This sermon emphasizes the importance of understanding and seeking the truth of God's word, as knowing the truth will set us free. It highlights the need to desire God's truth, sanctifying us and making us holy through His word. The sermon also discusses the role of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of truth, guiding us into all truth and revealing the hidden sins in our hearts. It emphasizes the need for humility, grace, and dependence on the Holy Spirit to overcome weaknesses and be transformed into Christlikeness.

Speaking on the word grace, that we need to understand properly, Jesus said, when you know the truth, the truth will set you free. The devil doesn't want us to be free. So, the way he prevents us from being free, is by not allowing us to know the truth. If we know the truth, we'll become free. So, it must be your greatest desire, to know the truth of God's word. I want to show you a verse before I begin. It's John chapter 17 and verse 17. Jesus was praying to his father. And he said, sanctify them in the truth. Thy word is truth. So, we can become holy, only through the truth. And that truth is in God's word. So, if you don't carefully study the word of God, you will not know the truth. And then you will not be free. And you will not become holy. Now, the great work that the devil has done, particularly in our day, is that he has prevented God's people from being careful students of God's word. We have a younger generation growing up now, who know more about television than they know about God's word. And so, they will remain in bondage. Because it's only the truth that will make us free. Jesus said, concerning the Holy Spirit, You know, the Pentecostal church, the Pentecostal people, were the main group that for the last hundred years, has brought the truth to the church of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Of the tremendous gift that God gave on the day of Pentecost. The gift of the Holy Spirit. So, when you call your church a Pentecostal church, that's a very big name to have. Because it's referring back to the old day of Pentecost. When God poured out His Spirit upon man and people's lives were changed. So, it's a very big name to have. It's a very important name. But what is the Holy Spirit come to do? Let me read to you in John chapter 16. John 16 and verse 13. Jesus said, when the Spirit of truth is come. You know, Jesus called the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth. When the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all the truth. Truth is a big area. He will guide you into all of it. You know, God's word has got so much truth in it. But you cannot understand it without the Holy Spirit explaining its meaning to you. If you try to understand the Bible with your human understanding, you'll get a wrong understanding. But when you go to the scriptures and you ask the Holy Spirit to lead you into all the truth. He will lead you into all the truth. And when He shows you the truth in the scriptures, He's also going to show you the truth about your own life. Because God's word is like a mirror. Or if you were to use today's language, God's word is like an x-ray. Or a scan machine. That gives us a scan of our inner life. You know, sometimes a person may think he is very healthy. And he may feel very healthy. But he goes to a doctor for a routine medical check-up once a year. And the doctor takes a scan of his body. And he says, hey, you got cancer. But he says, oh doctor, I feel quite fit. So, you may feel fit, but here's the scan. There's a cancer that is eating away your inside. And if you don't remove it by surgery, it will destroy you. Now what should he do? It's no use getting angry with the scan report. He should love the truth. When the scan shows him his condition, he must love the truth. And allow the surgery to be done to remove the cancer. Then he can live. It's something like that. When the Holy Spirit speaks to us through God's word, it could be in a meeting like this. Where God shows us our true condition. And that's like a scan. And you say, well I feel alright. Maybe you feel alright. But God's word shows you some sin in your secret life. One of the great ministries that Jesus does is to reveal the secrets of men's hearts. You know when Jesus was taken as a little baby to the temple. Simeon took him up and prayed for him. And this is what Simeon said. That this child, this is in Luke chapter 2. He said for the rise and fall of many in Israel. Luke 2 verse 34. And then he said, the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed through him. See that's what happened when Jesus went into the synagogues. In the synagogues a lot of people were sitting who were listening to the preaching of the Pharisees. For so many years. And the secret sins in their lives were not revealed. But the Pharisees were preaching from Isaiah and Proverbs and Esther and Chronicles and all these books. People sat there and they lived in sin. In their hypocrisy and all that. They never got any light on themselves. We can say the scanning machine was defective. The Pharisees could not interpret scripture in such a way they could get a correct scan of people. Then Jesus came into those synagogues and suddenly people began to see. Like Simeon said, the thoughts of their hearts became revealed. The secret sins and wrong attitudes in their heart were revealed. Now when the Holy Spirit is moving in a meeting. The same thing will happen today. See when Jesus preached in the synagogue. He wasn't just preaching some theory. He was anointed with the Holy Spirit. And the spirit of truth working through Jesus Christ. Revealed the secrets of people's lives and their sins. And God's will is today. That the Holy Spirit moves in a meeting. And reveals the secret