This sermon emphasizes the importance of understanding and experiencing the true grace of God, highlighting how many Christians are missing out on the full inheritance purchased by Jesus due to being deceived by false teachings. It delves into the concept of grace as the power to overcome sin, endure trials, and live a life pleasing to God, contrasting the old covenant gospel of forgiveness, healing, deliverance, and material blessings with the new covenant gospel of transformation, empowerment, and intimacy with God through the Holy Spirit.

The more I look at a lot of Christians, I feel that they are like children of a very, very rich father, who have been cheated of their inheritance by some crooked lawyer. It's like, imagine if your dad was a billionaire, who owned a lot of money in different parts of the world, and a lot of property, and when he dies, he writes a will, giving all the details of what he has left for you, which he has acquired through many years of hard work and labor. And then you give that will over to a lawyer to help you execute it, and he cheats you of 99.9% of it. And you live with a few thousand dollars in a small little hut, and you accept it. Have you ever heard a story like that? Do you think it would happen to you? I don't think it would happen to any of you. Because when it comes to money, we are all very shrewd and sharp, and very careful to make sure that we get our entire inheritance. Is there a problem? Okay, if you find it difficult to hear me at the back, you are welcome to come forward. It's always good to come forward in the Christian life. So, as I was saying, when it comes to earthly things, property, money, our mind is very sharp. We don't want to lose anything. The desire for gain is very much rooted in the children of Adam. So, why is it that when it comes to spiritual things, we are losing out on so much that Jesus paid such a tremendous price on the cross to purchase for us. There is so much that has been purchased through the death and resurrection of Christ, that I find that most Christians are enjoying only a fraction of it. I myself did not enjoy a lot of it for many, many years. And you need to ask yourself whether there is more that Christ purchased for you, which you are missing out because the devil has cheated you, has blinded your eyes. The Bible says the devil blinds the minds of those who do not believe. Of course, the first thing he blinds people to is the message of forgiveness of sins. But Christ purchased much more than that. And that's what we need to understand. Let me turn you to a verse in John chapter 1. In the last session I mentioned a little bit about grace. God gives grace to the humble. And I mentioned that grace was not unmerited favor. And a brother was mentioning to me during the break time that all his life he was told that grace is unmerited favor. So, I said I would share a little more about that. So that many of you who have left systems where your leaders controlled you with rules and laws for their own gain. Whether financial or honor or whatever it is. They will answer to God one day. For no government on earth can prosecute them for such criminal treatment. But they will answer to God one day for their criminal treatment of you. Exploiting you for their own gain. Jesus came to earth not to be a leader but to be a servant. To serve others. He desired no position. He desired no profit. He didn't want any money for himself. He sought to serve. And the tragedy in Christendom today is it so rare to find leaders of that quality. It's not only in our day. The apostle Paul said in Philippians 2 verse 19 to 21. He said to the Philippians. The only person I can send to you from my co-workers or with me is Timothy. Because he said in Philippians 2 verse 20. All seek their own. All seek their own. Not the things that are Jesus Christ. That is a perfect description. Verse Philippians 2 verse 21 of the race of Adam. A primary characteristic of the race of Adam. Is they seek their own. Their own honor. Their own gain. Their own profit, benefit whatever it is. And if other people are exploited. Never mind. So long as I get what I want. So long as I and my family. Or I and my favorite ones in my group. Get what we want. It doesn't matter whether others suffer. That is demonic. Absolutely demonic. And that's characteristic unfortunately of a lot of Christianity today. It was true in Paul's day too. There were leaders like that, Paul's co-workers. But he says Timothy was different. Timothy had absorbed Paul's spirit of sacrifice and self-denial. And he did not seek his own. He was always seeking the good of others. And he was concerned, genuinely concerned. It says here in Philippians 2 verse 20. For the welfare of others. And for the interest of Jesus Christ. This is true Christianity. And this is the position to which any true disciple of Jesus will come. It's a very serious thing. To be a leader among Christians. I've been an elder of a number of churches for more than 35 years. And I know I live in fear before God all the time. I examine myself constantly with these verses like this. Constantly say, Lord is there any area where perhaps I'm blind. Where I'm seeking my own. I don't want a smell of that in my life. To me it's like cancer. I don't know how many of you recognize that seeking your own is like a cancer. You can hide it. If I've got cancer in my system. What do I gain by hiding it from you? I can pretend to be very healthy. The cancer will still do its work and destroy me one day. So seeking my own is the cancer we've all inherited from Adam. And that is what has made our Christian life so miserable. It's the root of sin. Seeking my own. In fact when Peter who one moment had such a revelation from heaven. That he could say to Jesus in Matthew 16. You're the Messiah. The son of the living God. And Jesus said blessed are you Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood did not reveal this to you. You got a revelation right now from my father in heaven. And you know more than these great scholars who studied the Old Testament. And two minutes later. Just two minutes after