Assurance of Salvation and Overcoming

Okay, dear brothers and sisters, let's bow our heads in prayer. Let's not make this prayer a formality. Prayer must never be a formality.

It is an expression of our helpless dependence on God forever. We don't want our prayer to be a ritual or a formality, but an intimate communication with you, our Heavenly Father, where you're listening to us. Every word we say and you're interested in us, please answer this prayer.

We want your anointing for this ministry, otherwise it will be a waste of time. We want words to come from you through the Holy Spirit and that everybody's hearts will be open. We don't want anybody to be left out.

You love all your children equally, and we pray that every one of us will hear your voice today. Give me grace to speak according to your will. Help me, Lord, I want to lean upon you helplessly.

Thank you, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay, brothers and sisters, I'm happy to be able to speak to you, rooted in Christ and fruitful in our single years.

Wonderful theme. You know, sometimes we, I've seen storms, severe storms, and I've seen that here in California. I've seen it in Bangalore.

And then if it's a really bad storm, sometimes you go down the road and you see some trees falling down, big trees, all falling down, blocking the road. And then you see other trees which are not so big, which have not fallen on the side of the road. And then you begin to think, how is it this big tree fell and the small tree didn't? Have you thought of that? You know the answer.

The answer is the strength of a tree does not depend on its size or appearance or good looks or anything. It depends entirely on its roots. That hidden part under the ground is what makes a tree strong, not what it appears on the outside.

And that is one of the most important things you need to understand about the Christian life. That your inner life, your hidden life, which even your closest friends, your mother and father, nobody can see. That determines whether you're going to be strong or not.

That determines whether you will stand when there's a storm, whether you will come out triumphantly in a trial. It all depends on that hidden part of your life which nobody sees. And you know, as human beings, and especially as young people, we are very conscious of the impression we convey on others.

What do people think about me? Do they think I'm good looking? Do they think I'm smart? Do they think I'm spiritual? And all those things naturally come, it comes to everybody's mind. You're not special. It's not only to you.

It comes to every one of us because as human beings, we want to make a good impression on people. And especially on the opposite sex. You want to impress the girls and the girls want to impress the boys.

And that's, for a Christian, that is extremely dangerous. If you pay too much attention to the outward appearance, of course, we must be neatly dressed and we must wash our face and we must be clean and all that. But to be concerned about what people think about you spiritually is not the primary thing.

That is like a tree, like that big tree that fell down in the storm. Maybe it was very proud, I'm the biggest tree on this road or bigger than all these small ones. And yet when the storm came, it was the first one to fall down.

And I've seen that with some young people, they grow up and even older people who have a good reputation before people. And then they fall into some terrible thing. You've heard of pastors who suddenly fall into adultery.

And for years and years, this built a reputation as like a big tree. And one day it's a big crash and bang and they fall down. How did that happen? Even though they've been pastors for 20, 30 years, because they did not watch their hidden life.

Maybe all their life, they never built any roots. And particularly if you're very gifted and smart, you know, you know that some people are very gifted and smart in school, they do well, they top the class, or they're very good at athletics and games, and they are admired by the others. Yeah, it's good to do well in your studies and good to do, play games and all that.

But, and people admire you and respect you, you can't do anything about that. But if you let that go to your head, and you begin to think that you're a spiritual person, just because everybody else thinks you are, that's deception. Then remember the story I said about the tree that fell down, the biggest tree in the road fell down.

And the small trees stood erect. And I hope that warning about the tree will not affect any of you, will not happen to any of you. And I hope you will today and throughout this week that you've been listening to others, you will seek to build roots in your life.

Most important, to be rooted and grounded in Christ. And that is an inner thing. And it'll manifest itself, you will know, you will discover whether you're rooted and tempted when a small little storm comes.

And you find yourself shaking. Storm means a temptation. Temptation is like a storm.

And you know, when you're young, there are many temptations. Sex is a great temptation. Sexual temptation is one of the greatest temptations for all young people.

Don't think that you are special. You are unusually tempted in that area, not at all. When I was young and I was tempted in that area, I did not have, I'm sorry to say, I did not have any preacher who spoke about sexual temptation.

Perhaps they themselves were defeated, even though they were much older people. And here I was struggling and they were talking about great doctrines from the Bible, about justification and sanctification and all that. I say, hey, my struggle was not with all those doctrines.

My struggle was I'm struggling with sexual temptation, which every young teenager struggles with. And I wanted help and they didn't help. I want to tell you this, that Jesus also was tempted when he was a young person.

I want you to turn with me to Hebrews and chapter four. This is the truth that set me free. I'm telling you my own personal testimony.

