Online Youth Meeting 2022

So the first slide, the subject is Doubting my Salvation. I am up and down in my zeal for God and often discouraged over past failings. How do I know if I am still truly born again? A reference of Hebrews 6.6. Bible says we are to walk by faith and not by sight. These are two opposites. Faith is an inward thing in our spirit. Sight is what we see and what our mind tells us. Remember that the man is spirit, soul and body. That's what the Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5.23. And it's in our spirit that God dwells and speaks to us. We have some feelings sometimes in our body and in our mind God assures us through his word. But we must not live by feelings. It's one of the first thing I want to say. There's a story of a parable of fact, faith and feeling walking on a narrow wall. Fact is God's word in front. Behind it is faith and behind it is feeling. Feeling will come behind faith. So faith was looking at fact and walking, walking, walking and walking steadily on this narrow wall. But after a little while, faith looked around to see if feeling is following and he fell down from the wall. Feeling also fell down. So the message of that parable is don't look at feelings. Look at faith, look at God's word, fact and follow and feeling will automatically follow. And discouragement is something because we tend to look at our failures and don't believe that God's mercy has forgiven us. So up and down, up and down is very often because of our body and our mind and circumstances around us. But God never changes. Remember this. The Bible says always rejoice in the Lord, Philippians 4.4. We don't rejoice in our circumstances. Whatever my feeling, God is still on the throne, ready to forgive me any number of times. And that assurance is what convinces me. Now there's a verse quoted here, Hebrews 6.6. How can they, if they have fallen away, renew them again to repentance since they, Hebrews 6.6. If somebody has already tasted the good word of God, born again, verse 4 and 5, Hebrews 6.6. And then falls away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance. And that word since is not the correct translation. It should be reading as, as long as. As long as. Sometimes the Greek words are translated in a slightly different way. If you got a margin in your NASD, it says while. Which means as long as. That means you cannot repent as long as you are crucifying the Son of God again. You are not crucifying the Son of God again. So that verse doesn't apply to you. Okay, next question. Baptism in the Holy Spirit. I long for the baptism in the Holy Spirit. But I am still defeated and it is taking a long time. Should I seek for a godly brother to lay hands on me and pray with me or pray with me? You don't have to wait for us. You don't have to ask anybody to lay hands on you to pray for you. God had given a special power to the apostles and some others. But it's a lot of people who go around laying hands on people's head today. It's just a counterfeit. Somebody puts their empty hand on somebody's head. Nothing happens. So you can go to God directly. He's your father. And go to him and pray to him and say, Lord, I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I want to be immersed. Baptism in the Holy Spirit means immersed in the Holy Spirit. Lord, I want to be immersed in the Holy Spirit. I want the Holy Spirit to flow out of me like rivers of living water. And if there's anything stopping, if there's any blockage in my life, please show me. And I wait on you. Lord, if there's anything, show me. Leave it to God to show you. And if he does not show you, believe that in his own time he will give you an assurance. I prayed and prayed and I said, Lord, I believe you heard me. But I'll tell you something. Sometimes God wants us to pray again and again and again. I'll show you one verse related to the Holy Spirit. In Luke's Gospel and chapter 11 and verse 9 onwards. Luke chapter 11, verse 9. Ask and it will be given to you. Everyone, verse 10, who asks receives. Verse 11, Luke 11, verse 11. If your father's son asks for a fish, will you give him a snake? No. If he asks for an egg, will you give him a scorpion? Now listen to this. If you fathers are being evil, that means the best father on earth is evil compared to a loving God. The best father on earth is an evil father when compared to how good God is. And if such an evil father gives good gifts to his children, how much more, how much more, how much more, how much more, will your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? But how should they ask him? See this parable. Verse 5. Luke 11, 5. He's telling you how to ask. You go to your friend's house at midnight and say, friend, lend me three loaves. He's only asking to lend. I'll return it. Because somebody has come and I need something to set before him. That's why we ask the Holy Spirit. We ask the Holy Spirit for help so that we can go and bless others. And he answers from inside, don't bother me. This is not God. This is an earthly man saying, don't bother me. And then this man keeps on banging there. No, I'm going to keep on asking because I need this. I need this. I need this. And he says in verse 8, even though he will not get up and give him anything because his friend, because of his persistence. This is the important word. Because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs. Let me read it again. Because of his persistence, he did not give up asking. He will get how much? As much as he needs. Then read verse 13. How much more will your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? Very simple. You persist and persist and persist. Say, Lord, I'm not going to go away till you assure me I'm filled with the Holy Spirit. That's what I did. And God assured me. OK, next question. Avoiding condemnation. How can I tell the difference between being convicted by the Holy Spirit and feeling condemned? Let me tell you, the Holy Spirit never condemns. Never means never. N-E-V-E-R. Never. He always encourages. If you hear the voice of condemnation, it is 100% from the devil. God is not a God of condemnation. The Bible says in Romans and chapter 15 that God is a God of all encouragement. Verse 5. Romans 15, 5. The God who only gives perseverance and encouragement. Not discouragement. Nowhere in the Bible is God called the God of condemnation or the God of discouragement. The God who gives encouragement. So if somebody is giving you discouragement, that's not God. That's the devil. So, or you yourself. You think it is humility to feel condemned. It is not humility. To feel condemned is not humility. It is unbelief. So reject it. Just say, Satan, I resist you. In Jesus' name. OK. The Holy Spirit always encourages. A word which encourages you, that is from the Holy Spirit. You hear a preacher, and it encourages you. That is from the Holy Spirit. If it discourages you, either the preacher doesn't know God or you received his message in a wrong way. OK. Next question. Spiritual guidance. For guidance in practical matters, how do I distinguish between God's voice and my natural human inclinations or the voice of my flesh or the devil? OK. First of all, by motive. You know what your motive is in asking. What is your motive? The only proper motive we should have in every request is, I want God to be glorified in my life. That's the best way to live. Lord, you say I want to marry this person, not because she's a pretty girl or a rich man. I want to glorify God in my marriage. Lord, I want to get this job, not just because it's a good salary. I need money to live, so I'm looking for a good salary. There's nothing wrong in that. But I want to be in the place where you want me to be. Is this the place where you want me to be? So I say, if I see the glory of God, then the Holy Spirit will, you can know that the Lord will guide you by inner voice. And if it's a voice that condemns you, as I told you, it's not from God. And then the other way we can know is by circumstances. God has got the key to every door on earth. Read that in Revelation 3, that God says, and I said before you an open door, and nobody can shut it. Revelation 3, 7. He shuts and nobody can open. So you say, Lord, I believe you can open every door. Or sometimes you shut the door. I want you to shut doors where I'm not supposed to go. And the other thing is, as I told you, it's a voice of the devil. If it condemns you or asks you to do something wrong in order to get that, tell a lie, put a false statement in your application for college or application for a job, that's definitely the devil. By speaking the truth, you'll get God's best. By telling a lie, you may get a good job, but you'll miss God's best. Don't ever, parents, don't ever teach children to tell a lie to get admission somewhere or a job anywhere, and you yourself. Never mind if you don't get something by speaking the truth. I'm not saying that you have to confess your past sins. That's not speaking the truth. Your sins you confess only to God. But in anything, you must be upright, and then you can believe that through circumstances and through the inner witness of the Holy Spirit, if you've got a clear conscience, you can know it is God's voice. And if you've read the word of God regularly, yeah, that's the way. There's a book of mine called Finding God's Will. You go to cfcindia.com. You can read it freely from there, Finding God's Will. Okay, next question. Next question