that. This man who had got a revelation from heaven. And whom Jesus said you're blessed. Two minutes later Jesus said to him. You're speaking like Satan. Can a man who gets revelation from heaven. One moment. Two minutes later be the voice of the devil. You see that in Matthew 16. Verse 17. Blessed are you Simon. Because it's my father in heaven has shown you that I'm the Messiah. There are cleverer people than you in Israel who haven't seen it. But I want to tell you fellas something. He tells his disciples. Matthew 16.21. I have to go to Jerusalem and suffer and be crucified and killed. And Peter rebuked him. Out of human compassion. And said God forbid it Lord. This will never happen to you. You know that sometimes human compassion can be Satanic. Yeah. A human compassion. That prevents us from going the way of the cross. Is the voice of the devil. Jesus turned around and said to Peter. Get behind me Satan. He didn't even say you're the voice of Satan. Satan. He addressed Peter as Satan. In other words for that brief moment. Peter was the embodiment of Satan. I don't know whether you have seen it. What did Peter do? To be called Satan. I mean if there was a Satan in that midst. It was Judas Iscariot was swindling all the money. From the common pool. Here were the money kept which belonged to everybody. And Judas Iscariot was swindling it and using it for himself. Just like a lot of Christian leaders today. Who take money given by God's people and swindle it and use it themselves. That's the guy who we think is the devil. But here what did Peter do? He wasn't unrighteous with money. But Jesus said you're a stumbling block to me. All that Peter said to Jesus was don't go the way of the cross. Don't go the way of suffering and self-denial. Choose the pathway of ease. And that's a choice that comes to all of us at different times in life. You know in the old covenant there was no way of the cross. There was no such thing as taking up the cross in the old testament. Nobody could do it. Because you need the power of the Holy Spirit to do it. And people didn't have the power of the Holy Spirit within them in the old testament. They only had power to do things on the outside. Jesus was the first person who carried a cross every day for 33 years. And said to others if you want to follow me. You must take up your cross every single day and follow me. Otherwise you cannot follow me. It is impossible. You can believe all the right doctrines. And that was all that Peter said. Don't go the way of the cross. And Jesus said that is the voice of Satan. And he said such people are a stumbling block. Anyone who avoids the way of the cross. The way of total debt to self. Seeking one's own and seeking one's own honor and gain. If you don't die to that. You are a stumbling block to Jesus Christ. I want to say that to myself. Everything I preach I say to myself first. I say to myself you are a stumbling block to Jesus Christ. And his work. If you ever avoid the way of the cross at any situation. In your home. With your fellow workers. With other believers. If you don't go the way of death. You are a stumbling block to Jesus Christ. And you are the voice of Satan. Even if you are a preacher. I say that to myself. And something more he said. The reason is you are setting your mind. Listen to this. Matthew 16.23 Peter you are setting your mind on man's interest. Not God's interest. What is the way of the cross? The way of the cross is to remove my mind. From my interest. And set it on God's interest. That's the man who has taken up the cross. And who is the man who avoids the cross? The Christian who has got his sins forgiven. But who set his mind on his own interest. And his family's interest. What's the difference between him and any godless atheist. The atheist in the world. He's also got his mind on his interest. And his family's interest. The only thing he watches television. While you sit and read the bible. But if your mind is set on your interest. And your family's interest. You are no different from the atheist. He avoids the way of the cross. You avoid the way of the cross. Only you are a religious seeker of your own. And he is a worldly seeker of his own. It's just the same thing. It's just this demonic seeking one's own. Painted with a different color. That's how it is with so many Christians. They have not seen the way of the cross. Many people are seeking for the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Power of the Holy Spirit in their life. Why are they going astray? Why have so many millions today gone astray? In the pursuit of something good. Is there anything better than you can seek? Than seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit? That is the primary blessing of the new covenant. To be filled with the Holy Spirit. And why is it so many people. Go seeking for the fullness of the Spirit. And end up worse. Than they were when they were in some dead church. Why is that? It's because they missed the way of the cross. I remember when I was a young Christian. About 23 years old. I was really born again. I was baptized in water. I was studying the word of God. And I felt I was dry. I had doctrine. I was correct doctrine and all. But there was a death in me. Spiritual death. And I knew I need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. So I began to seek God about it in prayer. I was single. I had a room to myself where I was working. And I began to seek God. And I went to different assemblies that spoke about this. But I will tell you honestly. I was disappointed with everything I saw. And I came back to my room. And I said I don't want that. That's just a lot of emotionalism and noise. And I'm not interested. And I saw many of them pretty worldly. I said how can the fullness of the Holy Spirit make you more worldly than you were before? That's impossible. So that cannot be the genuine thing. And as I began to seek God on my own. The Lord gave me a very unique revelation. It's amazing what God shows you from the scripture. When you begin to seek Him in earnest. In sincerity and say to Him. Lord I'm willing to pay any price. I'll