Summary: After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua. It all begins there. God spoke. He is the Author of our faith. The day God speaks to you personally will change your life.

God Spoke! Pastor James

www.gracetabernaclehyd.org

Father this morning we come to You. Father I pray that I decrease truly Lord and You increase, that You speak. The voice of man has only the power to entertain, the voice of God has the power to change lives, change destinies, change history. Help us to be still that we may hear You speak, help us to be still that we may hear You teach. We have come here, I pray but beyond knowledge, beyond wisdom we have come here for life. You said, “My Words are life and spirit.” Help us to kill flesh for the flesh profits nothing from Your Word but the Spirit gives life. Let there be a stillness in our inner man casting aside all the troubles of life, all the cares of life, all the worries of life, all the anxieties of life so that You may speak. We sit at Your feet Lord, speak to us. For in Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Remember we’ve been looking from the Book of Joshua and the whole purpose, the primary purpose, secondary purposes are there of hearing from God’s Word, it is that we get a hold on eternity and God says, “Keep your minds on things that are above,” basically means, look into eternity. Eternity is coming, fast approaching, very fast approaching and when eternity begins, how much of our life and works down here will actually count? How much will it actually count is a simple question. How much of it will really count? What will I take from here there? That’s what it means. That’s why it’s so important to hear God speak.

New Covenant is primarily doctrine and it is the doctrine of Christ. If Christ is not in my life, I will not be able to receive doctrine. The Bible says, “When Christ who is your life, appears.” But if Christ is not my life, then I will not be actually able to receive doctrine even if I’m hearing doctrine. So, Christ should be my life, Christ should be our life, so that we can receive the doctrine of life. Then there are principles and persons which are there throughout the Bible, the people in the Bible and much of it is in the Old Testament and in the Old Testament when we study the Old Testament look for Christ because we are here men, women and children. Husband, wives and children. Fathers, mothers and children. Little children and youth, all categories are here. You see them all there. You see Christ in men, you see Christ in husbands, you see Christ in fathers, you see Christ in mothers, you see Christ in wives, you see Christ in children, you see Christ in the youth. So, you have doctrine and you have people and that’s how we learn, what Christ would do and what Christ wouldn’t do. That’s what Peter would say, “The Spirit of Christ who were there in the prophets.” Jesus said, “I have come to give you life,” John 10:10

John 10:10

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

The thief, that is the enemy, he comes to steal, he comes to kill, he comes to destroy but Jesus said, “I have come to give you life.” The question is He gives life. I have to receive life and I have to live that life and the whole Bible is about the life of God. The Old Covenant people could not live that life yet they were examples to us. Hebrews 12 will say, “The cloud of witnesses.” And this life is received by faith and that’s why at the end of hearing, at home, at church, anywhere, at the end of hearing, the simple thing is that, is faith rising? If faith hasn’t come, the Word of God is truth but truth in itself does not save you, by faith you have to receive that truth and truth is very difficult, very, very difficult. So, by faith we have to receive the truth and then by faith we have to receive the grace to obey the truth. Both are by faith. Keep these things in mind. Christ came to give us life. It’s a life given to us, it is a life that we are called to enter, possess in increasing measure and then hold. Each part of that life you possess you hold because there is an enemy who comes to steal that life. So, life is a very common word which everybody uses randomly, casually. So, in Matthew 6:25 Jesus said

Matthew 6:25

25Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body. He brings it to the very simple terms. Eat, drink wear and almost everything else you are thinking about is connect to these three basic things. Even career, marriage, everything is connected with these three. If I marry that man can I eat better,

wear better. Everything fundamental for an average man, woman. So, Jesus makes it very simple. Do not worry about your life. All these young girls are laughing. If you think I do not know what goes in their minds when they are thinking about their future. Girls’ worries are different from a man’s worry. So, God says, “Therefore I say to you do not worry about your life what you will eat, what you will drink, nor about your body what you will put on, is not life more than food and body more than clothing.” So, I have come to give you life. So, you have to go and see what Jesus talks about life. What is life? For the average man, life is connected with the temporal. It is absolutely connected with the temporal and then in verse 32 and 33 He says

Matthew 6:32-33

32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

For after all these things the Gentiles seek. So, if the primary objective in your life is broadly connected with this, he says, “You may be a child of God but you are no better than a gentile.” Because gentiles, meaning the people who are alienated from the life of God seek these things but Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. For God says, “You have a Father and the Father knows you need all these temporal things. He knows you need all these things but this is what Your Father wants, Your Father wants you to think about life at a completely different higher level.” Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things which you are so concerned and worried about He says will be added.” God says, “You know what, you see these things, let Me add these things.” But usually we seek the things which God is supposed to add and therefore we miss everything. We actually miss out on life and the problem here is which man needs to understand through the wise man, the wise fool called Solomon. God puts eternity into our hearts, you cannot escape it. That is why all these people who ran after money or name or popularity, after they achieve it, are empty and miserable, including Solomon. Why do they keep saying, life is so empty? Why do they? Any field if you look at it, it’s because we are not meant for the temporal. We were meant for the eternal and the eternal is signified there as the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God is forever and ever and God says, “Seek that first.” He says, “If you seek that first and His righteousness.” There’s a difference there. There are three primary kind of righteousness. There’s a righteousness that comes by the law – that is a righteousness of religion. There is a righteousness that comes by self – that is self- righteousness. There is a righteousness of God that comes by faith and faith alone. So, the qualifications are there very clear – seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. It’s a very powerful verse, very, very powerful verse. Life changing verse and you have to read it carefully, slowly. Seek ye first! Not second, not just on a Sunday. Seek ye first, priority in your life. Seek ye first. All these things shall be added unto you. I have come to give you life and don’t miss understand life, children of God, children of the heavenly Father, don’t live life like gentiles – what to eat, what to drink, what to wear. Don’t live in the temporal. Instead seek the eternal and the righteousness that comes by faith alone and you will suddenly realize, God is doing the adding. If you turn to Matthew 16:24-25

Matthew 16:24-25

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

And Jesus said to His disciples. He’s telling His disciples, if anyone desires to come after Me. This is for people who desire to come after Me. Today we had the children singing a beautiful song. What was the song? One thing I desire! But my issues with all these songs are they are good but they are not New Covenant because in the New Covenant, you are the temple. In the Old Covenant, they went to the temple. So, one thing I desire that I may dwell in Your house forever but in the New Covenant you will say, “Lord! That You would dwell in me forever, and more and more and more.” And not that I dwell in Your house which is a physical location but You dwell in me and You take over, more and more. So, whoever, anyone desires to come after Me. Let Him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me. And then He qualifies it in verse 25. Whoever desires to save his life. Again, He brings life there. He says, “You will lose it.” You will ultimately lose your life. He’s not saying losing your life like dying, He says, when you reach there, you will see that hardly anything came up. The Bible says, Paul says, our works will be tested, our lives will be tested by fire and many will come just with Salvation alone and nothing else all gone.