sins of people. Why does He do it? So that He can heal them from their sin. Why does the doctor take a scan? It is not to make a man feel bad. No. The reason a doctor takes a scan is not to embarrass a person. But to free him from his sickness. And so when Jesus said the Holy Spirit of truth will lead you into all the truth. All the truth in the Bible. And also all the truth about myself. You see there are so many secret sins in all of us. Or there could be things in our life which we don't recognize as sin. And the Holy Spirit shows us that sin. And tells us that Jesus can save you from that sin. That's like the doctor saying you got a cancer. But the good news is surgery I can heal it completely. Or the same thing can happen when you read the Bible. Not if you read the Bible as a ritual. Supposing you read the Bible like a ritual. Saying oh I better read my Bible 15 minutes today. Otherwise I'll have a road accident or something like that. So I read it. Not like that. But if you read it because you have a longing to know what God is speaking to you. Then the Holy Spirit will lead you into all the truth in scripture. And show you the truth about yourself. And when you see the truth about yourself. It's no use fighting against it. I know times in my own life where the Lord has shown me. Maybe I did something or said something and the Lord has spoken to me and said. That was selfishness. You did that selfishly. You didn't think about other people. You only thought about yourself. What do I do? Fight with that scan report? No. I bow down and I say Lord you're right. That was selfishness. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Cleanse me in the blood of Jesus. From that selfishness. And when I acknowledge the truth about myself. God sees that I love the truth. And when I love the truth. He will lead me into more truth. And then like that little by little. Our whole life can be cleansed from sin. See our life. We can see only about 10% of our life. 90% of our life is hidden. We call it unconscious sin. There are things in our life which we don't even know are wrong. But there are certain things we know are wrong. But if you deal with the things that you know are wrong. Then God will show you the things that you don't know which are wrong. It's like if you have an ice cube. You put an ice cube in a glass of orange juice. 90% of that ice cube is under the surface of the juice. You can't see it. It's underneath. You can see only 10% of that piece of ice. Above the juice level. That's like what we can see in our life. We can see only 10%. 90% is hidden. But if you can take a knife and neatly cut off that top 10% of that ice cube. Throw it away. What will happen? You know what will happen. Something which is underneath will come up. And you will be able to see some more. And you take another knife and cut off that part. What will happen? Something more will come up. That is how God shows us more and more of the corruption of the flesh. But if you don't deal with that top 10%, you leave it like that. You know that is a sin in your life. Don't you know there are certain things that are sin in your life already? But you don't take it seriously. You allow it to be there. Then the ice cube will remain the same size forever. And you may be a believer 50 years. And there will be no development in your life. It's like a child who is in the kindergarten for 50 years. That's a great tragedy. If a child is in the kindergarten for 50 years. He is supposed to be in the kindergarten only for one year. After that he has got to go to the next class. So many Christians are in the kindergarten for many years. There is one reason. They don't love the truth about themselves. They don't deal with the sins that they know. And so God does not show them the other sins which they don't know. For me, it has been a tremendous blessing in my life for God to show me the underneath part of the ice cube in my life which God shows me little by little by little. And I'm trying to make the ice cube as small as possible before Jesus comes. Do you want to do that? If you want to do it, you better be honest with the Holy Spirit. That when the Holy Spirit shows you something, call it sin. If you admire a pretty woman and you lust after her, don't say, oh I was just admiring God's creation which is so beautiful. Call it adultery. Call it adultery. Then you'll be free from it. But if you don't call it adultery, one day you may actually fall into adultery. But if you call it adultery, God will free you from it. Lord, that was sin. When God shows you in some situation that you love money, call it. By the sin it is. Lord, I love money. Now some of you may not feel that the love of money is a sin. But 1 Timothy 6 and verse 10 says, The love of money is the root of every type of evil. It's not just one type of evil. The love of money is the root of every type of evil. And if you got that, it's like a cancer. That will destroy you. There are very few believers who understand that the love of money is a cancer. They are more afraid of cancer than they are afraid of the love of money. If you discover that you got love of money in your heart, how many of you will cry out to God and say, Lord, free me from it. But if you discover one day when the doctor tells you, you got cancer, you'll be getting all lot of people to have a prayer meeting for you. To fast and pray that you'll be healed of your cancer. Have you ever fasted and prayed that you should be free from the love of money? No, because the devil says, Oh, that's not serious. Right from the time of Adam and Eve, the devil has always been telling people, sin is not serious. And foolish Adam and Eve believed it. And all the children of Adam and Eve also believed it. That sin is not serious. But Adam and Eve discovered that sin was very serious. They got thrown out of the garden. And one day many of God's people, so called God's people, find themselves thrown out of the garden. Because they discovered that sin is serious. Let me ask you a question. For how many sins, for how many sins, was Adam and Eve thrown out of the garden of Eden? 500? 