tell you that. There's no partiality with God. You go to God in some area. Where you're really seeking for His will in your life. And you say Lord I'm willing to pay any price. Whatever price you ask for. I want you to meet with me in this area. And I'll tell you God will meet with you. And give you a revelation such as you've never heard before. And the Lord showed me from how when Jesus Himself was baptized. That's when the Spirit came upon Him. And before the Spirit came upon Him. He was immersed. And I saw that baptism at that time. As allowing somebody else. John the Baptist was putting Jesus down into death. Symbolically. And what the Lord showed me. And then as Jesus came up. As He submitted to somebody putting Him into death. And burying Him. As He came up the Spirit of God came upon Him. So this is my beloved Son. In whom I'm well pleased. And what came to me at that time was. As if the Lord was saying to me. If you go this way. You allow other people to put you to death. And don't resist it. Just die with me. Go down. Humble yourself. Die. I will raise you up. And my Spirit will rest upon you. All your life. And the day you avoid this way of death. To self. My Spirit will no longer be upon you. I have never forgotten that. And that was the day I got a revelation on this truth. That the fullness of the Holy Spirit was very closely linked. With the way of the cross. I've never forgotten it. It's been a great revelation in my life. You cannot live the Spirit filled life. Except going the way of the cross everyday. The way of death to self. The way where you allow other people to push you down. And you don't resist it. Imagine in a baptism. If you go to baptism. And somebody is trying to immerse you in the water. And you resist it. You'll never go down. So I see there that. The way of the cross is where. If God allows other people to push you down. And crucify you. Accept it. And I've sought to go that way. And it's brought the power of the Spirit into my life. Into my ministry. Most of all into my life. It's brought a freshness into my life. The Holy Spirit makes you fresh. So I can see how is the voice of Satan. That tells people don't go that way. Yeah get excited. With some emotional experience of the Holy Spirit. And make a lot of noise and all that. Don't ever go the way of the cross. Because the devil knows you'll never have the power of God in your life. That's why Jesus told Peter. That's the voice of Satan. You have to die to seeking your own interests. Your mind must not be set on your interests. But God's interests. So I want to encourage all of you. My dear brothers and sisters. If you will take my exhortation today. Please remember this verse by heart. Memorize it. Matthew 16.23 Get behind me Satan. You are a stumbling block to me. Because you are not setting your mind on God's interests. But man's. And there's a lot you can get from that verse. If you meditate on it. Maybe write it on a little card. And keep it in your pocket. And read it and read it and read it and read it. And say Lord teach me what this means. That I'm a stumbling block to you. If my mind is set on my own interests. In the Old Testament as I said. There was no way of the cross. There was no inner power of the Holy Spirit. And this is how Satan has deprived us. Of our inheritance. In the new covenant. Because the way of the cross. Wherever a person dies with Christ. There will be a resurrection. The greatest power. I'll show you how the way of the cross is linked with. The power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said. You will receive power when the Spirit has come upon you. That's what happened to Jesus. When he came up out of the waters of baptism. And the Spirit came upon him. In Ephesians chapter 1. We read an expression like this. Paul writes to the Ephesians. In chapter 1 and verse 18. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. He's not saying that my mind should understand. He's saying my heart's eyes should be enlightened. You know today we would say read the chapter 10 times. Paul didn't say read this letter 10 times. You can read it 100 times and you may not get it. One day as you read it. Suddenly the eyes of your heart will be enlightened. I remember. I remember very vividly the day and even the exact spot. Where I was sitting. Many years ago about 35 years ago and suddenly. I saw the glory of the new covenant. After having read the Bible for 16 years and not seeing it. Suddenly you know like Peter got a revelation. He says here I'm praying that you'll get in verse 17 a spirit of revelation. Revelation is a new testament word. In the old testament it was study. And understanding. You had scribes who studied, studied, studied, studied. And compared this verse with that verse. And got a lot of knowledge. But in the new testament the word is revelation. Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah. Because you got revelation from my father. And Paul says in Ephesians 1.17. I'm praying that you'll get revelation. In the knowledge of Christ. There are no such prayer in the old testament. Revelation. Jesus once said in Matthew 11 verse 25. Oh I thank you father. That you've hidden these wonderful truths from the clever. And the intelligent. And given revelation. To those who are like babes. These truths of scripture. Hidden from the clever and the intelligent. I've often asked people this question. Can you tell me any book in the world. On any subject. Maths, physics, history. Any book on any subject in the world. Which only babies can understand. Which clever people cannot understand. Can you think of any book? There is only one. The bible. You come to this with your cleverness and your intelligence. I guarantee you'll go astray. I've seen it. The Pharisees were the cleverest people. They went astray. Among the twelve disciples the cleverest was Judas Iscariot. I don't have a shadow doubt about it. He went astray. A lot of clever people today go to the scriptures. They go astray. The revelation is given to those who have the spirit of a babe. Jesus took a babe and said humble yourself like this babe. So what I learned from