That’s why these things shouldn’t be taken lightly. It doesn’t matter how old you are. If you have believed in the Lord Jesus and you are saved, you have to take it very seriously. Whoever desires to save his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. What will he find? He will find life. So, Jesus says, “if anyone wants to come after Me, first thing is, don’t take up his cross. First, deny himself, his life. See, the cross doesn’t come first. Cross signifies sacrifice and there are lot of people who have picked up their cross but it is for self. Everybody who has reached the pinnacle of success you look into their lives, there is sacrifice, but that is not a sacrifice for Christ. It was for self-life. So, God says, “First, you need to deny that life, then pick up the cross, then only you can actually follow Me. Otherwise you are not following Me, you are following yourself. Your dreams, your ambitions, all that you are following, of course you are using Me on the way. It’s not about Me.” He says, “If you want to follow Me.” The thing is that whether you are young or old don’t waste life.

Matthew 7:13-14

13Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, He brings life and there are few who find it.

God is not primarily talking about just salvation alone. God says that in the journey of people who are saved, who have entered through that gate, who have entered into God’s Kingdom by faith, received the gift of salvation who entered, the number of people who actually finish it, not that losing your salvation don’t miss understand me, who finish it, receiving, possessing the life Christ gave, will be very few. And what is stopping us? Self! Nothing else. We blame the devil and all but actually when Jesus walked on earth, the devil was still there, much more powerful than he was now because he was not defeated yet. The world was there, oppressive Roman Empire but Jesus said, “The ruler of this world has come and he found nothing in Me.” See, the simple thing is that, any day your self dies, the devil loses, the world loses because they lose their power over you. The devil or the world cannot touch you and me except through myself. That’s what God is talking about. So, we have not come here for knowledge alone or wisdom or understanding, we have come for life because what you come for like you go into any class room, what you come for matters. If you have come for life, you will receive life. But if you want His life, we should be willing to lose our life. So, keep your eyes fixed on eternity.

Matthew 16:26

26For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world. So, it is possible that a man can achieve all his dreams, achieve all his ambitions, his career objectives everything he had planned out, you can achieve and yet lose his own soul. That’s how Alexander the great died, right? When he died, he said, “Leave my hands out of the coffin, that I came with nothing and I’m going with nothing.” Yet it is repeatedly said that he cried, because there were no more lands to be conquered and he was only thirty-three years old. Achieved his objective dreams and died empty. Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul. Because we have come to the end of the first month. So, we keep these things, keep hearing, keep believing. Keep speaking, keep doing. It is continuous thing with God and that life He offers. So, if you go back to Joshua 1:1, 2

Joshua 1:1-2

1After the death of Moses, the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: 2 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel.

And then in verse 11 and then we will come back to verse 1

Joshua 1:11

11“Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess.’”

For the principles of the life which Jesus has come and He’s showing us how we possess it. We probably won’t go beyond verse 1 today. We’ll go back there to verse 1.

After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua. It all begins there. God spoke. If God doesn’t speak, you don’t have the twenty-four chapters of the Book of Joshua. He is the Author of our faith. If He doesn’t speak, everything else that happens in our life is pointless and a waste because faith comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of God. What He has spoken and what He speaks because we serve a God who speaks. Joshua is around eighty and God hasn’t spoken to him yet. He spoke to him through another man but He didn’t speak to him directly. Eighty years old. God read the previous four Books, Exodus to Deuteronomy, you don’t see God speaking to Joshua. God is speaking to Moses about Joshua, yes, not to Joshua directly. This is the first time it is written, God spoke to Joshua, and because now God speaks to Joshua, that day would change his life. The day God speaks to you personally will change your life.

Now, God speaks to Joshua, right? He speaks to Joshua, what does He speak? He says, “Arise!” He says, “Cross over, prepare.” He says, “Passover.” He says, “Posses” it’s important what you hear because a lot of people who hear but they don’t rise. It’s a very spiritual act to rise when God speaks. There are those who rise but they don’t prepare. There are those who prepare but they don’t cross over because you are not asked to cross over what you think, you are asked to cross over a very particular place called Jordan. We are asked to cross over a very specific place and life is on the other side of Jordan. Have you heard? Yes! Did you rise? Yes! Did you prepare? Yes! Did you cross over? No! Go back today and read 2 Kings 2. There is a journey that begins, Elijah and Elisha, an old man and a young disciple like Joshua and the journey begins at Gilgal. That’s where the journey begins. There are four stages in that journey but the journey ends on the other side of Jordan. From Gilgal to Bethel, from Bethel to Jericho, from Jericho to the other side of Jordan and Bethel and Jericho, there are sons of prophets. Did they hear? Of course, they heard. They said, “Do you know that your master will be taken today?” They heard, they had risen, they had prepared but one thing they were not willing to do. They were not willing to cross Jordan. Elijah through the power of the Spirit, splits Jordan, he crosses over and Jordan closes again and it is only after he crossed over and Elisha’s crossed with him, he asks Elisha, what do you want? What do you seek? Today’s words he’s saying, “I’m seeking your life. That life that is upon you, that anointing that is upon you, I want that. That’s why I followed you all these years.” For hearing, rising, preparing, crossing over then possessing. It is not enough that you possess, you need to hold it till the end. If you look at Revelation 3:11

Revelation 3:11

11Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may takes it away. Who is the one who takes it away? The devil. He comes to steal. Look through the Bible, look at great men of God, many of them did not hold it till the end. They did not hold it till the end, that life of Christ they did not hold it till the end. I’m not saying they lost their salvation. We are not talking about salvation here. We are speaking to saved people. Hold fast till the end. Listen to this great man, 2 Timothy 4:7.

2 Timothy 4:7

7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

It was a battle every day. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. He says, “I have held fast till the end. Now, there is reserved for me.” But where did it all begin. It all began the day God spoke. One day on the road to Damascus, God spoke. Please, which way God choses to speak, we do not know but believe God speaks. If God doesn’t speak, we will live actually lives without purpose. It all begins because God speaks.

Genesis 1:3

3Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

And God said, “Let there be light!” That’s where it all begins. If God hadn’t spoken nothing would have happened. Let there be light. You know the average speed of an aircraft is like five hundred miles per hour. At that speed non-stop I think it will take around twenty days to reach moon but light reaches in 1.3 seconds. Man’s ability and God’s ability.

Light takes 1.3 seconds. What was the first thing God said? “Let there be light.” If that is what light is, then what is God? And how are we so casual about what God is speaking? When the first Word God spoke, He saw darkness but He spoke light. First words God spoke was, “Let there be light!” what He saw was darkness, what He saw was emptiness, what He saw had no form at all. So, the simple question is, when God looks into us what does He see? Does He see darkness? When He looks into my soul and your soul, does He see there is no form? Because He is trying to conform us to the Image of His son but when He looks into our souls, He says, “You know what, that’s My son and there is no form,” That’s My Son full of the Spirit and you are emptied, “That’s My Son, who is a radiance, the brightness of His coming which will destroy the anti-Christ. But there is no light in you.” What does He see? It is not what do I see? What does He see? Because if He doesn’t speak, I will not hear, and I don’t hear, I will not know.

