Jesus Loves Me This I Know

We heard already in repentance and rest. Today if you want salvation, dear brothers, sisters, and children, there's only one way. It's repentance and rest.

I wonder how many Christians, after they've repented, came into a life of rest. That was God's plan all along. The land of Canaan, the new covenant, is called the land of rest.

And quietness and strength. This is the exact opposite of how it is in the world. In the world, strength comes from being the most vocal one.

Like the saying in the world goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. So you speak up the most and you'll get what you want. You complain the loudest and you'll get a refund.

But in the kingdom of heaven, it's the opposite. Through these times of teaching, I hope we see, dear family, that the kingdom of heaven is the exact opposite of everything in the kingdom of this world. If there's a certain idea you have about heaven and God and Christ that has come from something in this world because you see that that's how it works well in the world, that's how you succeed in the world, then you can be absolutely certain that that's the exact opposite.

The way to go up in the world is the way to go down in the kingdom of heaven. And the way to go up in the kingdom of heaven is to go down in the kingdom of the world. The way to be strong in the kingdom of heaven is to be quiet.

That's what this verse teaches us. And then he says, in that quietness and rest, you read verse 21 of Isaiah 30, you will hear of, let's turn there. Isaiah 30, we read, we heard, we memorized verse 15 this week.

In repentance and rest, you will be saved. In quietness and trust is your strength. You know what the rest of that verse says? I hope you read it this week.

But you were not willing. That's sad. We didn't include that in the memory verse because that's not going to be true about us, right? It was true about Israel.

He said, I'm showing you the way, Israel, quietness, repentance, rest, trust, weakness, being broken. But you said, no, no, no. Look at that country of Babylon and look at the Egyptians and look at those other strong countries, how they are so strong.

And it looks in the world like that is strength. And they weren't willing to believe God when he said, this is the way. And it's the same today, sadly, but let's not have it be about us.

Let that latter part of that verse not be true about us. Let it be said about us, but you were willing. Yes, Lord, you show me the way of submission, humility, brokenness, weakness.

I will glory in my weakness like Paul said. Okay, Lord. And then we skip down to verse 21.

He says, you will then hear a voice in your, in your, in your, in your ear saying, this is the way, walk in it. Do you wonder why so many Christian people, let's start with us men. Do you wonder why so many Christian men are unable to find God's will for them, for their lives and lead their wives and lead their children? They don't know.

I don't know God's will brother. I don't know. God seems to be distant.

The secret dear brothers and sisters is verse 15. It's quietness, it's rest and it's repentance from my own way of doing things. And then he says, I'll lead you.

Your teacher will, I, your teacher will reveal himself to you. I won't hide myself. And then you will know this is the way, walk in it.

So let's go that way. Let's pray. If we could please pray with me, family, we need God's presence.

I I'm not here to give you another pep talk or a little bit more knowledge or some other idea. I long for one thing only. That's the presence of the Lord in everything that I do.

Whatever I speak, whatever I think, whatever I say, Lord, I want your presence. I have an awesome responsibility. It's not lightly.

The longer I speak, the longer, the more years that go on as I get up here to speak, the more reverend I am, more slow to just not just get up here and say something. Peter tells us that the one who speaks ought to speak as the mouth of God. We read God's word, we meditate on it.

We start to see that the standard, that Christendom is lowered. Every Tom, Nick and Harry just gets up there and preaches on a Sunday morning. I'm not here to judge anybody, but often carelessly while living in sin secretly.

And the more and more I get to know God, I see that it's an awesome responsibility. By awesome, I mean not big, but it's a fearful responsibility to sit up here and say, Lord, I want you to speak. I want you to speak through me as if I am your mouth.

I have no ability to do that. And we share afterwards. If you speak, if you plan to speak during our time of sharing, you ought to do it as the mouth of God.

Let's do it reverently. Let's do it helplessly. Let's do it in repentance and rest and in quietness and in trust.

Heavenly Father, will you come and pour out your Holy Spirit afresh upon us. We need you to move in our midst, Lord. Not in an emotional way, not even in a physical way.

Those will pass. But we want a deep spiritual work. We want to worship you in spirit and in truth.

Come Holy Spirit and come into the deepest area of our life that is still unsurrendered. We can never worship you if we are still on the throne. So Lord, today I want a little bit to see a little bit more of self that is still in control.

My own feelings, my own ambitions, my own opinions, how people treat me or what people say to me or what people think of me. All of those things of self, Lord, I lay down that you alone can be unrivaled king in my heart. You the only king in my heart, Lord.

And then we can truly worship. Show us how worthy you are. Lord Jesus, will you captivate us afresh with a vision of your glory and your majesty and your love for us that we will never again turn aside to the things of this world.

We'll never waffle. As thou has died for me, so may my love for thee be pure, warm, and changeless. Forgive me, Lord, that my love is sometimes changing.

Sometimes I'm on fire for you and sometimes I'm not. Sometimes I'm in love with myself more than I am with you. Forgive me, Lord, as you died for me, you didn't flinch when it came time to go to the cross.

You didn't turn back. You set your face like flint even though you knew it was going to cost you everything when your father forsook you. Thank you, Lord Jesus.

And so as you died for me, may my love for you, may I not lightly say that I love you. Give me your love, Lord. Pour out that love that you had for your father and for me.

