This sermon emphasizes the importance of abiding in God's Word and listening to His voice daily. It highlights the need to prioritize spiritual growth over worldly desires, focusing on renewing the inner man daily while acknowledging the decay of the outer man. The speaker encourages developing a habit of seeking God's will, forming righteous judgments, and valuing God's Word to experience His power and authority in prayer.

So, though my voice may sound a little different, I'm the same person. Hopefully a little better person than I was last year. We all must go that way. Sometimes God gives us, it's just a cough and a cold, sometimes God gives us these little reminders. When we think we have, our body's a golden vessel, and he reminds us it's just an earthen vessel. And it'll be an earthen vessel until the end of our lives. And not only an earthen vessel, 2 Corinthians 4 also says that the outer man perishes day by day, decays. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 16. It's a great verse. We don't get discouraged just because our body, our outer man is decaying. You can't stop it. You can stop the decay of food by putting it in a freezer. But, the decay of our body, I mean you can arrest it with careful food habits and medicine and all, but it will decay. But, the reason he says we don't get discouraged is because our inner man is being renewed every single day. And in an earlier message once, I don't know whether it was here or somewhere else, I said, what I see there is not something automatic. The decay of the outer man, of the body is automatic. You don't have to do anything about it. You can hasten it by bad habits. In other words, the decay will come quicker if you have bad food habits, bad health habits, but it will decay, even if you do nothing. But the inner man, you have to do something for it to be renewed. Otherwise it's not automatic. There's a big difference between the two. But God's will for you, see it from this verse, it's just like you see your outer man decaying definitely year by year, you should see your inner man growing in grace and being renewed. Renewed means, Colossians it says, renewed in the image of him who created him. That's the only renewal that is worth anything. Renewed to become a little more like Jesus every year. Now Paul had reached such a standard of life that it was not every year that he became Christ-like, it was every day. I don't think I can say that yet, but that's my goal. In his case, he was so wholehearted that every day he became a little more Christ-like. So I see that's possible. It's possible for those who live closest to me, my wife, to see that I've become a little more Christ-like, a little more gracious, a little more humble, a little more pure, a little more patient, a little more forgiving, etc. etc. Every day. Make that your goal, even if it takes you 10 years to get there. Start with something easier that this year you're a better Christian than you were in 2014, more Christ-like. But don't stop with that. Move on to working towards the place where every day finds you a little more Christ-like because the outer man is decaying every day. Sometimes we don't see it, but it does decay. Some of it is not so visible. The effect of it sometimes comes upon you much later. So, Paul was pretty old. He was in his 60s when he wrote that perhaps. He was an old man and his body was much more affected because he was traveling through rough roads and shipwrecks and so many difficulties. I don't know what type of food he ate in different places. And all that had affected his body and he could see it wearing out and he said, well, I'm going to make sure that my inner man is renewed. Because he knew what it says in Proverbs 4.18 that the path of the righteous, the path God has planned for the righteous, is exactly like the sun rising that is being born again, moving slowly, slowly without any backsliding. The sun never backslides slowly until it comes to that position where we are completely like Christ, the perfect day. That must be your goal. It must be the goal of everybody in CFC. Lord, I don't want to backslide this year. I want to repent of all my backslidings. All this sun going up and down, I want to finish with that. I want to be like that sun you created that never backslides for one second, keeps going, keeps going, keeps going. And the secret of course is that sun just submits to a law that God has made. That's all. The earth actually, that's how the sun moves, submits to the law of rotating on its own axis in 24 hours absolutely perfectly. So, we who are living on this earth should learn from the earth on which we live to follow the laws of God. So, if you turn with me to Proverbs chapter 4 in that verse, there's a contrast made there between the path of the wicked and the path of the righteous. In Proverbs chapter 4 verse 14, he begins by saying to listen to his word. Verse 14 Do not enter the path of the wicked or the path of evil men. Avoid it. Don't even go near it. If you see it, turn away from it and pass on. We are living in a world where there are many paths of the wicked. Don't go near it, it says. Because the wicked person cannot sleep unless they do evil. They are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble. The way I understand it is a wicked person cannot go to sleep unless he has gossiped about at least one person