is sexual temptation, dealing with sexual temptation. How can I overcome addiction to bad habits, pornography, using my phone, etc.? I've been defeated for so long. I'm embarrassed to share it with anyone, and I feel it is impossible for me to overcome. Yeah, definitely you should not confess your sins to human beings. If you're embarrassed, that's good. Don't confess it to man. We must confess our sins only to God, not to some priest, and not to any human being. If you've sinned against that human being, you hurt him, you got angry with him, then confess to him. The only sin you confess to a man is what you committed against him. But if it's other sin in which you've committed against God in your thought or somewhere else, you confess it only to God. You watch pornography, confess it to God. And it doesn't matter how long you've been defeated. See, you have to understand that pornography is destroying your mind. There's a phrase used nowadays in relation to food, which has become very popular, called junk food. Food which will destroy your health. We must eat food which is good for our health, not good for our taste, but good for our health. And the healthiest people are the people who don't go by taste, but say, is this food good for my health? You know, for example, you keep on eating only potato chips all the time. That's not good for your health. That's okay once in a while. But there are many other things. You need vegetables, you need vegetables particularly, and balanced diet. So, in the same way, spiritually, there are bad habits that can... Food, pornography is bad food. It's like eating junk food. Imagine a person, to me it's like this. You go into the garbage bin, all the rubbish, or worse than the garbage bin, you go to the sewer, go to the toilet. An unflushed toilet. Can you think of an unflushed toilet? This has just been used by somebody. Rubbish. And you put your spoon in and eat. That is pornography. Absolutely no difference. Than digging into an unflushed toilet and eating what is there. Keep this picture of mine. Next time you're tempted to watch pornography, think what you're doing. You're going to a toilet and you're going to eat all the rubbish that is there. With somebody else who dropped in there. Or, here's another thing that will help you to turn away from pornography. Here is a girl who's taking off her clothes and allowing some man to molest her. I presume that's what they do in pornography movies or videos. And to give you some pleasure. You don't get any pleasure. It's just in your mind while watching it. Physical pleasure is zero. But you watch something and you enjoy it. And that girl is stripping her clothes to get some money. Now, picture that girl as your own sister. Okay? Your own respected, valuable sister. She wants to make some money. And she has gone there and taken off her clothes. You say, well, that's not my sister. But you should treat that person like your sister. Why are you watching that person who's taken off her clothes to make some money? Would you allow your sister to go and do that? Supposing your sister says, I want some money and I'm going to act in a pornographic movie. What would you tell her? You men. What would you tell her? Supposing it's your mother doing it. Would you tell your mother, go ahead, mom. Go ahead, sister. You wouldn't do that. Don't you think that girl is also somebody's sister? How can you pay money? Or even without money nowadays, I think they give it. Watch all this thing. It's ruining your mind. You're encouraging young girls to be exploited like that. Among Christians, at least, there must be a complete cutoff from that. And it's ruining your mind and taking you away from the Lord. It's like the Lord Jesus is here and pornography is here and pornography is calling you. And Jesus saying, turn away from that and come to me. And you're saying, no, Lord, I am going to watch this. Next time you're tempted to watch pornography, remember this. You're telling Jesus, no, I don't want to listen to you. I'm going to watch this. I don't care. I can always ask you to forgive me. Uh-huh. So you want to take advantage of the Lord's goodness like this? I'll tell you something. He will forgive you. But if you keep on doing it, you know what will happen? Every time you watch it, it's putting a chain on you. And the chain is going round and round and round and round. I'll tell you one day you will not be able to be free from it. It'll take a miracle to free you from it. You are putting a chain around you by watching pornography. So for all these reasons, turn away from it. And above all, what I said earlier in the message, ask Jesus for grace to help you. Lord, I'm being tempted now. The best is shut off your phone. Close down your computer. Go for a walk. Go for a walk down the road. Go and meet somebody, some believer at that time. Run away. The Bible says flee from temptation. There's only one way to escape temptation, and that is to run away from it. Flee from temptation is the command we read in 1 Corinthians 6. I don't have time to show you all of it. Particularly immorality, 1 Corinthians 6, 18. It doesn't say walk away from it. Run away from immorality. It's like some fire burning, and the fire is coming towards you. What do you do? You don't go near it to find out how hot it is. You run away from it. Immorality is like a fire. 1 Corinthians 6, 18 says, don't walk away from it. Run away from it. If you follow that, your life will be a blessing. And I believe you can be an overcomer and ask for God's grace. Lord, help me. Help me to overcome this, Lord. It's very, very important because if you don't overcome this, I tell you, God's plans for your life will be destroyed, ruined. So I want to emphasize this. It doesn't matter how long you've been defeated. The grace of God can help you. You can do nothing without Christ. With Christ, you can do everything. You can overcome it. God bless you. Next question. Hearing from God regarding whom to marry, how would I know whom God has chosen for me as a spouse? A spectacular sign? A still small voice? Something else? Okay. We cannot dictate to God how he speaks. In the Old Testament, he spoke audibly because they did not have the Holy Spirit within them. That's why he spoke from outside. Today, God is within. That's why he doesn't speak so much from outside. You may think, I wish he spoke from outside. Let me ask you, would you rather have Jesus Christ outside you or inside you? I have no doubt. I want him inside. I don't want. And when he speaks from inside, it's like coming and living in your house. And from within, he will speak to you. So that's how God seeks to speak to you, even in the matter of marriage. Marriage is a very important thing. You pray to God like this. Lord, you are the person who conducted the first marriage. Genesis chapter 1 and chapter 2. You brought together two people who are perfectly suited for each other. The Lord said, I don't want Adam to be alone. I want to make him a helper suitable for him. Read that in Genesis 2. God wants to find a partner for you, husband or wife, suitable for you. Now you say, Lord, please guide me. I don't dictate to you how you should guide me. It can be through a spectacular sign. Usually it's not by a spectacular sign. It's by, again, go to my book, Finding God's Will. And there's another book of mine called Sex, Love and Marriage. These two books, every young person should read. Finding God's Will, Sex, Love and Marriage. Both of them you can download and read freely from cfcindia.com. That is our CFC website. Sex, Love and Marriage, Finding God's Will. It's written there in detail. Seek the advice of godly people. Find out from some godly person who knows that person. Don't go by what your unconverted relatives tell you that is a good person. Usually they look for money. I plead with you, don't go on the basis of money. And there's nothing wrong in a person being rich. But if you go by that, you'll be led astray. And if you're looking for a girl, don't look for good looks. I'm not against good looks. It's alright to look, good looks is there. And it's okay to be, but primarily look to see if she's born again. I sometimes give people a 50-30-20 rule. 50-30-20. Man is spirit, soul and body. So when you look at a woman, 50% for her spiritual life, does she love the Lord? Is she born again? 30% for where she is intellectually. Is she somewhat at the same level as you? And 20% for physical attraction. Not zero for physical attraction, 20%. 