Pour out that love into my heart afresh so that my love will be not my copy of yours but it'll be your love in me. Pure, warm, and changeless. I long for it, Lord.

Give it to us, I pray, in our marriages that our love for our spouses will be pure and warm and changeless. That our love for our children will be the love of heaven, not an earthly love that's dependent on how they act. That the love from the children to their parents will be this divine love poured out from heaven.

That our love for each other here in this church won't be a temporary liking of each other that's going to fade away at some point. Lord, pour out your spirit upon us, I pray, that our hearts will be overflowing with that love from heaven. Shed abroad your love, Lord, in our hearts like you said you would through the Holy Spirit.

Thank you. We don't want a temporary attachment, Lord. We're done with doing that work.

We want you to build your church and knit our hearts together with a love that lasts forever, beginning in our marriages and in our homes and through in this church, Lord. Thank you. Lord, speak to us.

Speak through me, I pray. I pray that you'll separate the precious from the worthless, in my words, and speak to us. Let there be a sense of reverence.

Lord, you're here. I believe you're here. May we all see you.

Thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

We sang also, when Jesus comes, the tempter's power is broken. Is the power of the tempter still working in your life, dear friends? That means Jesus has not come. You might say, well, I asked him into my heart a long time ago.

But if the presence of Jesus is there in your workplace, in your home with your wife and your children, your husband, on the soccer field, the presence of Jesus is there, the tempter's power is broken. It's as simple as that. He takes the gloom and fills the life with glory.

I sat there. I stood there singing. I said, Lord, I want this more.

I can think of times, even in the last week, where that what I sang wasn't actually true, 100%. It's mostly true. I'll tell you that, by God's grace.

But there were times, I'll be honest, where it wasn't all the way true. I said, Lord, that means your presence was not with me. That's it.

When Jesus comes, the gloom goes away. You can never be in a bad mood. The life of the new covenant, because Jesus has come down to this earth and sent the Holy Spirit to be in our midst 24-7, that means I'm entitled to a life of 24-7 joy, 24-7 never in a bad mood, 24-7 full control over my tongue, 24-7 full control over my thoughts.

It seems like a dream, doesn't it? Like it's impossible. Yes, it is in my own strength, but Jesus has come. The simple question I ask myself whenever I'm tempted is, did Jesus, was Jesus ever in a bad mood, even for a second? We know the answer to that.

Can you ever imagine Jesus, while he was here on this earth, ever sitting there, glum and gloomy and depressed? I'm like, oh, this life that I'm living here, can't wait to go back to heaven. He came from heaven. He knew what heaven was like.

And he sat here in this sin-cursed earth with all the muck and gloom and gloomy people around him and angry people around him, people mistreating him, taking advantage of him. And oh, it hurt his flesh, but not even for a second was he ever lacking in joy. And dear brothers and sisters, and dear children, oh, that you can get a grip of this from a young age.

That's the life he wants to give you. You don't have to try to work up to it. You'll never be able to work up to it.

But the same life that Jesus had, if he could live a life where he was never gloomy for even a moment, no matter what situation he was facing, then that's the life he's given you as well. And the devil has rubbed us off it all these years. He's gotten us satisfied with a, yeah, I'm a pretty good Christian.

Generally, I'm in a good mood. But every now and then you might catch me on a bad day. There's no such thing as a bad day for the one who's seeking to follow Christ.

Please understand, family, I'm not there. But I'm pressing on. I'm not losing sight of the top of the mountain.

That's what I'm here to encourage you with today. This is the life that God wants us to have. And I hope you're pressing on.

The church I grew up in in Bangalore had a verse up front here that said, let us press on to perfection. That means we're not looking back. Praise God for what he's done in our lives.

But like Paul said, forgetting the things that lie behind and pressing forward to what lies ahead. What lies ahead of you, dear family, is an increasing life of freedom from gloom and darkness, whatever that might be. And the power of the tempter increasing.

Let's lay a hold of it. Some weeks ago, I woke up in the middle of the night. And what was the thought that came to my mind immediately was just some thoughts about the future of my family, like my children, and wanting to provide for them.

I still have young children. They're all still at home, thankfully. It's going to change a little bit over the next few months and years.

But I'm not afraid of it. God has a plan for all of our children as well. Children, you're going to fly away somewhere.

Hopefully, I pray that wherever the Lord takes you may not be here. If he keeps you here, wonderful. But if not, that you'll go there and you'll be planted there.

You'll be the planting of the Lord that he'll take out from this place like a little sapling, like a little seed that grew up in this flower bed here at RLCF to be then taken and put somewhere else where God wants you to grow and bloom. That's our prayer for you, that we'll prepare you in the short time you're here in our homes and in this church to be fruitful for God's kingdom wherever he takes you. So I was thinking about that and my thoughts, I think I'd had a conversation with somebody earlier that day.

My thoughts started to, I wouldn't say become anxious or worried, but I was just preoccupying my mind while I was in the middle of the night. And then all of a sudden I heard this clear word. I didn't hear it audibly, but in my heart, look Santos, I'm coming quickly.

I am coming quickly. This was the Lord saying, let's turn to Revelation chapter 22. It's all of a sudden, my vision changed.