For many years, I could not believe that Jesus Christ was tempted like me in sexual area or with money. When you, as you grow up and you get a job, you begin to be tempted with money. You want, there's nothing wrong in earning a good salary and there's nothing wrong in wanting a better job with a better salary.

There's nothing wrong in earning a huge salary, but there's everything wrong in loving money. Because Jesus said, if you love money, you can't love God. You have to make a choice.

We need money. Jesus himself worked as a carpenter for many years. I believe from the age of 18 to 30, he worked as a carpenter and earned his living because he had a mother and four younger brothers and two younger sisters to take care of.

So, if you have a large family, please remember that Jesus was one of seven children that Mary had. Mary had seven children. Jesus was the one born supernaturally.

The other six were born through Joseph, her husband, who had died. I don't know what, when he died, but I think by the time Jesus was about 18, Joseph was dead and Jesus became the head of the family. So, it's a great encouragement for us to know someone who has gone ahead of us in any area.

Isn't it easier to follow a guide than to follow a map? If somebody gave you a map, I don't mean Google Maps, which shows you on the road every step, where to turn, where to turn. In the olden days, there was no Google. I remember in the early days when we drove a car, we had to have a printed map and find out where is the road, where to turn, where to turn.

But if I had somebody sitting with me in the car telling me, hey, listen, you don't need a map. I know this way very well. I'll tell you where to turn left or just listen to me.

That would be much easier than following a map. It'll be as easy as even easier than following Google Maps. If you have a person sitting there who knows the whole area and knows exactly which turn to take, which is the shortest route from one place to another, it's always better to have a human guide than a map anywhere.

In the same way, it's easier to have Jesus leading us than just understanding principles in scripture. So one of the great deceptions of Satan has been to tell us, tell human beings, tell Christians that Jesus was God. Of course, he was God.

He was God when he was in heaven for eternity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We can't understand that fully, how three persons can be one God. And if anybody confuses you about that, I remember I used to think, you know, there are some clever monkeys who can add.

You put three coconuts in front of them, they'll tell you one plus one, it'll take something and show three, because they're trained and trained. And you put one more, it'll take four. So you can educate even a monkey in addition.

But try and teach a monkey that one multiplied by one multiplied by one equals one. Ah, no monkey or animal can learn that, but little children can learn that. That in multiplication, you can put three ones together and you still the answer is one.

One multiplied by one multiplied by one is one. So that we can explain in mathematics. When we get up to heaven, we'll discover that three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were one God.

You won't be able to understand with our human mind today, just like I said, a monkey can't understand how one multiplied by one multiplied by one is still one. So I have no problem. I say, Lord, when it comes to understanding God, I'm as stupid as a monkey trying to understand mathematics.

I can't understand fully. A monkey's mind is limited. It can't understand multiplication.

And even if it can do division, add addition. So in the same way, my mind is so much smaller to understand. But God is a trinity.

And I'll discover that God, Jesus, when he came to earth, he was 100% God. That's why at one word, demons would go. He could forgive sins straight away.

He didn't have to ask the Father to forgive. He could do everything. One word, and it would happen.

You tell a storm to stop, and it would stop. And he could forgive sins, which only God can do. But then the other danger is we can begin to think that, well, then if he was God, he was not tempted like we are.

He was not tempted with sexual temptation when he was 17, 18 years old. And he was not tempted to be irritated when people bothered him. We can think all those things, but it is not true.

I want you to turn to Hebrews chapter 4. And it says here about Jesus as a high priest in verse 14. We have a great 414. We have a great high priest who has gone up into heaven.

Jesus is the Son of God. Let us hold fast our confession. What is your confession? Is it just that Jesus died for my sins on the cross? Very important confession.

That Jesus rose from the dead, very important. That he ascended to heaven, very important. That he is coming back again to judge the world, very important.

All this is important. And most Christians will admit it. Christ died for my sins on the cross, he rose up from the dead, and he ascended to heaven, and he is coming back.

Agreed, agreed, agreed. But what many Christians do not confess, speaking about our confession in verse 14. Confession means what we say with our mouth, not what we believe in our heart.

Believing in our heart is faith. Confession is with our mouth. What do we confess? That verse 15, we have a high priest who can sympathize with us.

Because why can he sympathize? Now we can sympathize with people even if we do not go through what they are going. For example, you see a person suffering. I have seen people suffering with cancer, agony.

I have never had cancer, but I can still sympathize with them. Because I can understand what suffering is in the body in other ways. I do not understand it to the extent that person is experiencing it when he is in some agony, but I can sympathize with him.

But there is a greater sympathy if you have gone through that yourself. Imagine if you yourself have gone through some terrible sickness and suffered, and now when you meet someone who has gone through that, you can sympathize more. For example, someone who has lost their only child.

You and I can go and comfort that poor sister who has lost her only child. I am sure all of us can do that. But I will tell you who can comfort that sister more than you and me.