that is if I come to scripture. Now all this wisdom and knowledge is good for earthly things. If you're doing business or you're doing some work in the world. Use your brains by all means. But when you come to scripture. Just set that all outside the door and say Lord. I can't understand this book. I'm as ignorant as a baby. I want you to reveal to me. That's what Paul is praying. I pray you'll get revelation. I pray the eyes of your heart will be enlightened. And what is he praying for? I'm praying that you will know. One of the things he mentions is verse 19. The surpassing greatness of his power. Toward us who believe. Now I want you to see these expressions he uses. The working of the strength of his might. Which he brought about in Christ when he raised him from the dead. Now the message I get from that is the greatest manifestation of God's power. In this universe in history. Was not when he created the sun and the moon and the stars. Not when he created the heavens and the earth in a moment. The world says that is the great manifestation of God's power. But the Christian says no. The greatest manifestation of God's power is when he raised Jesus from the dead. Have you noticed that in the Bible it never says. That Jesus Christ raised himself from the dead. Never. You take a concordance and have a look. Never, never does it say. That Jesus raised himself from the dead. Jesus said in John chapter 10. Verse 18. I have power to lay down my life. And I have power to take it up again. He had the power to raise himself from the dead. But he never did it. He had the power to call 72,000 angels from heaven. In Gethsemane. But he never did it. Because he took the cross. In the way of the cross you don't assert your power. Did you know that? Did you know that a man who is walking the way of the cross. Never seeks to assert his power. The way most Christian leaders I have seen do it. And there you see they don't know the ABC of the way of the cross. They know so many other things. But they don't know the way of the cross. And so they are the voice of Satan. Their mind is set on their own interests. In baptism. If you really immerse a person. You can't really come up unless he lifts you up. You submit to him and he lifts you up. And in the spiritual application which came to me was. If you allow. God is in control of all circumstances. And Jesus when they came to capture him in Gethsemane. He said this is a cup which my father has given me. It's not Judas Iscariot. I don't see Judas Iscariot. I don't see the Roman soldiers. I see my father's hand here. He is giving me a cup. It's pretty bitter and painful. But there's no poison in it. The cup of the Lord may be bitter. But there's no poison in it. The cup the devil gives you is sweet. But there's poisonous. And Jesus said I'm going to drink it. I'm not worried which mailman brought it. It's from my father. Judas Iscariot is only a mailman. The Roman soldiers and all are just mailmen. The cup is from my father. And I'm going to drink it. And when he submitted to that. God raised him from the dead. Always in scripture it says God raised him. God raised him. And from that what I learned is. I never have to raise myself. I never have to lift myself up. Anywhere. My duty is to be pushed down. To go down. Let other people push me down. God will raise me up. I remember the days when I was a young Christian. And God had given me. The gift of speaking God's word. That's not something naturally I have. It was a supernatural gift. God gave me when he filled me with the Holy Spirit. And gave me the ability to speak God's word. And I found I was only 23, 24 years old. And I was speaking God's word. And I had such tremendous liberty. And there were a lot of people who were 20 years older than me. Who were elders in churches. I was not an elder. I was only 23. They'd be jealous of me. And they would always try to push me down. And never give me an opportunity. To speak in the church. I said fine. My duty is to be pushed down. I will not assert myself. My duty is to humble myself under God's mighty hand. And those days God's mighty hand for me was. These elders who would push me down and say. Keep your mouth shut. I'm not going to fight with them. I would go out and preach. Out in the streets. Preach the gospel there. I learned to preach in the streets. Where I'd be mocked and laughed at. And called the devil and all types of things. It was good for me. Nobody wanted to come out there and preach. Everybody wanted to preach in the church. Where they'd get some honor. And there. And I saw that when God's time came. He'd lift me up. He did that. You can't fight against God. You can push a piece of wood right into the water. As long as you like. The moment you lift your hand that wood comes up. You can't make a piece of wood sing. No matter how hard you try. And if you walk with God the way of the cross. God raised up Jesus from the dead. That is the greatest manifestation of God's power in this universe. You got to see it. Much greater than creation. Imagine if you had the power. If God says I'll give you the power. To speak a word. And. A cut off limb will be recreated. Can you imagine what power that is? In creating a limb that's been cut off from somebody's body. Boy. I wouldn't be impressed by that. To me the greatest manifestation of God's power is not that. Not even the. If God gave me the power to create a universe. There's something greater than that. The raising of Jesus from the dead. And it says here that power. Ephesians 1. Is available to me. It's available to you. It's very clear. The surpassing greatness of His power. Ephesians 1.19. Toward us who believe. Now if you don't believe it. Of course you don't get it. But if you believe this power can be yours. In other words. There is no circumstance in the world. That can depress you. I discovered that. Long ago. That no. No circumstance can depress me. God lift me up. No human being can put fear into my heart. How can I be afraid when almighty God is on my side. I've had a lot of people in my life. Who tried to harm me. And God said to me. Do you want me to deal with