It's like the Lord said, look, what were you worried about this, your future and how much will you have enough for retirement and saving and the children, will you get them all set up? Look, I'm coming quickly. Revelation chapter 22 is interesting to me that on the, in the very last chapter of this entire book, the only book that God has ever written. And in the one book that he's written in the last chapter, he takes pains to emphasize one thing three times in the book, in chapter 22, the last chapter, the last chapter of the Bible, three times he says, behold, I am coming quickly.

Verse seven, behold, I'm coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy in this book. Verse 12 again, behold, I'm coming quickly.

It's as if to say, here I've given you, this is thousands of years captured in this book all the way from creation to when Revelation 22 was written about 90 AD or so. And that's still almost 2000 years ago when Jesus said, I'm coming quickly. Look, don't look at all the other things.

Look, I'm coming quickly. And then again, in verse 20, yes. Third time he says, I'm coming quickly.

And my response after that was okay, Lord, you will take care of, I'll work hard. Yes, it doesn't mean that we sit here and pretend that God's going to drop food from the ravens in the manor if need be. So yes, he will.

He's able to do that. But the ravens he's given me is my job that's waiting for me tomorrow. That's how he's going to provide food for me.

And the manor that's going to drop from heaven is the grace he's going to supply for the job I have to go to tomorrow, just like many of you do. But through it all, my eye is fixed on the coming king. And I hope yours is as well.

Don't lose sight of it in the midst of the world that's saying AI this and AI that, and there's going to be a job shortage, and there's going to be unemployment. And what about your children? If the unemployment shortage is now, and if AI is taking away the world, what about 20 years from now? If the Lord wills, if the Lord tarries. But don't take your eye off it, brothers, Jesus, and sisters.

Jesus is coming soon. In Jude chapter one, there's only one chapter in Jude. Let's go back.

It's the previous book. Jude 1 verse 21. Well, let's read verse 20.

But you beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith. There again is this progression, pressing on, not being stagnant, not satisfied that God has forgiven my sins, not staying in that stale state of constantly being forgiven, and then messing up again, and sinning again, and asking for forgiveness. Oh, I did it again.

Forgive me, Lord. Forgive me. That's a stale state.

You're not pressing on. Building yourselves up in your most holy faith. Praying in the Holy Spirit.

Keep yourselves in the love of God. Waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. He's speaking about his coming.

Waiting anxiously. Recently that word came afresh to me, that this way, that there's one anxiety you're allowed to have. You're not allowed.

It says, don't be anxious, Jesus said in Matthew 6 verse 25. Don't be anxious at all. Not even for a second.

But there's one thing you can be anxious for, according to this verse. Now, don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I'll clarify it.

But it says, waiting anxiously. Now, some translations say expectantly. I think that's the right translation.

But there's a sense of anxiousness about it. And here's what I mean. You know what anxiety is.

Every one of us, even you little children, unfortunately have faced some type of anxiety in your life. At some point, you got anxious. Maybe you did something wrong, and you were anxious about what was going to happen as a result of that.

Or you had a big test coming up, and you got anxious about whether you're going to do well in that test or not. So we've all faced that anxiety. And Jesus said, you don't have to be anxious.

But I found that, I take this verse to mean this, that I can turn my anxiety for the things of this earth, and be freed from it, when I turn to look at Jesus Christ coming. Turn that anxiety over whatever it is you're about to face, whether whatever it is you're facing, or you think you're going to face on this earth, into awaiting expectantly for the coming of Jesus. Turn it.

Think about it. Anytime you face anxiety, say, Lord, ah, you're coming quickly. You're going to take care of this problem.

If I may not even have to face that problem, because you could come before that. Isn't that a wonderful thought? That thing that you're dreading? That other thing that you're anxious is going to happen? Oh, next year, what about my children? Will I have enough money? What do you mean next year? Jesus could come before that. Isn't that a freeing thought? If Jesus is coming back to take you home, and he's prepared a place for you, what do you have to worry about here on this earth? All your young people, your children from a young age, if you can grow up.

Many of us older people haven't learned freedom from anxiety fully yet. But you can. You can come to a life where you're freed from it.

So the next time you're tempted to feel anxious, say, Lord, show me that you're coming quickly. Hear Jesus say, look, child, I'm coming quickly. Don't be anxious.

Turn that anxiety into expectancy for God. But then it says also in that verse, the previous part of that verse, keeping yourselves in the love of God. While you're waiting expectantly, keep yourself in the love of God.

This is also, this is the path to freedom from anxiety. I've come to see this verse 21 as a secret to how not to be anxious. Keep yourself in the love of God, waiting expectantly and anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Keep yourself in the love of God. Don't stray from that. Now, I think about it like this.

Is the return of Christ, when you think about Christ is coming, even as I just spoke about it, did that feel a little bit like doomsday for you? You know, the world talks about doomsday. Everything is going to end. Yes, everything is going to end.

And if let me be clear, first of all, for some people, it is going to be doomsday. They're going to get a shock. Most of the world is going to get a shock when Jesus comes, just like the people on earth in the days of Noah, when Noah said, repent and turn, get in the ark, get in the ark.

And they said, nah, what do you mean rain? You mean, water is going to come from heaven? Never heard of such a thing. It had never rained before. And those people who lived by what their eyes saw, let's get a little bit more money.