during the day. He cannot sleep until he has spoken evil of at least one person sometime during the day. Ah, I've spoken evil of one person today, now I can sleep. Anybody here like that? There is a delight in tearing down somebody speaking evil of somebody maybe some information you have which is usually at home, gossip then he says, now I can sleep. That is the path of the wicked. But the path of the righteous who has accepted instruction. Here it says, verse 10, listen my son accept my sayings and the years of your life will be many. Today I would say in the Old Testament a long life was important. You know, a long life. But in the New Testament quantity is never emphasized. Not number of people in a church but the quality of a church. Not how long you live but the quality of your life. Jesus lived 33 years. The Apostle James lived about 30 years and he was beheaded. Stephen probably 28, 29 years stone to death. Many great men and women did not live long lives. Many of them were martyred as young people quality of their life but they were faithful. So don't think of long life as an important thing but being faithful to Jesus until the end. I never forget the story I heard of a missionary in Africa who told me this story that when Christianity first went to I think it was Kenya nowadays there are a lot of Christians there but in the early days there were spirit worshippers in that tribe called the Kikuyu tribe and when the missionaries went there the first Christian first person from that tribe was converted he and his little 12 year old son and the whole tribe was upset and the chief ordered a conference conference means a discussion of the tribe and they brought this father and son who dared to accept a religion called Christianity which all their fathers had never accepted and they asked this man will you renounce Christ? Imagine just newly converted he said no Jesus is my savior and the chief said I'll kill you. He said fine got somebody to take a sword and cut off his head right there in the presence of everybody on this platform and they called the little boy what about you? See what I did to your father? Are you going to renounce Christ? He said no Christ is my savior too 12 years old but he said before you cut off my head let me take off my shirt and he took off his shirt and he said before this gets stained with my blood I want to give it to you give it to your son and always remember that I loved you even though you killed me we're going to meet some people like this in eternity who are faithful they didn't live long lives but they were faithful I used to get my children to read missionary biographies of people who gave up everything to go and serve God when I was a young Christian there were two things I read one was the bible, we studied it the other was missionary biographies and I have to say that one of the reasons I left the Navy it was not just the word of God that challenged me but those missionary biographies I said wow, these people really accomplished something on this earth before they left it what am I going to accomplish before I leave this earth just make some money, get some honor, get a title I want to do something for God and of course I realize I can't leave God doesn't call me but even if I'm there I must do something for God and not just compromise my conviction in order to get promotions in my profession and those biographies challenged me a lot you know there's a missionary I think his name was James Calvert in the 19th century more than 150 years ago he felt a call to go to the Fiji Islands in the Pacific there were no Christians there all cannibals, people who eat human beings and he got into this ship I think this was from England and they came to the islands and the captain of the ship said you'll die if you go there you and your wife he said we died before we came on this ship we can understand that they had died to themselves before they got on that ship those cannibals could only kill their body they had already died I used to think as a young man Lord I'm going to meet these people in heaven I don't want to just say I lived a long life listen to my sayings the Lord says and the years of your life we can say will be extremely profitable whether short or long seek to live a profitable life brothers and sisters don't just drift along have a sense of direction on the oceans I used to see pieces of wood floating no direction the waves go this way, the wood goes this way the waves go this way, the wood goes another way I see a lot of believers like that there's no sense of direction in their life just somehow get along, earn our living attend Sunday meetings in CFC and somehow get our children educated somehow as they grow up get them married and retire and say I have done my job no you haven't when God formed you in your mother's womb he had a purpose for you a different purpose for each person you must be gripped by it and in the years when you have health do all that you can for the Lord because one day you may not have health for many many years I've been challenged by a statement made by a servant of the Lord who lived in the 19th century 150 years ago who became very sick at a very young age but he had already served the Lord from his teenage years for 30-40 years and when he was sick in his 50s he said I thank God that in the years when I had health I served God with all my