them? Or would you deal with them yourself? I said no Lord. You deal with them. Are people trying to harm you? Hurt you? Let God deal with them. Don't deal with them yourself. Don't go fighting with them. There's a mighty power available on the part. On God's part. On the side of those. All those who commit themselves totally. To the way of death to self. You die to self. God says I'll raise you from the dead. Just like Jesus. He submitted to death. He said I'll drink this cup. I'm not gonna fight. I'm not gonna call the angels to defend me. I'm not gonna justify myself. I'll die. God says I'll raise you up. And the promise to us. Is in 2nd Timothy. And chapter 2. Verse 11. It's an absolutely trustworthy statement it says. This is a faithful saying. It is a trustworthy statement. If we die with Him. We shall live with Him. We need more and more Christians. Who live this in their daily life. Who choose the way of death in their homes. Who choose the way of death to self. In their place of work. And in every situation. Who choose the way of death to self. Thank you. And who trust that God will raise them from the dead. Have you had a few experiences like that? I've had numerous experiences. Humble yourself into the mighty hand of God. And He will exalt you in due time. This is very closely connected with grace. That is why I'm saying it. This way was not known. Before Christ came. God. Let me read now. 1 Peter 5. Verse 5. And you'll see how this is all connected to what I was just saying. And the 1 Peter 5. Verse 5. The last part says. God is opposed to the proud. He fights against proud people. It's a law of God. You cannot change that law of God. And it's not a question of whether you think you're humble. It's a question of whether God sees you're humble. I can think I'm very humble. And I can convince other people I'm humble. God says I couldn't care less. I know whether you're really humble or not. I know whether you're humbling yourself under different circumstances. And if God sees that I'm really. You know. A person could be proud of so many things. If his human abilities or his spiritual abilities. But if God sees that a person is proud. Proud of anything. Be proud of Bible knowledge. Proud of his ministry. Proud of what he's accomplished. Proud of anything. God will oppose him. It's a law. It's like the law of gravity. It doesn't matter whether you're a believer or an unbeliever. It makes absolutely no difference. If you jump off the roof. The law of gravity is not going to check up whether you're a believer or an unbeliever. It makes no difference. It just pulls you down. It's the same with here. God's law which says he's opposed to the proud. It doesn't matter whether you're a believer or unbeliever. You can think you're a spiritual believer. But if you're proud. God is opposed to you. That moment he opposes you. Proud of anything. Proud of your position. Proud of your knowledge. Proud of your Bible knowledge. Proud of your spirituality. Anything. God opposes you. But he gives grace to the humble. Grace is a new covenant word. It's not available for everybody. A lot of people can think it's theirs. It's not theirs. The fullness of God's grace is for the humble. He pushes them from the back. And then it says, Therefore, what shall we do? If that is the case. Or since that is the case. Humble yourself. Under the mighty hand of God. And the mighty hand of God is all the circumstances. He brings into our life. That is the mighty hand of God. The mighty hand of God. Trying to use that way. He allows people to push you down. And crush you. And crucify you. And insult you. And what not. Just keep your mouth shut. And die. That's the proof of humility. And if you humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. What is the promise? He will definitely exalt you. At the proper time. God didn't do it for Jesus the same day. There was a time for it. Three days later. But once the three days were up. At the proper time. He lifted him up. He will exalt you. In due time. And if we have that faith. We will gladly submit ourselves. To whatever circumstance God sends into our life. We will have. No compliance against people. Circumstances. We will never say. So and so is treating me badly. Or so and so is doing this to me. Or the other thing. We will be glad to forgive everybody who is hurting us. Believing that God will raise us up from the dead. This is the grace. That came through Jesus Christ. Now I want you to turn to John's Gospel chapter 1. In John's Gospel chapter 1. We read. If you turn there with me please. This is a very important verse. John 1.17 The contrast. Between the old covenant and the new covenant. Now. Some of you may already know this. Maybe it is revision class for you. But for many of you sitting here. Who have been converted more recently. You are possibly hearing this for the first time. Please pay attention. The law was given by Moses. That was the old covenant. But grace. And truth. Came through Jesus Christ. These are two different. Mediators of two covenants. Moses is the mediator of the old covenant. Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant. Moses brought the law. Jesus brought grace and truth. Truth means more than just 2 plus 2 is 4. That's also truth. Truth means more than even truth of doctrine. I'll talk about it later. But grace. Let's look at just this one word now. There was no grace in the world. Till Jesus Christ came. Just like there was no mosaic law in the world. Till Moses came. There was a period before Moses. Where it was without the law. It speaks about that in Romans chapter 4. It was a period without the law. And then there was a period of the law. For 1500 years. After Moses brought the law. Which Galatians says. It was only our tutor or school master. To lead us to Christ. Then came Jesus with grace. And if you use that word. School master. Which is used in Galatians chapter 3. In verse 24. The law has become our school master. Or child conductor. Or tutor. Or nanny. To lead us to Christ. If you use the word school master. Then you think of a school teacher. The law was like a school teacher. Only