What does He see? For if you are saved, you should always go back to the beginning. That’s what Genesis means. How did God begin, what did He intend? Genesis 1 is a very good chapter, Genesis 1 and 2 are a very good chapters. You see a format over there. God said, “Let there be light.” Then there is time, then there are seasons, then His creatures and the three- fold blessings on creatures. Be fruitful, multiply and fill. Only three. Then He makes man and there are five-fold blessings on man. Same three plus subdue and have dominion. And there is work, then He said, it is not good for man to be alone. Man is given, I don’t say instructions, He’s given commands. So, there is work, there are commands and the commands are connected with time and seasons. There is work, there is rest, there is fellowship. Think about it: time, seasons, work, rest, relationship, order. It’s all there in the first two chapters. Why? Because God spoke. So, we need to ask, where am I in God’s time? I’m these many years old, where am I in God’s time, because time is a luxury you don’t get it back. Which season am I in? Because some seasons are not repeated. What is the work I’m called to do? And don’t think you are young because at the age of twelve Jesus knew what His work was. He said, “I am at My Father’s business.”

Then comes sin, then comes death but the fundamentals never change. That’s why we need to ask this question, what is life? What is life, what is the will of God for me? Work, rest, relationship. There are times and seasons, then we have strength, resources, gifts all centered around the will of God, then one day will come what is called death. Hebrews 9:27. Sooner or later depending on God and your life.

Hebrews 9:27

27And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

And it is appointed for men to die once then comes judgment. And nobody is sure about death, especially in our day. If you look at the sting on the Pfizer executive, remember what they were talking about, it was a sting and the guy didn’t know what he was talking about, it will keep on mutating the virus by twenty twenty-five we want half the world dead. Do you know when you will die? You know how many young people even the best athletes are dying because of the vaccine and because of disease. Do you know when you will die? If you live life without purpose, you will die. For to be able to say, “I shall not die, but live.” You need to know the works of the Lord. That’s why that purpose comes from hearing, God spoke. After death is judgment. And the nature of that judgment, Hebrews 6:2

Hebrews 6:2

2 .... And eternal judgment.

The nature of that judgment is eternal, meaning, you can’t go back and change it. That’s why children have palpitations when final exams come. Because they know there is something final about it. I still remember when I was doing my class ten board exams, the teacher telling us. Remember you may thing you can do supplementary make up, but remember if you lose one year because you will have it in the newspaper. Do you know how many students are writing class ten exams in my time? It was five lakhs plus. He said if you lose one-year, next year it will be ten lakhs because another five lakhs have entered because you delayed in the temporal. So, there is something finality about the final exam but even that final is not final. But this is eternal so take life seriously.

There is life, God has come to give us life, Jesus has come to give us life and ultimately when we stand before God the only thing that will be judged is that life. And Jesus comes and says, “Don’t worry what you will eat, what you will drink, what you will wear.” Instead He says, “Seek!” because you need to understand the meaning of life, the purpose of life.

Don’t assume, don’t presume because we have a God who speaks beyond the general will of God which you can learn from the Word of God by hearing, meditating. Each one can find their slot in God’s purpose.

Psalm 127:1-2

1Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

Look at that verse, two verses. Three times he uses the word, vain, vain, vain. Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who builds unless the Lord guards the city, the watchmen stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early to sit up late. So, this is not a lazy guy. This is a hard-working guy. He wakes up early in the morning. He sits up late to eat the bread of sorrows. He’s struggling. For He giveth His beloved sleep. So, there is work, there is purpose, there is rest and then the next verse is talking about relationships, there is a place called home. So, God is talking about all these. He says, Paul will put it across this way. He says, you know what, we are not working for Christ, we are working with Christ. We are co-laborers with Christ, we are co-laborers with God. Think about it. All the children and the older people sitting here, ask this simple question. Are you conscious that you are working with God? What a statement he makes - we are co-laborers with Christ. That means unless the Lord builds. God is a worker He works along with us. Simple things to start your day off tomorrow whether you are student, whether you are an employee, whatever you are. Or as we call in India, housewife, it doesn’t matter. Are you working with God? How can I work with God unless I hear because God speaks? You can never doubt the fact that God speaks because God speaks. He speaks.

Hebrews 1:1-2

1God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

God, who at various times and in various ways. What did He do? Spoke. In time past, He spoke in time past to the father by prophets but in the last day spoken to us by His Son. Aren’t we privilege? He spoke to them through prophets, He speaks to us through His Son and now He speaks to us through His written Word and His own Son’s Spirit that is in us. He speaks, our God speaks and then in Chapter 2:1-3

Hebrews 2:1-3

1Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,

Therefore, we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard. If we are not very careful of revising. That’s what teachers do, right? We all did, both of us at a higher level, I taught literature but the last month before that we finished the portion and what are we doing, revising. Earnest heed to the things that you have heard, otherwise what will happen? You will drift away. You know what drifting is? Take a thermocol or a cork and put it in water. It will just drift away. You won’t even realize, you will just drift away and one day when you realize, you will realize you are so far away, how did I reach here? You will drift away. So, you have to be very careful that we give earnest heed to the things that we heard and that is why we keep on posting the old messages, keep hearing, whatever you are doing, cooking, washing, keep hearing. Otherwise if the words spoken through angels proved steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him.

So, what does God speak? Do you know that every time God speaks, He speaks salvation, He speaks life? That’s what He speaks, He speaks life. So, the Bible is full of record of people to whom God spoke. Those who obeyed or those who did not obey or to people to whom God did not speak. There are three categories of people in the Bible. One, to those God spoke and they obeyed, those who heard and did not obey and those who never heard. But every time God spoke, every time God spoke and they heard, life changed. We are going back to the simple basics. As Pastors, all we can do is give you the fundamentals of understanding and appropriating the general will of God which itself is good. That’s why

surrender to God is not a difficult thing because His will is only three categories. Good, pleasing and perfect. There’s nothing called bad will of God, ill will of God. No. Ill will of man, good will of God. So, knowing God is good, His will is good, it is easy to go and surrender with that concept but each one has to discover God’s will.

Genesis 3:8-9

8And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

So, if you look at patterns because you go to the Bible to look at patterns. There was a specific place where God used to come and speak to Adam and Eve because this is the pattern of living. Understand, that is the pattern in which we should live. You shall not live by the pattern of that tree, what is good, what is evil. There are three patterns by which people live. This is good, this is evil, right and wrong. Second pattern is, what does the law says? The law says this. So, it is no longer good and evil. It is the law. Homosexuality has been legalized, so what was evil is now legalized. So, we don’t look at even what is good or evil, we don’t want to hear about it, the law has sanctioned it. And there is a third way of living. What did God say? God only speaks the truth because God is truth. But there is a place where He spoke. That is what is so important.

The first thing you need to realize, “Lord, let me be at a place where I can hear You.” A place is not just a physical location though on a Sunday morning it’s a physical location. Unless you have exigencies, you should be in the house of God where He speaks for Jesus said, “If two or three of you gather in My name, I will be in your midst.” What does He do when He comes?” He speaks! He does many other things but He speaks. So, this is a place but as soon as they had disobeyed God, they are not at the place where He speaks. This is a spiritual place. They are not at the place where He speaks. God speaks! Are you at a place where He can speak?