50% for spiritual, 30% for intellectual compatibility, and 20% for physical attraction. That's also there. So I usually advise people to do it like that. And then say, Lord, give me an inner witness in my spirit. If you're really seeking God's will, seek the advice of others. Put it all together. Take time. Take at least three, four months when you pray about something. Don't rush into a marriage. And say, Lord, please guide me. And then finally, God will give you freedom in your spirit. Yes, go ahead. That is how God guides us. Okay, next question. Another one about marriage. How to practically find a godly spouse? In the world, people find their spouses through dating, parties, or matrimonial apps. What are practical and acceptable ways for a Christian to find a spouse? Now, in the world, in many places, if you get people to honestly admit, and if you get an honest check on what happens in the dating system, there's a lot of adultery. You know, when a boy and a girl go close to each other for quite some time, and particularly if they are alone or in the dark, they will immediately be tempted, if they are normal human beings, to touch each other. And once they touch each other, they'll be stimulated, especially the boy will be stimulated. And once he's stimulated, you don't know where it will stop, unless the girl puts her foot down and says, no, we're not supposed to touch each other. There are very few girls who are so strong to do that. So I do not encourage dating because the potential for sin is there. To meet in a daytime in somebody's house or in a restaurant or something is okay. To talk to each other, that's all right. But to go alone, particularly at night, or alone in a car and all that, it leads to a lot of temptations. That's all I can tell you. Be very careful. The Bible says, Jesus taught us to pray, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. In relation to dating, that's what I would say. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. And then where shall we meet? Well, you must trust God that either he will lead you through circumstances to meet that person, or you can always ask your believing friends to please, or your parents, ask them to look around for somebody to recommend you. And a matrimonial app is also okay, particularly if it's a Christian one. But then again, don't believe everything because people flatter themselves. When they put their bio data on the matrimonial app, and 90% of them will be fake. Remember that. I believe 90% of it is not absolutely true. So you can't believe everything that, how do I know? Because I know a lot of people have gone to matrimonial app. Some have really found their marriage partners there also. It's only about 10% or less. Many of them find a lot. When they investigate a little more, they find it's a lie. So matrimonial maps are okay. But be very careful that you don't swallow everything that they put up there. They don't know whether it's true or not. The best is that you ask God to help you to get someone who knows that person in their local church or something, and don't believe every pastor. A pastor may sometimes be prejudiced in favor of some girl, wants her to marry you in favor of some boy. Don't go by that alone. Ultimately, God is your father, and you must trust him. Lord, I do not want to make a mistake. I believe in the case of my marriage, God himself led me and led her to come together. It was sovereign. God used a godly man who knew her and knew me to recommend us to each other. That's how it started. Then we could talk and ask, and then we discovered that our goals were the same. She was wanting, even though she was a doctor, she wanted to work among lepers, among the poorest people of all. I said, that's what I also want. I want to work among poor people. God, I found that we were reading the same books, and I'm thankful for that godly man who brought us together. I believe that is the sovereignty of God. If you are seeking God's will, somehow or the other, God may use a man, or some way, God will bring you to each other. Believe that. Next question. Again on marriage, practical considerations on whom to marry, how much importance should we give to other practical considerations like age difference, including if the woman is older than the man, education level, etc. I already spoke about education level, 30%, 50% for spiritual, 30% for other things, intellectual, and 20% for physical attraction. Beyond that, age. Well, it's better if the man is older. He has to be the head of the house, the leader. Adam was older than Eve, at least by a few hours. He was created earlier. That is better, but it's not a rule because spiritually, the important thing is, is he spiritually older? That means not when he was converted or born again. Is he more mature than you? That is more important than physical age. If you're both around the same age, or if he's six months or one year older than you, you know, even if he's up to two or three years older than you, it is not serious, provided he is spiritually more mature, and above all, that you can look up to him. Sometimes a person who is a little older, a little younger than you in age, sisters, that man may be a little younger than you. He may be more spiritual. Can you look up to question you? Girls should ask yourself, can I look up to this man all my life as my head because of his spiritual values? That is the important thing, and age is secondary. Of course, it shouldn't be too big an age difference because then he'll be like a father. He'll be like a son to you. If the mother is, if the woman is older, he won't be like a husband. He'll be like a son, and if the man is very much older, he'll be like a father, not a husband. So there shouldn't be too much of a difference. I would say four or five years is fine. There's no law on that. The main thing is can he be spiritually more mature than you. It's all right for a man, even if the man is 10 years older, it's okay. If you can look up to him as a leader and one who will treat you as one who is an equal to you but your head. Okay, next question. Input from parents regarding marriage. What should I do if my parents are reluctant for me to get married because they are very dependent on me? Now, there could be many reasons why a parent objects to the marriage, and sometimes it could be the good reason. If the parents are spiritual, they'd say, I don't think this boy or this girl is really spiritual for you. In that case, listen to them. But if they are dependent on you, you need to consider, for example, if you're a girl and you're working and your parents are dependent on you, you talk to your, when you're getting married, and be frank and say, see, my parents are dependent on me. I have to help them. So will you allow me to continue working even after I get married so that I can continue to help them? It's perfectly right to help our parents, but then there's a limit to it. You can't keep on helping your parents indefinitely. And there's no standard rule on that. You can always discuss that. And I believe it's good for even a husband to tell his wife, see, my parents are dependent on me. So don't be upset if I have sent some money to my parents because you must care for aged parents who cared for you when you were a baby. When you were helpless, who cared for you? Your parents. Now they are old and helpless. You should definitely take care of them. You read Mark chapter 7. Jesus said there are people who are very religious who don't care for their parents. He condemned them. He said it's more important to care for your parents than even to give money to the church. Did you know that? You read Mark chapter 7 sometimes. Jesus thought it's more important to give money to your parents than to give to the church. So to care for parents is very important. Discuss it with your partner and then decide. But don't let your parents stop you from it. You got to obey your parents if you are a girl particularly. But pray that God will help you to help them to change their mind. Okay, next question. Breaking the unhealthy family cycle. If I didn't grow up in a healthy family, how can I make sure that I have a godly marriage? Yeah, if you recognize that your family heritage was unhealthy, that's a great sign. Then you say, Lord, I reject that. That which I got from my parents, I reject. That's not the way I want my family to grow up. I want my family where Christ is the center. And it won't be perfect. No marriage is perfect. In the early days, marriage is a struggle. For the best marriages, it's a struggle in the beginning. Because two people are brought up in different ways are trying to live together. And they haven't completely 100% crucified their self. Over a period of time, it will become better and better and better if you follow the Lord. I can honestly say that my wife and I, our marriage today is something like heaven on earth. But it was not like that when we started, even though we were born again. Because we had a self-life. I had a self-life that I did not understand then how to crucify. So it takes time. But if I recognize that I want a godly marriage at any cost, I don't want an unhealthy way. My parents were God-fearing. But some of you may have parents who are not God-fearing. And don't let that affect you. Don't think you inherit that. See, you can say physically you belong to a tree. Your parents. You were a branch from your parents' tree. You were born to them. But one day, God pulled you out from that and put you into Christ. So where are you planted now? You're physically you're from your parents, but spiritually you've got another connection to Christ. And you're now getting the sap from this tree. So don't think that whatever curse was there on your old tree is anymore on you. It's gone. It need not affect you. If you choose to say, I want to live by the principles of Jesus Christ, you can have a godly marriage. Okay, next question. Same-sex attraction. I struggle with same-sex attraction, even though I know that it is wrong to act on it. I am ashamed to discuss this with anyone else. What should I do? And should I even consider marriage if I'm not attracted to the opposite sex? This is a big subject in the world today. And let me tell you something very clearly. Every type of sexual sin outside of marriage is wrong. Whether the opposite sex or same-sex, it is wrong. 