen next week where is our money going to come from I have some pain here even no cancer always worried why are they so worried and the other bird says maybe they don't have a father like we have we are so happy we don't have a bank account one bird says we don't keep a store full of food but our father gives us enough every day to eat but these poor human beings are so worried maybe they don't have a father but some of them say they are Christians they say our father the other bird says they say our father but they don't really believe they have a father that's only religious language in the church do the birds say that about you let it be different from today Jesus said I will not leave you as orphans I have sent the Holy Spirit so all the days verse 16 that were ordained for me were written down before the first one was there I've already lived 76 years now I don't know how much more I'm hoping to be alive when Jesus comes you may think I'm very bold you know that is how Paul lived it's very interesting you read the Bible carefully many of us read the Bible too fast I'm teaching people to read the Bible slowly read this word slowly 1 Thessalonians he's talking about the coming of the Lord about verse 16 the Lord will descend from heaven 1 Thessalonians 4, 16 from heaven with a shout he will come who are the ones who will be taken up verse 15 we who are alive we he's talking about himself Paul was saying I'm going to be alive when Jesus comes we who are alive will be taken up that's the way Paul lived and that's the way I want to live but after some years the Lord told Paul 2 Timothy 4 I have finished my course verse 7 verse 6 the time of my departure has come the Lord showed him you're not going to be alive until I come up till that time he lived with the hope I will be alive we who are alive will be taken up one day when God showed him no Paul your time is over you have to go then he said fine so that's my example until Jesus shows me that my time of departure has come I'm going to say like Paul we who are alive will be raptured when Christ comes when the rapture comes and Jesus returns do you know that song that says the air and not the grave is our goal some people are looking for the grave oh I have so many aches and pains when am I going to die no I don't live for that I also have aches and pains but I'm not looking for death I want to be more like Jesus I want to use the aches and pains to make me more like Jesus not complain about them because my goal is not the grave my goal is the sky God loves me as he loved Jesus and so as I was saying God knew me from my mother's womb he knew Jesus would be born in Bethlehem it was written 700 years before Christ was born in God's mind where I was to be born was written in his mind and what type of person I have to be was formed in my mother's womb God called me to be his servant when I was 26 years old 50 years ago initially I thought I would be an evangelist because I did not know much of the Bible when I was converted so I would go to the streets and preach the gospel I had a scooter and I would go with another brother sitting behind we would go to all the streets and stand and preach the gospel and in two years we covered every street corner in that town every Wednesday every Saturday I would go out and preach the gospel I was 24 years old and it was wonderful I did not learn to preach in pulpits like this I learned to preach on the streets because in the streets everybody would not sit quietly and listen to you like this they would make fun of you and laugh at you and call you the devil and all types of things so I became free from the opinions of men on the streets but and then I would give out tracts in the buses and trains I traveled in I was always seeking to witness to people but I hardly brought anybody to Christ and then I discovered God did not call me to be an evangelist I wanted to be I said Lord I will go anywhere I will go to unreached places and preach the gospel but then as I began to teach the word of God I found such tremendous blessing and I gradually discovered my gift to something else you know like they say in English God does not put a square peg into a round hole it won't fit so God prepares us for a particular ministry before you are born God calls you to be an evangelist He will give you that type of personality always very friendly and easily make friends with others talk easily to people I was not that type of person I was very shy and reserved that's not the equipment for evangelist but God gave me a very good memory when I was in my mother's from my mother's womb that's not a spiritual gift it's a natural gift He gave me a good memory He gave me a good mind so that I could study scripture and remember things that I read 50 years ago why did He give me that? because He had a particular calling for me to be a teacher of the word of God no what I want to tell you is this you were given certain gifts from your mother's womb even before you were converted because God had planned a certain ministry for you in the body of Christ and like we read about Jesus so that the scripture might be fulfilled so that the scripture might be fulfilled in the same way for your life and mine so that this plan of God may be fulfilled so that this plan of God may be fulfilled I was not a Christian when I joined the navy I was not born again I joined the navy because I wanted to become the admiral of the navy that was my goal