100? 25? 1? Don't forget that. You want to know how serious sin is? There it is. God is so holy, the Bible says, God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. And you cannot say that you have fellowship with God, if you tolerate some darkness in your life. You cannot tell lies and say you have fellowship with God. Jesus said, your yes must be yes, your no must be no. You cannot cheat on paying your taxes. And say, I have fellowship with God, I speak in tongues. Doesn't mean a thing. You signed a false statement about how much money you earn. That's a lie. And the Bible says in Revelation 21, all liars will go to the lake of fire. Now if you don't believe it, I want to tell you today, maybe nobody told you till today, but you heard it today. In the day of judgment, when Christ comes again, you will discover that what I said today is true. All liars will go into the lake of fire. All those who sign false statements, which is a lie, will go to the lake of fire. And you cannot say in that day that I didn't tell you the truth. A lot of preachers won't tell you the truth. Because they want your money. A lot of pastors won't tell you the truth, because they want honor. But a person who loves you, will tell you the truth. Because he wants to save you from sin, which destroys you. What about gossiping and backbiting and speaking evil of others? Is that a sin? Accusing others, sometimes without even knowing all the facts. Yet that is one of the biggest sins among God's people. Do you know that Satan is called in Revelation 12, the accuser of the brothers. Revelation 12, 10. The accuser of the brethren. That is a title. Satan has got many titles. He is called the dragon, the serpent, Satan, devil, the deceiver of the whole world. There are many titles given right there in verse 9. All those which I just mentioned. And there is one more title in verse 10. The accuser, not of the worldly people, he deceives the world, verse 9. But when he comes to the church, he deceives, that's true, but he also accuses. His special interest is not in accusing worldly people. He is interested in deceiving the whole world. Believers and unbelievers, everybody. If you are in the world, the devil will try to deceive you, whether you are a believer or an unbeliever. He is called a deceiver of the whole world in verse 9. But when it comes to accusing, he specially likes to accuse believers. Not worldly people. Says in verse 10. He is the accuser of the brothers. So, when you have the habit of speaking evil about other believers, maybe you don't like them, maybe you say something to make them small, despise them, to show that you are bigger. Do you know who you are fellowshipping with? You are fellowshipping with Satan. You didn't know that, but you know it today. When you open your mouth to accuse God's people, or speak evil of God's people in your house, to your husband or your wife or to your children, or to other believers who come to visit you, and you accuse God's people, at that moment Satan is saying, Come, hold my hand. Let's do that. I do it all the time. I am glad you joined my team. I am so happy you are with me. I am looking for people who will help me in this work of accusing the brothers and sisters. And I am glad you also have decided to join with me. But who are you? Who do you think you are? But you call yourself a child of God. A child of God? Holding hands with Satan? You know, whenever, the devil is always going around the world. It says, he is not in hell. He dwells in the heavenlies in the second heaven. That's what the Bible says in Ephesians 6. But he comes down from there to the earth to roam around. As we read in the book of Job, that God asks the Satan, Where are you coming from? He says, I have been roaming around the world. And what do you think? Satan is roaming around the world with all his hundreds and thousands of demons looking around for him. He is always looking for something to accuse. Can I find something in this believer to find fault? He even accused Job. Job was the man to whom even Almighty God gave a certificate saying he is a perfect and an upright man. And Satan says, No. He is serving you because you have blessed him. He won't serve you if you don't bless him. And God had to prove that Job was still serving. But he is accusing, accusing. And wherever he sees a fault in somebody, the devil has got very sharp eyes. And he looks at young people, older people. And he is watching them all the time in their private life. How they handle their money. And how they talk and how they behave at home. And when he sees one wrong thing, he goes to God and says, Look at that. That person, he is supposed to be from that Pentecostal church. They talk about being filled with the Holy Spirit and all. Look at how they are behaving. Look at how they are talking at home. Look at how they behave in the college or school or in their place of work. What do you think God does? Can God tell Satan, No, you are a liar. No. If what Satan said is true, God has to say, You are right. They are like that. But, in the midst of all these sinful believers, here and there God will find one man, one woman, one young man, one young woman, who wants to keep themselves pure. You know what Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 5? Keep yourself pure. What a word. Keep yourself pure. And that's the word I would say to all young people, all of you young people. The word that Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 