Some mother who already lost her only child, and who does not have any children now, had one child and she lost it in death. She can comfort that sister more than you and I can. Why? Because she has gone through that herself.

And when she has gone through that herself, and that other person listens, that other person says, Brother Zach, you cannot comfort me as much as that sister. That sister is much younger than you, but she can comfort me more because she has lost a baby, her only child. And she comforts me because I have lost my only child.

And Brother Zach, you have never experienced that, so you cannot comfort me. And I agree with her. I cannot comfort her as much as that person who has gone through it.

Or persecution, for example. Many of us have not faced any persecution for being a Christian. Nobody has flogged us and whipped us for being a Christian.

The maximum persecution I have faced is people calling me the devil or troubling me in some way or harassing me because something like that or taking me to court or something like that. These are very limited temptations, whereas Christ suffered so much. Now, in the same way, when it comes to temptation, if I think that Jesus was never tempted like me, then you say, oh, Brother Zach can help me more because Brother Zach is a human being.

He was tempted like me. He can encourage me when I'm tempted in some area because he'd been through what I've been through. But Jesus, oh, he cannot encourage me because he was God, you know.

He was not tempted like we are ordinary human beings. That is the lie of the devil which is proclaimed all across Christianity. You'll hardly ever find, listen to me, you'll hardly ever find a church in any part of the U.S. or the world which proclaims loudly and clearly and regularly that Jesus Christ came like you 100%.

He did not give up being God. How can you give up being God? Can you give up being a boy? Can you suddenly become a girl? It's all rubbish. Those who say boys can become girls or girls can become boys.

That's all nonsense. You're a boy, you're a boy forever. You're a girl, you're a girl forever.

So, Jesus is God. He's God eternally. When he was on earth, he was God, but he was also a man.

As much as he was 100% God, he was 100% man. It was not that he was 50% God, 50% man. That's a heresy.

It means the wrong teaching. He was 100% God and 100% man. If you can't understand that, that's fine because our mind is limited because we have never seen anyone who's 100% God and 100% man.

When Jesus lived on earth, people saw it. So, because he's 100% God, he could forgive sin. He could do many miracles, which others cannot.

And because he's 100% man, he was tempted like us. That's one of the greatest truths in the Bible, as important as the fact that Christ died for our sins. Christ died for our sins deals with the forgiveness of our sins.

Thank God to know that, that he rose up from the dead. He conquered death. But here's another great truth that we need to know, that we need to be rooted in and that is he was tempted like us.

So, Hebrews 4.15 says, we don't have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness. Or to put it in a positive way, we do have a high priest who can sympathize with our weakness. What weakness? You're not talking about physical weakness.

He's not talking about our muscles. He's talking about how weak we feel when we are tempted. Our greatest weakness in our personality is seen when we are tempted.

Maybe you're a muscular man who's done a lot of physical exercise. You can lift big weights and all because you've gone to the gym. Great.

But when it comes to temptation with all your muscles, you're very weak. Small little thing, you know, think of a man, you can just touch him and he falls down. Can you think of a man who you just touch him with a finger and he falls down? You say, boy, that's so weak.

Even a young boy will not fall. Touch him with a finger and he falls down. But that's how we are when it comes to sexual temptation.

And you know that, that a little tap and you're falling. That's how strong some temptations are or anger. Somebody irritates you and you're falling or some terrible thing happens and you're afraid.

What will happen to me now? Fear. Or you look at the future and you say, will I be able to get a job? All types of temptations come to us as young people because we haven't lived life yet. Our life is ahead of us and we know that it's we need to earn a lot of money to live in this world.

And you wonder, will I be able to earn enough money? Do I have the intelligence to go to get a good job, to be able to get a job in a good company, to earn enough money? And will I be able to marry a girl who I'll be happy with? Because you see so many unhappy marriages, you mean in so many homes and there's so much of divorce and breakups of husband and wife and so many things. And you've seen children going astray and you always, this question comes to your mind, how will it be with me? Yeah, I see some few good examples, but maybe they were exceptional people that you think that I'm not such an exceptional person. I'm not so gifted like that person.

Maybe you didn't have good parents. You see that person grew up well because he had good parents. He had very good parents and so they brought him up well and so he's a nice God-fearing young man or young girl.

But you see, I didn't have such good parents and I'm struggling. I'll tell you my dear brother, sister, please listen to me. It doesn't make one bit of difference what type of parents you had.

It's good if you had good parents, they brought you up in a good way. But what if you were unfortunate enough to have parents who did not care for you or who are very ungodly or if your parents were divorced and your father or mother, one of them left and you were left alone and you grew up in poverty and struggled. Somebody else grew up in a rich family.