After forty years in the wilderness, listening to Moses, God spoke to Joshua because he was at the right place. If you are not at the right place, God will not speak to you. Even if God were to be speaking to us because He only speaks at certain places and we are not at that place, God is not able to speak. If I’m not at that place and then I say God spoke, then maybe it is not God who spoke. Be careful, you cannot live good empty purposeless life. Purpose is not defined by you or me. It has to be defined by God because God speaks. The Book of Genesis is a record of people to whom God spoke. The Book of Exodus begins with the record of Joseph and His brothers and that generation died and then arose a Pharaoh who did not know Joseph. They are going through so much suffering. They are groaning, they are wailing, they are crying, God heard and God didn’t speak. The Bible says very clearly that God heard them. God did not speak. Why didn’t God speak? It is because He did not have a man who could hear. So, in Exodus 3 there is a situation where there is a burning bush, where the bush is not being consumed and there is the light still flaring

Exodus 3:3-4

3Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”4 So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

And Moses said, “I will turn aside see this great sight why the bush does not burn.” and the Bible says, “So, when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him.” He saw a sign but he said, if there is a sign, there must be a signifier. That’s why Jesus was upset with His generation. He says, “Sign, sign, sign, sign, how many more signs do you need?” But there was a man who came in the night. He said, “I saw the sign and I’m sure You are from God.” He didn’t come for a healing, he didn’t come for a miracle, he wanted to know the Signifier but when Jesus told him the cost of knowing Him, he backed out. He said, “You have to be born again.” What does it mean to be born again? You have to negate your entire past life. Shut down! He said, “Wow! I’m in the Sanhedrin. I’m part of them. Give up all that?” He walked away in the night. When the Lord saw he turned aside, then God spoke and his life changed and because he was a pivotal man in human history, history changed. It all began because God spoke. People are crying, people are groaning, God is hearing but He won’t speak. He won’t speak because He needs a person who will hear. God is not a God who wastes words. He’s looking for a man who will hear Him. If you go to Leviticus 1 the next Book.

Leviticus 1:1

1Now the LORD called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying,

And the Lord called to Moses. How does the Book begin? God spoke.

Numbers 1:1

1Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying:

And the Lord spoke. The next Book, Deuteronomy 1:3

Deuteronomy 1:3

3Now it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him as commandments to them,

God spoke to him, he spoke to the people. You see the Books are all opening with the same narrative. God spoke to man, man spoke to men. God spoke, God spoke, God spoke and when the Book of Joshua begins, God spoke. We have a God who speaks because life is full of confusion and conflicts and trials and testing and the first place we need to be is in a place where you hear. It’s a very safe place. It’s a very safe place even if you have that cross on your back meaning you are in the cross hairs of the gun sight but if you are in the place where you have heard, you are in a safe place. “Elijah, turn eastward, go to Cherith stay there. I have commanded the ravens to feed you,” and there the kings and the soldiers and the armies searching town after town, city after city, village after village, country after county for this man but he cannot be found because he’s where God wants him and he’s provided for there. When everybody is scavenging for food, he’s taken care of because he’s where God wants him to be because he heard. And when the brook dries up, God tells him, “Elijah, arise and go to Zarephath because I have commanded a widow to feed you.” He’s safe, right under Jezebel’s father’s nose, he’s thriving because he’s where he has heard. He has heard and he stays there and after sometime, “Arise, go meet Ahab the man who is looking after you and tell him, I will meet you at Carmel.” God’s place. Be at a place where you can hear, and I’m telling you it is a difference between life and death because Joshua is a type of Jesus and a type of an overcomer and He is the Author and the Finisher of our faith and there is Joshua, so, you learn from Joshua, we learn lessons from Joshua, we learn lessons from Jesus because He is the Author and we are always looking for the Spirit of Jesus working in different people. How to be, how not to be. And that’s what repentance means. You hear that you say, “Lord I’m coming back forgive me, I’m turning, I’m turning to this side because what I want is your life. I don’t want any life outside of you.” So, in 1 Peter 4:1-2

1 Peter 4:1-2

1Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.

So God is saying something, if you want to live for the will of God, you need to battle self, your flesh, your self-life, you have to fight it and do you know how Jesus was able to fulfill the will of His Father, because He fought that. He came in the likeness of human, He was tempted at all points yet He did not sin. So, He says, “This is the battle to which you are called.” You know you have an internal conflict always going on. There’s an internal conflict, it begins from the moment you wake up in the morning, if you wake up in the morning. The conflict begins. So, if you turn to Exodus 17 and Moses said to Joshua. It’s the first time Joshua is mentioned in the Bible

Exodus 17:9

9And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.”

Moses said to Joshua. What did he tell him? Choose us some men and go out and fight with Amalek. Now, when we study Scripture we understand Amalek is a type of the flesh. The first time Joshua is mentioned, he is mentioned to go fight flesh. Where did it happen? It happened at Rephidim. What happened at Rephidim? They drank from the rock. The minute they drank from the rock which is a type of the life of Christ that comes through the Holy Spirit, the Bible says,

“Amalek attacked them.” As long as you do not taste the life of Christ Jesus, the devil will leave you alone but the minute you taste the life of God, the devil will come after you because he says, “This life is now dangerous.” And God will say, “Amalek came from behind and attacked first the weaklings.” Amalek will come and hit you at your weak areas and the Bible says, “God told Joshua through Moses,” what does He tell him? “Get up and fight.” So, Joshua did as Moses said to him.

Exodus 17:10

10So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

How did he fight? Joshua did as Moses said to him and fought with Amalek. The devil comes to steal. Honestly telling you, unless you are actually in the occult, the devil cannot kill you, you kill yourself. He only steals. He cannot destroy you, you destroy yourself. Self-destruction! All he does is steal. And the first thing he steals is your hearing.

In Matthew 16:18 Jesus says,

Matthew 16:18

18the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Gate signifies doors and authority.

Revelation 1:18

18I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

So, God is saying, you know what, the devil comes to steal. How does he steal? Because he finds open doors. He finds open doors but God says, “The keys are with My Son. Do you trust My Son to shut those doors in our lives?”

2 Corinthians 11:2-3

2For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Did you see that? What did the devil do? He just deceived Eve. He didn’t deceive Adam.

1 Timothy 2:14

14And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.

Adam was not deceived. But both disobeyed. So, you need to realize, you can disobey by deception and you can disobey with knowledge. Eve was deceived and disobeyed. Adam disobeyed with his eyes opened. Both opened literally the gates of hell. And Moses is telling Joshua fight Amalek. The final test for the first king of Israel. 1 Samuel 15:3 to Saul

1 Samuel 15:3

3Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”

Now, when we read that we feel uneasy. Don worry about that, look at the spiritual application today. The spiritual application for them is different. All gentile things, everything in that pagan culture, including the new born infant has gone through for the occult. Their sheep, their goat, their donkey. God says, “You don’t want anything of that. Destroy it, because it is already being given over for another purpose. You bring it over here, you will be opening gates. So, destroy it completely.” That’s what it means. In the New Covenant for us God is saying everything. Don’t consider this little and that big.