And they probably had anxiety then as well. How am I going to provide for my children? You know what it says about the days of Noah? They were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage. What's wrong with that? What's wrong with that is that was their focus of their life.

And Noah said, sure, Noah was married and he married his three sons. So he was also marrying and giving in marriage. He was also eating and drinking.

But what was different about Noah? His the ark was his focus. And today, Jesus says, seek first the kingdom of heaven and his righteousness. And then you have enough to eat and you have marriage for your children when they grow up.

This is what God gives us. But in the same way that they didn't believe Noah and one day that God shut the door, you read in Genesis chapter seven, one day God is going to come back and shut the door on this earth. He's going to fold up this this earth like a deck of cards.

What happens to cards after you're done playing? What happens to the Monopoly game after you're done playing? You fold it up and it goes back in the box. And that's what's going to happen to this earth. He's going to destroy this earth with fire.

And that thing that you were afraid of, that thing that you were anxious about is just going to get burned up. And then it will be doomsday for many whose eyes were fixed on these things of this earth. But I hope it won't be for you and I. Paul tells us that we are not asleep so that the day of the Lord will come to us like a thief in the night.

We're off the light. We're living in the light. We're not living in the darkness.

Our eyes are not blinded to the things of heaven. We're not focusing and captivated and preoccupied with the things of this earth. The reason that Jesus Christ's return is not doomsday for me.

It's not just because my sins are forgiven. See, it used to be. I've known about the forgiveness of sins for a long time.

But there was a sense in which Jesus Christ's coming was still doomsday for me. I'll tell you when it changed. When I started to fix my eyes on Jesus more as a person.

And then I realized that Jesus Christ coming back is not doomsday. It's wedding day. It's wedding day.

Now let me tell you, give you a little picture of a couple, of a little, a young girl, not a little girl, a young girl who's about to be married. And she's got the date fixed. Now in her case, she maybe she knows the date.

Our case, we don't. But to me, it doesn't matter to know whether when my actual wedding date is going to be, but I know it's coming. Jesus Christ is coming.

And what has changed my perspective about the return of Jesus Christ, because he said, like he says here, keep yourselves in the love of God as you wait anxiously for the return of Jesus Christ. See, I was just waiting for Jesus Christ to come because I was sick of the problems I have here on this earth and I want to go to heaven. Everything is great in heaven, sure.

But that alone won't keep you from sin, dear brother and dear sister. And as the bridegroom tarries, if your eye is on the problems of this earth, if your eye is on the people on this earth who don't treat you well, if your eye is on all this stuff here on this earth, then when Jesus tarries and you say, Lord, why can't you come now and get me out of this mess I'm in? Then you start to get frustrated. And then the fact that the Christian life is a marathon and it's day after day and it seems endless.

Oh, it's not. Peter warns us in 2 Peter 3 when the Lord, let's turn there. He's not delaying 2 Peter chapter 3. He's not slow.

He's not taking his time saying, ah, yeah, I'm not in a hurry to come. I know Santos keeps complaining to me about the problems he's facing. The Lord's not slow about his promise.

When he said he was coming, he's coming quickly. You believe that Jesus meant that word quickly, exactly as he said it when he said, behold, I'm coming quickly. And Peter explains that here at 2 Peter 3 verse 8, because you can say, what do you mean quickly 2000 years quickly? How's that quick? Okay, let's read 2 Peter 3 verse 8. Do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like 1000 years.

So you thought 2000 years, you've been waiting. When Jesus said quickly, he says, it's only been a couple of days and 1000 years like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.

So the Lord is not slow about his promise. And the problem when we, when we get into the mindset, like I was for many years, I'll say, and sadly, many, even many Christians who know that Jesus is coming and know that there's a better life waiting. Their eyes are so much on the things of this earth.

How can I make a little bit more money? Or how can I save up? Or how can I make that career move and move up there in the corporate ladder? And how can I take this job? Or how can I get that for my children or buy this house or get that car or whatever? They're so preoccupied with this, but they know that Jesus is coming and they're like, and then when the, when frustration comes into the things of this earth, when things don't go that way, their way, or they don't make as much money as they like, or they don't get the job that they want. Then they get frustrated and say, Lord, people are not treating me right. Come and set me free.

But all of that changed. Honestly, I don't mind if the Lord waits another 50, 60 years to come back because I'm looking forward to his coming, not based on what's going to change here on this earth. I've taken my eyes off the things of this earth to the fact that I'm going to get married.

Now the excitement and the anxiousness, if you will, the anxiety is, I want to be ready. Talk to any bride who's about to get married. And you say, you know, what's going on in your life? I guarantee any young woman who's young woman who's about to get married, you ask her, Hey, what's going on in your life? I guarantee she's not going to tell you, well, you know, those people, they treat me that way.

Or my boss says this or the job. No, it's just my wedding. I don't, I need to do this and I need to get a photographer and I need to get, make sure my wedding dress is ready.

And I, the caterer, have we got to do a taste test and all this? That's what's preoccupying the woman who goes to work every day and who has other things to do. She needs to eat. She needs to continue on with her life.

But what's preoccupying her mind is the fact that there's a wedding day coming. Is that what's preoccupying your mind? I want to invite you. The essence of my message, brothers and sisters and children, please listen, is this.

Jesus loves me. This I know. Sometimes we sing that song.

