Avoiding The Cross is like Worshipping Satan

We believe that our Heavenly Father is looking down upon us. What is your image or what is the picture you have of God as He looks upon you? I don't mean right now, but most of the time when you look up to Him, how do you feel He looks at you? Do you feel He's looking at you with a frown because there are so many things wrong in your life? I want to show you a verse in Psalm 135. Many years ago, the Lord spoke to me through this passage. Psalm 135 says in verse 15, The idols of the nations are silver and gold. The work of man's hands, their mouths, they don't speak, their eyes, they don't see, their ears, they don't hear, their breath, no, the breath is not in their mouths. And this is the verse I want you to notice. Idols, false gods. Verse 18, Those who make them will be like them. So if you always think that God is frowning upon you, you'll be like that. You'll frown at other people. You'll frown at your wife. You'll frown at your children. And there are people who are like that, who are always very solemn and serious and never happy. Frowning on people because something's wrong everywhere. And that's because they have become like the God they worship. It says here, those who make them, they make like them. That God is an idol. That's not our Heavenly Father. If you believe that God sent Jesus on Earth because he loved the world so much, he loved you and me so much, that it's a Heavenly Father who loves. And even when he sees something wrong, he loves and wants to cleanse us. But it's not a frown. If God looks at me with a frown, I'd get scared. I wouldn't want to go near him. You look at your children with a frown, they won't want to come near you. So I'm not just talking about our expression on our face. I'm not saying that we should be always going around smiling. People who are a little off their heads will go around smiling all the time. But I'm talking about a happiness that should radiate from us, whether we smile or not, that people who come in touch with us should meet a happy person because our sins are forgiven. And because we have a Father who loves us so immensely, greatly, that we cannot even explain it. For many years, my favorite verse, which is the favorite verse of most Christians in the initial stages of their Christian life, is John 3.16. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. But when the Lord baptized me in the Holy Spirit about 50 years ago, that's many years after I was born again, my favorite verse after that became John 17 and verse 23, which is not such a well-known verse. But it changed my life completely when I realized the truth of it in my own life. Now, it's not for everybody. I can't go and tell the whole world this verse. For the whole world, it is John 3.16. God so loved the world. It applies to every Tom, Dick, and Harry in the whole world. But here, Jesus said in John 17 verse 9, this is a prayer of Jesus. I ask on their behalf, these people who had forsaken everything to follow the Lord, those disciples, I'm not asking on behalf of the world or on behalf of worldly Christians, no. But on those you have given me, those who wanted to be his followers, those who are his disciples. And if you have a sincere desire, none of us are perfect. Those disciples were not perfect either. But if you have a sincere desire to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, then this is for you. John 17.23. He prayed in the middle of that verse to the Father that the world may know that you sent me and loved these disciples of mine even as you loved me. That, as far as I know, is the only verse in the Bible that tells me that God loves me as much as he loved Jesus. Now that's a vast and immense thing to think about. But just think of it. Can you try and think of how the Father loved Jesus? Because everything the Lord did was just to please the Father. The Father could say, I'm well pleased with you. And these disciples who were here, this is at the Last Supper, they were not doing everything perfectly. None of them did everything perfectly even until the end of their lives, just like all of us. But they had a sincere desire to follow the Lord. And the Father accepted that and loved them as much as he loved Jesus. And I claim that as something that I find comfort in, that I find encouragement in, and that gives me faith in time of trial and testing. That I have a Father in heaven who's not frowning at me, but who loves me as much as he loved Jesus. So in different situations in my life, if my conscience is clear, it's a tremendous encouragement to know my Father loves me as I love, as he loved Jesus. And even if I slip up, if I'm quick to come back to him, he continues to love me. And that will make a difference in the way I look at my fellow believers in my church. Maybe when they slip up or fall. It'll make a difference in the way I look at my wife, and the way I look at my children. Those we become like the God we worship. And it's a great truth that helped me many years ago, that my understanding of what my Heavenly Father is like is going to make me my character. So, the theme for this conference, as you probably have seen, is to be unshakable, firm, like a rock that cannot be moved. So we want to think about that, how our life can be unshakable in a world where everything is shaking. And I want to begin with a verse in Ephesians in chapter 3. Ephesians chapter 3. There are two prayers that Paul prays for the Ephesian Christians. And this is the second of those two prayers. I'll just, maybe I should show you the first one. Let's go to the first one is in Ephesians 1 and verse 16. He says, I don't cease giving thanks for you and make