5, in verse 22. Keep yourself pure. Keep yourself free from sin. And some people listen to that. 1 Timothy 5, 22. And they keep themselves free from sin and pure. And then God can point out, Yes, Satan, that person is like that, and that person is like that, and that sister is like that, and that young brother is like that, and that young sister is like that. But, have you seen this brother? What can you find fault with him? He's kept his thoughts pure. He's kept his mouth pure. What a joy it is to God. What a tremendous joy it is to God, when He can find one person like that, even one person in a church. Will you be that one person? I'll tell you, there are not many. There are not many people. Most people the devil can accuse, accuse, accuse. I remember when I was a young man, and I read in the book of Job, how God could boast about Job to Satan, and said, Satan was wandering around the earth, and accusing people. God could say, but have you seen Job? I said, Lord, I want to be like Job. But you can point to one man in India, and say, but see him. He's not like the others. I want to be like that. I had that desire when I was a very young man. I want to ask you, do you have a desire like that? That God can point to you. There is a man, who never gets angry. The devil says, look at that person. He gets angry with his wife, shouts at people. Look at that wife, she gets angry with her husband. Look at these people. They speak in other tongues in the church, and shout at each other in their mother tongue at home. This is not Christianity. And God has to say, yeah, that's right. But, have you seen that person? How he's got self-control. He's filled with the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is self-control. If you cannot control your tongue, you are not filled with the Holy Spirit. I'll tell you that. I used to get angry like anything, even at home. But God filled me with the Holy Spirit, and then He not only gave me another tongue to praise Him, but He controlled my mother tongue also. That's how I knew it was the Holy Spirit. If you can only speak in other tongues, but you cannot control your mother tongue, I don't know if that is the Holy Spirit. It may be some other spirit. I've seen demon-possessed people speak in tongues. But they cannot control their mother tongue. When the Holy Spirit fills you, He'll control your mother tongue. You remember on the day of Pentecost, there was a tongue of fire on top of the heads of all those 120 people. It was God was saying, this tongue of yours, which nobody could control, now by the Holy Spirit, I'm going to set it on fire with the Holy Spirit. I'll be able to control it. I want to ask you whether the Holy Spirit's been able to control your tongue or not. Otherwise, what is the use saying, I'm a Pentecostal? It's just a name. I can be a first-class hypocrite, saying Pentecostal. But look at the way I speak to my wife at home. Look at the way I speak about other people at home. Gossip, backbite. It's a disgrace to the name of Jesus Christ. You know, James was a very practical man. And he said, I want to read a verse in James 1 and verse 26. James 1, 26. If anyone thinks he's a very spiritual man, that means he thinks he's filled with the Holy Spirit. And I think many of us think we are filled with the Holy Spirit. And it says here, if anyone of you thinks you're very spiritual, but you cannot control your tongue when you speak, your Christianity is worth zero. Your whole Christianity is worth zero. Have you read that verse in James 1, 26? Your whole Christianity is useless. Dear brothers and sisters, when the Holy Spirit leads you into all the truth about yourself, and tells you your Christianity is worth zero, what are you going to say? Are you going to fight against the scan and say, no, no, no, I'm alright? Are you going to get angry with the doctor? Why did you take that scan about me? Don't get angry with the doctor, or the preacher, or tear up the scan. That won't heal you. Go to Jesus and say, Lord, it's true. I've been a Christian for so many years, but my Christianity is worth zero. Please lead me into that real Christianity where I can control my tongue. I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Dear brothers and sisters, this is where we need grace. Let me show you Colossians, and chapter 4. Colossians chapter 4, it says, verse 6, Colossians 4 verse 6, Let your speech, now it's talking about the way we talk. It's talking to believers. Let your speech always be with grace. You know how we need grace? Even in our speech? Let your speech always be with grace. And he says, to use an example, it's like food that is seasoned with salt. So that you know how to talk to everybody. Colossians 4 verse 6, Let your speech always be with grace. So that you know how to talk to everybody. Do you know how to talk to everybody? Colossians 4 verse 6 says that, grace in our speech is like salt in our food. Salt is a very good thing. When you taste a meal, you can immediately say, oh there is no salt in it. As soon as it touches your tongue, you can know, is there salt or not. It doesn't even take two seconds. And it is like that, when you listen to a man speak, in less than two seconds you can make out, has this man got grace or not? What does your wife think? All of you who are married. Ask your wife this question when you go home. Darling, do you think my speech has got grace in it? And sisters, please ask your husband, when you go home. Honey, do you think my speech has got grace in it? Ask them to tell you the truth. Love the truth. If there is cancer there, it's better to discover it now, and get the surgery, and get it out of my life. There was no grace in my speech at all. But I repented. I used to weep at night on my pillow, and shed tears on my pillow and said, Lord Jesus, deliver me from sin. I was not committing adultery or murder. I was sinning with my tongue. I said, Lord, I, this tongue, like James says, you can tame lions, and you can tame elephants, and you can tame crocodiles and alligators in the zoo, but you can't tame the tongue. