Submitting to Christ’s Authority in His Body

I was thinking of that last line you just sang, were you conscious of the presence of Christ here when you were singing? See from his head, his hands and his feet. Not blood, but sorrow and love flow mingle down. Love and sorrow go together.

Not sorrow for myself. Sorrow for myself is self-pity, which is evil. When you feel sorry for yourself, I can say you started going down.

And the more sorry you feel for yourself, how others are treating you, you'll go down to the pit finally. Jesus never felt sorry for himself. It was a sorrow for others.

The blood that flowed from him was for others. Love and sorrow at the condition of humanity. That's, it's a very great height to have love and sorrow for others, their pitiable condition.

Not their physical condition of their poverty, but the pathetic condition of their sin. When I see a family where husband and wife are quarreling, love and sorrow, oh Lord, these people call themselves believers. But look at how they are living with each other, glorifying the devil in their homes.

All strife is from Satan. And Jesus said, where two are gathered in my name, I'm in the midst. I've always told husbands keep that verse and wives keep that verse in mind.

Did the Lord unite both of you together? Two are gathered together. Christ should be in your midst. How would you speak to each other if you could physically see Jesus standing next to you? I want to ask all husbands and wives here.

How would you speak to your partner if Jesus was physically there in your home? Do you speak like that all the time? Or do you have to say, Lord, please get out of my home for a few minutes. I want to tell my wife what I think about her. Or I want to tell my husband right now, please come back after I finish, come back after 10 minutes.

Or sometimes come back tomorrow. Because it takes me a long time to tell her or tell him what I think of him. You would think that these, I'm talking about heathen people.

No. Christians, claim to be Christians. Because the word of the cross is almost never preached in Christendom.

When I was 23 years old and I was, I began to seek the Lord for the power of the Holy Spirit. I was in an assembly which never preached the baptism of the Holy Spirit. So when I found it in Scripture and I said, Lord, I want to serve you.

I want to preach the word. In the local church I was attending. I was not a full-time worker.

I was working in the Indian Navy and as I was seeking the Lord, I first went to a Pentecostal church and the pastor there told me, if you want the baptism of the Holy Spirit, come pray with me. I said sure. And he said keep saying hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

Suddenly your tongue will trip and you'll begin to utter something. I said that is not how the people will receive the baptism the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. That's rubbish.

He said get out from here. Thankfully I left and I never went back there again. And I said Lord, I don't want any cheap counterfeit.

I want the real anointing of the Holy Spirit. And if it takes me 10 years to get it, I'll wait 10 years. But I don't want to be satisfied with a cheap counterfeit that I can boast to others the Lord's baptized me in the Holy Spirit.

I'm not bothered what other people think about it. I want the genuine experience. I don't want a fake painting of a fire that looks from a distance like a real fire.

I want a fire that warms and heats up things. And you know what the Lord showed me? I've never read it anywhere. Sometimes it's wonderful how the Lord gives you a revelation from almost nowhere, from Scripture, but it's not something you heard.

It's not something you read. You must have once in a while such experiences where the Lord whispers things into your heart that you've never heard or read anywhere. I've had some wonderful experiences like that.

Most of the things I preach are like that. And so I got this revelation from God and it came to me like this. I was just 23 years old and I had this bad experience with this pastor who told me to repeat some thing and that my tongue would trip.

What nonsense! I was not speaking for tongues. I was speaking for the power of the Holy Spirit. And the Lord showed me how did Jesus receive the anointing for service.

Jesus was born of the Spirit. He had the Holy Spirit in him from childhood. Our theme is all shall know me.

Here, know Jesus in this way. How did he receive the anointing to serve? You know for 30 years he knew the Bible thoroughly at the age of 12. He lived a perfect life without sin.

You think if there was anyone on earth qualified to preach because he knew the Bible and he lived a perfect life, what more do you need? I'll tell you what more you need. When you know the Bible from cover to cover and you lived an upright life, you still need the anointing of the Holy Spirit. That's what I see from the life of Jesus.

Sometimes we can glory. I know the Bible I can preach. Sorry brother you can't.

I've lived a good life and so I can preach. You can't. I've lived a good life at home.

Jesus lived a perfect life at home. But before he went out to preach, the Father said you need the anointing of the Holy Spirit. And let me show you something.

Read the Bible always carefully. Compare scripture with scripture. Give you a little lesson today on reading the Bible.

Matthew chapter 3, the time when Jesus was anointed. I believe many of you need the anointing of the Holy Spirit to serve Christ. You may have the Holy Spirit within you, but you need the anointing if you want to serve the Lord.

And every one of you must serve the Lord because Christ is the head. We are members of the body. Is there a single part of this body that is not needed? What about the nails? One of the most insignificant parts of the body.

When you feel itchy, which part of your body can help? Only the nails. Don't despise the nails. The smallest part of the body of Christ can be a blessing.

That's what I learned from the nails. But they must be connected to the head. If it's paralyzed, connection to the head gone.

It's a useless member. You can still be a member. Is the blood flowing into a paralyzed hand? Yes.

Is the blood of Christ cleansing you? Yes. But you're still a useless member because you're not listening to the brain. You're not listening to the head.

There are many paralyzed members in Christ's body today. Are they born again? Is the blood of Christ flowing in them, cleansing them? Yes. But they have no connection with the head because they are not obedient.

There are two places, there are two obediences that we need. One is an obedience to the head. See this finger, see this one finger, it obeys the head.

The head tells it to move, it moves. Direct connection to the head. But it also moves with the hand.

When the hand moves, the finger can't say, no, no, I like to be here. You've got to move with the hand. And it moves with this arm.

When this arm is moving, this little finger can't say, no, no, no, I don't want to move, I want to be out here. There are two obediences these fingers have. One is directly to the head.

And the other is when the arm moves, it has no choice but has to move with the arm. The Lord connects you to him directly and tells you things to do on your own, directly guides you. Listen to him.

But he also puts you as part of a local fellowship called a church, local church. This is a local church. And when the authorities in the church tell you to do something, you have to obey.