100%. So, but the fact that you're attracted to anything is not wrong. That's a temptation. You're a young man and you're attracted to a pretty girl who's not even converted. That's a temptation. So what? We are tempted, but we overcome that temptation. We say, no, I don't want that. You see a pretty girl walking down the road, don't even know who she is. And you're tempted to look at her because she's got such beautiful face and figures. And you say, no, that attraction is only a temptation. But the fact that you reject it shows that you're walking with the Lord. So don't feel condemned because of an attraction. When Eve stood before the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Genesis 3, she was tremendously attracted to it. Was there any sin there? No. The fact that God did not say, you should not even be attracted to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. That's not what he said. You shall not eat of it. So she was attracted. Her mouth was watering. When she saw the fruit, she said, this will make me wise. No sin. The moment she took it, that's when she sinned. So remember that in terms of opposite sex attraction or same sex attraction or any type of sexual attraction, there is no sin in the attraction. It's when you act on it, when you reach out your hand, that is when Eve sinned and that's when you sinned. When you do something about it. And should you discuss it? Why should you discuss your evil thoughts with other people? Don't discuss it with anybody. Just say, this is just normal. Attraction to the same sex or opposite sex is a sinful thing. Do you think opposite sex attraction is a holy thing? When marriage it is, outside of it, it is wrong. Even some married men are attracted to other women. That's wrong. 100%. So don't condemn yourself because I'm attracted to a man or attracted to a girl. No, don't discuss it with anybody. Say, Lord, I want to be a normal human being. And please make me a normal human being in terms of being attracted to the opposite sex. And should you consider marriage? I say, yes. I know people who have come and told me about same sex attraction. And I said, that is a sin, just like opposite sex attraction. Resist it. Just consider marriage, whether you feel like it or not. Let God guide you in marriage. And they are happily married today with children. People who started out with same sex attraction. So they followed my advice. Say, ignore it. Resist it. Treat it like being tempted with a girl. Resist it. And that's the same thing I would say to you. Every type of sexual attraction outside of marriage is wrong. You should be attracted only to your husband, only to your wife, and the one who is going to be your husband or wife, and physically only after marriage. Okay. Next one. Devotion to Christ. Are there specific Bible passages and practical tips that can help me return to my first love and simple devotion to Christ? Yeah. This is something I learned very early in my Christian life. The Lord told me to always look at Jesus and how much He suffered for me. You know, the Bible says, we love Him because He first loved us. That's in 1 John 4. So if I meditate more on His love for me and how much He loved me, spontaneously love will come in my heart towards Him. I'll tell you that from 63 years of experience. From the beginning, somehow or the other, without anybody teaching me this, the Lord said, keep looking at Jesus and meditate on His love for you. In my first Bible, I drew a big heart in the front page, the blank white page. And I wrote, Lord Jesus Christ and Zach Poonen. And I wrote there, Whom have I in heaven but Thee, and there's no one on earth I desire beside Thee. Psalm 73 25. That is on my favorite verses. Psalm 73 25. Our love for Jesus comes through our meditating on His love for us. When He loves me, we love Him because He first loved us. Let me repeat that in case you missed it. And so from the beginning, I began to meditate on how much Jesus loved me in dying for me on the cross, especially. I meditated more and more and more on that. One day God showed me that Jesus suffered for my sins three hours of hell. The three hours when it was dark. He experienced the eternity of hell compressed into three hours because He loved me. And I said, Lord, thank you so much for my sin. You went to hell for three hours on the cross. What should I do? Live for myself? Never. I shall only live for you. And every time I'm tempted, I say, we can be tempted to love money. We can be tempted to love a job. So many things, other things in the world attract us, but we meditate on how much Jesus loved us, especially in death on the cross. We love Him because He first loved us. That is the way to preserve ourselves in simple devotion to Christ and read God's word and read those passages, speak about God's love for you and think back on the times where God has saved you. God saved me from physical death a number of times. I think of those instances. Why has God allowed me to live? I think of times when I was riding a scooter, I could have had an accident or different times when I could have died and the Lord did not allow me to die. All those incidents make me grateful to the Lord. And then above all, meditating on Jesus' love for me, do that and love for Christ would come spontaneously from you to Him. Next question. Practical disciplines. What are some basic practical disciplines that godly young men and women should develop and have? Yeah. I believe the first practical discipline is as soon as you wake up, in the morning, before you get out of bed, even if you have only two minutes in bed, best if it's a little more, five or ten minutes, even better. Look up and talk to your dad, your heavenly father, dad, or whatever you want to say. Talk to him freely. Another day that I can live for you. Help me, keep me from sin. Help me to do your will. Whatever comes spontaneously to your mind. That's the way you should begin your day. And then if you can't read the Bible, first thing in the morning reading the Bible is the best. But supposing you're in a rush for work or something like that, suppressing mothers with children, they can't immediately do that. I remember my wife when we had four children, she could read the Bible only at night because the whole day she had to be early from morning to morning. Baby would cry or something like that. It doesn't matter. But sometime in the day, spend a little time at least opening your Bible and reading something. A very important discipline. And another very important discipline is, so I told you, first thing you start in the morning and read the Bible. Thirdly, immediately forgive anyone who said or did something against you during the day. You heard somebody spoke evil about you. You haven't even met him. You say, Lord, I've forgiven him right now. You heard somebody wrote something against you. Lord, I've forgiven him right now. Somebody comes and insults you. Okay, just keep quiet. After he goes away, say, Lord, I forgive him. And the other thing is, the discipline is, if you have hurt somebody else, you spoke a rude word to your mom or dad or your brother or sister or to someone, please, as soon as possible, ask his forgiveness. Thank God we got phones today. You can call up that person. Say, I'm sorry for the way I spoke. Please forgive me. Before you go to bed at night, make sure you're forgiven everybody and you've asked everybody's forgiveness. Now that is the ultimate last moment. It says in Ephesians in chapter four, that before the sun sets, you must forgive everybody and get rid of your anger before sunsets. That means forgive everybody, ask forgiveness, but you don't have to wait till sunset. Do it immediately. If a thorn gets into your foot, you don't wait till sunset to remove it. You remove it immediately. Treat it like a thorn. You haven't forgiven someone. It's a thorn in your foot. Pull it out. You hurt somebody. Ask forgiveness. It's a thorn in your foot. Pull it out. Ask forgiveness. Those are some practical disciplines and those are the most important things. And ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit every single day. First thing you get up in the morning and then God will help you. Okay, next question. Studying God's word. How can I practically study and meditate on God's word? That is only by making a discipline for yourself. Say to yourself, I eat my food every day. I'm not going to go the day without reading the Bible. The Bible is more important than the book and then food. No food, no Bible, no food. Make a rule like that. No Bible, no food for me today. You must make reading God's word more important than food. Man shall not live by food, but by every word that proceeds from God's mouth. Jesus said that in Matthew 4, verse 4. So if you discipline yourself, get into the habit. If you miss one day, don't condemn yourself. Next day, read it again. Meditate. Meditate. Don't read big sections. Read as much as you have time for and then read it again and read it again and read it again. Read it again. Read it 10 times if you need it. Four or five verses. Lord, speak to me. Particularly New Testament. Speak to me, Lord. Speak to me, Lord. Apply it to my life. Don't look for verses in the Bible to criticize other people. You will destroy yourself like that and then little by little, God will begin to speak to you. It will become more and more clear as time goes on. You've got to get accustomed to hearing God's voice as you