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. And I need grace for it. And when I have grace from God, they couldn't do that in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, they were under law. In the law, you can't do it. Ten Commandments. You can't change a person with ten Commandments. Commandments were like rules. Jesus came to change our nature, not to give us rules. Moses gave us rules. Jesus finished with those rules and gave us grace, which is to change our nature. Grace is help in time of need. Grace comes to give us a new nature within. To use an example, you know how a pig always likes to be dirty. A pig has got no interest in being clean. If it plays around in the muck and the dirt, it's quite happy. That is a picture of the race of Adam. It can play around with sin and it's not disturbed. It can lose its temper and get angry. Ah, it's okay. We are human. That's how a pig is. It can be dirty and it's not disturbed. When you can get angry and you're not disturbed, you're like a pig. When you can lust with your eyes and watch internet pornography and you're not disturbed, it's like a pig. It just loves to be dirty. It's not disturbed. But a cat is not like that. If a cat falls into dirty water, it immediately jumps out. And it licks itself and licks itself and licks itself. I sometimes see cats, Hey, I don't see there's any dirt in it. What's it doing? No, it still wants to lick itself. It's such a terrific passion to be clean. There must not be any speck of dust. And then that cat, that mother cat has got a little kitten. And the kitten starts licking itself. Who taught that little kitten to lick itself? Does the mother give instructions? No, you're a cat, so you must lick yourself everyday. No. It's nature. It's nature. A desire to be clean. That is what happens when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. We get a terrific desire to control our tongue, to control our eyes, to control our passions, and to be clean. We may fall into sin. A cat can also fall into dirty water. I'm not saying a believer may not fall. But what does a cat do when it falls into dirty water? Does it just enjoy itself? It jumps out immediately. That's the mark of a believer. He may fall. But if he falls, he'll jump out immediately and say, Oh God, I'm sorry. Please help me. Cleanse me. If he loses his temper with one word, he'll immediately repent. And after a few years, he'll get victory. Because God sees. He wants to be pure. But what was the law? The law was like tying the pig with ten chains. You know, if I were to take my pig through a dirty road full of muck, and I control the pig with ten chains, ten commandments. Pig wants to go this way, I pull it this way. Pig wants to go this way, I pull it that way. And I, with great struggle, I take the pig through that dirty marketplace with these ten chains, the ten commandments, and it comes out clean. Is it really clean? It's controlled by laws and rules. It's not clean. Because as soon as you take out the chains, back again to the muck. But a cat, you don't have to hold a cat with laws and chains. You know that Jesus came to set us free from the law? Because He gave us the Holy Spirit within. Let me read to you. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Grace. I read that last time on Sunday. Zechariah 12, 10. I'll pour out the Spirit of Grace on the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And it says in Galatians. And chapter 5. Listen to this wonderful verse. Galatians 5 and verse 18 says, If you are led by the Holy Spirit, you are not under the law. You are not under the ten commandments. When you are led by the Holy Spirit. But if you are not led by the Holy Spirit, Oh brother, sister, you better go back under the law. That means if God has not succeeded in changing your pig's nature to a cat's nature. Then you better go back to the ten chains. Because that's the only way you'll be clean. But the best way is, not with chains like Moses' law. But the best way is a change of nature. If by some miracle you could put a cat's nature inside that pig. Then you won't need any chains. Because the pig will start licking itself and keeping itself clean. It will be quite a miracle if you could see a pig licking itself and keeping itself clean. But it doesn't need any chains now because God put another nature inside. That is what is called being born again. And being filled with the Holy Spirit. And if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things are passed away. All things are become new. It's like that pig has suddenly become a cat. Have you experienced that? That is the real spirit filled life. I did not know it for many years. But I had a longing for it. I wept and I prayed and I fasted and I sought God and I read the word. And God opened my eyes and filled me with the Holy Spirit. And showed me this wonderful new covenant blessing. That God wanted me to have His nature. Then I was free from the law. If you are led by the Holy Spirit, you are not under the law. It's like telling the pig, dear pig, if you get a cat's nature, you don't need the ten chains. Isn't that right? Right? But if you don't get that cat's nature, brother, you better need those ten chains. Sure. See, God has given me the responsibility for about 50 churches that we have planted in India over the last 35 years. And I preach the same message I am preaching here, I preach in all those 50 churches. And I have seen that there are two ways