and I worked hard and then I got converted and Jesus came into my heart and this goal that I had He turned it right round and put behind my back and the Lord said I want you to live for me now so it was not what I planned that God had ultimately for me I mean He sent me into the military to learn to be disciplined and many good things like that but His aim was not for me to remain there that was only a training to prepare me to serve Him even before I was converted so I want to tell you something I don't know when you were converted but before you were converted from the time you were in your mother's womb God was planning for you to fulfill a particular function in the church in the body of Christ not all have the same function you know what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12 one is the eye one is the ear one is the hand one is the legs feet all different functions each believer in the body of Christ has got a different function like that but on its own a hand is useless on its own an eye is useless on its own a tongue is useless so you are also useless by yourself I am also useless by myself all these parts are useful when they work together with other parts of the body you know sometimes when you are very gifted in some area you can begin to think you are very important that is a deception there is a beautiful story I read about how to what to do when you think you are a very important person sometimes people think this church will not run without me I am the chief pastor here and this will not work without me I am the most important pastor in the church it will not work without me and the story says this when you feel like this and maybe you think you are a very important person take a bucket of water and put your hand very deep in that water in the bucket of water and take it out and the hole that is left behind that is how you will be missed when you leave do you think you will be missed when you leave the church try to put your fist in the bucket of water you can splash as much as you want when you go into the water but when you pull out your hand there is no hole you will not be missed brother sister you are not indispensable humble yourself and say I am a small part of the body of Christ I say that to myself all the time whatever gift I may have however much God may use me I will always be a very small part of the body of Christ and God's work is not dependent on me God's work went on very well before I was born and God's work will go on very well even after I am gone but during the very short time of maybe 90 years or so I am here I have to do my part in fellowship with others valuing them and not thinking I am more important that is the best way to fulfill our function in the body of Christ you know Jesus lived like that sometimes we think that if I want to pray with others I must find some senior brother to pray with if there is only a younger brother then we say how can I pray with that younger brother how can I do that he is still immature but let me show you the example of the son of God when he was going to Gethsemane he was in tremendous burden and he could not pray alone he wanted to pray with he looks around there is nobody more spiritual than him so he goes to Peter this guy who is going to deny him in a few minutes he says Peter come please pray with me will you ever ask somebody to pray with you who is going to deny you in a few hours will you ever ask somebody to pray with you who is going to deny you in a few minutes Jacob and John weak immature believers there you see that Jesus did not think that he could do it all by himself do you know this is very important that we understand this who is the best player in a football team not the one who always says I must score all the goals I will never pass the ball to anybody else I want to score all the goals myself because I want to break the world record for number of goals he is a useless player the best player is the one who feels that if that guy can score a goal I will pass the ball to him that is what we need to see in the body of Christ not one who feels that I have to get all the honor and I have to do everything myself see these amazing words in 1 Corinthians 12 1 Corinthians 12 verse 21 I cannot say to the hand I don't need you but that we can understand because the eye is a brother and the hand is a brother or the eye is a sister and the hand is a sister and no one can say to another brother or sister I don't need you but now listen to the rest of that verse that's absolutely amazing the head that is Jesus cannot say to the feet I don't need you have you read that? the feet are the lowest members in the body and Jesus does not say to the feet I don't need you I can do without you I want to ask you my brothers sisters do you have that attitude towards someone in the church do you look down on someone and say he is useless he is a believer but I don't need him that is not the attitude of Jesus Christ when you become like Jesus you will say I need every brother and sister even some of those who disagree with me a little if they want to be like Jesus it doesn't matter if they have a little difference of opinion with me see so many Christians divide on the basis of doctrine shall I tell you something when you stand before the Lord in the final day He is not going to give you a question paper with doctrines you know who will get 100% in a doctrinal question paper Satan he's got all his doctrines