read the Bible. It takes time. It took time for me, but my life is so blessed today that even without a Bible, I can meditate because so much of the Bible is in my mind now. I can meditate even if I don't have the Bible in front of me. So, it's a wonderful place you can come to if you develop the habit of meditating, meditating every day. Okay, next. Finding my place in the body of Christ, what responsibility should I have for the body of Christ in my youth and how can I practically be under authority in the local church? First of all, you've got to submit to the elders there. If you believe that is the church in which you are supposed to be and the elders are godly. Unfortunately, some people are in churches where the pastors are not upright. They are lovers of money and you cannot respect them. So, you don't have to follow their example, but in church matters, if you go to that church, you must submit to them. It's like you work in an office even if the boss is a crook and a non-Christian. You still submit to the boss in the office, not in other matters. So, treat the church like an office. If it's a bad church and your parents go there, you have to go with them. Then you submit to whatever they do in the church, but you don't have to follow the example of a bad pastor. No. Follow the example of godly people and if you're fortunate enough to have a godly man as your elder, then definitely you can submit to him in other areas also. And in your youth, the number one thing you should say, Lord, please help me to be a witness for you. Even little children, I would say. Yes, to tell others this is what Jesus did for me. Not to preach to them, but to, you know, when you get a chance, some close friend of yours to tell them, you know, I thought I was a rotten sinner, but I asked Jesus to come into my heart and forgive me. And this is, he's a non-Christian, you can tell him how Jesus died for the sins of everybody. To be a witness, that's the main thing you must be in the body of Christ. As you grow up, more and more and more and more, God will give you more and more responsibility. If you are deeply rooted in God's word, God will give you the opportunity to share God's word also. But always do that in humility. Don't take any credit for yourself. And in the local church, as I said, if he's a godly pastor, by all means, you can submit to everything. But if he's not a godly pastor, you go there because that's the only church around and that's where your parents go. Then only in church matters, like you obey in an office, you obey an unbeliever in the office. Obey, but look for somebody else to be your spiritual guide. Maybe online, listen to messages. As I told you, you can listen to my messages from YouTube. Be submitted to that authority like that. Okay, next question. Next question is on restitution. When it is necessary to make restitution and when would it be unwise? For example, I lied to my manager a few months back on why I didn't come into work. I lied. Next one is, I lied on my application for permanent residency and have an interview coming up. Next one is, I stole money from a friend. Okay, let me start at the bottom. I stole money from a friend. You must return it. If you don't have enough, you say, Lord, I'll try and save up, save up, save up and return it and tell him, Sir, my dear friend, I'm sorry. I did a very bad thing some years ago. You don't know about it and here is the money I'm returning it to you and do that when you have to save up that money. Until then, God will, you know, Zacchaeus told the Lord in Luke 19, you read it, I'll return everything I took and that may have taken many years for him to return all that money but that day itself, the Lord said, salvation has come. You read Luke 19, verse 1 to 10. He didn't wait till it was all returned. Today, if you decide, the Lord will say, salvation has come but you take time to return it. That's, the next thing is, the first question, I lied to my manager on why I didn't come to work. Depends what type of manager you have. If he's a very evil man, you need to pray about it, what you should do. Otherwise, if he's a normal good type of person, you can tell him honestly, Sir, I want to honestly make a confession to you. I didn't come to work that day because of some other reason but I told you a lie. I'm sorry. I just want to tell you today, I'll never do it again. I respect you as my manager. I tell you that man will respect you 10 times more than he does right now. Then, but, pray about it and do it depending on the type of manager he is. And in some cases, if a man is a very evil man, you got to think twice before telling him because he may react in a bad way and you just tell the Lord, Lord, I slipped up and I told a lie but I didn't lose, I mean, if it was a leave you were entitled to, you took that leave. If you lost one month, one day's wages, you lost it. So, in that sense, you did not cheat him. There was no money involved there. So, we don't have to confess every lie to everyone unless it affected them in some way. You know, that's a general rule. And secondly, the last question is, I lied on my application for permanent residency and I have an interview coming up. Again, it depends what lie it was, what type of lie it was. Did you say you got 85% when you got only 80%? It's not such a big thing, I would say, because 80% doesn't disqualify you. It depends what it is. But if it's a fundamental issue which cancels out your permanent residency, I think when you go for the interview, you must tell them, Sir, I want to be honest with you and pray before you go. Sir, I want to be honest with you. I stated this and now I realize I'm an honest person, I realize it was wrong. So, I'm taking a big risk by telling you the truth. I may lose my permanent residency, but honesty is very much more important for me. If that guy has any sense of conscience, he'll respect you for that. And you say, okay, ignore it. But pray and go. That's what I would do. And I'd say, Lord, if I don't get it because I spoke the truth, definitely that would be God's will for me to save me from some other calamity. Okay, next question. Personal career aspirations. Is it okay to have specific career aspirations? For example, want to legally remain and work in the United States after my studies, join the military or police force? Okay, there's nothing wrong in legally wanting to remain and work in any place. Don't think that you're spiritual if you say, I'll go and work in Afghanistan. There's nothing spiritual about that. Or even if you live in India, I have lived in Bangalore all my life. I'll tell you honestly, Bangalore is a very comfortable place. And humanly speaking, it's pretty good. It's pretty comfortable compared, if you compare America with some poor country, Bangalore and Rajasthan villages are probably like that. Much more comfortable to live in Bangalore than to live in a village in Rajasthan. I said, Lord, if you want me to go to a village in Rajasthan or North India, I'll go. But you have to call me. But the Lord led my circumstances to be in Bangalore and I don't live in a hut. I live in a house and whatever limited money I have, I live with that. God gave me only a scooter to ride. I was happy with that. If he gave me a car, I would ride it. In some places, the family in the United States, people need two or three cars in their home because children are working, etc. Is it legally, is it right to seek a fairly comfortable life? If God does not show you otherwise, there's nothing wrong in seeking a good job or seeking a comfortable house or a comfortable life. You don't have to live in a hut if you can afford a bigger place. So don't think self-discipline and condemning yourself. That is the teaching of monasticism, becoming a monk, you know, going and sleeping on beds of nails and becoming like a sanyasi in the forest. No, you don't have to do that to serve the Lord. If God wants you to remain, you say if you're in the United States and you feel there's a good place for you to work and God has not told you specifically to go somewhere else, stay here. Second question, joining the military or the police force? I was in the military. I left it in 1966, 58 years ago. Things were much better in those days. Today, it is pretty bad to be in the military or police. Very difficult to be a Christian and a lot of lies. I know one superintendent of police retired who became a Christian after he retired. He told me, said, Brother Poonen, you cannot be a Christian in the Indian police force today. You have to tell lies otherwise you lose your job. So that was his testimony after being many years there and some people are there and I don't know, things have changed a lot today and I would not recommend being in the police force or in the military today. The temptations are too strong God particularly needs somebody there. It's another, but if there's an alternative, I would say prefer the alternative and it's very, very difficult to live an upright life in the police. You can do. I mean, I had to take a stand for the Lord in the Navy many times and I came into conflict with senior officers many times but I said, Sir, I can't do that. I'm a Christian. Many, many times. Once I was transferred within 30 minutes because I refused to obey a certain order, I said, Sir, it's against my conscience and I faced certain things like that but God made me strong through that so I know that God led me into the