1 Samuel 15:9

9But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

So, he went by the principle of what is good and bad and not by what God said, not by truth. What God has spoken is what is true. See, when God spoke, that is where faith comes. Faith is receiving God’s Word. It is not looking at what is good or wrong because it simply doesn’t have the ability to judge what is right and wrong because right and wrong will be only known later. You just receive God’s Word. The Bible says by faith we understand, the worlds were created by the Word of God, by the unseen. Has science even today caught up with creation? No, it hasn’t.

But by faith we understand, understand doesn’t mean we understand all the principles of creation. By faith we accept the fact that God created it. So, when God says something, it is always true and therefore, by faith we receive it. It is important because otherwise when you disobey God, you will not have the prick in your conscience. Otherwise, like King Saul you will start justifying. That was what Saul did. When he was caught with the hand in the cookie jar, he said, “But the people.” You will start justifying. Why doesn’t he have the conviction like David? Because he has never accepted the Word of God as truth because remember, for the Holy Spirit to convict you, you should have received God’s Word as truth. If you have not accepted God’s Word, whether you understand the whole Bible is not the point, have you accepted at some point, God’s Word is the truth, then the Holy Spirit can convict. But if you and I are the arbiter of what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is bad, even when we hear God’s Word, we are very selective as to what I will destroy and what I will keep when the command is very clear.

1 Samuel 15:13

13 Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of the LORD.”

But did he? So, there is Joshua. Exodus 17:13

Exodus 17:13

13So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

These things are not written randomly. It is for us upon whom the end of the ages has come. He destroyed Amalek by the edge of the sword. The Word of God is living. It is double-edged. It is the sword of the Spirit. You want to destroy Amalek, I want to destroy Amalek, there is a constant battle. You cannot quit this battle, you do it, it’s at your own peril.

1 Samuel 15:22

22So Samuel said: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.

Because this is human reasoning. We substitute sacrifice for obedience. Turn to Hebrews 12 and read from 5 to 7 when Jesus comes

Hebrews 10:5-7

5Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. 6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. 7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’”

He says, “You are not interested in sacrifice without obedience.” You want obedience and the sacrifice that goes with obedience. I hope you got the difference. Because we have so much sacrifice but the simple question is not sacrifice, the simple question is, did you obey? God says, “If there is no obedience, your sacrifice is pointless.” Because the issue is this, whenever God confronts, whenever a person is confronted they don’t look at their disobedience, they look at their sacrifice, even in personal conflicts and all, the issue may be a question of obedience. I told you to do this, you didn’t do it but when the issue is being discussed, you bring a history of sacrifice. You don’t know what all I did for you and you never remember, you never compliment. That was not the issue the issue was something else. Did you obey? But you need to understand that’s how it happens even in human conflicts or with God. The issue is that when God is trying to bring the issue of obedience, we go into a history of sacrifice and God says, “I don’t want sacrifice, I want obedience.”

Home conflicts, church conflicts. Pastor tells, I’m not talking about you, I’m talking generally. Pastor tells somebody, “You know, I want you to do this.” And the person doesn’t do that and when he is called why didn’t you do that, pastor never appreciates me, I am the first to come, I am the last to go, I clean the place but that is not what was discussed. The discussion was a very small thing. You were asked to do something, the only question was, did you do or not? You are giving a history of sacrifice. Husband and wife, parents and children, everywhere the question is actually a question of obedience but what do we respond. We don’t realize we have the same flesh, Amalek is busy, we give a history of sacrifice. And finally, tired of it all, the Son of God comes and say, “I will not talk about sacrifice, I will not talk about offerings. I will talk about obedience. I have come to do Your will.” Are you getting the picture? So, if you turn back to Exodus 17:8-10

Exodus 17:8-10

8Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

Joshua could have told many things. Why should I go? You are putting my life at risk. I’ve never fought a battle before. Moses said, Joshua did. But how did Moses say? Read. “Choose us.” I’m in the battle as much as you, only our positions are different. You fight there, I fight there. We are in this together, we are co-laborers with Christ Jesus. We are in this together. That’s how it began, Joshua’s life begins there. That’s where he’s beginning. Choose us some me and go fight. You go there, I’ll go there. That’s where Joshua began and Joshua’s victory is entirely dependent on Moses and that’s why we need to realize, yes, we are in this war, we are fighting on, our victory is entirely dependent on the fact whether Jesus will intercede for me or not, not even my prayers. For He lives forever to make intercession for the saints. So, if His hands are not up I will lose. If His hands are up, I will win. But the simple question is, “Am I listening to Him?” Am I fighting the battles He wants me to fight?” Or am I fighting my battles and saying, “Lord, would You please keep Your hands up and pray, why are You keeping it down, don’t You know I’m fighting here?” God says, “I didn’t call you to fight those fights.”

That’s why all these little things matter as you go further and further in our walk with God you will see every little detail matter. Because the thing is that we want to finish well. After fifteen rounds McCarthy became the speaker in the US congress, fifteen rounds of voting, I thing twelve, fourteen or fifteen round he became and when he took the podium and the gable he said, “My father told me,” and his father was an electrician or something like that. He said, “My father told me, it’s not how you start that matters, it’s how you finish.” It’s not how you start that matters. It is how you finish. A good start is very good but more than a good start what matters is, how you will finish. And you will realize, that’s why Jesus said, “The way is very difficult.” Why is the way so difficult? Narrow is the way, difficult is the way. Why is the way difficult? Because right in the middle of the way stands truth. If I were to tell you this is right and this is wrong everybody is happy. But if I have to tell you, that, you need to encounter God and discover truth for yourself, everybody will say, “Why don’t you make it easy?” Because God is truth. Jesus is truth, the Word of God is truth, the Spirit is truth and the Church is the pillar and the foundation of truth. And our struggle is with that. And the thing is that Jesus said, “If you do not deny yourself and pick up your cross, you simply cannot follow Me. You will not ever understand the truth. The parameters for understanding truth itself is different. He says, “If you don’t deny yourself, then you are not hearing truth. You are hearing what you want to hear about yourself.” You are not hearing truth. Go to Exodus 24:1

Exodus 24:1

1Now He said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar.

These are like you know beautiful words. What does God say? Come up to the Lord. Did you hear this morning? Come to church. No! He said, “Come to Me.” You see it is a whole lot of difference going to church and going to Christ. He didn’t say come up to the mountain. He says, “Come up to Me.” Though it’s on top of the mountain, He says, “Come up to Me.” Come up to the Lord. Who? You, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy of the elders of the Israel and worship from afar.

Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,

Exodus 24:13-14

13So, Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. 14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed, Aaron and Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.”