in which I can build those churches. One is by making lot of rules. You must not do this, you must not do that, you must do this, you must do this. You must not only ten chains, but about 50 chains. Because they are all pigs. If I take away the chains, they'll get dirty. If I don't make any rules for those young sisters, those young sisters will all become worldly. So I have to make so many rules for them. And if I don't make rules for all the young brothers, they'll all become worldly. So what shall I do? Tie them with chains. One chain, two chains, three chains, ten chains, forty chains. Then I keep them all clean. Brothers, come and see what a pure church we have got. I am holding the chains tight. You see them? How well dressed they are? How they behave? Really? Can you get rid of those chains? Let me see how they behave then. No, no, no. We have to keep the chains. There is a better way. Lead them to a genuine fullness of the Holy Spirit. Genuine. Not a counterfeit. Not an emotional excitement, but the Holy Spirit. You know, I ask people this. If a person is filled with an unclean spirit, what does he become? Unclean. If a person is filled with an evil spirit, what does he become? Evil. And if a person is filled with the Holy Spirit, what shall he become? Holy. Why isn't he holy then? I remember once, one brother came to our church in Bangalore. And, you know, we clap our hands, we raise our hands, we shout, we praise the Lord, but he came from a church where they make a lot of noise. And we don't make so much noise. So he came to our church and said, Hey, you people don't have the Holy Spirit. I said, How do you know that? Have you seen how I live with my wife at home? Have you seen how I brought up my children? Have you seen how I handle money? How do you know I don't have the Holy Spirit? Oh, you don't have enough noise in this church. Ah, I said. See, your trinity is Father, Son and noisy spirit. Our trinity is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I said, That's the big difference. We have a different trinity, sir, from you. I agree, we are not filled with a noisy spirit, but we are filled with a Holy Spirit. It's changed our lives. It's made us holy in the way we handle money, in the way we speak to our neighbors, in the way we deal with people at home, in the way we just live our daily life, in the way we speak. It didn't happen overnight, but it did happen. When you are led by the Holy Spirit, you are free from the law. And there is another wonderful thing that happens. The Apostle Paul said, in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, that God gave him a thorn in the flesh. Now, I don't know what that thorn in the flesh was, but I think it was a little sickness that God gave him. And the reason was to keep him humble. This man who could heal the sick and raise the dead, cast out demons, he had a sickness himself. He couldn't be healed. And that would humble him. And he prayed. Do you know that sickness is a messenger of Satan? God doesn't give sickness. Sickness is always from the devil. I believe that with all my heart. I believed it all my life, that sickness is from the devil. But 80% of the sicknesses in the world today are because we are living in a world which is under a curse. Don't think that all your sickness is because of sin. There are little children born blind. What sin did that child commit to be born blind? No, don't say that it's always due to sin. We are living in a world which is under a curse from the days of Adam. And 80% of all the sicknesses are due to being under a curse. It can affect believers, it can affect unbelievers. If there's a flu in town, even believers can get it. If there are thorns, even a believer can poke a believer's foot, just like an unbeliever's foot. But that's because of the world under the curse. For example, we perspire when we work. That's because of the curse. God told Adam, by the sweat of your brow, even believers perspire. And above all, we die. Death is due to the curse on the earth. Even believers die. So don't think that all sickness is due to sin, but I believe that a lot of sickness is due to sin. For example, if you don't forgive somebody, you may have some sickness which will never be healed. I remember when, about 44 years ago, I had to go to a hospital for a small surgery. It was a very minor thing, but they had to give me anesthesia. And a few days after that, I found a strange pain down my hand. Very severe pain. It was getting worse and worse, and I consulted a friend of mine who was a neurosurgeon. And he said, perhaps when you were under anesthesia, they were careless with your neck, and your neck must have fallen backwards in some twisted way, or some nerve got affected, and that's the cause of this, and there's no cure for it. I got so angry with the doctor who treated me. I didn't know anything about victory over sin those days. So when you don't know anything about victory over sin, you write some really angry letters. So I wrote a really angry letter to that doctor. It was a real stinker. And about one day after I wrote it, the Lord spoke to me. You're a child of God. That's not the way to write to another person. He didn't do it deliberately. It's an accident that can happen to anybody. Even if he did it deliberately, you must forgive him. I said, Lord, I'm really sorry. In a moment of anger, I wrote that letter. I immediately wrote another letter to that doctor. He was a believer. Dear brother, I'm really sorry. I'm ashamed that I wrote such a letter. Please forgive me. I withdraw that letter and all that. I'm thankful for what you did. I know you never did anything deliberately. You did your best, and these accidents can happen to anyone. Even if I have to live with this pain for the rest of my life, it's