I think, well, that's a child's song. It's a children's song. Why, why do I want to sing that? Yeah, okay.

When do we, can we sing the real hymns now? I'll tell you the most real hymn on my mind this week has been, Jesus loves me. This I know. And oh, that you would be captivated with the love of Jesus.

Keep yourself in the love of God, brothers, sisters, children. And then the things of this earth will lose their gleam. And the return of Christ will be something exciting.

Jesus loves me. This I know. And I thought about it like this when I am so excited to see Jesus.

I'll tell you this. But who do you think is going to be most excited? Is it going to be me? I finally get to see my bridegroom? Or is it going to be he? Is he going to be the one who's more excited? What do you think? Whose heart has more capacity for love and joy? That's an easy question. Somebody tell me, children, whose heart has more love and joy? Jesus's or mine? Whose? Okay, easy question.

Now, who do you think is going to be more excited when we finally meet? Jesus or me? Jesus is. Have you thought about that? See, I know how excited I'm going to be when I see Jesus. It's going to be wonderful.

But what captivates my heart even more now is that my bridegroom is going to be even more excited to see me. It's comforted my heart, brothers and sisters and children, that this God in heaven whom we sang to, the king of the universe, who made everything you see. In him we live and move and have our being.

Nothing was created without him. He pulled it all together. Your body, the reason you'll function well, the way you do is because of him.

And this one who receives the adoration of the angels and has received their adoration for all time, before there was time, says, Santosh, I'm excited to see you. Do you know how excited I am? That I'll finally get to hold your hand and be with you? For all eternity we'll be together. Does that captivate your heart? It does mine.

Then how can you say now, oh, but Lord, give me a little bit more money here. Give me a little bit more of this and that. And I want more something here on this earth.

I know when I meet Christians especially, I'm not here to speak to the other people in the world, they haven't seen Jesus. If I meet a person in the world who says, brother, sir, my life is heavy and gloomy. And I say, oh, I want to tell you about Jesus.

Let me introduce you to the one who is the lover of my soul. Who loves me more than I love him. Who's more excited to see me than I am to see him.

Let me tell you about him. But it's a sad thing when I have to tell Christians that. Who have come to know him.

Who've read the Bible, they say. Maybe it's because they haven't really read the Bible. They'd read all the other news articles and newspapers.

But have you read God's word? Has the Holy Spirit filled your heart to overflowing where you see how much Jesus loves you? Today, the way you are incomplete, falling, he loves you. And he's more excited to see you than you are to see him. I hope that thought alone will transform your week, dear brother.

And the next time you fall into sin and you beat yourself up and you're discouraged and you're gloomy, look up. Hear the voice of Jesus saying, I'm coming quickly. I know you just fell.

I know you just went back into that old habit where you said, I was never going to speak to my wife that way. I was never going to speak to my husband that way, but I did it again. I was never going to lust with my eyes.

I was never going to lose my temper. I was never going to get impatient. I didn't, I thought I was never going to do it again, but I did.

He says, I'm coming quickly and I'm excited to see you. I'll finish the work in you. I started it.

I'll finish it. I'm coming quickly. And the quickness of Jesus coming shouldn't cause us to get stressed out.

You know, it's kind of like, okay, test is starting in five minutes or cram in a few more, memorize, memorize. That's not like that. God's not asking you to cram in a little bit more righteousness into your life before he comes.

No, you could never do that because I used to do that. You know, for me, my, I was a procrastinator. So every night before the test was stressful and I waited until the last minute to study and I wasn't prepared and going to school that morning.

I was dreading the test. I was trying to read last minute. What else can I squeeze into this mind? It's pretty thick headed that I am not getting in there.

I thought I memorized that. Nope, nope. It's not going to happen.

I hope the coming of Christ is not like that for you. It's very simple family. Keep yourself in God's love for you.

And that, that knowing that Jesus Christ loves you and, and coming back to that and knowing it deeply here will set you free from sin in a way that all your attempts to change your behavior couldn't. Keep yourself in the love of God. Let's turn to Ephesians chapter three.

Paul had this burden. The church in Ephesus was one of the most mature churches that Paul planted. He has very little criticism to say that.

I mean, you'd read, for example, the church in Corinth and the mess they were in. And one man who was sleeping with his father's wife, his stepmother. And then they came for the communion and they all brought lots of food.

And then there was somebody else who didn't have enough money for food and they gorged themselves. And that other person went hungry. This was going on in the church in Corinth.

The Galatians were bound in legalism. The church in Ephesus was a pretty mature church. And Paul has a burden for this church.

I think God is doing a wonderful work. As far as we know, there's no known sin in our midst. No, we're not sweeping sinful behavior under the rug.

We're quick as elders to confront sin, not to chase people out, but to chase the sin out. And the sin doesn't go, then the person has to go. That's how we deal with sin in the church.

But I praise God for the maturity that he's bringing up in this church and how he's adding people into our midst and using us to bless others. But I feel, and that's a burden on my heart, that's why I'm sharing this, that perhaps the message that the Holy Spirit gave the church in Ephesus through Paul is the one we need to hear. So let's hear brother Paul telling us again today.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father from whom every family in heaven. Ephesians 3 verse 14 and 15 onwards. From whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his spirit in the inner man.