Let me ask you this question? Are the instructions so difficult? Ae they difficult? Go to verse 18

Exodus 24:18

18So, Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, Hur, seventy elders, all are there and he said, “All of you wait here until we get back and Joshua come with me,” and then Moses disappears into the cloud. Forty days later when he comes back only Joshua is there, others have disappeared. Can you wait? Nobody is there. Everybody is gone. The Bible says, “They saw the Lord, the ground what like Sapphire clean, they saw the Lord, they ate and the Lord didn’t strike. They saw all of it but no body waited. A simple instruction called, “Would you wait here?” They all disappeared. Very simple, nothing complicated, very simple, wait here. He called me, He will send me back, till I get back, wait here. It was only Joshua. A little later Aaron has made a golden calf. Why? It is because they didn’t wait. A little later Nadab and Abihu will die because fire will come out of the presence of God and destroy them because they did not wait. Little later, seventy of these elder who must have been part of the two fifty elders who rose against Moses, will also die. Why did they all die? Why did they all go haywire? It is simple because they heard but they did not believe to obey. It is so simple. The enemy comes to steal, to kill and to destroy. Let me ask you that question? Was it very difficult? Wait! “Lord,” you are praying you are fasting and then in the middle of it you hear a small voice, a very still small voice, one word and the one word is ‘WAIT.’

Last week, I mean every week there is crisis because the enemy is always testing us. Not crisis here, it was in Egypt. Suddenly this thing comes and I’m under pressure, tremendous pressure how to handle it and I heard God said, “Wait.” I said okay, once you heard wait, then the load is lifted. Until you hear, the load is there. I said, “Lord, how long?” He said, “Wait, twenty-four hours.” Within twenty-four hours the situation was resolved. But if I didn’t hear, I would have intervened. And the weight would have become a burden. I’m telling you, if you don’t hear because life is coming. Remember first great persecution arose against Jerusalem and they were all scattered. There will be a season of scattering in everybody’s life where God will take you all out to different places and if by then you haven’t heard the discipline of hearing from God. It is a difference between life and death, living with purpose and without purpose. It is not so difficult because if you don’t listen, if you don’t have the habit of hearing, you will be like King Saul. Listen to King Saul 1 Samuel 13

1 Samuel 13:8-12

8 Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.9So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him.11 And Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, 12 then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.’ Therefore, I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”

Lot of people do because they are compelled. But the question is who compelled you? What was told to you? Wait! You didn’t wait, simple thing, “Wait here.” You think these are little words? Before Jesus ascended He appeared to His disciples. Paul will say that He appeared to almost five hundred disciples. He told them all wait. How many were there on the day of Pentecost? 120. So, what happened to the other 380 plus? They did not wait. Do you have their history? No, why? Simply because they did not wait. See when the Lord tells you to wait, it is not time wasted, it is not time lost because it is written those who wait on the Lord, shall renew their strength. Second, they shall mount up like eagles, meaning all the time you thought loss was actually gained. I always use the example of Joseph, thirteen years as a slave and as a prisoner but in one day he was out. The next thing you see, he’s standing before the king and the king looks at him, listens to his words and his interpretations and his wisdom and says, “There is nobody else in this kingdom like you who has the Spirit of God. You take charge, you are only second to me.” You know what, he did not lose time or strength.

Here we called them Principal Secretary or Cabinet Secretary very few will reach in a dispensation and to reach there from IAS how many years of service and the rivalry etc. For Joseph no rivalry nothing, just lifted up and put over there because he learnt to wait.

The first lesson God teaches His Son is to learn to wait. 30 years He waited. At 12 He was ready; He already knew His Father’s business but He waited. Simple principles, wait. Don’t be compelled to get married. There are a lot of people who get compelled to get married. And they become like that Hindi movie ‘Bhahu Bali’ girl committed suicide, why? Bhahu Bali. She was compelled to get married. Don’t be compelled. Wait! Joshua waited. When Moses comes down only Joshua is there. Everybody is gone. Everybody is gone and Joshua is still waiting. Let me tell you it is more difficult for Joshua to wait than for the others. Let me ask you this question – there are 50 people called to wait. One person has to wait alone and the other 49 have to wait together. Which is easier? Waiting alone? For 49 waiting together? The 49 is easy but they disappeared and the one who is alone is still waiting. It is because he is not with them, he is in a different level. He is waiting there all alone. Moses is gone and these people are down there. But he probably saying, ‘Moses is gone up and these people have gone but I will still wait.’

This is what Milton wrote in his ‘Ode to Blindness’ – ‘The also serve who stand and wait.’

All Elijah did was wait at Cherith but he was serving God. That is what he was told to do – wait! All he did at Zarephath was wait. But he was serving God. When you are obeying God and you are waiting while doing all the regular things you are serving God. Have you noticed King Saul’s life was full of sacrifice but no obedience.

Exodus 33:11

11 So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

Ask yourself this question – here is Moses, wherever Moses goes Joshua follows like a shadow. I had a boy like that many years ago. I first saw him in that country when he was in class 9. The next year when I went to work with the underground church he was the first guy I saw. He said, ‘Sir, (he still calls me sir) can I come with you?’ I said, ‘Sure! If you want to come with me, no problem.’ That is where he began and then later, ‘Can I stay with you?’ like the two disciples of Jesus. I said, ‘Okay, only weekends.’ And I had so many services, I said, ‘I will be preaching the same thing at different churches. Some days it’s 3 times, some days it’s 6, some days it is 8 services from 6 in the morning till 11 in the night.’ He said, ‘I want to come with you.’ Joshua is like that, wherever Moses goes his shadow follows. Today that boy is a pastor. Today he’s got, probably, the most influential ministry in that entire country.

God speaks to Moses, it is not written that God speaks to Joshua. And then God speaks to Moses, Moses has heard, ‘Bye! Amen!’ and then he leaves, but this man doesn’t leave. He is sitting there. When God comes to speak to Moses he is experiencing the presence of God. He was like, ‘If I cannot experience the voice of God, let me at least experience the presence of God.’ but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

Can you stay? Can you stay in your prayer closet if God is silent? God is not speaking to him. Can we stay? Simple

principles to learn.

See this is where faith comes.

1 Samuel 3:1-9

1Now the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli.

(he knew his place. ‘I am not called to minister to the Lord beside Eli. No. before Eli; meaning ‘I do what he tells me to do.’ Do you remember after Abraham had goofed up and Ishmael is born and 13 years of silence and the first thing God, when He appears again, tells, ‘Abraham, walk before Me and be blameless.’ It is a different thing to walk with God. You cannot walk with God unless you have walked before Him. So there is Samuel serving the Lord before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. 2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, 3 and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, why so much of detail? There are so many people in the temple. There are priests, the priests’ sons and all the Levites, but only one boy is sleeping where the presence is. One little boy, may be 7 or 8 years old. Young kid. He chooses a place to sleep. He is sleeping as close he can to the Ark. 4 that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!” 5 So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down. You need to understand what Scripture says. 6 Then the LORD called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 (Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor was the word of the LORD yet revealed to him.) He did not know God. The Word of the Lord never came to him. God never spoke to him. So when God called him, the simple question is – what did God’s voice sound like to him? The voice of Eli. Which child doesn’t want to sleep? But he woke up, not once, not twice but three times. So what was there in his life? Samuel knew only three people in his childhood; his father, his mother and the high priest. You should only know three people in your life – your father, your mother and your pastor. And when they call, run, ‘Here I am.’ And he ran. The third time Eli said, ‘You know what? This is God.’