They had so many things. You grew up in poverty. You could never learn to drive a car because your father could not allow you to have a car or any such thing.

And you grew up in poverty and you grew up with ungodly dad and mom who were always fighting with each other and you finally divorced. You say what hope there is for me. I say there's great hope for you because Jesus Christ can understand everything you're going through.

Please be rooted in that. I told about the importance of being the tree being rooted. Here is one of the most important truths that you need to be rooted in.

What is that? That Jesus can see the word sympathy here. Verse 15, one who can sympathize with your weakness. Sympathize doesn't mean somebody comes and putting his arm around you and say okay brother it's okay don't get discouraged.

That I can also do just without having gone through the problem somebody else is facing. I say brother I don't know head or tail about your problem but I can put my arm around you and comfort you and sympathize you. That's not that type of sympathy.

That is sympathy I agree but this is a much higher degree of sympathy where Jesus can sympathize with our weakness because he went through it himself. That is another altogether different. It's almost the difference between heaven and earth to sympathize just because you feel sorry for someone is one thing but to sympathize because you've been through that same thing yourself.

That's what it says here. He's not one who cannot sympathize with our weakness or to put it in a positive way verse 15. He's a high priest means our leader who can sympathize with the weakness because listen to this don't ever forget it in all your life.

It changed my life 50 years ago. It really changed my life when I understood this one truth. 66 years ago I discovered Christ died for my sins and has accepted me and I was forgiven.

I was born again but for 16 years after that I was defeated defeated defeated defeated defeated. I would sin and ask forgiveness sin and ask for his you know these merry-go-rounds where you sit on a wooden horse and many wooden horses and the thing goes children sit on it and they go round and round and round and round and round and after sitting on that horse and riding for one hour you're still in the same place. That's the amazing thing about a merry-go-round.

You never make any progress but a lot of movement a lot of movement but no progress. That's a merry-go-round. Many people's Christian life is like that.

You sin and you repent and you ask forgiveness and you come back and you sin again and you repent ask forgiveness and you come back you sin and you repent and you ask forgiveness and you come back and day after day after day you're in this is not a very merry-go-round. It's a pretty wretched going around and you but the point is you're always in the same place and you know that one year from now you'll be in the same place in this wretched go-around and you're back there all the time and you say when will I ever get out of this? This is exactly how I felt. I can sympathize with you because I faced it myself till one day in his great mercy I saw this truth just like you remember in your I hope most of you have received Christ as your savior and you remember the days when you were not sure whether you were a child of God and now you know that Christ has come into your heart and your sins are forgiven.