military. So, I would say it's a very difficult place. You've got to be a very, very strong Christian to be there and never compromise. That's all my advice. Okay, next. Being a witness at work, should I avoid company parties altogether where alcohol is served or should I attend and just refrain from drinking? I want to be a bold, I want to be bold in my testimony as a Christian. I was in the Navy for many years and nobody drinks like Naval officers, not even Army officers or Air Force officers because on the ships we get very cheap drinks because I never drank. I think somebody forced me to drink some beer when I was unconverted and I never wanted to taste it again in my life. Somebody put a cigarette in my mouth and I never wanted to put another one in my mouth again. I never had a liking for those things but I would drink a glass of orange juice and in the Navy all the time they're having parties. On the ship they'll have parties, in the Naval base they'll have parties and everybody will be drinking and you know I used to always pray, Lord, please give me a chance to witness to people but I don't go and preach the gospel like that, hey listen, I want to give you the gospel. No, I'd say if they ask a question I will tell them. I always waited for a prompting from them because I didn't want to be known as one who was thrusting myself, they'll get fed up with me but if they ask me then I can reply so I would stand in these parties everybody drinking, I'll stand with my glass of orange juice and they'd say, hey Zack, why are you drinking orange juice? I'd say, okay, you asked for it now and I'm going to tell you exactly why I drink it. I got my chance to give the gospel. It was the best opportunity for me so every party I would go not because I had interest in the party but to be a witness with my glass of orange juice. That's my testimony. Okay, next one. Social issues. How should we as Christians discuss hot button topics with others? For example, LGBTQ, racial issues, political issues, etc. Now, as far as possible we should avoid conflict and strife. I don't like to argue with anybody because that's like a strife. And the Bible says we must not strive with men. We do not Ephesians 6, 12 says we do not strive with human beings. I fight the devil but I will not fight with human beings even verbally. So I say it's okay. I have a different view and I don't want to I'll express my view if they ask me but if they get into an argument I'll say, excuse me sir or my dear friend I don't want to get into an argument. You have another view. Okay, I respect that. I don't agree with it but this is my view. I would leave it like that because I don't because if my person feels strongly about something I don't want to get into an argument with him. I want to keep him as my friend because I want to share Christ with him. I lose him as a friend if I argue with him. So and if a Christian comes in and asks me what do you say about LGBTQ? I say, okay, let me read to you from 1 Corinthians and chapter 6 and verse 9 as to who will inherit God's kingdom. Read it. I say I don't want to tell them what I say because I don't and so what the Holy Spirit says or I'll say let me read to you from Romans chapter 1 and verse 24 onwards and see the ones whom God gave up when Romans 1 24 and say let me read to you what God said forget about what I say and I leave it at that. That's the way I would discuss heart button issue. There's an answer somewhere in the Bible for it. You must know it. So I don't show you two passages 1 Corinthians 6 and Romans 1 and just read it that that's the way I would deal with it but I would not get into an argument and say I disagree can't be permitted to have a different opinion on that. That's it. So I'm not here to judge anybody. I'm not here to criticize anyone but this is the way I feel is right. It's up to you to go whichever way you want. Okay next question. Attending meetings of other church denominations is it okay to attend the meetings of other church groups? If so, what do I do about their doctrinal differences or difference on emphasis say on evangelism more than discipleship? Yeah, well very few churches emphasize discipleship. So I always say in your locality go visit all the churches and find which is the closest to the word of God as you understand it. It may not hold everything that we teach in CFC churches but if it is the closest to the word of God in your locality you can't travel 200 miles every day to some other place to attend a CFC church. Even 100 miles may be too far. So, whichever is convenient for you and among all the churches in your locality which is the best that you find attend that but don't I always say don't become a member. You get all types of problems when you become a member. Attend it as a visitor and when you are attending it pray Lord lead me to somebody here who is God fearing. That is what Paul did. When Paul went to a new place there were no churches there were synagogues. Synagogues means Jewish people worshipping according to Old Testament pattern who knew nothing about Christ. Many of them thought Christ was a deceiver. Paul went there because he said here, synagogue is the most likely place where I can find some God fearing people. So, Christian church today is the most likely place where you will find some God fearing people. It may not agree with you. They may preach child baptism and so many things like that. Say, Lord, there may be some God fearing person here. Please bring me in touch with him and pray like that and God will lead you to somebody and then make friends with him and then try little by little don't thrust things down his throat. Share a little track with him. A little article. A little YouTube link or something like that. See whether he's got a taste and a hunger for more and then if he has say hey listen can we fellowship together sometime and don't start with doctrinal differences. No. Does he love Jesus? There are many people who love Jesus who got some different doctrinal differences with me. Maybe they say Christ was not tempted like us in all points. Okay, brother. Fine. You accept your view. My view is this. But do you love Jesus? Okay, that's enough. My desire for fellowship with another person is not do you agree 100% with me? Do you love Jesus Christ? That's fine. And so I don't go on to doctrinal differences and then most churches do not measure on discipleship but if I find one person I can tell him how you can tell him how you became a disciple then you can lead him on. That's the way to do it. Always be wise. Okay, next question. Discontentment in my local church. I'm discontent with the local CFC affiliated church which I attend because it doesn't provide what I hope to gain from it. Should I just learn contentment and remain there? Yeah, see every church when it starts is very pure in its beginning but as it spreads people attach themselves to it who don't have the same vision who are blessed by it in many ways receive the blessing but don't stand up for the truth. So for example in CFC Bangalore where we started we have tried to stand up for the truth all these 47 years and there are a number of other CFC churches like that in different places where the elders are really godly people who are not afraid of men and who speak the truth without fear or favor but there are others who maybe they started well and they backslid. We have got examples like that. Paul himself said Demas was my co-worker but he has forsaken me loving the present world loving money. We have had examples like that CFC elders who were with us for a long time and left us out of the love of money or love of wanted to do something means that we had at least two cases of elders who walked away with the church building which we paid for. Okay we don't go to court or fight with them okay take it you answer to God one day and so we don't get into people have made money out of selling my books I don't go fight with them they don't return the money to CFC Bangalore they take it and keep it I say okay I won't fight with them so not every CFC name church calls itself CFC spiritually so if you find you happen to be in one of those places where the elder claims to be linked with CFC but he is not a spiritually minded person and you find another church maybe a Baptist church or some other church which is more where the leader is more godly he is not after money but he is after Christ likeness I'd say leave the CFC church and go to that church my loyalty is not to CFC let me tell you honestly my loyalty is to the Lord Jesus Christ and that will never change because like that when we started CFC 47 years ago it's like that it will always be like that till Christ comes so don't remain in some place with some false loyalty to CFC okay next question Evangelism what is the most effective way to be a faithful witness to unbelievers in my life by living a godly life if it is somebody you work with don't start preaching the first day you go there let them see that you are upright let them see that you don't laugh at dirty jokes and you don't crack dirty jokes and let them see that not that you are preaching or talking spiritual things all the time but you seek to be diligent at your work if there is a coffee break of 15 minutes you don't make it 45 minutes they see you coming back to your work after 15 minutes and they notice that that is a silent testimony to them and you know if they permit you I find for