If the church decides to go one way, you can't be a little finger saying, no, no, no, I want to be here, brother, then cut yourself off and be amputated. You can't stay in that church. You can't say I want to be a part of this arm, get all the benefits of this arm, get all the energy and help that comes from this arm.

But if the arm moves, I want to be here. That's the trouble with a lot of individualistic Christians in churches, they are useless to the body of Christ. They're strong people.

Absolutely useless. They submit to the head in their personal life, but they're not willing to submit to local authority, local elders. You know what the Bible says about submitting to local elders? Hebrews chapter 13.

We all know obedience to Christ. That understood. I don't have to teach that.

But see what it says in Hebrews 13. Have you ever read this verse? Have you sought to obey it? Hebrews 13, verse 17. Obey your leaders and submit to them.

First of all, do you have any leaders? Or do you say I'm only connected to the Christ? It's a little finger saying, I don't want any leaders. I'm just connected to the Christ. Brother, then you've got to be amputated.

You lose your connection with the arm and you lose the connection of the head also. You cannot be a member, a single member of this body floating around connected to the head. It's connected through an arm.

So obey your leaders. Not Christ, of course, is the head. But there are other earthly leaders.

Do you have any leaders? Or are you such an independent, arrogant person that you say, I have no leaders. I'm just connected to the head. That's why your life is so stunted and pretty useless to God.

Even though you may think you're doing a lot of service. Throughout the Acts of the Apostles, the Lord planted local churches everywhere. Today we have a lot of evangelists, well-known, famous evangelists who make a lot of money through preaching.

You know some of those names in America who claim to be healers. I have zero respect for them. I'll tell you that.

Zero, not even 1%. Zero. Why? Because they're not doing what Paul did.

I'm not despising them. May God have mercy on them. But I see a pattern in the New Testament that when Paul brought a person to Christ, he planted him in a church.

He was not only connected to the head, but connected to this local church, the arm. That's how it, throughout the Acts of the Apostles, you don't find individual believers wandering around in the Acts of the Apostles. Have you ever found one like that? In the Acts of the Apostles? No.

It's only today you see these people, answerable to nobody. They say, I'm under the head. You're fooling yourself when you're under the head.

You're just a stubborn, rebellious person. I see today a lot of evangelists who say, I'm traveling, they boast, I've traveled to so many countries, had huge meetings with thousands of people, and so many people signed decision cards, and they accepted Christ. I asked them, where are they today? Where are these people you brought to Christ? I don't know.

I hope they joined some local church. You go to the Apostle Paul, who's given us an example. Paul said, follow me as I follow Christ.

You go to Paul, and says, Paul, I heard that you brought some people to Christ in Philippi. Where are they? Come with me. He'll take you to Philippi, take you to a local church where they are meeting on Sunday.

You see all these people? You see these hundred people sitting here? I brought them to Christ, and I put them together into a local church. And now come with me to Thessalonica. I went to Thessalonica many years ago, and I brought a number of people to Christ.

Come see this church. They're all meeting here. Now I'll take you to Corinth.

I brought a number of people to Christ there. See, they're all meeting here. That's how from Acts chapter 1 to chapter 28, throughout the book of Acts, which has given us an example of how to do the Lord's work, that's how they did the Lord's work in the early days.

You hardly ever see it today. When I was 25 years old, I'd been born again for about six years, and I said, Lord, I want to see a local church. I'm not satisfied with just attending meetings.

I want to see local churches planted that fellowship with one another. The Bible says in these local churches, let me go there first. Obey your leaders.

This is a very important part of the local church. Hebrews 13, 17. Submit to them.

These are the local elders of a local church. They keep watch over your souls. If you are an elder, you have a responsibility to keep watch over the souls in your church.

That's why you cannot have a 3,000-member church. I know there are 10,000-member churches with one pastor. You don't see that.

Paul did not build such churches. He built churches where he appointed local elders who could handle the number of people who were there. Jesus could handle only 12.

How in the world can you handle 3,000? Because you don't make them disciples. They're a congregation. Jesus never gathered a congregation.

He would preach to 10,000 people, but they were not the church. He gathered 12, and he said, go out and make. So if there's a church of 120 people, it needs about 10 leaders there.

That is how we must plan churches, where you appoint elders to oversee other people, not just one pastor who says, I'm a pastor of 10,000 people. It's absolute nonsense. I say, I evaluate everything by Scripture.

There is only one book in the world where God has given us his plan, and that is not in all these mega churches in the United States. The Apostle Paul says, follow me as I follow Christ. So such leaders you must obey, and it says here in verse 17, let them do this with joy and not with grief, because that will be unprofitable for you.

Read it again. Hebrews 13, 17. Obey your leaders.

Submit to them, because they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account to the Lord one day. I remember when we started the church in Bangalore 50 years ago, it gradually grew to 60 or 100, and we appointed other elders. I was not the only one.

I was one of three or four elders, because I couldn't handle them all. And we watched over every one of those souls, every one of them. And I would tell some people, I can't stop you from backsliding, I said.

But at least two, three months before you fall away, I'll warn you, because I'll sense you're drifting. That's how I used to keep a watch over the small number. I can't do that for 3,000 people, but I could do that for a small number, and then watch each one of them.

And I could sense this guy's drifting. And I'd tell them, at least two, three months before you actually fall away from the Lord, I'll warn you. And after that, it's up to you whether you repent and come back or fall away.

And I did that. And I warned people. Some didn't listen to me.

They fell away. Others listened to me and repented, and they are still in the church today, after 50 years. An elder has a very serious responsibility.

He's not just one who gets up and preaches there and goes away. He has to watch over souls. See what it says.

Are you an elder here, anybody? You have to watch over souls as one who has to give an account to God one day. Think if you're working in an office, and you've got a CEO who's above you, and you're in charge of one department. And he says, I want you to give an account to me of that, how that department is functioning.

Maybe you're in charge of sales. How is the sales going? You should know. You can't say, I don't know.