heart I didn't spare myself I didn't spare my body I lived completely for God so now that I couldn't even get out of his bed he was sick he said I have no regret dear brothers and sisters one day if you don't know when it will come when you can't move around as freely as you can today I hope you'll have no regret about the way you lived that it was totally for Christ like that saying goes only one life and it will soon be past and only what's done for Christ will last so it says here listen to my instruction verse 11 I have directed you in the way of wisdom I have led you in upright paths and then there's a beautiful paraphrase of verse 12 as your steps will not be impeded the paraphrase says as you go step by step I will open up the way before you beautiful paraphrase I remember reading that paraphrase as a young Christian when I was in my early twenties and I took it as a promise in my life as if God was saying my son as you go if you keep listening to me I will little by little open up the way before you and show you which way to go and your open up means your you'll be a blessing to more and more and more people as time goes on I will open up the way before you sometimes it looks closed but you'll open it up little by little as we come step by step but we have to move forward if you just stand still nothing will open up we have to have faith to go forward sometimes you may see a mountain in your way an obstruction a hindrance to what you're supposed to do for God the way you're supposed to live it could be from parents, it could be from relatives, it could be from circumstances it could be from your boss it could be from the government the world is full of people who are trying to hinder God's work and when you look at that mountain don't assume God has closed the way before me he has not that's the time when you need to do what Jesus said to speak to that mountain in faith and say get out of the way I'm going to go on with God you're not going to stop me I'm going to go on with God have you let a little bit of rain prevent you from coming to the meeting when you should be there you never let a little bit of rain prevent you from going to work what do you get there money what do you get when you come to a meeting, God has money become more important to you than God don't let anything hinder you from seeking fellowship don't let anything hinder you from listening to God's word every day when you find reading the Bible heavy take a good Christian book and read it or if you have the internet turn to one of those messages put the subject there in that YouTube search column choose the subject you think will encourage you and listen to it but determine that you are going to go on with God and nothing is going to stop you and you will not be discouraged Hudson Taylor was a great man of God and he went to China and if you live in China in the early days when there were hardly any Christians tremendous pressures to get discouraged some of us get discouraged with mosquito bites he was facing lions and tigers spiritually speaking and he took a decision it was a choice of his will he said I refuse to get discouraged he was tempted but he said I refuse to get discouraged I choose to always praise I will only praise God it's a decision of the will if you live by feeling you'll be a slave but he said feeling is not going to guide me I'll tell you in my early days I did not know the distinction between living by feeling and living in your will and I used to be frequently discouraged even after I got married and very frequently I'd sit my head in my hand it's gone it's completely gone because I say I refuse to get discouraged I will only praise I live in my will not in my feelings feelings come and feelings go and feelings are deceiving my guide is the word of God there's nothing else worth believing that's what I often say to myself feelings come and feelings go feelings are deceiving but my only guide is the word of God there's nothing else worth believing so remember that in this year it says listen to my instruction little by little doors that appear to be closed before you and you're supposed to go there and when you hear that some of you may immediately think oh it's that job I'm looking for with a high salary the door is closed dear me is that the only thing you can think of even when you hear a message like this you only think of more money that's not the door I'm talking about where you can make more money it's the door where you overcome sins that are enslaving you today it's like a mountain some sin in front of you it's not God's will that you should be blocked you must go on and possess that land say I'm going to go on I'm not going to let get out of my way you mountain in Jesus name move forward it says in verse 13 take hold of instruction don't let it go guard her for she is your life and it has come to me more and more that if we want to be renewed every day we have to develop the habit of hearing God you know what Jesus told Martha Martha you're worried about so many things Luke 10 42 good things cooking food essential particularly when you're cooking for Jesus and his disciples very good Jesus said that's not the most important thing the important thing is to do what Mary is doing sitting at my feet listening to my word we're not talking about sin now there are many legitimate things in the world lawful things