So when you think about being strengthened with power in the inner man, what do you want to happen? Does that mean that okay finally I can never lust again. Finally I can be free from being addicted to pornography. Finally I can get control of my tongue.

No. What does he say? What does this strengthening of power do? Strengthened with power through his spirit in the inner man so that Christ may dwell in your hearts, this bridegroom of yours. You see the power that God wants to give you.

We say, Lord give me the power of the Holy Spirit. What do you expect to happen after that? Do you expect all of a sudden for your heart to be flooded with love? That's the power. Lord fill me with the power of the Holy Spirit.

We pray that often. What do you expect to happen? Now you'll become a preacher or you'll go cast out some demons or do some miracles. If God uses you to do that, that's fine.

But you know what is the power that God wants to fill you with? His love. His love is the power. Once that love is filled your heart, let him use you however.

To be a housewife who spends all day doing dishes and laundry and homeschooling and and um attending for sick kids. Why? It's not about what you do on the outside. It's in the inner man.

Christ is dwelling in your heart. Have you received the power of the Holy Spirit, brother, sister? Many people ask me, brother I've been praying for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I'm praying for the Lord to fill me in the Holy Spirit.

I haven't seen any evidence of it. Say, maybe you're praying for the wrong thing. Say, Lord fill me with the power of your love for me so that Christ may dwell in your hearts.

I mean that's the kind of term you would use for a bride and a bridegroom, right? You ask a bride, what do you think about? Who's in your heart? My bridegroom, he's in my heart. He owns my heart. He's captured my heart.

And all of that is just a cheap imitation of the real love that between Christ and his bride. So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith and that you being rooted and grounded in love. Oh that you will set some roots down today.

And like they say with electricity, put a ground down. You need a ground. I'm not an electrical expert.

We'll ask Rob afterwards to explain to us what this actually means. But it just means that you're not going to get electrocuted, I think. So have you been electrocuted this last few weeks? Why? Set a ground down.

The love of God in Christ Jesus. That you being rooted and grounded in love. That means you've got a stability.

You've got safety. You've got security. May be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth.

And to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. When you read those verses, it's so easy to miss the fact that he was talking about love. That that power that he wanted to give you was his love.

1st Timothy chapter 1. 1st Timothy 1 verse 5. The goal of all of our teaching. I can tell you now every time you come here dear brothers, your sisters, your children. When we speak from the pulpit.

When we have our memory verses. When we sing. When we pray.

When we have times of sharing. When we eat our meals together. We have fellowship.

We spend almost the whole day together. What's the goal? When you when we share things on our chat groups. When we have a bible reading plan.

When we have a weekly memory verse. When we have book reading plan. What is the goal of all of our instruction? It's love.

Pure love. But God's love has filled my heart so fully where there's no other human love left in there. That means all these other little loves that I have.

I want a little bit of this. I want a little bit of that. Has been eliminated and it's love from a pure heart.

Let me paraphrase that. Love that has filled every single corner. The love of God having filled every single corner of my heart.

I hope that you leave this place with the goal. Having seen the goal. Many people come to Christian meetings.

Go to church services and they get a good little pep talk. They try to change it. They get some little idea of what they're going to do.

Okay I'm going to do this a little bit better. I'm going to do that a little bit better. Let me tell you if you never if you if you sometimes you moms I feel for you or dads also.

You have to take your children out in and out. You're trying to discipline them to stay still in the meetings. They want to go to the bathroom all the time.

And in the midst of all of that you might think I missed most of the message. Okay go back and listen to it. That's fine.

But let me tell you now the goal of the instruction of every single message is very simple. If you didn't if you missed the entire message here was the point. Love from a pure heart.

And if you can go from this meeting and say Lord I don't know what that's actually going to look like but I just want you to fill a little bit more of my heart with your love today. And that will change your week. More than some three-point sermon that you got or some other thing you're going to implement into your life.

Some program you're going to work on. I'm not here to despise any of that. But don't miss the goal.

The goal of our instruction is that God's love will fill me a little bit more still finally when I stand before him his love has filled my entire heart. Love from a pure heart and a sincere faith and a good conscience. Love from a pure heart.

Now when you think about that love you think about love filling your heart. Does it seem abstract? See for us human beings here on this earth we think of love as this feeling. Right now when I said that word love what comes to your mind? You don't have to speak it out because it's going to be 150 different things for each one of you sitting here.

It's what do you think about when you think about love? Some people say well it's obedience, it's will. What is love to you dear brothers, dear sisters, dear children? What is love? Again I go back to the example of the bride who's about to get married. Say so what is love for you? She'll say he has a name.

Him. That's what love means to me. What does love mean to you? Do you get a feeling it's like oh I felt loved today when I came to the church or I felt the love of God.

So much of it is feeling and emotion and it's no wonder that Christians go up and down because what that goal of their instruction is a moving target. Oh I felt God's love today. I don't feel God's love today.

Oh I felt God's love again today. No I didn't feel it today. That's that feeling.

But let me change that definition of love for you. Let's go to Romans chapter 10. Romans 10 we see the same thing.

You know we often hear this church compare scripture with scripture and then you'll get the full understanding of the truth. The real truth, the whole truth. The second part of that verse says the goal of our instruction.

There it is again. The goal of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes is what? Somebody tell me? I'm still not sure. Okay.