You're answerable to somebody. Otherwise, you lose your salary. In the Christian church, there's some, you don't get salary, but you lose something worse than that.

You lose your salvation, if you don't take your responsibility seriously. You're answerable to God, you have to give an account one day. So, now there's a word to the believers who are under this elder.

Obey them, submit to them, and middle of verse 17, let your elders do this with joy, and not with grief. What does that mean? It says here, the elders will give an account to the Lord one day. So, I picture it like this, that when you stand before the Lord in the final day, he asks an elder in your church, how did this guy behave? The Lord knows, but he still wants that elder to say.

He'll ask the elder, did you take care of this guy? Did you correct him? Did you warn him? Or did you seek popularity and just keep at him on the back, even when he was going wrong? Thank God, if you got an elder who corrects you, and who speaks to you sternly. Be thankful to God, if you have such an elder. Not one who always pats you on the back, even when you go wrong.

What would you think of a doctor, who examines you and knows you got cancer, but keeps quiet, lest you get offended. Just collects your money and sends you home. There are elders like that, I'm sorry to say.

Thank God for those elders who speak straight, brother, you got cancer. You're not right in your life before God. Set this right, you're not in fellowship with that person.

Your home testimony is pathetic. There are very few elders like that, because elders have not taken their responsibility seriously before God. A lot of people get offended with me, because I tell them the truth.

I don't want their money. I'm not a doctor who collects money and tells people false lies about their condition. Because I know I am answerable to God.

Every sermon I preach, I know I'll have to give an answer to God one day. Every person I take responsibility for, I'll have to give an answer to God one day. If God has given you any responsibility, brother, don't just sit and sit and take that position of honor.

Humble yourself before God and ask God to have mercy on you and give you wisdom. Otherwise they'll do it with grief. And the Lord will ask people, how did this guy behave? Okay, that's why we need the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Now coming back to what I was saying, how is it with Jesus? Matthew chapter 3. This is what the Lord showed me when I was seeking for the anointing of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in my life. I knew that with all my Bible knowledge, and I had pretty good Bible knowledge by that time, because I'd studied the Bible intensely for five years, and I knew it very well, and I could preach, but I needed the anointing. And the Lord directed me to how did Jesus get anointing.

Matthew chapter 3. Jesus came, verse 13, Matthew 3.13, to John the Baptist to be baptized. And as he was baptized, you know what baptism is? Baptism means immersion. It's a Greek word.

They should have translated it as immersion. The word baptism should not have been in our Christian dictionary. Unfortunately, the translators of the King James Version did not translate it as immersion.

The Greek word is baptizo, and the New Testament was written in Greek originally, and the word was baptizo, which in everybody in Greece, and anybody who knows Greek news knows immersion. They say, I baptizo my hand in my bucket of water. That means I immersed.

Why didn't the translators of the King James Version in 1611 translate it as immersion? Because King James, who authorized their translation, had told them, don't change church traditions when you translate the Bible. And in the church, in the Church of England in those days, they were sprinkling babies, just like they today do in many churches. And they called that baptism, or whatever it was, sprinkling.

And they read the Greek, and it said immersion. So people who accept Christ must be immersed. That'll rock the Church of England.

And these translators said, our heads will be cut off by King James. So they couldn't translate it as sprinkling. They had little fear of God.

So they invented a word, which is never in the English language, baptism. They were, they cleared their conscience. I used the same word, but nobody knew what it meant.

The King James Bible was printed, and people read, baptism? What is that? Never heard that. Looked up the dictionary, no such word in the dictionary. Ah, it must be what they do for little children.

That is how child baptism came. That's just by the way. I'm just telling you how so many wrong teachings come into Christendom through the centuries.

But Jesus went in, and he was immersed, verse 16. How do you get immersed if you've seen a baptism? You cannot be baptized by a person if you keep resisting him. Then you'll have to get two, three strong people to immerse you.

When a person goes in for baptism, he's submitting. No resistance. Put me down.

It's literally death, because you stay under the water for a few minutes, you're dead. And you're allowing that person to put you to death as it were. Completely hidden.

Every part of you. I remember once when a brother was baptizing in our church in Bangalore, and I was watching it from the pulpit. And I saw the person, you know, he was a tall brother.

So he went down, but he went only up to here. He's, the top part of his head did not go. I said, please, immerse him again.

This upper part is the most important part that has to be buried. Because all the problems come from this top part of the head in Christendom. Clever people.

Put him down again. So he put him down completely. I said, now he's baptized.

He's not baptized. Complete death. Death to your cleverness, intelligence.

Down. Then God says, I will raise you up. That is the meaning of baptism.

You submit to God allowing you to be put to death. That's only a symbol. What should happen in daily life for the rest of your life, till Christ comes.

From that day till the return of Christ. I'll allow the Lord to put me to death through people, through circumstances, through anything. Any type of suffering.

Complete death. Especially the upper part of me. The clever part which wants to argue with people.

You'll never understand scripture by argument. You understand scripture by revelation from heaven. So I've had people who sometimes come to me and say, I want to discuss this with you.

Brother, I'm not going to argue with you. Sorry. Because I see you have no interest in knowing the truth.

I can convince you. But what will I gain by that? I'll show you that I know the Bible better than you. I'll show you that I'm a cleverer lawyer than you are.

I'm not interested in that. I'm interested in you growing spiritually. So I will not argue with you.

Ask God for revelation. And so, I saw that Jesus was willing to let John the Baptist. When you compare Jesus with John the Baptist, John the Baptist was a sinner.

He was a good man, but he's still a sinner. He needed to be saved by the death of Christ. And here was the perfect Christ, allowing a sinner to immerse him.

And when he came up, he was anointed. That's the first thing. If I want to be anointed the Holy Spirit, I must allow God to let people who are much inferior to me, humiliate me, put me to death, put me down, and I must not resist.

I will not fight. I will yield to death to self, no matter who immerses me. And the second thing, you know, this is where I say you've got to compare scripture with scripture.