That's very important. That is the first thing that I had in my life. You know I was grew up in a Christian home so I must have asked Christ to come into my life and I've maybe when I was 13 years old because my dad would take me regularly to meetings my dad was a born-again believer and he would never send us to a dead church always some good church that preached the gospel and from 13 years old I was hearing hearing Christ died for me and I asked Christ to come to heart at the end of the meeting how many would like to receive Christ my heart I would raise my hand I want to Christ to come to my heart I would say Lord Jesus come to my heart but my life is the same the next day maybe I would change for four five days but next week I'm the same person then the next meeting would come again I say Lord come into my heart and it went round that was this another wretched go round where you never seem to progress and five years a hundred times I asked Christ to come into my heart I'm the same person still defeated until one day I'm very thankful when I was 19 and a half years old I read one verse I want you to turn back to this verse in John chapter 6 John chapter 6 and verse 37 it was just my daily Bible reading I was already in the navy I had become an officer in the navy by then and I was sitting in my room in the naval base in India and my daily Bible reading that day was John 6 and I came to John 6 verse 37 where I read the last part of that verse John 6 37 the last part the one who comes to me I will certainly certainly not cast out that means I won't reject anyone who comes to me certainly and for some in some wonderful way I didn't have any I didn't see any light I didn't hear any voice from heaven I just in my heart I read it and I said Lord Jesus I believe it and I said Lord I've come to you at least a hundred times in the last six years I must have asked you come into my heart come into my heart about a hundred times from the time I was 13 and now I'm 19 and I felt the Lord saying I never rejected you I will never cast you out I read that verse that means even the first when I came to him he did not cast me out but what was lacking I did not believe he had accepted me but I didn't believe it you know in electricity for electricity to flow if you've studied a little bit of physics there's got to be a positive and a negative and when you put on a switch for example what happens when you put on a switch and the light comes on or the fans run is just two wires come in touch with each other when you turn off the switch the two wires are set apart then the light goes off and the fan stops running and when you put on the switch the two wires touch that's all that happens inside that switch two wires touch and if you haven't opened a switch I have and I've sometimes connected up broken wires like that I know so it's some like something like that you know Christ loves you and accepts you but if you don't believe that the contact is not made and you live in doubt and ignorance always and uncertainty oh I'm not sure and then next time again you say Lord come into my heart come into my that's what I did but one day the wires touched I said Lord Jesus I believe you've accepted me his wire was always full of power power was flowing but my wire had not made contact with it one day I made contact and I want all of you to make that contact if you have not made it already that Christ has accepted you you asked Christ to come into your heart and he did come if you were sincere he was more sincere if you say Lord I want to give up my sin not if you came to Christ for some money or health or something but if you came to Christ because you wanted to give up your sins and you wanted to become a child of God well you can be sure that he accepted you I believe that verse I he will he did not cast me out and that was 66 years ago and I've never doubted that for one day after that even though before that for six years I was doubting doubting doubting doubting and that day I believed and it changed my life so if you want to be rooted you must first of all be absolutely sure not on the basis of your feelings but on the basis of God's word he has accepted you if that comes to me I will certainly why is that word certainly there it's not necessary if he had just said I will not cast you out would be enough but he said I will certainly not cast out and the Jesus used that word certainly especially for weak people like you and me who would doubt whether it's such a rotten person like me will he accept me he says certainly so that's first and then from there he said now lord I want to live an overcoming life and that's why we need to believe that Jesus not only forgives us he gives us his holy spirit see John chapter 14 John chapter 14 one of the most difficult verses in the bible can you find out the most difficult verse in the bible you'll find it here John 14 verse 15 if you love me you will keep my commandments not one commandment all his commandments don't you think that's one of the most difficult verses in the bible to keep all his commandments and to say if I love him I must keep all his commandments and I said lord I can't I'm not able to I don't have the strength I find temptation is so strong pulling me the other way I don't have a strength to pull against it like a tug of war a tug of war against temptation and the devil and always I'm losing always the rope slips out of my hand the other side is winning the tug of war temptation the devil is winning and that the thing is those temptations are the lusts in my own body they are pulling and I'm failing they are pulling and I'm failing failing the tug of war against the lusts in my own body and here I'm told to keep all his commandments how in the world can I do it the question comes and I'm sure those disciples to whom Jesus said this is the last day that Jesus was with them and he said this they were sitting at the table they had finished the breaking of bread and Judas had gone away that is all in chapter 13 and now he speaks to the other 11 disciples you love me keep my commandments and they were honest they had a thought in their mind how in the world can he keep his commandments he told us to love our enemies and they think just like we think brother even some of my friends it's difficult to love imagine loving my enemies what all commandments you give that I shouldn't lust with my eyes I should never get angry how in the world can I keep these commandments to bless everybody who curses me and to forgive everybody who hurts me Lord it's God and never to seek my own glory or honor never to seek people's honor I should when I pray I must be I must not let people know how much I pray if I fast I must not let anybody know how much I fast if I give money nobody must know what I gave everything my work and my service to God must all be secret I must not seek any honor for myself in anything in the Christian life zero honor