In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of seeking wisdom in our spare time. While we have necessary work and responsibilities, we should use our free time to acquire wisdom. This goes beyond just reading the Bible, as wisdom can be found in various sources. The speaker also highlights the consequences of disobedience to God's word, using the example of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. However, the sermon offers hope by reminding listeners that God became a man to redeem humanity and restore our relationship with Him. The speaker encourages the audience to prioritize God's commands and respond to them with the same obedience as the angels in heaven.

I want to read a verse in 1 Peter, chapter 1. We looked at it last week, and it says here, concerning this salvation, verse 10, 1 Peter 1, verse 10, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful their searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating. It's an amazing thing that Old Testament prophets were eagerly trying to understand this salvation that we experience so freely, and they longed for it. And in the message translation, in the last part, it says here, of this verse 12, angels would have given anything to be in on experiencing what we can experience today. But it's not certain that every Christian experiences what we can experience. I believe one of the great regrets that people have who will go to heaven is that they did not fully take advantage of all that God had provided for them on earth. They missed out on so much which could have been theirs. They lived in spiritual poverty when they could have been rich, because we didn't know what we had. We were ignorant, and we are ignorant partly because we don't spend time studying the scriptures carefully. One of my great concerns for the new generation growing up in the world today is they are more familiar with what they see on television than in the Word of God. It's a great tragedy. I grew up as a young man in a world without television, and I was very thankful because I could spend my time with God's Word, get to know it, and through it know God and possess my riches in Christ that has made my life so richly blessed. One of my prayers consistently has been, Lord, when I get to heaven, I don't want to have any regret over the life I lived on earth. I don't want to regret that I missed out on something that I could have experienced on earth and something that I could have done for you through that experience, some way in which I could have blessed a few more thousand people than I did. Lord, I don't want that regret in heaven. Show it to me now. If there's sin in my life which I'm ignorant of, show it to me now, Lord. Don't show it to me in heaven. It's too late. I want to be free from it now. I would urge you to pray that prayer. Take life seriously. The coming of the Lord is near, and we must be ready for His return. The angels would give anything. Think of this expression. The angels would give anything to be in on what we can experience. The pro-Old Testament prophets would have given anything to experience what we can experience. And yet, my personal testimony is that in my observation, 95% of the believers I have met in my life, their standard of life is below the standard of Old Testament prophets. Sure. Can you imagine the Old Testament prophets fooling around with sex, watching internet pornography? Can you imagine the Old Testament prophets running after money? No. And yet, so many people who claim to have found something superior to the Old Covenant are living a life far below the Old Covenant. See, when you become free from the law, the Old Covenant is law. And, of course, there's a lot of preaching about being free from the law. And I believe it myself. I'm free from the law. But the great danger is when you become free from the law, you come to a fork in the road. You know what a fork in the road is? You're going along a straight road, and then you come to a fork. And you've got to choose which way to go. So, in our younger days, we have a conscience, and we live under the law as children. And even worldly people live under the law. And that's why there's some amount of law and order in the universe, in the world. But when you come to a fork in the road, you say, I'm free from the law, I'm free from the Old Covenant. You can either enter into that road called grace. And very few people travel that road. Or another road, which is freedom for the flesh. So, from the Old Covenant, you go either into No Covenant or New Covenant. And most people have gone into No Covenant. They're free from the law, sure. Why is their life worse than that of Old Testament people? Because they've taken the wrong turning. They've gone to No Covenant. Why is the lives of so many Christians in this generation, growing up, worse than the lives of non-Christians, who don't have a Bible, who don't know Jesus Christ? It's true. There are many people of non-Christian religions who have a greater fear of God. And a greater sense of morality than many Christians. The reason is, they've stepped out of Old Covenant into No Covenant. And if you're like that, my brother, sister, I want you to acknowledge it first. You know, the first step to all deliverance is acknowledgement. God desires truth in the inward parts. He'll do anything for someone who acknowledges. And then comes to the Lord and says, Lord, I want to retrace my paths. I want to go to that place where I missed the road. I want to enter the New Covenant. I've been living with No Covenant. I'm free from the law, free from the Old Covenant, but with No Covenant. So the angels would have given anything to experience what we can experience. You know, Jesus said that the people in the kingdom of God, which is another expression for New Covenant Christians, could experience a life which is higher than the greatest Old Testament man, John the Baptist. Jesus said that in