It's not written in Matthew 4, Matthew 3, but it is written in Luke 3. That's why you've got to compare scripture with scripture. In the record of the baptism mentioned in Luke chapter 3, there's one thing mentioned which is not mentioned in Luke, Matthew chapter 3. How many of you know it? If you've heard me before, you know it. Have you ever discovered it yourself? Something is written in Luke 3 about Jesus' baptism which is not mentioned in Matthew 3. Read scripture carefully.

You'll get revelation. You know what it is? Verse 21, Luke 3, 21. This is not mentioned in the Matthew 3 record, that He was praying when He was being baptized.

When all the people were baptized, Jesus was baptized and while He was praying. You see, most people when they are baptized, they're not praying. They say, I don't want to swallow water.

That's what they're more concerned about as they go in. And I hope this fellow will pull me out and not leave me down there. But Jesus was not thinking about all that.

He was praying as He went. Can you imagine a person being immersed in water and he's praying, Father, what do you think He was praying for? I know what He was praying for because Jesus' prayers were always answered immediately. What was He praying for? As soon as He came up, the Holy Spirit descended on Him.

He was anointed. So I know what He was praying for. As He went into the rivers, waters of baptism, He said, Father, anoint me with the Holy Spirit because I have to go out into the ministry now.

My time as a carpenter is over. My time at home is over. I'm going to the ministry.

I need an anointing. Please anoint me, Father. Anointing came upon Him when? When He accepted death to Himself.

That was the day when I was 23 years old. When the Lord first gave me a revelation of the way of the cross. And I tell you, when God gives you a revelation, it's very different from you hearing it from another man.

You're hearing it from me now. You'll forget it. But when you get it from God as a revelation, it will change your life.

It changed my life completely that day. The cross was no longer one message in the Bible. It was the central message of the Christian life.

Then I understood Luke 9, 23. Luke 9, 23. Every word in this is important.

He was saying to all of them, A-L-L. Nobody's left out. And the Lord is saying to A-L-L people here.

What's He saying? Anyone, anyone sitting here wants to come after Jesus, he must say no to himself. Deny means say no to himself. Take up the cross daily, that is die to himself every day.

And follow me. This is not a once for all experience. Baptism is once for all.

But that's a testimony of what I want to do every day of my life. Die to myself. To my dignity, my position, my self-respect, my will, my wanting my way, and many, many things, anything to do with me.

There's a little chorus that I learnt when I was 23 years old that I keep repeating to myself many, many times. Even now, frequently I say to myself, Lord, I want to be dead to the world and its applause, dead to the world and its applause to everything that's contrary to the spirit of the cross. So dead that no desire may arise to appear good or great or wise in any but my Saviour's eyes.

Dead to the world and its applause to all who hate the humbling cross. Dead to the world and its applause to all who hate the humbling cross. So dead that no desire will rise to appear good or great or wise in any but my Saviour's eyes.

I've repeated that to myself at least 10,000 times in the last 55 years. It's one of my favorite verses. Take it for yourself and live by it.

Lord, I want to be dead to the world and its approval and applause or criticism to all those who hate the humbling cross. The cross is a very humbling thing. You don't get honor if you go to the cross.

You die. So dead that no desire will rise to appear good in the eyes of others, to be great or wise in anyone's eyes except my Saviour's eyes. Just singing it won't change me but I sing it to remind myself many, many times.

I say, Lord, this is the way I want to go. Many days I say that in the morning. This is the way I want to live today.

To keep quiet when insulted. Not to answer back when somebody says something. Say somebody is hurting you.

Die. Dead people don't get hurt. Did you know that? I'll give you a revelation today.

Dead people don't get hurt. Why do I say that? Because I remember when I said that to one good brother in CFC who used to get hurt. He said, dead people do get hurt.

I say, you may, but a real dead person doesn't get hurt. You try it. Try and poke a dead man.

If he jumps up, he's not really dead. You know how sometimes children pray dead. That's how a lot of Christians will hear me about dying to self.

Their dying to self is just like children praying dead. As soon as somebody pokes them, thank God for the fellow who poked you. You discovered you are not dead.

Thank God for the husband who irritated you. You discovered you are not dead. Thank God for the wife who irritated you.

You discovered you are not dead. You should be thankful for such a person. Thank you brother.

Thank you sister. You showed me something about myself. I thought I was dead and I was glorying in it.

No believer. My friends never told me the truth. But you came and poked me and showed me I was not dead.

My enemies showed me I was not dead. When my friends were not honest enough to tell me. They loved me too much to tell me the truth about myself.

But my enemies who did not love me, showed me the truth I was not dead. Thank you. I go back to the cross and say, Lord, this dear enemy has shown me that I was not dead.

Thank you. You got to be thankful for your enemies. That's why it says love your enemies.

Because they show you things about yourself no friend will tell you. You discover that you are not dead. Jesus took that death to self.

And he lived under the anointing of the Holy Spirit all his life. You know what the Lord said to me when I was 23 years old? He said, very personally, it was a personal word to my heart from heaven. That the Lord said to me, as long as you are willing to choose the way of the cross, my anointing will rest upon you.

But the day you move away from the way of the cross, my anointing will depart from you. I understood it clearly. 62 years ago, when I was seeking God, and I've never forgotten it.

The day you go away from the way of the cross, my anointing will depart from you. Many people think you pray and you'll get the anointing. Go to an all night prayer meeting and you'll get the anointing.

I've seen people who go to all night prayer meetings who have zero anointing. Well, they sat through that prayer meeting or slept through that prayer meeting, whatever they did. There was no anointing.

But you choose the way of the cross. It's not a question of how long you pray. Have you read the story in 1 Kings chapter 18 of two groups of people who prayed? One was the prophets of Baal, the other was Elijah.

400 prophets of Baal were praying. Whole day prayer meeting from morning till sunset. Oh, send the fire, send the fire, jumping, dancing, shouting.

Just like I see in some church meetings also sometimes. It's just a lot of noise. When I see all the jumping and dancing in some church meeting, I'm reminded of the prophets of Baal.