for myself everything for the glory of God you think you can live like that I said Lord I cannot if you love me keep my commandments I say I cannot keep it and so before we tell him he gives us the answer the answer is in the next verse so John 14 15 is one of the most difficult verses in the bible keep my commandments the next verse tells us how he's going to help us keep the commandments I will ask the father John 14 16 and he will give you a helper a helper for what a helper to keep the commandments I wish people had seen that that the primary reason why the Holy Spirit has been given is not to speak in tongues or to do miracles or to preach or to sing no it is to keep God Jesus commandments I will ask the father to give you another helper verse 17 the spirit of truth the Holy Spirit is a helper you know what a helper is if my little son can't lift some box I'll say don't worry son I'll help you and I help him and he lifts it easily because I'm helping him he's holding one percent of it and I'm lifting 99 percent of the weight that is a picture of how the Holy Spirit helps us this heavy box I can't lift it I can't even move it I can put my hand and try can't do it but dad comes along and lifts it with me and lifts it he takes he does it all himself but he gives me the credit of he says that's how you know if I'm shifting a table or something and it's pretty heavy I would ask my little son when they when they were small at home okay son you hold the other end of the table and he's he can't lift it it's too heavy I'm lifting the whole table but he puts his fingers there and he can come tell mommy you know dad I and dad lifted the table not dad and I I and dad moved that table yeah I'm happy he feels that he could lift a table but it's because I helped him think of that picture always next time you're tempted with something too strong for you the Holy Spirit says and you can testify in the meeting I got victory over sin well actually the Holy Spirit helped you but give glory to God but what I want to say is if there's a commandment Jesus has given he's also given the Holy Spirit to help you keep it will you remember that one sentence all your life just one sentence if the Lord has given you a commandment he's also given you the Holy Spirit to help you keep that commandment if the Lord has given you a commandment he's also given you the Holy Spirit to help you keep that commandment which commandment is there which the Holy Spirit will not help you to keep he says I'll give you the world cannot receive him but you have received him and he says without the Holy Spirit verse 18 you'll be like orphans you know that without the Holy Spirit a person's an orphan it's like if my son was an orphan and he wanted to lift that heavy box or table he can't do it he doesn't have a dad to help him he tries tries and he gives up but because he had a dad he's not an orphan I said no my son you put your finger there I lift it and I carry 99.99 percent of the weight and he puts his finger there and says dad and I lifted the table yeah we worked together at it even if his contribution was only 0.01 percent that is how the Holy Spirit helps us and he doesn't make a big fuss about it trying to get any credit or glory for he's glad to help us just like I'm glad to help my dad my son do something for example the child comes back from school saying dad I can't understand this math problem so I sit with him and explain that problem to him and he understands it and he goes back to school and he gets 100 percent in the examination because he learned from me how to do it that's how the Holy Spirit will help you to get 100 percent if a human being can help you in some earthly thing the Holy Spirit can help you in all these temptations so remember this if you love me you'll keep my commandments and I will give you a helper always read those verses together what is that helper for well see the previous verse that's why he's a helper to keep you help you keep the commandments many people know that the Holy Spirit is a helper but they don't know what he's a helper for he didn't come to help you to pass your school examinations no he will help you there also but primarily to keep the commandments read verse 15 and 16 together if you love me keep my commandments and I will give you a helper to keep my commandments and if you don't have him you'll be like an orphan verse 18 but you won't remain as an orphan because the Holy Spirit will make come and tell you you've got a dad in heaven you're not an orphan he will never leave you helpless the wonderful thing is my dear brothers and sisters when Jesus Christ comes into us the Holy Spirit comes in but we need to ask the Holy Spirit to fill us completely there's a difference between receiving the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit as soon you see Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are one you cannot receive Jesus into your heart and keep the Holy Spirit outside or receive the Holy Spirit inside and keep Jesus outside no he comes in you say Lord Jesus come into my heart the Holy Jesus himself is in heaven the Holy Spirit is on earth when you ask Christ to come into your heart the Holy Spirit comes in he's already come in you may not have felt it I didn't feel anything but I know I believe in my heart over a period of time it becomes real but he may not have filled you supposing you see a house at a distance and it's got 10 rooms in it and there's light in one room and I ask you a question is there light in that house yes or no what will you say yes there is light in one room is there light in that house yes is the house filled with light no nine rooms are dark they haven't turned on the light in nine rooms so I can have the Holy Spirit in and not be filled with the Holy Spirit because why it's not because the Holy Spirit doesn't want to fill me but the Holy Spirit will not enter a room until you open the door for him you know Jesus said I come and knock the door revelation 320 behold I stand at the door and knock if any man opens the door I will come in the Holy Spirit is like that he knocks can I enter this room in your life can I enter the room where you the books you read will you allow me to control the books you read that if I tell you that's not a book for you to read that's not a site that you should go to on your phone or your computer the Holy Spirit says don't go to that site on that dirty picture that's come up on your phone on your screen turn it off change the site immediately do you listen if you don't listen that room will be dark in your life if you refuse to listen when the Holy Spirit says don't do this or do this that room will remain dark in your life so then you can say Lord I want to obey you but I don't have the strength oh the Holy Spirit says that's it then I'll give you the strength sure but you have to be willing see there's one thing God will not do he will not force us do you