we have to do it which mother can avoid cooking in the kitchen has to be done or changing the baby's diapers or so much work in the home so much work in our office for the men but in addition to all that while you're doing all that say Lord you said one thing is needful to hear you speak to me I cannot think of the number of times in the last more than 50-54 years that the Lord has said that one word to me one thing is needful what Mary has chosen sit at my feet and listen to my word the Lord showed me that word I think about 54 years ago many years ago one day I was on my birthday I said Lord do you have a word for me the Lord said one thing is needful sit at my feet and listen to the word the next year my birthday I said Lord do you have a word for me he said same as last year then I realized that here is a word that the Lord was giving me for my life I had to sit at Jesus' feet every day and listen to him and I can testify today after all these more than 50 years I've changed my life because in my time of need I have a word but I would not have it if I had not stored it in my mind earlier see Jesus because he knew the scriptures by the age of 12 when he was 30 and the devil came with the temptation the Holy Spirit could immediately you know like a computer picks out from all the data the answer that you are looking for but that computer can never pick that out if you haven't put the data in first then it searches and there is nothing there no answer for your question because you haven't put data in so it's a wonderful thing if you put God's word into your mind that's what the Holy Spirit brought forth to Jesus say to Satan man shall not live by bread alone from the book of Deuteronomy chapter 8 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God and God has not told me to turn these stones into bread so I will not do it look at his humility that even when he was in desperate need of hunger I cannot imagine anything greater than being hungry for 40 days and you have the power to get food somewhere without cheating anybody without robbing anybody else's meal and yet to say no I don't have a leading from my father yet to do that you know how even when there was a need for wine in Cana he told his mother no I can't do it my hour has not yet come and a little later he said yeah what do I see there I see a person who is so sensitive to the father's voice that when his mother told him they have need here no, no word, I'll say nothing I won't do anything a little later the father says ok, fine and he turned the water into wine I want to show you a verse in John chapter 5 John chapter 5 and verse 30 I can do nothing on my own initiative now if some of you don't know the meaning of the word initiative it is from the word initiate initiate is an English word which means you start something so my initiative means I start it I start the ball rolling I will not initiate anything nothing from my own initiative as I hear then I judge and even your assessment of people you know we all, whether you know it or not whether you know it or not you are unconsciously assessing people around you all the time that's the honest truth, you might as well face it I mean you see somebody doing something and you form an opinion you hear somebody saying something and you form an opinion you don't say it and over a period of time as you see certain people doing something you have formed an opinion you never said a word to anybody, you don't even gossip to your husband or wife but you formed an opinion and you formed an inward judgment of that person that's where it says about Jesus in Isaiah 11 verse 3 that he did not judge by what his eyes saw or his ears heard if you look at your life all the judgments we have made from the time we were born is by what our eyes have seen and our ears have heard, even 2 plus 2 is 4 we learnt it by what our eyes saw and our ears heard the most elementary things, CAT means cat you learnt it by what your eyes saw and your ears heard every single thing in life that's a way of life for learning things in the world naturally, but when it comes to spiritual things the Lord says you can see and you can hear but don't judge by that if you want to form a righteous judgment after you have seen then after you have heard, hear the Father as I hear I judge, John 5 30 and my judgment is just righteous how to have a righteous judgment always righteous judgment of people righteous judgment of situations righteous judgment of what to do in this complicated situation here is the secret, never forget it my judgment is always right because I do not want to do my own will in anything on this earth I only want to do the will of him who sent me I learnt from that that if my only ambition in life is to do the will of him who sent me into my mother's womb I have no other ambition my judgment will always be right we make mistakes because we judge by what our eyes saw and ears heard and I've done that, I've sometimes not sometimes, number of times foolishly judged and when I realized pretty soon after that I was completely wrong I've just gone before God in repentance and said Lord when will I learn not to judge by what my eyes see and ears heard we got so used to it that we get into that rut so often it's like trying to drive a car or a scooter in a road where there's a deep rut you're not really careful, the wheel will go into