mention of you in my prayer. And my prayer is that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, Ephesians 1, 17, the Father of Glory will give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ. That's the first thing we need. The spirit of revelation, showing you what Jesus is really like so that the eyes of our heart, verse 8, will be enlightened and so on. But then the second prayer is, once the Lord has shown us the glory of Christ in our heart, the second prayer in Ephesians is in Ephesians 3 and verse 14. I bow my knees in verse 16, that he will grant you. This time it's not prayer for revelation. It is that you'll be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit in your inner man. That Christ may dwell in your heart. Now we need to understand that we received Christ into our heart when we were born again. The meaning there is, like in some translations, that Christ may feel at home in your heart. You know, you visit some homes and they make you feel at home, right from the moment you enter. You can never do anything wrong because it's a loving home and they accept you just as you are. And there are other homes where you go. Yeah, they welcome you, but you feel a little awkward and you're always wondering whether you're doing the right thing or saying the right thing. You don't feel quite at home. You all know that. We all know what it is to be in a home where they make you feel completely at home. Or if you're visiting a home for a day or two, people will make you feel completely at home. And other places where they're nice to you, but you feel a little awkward. So here it says that Christ may feel completely at home in our heart. We make him feel completely at home. And he says, through the Holy Spirit, I'm praying that you'll be so strengthened in your inner man that when Christ comes in, he'll feel completely at home. You know, like Jesus went to the home of Mary and Martha and Bethany, he felt so completely at home there. And that can happen if, last part of verse 17, you allow the Holy Spirit to root you and ground you in love. That's the home where, that's the heart where Christ feels completely at home. Rooted, grounded, a firm foundation of love. You know, like a foundation, for example, people lay a foundation and every part of the building is on that foundation. However high you may go, it's on that foundation. They don't put even a bit of that building outside. Even if it sticks out in the upper floors, it's still on that foundation. So that's the meaning here that my life must be rooted in the love of Christ. That must be the firm foundation of my life. And one of the results of that will be that I myself will be rooted in love. That everything that comes out of me will be rooted and grounded in love. In other words, if you think of your life like a structure you're building, the words you speak, the things you do, the letters you write, your conversations, everything will be on the foundation of God loves me and that love is spread abroad in my heart towards everyone. And when you are like that, it says then you'll be able to understand the breadth, verse 18, and length and height and depth. This is four dimensions. We think of three dimensions, but here are four dimensions. The breadth and length and height and depth. Breadth, length, height, depth. The breadth of the love of Christ, which cannot be explained with knowledge. It's not something you can explain. So surpasses knowledge means it's not something you can explain. You can explain mathematical theorems and you can explain scientific problems, but this is not something that can be explained by the human mind. It's got to be experienced, not explained. And so he says it's beyond knowledge. You can hear so many messages about the love of Christ. The world has heard so many messages. There are so many Christians who've heard so much about the love of Christ, but it's only in their knowledge. If they experienced it, it would make them loving people. It would make them love and forgive people. It'll make them forgive people in such a way that they don't even remember the harm that somebody did to them. It's an amazing thing when the Holy Spirit, this is Paul's prayer. In chapter one, he prayed that the Holy Spirit give you revelation as to who Christ is and what he's done for you. And then here he says, I'm praying that the Holy Spirit will now work in you and fulfill all that he died for. And that is to make you rooted and grounded in love and the perfect assurance that God loves you. As he loved Jesus. If we can allow the Holy Spirit to make that real to us, it'll make all the difference in the world. That is the only way to be firmly founded in the fact that whatever we do, God's love does not change. He doesn't frown upon us. He correct us. God's love is one that can rebuke us. You know, for example, when the Bible says that Jesus, when he came to earth, revealed the father. One of the things that Jesus did, as you read in John chapter one and verse 18, was he explained the father. It says in my translation, no one has seen God at any time, but the only begotten God, Jesus, when he came, he explained the father. So one of the ministries of Jesus, by his life, was to explain what the father is like. You remember at the last supper, he washed the disciples' feet. And have you noticed he said something after that, after he washed the disciples' feet, he told Philip, Philip came to him and said in John 14, this is at the last supper, Lord, show us the father. I don't know what the father is like. And Jesus said, the last part of verse nine, if you've seen me, you've seen the father. And what did they see Jesus doing there? Washing the