Do you know why it all happened? It is because he chose to tarry in the right place. Wait in the right place.

8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.” Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

Numbers 27:18-20

18 And the LORD said to Moses: “Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; 19 set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and inaugurate him in their sight. 20 And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.

It is so interesting right? This is where the term ‘the inauguration of the president’ and all comes from. That is American presidents are inaugurated. It is called the Inauguration. The first one to be inaugurated was Joshua. He says, ‘You shall give him some of you authority.’ Not all your authority, because authority is a very dangerous thing. Give him some of your authority and see whether he can handle it. You are testing two people here. One you are testing him, can he handle authority. Two, you are testing the people, will they obey delegated authority?

I once heard a pastor say, ‘All of you are so nice. All of you are so good. You are all worshipping. But I just heard a report from the parking lot. What I heard was the one who was in charge of the parking and the traffic in the parking lot, every Sunday after service he comes and complains that these people who come in these big cars they don’t listen to anything I say. They shout at me and scream at me.’ And the pastor told them, ‘Did you know that I just put a little of my authority upon him to handle traffic. You are showing God whether you are obedient or not?’

The Kingdom of God works on delegated authority. ‘If God tells me I will obey.’ God says, ‘No. You will never obey.’ Parents are delegated authorities. There are delegated authorities that God has put on us. And that is why there is

Samuel. Samuel has always obey his father Elkhana and Hannah his mother, so it was very easy to serve under Eli because he doesn’t know what disobedience is. Here, usually children know what disobedience is. He doesn’t know what disobedience is. So it is very easy for him.

Numbers 27:22-23

22 So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. 23 And he laid his hands on him and inaugurated him, just as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.

Everybody saw, there was a laying on of hands, this has been delegated, this has been designated, and so everyone understands. Now let’s go to the end.

Deuteronomy 34:9

9 Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Did you get that? Now listen carefully. Listen very, very, carefully. Moses laid hands upon him; it was an ordination ceremony, he received the Spirit of wisdom, people understand that he has delegated authority, they all listen to what Joshua is saying and all that. Now go back and read verse 18,

Numbers 27:18

18 And the LORD said to Moses: “Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him;

So before hands were laid the Spirit was upon him. What he is receiving is the gift of the Spirit, but before the gift could be given the Spirit was already upon him. Why?

Acts 5:32

32 And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

God saw Moses says Joshua goes, Moses says and Joshua goes, Moses says and Joshua goes. He filled him with His Spirit. Now God says, ‘For public recognition you just lay your hands on him, he is already obedient I have given him My Spirit. Now he will receive a gift on top of it.’ Simple principles of the Kingdom of God. These things are destined and determined by God, so you don’t have to worry about earthly authorities. They don’t decide your destiny, God does. Nobody can steal your blessings, you can lose it. You don’t have to do any of these things. God is the one who determines your destiny, not man. But for that destiny to come to pass there is God’s order. What do u think the Holy Spirit is looking for?

Hebrews 5:8-9

8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,

So there is a suffering or sacrifice in obedience. And there is sacrifice without obedience. So he learned obedience by which he suffered. 9 And having been perfected, perfected in what? In obedience. Perfect in obedience. So what was the Father teaching His Son, who came in the flesh? Obedience. Learn to obey. Okay You already know by the age of 12 what to do, but go home and obey Your parents who don’t know what You are supposed to do. How many more years? 18 more years. Jesus stayed with His parents till 30. He never got married, so till 30 He was subject to them. For if you live in your father’s house and he puts bread on your table be subject to them.

The Son of God who knew His purpose at the age of 12 is being taught obedience. And He was perfected in obedience. And as a result in John 3:34,

John 3:34 NLT

34 For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit.

Simple question – why is God’s Spirit in Him or upon Him without measure? It is because His obedience is without measure. It is as simple as that. Why is the Spirit of God given to Him without measure? It is because if you look at His obedience you can’t measure it. He is perfect in obedience. Why I am saying this is, without the Spirit we cannot do anything. And as the days get more and more difficult we don’t need less of the Spirit, we need more of the Spirit. So in Joshua 1:1 God spoke.

Joshua 1:1

1After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying:

Don’t confuse gifts with God speaking. Gifts are one thing and God speaking to you is something else. You can operate under gift without God speaking. You can operate under a gift with God speaking. Because you are operating in a gift it doesn’t mean that God is speaking and you are hearing. Be very, very, careful. There is a difference literally between life and death. So God spoke. What did He speak?

Joshua 1:2

2 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise,...

The question is – will we arise? Like I said, ‘Arise’ is not a small word. It is a huge word. Will you arise, trusting what God has spoken? The odds against you are unlimited, the only promise you have is, ‘I am with you.’

John 1:17

17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Moses is dead. If Moses is dead, what is available? Grace and Truth. Moses is dead and what is available is grace and truth. What is offered is grace and truth. Turn to Galatians 3:26, so that you will understand the difference between the

two generations.

Galatians 3:26

26 For you are all sons (let’s use the word ‘children’) of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

We are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

So we are children and we are heirs. Hallelujah! Now let’s read Galatians 4:1-2

Galatians 4:1-2

1Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, 2 but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father.

You are a child of God, you are heir according to the promise but if you are a child you are still under the Law. The Law is the guardian. You will never experience the freedom and the liberty that grace and truth brings. You are under the basic elements of this world. You don’t know the liberty with which the Holy Spirit comes. Are you a child? Yes. Do you experience the liberty the Spirit of God brings? This is the obedience that comes by faith. Moses was a child till the age of 80. Jethro said, Get up!’ he got up. Zeporah said, ‘eat’, he ate, because he was not ready. He refused to grow.

Please remember, unless the Lord builds, unless the Lord watches, unless we do what God tells us to do, not that we tell God what we want to do.

Ecclesiastes 3:14

14 I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him.

If there is anything that God does through you it is forever. He who does the will of God abides forever. Whatever God does is forever. So please see that God does it through you so that it is forever. Unless the Lord builds, unless the Lord watches, all your efforts are all in vain. The fire will burn it all. What a waste of time, life, energy and resources, talents, all are waste. If God has done something through you, nothing can be added to it and nothing can be subtracted from it forever. Even though Abel is dead he still speaks. 6000 years later he is still speaking. Why? It is because the act of Abel was done by God, that is why it is written ‘by faith,’ that is why faith is so fundamental. We are not allowed to live by sight. It is because if you live by sight it is your life, it is not acceptable, it will not last. We are only allowed to live by

faith.