that rut and then you're stuck there and you've got a job trying to get it out onto the road and there are these ruts of human opinions and ideas and the devil adds his ruts of what he wants you to know and to get out of that and steer on the main road and say I will not fall into that rut of judging by what I hear and see you know there's an old testament verse which says let me see if I can find it Isaiah 42 I think yeah Isaiah 42 and verse 19 it's a verse which is difficult to understand but I'll tell you how I've understood it. Isaiah 42 19 who is blind but my servant I want to tell you something in Isaiah chapter 40 to 66 whenever you read my servant it is always referring to Jesus Christ prophetically let me read it, who is blind like Jesus deaf like my messenger Jesus who is so blind but the one who is at peace with me or so blind as Jesus the servant of the Lord he sees many things but he doesn't observe them his ears are open but he doesn't hear you have to connect that to Isaiah 11 verse 3 that Jesus saw many things but he was blind he didn't say well I can't form an opinion on that he heard many things but he was deaf so if I want to be a servant of the Lord and you are to be a servant of the Lord you can't keep your eyes and ears shut when you walk on the earth you see but you don't observe that means you don't pass any judgment you hear but you don't say ok I've got to process that I've got to process it in my mind and listen to God and that's why Jesus lived like that once we read in John 7 his brother said hey we're going to the feast in Jerusalem all Jews have to go for that you know that aren't you coming he said no you go you read that in John 7 but he says after his brothers went he went was he telling a lie no when his brothers called him he had not yet heard from heaven so what if there's a law that you have to go to Jerusalem I haven't yet heard my father tell me to go a little later maybe five minutes after his brothers left to Jerusalem he heard the father say go in other words God did not want him to go for that long hundred kilometer walk to Jerusalem from wherever he was Capernaum or Nazareth and during all those hours listen to the useless gossip that his brothers would tell him I think that must have been the reason the father said let them go you walk alone because then you can listen to me a little better sometimes we need to hear that too sometimes we can be so friendly with somebody oh we don't want to offend them okay I don't want to offend God remember my brother sister you got only one life you don't have a second chance to live this life and not only life you don't have a second chance to live 2014 that's finished the way you lived it you can never correct it in all eternity it's gone forever you can repent of it sure you can walk with people whom God tells you not to walk with for hundred kilometers and listen to all their gossip and rubbish and everything else at the end of it say oh Lord I'm sorry for what I did a better way would be to listen before at least in the future saying Lord I'm not saying we shouldn't be friendly with sinners Jesus was a friend of sinners I'm only saying listen develop the habit of listening in this year please for God's sake and I'm not saying that irreverently for the sake of our Heavenly Father while you're doing other things listen whenever you get time read the word of God and store it in your mind but develop the habit of listening particularly when you're alone listen listen listen there is a time for playing music Christian music but there are some people who are always listening to Christian music some of it is good God can speak to you through some songs God's spoken to me through many hymns but most of the time God speaks to me through a hymn by reminding me of that hymn when I'm not listening to anything because so many hymns now I know by heart that some word in it comes to me you know when you're on trial something like His love in time past forbids me to think that he will leave me at last in trouble to sink he won't let me down words like that when we have come to the end of our hoarded resources our Father's forgiving has only begun but if I keep on listening to Christian music that may not be the word I hear at that time that's why I don't keep on listening to Christian music even though that sounds such a spiritual thing to do the devil has so many ways of making us deaf to the voice of God my brothers and sisters cooking food is a good thing listening to music is a good thing watching television is if it's news and clean stuff it may be okay but don't let any of these legitimate things rob you of listening to God it is the one most important thing Jesus said one thing is needful listen to me and you will need it this year I believe you will need it he who has ears to hear let him hear I can boldly say thus says the Lord one thing is needful sit at my feet and listen to me that's what we read in Proverbs 4 take heed to instruction hold it fast then what will happen the way will open up before you little by little by little mountains will move out of the way you will form right judgments of situations and people not based on what you input you get from eyes and ears but processed with the word of God coming into your heart so develop the habit this year of listening if you are driving your car pay attention to the roads look for the