feet. God the father is like a servant. He doesn't have this false dignity that human beings have, who stand on their rights and their position and all that, no. He has a spirit of service. If you have seen, after washing the feet of his disciples, he said, if you have seen me, you've seen what the father is like. I'm not scared of such a father. I want to run to him. If I slip up, I want to run to him and apologize. I can run to him with any problem. I can run to him with dirty feet because I've seen in Jesus what the father is like. He washes our feet. He's very slow to correct us. Do it when it's necessary and even rebuke us if necessary. You know, Jesus' love was manifested sometimes in giving his disciples tremendous revelations and also rebuke. Let me show you one example of that. You know, we look at Jesus in order to see what the father is like. And that's how we can be rooted and grounded in that love. That's how our own life becomes solid and firm. Turn with me please to Matthew 17. It's one of the most amazing things that Jesus did for his three disciples. He didn't give that privilege to everybody. He took Peter and James and John, Matthew 17, Matthew 17 and verse 1, to the top of a mountain and he was transfigured there. His whole face shone like the sun. Can you imagine that? The sun is something we can't even look at. And when Jesus' face shone like the sun, they could not see it. So bright. His garments became white as light and they were seeing the glory that Jesus had in heaven. And immediately after that, when they came down, we read, they came down the mountain, there was a man who came to him and said, verse 15, after this tremendous vision, Lord have mercy on my son, for he's a lunatic. And I brought him to your disciples, verse 16, but they could not cure him. Now the same Jesus, who very lovingly took these disciples up to the mountain to show them his tremendous glory and how much they have been so taken up with his love there. When he comes down, he says to them, to the disciples, verse 17, you unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? He's telling his disciples. Does one who love others speak like that? See, this is the balance. There's not only grace in Jesus, but truth. The glory of God was seen in Jesus Christ full of grace and truth. If you want to have a balanced picture of the love of God, it's grace and truth. That's where the glory is seen. So he could show them his great love over there in the previous chapter. He even told Peter, blessed are you Simon, because my heavenly father has revealed to you who I am. How encouraged he must have been. And many other wonderful things he told his disciples, but he also turns around and tells them, how long am I going to put up with you fellows? And then you understand what Jesus said in Revelation chapter 3 to one of his churches. That is something which many people don't understand. Revelation chapter 3, verse 19. Those whom I love, I rebuke and I discipline. That is a mark of love which many people don't think of. He loved us enough to give his life for us on the cross. But his love is not something that will allow us to live in our sin. He will not allow us to have that cancer spread throughout your body. Sin is like cancer. It's worse than cancer. And just like a loving father would do anything to get cancer out of his child's body, he even wished that it come upon me. The Lord hates sin like he hates cancer. And the Lord rebukes in order to make us take that cancer of sin seriously. And he says, those whom I love, I rebuke and I discipline because we see that the same Peter to whom the Lord said, blessed are you because flesh and blood is not revealed to you. Two minutes later, when he said, you know, I've got to go to the cross and I'll be crucified. Peter said, no, no, no, I'm not going to allow that. To the same Peter, Jesus said, get behind me, Satan. You know, in the, in Jesus' earthly life, as far as we know, only twice he used those words. Get behind me, Satan. One was to the devil himself and the temptation when the devil said, fall down and worship me and I'll give you the whole world. Jesus said, get behind me, Satan. And the second time was when Peter said, don't go to the cross. He said, get behind me, Satan. Only twice Jesus said those words. To fall down and worship Satan. Such a terrible sin. And he said, get behind me, Satan. I want to show you that passage so that it will be rooted in your mind forever. Turn to Matthew chapter 4. We need to understand the love of God in its balance of grace and truth. Matthew chapter 4, verse 9, Satan said to Jesus, all these things I'll give you, the whole world and its glory. Verse 8, if you fall down and worship me, fall down and worship me, Jesus said, get away, Satan. The second time he said it was Matthew chapter 16, verse 21. Jesus began to show his disciples is to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things and be killed and raised up. And Peter said, no, Lord. He said, no to the cross. This will never happen to you. And Jesus said, get behind me, Satan. Put those two passages together. What do you understand? Avoiding the cross in your life is equal to worshiping Satan. Got it? I don't know whether you got it. You come to a situation in your life where you know you have to die to yourself. Take up the cross and follow Jesus and you turn away. You're worshiping Satan. That's what I get when I put these two passages together. If you are gripped by that, you'll say, Lord, I'll never worship Satan in my life. In other words, what you're saying is I'll never avoid the way of the cross. Any situation, somebody insults me, the Lord says, die. And you don't. You just stand