example sometimes non-Christians they'll have a calendar with a a Hindu idol on that the calendar on the office on the wall next to their table it's permitted okay what I would do I would put a calendar with a Christian verse if it's permitted next to my table in the naval base where I work but if I had a table in front of me I keep a Bible there I keep the Bible on a closed Bible in front and not preach from it just keep it there and if somebody asks me what is this good opening to preach so there are many ways of being effective without opening our mouth being a faithful witness for Christ some people wear a badge saying Christ is my savior or something like that I don't normally recommend that I don't have anything against it if somebody wants to do that some people wear shirt with verses written on it that's their choice but I feel that I don't want to trust Christianity on people make some people will be repelled when they see that so I would prefer to just be friendly and because you know I'll tell you why because many people have had a bad experience with many Christians that's why they see this badge on you ah this is I remember that Christian fellow who rented my house didn't pay the rent created a lot of problems and left I remember that Christian boss I had he was so corrupt and this is another guy with a badge he's a Christian I don't want him that's why I don't want to go around with badges and verses on my shirt I would prefer to show by my life I'm a Christian because many many people most people in the world have had bad experiences with people who call themselves Christians that's why I don't want him to link me with that other guy who's a Christian so that's why I want to first become friendly with him and then pass Christ on to him I don't believe Paul or Jesus would have gone around with a badge that's why I don't do it so be a witness by your life and pray for opportunities to share the gospel sometimes you know a person well give them a little tract not a big book a little tract say hey here's something that helped me see if you'd like to read it start with something small two-page tract something very easy to read that's the way I witness okay next question judging others how can I be free from a judgmental attitude towards others if I struggle with holding a grudge towards somebody would talking it over directly with them help no if you struggle with holding a grudge against someone die to yourself get before God first and say Lord you told me not to judge anybody because you're the only judge James chapter 4 God is the only judge it says so we are not called to judge God is a judge of all those people I may disagree with him I may feel he's wrong let God judge him and if I have some responsibility for him then I have to correct him if he's my son or if he is my father I can say dad I don't agree with you there gently but respect those who are older than you if you have a responsibility in a church elder or something you have to correct others but otherwise if you have a grudge it's your problem not his you struggle you deal with it before the Lord say Lord this is the way I look at it if I were dead what grudge would be left in that dead man's heart nothing so I say Lord you told me to die with you take up the cross and die and I die finish with the grudge then I seek to be a friend with that person and the relationship becomes better that is how I would proceed oh and always remember God is the only judge okay next question the opinions of people practically how can I be truly free from the opinions of others we have to keep on reminding ourselves in the final day when I stand before Jesus Christ the Lord will not ask different people hey what do you think of that and let me ask that chap there what does he think about that and the other person God's not going to ask 25 people what they think about me so what does it matter what their opinion about me is the law I stand before the Lord the Lord says I know everything about you I don't have to ask anybody I think many times in my mind I think of that day when Christ will come and set up his throne and I think of myself coming in my turn coming up one by one standing before him and answering for my life and I say what will it matter that thing what anybody in the world thought about me that is how I have helped myself to be free from the opinions of others and I've discovered also through the years that a lot of opinions people have about me there are people who write against me in the internet I love them I feel sorry for them it does not disturb me one bit if I meet one of those people I will shake his hand and say okay yeah sir I read all about you wrote about me I love you still I disagree with you and you disagree with me but Jesus still teaches me to love everyone so I'm free from the opinions of others because I've trained myself through the years to live only for that day when I stand before the Lord to give an answer to him the judgment you know God has given us an imagination haven't you used your imagination for all types of filthy things in your unconverted days yes now why not why keep it blank now use it for some good things and one of the best things is imagine you're standing at the judgment seat of Christ and what will come up on the screen a video of your entire life and you're standing there with Jesus watching the whole screen make sure everything is settled sins are blotted out some parts of the video blotted out because you confessed your sins and the Lord not going to ask anybody their opinion what do you think of what Zach did there what do you think not asking anybody he says I know I know I know I want to stand before the Lord for the Lord to say to me I've got nothing against you because you judge yourself faithfully every time zero judgment that can be yours it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 read it if you judge us rightly we will not be judged in the final day okay next question we are on time only two more questions woman speaking in the church what are the circumstances in which it is appropriate for a woman to speak to mixed gender audiences as a man can I attend the conference where a God fearing woman is speaking and possibly teaching can I attend the Christian study meeting of a book written by a godly woman can I attend the 0201 okay we have to go exactly by scripture here let me read you two verses one is i don't have time to go in depth 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 12 the Holy Spirit says I do not allow a woman to teach or do I have authority over a man woman cannot teach remember not preach, not P-R-E-A-C-H, but P-E-A-C-H. Teach or have authority over a man. We go exactly by Scripture. She cannot be an elder. She cannot be a pastor. We cannot teach God's Word as a Bible teacher because Adam was created first and because Eve sinned first. But then about women, it says in 1 Corinthians and chapter 11, when a woman prophesies, prophesies is the word for preaching in the New Testament. Let me first tell you what prophecy is. 1 Corinthians 14 verse 3. One who prophesies is not teaching. Read carefully. Teaching and prophesying are different. In fact, there are two different gifts, prophesying and teaching. Teaching is a specific gift given to very few people. But one who prophesies, 1 Corinthians 14 verse 3, one who prophesies or what we call preaching speaks to human beings for building them up, for challenging them, comforting them. Edification, exaltation, consolation means building up, comforting them, no challenging them, comforting them. Saying something, sharing God's Word is preaching. Now it says here, the same word prophesying, verse 5 of chapter 11. When a woman prophesies, verse 5, she should have her head covered. So what does that mean? That means a woman can share to build up, to encourage and to comfort. Yes, but she must cover her head to show that she is first of all in submission to the man, verse 3, because the man is the head of the woman and also because she has to cover because she is the glory of the man, verse 7. That's why she covers her head. Why does a woman cover her head? Because in verse 7 it says she's the glory of man. Why does a man not cover her head? Because he's the image and glory of God. It's a symbol, just like breaking a bread is a symbol, baptism is a symbol, covering a head is a symbol. All are important symbols. So we read here, 1 Corinthians 11, verse 5, a woman can prophesy and I show you what from 1 Corinthians 14, verse 3, what prophesying is. So we believe that a woman can share God's Word, but it is the spirit in which she shares. Let me give you an example. Here is an example of a sister who shares from Philippians 4, verse 6, be anxious for nothing. Here's a sister getting up and saying, brothers and sisters, I was reading Philippians 4, verse 6 the other day. It says, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication give thanksgiving that your requests be made known to God. And I felt so often I get anxious and I realized I should not be anxious. And I was so encouraged to know that God doesn't want me to be anxious because I can bring my needs to Him in prayer and always with thanksgiving. The Lord reminded me from that verse, I must say it with thanksgiving. And then I found through the years, it's really brought peace into my heart. So I want to encourage all of you, my dear brothers and sisters, to go this way. Okay, that's