Matthew 11, verse 11 and 12. But how many Christians have you met who live like that? I mean, if an angel from heaven were looking at your life, would they say, Boy, I wish I could live like that brother. I wish I could live like that sister. Which angel would say that? Would Gabriel looking at your life say, Boy, I wish I could live like that brother or sister. That's our calling. I want to live like that. You see, we need revelation that God has become our Father and that He loves us tremendously. I've thought about, you know, I've often said the greatest truth in the Bible is that God loves us as He loved Jesus. But I've thought about what was the result of that truth. It was this amazing thing that God became man. Now that sounds very simple, right? It's like telling you 2 plus 2 is 4. You say, Oh, I know that. But I'll tell you this. I'm just discovering after 46 years of being a believer, some of the wonderful things that are the result of God becoming man. Even today, I saw something which really challenged me. What does it mean that God became man? It meant that we could experience something that angels could not experience. Why wasn't it possible for Old Testament people? Because God had not become man. And Hebrews chapter 2 is a great chapter dealing with this. I want to read some things from there. In Hebrews chapter 2, it says, verse 5, God did not subject to angels the world to come. But He says, what is man? Someone has testified somewhere saying. I like this verse because it teaches us that if you know a Bible reference, it doesn't mean you're a holy man. Here is an inspired New Testament writer who doesn't know what you and I know. That's from Psalm 8, man. Don't you know that? No, he doesn't know that. He says, somebody somewhere wrote this. Inspired by the Holy Spirit. Don't think Bible knowledge makes you holy. Even the devil could have told the writer of Hebrews. That's Psalm 8. It's very important to know that. Because some people think that if they read the Bible and study it, they become holy. A lot of rubbish. You've got to obey the Bible to become holy. So, someone testifies somewhere. What is man that you remember him? Or the son of man that you're concerned about him? You have made him for a little while lower than the angels. For a short period only. Lower than the angels. You know why? Because angels don't die. And we die. That's what makes us lower than the angels. Angels never die. God didn't make Adam like that. No. Adam was not supposed to die. But when he sinned, he became a little lower than the angels. Because of death. But you have crowned him with glory and honor. And appointed him over the works of your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet. And when God put everything in subjection to Adam. He did not leave anything which is not subject. But we don't see around us in the world. Everything subject to us. We don't see wild animals obeying us, do we? We don't have control over nature. We don't see the storms and the hurricanes obeying man. In fact, they work havoc. Destroy thousands of people and thousands of homes. Yet one day, when God created man. He didn't create man to be a slave to hurricanes and cyclones and storms and tornadoes and wild animals. No. All these things destroy men all over the world today. Man was supposed to be a ruler. But he lost everything because of one thing. Disobedience to God. Don't ever forget that. You can lose everything in life. If you don't obey God's word. Everything. That's the lesson from Genesis 3. So what did God do? Here is the wonderful truth. And I pray Lord, let me never lose the wonder of this. That God became a man. Like me. Not just any man. Not just some 5 star type of man. Who was not like me. No. One who came and lived in this slum. Called earth. Became like me. We can lose the wonder of that. And I want to say brothers and sisters. Never lose the wonder of it. One of the things I keep praying. Lord let me never lose the wonder of the truth. That Jesus died for my sins. Let there always be a little. Some tears in my heart. When I think that Jesus died for me. That it must always be a new song for me. That Christ shed his blood. For a wretch like me. Amazing grace how sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me. I stand amazed in the presence. Of Jesus the Nazarene. And wonder how he could love me. A sinner condemned. Unclean. The wonder of that. I never want to lose it. I haven't lost it today. Many a time when we sing that song. The tears in my eyes. I think of Jesus died for me. It's never an old truth. It never will be. And that Jesus became a man. Like me. To bring me to where he is. Simple truth. Like 2 plus 2 is 4. I never want to lose the wonder of it. But. We see one person. You know even though we don't see man. Ruling over everything. We see one man. Who lived on earth. The way God wanted man to live. Everything was subject to him. The law of gravity was subject to him. He could walk on water. You know why? How could a man like us. Walk on water. Because he was perfectly free from sin. You know what perfect freedom from sin can bring into your life? None of us are like that. One day we will be. The law of gravity will be subject to us. Nothing. Even the law of gravity will have no hold on me. When I'm totally free from sin one day. I'll be able to fly. I'll be able to go through walls. Because Jesus became a man. The Bible says in Mark chapter 1. That he was with a wild beast. Do you know that Jesus was with a wild beast? During the wilderness. 