up for your rights. At that moment, you don't realize you're worshiping Satan. If you're just gripped by this one thing today, I guarantee, even if you understand nothing else in this conference, it will change your life. Many years ago, I was converted 64 years ago. It's going to be 65 in a few months. And I saw the need after a while to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And I did not know where to go. I was attending a brethren assembly. They never spoke anything about being filled with the Holy Spirit. Somebody told me to go to the Pentecostals. And at Pentecostals, they asked me to keep on saying Hallelujah and said that I would be filled with the Holy Spirit. And I said, that's not going to happen on the day of Pentecost. So I turned away from both groups. From the brethren and the Pentecostals. These folks never spoke about it and what they offered me was a fake. So I went to the Lord. I said, Lord, how can I be? I want a genuine fullness. I don't want to babble something and call it tongues and say I'm filled with the Spirit. No, no, no. I'm not trying to impress people. I want you to fill me with the Holy Spirit and my life will be changed if I'm really filled with the Holy Spirit. And I remember so vividly the Lord gave me a revelation. I was only about 23 years old which I'll never forget and I haven't forgotten it till today. What I saw in the scripture was when was Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit? It says he went to the river to be baptized and John pushed him under the water, John the Baptist and lifted him up and the Holy Spirit came upon him. And I got a revelation there that if you choose to go the way Jesus went that is to be put to death by circumstances, by other people or whatever it is the Father will raise me up but if I choose that way of death to serve that's what baptism really symbolizes. The Spirit of God will be upon me. And I remember till today the Lord speaking to my heart at that time that the day you leave that way of the cross you will lose the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit. I was desperate. I said Lord I want to serve you and I don't want to get up and preach boring sermons that don't change anybody's life. I want an anointing as long as I live I want the anointing to be upon me and it must become greater and stronger as I grow older. I don't want to decline it must go up. The Lord said then choose the way of the cross always in every situation in every situation when you are tempted die to yourself. When you are tempted to lust die. When you are tempted to get angry die. Dead men don't get angry. Die to yourself. Dead men don't keep an offense when somebody hurts them in some way. There are many things I began to meditate on what dead men do and don't do and I got revelation on what it means to walk the way of the cross. Much later I understood from these passages that avoiding the way of the cross is equal to worshiping Satan and I never want to worship Satan in my life. The thing is we do it unconsciously we don't realize the two are the same. If you don't if you are not gripped by that take these two just these two passages which I showed you now the Lord telling the devil when the devil told him to worship him he said get away Satan and when Peter told Jesus don't go to the cross get away Satan. Then Jesus went on to say in Matthew 16 it's not only me he said you must take up your cross and follow me too. So you see it connects the two and that is the thing that has changed the direction of my life and ministry about 60 years ago. I didn't understand and experience it fully until I had a more fuller experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit. But that's been the theme of my life and it's been the basis on which we have built all our churches in every place. The way of the cross is the way of life. It's not just accepting the Lord. All of Christendom says you must accept Christ to go to heaven. I'll tell you honestly I stand before God and say this I'm not interested in going to heaven. A lot of believers want to go to heaven. I'm not. I'm interested in being with Jesus. There's a lot of difference between the two. Heaven means you think of the golden streets and Jesus said there are mansions and so many other things. Heaven will be empty if Jesus is not there. What is the thing that attracts you about eternity? I once told the Lord Lord I'd be happy to go to hell if you are there. No problem. I don't care the fires won't bother me if you are there because that place with all the fires will be heaven for me if Jesus is there. True Christianity is where the presence of Jesus is your heaven and that can begin on earth. And for me it has begun on earth already. You know we sing heaven came down. I'll tell you when it really comes down. When Christ becomes everything to you in your life. And there's no way that can happen unless I choose the way of death to self because self is the main thing that prevents Christ from occupying the throne in my heart. That's why it's so important. And that's why Jesus said no one can follow me unless he takes up the cross every day. So when we come to Ephesians in chapter 3 the passage we started with I'm praying that the Lord will strengthen you with power in the inner man Ephesians 3 16 so that you'll be rooted and grounded in love. Rooted and grounded in the fact that God loves you and it is out of love that he asks you to choose the way of death. Here is another verse I want to share with you when Jesus was speaking to his disciples. At the last supper. He went through his last sermon John 14 and he says verse 30 John 14 30 The devil the ruler of the world is coming and he's