Lot of noise and activity and all. No fire. No holiness.

No purity. No fervent love. They go out from that meeting and fight and quarrel at home.

They speak in tongues in that meeting and yell at their wives in their mother tongue at home. What is that? That's not Christianity. It's a counterfeit.

I'm not against speaking in tongues. I've spoken in tongues for 40 years and more. 50 years.

But I use it only between me and God when I'm in private. Never in public. In public I'd rather speak 5 words in a known language than 10,000 words in an unknown tongue.

That's what Paul said and that's what I say. Nobody's ever heard me speak in tongues in a public church meeting. But I use it all the time in my conversation with God.

I never sought for it. God gave it to me. Don't seek for it.

Don't ever seek for it. If God gives it to you, He'll give it to you. Otherwise, if you seek for it, you'll get a counterfeit.

So, I see that I realize very clearly the anointing does not depend on my speaking in tongues. I can speak in tongues and become a backslider. But if I take up the way of the cross every day, I will never, never backslide.

You can have any gift of the Spirit and be a backslider. Lot of people are very gifted preachers. They're backsliders in their life.

Look at the way they live. They can't live in peace at home. Their children are all wayward.

Look at the condition of many preachers and pastors today. Ask them, where are your children? Some of them, their children are atheists. The pastor is preaching in the church.

Some of their children are wayward. You know what I said to the Lord? I said, Lord, I've got four sons. If one of them goes astray, I'll repent and come before you and say, Lord, what's wrong with me? I won't say, what's wrong with him? I'll say, what's wrong with me? I'm the father.

And I've spoken to many fathers whose children have gone astray. Pastors. They say, what to do, brother? He's like that.

They don't say, pray for me, brother. I was a failure as a father. I've never heard anyone say that.

I would say that. If one of my children went astray, I'd say, Lord, I failed somewhere. Show me where it is.

Let me repent of it. Any of you, your children are going astray, I want to tell you, first of all, go before God and say, Lord, the fault is with me. What is the promise in Scripture? Let me show you.

Let God be true and every man a liar. Have you read that verse? Let me begin with that. Romans chapter 3. That's where we always begin.

Let God be true. Romans chapter 3, verse 4. You know this verse? Middle of that verse. Let God be true even if every man is a liar.

Remember that verse always. Every man in the world may be a liar. God's word is true.

Whatever people think of the world doesn't make a difference to me. Let God be true. God's word is true.

Every man, what they say is a lie. Okay, now we can turn to Proverbs. In Proverbs, there are a number of verses about bringing up children in the ways of the Lord.

Here's one verse. Proverbs 23 and verse 24. The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice and he who sires a wise son will be glad in him.

It's the father who brings up. Not even the mother. Now you turn with me to Proverbs 22, 6. Let God be true and every man, what? A liar.

Let God be true and everybody who's got another opinion is a liar. Okay. If you disagree with it, I would say you're a liar.

God is true. Train up a child in the way he should go and when he's old, he will not depart from it. Why has your child departed from it? You say, brother, some children are like that.

Aha. So you are true and God is a liar, is it? Face up to it. Let God be true and you say, Lord, I am the liar.

It's not that some children go astray. I have failed as a father. I have failed as a mother.

Say that. Then there's some hope for your child. But if you keep justifying yourself, oh, I was a good father, but children are wayward.

What to do, brother? The world is like that. They get bad friends. Does it say anything about that in Proverbs? Train up a child and if he doesn't have bad friends, he will not depart from it.

No. It's an absolute statement. Just like believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved.

You will be saved. It's an absolute statement. Not you might be saved.

Possibly you'll be saved. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. You will be saved.

You've staked your whole life on that statement. Why don't you believe this statement in the same way? Train up a child in the way he should go. He will not depart from it.

I took it seriously. I'm not saying that all my children should have my ministry. That's another thing.

Ministry is something God gives specially to different people. But I want all my children to be disciples. Not just meet me in heaven.

Not like the dying thief. Last minute conversion. I don't want my children to have last minute conversions.

Just before they die, I'll go to heaven. They'll have regret in heaven for all eternity. If they get converted at the last minute.

Wasted life. They'll say, I had a godly father, but he didn't bring me up in a godly way. And so I drifted, drifted, drifted.

Last minute, before I died, my father told me accept Christ and I came to heaven. You want your child to go to heaven like that? Living a wasted life on earth and spending all eternity wishing that he had lived a better life for Christ on earth. I feel like that.

I gave my life to Christ at the age of 19 and 65 years ago. And if I had lived for myself and just say, oh, I'm accepted Christ. I'm okay.

I'm not going to do any gross sin and finally go to heaven living for myself. Or if I had accepted Christ just two days ago and I'm going to die and go to heaven. I'll spend eternity in regret.

Lord, I wasted my life on earth. You did so much for me on the cross and I did zero for you. That is the regret a lot of people are going to have in heaven.

Some people say you'll have no regret in heaven. I can't believe that. I can't believe that I'll meet my Savior who and I understand in heaven how much, what a price he paid for me.

And I discover the selfish, self-centered way I lived on earth and you tell me I won't have any regret. My understanding will be perfect in heaven. My regret will be immense when I see the way I lived for myself after talking about a Christ who gave everything up for me.

Eternity. I'll have to keep going back to the Lord. Forgive me.

Forgive me, Lord. I don't know how many times I live. Year after year, I'll have to go to him and say, Lord, please forgive me for the way I lived.

Please forgive me for the way I lived. I don't want to live like that in heaven. Always going back to Jesus and say, Lord, forgive me for the way I lived.

Give me another chance to live on earth. The Lord says, sorry. You can't go back to earth a second time to live.

I gave you one chance to live on earth. And you decided how to live. And you are not one of those ignorant non-Christians who knew nothing about the gospel.

You are one of those who knew the gospel. You not only knew the gospel, you heard what Brother Zach told you. Much more than what just simple gospel.