okay. God bless you. Thank you. And in a few days, pain went away. I've never had that pain for 49 years. Who did that? Any amount of pills and injections would not have healed me. But when I forgave somebody, I was healed. That happened to me a second time with another doctor. And the Lord said, I want to test you a second time. I said, sure. This time I'll pass. This time I never wrote any stinking letter. I never spoke an angry word. Because by that time, I'd already learned my lesson. How to overcome sin. It's good. And God takes care of us. So, sickness is sometimes from the devil. And what Paul calls it here, a messenger of Satan. But he prayed. In 2nd Corinthians 12, verse 7, he says, Lord, heal me. Heal me. Three times, verse 8. And the Lord said, no. Do you know sometimes God says no to your prayers? That doesn't mean He has not answered. I always tell people, God answers all my prayers. Sometimes the answer is, you know like the traffic lights? How many traffic lights are there? Three. You have yellow, I mean you have red, orange and yellow and green. Red, yellow and green. Let's call it that. Red means stop. Yellow means wait. Green means go. So, when you pray, God says no or wait. Or yes. So, always there is an answer. So, don't ever say, God never answers my prayer. Sometimes when God says no, we think He didn't answer it. He did answer it. The answer was no. Like if my child comes and asks me, Dad, I want a brand new car. I say, no. Supposing he says, Dad didn't answer my prayer. Of course I answered. The answer was no. Sometimes the answer is wait. You are not yet ready for it. Sometimes the answer is, OK, you can have it. So, the Apostle Paul, he prayed. God said no. He prayed a second time. Lord, this is a messenger of Satan. No. In Jesus name, get rid of it. No. You mean even in Jesus name it doesn't go? If God wants you to have it, He will allow you to keep it. And then God says, now I will tell you why I am saying no. Whenever God says no, there is always a reason. Paul, you are a mighty servant of God. There is nobody in the whole earth who is serving me like you. And you are experiencing so many wonderful experiences. Being taken up to the third heaven, doing miracles, raising the dead. You are in danger of spiritual pride. And I resist all proud people. And I don't want to resist you. I can give grace only to humble people. And I want to give you grace. And in order to give you grace, I have to keep you humble. And the only way to keep you humble is by giving you this little sickness. Keep it. And as soon as he heard that, he said, oh, then it's okay Lord. I accept that. The Lord said to me, verse 9, my grace. Again that wonderful word, grace. Is sufficient for you. Because my power. Last Sunday we were thinking of grace as help. From Hebrews 4.16. Grace is help in time of my need. Here, grace is power. For my weakness. That's the other definition of grace. Grace is help when I am in need. In time of temptation. Hebrews 4.16. And grace is power when I am weak. Then he says, God says, my power, my grace is equal to my power. And it's manifested when you are weak. You know, one of the things I have discovered through the years. Is God doesn't want you to be strong. He wants you to be weak. Because when you are weak. He can give you grace. You know, some people say, I lose my temper brother Zak. Because I am so weak. I can't overcome my temper. I say, you are not weak. You are strong. That's why you lose your temper. I mean, I can prove that to you. Supposing you see a man lying in a hospital bed. You know, lying there and cursing all the nurses. And angry with the doctors and shouting and yelling. And then next day, he's become a little weaker. He's not shouting so much. And after a few days, after he's got tubes in his nose and veins and everything. He's become completely silent. When was he angry? When he was weak or when he was strong? When he was strong. It's because you are strong that you get angry. When you become weak, you won't get angry. God has to make you weak. Because when you become weak, He can give you His grace. Grace is like a power. To strengthen me in my weakness. Many years ago, I prayed to God that He would give me the supernatural gift of prophecy. Because the Bible says, seek earnestly for the gift of prophecy. To speak God's word with prophetic power. Exactly according to the need of people. Anywhere in the world I go, according to the need of people. And the Lord said, then you must be weak. You must recognize that you know nothing. I said, yes Lord. You must recognize you have no ability. Yes. You must lean upon me just like the branch is in the tree. You know how the branch is so helpless? If you cut the branch, it cannot produce any fruit. But it leans helplessly upon the tree. And the sap, that liquid, flows into the branch. That's the Holy Spirit's power. And the fruit comes. Plenty of fruit. If you were to go to the branch and ask, Hey branch, how do you get such a lot of fruit? I just do nothing. I just lean helplessly upon the tree. And the fruit keeps coming. Do you know that's the secret of the Christian life? To lean upon Jesus. Say, Lord, give me grace for every need in my life. Supposing you are facing some new situation tomorrow. For which you don't know how to handle it. You need grace. Every time I get into the pulpit, I pray, Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit. Give me the gift of prophecy. Give me an anointing from above. Give me grace. So that I can speak words according to the need of people. Not only in the pulpit, when somebody comes to see me at home. And talks to me. I say, Lord, I don't know what that person's need is. But give me grace to help that person. To go right into his heart to help him. Do you know that God wants you, my brother, sister, all of you young people, everyone. To be a blessing to others. And grace is the answer for everything. Let your speech always be with grace. When you are weak, ask God for grace. Do you have a difficult husband? Do you know what you need? Grace. You can be a sweet wife with a meek and a quiet spirit. If you have grace. If you don't have grace, you won't be able to do it. Do you have a wife who is like a witch? Never mind. Grace can help you to be an overcomer. And love her like Jesus loved the church. Sure, what you need is grace. Grace can melt the heart of your rebellious, teeny children. And bring them back into the fold of God. Grace is the answer to everything. By grace we can overcome. And be overcomers. And stand against the devil. The devil will not be able to touch us. God gives us grace. Let me read this in closing. 