40 days. He was not only in the desert. It's very clear in Mark 1. That he was with a wild beast. And they didn't harm him. The tigers and lions. Wild in the wilderness. They couldn't touch Jesus. I mean. As we get closer and closer to likeness of Christ. We begin to experience a little bit of that ourselves. Jesus said about how. His servants mean. When they go out to preach the gospel somewhere. Poisonous snakes would bite them. And they wouldn't be harmed. What's that? It's a little bit of the poor taste of that life. Sadhu Sundar Singh. Says how there were times when. He woke up from bed and found a poisonous snake. Snake was lying in the bed next to him. In that cold climate. Seeking the warmth of his blanket. Didn't touch him. And how he would pat. Tigers and leopards. Who came to him. I mean a man lived close to God. Even the animals recognized. This is not an ordinary man. Jesus experienced it in fullness. He could still a storm. Storm he said. You know that's how God wanted us to live. Do you see what a havoc. Sin has wrought in our life. Have you learned to hate sin. All the mess it has created. What we could have been. Kings who should be kings. Now we are slaves. We see Jesus. He also. Verse 9. Was made for a little while. Lower than the angels. Because of the suffering of death. That's where we get the explanation. What lower than the angels means. Lower than the angels because of death. Death made even Jesus. The creator. Took a place lower than the angels. Have you seen that. Have you seen the glory of the humility there. Have you seen the glory of the humility there. If you want to understand that. I mean. Many of us have experienced. Having servants. Working in our home. Think if one day you. Sit down and. Wash the servants feet. Or go to the servants house. And clean up the floor. Instead of her cleaning your floor. You go to her house and. Clean up her floor for her. Boy. Would you think that. That's beneath my dignity. We haven't understood the way of Jesus. That's why. That's what Jesus did. We can talk about it. Sing about it. Think we are praising and worshipping God. I tell you your worship becomes meaningful. When you have seen. The real Jesus. This wonderful man. God who became man. For us who. Allowed himself to take a place lower. Than the angels he created. For the suffering of death. For what reason. Only that you and I. May come into this wonderful life. That the angels cannot have. And can you imagine his disappointment. When we don't come into that life. When we live a substandard. Type of life way beneath. What we are supposed to live. And what we can live. Because of his blood. Shed on the cross. And the gift of his holy spirit. He's crowned with glory and honor today. Because. By the grace of God. He tasted death for everyone. Do you know that even Jesus. Could not go to death. Without the grace of God. The bible says that the first human being. Who ever experienced. The grace of God. Was Jesus. And if you want to know. What the grace of God can do. For a person from. Childhood till death. Look at Jesus. Because the word. The grace of God. Is spoken first. In relation to Jesus. Noah did not experience grace. Even though King James version uses that. The word is favor. He experienced favor. The bible is very clear. That the law came through Moses. John 1.17. Grace came only through Jesus Christ. There was no grace in the world before that. So it is grace that has made the difference. Between those old testament prophets. And you and me. It is grace which the angels. Cannot experience. Which the angels would give anything. To be in on. It says about Jesus. At his birth in Luke chapter 2. The first. I don't know whether you know this. This is the first place. In the entire bible. Where it says that the grace of God. Was upon a human being. Luke's gospel chapter 2. And verse 40. Luke's gospel chapter 2. Verse 40. The first place. In the whole bible. Where it says the grace of God. Was upon a human being. And that was Jesus. I mean people who haven't seen. That Jesus became a man like us. Can't understand that. They think only Jesus gives grace. Sure he gives us grace. But he received grace himself. When he was on earth. That's how he lived. An overcoming life. And that's how we can live an overcoming life too. Because he says my grace. Is sufficient for you. That means my grace is enough for you. To handle anything that you face on earth. Can you say that? That's what grace. Grace makes us conquerors. More than conquerors. The old testament people couldn't say that. They had so many complaints. Have you read of this wonderful man Job. Who was so good. That even God could praise him to Satan. But he was old testament. Have you seen the things he complained against God. God why you do like this. And why you do this to me. And why you do this. Jeremiah complained to God like that. These prophets could not experience grace. But Jesus never did. Even when he suffered. The worst possible thing. That any created being can suffer. Hell on the cross. Forsaken by his father. That's the meaning of hell. Being forsaken by the father. He experienced it on the cross. There was no spirit of rebellion. In him. He couldn't understand it as a man. And in his confused mind as a man. He said my God. My God. Why have you forsaken me. As if saying I can't understand this. But even if I can't understand it. You are still my God. And you will always be my God. What a different way. That even when he is experiencing hell. He says you are still my God. That will never change. You know that's what grace can do to us. In the deepest suffering. And nobody will ever suffer like Jesus did. Don't ever let any of you think you are suffering a lot. That's one of the ways in which the devil destroys people. You know the number of believers who feel sorry for themselves. Who have self-pity. Oh this is the way somebody is treating me. Look at all the sicknesses I am having. Look at all the problems I am having. You let the devil put you on that merry-go-round of self-pity. And I tell you in a million years you won't come into the new covenant. Get off that merry-go-round. Say like Jesus. You are still my God. That never changes. We can say more. You are my father. There was only one time in life that Jesus ever called his father God. It was on the cross. He never called him God in