right but he doesn't have life man looks at the head God looks at the heart so don't fight with people over little small small doctrines there are some doctrines which are very important those are the doctrines concerning the person and the work of Jesus Christ if somebody doesn't believe that Jesus is the son of God who became a man or he doesn't believe that Christ died for our sins and rose again and is coming back those are fundamental doctrines but so often Christians fight over other things which are not so important I'm not able to work with all Christians if their doctrine is a little different but I can fellowship with all Christians if they are born again if they are a member of the body of Christ the father loves them just like he loves me how can I reject them if the head does not say to the feet I don't need you how can I say to some brother I don't need you so you know when we find our security in God I'm not insecure I'm not an orphan I have a father I'm not living in fear what will happen tomorrow I'm not afraid I'll get some sickness and die before my time if I live in the will of God I can never die before my time like it was written about Jesus his hour had not yet come it can be written about me my hour has not yet come and for you do you know that God wants us to live completely without fear every single day of this earth a lot of people wonder which is the safest country for me to live which is the safest place on earth today to live what do you think for a true Christian safest place Afghanistan or Syria or Netherlands it's all the same it's all the same the safest place is the center of the will of God if you are in the center of the will of God Syria is safer than Netherlands if you are not in the center of the will of God even Netherlands is not a safe place for you say Lord I want to be in the center of the will you planned for my life like we read in Psalm 139 all the days God planned for me when written down on 30th of April 2016 you have to be here then I want to be there 30th of May 2016 God wants me somewhere else I must be somewhere else every day is written down and I say Lord I don't want to be in a place where you don't want me to be every day I want to be in the place where you want me to be that's why James says don't say tomorrow I'll go here and go there say if the Lord wills I'll go here and there but it's a wonderful thing to discover that God made a plan for your life before you were born this is one of the greatest truths we discover from the fact that God loves us as he loved Jesus I told you how from birth to death of Jesus it was written as the scripture was prophesied as the scripture was written it was fulfilled for Jesus it was written in the Old Testament for you and me it's written in God's book according to Psalm 139 there's another book just like Old Testament with my name in it each day where I'm supposed to be what I'm supposed to do and my duty is to say Lord help me to see that he won't show me the whole future but one day at a time just like he led the Israelites with the pillar of cloud okay and closing let me read you this verse Numbers and chapter 9 speaking about how the cloud the pillar of cloud led the Israelites and I wanted to be like that in my life I hope you wanted to be like that in your life listen to this Numbers chapter 9 verse 17 when the cloud lifted over the tent the sons of Israel would set out and when the cloud settled down the sons of Israel would camp at the command of the Lord they went out under the command of the Lord they stopped if the cloud lingered many days they would stay there for many days verse 20 if the cloud remained just a few days they would stay just a few days sometimes verse 21 the cloud remained from evening till morning and in the morning the cloud lifted they traveled out again when you read that it looks as if it's very easy no no just listen when the cloud stopped they did not know how long it's going to stop is it going to be one month or one day so the cloud stopped they could take out all their tent equipment and set up the tent now we can lie down and relax for a month but next morning the cloud is moving what is this we got to pack up everything again it was really difficult to live without complaining and murmuring in that wilderness but their safety was in following the cloud and I want to say to you don't murmur and complain about the difficulties in your life your safety is in letting God lead you day by day verse 22 whether it was month or a year as God led them day by day in the wilderness He has a plan for you He won't show you that He will show you day by day and if you live every day by the word of God when you come to the end of your life you'll be able to look back and say thank you Lord for guiding my life that is the best life you can ever live you may not make so much money you may not be very famous but you would have accomplished the will of God on earth and you'll be able to say like Paul I have finished my course may God help each of you to do that let's pray while I heads about in prayer I don't know how eager you have been to find God's plan for your life I don't know how secure you are in the fact that God loves you as he loved Jesus will you say Lord please help me from today to believe one truth that you love me exactly like you love Jesus that you have planned my life exactly like you planned Jesus life thank you for hearing me in Jesus name amen