The way of victory. The way of the fullness of the Spirit. You didn't take it seriously.

You were comfortable because you were earning enough. You thought money was everything. You're earning enough.

You're comfortable. Or you're a full-time worker and people are supporting you. You're happy with that.

Now you come to heaven, you realize that money is worth zero. At last, you realize that money is worth zero. After coming to heaven, you should have realized that when you were on earth.

It's written in the Bible. Why did you make so much of money in your life? Why did you make so much of the approval of men in your life? Why didn't you live seeking only for my approval? You talked about heaven but you didn't live as one who wanted the approval of God. Brothers, sisters, I'm not telling you anything which I've not told myself first of all.

I've been ruthless in my own life in the area of love of money. Absolutely ruthless. Ruthless in my own life when I ever seek honor from men.

It's part of going down under the waters and being buried. I say, Lord, if I don't die, I lose the anointing. Yeah, it looks like a selfish thing that I want the anointing but I want to glorify God.

I know that I cannot glorify God with my own ability. I cannot glorify God by listening to powerful messages. Thank God for all of you who listen to strong, powerful preachers and not to these wishy-washy type of preachers who just tickle your ears.

But don't be satisfied that, oh, I listen to strong, powerful preachers. Is it changing your life? Is it helping you to die to yourself? If not, what is the use? You'll be more condemned if you heard all these wonderful things and you don't live by it. Then it's better to go back to the wishy-washy preachers and live that substandard Christian life.

Dear brothers and sisters, don't think that by coming here you're just blessed. I believe you are. I believe this weekend you'll be blessed in an amazing way.

Not because of me but because the Holy Spirit is moving. I know that. Many people have prayed for this conference and many people are praying even now.

That's why you'll be blessed. It's got nothing to do with me. But it'll increase your responsibility before the Lord and it'll show you the way.

But even Almighty God does not force anybody to go that way. And you may make a choice now but remember what Jesus said, Luke 9, 23, you have to deny yourself every day. What does that mean, daily? Have you ever taken a concordance? You know where you can look up every word in the Bible and look up the word daily when you get time.

And find out how many things Jesus said to do daily. Preachers tell you, read the Bible daily. Very good habit.

But you could not tell people that in the first century because nobody had a Bible. So how could they obey it? You could not say that to people for 1400 years of Christianity there was no printed Bible. It's a very good habit.

I tell people today, read the Bible daily. I do it myself. I've done it every day for 65 years.

Otherwise I can't tell people to do it. And not only read, but meditate. All that is good.

Read daily. Pray daily. Do you know there's no verse in the Bible which says pray daily? Some people have asked me, Brother Zach they've told me this, Brother Zach, we heard that some people pray 3 hours a day some people pray 5 hours a day.

How many hours a day do you pray? I say, I'll tell you. Turn to Luke 18, I'll tell you how many. I obey the Bible.

Luke 18 verse 1. This is how often I pray. How many hours a day? Luke 18 verse 1. Let me paraphrase it. Jesus was telling them a parable to show that they should pray 24 hours a day.

Is that a correct paraphrase of that verse or not? What do you think? I'm just paraphrasing it. Living Bible. Pray 24 hours a day.

You want to know how often I pray? This is the verse I follow. I don't follow the example of that guy who prayed 3 hours a day or 5 hours a day. That's all for honor seeking.

Oh, he prayed for 3 hours a day. Wow. Jesus also said in Matthew chapter 6, don't let anybody know how much you pray.

How did everybody discover how long this fellow was praying? His wife may have known, but why did they advertise it? Jesus said specifically, they committed a sin by telling people how long they prayed. They committed a sin by telling how often they fasted. They committed a sin when they tell people how much money they gave for the Lord's work.

You read Matthew chapter 6. Giving money, praying, fasting. Nobody should know. How is it all advertised so much in biographies and all that of people? You see, maybe the wife said, then the wife disobeyed Scripture by revealing what her husband was doing.

You know, there are so many things I could point out to you which people outright disobey the Word of God and they don't even know it. Did it ever strike you? When you read about somebody who prayed 3 hours a day or 5 hours a day, how in the world did people discover it? When it says in Matthew 6, nobody should know. When you hear that somebody gave so much of his percentage of his money to God's work.

See, how did he know? How did people know he disobeyed Matthew chapter 6? We must know the Scriptures, brothers. Take the Scriptures seriously. So, I say very often, we have to die to ourselves every day.

Luke 9, 23. In every situation, and the way I look at it is like this. If I have the anointing of the Holy Spirit, what does the Holy Spirit do when He anoints me? I'll tell you.

Turn with me to John chapter 16. What did we say the theme of our conference was? All shall know Me. From the least to the greatest.

Knowing Jesus Christ. How can I know Jesus better and better and better? Only through the Holy Spirit. I can read the Bible and know that He healed the sick and raised the dead and cleansed the lepers and all.

Okay. But listen to this. John 16 verse 13.

When the Spirit of Truth comes or when you are baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire, what will happen? First of all, He'll guide you into all the truths. You can say, I understand the truth by reading the Bible. That is intellectually.

But the Holy Spirit will guide you into reality. And, verse 14. This is a wonderful verse.

The Holy Spirit, when He comes upon you, He'll glorify me. If you find a preacher glorifying himself, he does not have the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Very clear.

The Holy Spirit will glorify Christ. And a true servant of God will draw people's attention to Christ. I remember, I'll tell you a true story of a brother in Bangalore who came to our church, really born again, baptized, but he only wanted to have fellowship with me.

He wouldn't have fellowship with the other elders. He would always come to me. One day when he came to my house, I said, I don't want to ever see you again.

Can you imagine a servant of God saying that to a brother in the church? I don't want to ever see you again until you start fellowshipping with some of the others in this church. You are too attached to me. I want you to be attached to Christ and His body.

Don't get attached to me. Say, oh Brother Zach, I can always learn something. You'll learn nothing.

You'll learn when you humble yourself and value your position in the body of Christ. I turned Him away from me to Christ. The Holy Spirit will glorify me.