all eternity. Once and only once in his entire life he called him God. And that's when he took the punishment for your sin and mine. He was now not looking at a father but he was looking at the judge of all the universe and taking the punishment for what he did not deserve but what you and I deserved. But even then there would be no rebellion in him. It was grace. The grace of God it says here was upon this child and because of that he increased in wisdom. Do you want to increase in wisdom? Wisdom is different from knowledge. The most important thing we can get on earth is wisdom. Like Moses prayed in Psalm 90 verse 12. Lord teach us to number our days so that by the end of our earthly life we can have a heart full of wisdom. I'm just paraphrasing his words. Psalm 90 verse 12. Lord teach me to number my days. There are so few. I'm not going to get wisdom watching television. No, I'll tell you, you won't get any wisdom there. You'll get a lot of provocation to sin. We need to know what's happening in the universe. Okay, we need to know facts and you read a little bit about that in the newspaper and maybe watch some news program on television and know that, but you're not going to get wisdom. I mean, there are lots of things in the world you can spend your life pursuing. I'm talking about your spare time. I'm not talking about the necessary work you have to do. All of us have to work say eight hours a day, six by six days a week in order to earn our living. That's necessary. Then you have to concentrate on your work. You can't do anything. Students have to study. Concentrate on their studies. There's no glory to God in failing in an examination saying I read the Bible. There's no virtue there at all. But, once we have finished doing the essential things of life, you can spend the rest of your time either seeking to acquire wisdom and by acquiring wisdom I don't mean just reading the Bible. I think we acquire wisdom by reading the Bible, but also by walking with God. You know, to walk with God is the most pleasant experience any human being can have. Have you met certain people on earth who is always a pleasure to be with? It's great fun to be with some people. I mean, not filthy fun. The devil's got agents like that. I'm saying clean fun. It's good fun to be with some godly people who have a sense of humor and who just always talk about interesting things who never make you feel small. And, it's such a pleasure and you spend time with such people and you never notice the minutes ticking away. It's hours and hours and hours you can spend with such people and it's wonderful. But I want to tell you that is 1% of what it is to walk with God. It's not boring walking with Jesus. Jesus is the most interesting person in the whole universe if you get to know him. And we can talk to him anywhere. We can talk to him when we get up. First thing in the morning. That's what I do before I get out of bed. My eyes open. I talk to the Lord before I get out of bed. And if I wake up in the night, I have things to repent of every day. I have many things to repent of every single day of my life because I have not become like Jesus yet and I want to be like him. And I'm thankful that the Lord shows me areas day by day where I need to be a little more like him. And it gets better as the days go by. But it's not only repentance. It's talking to him. It's enjoying life with him. Calling him dad. Sitting on his lap and talking to him like a little child. So that we can live on earth without fears and worries and anxieties. That's what grace does to us. Old Testament prophets didn't have this. And we read here in Hebrews chapter 2 how that same grace that Jesus ended his life. He began with grace and it says here at the end of his life he tasted death also by grace. So in Luke chapter 2 verse 40 and Hebrews chapter 2 verse 9 you have two verses that teach us grace at the beginning and grace at the end of Jesus' life. And he had it all. Had experienced it as a human being. And then it says it's fitting for him who went through all this to bring many sons to glory. To make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. If Jesus could become perfect through suffering do you think there is another better way for us? What a false gospel this is that says that the path to perfection is through material prosperity. There is a false gospel being preached today. Another gospel that many many people are receiving. In fact most believers have started receiving it. Particularly in the last 20-25 years. The health and wealth gospel. That the most important thing in life is to be healthy and wealthy. In the old days they used to have a proverb, early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. They've left out the wise part of it now. It's just healthy and wealthy. I wish they'd be wise. Well it's not early to bed and early to rise that makes a man wise. Wisdom came to Jesus through grace. That's how we get grace. That's how we get wisdom. So Moses prayed, Lord teach me to number my days and see how short they are. And help me to give myself to the things that will make me wise so that one day I can present to you a heart of wisdom. Because that's why you placed me on earth. And it didn't matter if I wasn't healthy all my days on earth. That's not all going to be serious. In fact in sickness we learn a lot of things about God which you don't learn when you're sick. When you're healthy. I'm sure. When you're lying in a hospital bed, there's only one direction you can look. That is up. That's great. So we learn a lot of wisdom when we lie in a hospital bed. Which you don't acquire when you're running around the earth looking at many things here that attract us. So even if we were not healthy all our lives, if we got wisdom. And I'll tell you another thing. Poverty. I don't mean the abject poverty where we have to sleep on the streets and I don't have enough food to eat. No, Jesus taught us to pray, give