got nothing in me so that the world may know look at the verse 31 John 14 31 so that the world may know that I love the Father I'm going to do now what the Father commanded me to do that is go to the cross get up let's go from here he went to the cross and that was to show the world that I love the Father Jesus said the world should know I mean we see the cross as the place where the world sees that God loved us Jesus loved me how do you know that he died on the cross for me yeah that's true but he says when I die on the cross I prove to the world that I love the Father so when Jesus hung on the cross he is proving I love my Father it's painful but I'll obey because I know the Father appointed this for me it's my good I apply that to my life how shall I prove that I love the Father by going to the cross I say the same words so that the world may know that I love the Father I go to the cross too I wish I could show you words fail me but I wish I could show you the glory of this way of the cross you know that song which says there is a place of quiet rest near to the heart of God a place where sin cannot molest near to the heart of God the world is a place full of unrest homes are full of unrest so many homes there is turmoil and husband or wife somebody in a bad mood bad moods bad moods one of the prayers I prayed is Lord I never want to be in a bad mood why should I be in a bad mood I have a Father in heaven who loves me but it's only if I do what the Father tells me to do I go to the cross because that's what the Father has told me to do and I'll tell you this if you hang on the cross you'll never be in a bad mood every bad mood that you've ever had in your life as a Christian is because you refuse to die dead people don't have bad moods think of the change that will come in your home from today if you decide I'm going to die with Jesus on the cross and dead people don't get bad moods and you hold that consistently you're working in an office say I'm going to choose the way of the cross I'm not going to worship Satan I'm going to choose the way of the cross I'm going to be rooted and grounded knowing my Father loves me and it is in love that he asks me to go to the cross that is how my life will be unshakable see when you get into a bad mood the devil has shaken you it's not an unshakable rock he's made you sway like the wind waves the leaves on the tree that's how leaves on the tree and the branches of the tree are not unshakable we're not meant to be like that God wants us to be like Jesus here's an example of how unshakable he was it's another thing that the Lord showed me just give you another example of how unshakable he was in love Matthew chapter 12 I want to encourage all of you to read the gospels many times I read the gospels it's my favorite four books in the Bible are the four gospels and I read them to see how Jesus reacted how he lived how he spoke how he preached it's my passion my passion is to follow my Savior he said follow me so I discover many things when I read this here's one example Matthew chapter 12 they brought a demon possessed person who was blind and mute Matthew 12 22 and Jesus healed him in one moment and the crowds were so excited they said this is the son of David this is the Messiah the Pharisees were jealous because their popularity was going they got angry and they said no this is not the Messiah this is the devil himself the name they gave the devil was verse 24 Beelzebul the ruler of demons who's the ruler of demons Satan we know him as Satan they called him Beelzebul this is Beelzebul you know when in the Old Testament when Moses' sister Miriam once you read that in Numbers 12 said Moses why did you marry that Ethiopian woman God said you dare to criticize my servant you get leprosy and she got leprosy on the spot why just because she criticized a servant of God it's a serious thing particularly if he's an anointed servant like Moses Moses pleaded with the God and said please spare her he said put her out for a few weeks few days and then let her repent and then come back there's another instance in the Old Testament where we read about some young men in 2nd Kings they made fun of Elisha of his bald head and said you bald man go up like Elijah they made fun of him and it says bears came out of the woods and ate up those men because they criticized a servant of God now here's the greatest servant of God they said something much worse to him than what those people said to Elisha or to Moses they called him the devil himself if Moses if Miriam got leprosy and those young men who criticized Elisha got eaten up by bears what should these people get you know what they got forgiveness that's the difference between Jesus and Moses between Jesus and Elisha that's the difference between the new covenant and the old covenant you see that in verse 32 he's replying to these Pharisees who called him the devil he says have you spoken a word against me it's forgiven I say Lord make me like that and when people call me the devil forgiven or whatever they do forgiven because I choose to die with Christ on the cross that's why I seek to live a life where at no time at no time is there any unforgiveness in my heart towards any human being in the world I can honestly say like that's been true in my life for quite some time now since I understood this great truth peacefully at night because there's nobody I'm not forgiven I can speak freely to God because I've forgiven everyone you cannot speak freely to God if there's someone you're not forgiven and if you cannot forgive somebody it's because you're unwilling to die or in other words you're worshipping the devil then you won't forgive your wife you know how