necessary. Until you came to Christ. That's all. It's like a nanny. Who helps a little child. To cross the street. Or to have a bath. Or take the little child to school. Or take care of it. Until it's grown up. Then nanny is not needed. A period comes where we can become free from the law. Not because. Now we don't have to obey God. I mean when a grown up child crosses the road. Why is it he doesn't need a nanny anymore? It's not because he's going to be run over. He knows how to cross the road without getting run over. He knows how to keep the law without having a law. That's it. It's not that he doesn't keep the law. He keeps the law at a much higher standard. The law says don't commit adultery. He doesn't even do it in his heart. The law says don't kill. He doesn't even get angry in his heart. So the law is only our school master. A tutor. To lead us to Christ. It's like we go through school. In order to go to college. University. So the law is a school master. To lead us to Christ. And there we get grace. So Moses brought the law and Jesus Christ brought grace. Grace is superior to the law. Far superior. Why is it so many Christians who say that they have received grace live lives which are lower in moral level than Old Testament people. Can you imagine Elijah if he were living today watching internet pornography. Can you imagine John the Baptist surfing the net to watch pornography. How is it there are Christians married people so called Christian leaders watching pornography secretly. Leave alone young people. Why is that? They say we are under grace. What a work the devil has done. To tell people that grace is Oh God will just overlook all that. We forgive you. That's not grace. That's taking advantage of the grace of God. That's what Jude says is turning the grace of God into licentiousness. Jude it says there are certain people who have turned Jude verse 4 who have turned the grace of God into licentiousness. You know what that means? It's like getting a driving license. You are not allowed to drive a car until you get a driving license. When you get a driving license you say now I can drive a car. So grace has become a license to commit sin. Till now I couldn't commit sin because the Old Testament law was so strict. You can't do this. You can't do that. If you commit adultery you have to be stoned to death. If you are a rebellious child the father had to bring the child to the elders and they had to stone that boy to death. Terrible. But now at last, hallelujah grace has come. Now I have a license to be rebellious to be committed adultery and the Lord will say I don't condemn you. It has become a license for sin. Like getting a driving license. I got a license now to sin. Jude says this is a deception. It's not something that's happening in the 21st century. It happened in the 1st century. The devil was at work then and he's been working all through the ages turning the grace of God into licentiousness. In fact Peter in his letter he has to say this at the end of his letter in 1 Peter and chapter 5 and verse 12 you know how he concludes his letter? This is the true grace of God. Why do you have to say this is a true $50 note, currency note? Because there are fake $50 notes as well. That's why you say this is a true $50 note because there are fake $50 notes. So why does Pope Peter say in the 1st century in 65 AD 35 years after the day of Pentecost, see how corrupt Christianity has already become in 35 years that he has to say this is the true grace of God because already there was a false grace. Can you imagine what it is like today? 1 Peter 5-12 this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. And what does he say? What is the I'm not going through the whole letter of Peter I'll tell you one thing I'll just go to one verse which you may not have read carefully Tell me whether you have read this in 1 Peter Christ gave you an example to follow in his steps who committed no sin Christ gave you an example to follow his Christ calls you to follow his example who committed no sin is there such a verse in 1 Peter that we have to follow the example of Christ who did no sin have you ever seen such a verse in 1 Peter I'll give you a new bible before you leave this weekend 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 21 and 22 it's all one sentence Christ has left you an example to follow in his steps who committed no sin follow in his steps who committed no sin. This is the true grace of God. 1 Peter 5-12 stand firm in it he had to say that to people in the first century that is the true grace of God not the grace of God which is being turned into a license to commit sin Romans chapter 6 verse 14 this is the grace which came by Jesus Christ which nobody under the law could have. Romans 6 verse 14 sin shall not be master over you because you are not under the law anymore but under grace some people ask me brother how do you say you are not under the law well because it says in Romans 6 verse 14 I am not under the law I am under grace how do you know that you are under the law are there Christians today who are under the law? Sure all those who are defeated by sin every single person who is defeated by sin is living under the law he hasn't come under grace I can give that verse Romans 6 verse 14 to a 10 year old boy sitting here who can just read plain English and ask him hey son can you tell me what this means listen to me sin shall not rule over you because you are not under law but under grace and I ask him can you tell me the mark of those who are under law he will say yeah sin rules over them and what is the mark of those under grace sin does not rule over them that is as plain as black and white is that in your bible how is it the devil hid it from you because he does he blinds the minds of people lest they discover the truth Jesus said you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free I'll give you my testimony I was born again 52 years ago and I was 19 years old 19 and a half for 16 years of my life I read that verse never understood it I was born again baptized preaching I was defeated by sin my thoughts were not