We've got to read this verse backwards to get it. The goal of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes is who? Is what? It's a person. For Christ the person is the goal.

You see how when you get these two verses together, 1st Timothy 1 verse 5, Romans 10 verse 4, you see aha. It's not some feeling that goes up and down. It's Jesus Christ who's the yesterday, today, and forever.

Dear brothers, dear sisters, and dear children, it's very simple. Today I hope you will fix your eye. This is the goal of your life.

Whether you, what job you take, whether you get married or don't get married, whether you have a house to live in that you can buy or one you have to rent. All of those things may come and go. Whether there's unemployment or there's not.

Whether you have to use AI or not. Here is the goal of your life. Fix your eye on Jesus.

The person of Jesus. That's the goal. You fix your eye on him.

Make him the love of your life. Don't make even church or things or victory over sin or other some other life that God wants to give you. Make Jesus the person.

Christ is the goal of the law for of righteousness. That's that's quite different isn't it? And when we come to this place where it's Christ and Christ the person and his love, then we can say like Paul, 2nd Corinthians chapter 5, 2nd Corinthians 5 verse 14. For the love of Christ compels us, constrains us, some translations say, controls us.

Whenever you face a situation where you find there's lack of self-control. Oh I couldn't control my tongue. How do I get control over my tongue? How do I get control over my eyes? Or how do I not get anxious? I seem to always be fearful.

My life is full of fear. The secret to not being controlled by your passions or by the things of this world or the circumstances of this world or the doomsday mentality in this world is to be controlled by something else. Or I would say someone else.

And instead of trying to say, why do I keep falling back into that fear or that anxiety or worry or lust or anger? I keep falling back. I can't I can't control it. I can't control it.

You can never control it. That's the good news. You'll never be able to control it until somebody else controls your life.

The love of Christ constrains me, controls me, compels me. So Paul came to this place where it was no longer him trying to fight against all those passions. But it was the love of God that filled his heart.

So those who are married to Christ, they don't need to be told to love him. Because they've seen Jesus as their bridegroom. They've seen the person of Jesus Christ.

And I think I'll close there with that exhortation. Dear brothers, dear sisters, and dear children. I wrote down here these lines from that hymn we sing, Jesus, I, my cross have taken.

We preach the way of the cross here. And that's often people misunderstand it or people think it's such a heavy message. But here's why the cross is wonderful to me.

When Jesus says, come take up your cross, it's like the call of a bridegroom saying, hey, this is what's special to me. This is how I'm going. Do you want to be with me? We sing that that first line goes, Jesus, I, my cross have taken all to leave and follow thee.

If you tell somebody who hasn't seen Jesus as the bridegroom to deny themselves and forego this and forego that, he'll say, no, that's still, that's still what I want. I'm still attracted to the things of this earth. But you talk to somebody who's been captivated with her bridegroom when they've seen Jesus, they've seen, really seen him, then they'll gladly say, Jesus, I, my cross have taken.

If that's how I can be near you, if that's how I can be ready for your coming for that wedding day, then I want to take up my cross as well. In that verse, in that hymn, we go on to say, oh, while thou dost smile upon me, God of wisdom, love, and might, foes may hate and friends disown me. Show thy face and all is bright.

We've sung that hymn here many times. It's been on my mind, especially this week. Oh, so here's somebody whose enemies are hating them and friends are disowning them.

Seems like everything's going from bad to worse. And in the midst of that, how is all bright? How is everything bright? Enemies are hating me. Friends are disowning me.

But you meet such a person, they say, man, I'm having a bright day. What's going on in your day? Well, this person tried to take advantage of me and steal some money from me. That other friend of mine, who I thought was a friend, stabbed me in the back.

But my day is bright. What's happening, brother? Why is your day bright when all this is going wrong? When it seems like all hell is breaking loose, why is your day bright? He says, uh-huh. I have somebody smiling down on me.

Oh, while thou dost smile upon me, God of wisdom, love, and might, show thy face, Lord, in the midst of this enemy that's taking advantage of me, that friend who's disowning me, that boss who's yelling at me, that job that's ending. Lord, show your face and all is bright. So then know thy full salvation.

Rise up over sin and fear and care. Don't get bogged down anymore. See the smile of your bridegroom smiling down upon you.

Think what spirit dwells within thee. Think what father's smiles are thine. Pause for a moment.

Realize who is smiling down on you. Doesn't matter that your enemy has now got a frown on his face, that other friend that used to be a friend is now stabbing you in the back, but your father in heaven is smiling down on you. Think what father's smiles are thine.

Think that Jesus died to win thee, child of heaven. Why would you complain? Soon shall close thy earthly mission. Soon shall pass thy pilgrim days.

Hope shall change to glad fruition. Faith to sight and prayer to praise. I said I would close, but I want to finish with one more picture I want to leave with you.

I believe that will seal this, hopefully. In Genesis, sorry, 2nd Thessalonians chapter 3. This is not another formula or secret. I'm not saying anything that you haven't heard before, I don't think.

I just simply had a burden to refocus our eyes on who is the answer. 2nd Thessalonians chapter 3, we read in verse 5. May, so let's again leave the latter part of that verse. Your hearts be directed into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.