us our daily bread. It's right to pray for food and clothing. Having food and covering, let us be content it says. Covering means clothing and shelter. Having food, clothing and shelter, God provides that. So I'm not talking about that abject poverty which a lot of people unfortunately face on earth. But I'm talking about people who don't have much of this world's goods. Do you know that they acquire a lot of wisdom? I will say without any doubt at all that a poor man knows much better how to handle money than a rich man. I started my service for the Lord 40 years ago in great poverty from very, very little money. Those were the days I learned to handle money carefully. And that lesson has stuck with me through 40 years. It's not through prosperity that we get wisdom. Do you think the children of rich people who got plenty of money thrown at them by their parents who get everything that they want. I remember one young person like that who told me I mean a very rich person's child told me that person was about I think 18 years old, came here to study in Bangalore and said I have never walked any distance in my life. Always traveled by car from childhood. Well you become fat that way. You die early and you don't get much wisdom either. I learned a lot of things. I learned a lot of things walking. I feel sad for such people. Don't envy such people who can always travel by car from childhood. Never learned to walk. No. They have everything that this world can offer and you don't get wisdom. But those who have to learn how to make their ends meet. How to make their income fit their needs. Or needs fit within their income. They acquire a lot of wisdom. They discover a lot of things which other people think are absolutely necessary are not necessary. Don't you believe all these advertisements that you see in the papers. You can't live without this. You ask yourself how did man live for 6000 years without this? And that shows the advertisement is a lie. You can live without many many things. And that's how a lot of people get into debt. And getting into debt is not wisdom. Isn't it sad that believers get into debt? See I praise the Lord and I'm 66 years old. I've never had a credit card in my life. I've never been in debt in my whole life. I've been poor sometimes but never been in debt. And thankfully I got a wife who was also determined not to get into debt and would live simply along with me. More simply than me. So wisdom doesn't come through health and wealth I'll tell you that. It's wisdom that Jesus grew in. And Isaiah 53 seems to indicate that Jesus knew what it was to be sick. He experienced it because otherwise his education as a man would not have been complete. I believe Jesus had headaches sometimes. It comforted me many years ago when I had a headache. A severe headache. I said Lord did you ever experience this in your life what I'm going through right now? And I got revelation that he did. Let me show you that verse. Isaiah 53. Some of these Old Testament Hebrew words are sometimes translated slightly differently. I want to read verse 4 first. Surely our griefs he bore and our sorrows he carried. The word for grief there in the Hebrew is sickness. How do we know that? Compare scripture with scripture. Matthew chapter 8 verse 17. This verse is quoted as he took our infirmities and carried our diseases. So he had he took our infirmities Matthew 8 17 and carried away our diseases. In Isaiah 53 verse 4 the Hebrew is translated slightly differently. Maybe people couldn't translate it the way it should be. Our griefs he bore and our sorrows he carried. So according to the New Testament what it should read is grief and sorrow is referring to sickness and infirmity. Okay. Now we go to verse 3. Jesus was despised and forsaken and he was acquainted with sickness and infirmity. Got it? So don't go saying well Zach was preaching some strange doctrine here in the church today. It's from scripture. Maybe you didn't see it but it's there and you probably didn't see it because most Christians are too lazy to compare scripture with scripture. When they read New Testament reference to the Old Testament they don't go to the Old Testament to see what's written there and thereby they miss something. We miss a lot when we don't study scripture carefully and in depth. There are many things hidden in scripture because God wants to see who is wholehearted enough to go searching for it. I have never regretted the decision I took nearly 40 years ago, 45 years ago to study the Bible thoroughly. It changed my life. It opened my eyes to see the new covenant. So grace is something that enables us to get wisdom. The angels don't have it. What are the things the angels have? See for example I think we had a wonderful time of praise and thanksgiving this morning. But do you think we did it better than the angels in heaven? Any of you crazy enough to think that? No. We don't come anywhere near the angels. It's like thunder there when they praise the Lord. I think if angels came here this roof would blow up, concrete or anything. It'll just blow up. Those angels really need know how to praise God. They don't feel shy. They don't feel like opening my mouth. They're not like that. It's a shame that Christians don't open their mouth to praise the Lord. We open our mouth wide when criticizing somebody. Oh did you hear about that? Gossip, gossip, gossip, gossip. Why don't we open our mouth to praise the Lord which is a more important thing and shut our mouth to all those other criticisms and gossip. We really need to learn. The angels know how to praise God. They know how to thank the Lord. They know how to shake the place with their praise. And they haven't experienced our salvation. Imagine if they did how they would praise the Lord. So praise is not something that angels can't do. So don't glory in the fact, boy we had a wonderful time of praise this morning. We must be wonderful saints. No sir, you