Because He will take of mine and show it to you. This is the verse that gripped my heart. When I'm anointed with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will take of the things of Christ and show it to me.

Not that He healed the sick. I don't need the Holy Spirit to know that. I just need to know English.

I read the Bible, He healed the sick. Raised the dead. What is the things of Christ which are not written in the Bible which He will show me? He'll show me how He grew up as a little boy in Nazareth.

That's not written in the Bible. Only one thing is written, that He knew the Bible and He talked to the elders and priests about it. What else did He do? For 30 years He was at home.

What did He do? I said, the Holy Spirit of God according to Matthew 16, John 16, 14 please show these things to me. Because it says here He will take of the things of mine and disclose, reveal it to you. And Lord, I said, Spirit of God explain to me not the things written here.

I'm not interested in raising the dead and healing the sick. But I want to see how Jesus lived at home for 30 years. Because I've got a home.

I've got a wife and children. I'm not preaching all the time. I've never raised the dead.

But I'm living at home every day 24 hours. Show me how Jesus lived at home, then I can live at home properly. That is what I prayed.

And I needed to be anointed to the Holy Spirit to discover that. Many people are seeking the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Oh, if I can preach like Brother Zach, I'll be anointed.

Rubbish! Don't seek for that. I've told every elder in my church, don't ever seek to preach like me. Don't imitate me.

Seek to follow Jesus. The Holy Spirit will take of the things of Christ and show it to you. One of my favorite verses about my own ministry is in John chapter 1. I say, Lord, help me to follow this and I'll be alright.

In John chapter 1, verse 35, the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, John the Baptist. And he looked at Jesus and said, there, look at the Lamb of God. And this is the verse that blessed me.

They heard him speak and they followed Jesus. I've often said, if I'm not alive till the Lord comes and the Lord takes me home, this is the word that should be written on my tombstone. They heard him speak and they followed Jesus.

They did not follow him. They heard him speak and they did not follow him. Praise the Lord.

They heard him speak and they followed Jesus. I say, Lord, if I can have that as my life, not just written on my tombstone, but because that's the way I live. They hear me speak.

They watch my life and they follow Jesus. They forget all about me. I've disappeared, buried under the ground, but they follow Jesus.

Dear brother, sister, let that be the longing of all of you, even if you're not a preacher. When you speak to people at home, you all have a mouth. We converse with people.

You don't have to be a preacher to converse with people. What about your mothers with your children? If it can be written about you, that your children heard you speak at home and they saw the way you spoke to your husband, the way you spoke to them, and they followed Jesus. Wow! Can there be a better mother in the world than that? Let the children say, I heard my mom speak the way she spoke to her daddy, and I heard the way she spoke to me and I followed Jesus.

Boy, that's the best mother in the world. Or a father, if a child says, I heard my father the way he would speak to mummy at home every day, and I heard the way he spoke to me and I decided to follow Jesus. That's the best father, not the one who gave him a good education and gave him good food at home and all that.

They heard him speak or they heard her speak and they followed Jesus. Make that the motto of your life, even if you're not a preacher. People are hearing you speak at home.

Think of people in the office where you work. They may not follow Jesus, but they won't forget you. I decided to wholeheartedly follow the Lord.

When I was a young Christian in the Navy, I was a naval officer and I remember when I first got converted and I decided that I used to go to the movies. I used to invite other people of my naval colleagues, come, let's go to these movies. And then one day I got converted and I said, no more movies for me.

I've got to spend time with the Lord and all that filthy stuff that pollutes my mind, I don't want any more of that. And you know what happened? I was living, you know, as officers we had a little room to ourselves in the naval base. One day one of my friends came to me, two of my friends.

I was the one who took them to the movies in the olden days. They said, Jack, there's a movie in the naval base. Inside the naval base we had a special cinema theater for all the naval people.

There's a special movie there, let's go and see it. And I didn't want to go. But I didn't have the courage.

I'd just become a Christian. I didn't have the courage to say, I am now a Christian. They'd laugh at me.

Jack, last week you told us to go with you to the movies, now you say you're a Christian. And so I kept quiet and I walked with them and as I was walking on the road I was silent and praying, oh Lord, I'm in a fix now, deliver me, please deliver me somehow, I don't want to watch this movie with them. And we reached the movie theater, there was a notice there, we did not get the movie reel, so there'll be no movie today.

I didn't shout hallelujah, but there was a hallelujah in my heart. And those people were so disappointed, they were wondering how I was so happy. That was the day the Lord showed me He could do a miracle, even a miracle for a weak child like me who wanted to stay away from sin.

He'll do that for you. But when I came home the Lord said, next time I won't do that for you. Next time you've got to tell them yourself, I'm not coming.

That's how I'll be strong, I can't expect the Lord to do a miracle for me every time. It's wonderful, two things I learned that day, when I'm helpless He'll do a miracle for me, but He won't leave me like that, He wants me to be strong myself. So the next time I told them myself, sorry brothers, I'm a disciple of Jesus now, you can laugh at me but I don't go to church anymore, I'm sorry I did, I won't do it again.

And from that day onwards I sought to live for Christ and I wouldn't do certain things they wanted me to do. You know in the naval base regularly there were dances for naval officers and they'd drink. And I was always looking for an opportunity to witness to people but I didn't want to initiate the conversation because they'll think this guy's always as soon as he comes to me he preaches, I didn't want to be like that type of person.

You know you can drive away people by, sooner we go near him he'll talk about Jesus, I don't want that. So I would wait for an opening. So at these meetings, at these functions, evening functions, the naval officers, everybody would be drinking with alcoholic drinks and I would stand there with my orange juice.

They'd come and say, what Zack, you're not drinking. I'd say, okay you asked for it, I'll tell you why. Opening for the gospel.

I didn't start the conversation, they can't say you trusted on me. I said, brother you asked for it, that's why I'm telling you. I'm a sinner, Jesus has come to my heart.