So you leave this place and say how am I going to have this love of God? How am I going to be so filled with the love of God in my heart that I don't get bogged down into the things of this earth? How am I going to see Jesus smiling down on me in the midst of this trial? May the Lord, here I believe he's speaking about the Holy Spirit. See, Jesus is called Lord at times. Sometimes the Lord, the Holy Spirit is called Lord.

He is also Lord. 2nd Corinthians 4 says the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. Here's another one where the Holy Spirit is described as Lord.

May the Lord, that is the Holy Spirit, direct your hearts into the love of God. So you don't know what's waiting for you this week. I know you might have some idea.

I've got a calendar full of meetings if I look online and you see what meetings I have. But one thing the Holy Spirit challenges me today. Allow me wherever your path takes you to direct you into the love of God.

Let me leave you with this little picture. Ahead of you in whatever situation that's facing you this week, the circumstances of it don't matter. But in that circumstance is the love of God.

You could just go into that circumstance blindly and just experience it like the rest of the world and sadly like many Christians. But if you will receive the power of the Holy Spirit, the love of the Holy Spirit afresh in your heart and say, the Holy Spirit lead me somewhere in the midst of this situation. I'm going to find the love of God.

It's like a little treasure. It's a treasure hunt if you will. Children listen to this.

There's a treasure hunt waiting for you this week and that treasure is Jesus. In every situation that you're facing, God through the Holy Spirit has hidden a little bit of Jesus there. And oh that you'll find that.

May the Lord that is the Holy Spirit direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ. No more up and down life. And the picture I was going to show you is back in Genesis chapter 24.

If you'll turn there sometime I've spoken on it before. You can read about it again about how Eliezer goes to find a bride for Isaac. The picture of how the Holy Spirit has come down to this earth to prepare a bride for Jesus.

Abraham sends Eliezer his servant out into the far country and says it can't be somebody from here. It's got to be somebody pure. Somebody special.

Somebody who's called and prepared. And he goes and finds Rebekah. And then Eliezer and Rebekah come on this long journey back to the land where Isaac was.

And on this journey they take this long journey. The picture of our journey being led through the Holy Spirit. And I often love to think about how Rebekah must have asked Eliezer, tell me about Isaac.

I've never seen him. He couldn't send me an Instagram reel with his picture on it. Back then they didn't have it.

So Isaac, he's just got to trust Eliezer. Rebekah's just got to trust Eliezer that this man there loves her. She's never even had a phone call with him.

But she's relying on the Holy Spirit. And as the days get longer and the desert journey is hot and they're thirsty and she thinks am I ever going to see this guy? Have I been, has this all been a dream? Eliezer says Rebekah, he's there. You'll see him.

We're getting closer. He's almost one of these days we'll turn the corner. We'll see the tents.

And he says stick with me. Rebekah, don't turn back yet. Don't give up yet.

It's coming. Eliezer says stick with me. I'm telling you he's worth it.

He's worth it. He's worth it. Jesus is worth it.

And then they finally, you get to the end of the story in 62. Genesis 24 verse 62. Now Isaac had come from going to for he was living in the Negev.

Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening and he lifted up his eyes and looked and behold camels were coming. Now Rebekah, this is a picture of Christ's return. Jesus is coming now.

Here my eyes are open to see. Rebekah lifted up her eyes and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel and she said, I imagine her grabbing hold of Eliezer's hand and saying who is that man? I think that'll be my response when the Holy Spirit opens my eyes to see Jesus and I hear the trumpet call and the twinkling of an eye and Jesus comes descends from the from the front through the clouds. I'll grab ahold of the Holy Spirit says who is that man who looks at me with such love? I thought he loved me and now I see his eyes were even more full of love now that I've seen him face to face.

I realized he loved me even more than I ever imagined. Who is that man? She says and he says that's Isaac. Will you have stuck it out with the Holy Spirit? Walked with him, allowed him to fill your heart with reminders of how wonderful he is, how much he loves you and the servant said he's my master.

Then she took her veil and covered herself. The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done and again a picture. It's just picture language.

The Holy Spirit saying Jesus, Santosh is ready. I've been preparing him. Put your name there.

The bride is ready Jesus. The bride is ready. All the things that have been done and then Isaac brought her into his mother's Sarah's tent and he took Rebecca and she became his wife and he loved her.

Think about it. Let those four words ring through your mind this week and he loved me. Heavenly Father thank you.

Lord I pray it won't be a stirring in our hearts emotionally but I pray that you will really send the Holy Spirit. Only a Holy Spirit can do that Lord. We haven't heard anything new intellectually but Lord I pray it will be a new revelation of your love.

A new outpouring of your love in our heart. We'll go back with the confidence and the assurance Jesus loves me and I know it. We don't want to just sing it Lord.

We don't want to just know it intellectually but we want to know the knowledge of your love that transforms our life, that controls our life, that constrains our life, that compels our lives. Do it Lord from the youngest to the oldest. I pray especially for our children even that that little song they've come to know so well.

Jesus loves me. This I know will be a reality in their lives this day, this week and the days to come. You're coming soon Lord.

We believe it. Help us to be ready. Captivate us Lord with your love and fill our hearts with your love that it'll change every aspect of what we do.

Whatever you ask us to give up, whatever cross we have to bear, we'll do so gladly because we've seen the smile and the gleam in your eye as you look down on us. Thank you. Thank you Lord for your love in Jesus name.

Amen.