traffic signs but you can also listen and when you are alone at home wonderful times when you can listen or if you are driving in an office cabin you sit up there listen listen to God listen everywhere listen when you are having a shower listen when you are sitting on the toilet listen to God all the time cause some of those times you are all alone nobody to disturb you when you are in the bathroom you spend time listening to God so much of time we have lost in 2014 let's not lose it this year God's word can do amazing things in your life God's word is brings light into different situations it's God's word that opened up the way for the Israelites to go through the Red Sea His word it's that what protected Jesus from temptation every time a temptation came one word the Holy Spirit would bring you shall not tempt the Lord your God end of matter no further discussion another temptation you shall worship only the Lord your God get behind me Satan finished how quickly temptation went away from Jesus there was no struggling struggling struggling because he just quoted a scripture the exact scripture that the Holy Spirit brought to his mind because he had this habit of listening he knew when to go to Jerusalem and when not to go when to do a miracle and when not to do a miracle I think of that pool in Bethesda where Jesus walked in John chapter 5 it says a multitude of sick people were lying there what is a multitude? 5? 10? can you call 10 people a multitude? no multitude means maybe 200 people were there and Jesus listened to the father you see that man there sitting there all by himself in the corner go and ask him if he wants to get well he says I've been 38 years I can't get into the pool the father says heal him he healed him what about all the other 199 people sitting there? let's go home now God has a plan some people say Jesus healed everybody who was sick it's an absolute lie they haven't read the bible sometimes he did it because he was prompted by that think of that lame man who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple whom Peter healed for 3 years Jesus saw him every time he went by he'd ask for money and Jesus would give him money next day he would ask for money next year he came and Jesus would give him money because always the father said don't heal him I'm going to heal him 3 years later and when he gets healed by Peter 5000 people will get converted if you heal him now you'll hinder that revival then do you know sometimes a good work can hinder God's work let me give you a clear example if the prodigal son was living next door to your compound and he was eating what the pigs are eating I'm sure you'd feed him so well that he'd never go back to his father's house would you have accomplished God's purpose? when a man is being disciplined by God sometimes a person in the church has to be disciplined and people go and say oh brother Zach is so hard I think I'll be compassionate towards him go and visit him and encourage him you'll make sure he never comes back to God there are foolish believers who go by what their eyes see and their ears hear and you think you're more spiritual and more loving than the elders just humble yourself and say they have a little more wisdom than you they don't lack love but they have grace plus truth so listening to God is a wonderful thing and I believe I want to close with this John chapter 5 sorry John 15 see the other advantage of studying God's word is that you'll always have a word to give to other people when they come to visit you in the home or when you have a chance to share the word if you keep on listening, listening, listening and judging yourself in the light of God's word judging yourself God makes even the things that happen in your life to work for your good I had this cough and a cold which got a bit aggravated because I had to speak for 9 hours in the last 3 days of the conference but I said Lord I have no complaint are you going to teach me something through this? sure, I'm always seeking to learn sometimes it's not a great spiritual truth like I get tossed from a scooter and I say Lord what are you trying to teach me? He says drive slowly so it's not always a great spiritual truth but it's a practical truth but sometimes it's a spiritual truth and what I'm sharing with you today is when I was sitting there and listening to God saying Lord what should I share today? and he gave me this word John 15 verse 7 if you abide in me and my words abide in you that means you have listened and listened and listened and you haven't thrown them away abide means you keep them like the precious things you get, don't throw them away if you have lost a word that God gave you some time ago then I'll tell you what you must have treated it like old newspapers do you collect old newspapers in your house? or garbage? you throw it away if you got a word today and you lost it by tomorrow clear sign, you treated God's word like garbage because you don't keep garbage even for one day you throw it out you have to face it, I treated God's word like garbage he gave me a word and I've completely forgotten it dear brothers, value the word God gives you if my words abide in you not that they come and go the opposite of abiding is visiting you visit a house or you abide in a house I abide in my house but I visit other houses don't let God's word visit you, even this morning