are not better than the angels. They can do it better than you. What about an understanding of God's holiness? I think the angels have such a fantastic understanding of God's holiness way beyond me. Way beyond me. In fact Isaiah once when he saw the angels in heaven covering their face, covering their feet and worshiping and praising God. He said Oh God, I'm an unclean man. He was the holiest man on earth. And he felt he was an unclean man. That's what happens when you get to see the glory of heaven and the holiness of God. You won't be spending so much time thinking other people are sinners. You'll be seeing what a sinner you are. So the angels have those certain things angels have, which unfortunately even we don't have. Which we can. They know how to praise. They know how to thank the Lord. They have a tremendous sense of holiness and they are instant in their obedience. That's another thing. That's why Jesus taught us to pray Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. See that's one thing Jesus said you can learn something from the angels. See how they do my father's will in heaven. In the Lord's prayer. Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Which means how do they do it in heaven? You see when God tells Abrael, now I want you to go down to Nazareth and speak to somebody there with a message. Gabriel doesn't say hang on Lord just 10 minutes I'll go and finish this work and I'll come. He doesn't say that. He may be doing the most important thing in heaven and he drops it and says yes Lord. Imagine. Just imagine my brothers and sisters if your response to the commands of God became like that. Where you would have been today spiritually. From the time you were born again every time you read something in scripture you did it like the angels in heaven did it. Dropped everything and said God I'm going to do that. Where you would have been today. You would have been miles and miles and miles ahead of where you are. We can't do anything about the past but are you going to do something about the future? Are you going to pray that little prayer? Father thy will be done in my life from today onwards as the angels do it in heaven. You can make a new beginning. It's a wonderful message of the gospel. So as I said there are many things in which the angels excel us hundred times better. But here are some things that the angels can't experience or excel us in. One no angel knows the joy of sins forgiven. It's a fantastic joy. Imagine a dirty beggar who's never had a bath in 30 years and one day he has a refreshing hot shower and bath and uses four or five pieces of soap to get rid of all the dirt in his body and spends five or six hours under the shower and comes out clean. You think he's going to look miserable? When he comes out he's going to look so happy he says I never knew in 30 years I could feel like this if I'd known it I would have taken a bath every day. You know that is the joy of sins forgiven. I mean to use an illustration no angel knows the joy of having a good shower when we are dirty. They just don't have showers in heaven. You don't say I'm into that? You don't enjoy a good bath? How many of you enjoy a good bath? A good shower? Don't you feel so fresh after being so dirty and perspiring the whole day and you say I want to have a shower. I want to do that before everything else. Well that is what the angels don't experience. The joy of sins forgiven. A dirty filthy sinner messed up our lives cleansed in the blood of Jesus Christ. Perfectly clean. More clean than any shower or any bath on earth can make us without a smell and you don't need perfumes. Perfect. Such a thorough cleansing. No angel knows that. Because they never sinned. You know that is why the angel could not give the gospel to Cornelius. When the angel came to Cornelius God told the angel to go to Cornelius house and the angel went down and said God said the angel asked God what shall I tell Cornelius? Tell him to go and send for Peter. And the angel is long you know. Oh God. God will you just let me tell him that Jesus died for his sins. No you can't say that. Sorry. Oh please can you just let me tell him. I am so excited to tell him this wonderful news. No you can't say it. And the angel says God why can't I say that? Because you have not experienced it. And there is a law in my kingdom that you should never speak what you have not experienced. Oh okay. Sad. But look at us who know this and don't tell others. Can you imagine what the angels, these crazy people give me a chance I would run around the world telling people. These people know all about it. They don't tell anybody. Some of them are ashamed. Oh. If I let people in the office know that I am a Christian I may lose my promotion. I may not get my increment. You think such people are Christians? You think such people have got the wonder of salvation? That they are afraid they will lose their increment or their promotion if they are known publicly as Christians? One of the things I decided to do when I was in the Navy any ship, any place I worked in everybody who came to my office would know I was a Christian. I didn't shout out. I didn't preach the gospel to them. I would have a Bible or a Christian calendar or something to make it clear that I am a Christian. And I am not the ordinary run of the mill type of Christian. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I don't do the wrong things that other Christians do. I don't love evil. I won't make fun of other people. I don't laugh at dirty jokes. I don't drink alcohol. And I would stand there with my glass of orange juice while all the other naval officers would be drinking. And many ways in which make it known you are a Christian. The angels long. They can't do it. The joy of sins forgiven. Don't ever devalue that, dear brother sister. Don't ever let that become an old story. I want to hear it again. Tell me the old, old story. Tell me as if I've never heard it before that Jesus died for me. That my rotten sins can all be cleansed and I can be absolutely clean before my father as one justified. As if I had never sinned in my whole life. And not something for us to take advantage. But something for us to be grateful to God that I can come before God clean because Jesus paid the price for me. And I'll tell you this. If you have been forgiven much there's only one proof of that. You got to love much. Jesus said that. Luke 7. He said he who is forgiven much loves much. So if you say, oh God's forgiven me so much. Brother, sister you got to love God more than anybody else in this church. If you feel that you've been forgiven more than anybody else. Otherwise don't say those empty words. And when you say, oh I've committed so many sins and God's forgiven me all that. You are obligated to love Jesus more than everybody else. When I realized how much Jesus had forgiven me. I said, Lord I have to love you tremendously. You have forgiven me so much. I want to love you so much and I will prove it to you by a lifetime of service. I will never live for myself. I will never live to make money. I will never live to enjoy life on earth. Enjoyment for me is in heaven. I'll accept whatever little enjoyment God gives me here on earth. But that's my goal in life is not enjoyment. Why? Because I've been forgiven so much. Maybe you haven't been forgiven so much. Maybe that's why you are so half-hearted about your Christian life. Maybe that's why you have time to watch all those filthy movies. Because you were not forgiven so much. I was forgiven much. I have to love much. I don't have time to do many of those things that you do. Because I have a debt to repay. Not a debt of sin. That's been paid already on the cross. But a debt of gratitude for what Jesus did for me. I don't have to do it. It's free. Forgiveness is free. I can go to heaven just as I am. But I've been forgiven much. So I love much. So like the woman, sinful woman, took all her money and bought that perfume and poured it at the feet of Jesus. I said, Lord, I want to do that. Because I've been forgiven much like her. Others would buy it and pour it on themselves. I've got a lot of needs. Maybe give 10% to God, but pour the rest on myself. Okay. You can do that. Maybe you were not forgiven so much as me. But I've been forgiven much. I can't do it. I'm sorry. I can't do it. Because I've been forgiven much. And as I look back over my life, I'm so thankful that I never lost the understanding of that. I was never going to be this minimum type of Christian. You know there are minimum type of Christians and maximum type of Christians. The difference is this. Some Christians, their attitude is what is the minimum I have to do in order to go to heaven? Okay. I never in my life was that type of a Christian. Those are the people who are frequently depressed and gloomy and never get victory over sin and are defeated, defeated, defeated, defeated, keep on confessing their hope a hundred years later because their whole attitude is minimum. What is the minimum I must do? What is the minimum number of meetings I must go to? What is the minimum amount I have to study the Bible? What is the minimum time I have to spend in prayer? What is the minimum, minimum, minimum and what is the maximum I can, minimum amount of money I have to give to God? What's the maximum I can spend on myself? What's the maximum of time I can spend enjoying doing the things I want to do? Okay. You live like that. No wonder you are where you are today. Are you surprised? And then there's the other maximum type of Christian who says, who's not thinking of going to heaven. Who says, what is the maximum I can do for God in this one life to show that I'm grateful for Jesus dying for me? I'm grateful for His having forgiven so many of my sins, all my sins. What's the maximum I can do in one, my life is so short. What is the maximum I can do for Jesus before I go? You meet a Christian like that, he's radiant. He doesn't know the names of the latest movie stars, but he knows his Father. He's in fellowship with Jesus. He has victory over sin. He's never depressed. Never, N-E-V-E-R. Never depressed or discouraged. He's an overcomer. The angels can't experience that. The angels can't experience this overcoming, because there's nothing to overcome. I mean, if you haven't reached the top of Mount Everest, you climb, climb, climb, but once you reach the top, then what do you do? The angels are already in heaven. What do they do? There's nothing to overcome. There's no sin there. There's no devil there. But here on earth, sin, devil, plenty. What opportunities to overcome? Have you ever faced a single day in your life where you didn't face temptation? Some temptation or the other. There's no such day that any human being ever faces on earth. Jesus said that in Matthew 6.34. He said sufficient unto each day is the evil for that day. But grace is also sufficient. You've got to put 2 Corinthians 12.9 against Matthew 6.34. Evil is sufficient for one day. My grace is sufficient for you to overcome all that evil. One person believes that. He said, Amen. Do you believe that? Sure. Grace is sufficient to overcome every bit of evil that I can face tomorrow. I don't know what I'm going to face tomorrow. But I'll tell you right now there will be grace enough for me to conquer it. Whatever it is. 10 years from now, 20 years from now, I hope to be alive. I'll have grace to conquer everything that I face. Because that's how grace is. Because I want to be this maximum type of Christian whose whole heart is opened up to God. You know when you're maximum type of Christian your whole heart is opened up to God. It's like the sunlight coming. It's like the roof being blown off and the sunlight streaming in here. The minimum type of Christian is closed all the doors, windows and black shades over everything and puts a zero watt bulb and tries to study. Okay, maybe