sometimes marriage partners they remember the things they did 10 years ago and 12 years ago and you did this and some of them even remember the date darling you remember on that they call him darling but do you remember that date what you did that day what a memory and they call themselves Christians they haven't seen Jesus at all they're worshipping the devil in their homes and they wonder why are our children not serious Christians I'll tell you why because the parents are worshipping the devil you want your children to be wholehearted Christians stop worshipping the devil take up the cross and die morning till night you'll get plenty of opportunities I'll tell you this world is such a place you get plenty of opportunities to die there's something more here that the Lord showed me He didn't just forgive them see what it says in verse 32 always read the Bible exactly whoever not just you Pharisees who call me the devil but whoever in the whole wide world not whoever has spoken a word whoever speaks a word against me that means for the next two thousand years that's the meaning of that verse whoever let me expand it whoever speaks a word against me for the next two thousand years he's forgiven right now that's called future forgiveness but Jesus proclaimed there and the Lord said to me follow me and I decided to follow him so I've said the same thing whoever speaks a word against Zach Poonen or does something against Zach Poonen is forgiven right now even if he does it next year so when somebody comes to me say one month from now and say brother Zach you know what that fellow was saying against you some evil things I say oh I forgave him one month ago or I forgave him last year they can't understand that read the scripture carefully it's the most wonderful book in the world you can't understand it with your intelligence but if you're willing to walk the way of the cross you'll get amazing revelations from this book I never got it for so many years after all my cleverness I couldn't understand it till I chose the way of the cross till I stopped worshiping Satan and started worshiping Jesus Christ then I understood the scriptures your cleverness will only make you understand the bible like the false prophets you know the false prophets in the old testament like many false prophets roaming around the world today one mark one of the biggest marks of a false prophet is he loves money and he asks people for money and there are plenty of them roaming around this country and every country now they don't know these things which we see in scripture they are interested in promoting themselves and getting named for themselves our calling in this church is to make people like Jesus the people who come in contact with us and hear us will even if they don't respond even if they don't want to obey what we say we'll never forget the life we lived brothers and sisters we must live in such a way that the people who come in touch with us our relatives the people in our office even if they say so many things against us and don't agree with us years later they'll never forget once in my life I met a real Christian they'll remember you like that we hope that will make them turn to the Lord but even if it doesn't at least you made an impact on them it's not just preaching it's not just giving out a tract that's good I've given out plenty of tracts in my life given out books and witnessed and preached but ultimately it's the way I live and the way I respond when people treat me badly or harm me in some way religious people took me to court once in India wanting to put me in jail for 16 years for some silly little thing all the way to the Supreme Court I can say before God I love them they were so called Christians and honestly said to the Lord Lord I want to see them in heaven I want you to forgive them I want them to know you I want to rejoice with them in heaven the people who try to harm me so badly there's no credit to me the Holy Spirit gives us power that's what he read God prayed let me go back there again Ephesians chapter 3 I pray verse 16 that according Ephesians 3 verse 16 that he'll grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit in the inner man to be strengthened with the power of the Holy Spirit in the inner man not to speak in tongues I do speak in tongues I have been speaking in tongues for 48 years but that's only between me and God never in public but that's not the main thing the main thing is that the Holy Spirit will strengthen me so that Christ will dwell in me that I'll be rooted in love that nobody will be able to shake me out of love whatever they may do harm me hurt me put me in jail or whatever they want to because I preach Christ I will not be shaken out my permanent address is the love of Christ everybody should find me at that address every time rooted that's the picture of a tree always there have you seen these heard of these redwood trees some of I've heard that some of them are 2000 years old from the time of Jesus rooted unshakable by storm or wind or earthquakes or nothing they are rooted and the other word is grounded that's some solid building with a deep foundation a picture of a tree and a picture of a building unshakable in love that is what it means to be unshakable that is the theme of this conference to be unshakable it is to be unshakable in love that nobody can take me out of the love of Christ not that I doubt his love but that that love is in my heart too and it says here that you know I told you that verse 17 that Christ may dwell in your heart is the translation in some paraphrases it says that Christ may feel at home in your heart and Christ feels at home in your heart only if you are in the