let it abide in you that's why I always say it's better to have a few words abiding in us than lots of words visiting us and going away if my words abide in you and you abide in me you can ask whatever you wish and it'll be done for you you know some people ask me brother Zach it doesn't seem to always work Jesus said fantastic things like ask in my name and you'll get it and it'll always be done why can't you pray for this seriously sick person and heal him immediately, I'll say I'll give you an answer to that if Jesus was here even if this was a leper or dead Jesus could raise him from the dead, he didn't raise everybody from the dead but Jesus could do it I remember visiting a home in one of our churches in Tamil Nadu where there was this girl 10 or 12 years curled up from birth some problem with their mind and brain and body that couldn't do anything he was a brother in our church and his body was all curled up this daughter of theirs he called me home and said can you come and pray for my daughter I said okay and I went to his house and I saw this girl I had zero faith to raise that child up to normal and I told him, I said if Jesus were here he would touch that child or speak a word and this child would get up even if it was curled up, retarded for 13 years jump about and walk normally but I want to be honest I do not have the faith of Jesus Christ I can only live at the level of my faith Jesus could sign a check for a million dollars, million rupees maybe I can sign a check for 15 rupees, let's be humble and not claim, in the name of Jesus I'm going to do this don't be deceived by all these Pentecostal preachers and healers they don't have much faith either some of them don't even have 15 rupees, I'll tell you they have loud words, don't be deceived by them some people who don't make such loud claims actually have more in their faith account than some of those people that's why I never go to them but Jesus life was such that Roman centurion knew that you know in Matthew 8 he said Lord I know that if you speak one word standing here five kilometers away my servant will be healed how? because that's how it happens to me I'm a centurion with 100 soldiers under me I always listen to my captain he says centurion come here I drop what I'm doing and I go and therefore when I tell this soldier come here he comes, when I say now go he goes because I submit to my senior officer in the same way, the military is like that and he looked at Jesus and he got a sense, you know military people can recognize one another and he said I don't know which army you belong to but I sense a military thing about you, you've got some authority over you, see most Christians have got no authority over them and you can see it but this military man recognizes you, I don't know which authority this is but you're under some authority, I know you have such tremendous power because he had heard about what Jesus was doing in other places, he said this is impossible, nobody can do it unless he's under some terrific authority and so I know that, if I were to paraphrase his words you are so submissive to whoever is the authority over you, he didn't know about God the father or any such thing but some authority you're listening to and I know from my experience that one who submits so completely to that authority will have authority over others that's why the bible says in James 5 the prayer of a righteous man avails much why is that? why not the prayer of all believers don't we think that James 5 should say the prayer of all believers in Jesus name it will work, it won't let's be realistic, a lot of your prayers in Jesus name nothing has happened a lot of my prayers in Jesus name nothing has happened but I know that when Jesus prayed it was always, always he said I know father you always hear me there was never one failure and the closer we get to that we will see more and more God answering our prayer but that will be in the sense that the closer we get to God we will not be asking for such a lot of worldly things like a lot of people you know most people when they say in Jesus name I want this, it is some earthly thing it's either health or wealth they say we don't believe in the health, wealth gospel but that's what they are seeking all the time when they pray but Jesus was not saying in the father's name I'll get health or I'll get wealth no, he wanted to do the will of his father and that's what every righteous man wants and the righteous man's prayer has tremendous power and the more righteous he is the more authority he has but he is still way below Jesus who could just say like that and it was done so he says if my words abide in you you can ask whatever you wish it will be done isn't it a wonderful thing to let God's word not visit us but abide in us thank you for your patience listening brothers and sisters I love you all I always speak the truth I want to tell you I speak it to myself first always I never preach to you what I have not preached to myself I don't despise any of you I believe most of you are very sincere otherwise you wouldn't be sitting here so long God bless you let's pray our father we thank you for your love and care for us please help us to honor you as a church in our different homes and as individuals help us to live listening to you accomplishing your will on earth as it is done in heaven we pray in Jesus name Amen