So if you look for an opportunity to give the gospel, he'll open doors like that. Wonderful opportunities but you've got to be a little different. I'm just telling you what happened.

It's wonderful. They heard him speak and they followed Jesus. Make that a goal in your life brother, even your children, your friends.

I remember years later, I was in Bangalore and we had an ex-naval officer's function. You know I had left the Navy 40 years earlier but because I was an ex-naval officer they invited me to this function of retired naval officers and I met a man who was an admiral. He had been a young lieutenant like me when I met him 40 years earlier.

He grew up to be an admiral and he retired and he came to me, Zach, is it you? I'm seeing you after 40 years but I'll never forget what you were 40 years ago. I said thank God. There was a man, he didn't become a Christian but he knew what I stood for and I was encouraged.

People won't forget you. I remember another ship where I was on where the captain was a Roman Catholic and he knew me as a witness for Christ on that ship. Whenever I get an opportunity and then he was sick in the deathbed.

Somebody met him when he was in the hospital and he came and told me, you know Zach, that captain was thinking of you and told us about you. In his deathbed when he was approaching eternity, the one person he remembered was me because I was the only person who made him aware of eternity on the ship. They may not respond immediately but when they get to death they'll remember you because you reminded them of eternity.

I used to have verses on the panels of my scooter. I couldn't afford a car, it's too expensive. I rode a scooter for 42 years in India but on the two panels of my scooter I had written big verses, three-inch letters.

Prepare to meet your God and the other side, Christ died for our sins. And that created a big problem in the naval base and naval officers going around with these verses and within one day my commander called me and said I give you 24 hours to remove those verses. He said, what are these? I said, sir, these are verses from scripture.

We don't want them. Remove it by tomorrow. Well tomorrow came and he saw it again on my scooter.

He said, I told you. Yes, sir, but God told me to write it. I can't remove it.

That's a serious thing in the navy to disobey your senior officer. He says, okay, then I have to march you in before the captain. March you in means take you on a charge.

It's like taking you to court before the senior commanding officer. The senior commanding officer was a Roman Catholic and this man who took me there was a non-Christian. And he said, sir, this man's got something written on his scooter about meeting God and Christ dying and all that and we've also seen him standing on the street sometimes and preaching.

As a naval officer, you shouldn't do that. And I said, sir, I had to respond to those charges. I said, sir, I do not stand in the street in naval uniform.

After working hours are over, I put on civilian clothes and I preach the gospel on the street. I'm permitted to do that. And sir, I can't take out these verses because God's told me to write it.

So that man was a Roman Catholic. He had some fear of God. So he thought I was afraid to rub it out.

He says, I'll get some sailors to rub it out. I said, no, that's not the point, sir. God's told me to write these verses.

Well, I cannot permit you to ride that scooter inside the naval base. He had the authority for that. I said, thank you, sir.

I had to keep my scooter outside the base and I could not ride it anymore. I left it in a brother's house and I got a bicycle and I started riding a bicycle inside the big naval base when going to work. Naval officers do not ride bicycles.

They earn so much money they either ride a car or a scooter. So the news went around, why is Lieutenant Pooner riding a bicycle? What's happened to him? Has he suddenly got bankrupt or something? And the word went around. He had some verses on his scooter.

Next question is, what were those verses? That's how the news went around faster than if I were riding around the scooter. Forty years later, I meet a retired naval officer. He says, you're the one who had those verses on your scooter, right? I said, yes.

I tell you the ways of God are amazing. The chief of the naval staff, an admiral, once spoke to my brother and said, you're the brother of that chap who had verses on his scooter, right? Then I realized how God honors those who honor him. I didn't want any honor.

I just wanted the gospel to be spread. And I tell you, every one of those people who knew me in that base knew I was a Christian. And they never forgot it for the rest of their lives and perhaps on their death bed they'd remember it.

What I'm saying this to you, my brothers, is to encourage you. In your place of work, never be ashamed of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, He was ashamed of me.

I will be ashamed of Him when you stand before the Father. I said, that's more important to me. I don't want Jesus to be ashamed of me before the Father in the final day and say, this man was ashamed in his office to acknowledge that he was a Christian.

He was interested in his promotion. He was interested in his salary. He was afraid he'd lose his job.

I don't want to hear that. I was willing to lose my job. In the Navy, you disobey, you go to jail.

I was ready to go to jail. I'm not boasting, dear brothers and sisters. I'm just trying to be an example.

I'm saying like Paul said, follow me as I follow Christ. Paul was bold enough to say that. I want to say to all of you, when you get to know Jesus, you see, this is how Jesus was.

How do you think He was at home? It says He never sinned. The Bible says in Mark chapter 6, He had four younger brothers and at least two younger sisters, if not more. He had six siblings younger to Him.

And can you imagine a home where an elder brother is so upright and all his younger siblings, they try to irritate him, he never gets irritated. Have you seen a home where, leave alone six others, even if there are two or three others and the elder brother never gets irritated. How do those younger children feel? We've got to do something to irritate him.

Something, something poke him and irritate him and he never gets irritated. And they say, next, we'll try tomorrow. We'll try tomorrow.

We'll try next week. Imagine going through 20 years of that and never getting irritated. I said, Lord, I want that life.

The Holy Spirit took of the things of Christ at home and showed me and told me I can give you the power to live like that in your home, in your office where you'll never, never get irritated even if many people irritate you day and night for 20 years. I had faith because I looked unto Jesus. The secret of the Christian life is looking unto Jesus.

The Bible says we run this race looking unto Jesus. God wants us to know him. The Holy Spirit has come to show us Jesus Christ, how he lived.

I hope you have seen something of Christ today. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray many here will have a desire after hearing this to follow you more wholeheartedly in their home first of all, and in their place of work that you can get glory through every one of our lives, that we will never seek our reputation and our honor and all that garbage of the approval of men.

Help us to see, Lord, that the approval of men is rotten garbage fit for the trash can, the opinions of men. Help us to live for your honor and to seek your approval alone. Let the word remain in every heart, Heavenly Father.

We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.