know that God doesn't even force us to go to heaven he does not force how do people go to hell because God does not force anybody to go to heaven you got to choose you got to choose to accept Christ you got to choose to go to heaven you got to choose to listen to the Holy Spirit when he says don't look at that turn your eyes away from that dirty thing and you're tempted to say an angry word to somebody who's come and been really rude to you and the Holy Spirit stops you and says don't say that word don't say that don't respond to him in the angry way he is speaking to you keep quiet and if you can't say a kind word don't say anything and you listen to the Holy Spirit I tell you you keep listening to that you'll become a spiritual man one day do you know how really godly men became godly listen to me they kept on listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit over many many many years and the Holy Spirit know and it's easy to say to know to something I hate if somebody said don't put your hand in the toilet bowl huh you don't have to tell me that I'm not going to put my hand in the toilet bowl it's filthy but when the Holy Spirit says don't look at that dirty picture on the in that billboard over there or on your phone or on the computer turn away from that or you sign a statement and the it's a false statement the Holy Spirit says don't sign that statement it's false maybe you're going to get admission somewhere by giving a false statement and the Holy Spirit says no I don't want you to get admission in a college by giving a false statement speak the truth and never mind if you don't can't get into that good college I'll take you to the college where you should study but don't ever tell a lie listen to the Holy Spirit and if you keep listening it's like going to the gym every day imagine if you went to the gym every day and you spend time exercising yourself with all the equipment there in 10 years you'll be such a muscular person and people wonder how did you get all those muscles can you teach but if you're going to the gym for 10 years you'll get it and you see a really spiritual man who knows God so well who's so anointed was a blessing to so many people and you say can I be like that sure you can be like that but you got to go to the gym regularly spiritual gym I mean and the Holy Spirit will help you there are different rooms in our heart book room the books you read the way and what you see in your computer in various areas the way you handle money being faithful with money and being controlled in even your eating habits I'll tell you all of us when you grow up we become slaves to good food we all love to eat good food and what can happen gradually is you become a slave to it you can become a slave to sleeping but you sleep and sleep and sleep and so much that you don't wake up in time to do your jobs well I know I was also tempted with good food and I found when I was a young person when I was 20 years old I said Lord I read in your Bible that we got to fast and not tell anybody that you are fasting so now since it happened long ago I can tell you but when I was fasting I didn't tell anybody but that was I would sometimes skip meals for a whole day I was working on a ship and I just drink a glass of milk or some water and skip breakfast lunch and dinner just to say Lord I want to overcome this lust for food there is in my body the lust for good food and what if I skip a one day there's a grand meal being offered and I say I'm not going to eat it I've conquered I've told that food you cannot be the master over me I'm the master over you sexual lust is another thing you've got to be able to say to sexual temptation you're not going to rule over me sexual temptation I'm going to rule over you some pretty girl there you see and you want to keep staring at her and you say no you're not going to rule over me I'm going to rule over you be a conqueror be a conqueror that's the Holy Spirit has come to help you to be a conqueror so that type of fasting is good once in a while if you can't fast for a whole day fast for a meal fast for a meal that you really like to eat and say I'm not going to do it I'm going to discipline myself so that I don't become a slave to food same way with sleeping we all need a certain amount of sleep people say you need about eight hours of sleep but you don't need more than that if you got your eight hours of sleep get up go and do something don't sleep and sleep and sleep and sleep say Lord I want to conquer my sleep and there are times where you may have less sleep and say well I'm not going to laze around in bed I'm going to get up and do something there are passions in our body which we must conquer for sex and our tongue especially it can be tempted to speak back to someone who speaks rudely to you you need strength there the Holy Spirit has come so turn back to Hebrews 4 15 in the verse we looked at earlier Hebrews 4 15 we read Jesus was tempted in all points exactly like us that is the truth that changed my life He was tempted in all things Hebrews 4 15 tempted in all things exactly like us and we did not sin please remember this verse all your life therefore what therefore verse 16 we can also come to the throne of grace grace is the power that helps us to overcome sin you know there was no grace in the Old Testament only mercy mercy means forgiveness grace means victory mercy means forgiveness of sins grace gives us victory over sin that's why in the Old Testament you don't find the word grace they could not have grace because the spirit of grace had not come into the world that came on the day of Pentecost Jesus had the spirit in him but all the others got it only on the day of Pentecost caught him rather the spirit of grace grace is God's power that helps us to overcome sin they'll overcome it's a power to overcome and so we can also it's a therefore therefore means what is it the word therefore wherever you find the word therefore you must look see why is it there what is it therefore it is there because of the previous verse Jesus was tempted like us therefore we can also go to the same throne of grace that Jesus prayed and got help from the father we can also receive mercy and grace mercy is forgiveness of sins Jesus did not need mercy because he never sinned we need mercy plus grace so we first get mercy Lord I've sinned so much in my past life forgive me that's mercy but then don't stop there go on from there to get grace the same grace verse 15 that Jesus got when he was tempted when Jesus was tempted you see the verse 15 and 16 go together because verse 16 says therefore therefore means it's connected with the previous verse Jesus was tempted like you therefore you can go to the throne of God and say God the father is the same grace you gave to Jesus when he was on earth so that he never sinned give me that same grace now because grace is God's power let me show you 2nd Corinthians chapter 12 