he'll get something. But you get pretty depressed. Have you noticed how you get depressed when the electricity goes off for a long time because you're used to having electricity? It's like that, you know. When you're this minimum type of Christian trying to live with minimum amount of light zero watt bulb type of Christian, you're going to be pretty miserable. That's not the way we're supposed to live. We're supposed to live in the sunlight all the time. The angels can't experience this overcoming which we can experience. Can you imagine the angels saying, I wish I could get a chance to go down to earth just for one day to teach the devil a lesson. And to overcome some of those temptations. And look at these children of God. They get opportunities every day and they don't take it. They're scared of the devil some of them. They're yielding to temptation. They don't realize what they're destroying themselves by yielding to temptation. The angels wish they could have it. Fellowship with the father. That's another thing. The angels wish they could have. Do you know that no angel can look up to God and say, Dad I can. I do. I've done it for many years. Dad. Dad, I have a little problem here. You know how little children come not serious problem. I'm not talking about having lost millions of rupees and things like that. What do little children come to their dad with? Dad, my toy is broken. Can you fix this for me? Three year old child. Do you believe in going to God with little problems? Jesus said be like little children. Dad, I have a problem here. This little thing. I've lost my keys. I don't seem to be able to find it. Dad, do you ever talk to God about your lost keys? I said no, God couldn't be interested in that. He's only interested in serious problems like the Iraq war and things like that. He's the managing director of the universe. He may be the managing director of the universe but he's my dad. And he's interested in finding my keys for me. I'll tell you that. He's interested in fixing my little toys because I'm like a little child. That's why my life is so happy. You cannot get me depressed. No demon in hell can get me depressed. Because I have a dad. I'm not an orphan. Think of the angels wanting this. I mean they're not depressed but they don't call God dad. They don't overcome anything. They don't have this fellowship. They have friendship. Do you know there's a lot of difference between friendship and fellowship? I think the angels are great friends with God. God's great friends with them. But fellowship is a father. I looked up a concordance. Sometimes it's good to use a concordance. A concordance is a book in case you don't know where all the places in the Bible where a particular word comes is referred. It's very easy to find it. And I looked up the concordance for the word fellowship. Fellowship with God. And I discovered that it never comes even once in the Old Testament. It never comes once in the Gospels. There's no fellowship even between man and man. The first time it comes is in Acts chapter 2. Something must have happened in Acts chapter 2, right? That was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. I was so excited to see that. And then I saw that John the Apostle when he was 95 years old and about to go to the grave decided to write one last letter and he talks about fellowship. Because that was the greatest thing for him. The Old Testament saints could not have it. They never spoke about it. If you don't believe me, go and look at a concordance. It's not there. Ah, it occurs once in Psalm where it says about some guy who had fellowship with him and betrayed him. Kick-stabbed him in the back or something like that. I'm not talking about that type of fellowship. But otherwise the type of fellowship that we read of in the New Testament is just not there in the Old Testament. It's not even in the Gospels. People couldn't have it. But we can have it from Acts chapter 2. They continued in the Apostles. Fellowship. And John explains that that was a fellowship with God and a fellowship vertically and horizontally. The angels don't have that. Do you have friendship with God? Even that would be a great thing. But fellowship is far deeper. To know Him. To know His ways. To know God personally. There's a verse in Psalm 103 verse 7 which says God showed His actions to the people of Israel. But He revealed His ways to Moses. You know how Moses saw it? Because while the other fellows were dancing and drinking and having fun like a lot of Christians have fun. Moses during that time was alone with God. He was fasting. And he was alone. God said I'll teach you something which I can never teach those people down there. They are more interested in fun and games. There are Christians who are interested in fun and games. That's all there is to their life. There's nothing wrong with fun and games. Provided you also know how to fast and pray. I believe in fun and games. But it's not as important to me as fasting and prayer. Not as important to me as waking up in the morning and communing with God first of all. Getting to know God through the scriptures. Gee, Moses was up there in the mountain. These are two types of Christians. Some who are only interested in fun and games and once in a while have a little religion to offer a few sacrifices. But Moses, for him it was a whole 24 hour affair. And the Bible says there was no man who knew God face to face like Moses. And when somebody criticized Moses I mean just a simple criticism saying why did Moses go and marry such and such a woman? Why in the world are you bothered who somebody else marries? I can't understand that. Why they were bothered? I mean that's not... you're not marrying her. God was so angry that they criticized his servant that he punished them. Angels don't have fellowship like that, but we do. Brothers and sisters we have multitudes of things that angels just don't have. Let's enjoy them. Let's pray.