one way of preaching. Here's another woman, gets up to the same verse. Brothers and sisters, I want to tell you something today from Philippians 4, verse 6. You people are so anxious all the time. Wake up. That's not the way for us to live as Christians. It says here, be anxious for nothing. What does the Bible say? What should you do? Be anxious for nothing. I wish such a woman would sit down. You see the difference in spirit. So would you attend a meeting where a Christian woman is speaking? It depends which of these two women are speaking. The other one I walk out because she doesn't have a spirit of humility. So that's what I would say. Or read a book written by a godly woman. There are some excellent books written by godly women. I would definitely say read it. There was a godly woman about a hundred years ago called Jesse Penn Lewis. Amazing truths about the cross of Christ which many men don't know. I read it. I read it as a young Christian and I was tremendously blessed by the writing of a woman, Jesse Penn Lewis. Yeah, so why does God use such women? Because he could not find men who are good enough to preach that. It's a shame to men. There are godly missionaries, Amy Carmichael, who went to South India and did a tremendous work among the poor children who are being sent into temples as babies. And so can I attend a conference where a God-fearing woman is speaking and possibly teaching? I would not accept. I would say it's wrong. But I have listened to the testimonies of godly women. For example there's a woman who was paralyzed from the neck down in America called Joni Eareckson. I've heard her testimony. Powerful testimony. She doesn't reel her head because there's no light on it. But I've watched the video. So I'm encouraged by anyone. I'm not prejudiced against. But I will not allow in my church a woman to be an elder or to teach. If she can share along with other sharing, it's okay. Okay, next question. I think that's the last one. Speaking in tongues. I do not have the gift of speaking in tongues. But I find myself at a loss of words not knowing what to do. Does that mean that I should seek for this gift specifically? First of all let me say turn to 1 Corinthians 12 for a clear answer. 1 Corinthians 12 verse 28. All the gifts given to the church. Not fruit of the Spirit. Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness mentioned in Galatians 5. That's for everybody. This is the fruit of the Spirit. Gifts. 1 Corinthians 12 28. God has appointed apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, gifts of healing, administration, various kinds of tongues. Okay. Are all apostles? No. Are all prophets? No. Are all teachers? No. It's all verse 29. Are all workers of miracles? No. Verse 30. Do all have the gift of healing? No. Do all speak in tongues? No. Do all interpret tongues? No. So to seek for tongues is like seeking to be an apostle. What is the difference between that? Both are in the same mentioned in verse 28. Who told you you can be an apostle? Who told you to seek to be a teacher? Who told you to seek for the gift of miracles? God sovereignly makes a person an apostle who plants churches and oversees them. God sovereignly makes a person a Bible teacher who can explain the Bible in simple words to you. God sovereignly makes a man an evangelist who can go and bring people to Christ. God sovereignly gives some people the gift to heal the sick by prayer. God sovereignly gives some people the gift of speaking in tongues to some interpretation of tongues. I leave it to God. I don't go to God and say I want it. Now if you do desire a gift, it says in verse chapter 14 verse 1, desire one gift particularly. That is prophecy. That you can seek. That is to encourage verse 3 or challenge or build up. So that we can seek. But you say you don't know what to say when you pray. Well it says in Romans 8 that the Holy Spirit sometimes when we don't know what to pray. We read Romans chapter 8 and verse 23, the spirit groans within ourselves waiting. And it says in verse 26 Romans 8, the spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. You feel like that? You say you're at a loss for words. Romans 8 26 is your answer. The Holy Spirit within you is groaning. You just say Lord I can't say anything. I have this longing. I have a burden. That's enough. If God gives you a gift of tongues, then you can express yourself in tongues. That's a gift God gives to some people. He gave it to me many years ago and I find it but I never use it in public. Because I read in 1 Corinthians 14 that the gift is one who speaks in a tongue speaks to God not to men. 1 Very clear. 1 Corinthians 14. One who speaks in a tongue speaks to God not to men. So I don't speak to men in my tongues. I obey God's Word. I know there are a lot of people in Pentecostal churches who go around speaking in tongues, speaking in tongues and I will tell you what I say about them. Verse 1 Corinthians 14 23. If the whole church all are speaking in tongues like I've seen in many Pentecostal churches, people say they are mad. What shall I say about all those churches? The Holy Spirit says they are mad. I raise my hand and say I'm sorry to say this brothers but you are mad according to 1 Corinthians 14 23. Now they may get offended but that is the truth. Speaking in tongues is you speak to God. It's a private language. It has helped me tremendously in my personal communication with God. Why God doesn't give it to everybody, I don't know. For example, God has given me the gift of teaching. It's a fantastically useful gift. I have so many people I've been able to solve their problems, explain the Bible to them. I say Lord I wish there were 10,000 teachers. I wish God would make everybody in the church a teacher. But I look around CFC churches where we have got about a hundred CFC churches, eight, nine thousand believers in them. How many good Bible teachers do we have? Maybe two or three. That's all. Why? I don't know. Maybe God says that's enough. All the others can listen to them and particularly with YouTube you probably need only one. So leave it to God to decide whether he should give you the gift or not. Meanwhile be thankful and use the English language or your own language and pray to God and when you can't remember that was the Holy Spirit groaning within you. Speak in sighs and silently to God and meditate. And I'll tell you one last thing. I used to think why did Jesus spend so many hours in prayer? Was he talking to the Father all the time? A simple question I asked myself answered that question. If I am sitting talking to a man who was a hundred times more godly than me and I have 45 minutes, he has given me 45 minutes to sit with him. Tell me what would you do? Will you speak for 40 minutes and let him speak for five minutes? If I am sitting with say the most godly man I ever know and I've got 45 minutes, he's given me a time with him. I will speak for one minute and let him speak for 44 minutes. And so if I speak for 44 minutes, I am assuming that I am more spiritual than him. Correct? You all agree. Now when I'm speaking to God who is far more spiritual than me, if I speak for 44 minutes and let him speak to me for one minute, what am I thinking of myself? I am more spiritual than God. I learned thereby that prayer is more listening than speaking. 99% listening. So when Jesus spent one hour in with the father, he wasn't telling the father, this is happening here, this is happening there. The father said, I know all that. You don't have to tell me all that. And father, this is also happening here and that is happening there. Father says, I know all that. Jesus went to the father and said, I want to hear. Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds, present tense, proceeds from the mouth of God. So Jesus lived by listening. So I believe Jesus spent hours in prayer listening. That's what I do in my prayer. I speak very little. What is there that I can tell God he doesn't know? Tell me. My child is sick, he needs to be healed. Yeah, I prayed that in less than one minute. I prayed again. I prayed a hundred times but less than one minute. The rest of the time I'm listening. When you go to God, think of many people are not in the God's presence. They're talking to an imaginary God and they go on and on and on and on. They got a prayer list with a hundred and one things. They have prayer requests. They're going. It's all fooling themselves. You get into God's presence. Think of yourself sitting in the presence of the most holy godly person on the face of the earth. What will you do? You'll be so thankful that he's given you an interview of 45 minutes that you'll say brother please speak to me. I want to hear you. I have nothing to say to you. Particularly if that man knows everything about your life. You have nothing to tell him. This is how I go before God. This is how I get my problems solved. I say Lord I have to tell you nothing. You know everything. I'll express these little requests because you told me. Why does he ask me to express this request? So that I can have the joy of having prayer answered. But the rest of the time I'm listening. Morning till night. Even when I'm doing other times. My ear is open like it says in Isaiah 50 verse 4. The Lord God has opened my ear. Beautiful verse to listen from morning till night as a disciple. Read that verse in Isaiah 50. God opens my ear spiritually to listen. Most important thing. God bless you.