1 Peter 5 and verse 5 it says, God gives His grace to the humble. There is only one category of person to whom God will give grace. The person who is humble. And do you know how to be humble? Please listen to me. Do not compare yourself with other believers. Do not compare yourself with other people in the church. You will be proud. Or if they are better than you, you will be jealous. One of the two. Compare yourself with Jesus Christ. Always. And I guarantee, you will always be humble. I am telling you what I have practiced. I remember the days I used to compare myself with other believers. And I was like the Pharisee. Lord I thank you, I am not like that person, that person. And I didn't get grace. Because God doesn't give grace to proud people. Till the Lord showed me that compare yourself with Jesus. Looking unto Jesus. And I looked unto Jesus. Boy! I saw so much need in my life. I found constantly so many things in my life. Which are not Christ like. And I kept on crying out to God. For help. It's very easy to be humble. When you look at Jesus Christ. One more thing. You want to be humble. Even though Jesus has forgiven all our past sins. Cleansed it in the blood. And said I will not remember your sins anymore. You must remember your past sins. If you remember all the sins that you committed in the past. It will keep you humble. I am not telling you what is not written in scripture. It says in 2nd Peter chapter 1 and verse 9. If you forget your purification from your past sins. You will become blind. I am not saying we should be guilty about our past sins. No. The blood of Jesus has delivered me from all guilt. About every single sin I committed in the past. It's cleansed in the blood. God says I will not remember your sins anymore. Hebrews 8 verse 12. But I must not forget according to 2nd Peter 1 verse 9. My purification. So that I always remember. I am a sinner saved by God's grace. I am not better than anybody else. And I will never despise believers again. Who are the people who are always backbiting and speaking evil of others. Those who have forgotten their own sins. They are the ones who speak and accuse people the most. Those are the people who speak the speck out of somebody's eye when there is a beam in their own eye. Do you know what the beam is? The beam is a unloving judgmental attitude. Even if that fellow has committed adultery. It's a speck compared to a beam. An unloving judgmental attitude. The Pharisees had a beam in their eye when they looked at the woman caught in adultery. And Jesus was saying that's a speck compared to your beam. You hypocrites you got such a judgmental attitude to that poor woman. Look at all the secret sins in your life. Have you forgotten them? They went away. So let's humble ourselves brothers and sisters. God loves us immensely. I believe it's because God loves you that he gave you the word today. That's a proof of his love. So that he can make you pure and prepare you for his coming. Because he is coming soon. Let's bow our heads before God. So while our heads are bowed. Let's stand and bow our heads before the Lord. I want you to please forget about everybody else. Allow the Holy Spirit to show you only your need. Don't look at the cancer in somebody else's life. But see the cancer in your own heart. And say Lord, I'm sorry. For all the backbiting and gossiping that I've practiced in my life till today. I'm sorry for all the evil I've spoken against others. I'm sorry for all the unkind criticism. I'm sorry for the lustful looks and the impure thoughts. I'm sorry for the lies I've said. And for the cheating I've done in money matters. In my business. And in many areas Lord. Please cleanse me, I confess my sin. Please I brought a lot of dishonor on your name. I brought a lot of dishonor to you as the devil has accused me to you about many things Lord. Please forgive me. Today, right now, cleanse me in the blood of Jesus. I want to go away from this church building completely clean. In my heart. And I want to keep my heart clean. Tomorrow. And this week. And next week. I want to grow in purity and holiness. Give me grace. For every situation. To be an overcomer. And make me a blessing to others Lord. Especially my speech. Please give me grace in my speech. I believe you will help me. So that I don't have to live controlled by rules and chains. But led by the Holy Spirit. Yes Father. We believe that you have a tremendous love for all of us. And you sent Jesus to die for us that we might be pure and holy. I pray you will bless every single person. Who is sincerely prayed to you tonight. You know who they are. Even a young person. You heard their prayer. Please assure them that you heard their prayer. And I pray you will pour out your Holy Spirit upon them. Fill them with the Holy Spirit. And strengthen them from within in the inner man. With grace. So that they can be conquerors. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you.