corresponding to what I preached I was a hypocrite I gave people the impression that I was an overcomer I was a liar like many preachers are I never saw it and God did not open my eyes because he saw in all those years I was content to be a hypocrite I was content that people appreciated my preaching and respected me it didn't matter that my inner life did not correspond with what I was preaching till a day came in my life when I got so fed up and I said Lord I will not continue preaching I'll quit the ministry not quit being a Christian I'll quit preaching I'll go and sit at the back of a church and never take any more responsibility until you do one thing for me that you make my inner life correspond with what I preach make that verse real in my life that sin does not rule over me teach me grace not definitions I want to experience it it's much better to experience humility than to know the definition it's much better to experience grace than to know definitions I'm not interested in definitions much better to be holy than to have theories of holiness and God did it for me and he did it by pouring out his spirit upon me fulfilling the promise in Zechariah 12 verse 10 I will pour out the spirit of grace upon my people the holy spirit I saw Zechariah 12 10 was a prophecy that the spirit that was poured out would be like a waterfall from heaven of grace and I could stand under that waterfall and I would be under grace and grace would be such a mighty power that would keep me from falling it's been wonderful this is the true grace of God this is what Jesus brought and the law was our school master to keep us from falling into terrible sins till Jesus came and the school master handed us over to Christ and said now you come under the grace of God, you don't need to be under me anymore, you don't need me anymore you're under grace, the holy spirit has come to lead you so do Christians need the law today, are there Christians who need the law, yes certain people it says in Roman sorry Galatians 5 and verse 18 Galatians 5 and verse 18 says if you're led by the holy spirit then you're not under the law that means if you obey the promptings of the holy spirit in your life that's what being led by the holy spirit you are not under the law but a lot of Christians do not allow the holy spirit to lead them then they have to be under the law, otherwise they'll become worse than the unbelievers yeah you got to keep them under law, you got to be under law, because you don't want the holy spirit, you want to live in the old covenant you're living as though Jesus hasn't yet come you don't want to get the benefit of this wonderful grace of God, then you better stay under the old covenant then you, I mean it's like a if your son doesn't want to study, then he could keep sitting in the kindergarten all his life what can you do? he's under the old covenant if you are not led by the spirit, then you're under law then you're defeated by sin, that's what I mean, you know, a billionaire father has left an inheritance for you and you allow the devil to cheat you out of it so that's my desire to share with you my brothers and sisters that there's a tremendous inheritance that Jesus has purchased for us on the cross he went to heaven in order to pour out the spirit of grace upon us so that we can have power to handle any situation it's not just sin the apostle Paul once when he was having a trial in his case it was a trial of sickness he had a sickness which he calls it a thorn in the flesh a messenger of satan, he calls in 2nd Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 7 that kept on oppressing him buffeting him he says, buffeting you know, buffeting means somebody hitting you, hitting you, hitting you it was some type, he doesn't exactly define what it is, but he calls it by two names a thorn in the flesh and a messenger of satan and the holy spirit has left that vague so that you can apply to any thorn in the flesh or any messenger of satan in your life, it could be a sickness it could be a particular problem that just doesn't seem to go away or whatever it is and you pray and pray and pray and pray and it's there that thorn in the flesh is there and he says lord won't you take it away and the lord says no I'll do something more wonderful, my grace, there again that word which is never possible in the old testament God never said to anyone in the old testament, I'll keep that thorn in the flesh for you to humble you, no it's a new testament a way of suffering, I will allow you to keep this sickness perhaps you know that sometimes God allows even the greatest servants of his to have some type of physical ailment to keep them humble, lest they get all puffed up, Paul needed it, the only one who never needed it was Jesus Christ, he was so whole hearted, but most of the rest of us need some type of thing to keep us down, especially if God is using somebody very mightily, and Paul, and what is the answer to that, grace, my grace is sufficient for you that in spite of this weakness you have my power will manifest itself in you that you will be able to live and serve me whole heartedly just as if that thing did not even exist what a wonderful power grace is that I can have a sickness or an ailment that's bothering me, bothering me bothering me and I ask God to take it away and he doesn't take it away, but grace is sufficient to make me serve more whole heartedly and more zealously than young people who are ten times healthier than me think of that, think what grace can do, even in the physical realm my grace is sufficient for you for my strength is made perfect in weakness, and that applies to all types of situations there is no situation about which you can complain Lord, this is such a difficult situation for me God's grace is sufficient to help you to be an overcomer in that circumstance, in that situation, this is the tremendous power that the grace of God can do for us, and it was never possible under the old covenant now I want to show you something even more wonderful you see many people have not recognized that Jesus is a forerunner forerunner means you know we've heard