same verse rooted and grounded in love I'm sure we all want Jesus Christ to feel at home in our hearts we want Jesus Christ to be at home in our homes but I'll tell you how ask the Holy Spirit to give you power to be rooted and grounded in the love of Christ towards everybody we don't have to agree with them if they speak evil of us we forgive them we have future forgiveness for everybody from now till the day Christ comes I've forgiven everybody who's spoken or going to do anything against me anywhere forgiven already brother, sister stranger, anyone you're already forgiven I learned that from Jesus whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man anytime the future is forgiven right now say that and mean it your home life will be different you don't have to make an effort to forgive your wife or your husband tomorrow because you've already forgiven them today for what has not yet happened even next year already forgiven this is what it means to be rooted and grounded in love and you cannot do it on your own you can make a decision here I'm going to be rooted and grounded you will not succeed you won't succeed even for 24 hours that's why it says I'm praying that the power of the Holy Spirit verse 16 Paul says I pray that you'll be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit what for? to be rooted and grounded in love verse 17 there's so much of talk about the fullness of the Holy Spirit in so many groups in the world today tell me how many of them have you have you heard them saying that it is to in order to root you and ground you in the love of Christ no they're always talking about miracles and healings and most of them are fake 99% of the so called healings and miracles and all are fake but you can't be deceived by love genuine love that forgives that overlooks insults and seeks the good of that other person see what it says in Romans Romans chapter 12 verse 19 well let me begin at verse 17 or the end of verse 16 the last sentence of verse 16 Romans 12 don't be wise in your own estimation don't think you're such a clever guy here is what real holiness is verse 17 never pay back evil for evil verse 18 as far as it depends on you be at peace with all men that means never go for a fight even when they come for a fight say no I won't fight verse 19 never take your never take your own revenge on anyone did somebody harm you leave it to God to deal with him it says leave room for God to deal with him you're a child of God that person came and touched you you're the apple of his eye remember Zechariah 2 verse 5 says you're the apple of my eye and when any person hurts you he's poking a finger in God's eye let God deal with him never take your own revenge but leave room for God to deal with him because the Lord says vengeance is mine if ever you have taken revenge on anybody in your life in any way you have taken the place of God repent of it God says vengeance is mine I will do the repaying but what should I do then verse 20 if your enemy is hungry feed him if he's thirsty give him a drink in so doing you'll be heaping burning coals of love on his head and the fire of love you can put up on his head because you cannot overcome evil with evil it's a fundamental principle you need to understand you see this going on today in the wars whether it's in Ukraine or Gaza or any other part of the world you cannot overcome evil with evil you can overcome evil verse 21 only by doing good if you want to overcome evil you can't overcome it with more evil overcome evil with good that's possible only if I'm rooted and grounded in love so dear brothers this almost sounds like a strange religion that I'm preaching it's unfortunate but this is true Christianity but there's so little of it that it sounds like some strange religion but this and this alone is true Christianity every other type of Christianity is worshipping the devil which is avoiding the cross go back and study Matthew 4 and Matthew 16 the only two times when Jesus said get behind me Satan one when Satan asked him to worship him and the other when Peter said don't go to the cross it's the same thing put the two together don't go to the cross is the same as worshipping Satan if you're gripped by that as I was I didn't do it perfectly from the time I was gripped by it it took time but gradually it sank into me more and more and more and more when people are in a bad mood keep your mouth shut when they insult you keep your mouth shut or if you do open your mouth bless them it's a wonderful life brothers and sisters it's the life that Jesus came and died on the cross and rose again to give us this is why he sent the Holy Spirit so in this weekend we pray that we will all be a little more open not just to hear a message or to hear a message that you can go and preach somewhere else now no no no but to hear something that will change your life first Lord I don't want to hear something that I want to go and preach somewhere else that's a lust I want to hear something that will change my life that will make my wife realize I've become a different person that will make people in my office realize I'm a different person now may God help us let's pray dear brothers and sisters please take seriously what you heard today don't let it fall on don't let the birds of the air take it away don't let it fall on shallow ground and just spring up today and disappear two days later no let it sink in let it sink in let it sink right in meditate on it so that it sinks and goes right down and takes root and produces eternal fruit Heavenly Father help us all we know that this is your will you want to help us we believe you will do more than we ask or think because we pray in Jesus name Amen