2nd Corinthians chapter 12 verse 9 very well known verse so the Lord told Paul 2nd Corinthians 12 9 my grace is sufficient for you because my grace is my power that helps you to overcome weakness let me paraphrase it let me read it to you again the Lord tells Paul my grace is more than enough for you because my grace is my power that will become perfect and strengthen you in your weakness you want to hear it again 2nd Corinthians 12 9 my grace is more than enough for you because my grace is my power that helps you to overcome your weakness when you're tempted got it that's a correct paraphrase of ma'am 2nd Corinthians 12 9 my grace is more than enough for you because my grace is my power that comes to help you to overcome your weakness when you're tempted it's a tremendous verse and one more verse about grace Hebrews chapter 13 Hebrews 13 and verse 9 Hebrews 13 and verse 9 it says in the middle of that verse it is good for your heart to be made strong by grace grace is like putting gas into your the tank gas tank of your car go to the gas station and fill up that's grace that comes to strengthen my heart so that I can overcome if there's no gas in your tank this car stops and that's why you fall that's why you fall and fail in temptation there's no gas in your tank there's no grace in your heart why didn't you get grace because what did we read in Hebrews 4 16 you did not go to the throne of grace and ask for it it says in Hebrews 4 16 turn back there let us draw near to the throne of grace and receive this grace to help us in our time of need Hebrews 4 16 never forget these two verses Hebrews 4 15 and 16 Jesus was tempted in all points as we are therefore let us also go to the throne of grace and ask for grace first ask for mercy to forgive your past sins then ask for grace to help you in your time of temptation your time of need is your time of temptation Holy Spirit of God come and help me I'm tremendously tempted in this area please help me I can't control my tongue I can't control my dirty thoughts I can't control my attitudes to people help me room by room the Holy Spirit will come and put on the light you turn on the light in room by room by room your whole the whole house will be filled with light that is what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit you can be filled with the Holy Spirit but you got to ask for Lord this area that area I want you to help me when you come to read the I say Lord Holy Spirit of God please help me to understand that's how I understand verse by verse of the Bible so many things I understood not from reading in any book Holy Spirit opens that up or through some message you hear but the Holy Spirit opens it up to you whenever you read the Bible please pray to the Holy Spirit that he will explain it to you there is an interpreter to explain the Bible to you I'll show you one last verse and then I'll close turn to Luke chapter 24 Luke 24 it's a beautiful story there were two disciples Luke 24 13 on the day of resurrection they did not know that Jesus had risen from the dead they were so depressed that Jesus had died and this is three days after that they were walking to Emmaus in Luke 24 verse 13 and that is about seven miles away and how long do you think it takes to take a leisurely walk for seven miles maybe three or four hours slow walk and it says Jesus came and joined them in verse 15 but they did not know he was but then he walked with them and verse 27 during that entire three-hour journey he opened the Bible Moses and the prophets means Old Testament he opened the Old Testament explained all the things in it concerning himself in all the scriptures Jesus explained the scriptures to them during that long three-hour Bible study and they said at the end of it boy verse 32 our hearts were burning within us when he spoke to us when Jesus speaks to you your hearts burn within you I read that many years ago as a young man and I said Lord I want you to walk with me not just for three hours but all my life from now till I reach heaven I want you to walk with me and open the Bible to me and explain it to me just like you explained it to those disciples and emirs and I tell you that is how I understood the Bible I didn't go to a Bible school to understand it I walked like Jesus walked to emirs Jesus walked with me and I would say Lord open the scriptures to me the entire Bible in those days only Genesis to Malachi today Genesis to Revelation he opens the whole Bible and explains it to you there's no partiality with God what he did for me he'll do for you my dear young people seek the Lord with all your heart that's the most important thing like the world people run after money and position and power if you seek God with all your heart seek his kingdom first all the other things will be added to you I have proved that in my life health and strength and enough money to live and everything God will add to you if you seek the kingdom of God first purity of heart first of all and your life will be rooted the storm will come your tree will stand and not only that when fruit will come out from your tree because you're like a helpless branch you know a branch produces fruit if you go to a branch and hey how did you produce all those lovely apples I don't know by myself I cannot produce a single apple a branch says you cut me off from the tree there'll be zero apples in me but I stay in the tree I let the sap the sap is a picture of the Holy Spirit going into the branch apple apple apple beautiful apples it's like that that fruit comes out of any person's life stay in Christ keep your soon as you sin confess it said it right get back in fellowship with God keep in fellowship with the Lord all the time walk in the light never walk in darkness if you've sinned confess it confess it if you've hurt somebody ask that person's forgiveness and if somebody has hurt you forgive them forgive them otherwise the channel will be blocked if you don't forgive somebody or you don't ask forgiveness the channel is blocked then you won't get the sap the power of the Holy Spirit coming into you but if you follow these simple rules you can have a wonderful Christian life and God will make you more and more like Christ in your life and make you a blessing to many God told Abraham I will bless you and make you a blessing to many the Bible says that blessing is for you and me the blessing of Abraham is for you me that God will bless you and you'll be a blessing to everyone fruit will come out of your life if you remain in helpless dependence on the Lord God bless you let us pray bow our heads in prayer you probably heard a lot and you can ask the Lord say Lord I can't remember all that I heard but I want you to remind me when the time comes of what I need to hear remind me of what I heard today when the time comes Heavenly Father help these dear young people to remember in their time of need what they heard today we pray in Jesus name Amen