this verse looking unto Jesus we run this race he ran the race in front of us now the question is how did Jesus overcome how is it that he never sinned I'll tell you because he was under grace as a man now this may all be new to you you may be scared, hey where are we going Jesus needed grace it's very difficult sometimes to get out of our heads truths that are in scripture which we see plainly but our prejudice and our tradition prevents us from accepting it you must never accept anything if you don't see it in scripture but when you see it in scripture you must be bold enough to take it, that's what I did and that's what changed my life Luke chapter 2 verse 40 please turn with me so that you see it in the bible itself, Luke 2 40 verse 40 it's talking about Jesus the child Jesus is right from his birth continued to grow become strong and the grace of God same word again which was never available in the old testament here was the first human being that walked on the earth who had grace upon him was Jesus God? of course he was he was God from all eternity equal with the father of the second person of the trinity voluntarily gave up that position did not consider equality with God as something to be held on to but gave it up and emptied himself of what? you can't say hey he emptied himself of nothing when the bible says he does empty himself he did not empty himself of his deity God can never cease to be God, impossible but he limited himself by emptied himself in the sense that he would not use the resources he had as God he came down in a human baby like a baby with a human brain and human limitations he did not use the resources he had as God there are many proofs of it he was tired and he slept he was hungry he was thirsty God is never tired there, here was God almighty in human form not using his resources as God he had to come near a fig tree to see if it had fruit if he had used his divine resources he could have seen if there was fruit on that tree from a hundred miles away but he had limited himself we need to see the wonderful the humility of Jesus that he came to earth as a man limited himself even though he was God, of course he was still God because he accepted worship he forgave people's sins, things which you and I can't do when people knelt down and worshipped him, he accepted it you can't do that, I can't do that he was God, but he never used his resources as God then how did he overcome sin? not as God but as man the grace of God was upon him and when the grace of God was upon him he could overcome sin because it says sin shall not rule over you when you are under grace he was the first human being who was under grace he walked on earth as a man under grace all the time so sin could not touch him because he always had the power to overcome every temptation and he says follow me you can live under that grace all the time that's how he began his life when you come to the end of his life how could he go to this terrible death on the cross that difficult death on the cross which he tried to say father this cup it was so difficult for him to drink it how did he go to the cross turn to Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 9 in the last part of that verse Hebrews chapter 2 verse 9 it says it was by the grace of God that he tasted death on the cross so how did he die this death on the cross because he was under grace from birth he was under grace to death he was under grace all the time he was under grace and that is the grace he asks us to live under and when you live under that grace sin will not rule over you you'll have sufficiency for every situation and you there's only one qualification to receive it humble yourself go down humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and he will exalt you in due course it's a wonderful life let me conclude by showing you what David could sing under the old covenant in Psalm 103 David said these words the old I call this the old covenant gospel Psalm 103 the old covenant gospel bless the Lord oh my soul verse 2 and forget not all his benefits four things I want you to see these four things number one he pardons all your iniquities the old testament gospel was God will forgive all your sins number 2 he will heal all your diseases some people call that the full gospel it's an old covenant gospel he will heal your diseases verse 3 the third thing he redeems your life from the pit of hell he saves you from the pit of hell that's the third thing fourth verse 5 he satisfies your years of your earthly life with many good things material things so what are the four benefits of the old covenant gospel number 1 forgiveness of all sins number 2 healing of diseases deliverance from hell and material prosperity anybody who is preaching these four things only is preaching an old covenant gospel forgiveness of sins healing from diseases deliverance from hell and material blessing and prosperity do you recognize now the gospel that is being preached on television and around many places today in place of this what is the new covenant gospel I will not only forgive your sins Hebrews 8 verse 12 it says I will remember your sins no more and he gives us his holy spirit writes his laws upon our heart and mind so that I am not only forgiven but I overcome sin and I can know God Hebrews 8 verse 11 as my personal father this is what grace brings us to and I believe this is what Satan has deprived so many Christians of I want to invite you my brothers and sisters not to let the devil rob you of your inheritance in the gospel let's bow our heads in prayer while our heads are bowed in prayer let's ask the Lord to search our hearts and say Lord help me to experience the grace of God to enter into the fullness of God's grace thank you Father I know you can do it I trust you I want you to pour out your spirit upon me fill me with the Holy Spirit pour out the spirit of grace upon me Lord that I can experience this grace that helps me to overcome sin and gives me sufficiency for every situation I can ever face in my life help me to humble myself that I can receive this grace at all times I pray in Jesus name Amen