There is a righteousness of God that is from faith to faith. When you live by faith your works are forever and what it produces is the righteousness of God and it all comes from hearing. But to hear, you have to first believe that there is somebody who speaks and before He can speak to you you learn to obey those who speak to you. Saul just had to listen to Samuel. Joshua just had to listen to Moses. The children of Israel just had to listen to Moses. Did they listen to Moses? No, they didn’t listen to Moses. The second generation did. We don’t understand how God works. I was telling the Church last week – when an entire generation is rebelling against Moses and literally dropping dead in the desert during their wanderings, another generation is rising. It is a completely different generation. How is it possible? For all they see is that their fathers and mothers grumbled and complained, obeyed and all kinds of things happening and these children

are obedient. How can these two come up at the same time?

And when Joshua comes and speaks to them only one thing they say, ‘Whatever you say we will obey. Anybody disobeys you tell us we will finish him off. Only one thing we

ask as God was with Moses let God be with you.’

The simple question is, you don’t know what God is doing in a church. When one generation is just wasting their time, energy and resources and their lives away, another generation is rising up at the same time. One generation, all they are thinking about while they were wandering is ‘Egypt is like this, Egypt is like that. I wish we could go back to Egypt,’ another generation is walking along with them and saying, ‘Promise Land! Promise Land! Promise Land!’ they didn’t grumble, they didn’t complain. So when the first instruction is given to them to be quiet for seven days it was very easy. Imagine the first generation; would they have kept quiet for seven days? Moses finally in retrospect understand everything and says, All Your ways are right. Thank You Lord. Now I understand why You didn’t get these people in. The walls of Jericho wouldn’t have fallen down; they would have fallen on the walls and died complaining. Are you getting the picture?

There are many types of generations; the young children here hear very clearly, there are some older people who hear very clearly. The simple thing is that we serve a God who speaks. You have to hear. Don’t waste your time. Don’t waste your energy. We have a God who speaks. Whatever crisis you are going through, whatever crisis you are going through, what you hear is what will deliver you. A woman was dying with 12 years of issues of blood. She had gone through every doctor, her situation became worse and her money ran out and then she heard. The question is – when she heard did she believe?

Ecclesiastes 3:14-15

14 I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him. 15 That which is has already been, and what is to be has already been; and God requires an account of what is past.

Do you know what it means? In simple language – there is no past or present with God. It is already done. But you have a free-will and you will have to give an account. What I am going to do in future also God knows. But that does mean that I am exempt. He says, ‘I already know what you will do in future. But when you stand before Me you will give an answer for your past and your future, because I gave you a free-will.’ Choose! Simple things. Please don’t misunderstand and confuse this with salvation. Salvation is a free gift. But there are no other free-gifts in Heaven, everything is a reward. Entry free, you cannot enter, no man can boast. Nothing absolutely. But you need to realize that you need to hear. If you don’t hear you will die. It is as simple as that.

I shared one of my testimonies here before. I will tell you why hearing is very important. It is in the year 1999. In the month of October, the pooja week. I was travelling from Hyderabad to Guwahati. I know the time very well, between 11 and midnight, the train was late, it was Falaknuma Express. I was in sleeper class and my seat no. was 60. 24 years ago. I was not well. I didn’t realize how bad it was and I went to sleep and when I woke up I felt like puking. I didn’t know that I was bleeding inside, my stomach was full of blood I had no clue. I felt like puking. If you know Indian railways if the seat no. is 60 its 61- 64 and then the toilets/restrooms. I got up and I went and God said, ‘Turn left.’ By faith you understand. The bathroom is right here but God said, ‘Turn left to the other end of the corridor.’ God said, ‘Turn left,’ so I turned left. And I walked. Before I reached the other end I collapsed. I collapsed and went into a coma and I actually died. And I fell on top of the only doctor travelling in the train. Dr Pai from Wockhardt hospital, he caught me. That’s why God said, ‘Turn left.’ 15-20 minutes, I don’t know how many minutes I was dead, when I came back I was covered with water, they had thrown water, doctor was kneeling and putting a spoon in my mouth to keep my tongue down because my tongue had come out and all the people around were standing around me with their slippers in their hands and all kinds of things (you know all their superstitions, myths and all that) I looked around and I was wondering what was happening. The doctor was like, ‘It’s okay, relax, relax, you just collapsed, I thought you were gone.’ I said, ‘I feel like puking,’ ‘okay, okay, come I will take you.’ He sent all the people away and he took me to the bathroom and said, ‘Don’t lock the door. I’ll stand out.’ But you know we Indians we lock the door. Next thing you know I am gone again, I don’t know how many minutes I am gone again. When I open my eyes I was lying flat on the floor of the bathroom covered in blood and I heard the Lord say the second time, ‘Do not fear. If you fear you will die.’ So I put my hands on the sides and I rose up and I spoke, ‘I will not fear. In Jesus’ name I will rise.’ And I arose and I open the door, everybody had gone, because nobody wants to get tangled with the dead body in India so even the doctor had disappeared, when I was walking down he saw me, very kind person, his wife and two daughters doing their under graduation.

He held me and said, ‘Come lie down,’ he brought me something to eat and he said, ‘Where are you going?’ I said, ‘I am going to Assam.’ ‘Do you know anybody in Calcutta?’ I said, ‘I don’t know anybody in Calcutta.’ And it is mid-night. He said, ‘Look,’ now this is not a Christian doctor. He was a hindu doctor. He said, ‘I am a doctor. I will not leave you until I have seen that you are admitted in a hospital. That is my duty. Is there anybody I can call?’ I am trying to think and recollect, in the mid-night whom can you call? Then I realize there is somebody, an old lady, I said, ‘There is an old lady, a family, she sleeps with her phone next to her because she herself is a doctor. But she is not here she is far away in another city. You call her, maybe they have somebody whom she can call.’ So he ran, brought a wheel chair, I sat in the wheel chair on the platform, the wife and the daughters sitting around me. He ran to make a call, no cell phones and all those days, you had to go find a PCO. He found a PCO and called this lady and said, ‘This person collapsed, he needs to be admitted, it is urgent.’ She said, ‘Okay, let me call somebody.’ So again another stranger, whom she called, came to pick me up, another hindu guy. While I was waiting for him to come pick me up, I was sitting outside Yatri Nivas, Howrah station. The doctor, his wife and his daughters sitting on the steps next to me and all the Sadhar taxi drivers, everybody giving me tips about health and everything and I am asking the kids, ‘What are you doing? What course are you pursuing,’ all the conversations and then this man comes in the car, he looks at me and I am trying to seeing if this is the man, I was looking at very car that was passing by because I was blacking out. Then he gets me into the car and I pass out again the third time. Something interesting happened. When he talked to this lady, he said, ‘Aunty, I am taking him to this hospital.’ And she told him, ‘No, don’t take him there. Take him to AGs Hospital at Park Street.’

So I reach this hospital and I was admitted. Now I’m at AGs Hospital at Park Street. The funny part is that later when I met her and I said, ‘Thank you, because of you I reached AGs Hospital.’ She was like, ‘AGs Hospital? I don’t even know that there is an AGs Hospital.’ I was like, ‘But the man told me that you told him on the phone AGs Hospital.’ She said, ‘I never told him AGs Hospital.’ God can even speak through the phone and tell him where to take His servant.

And at AGs Hospital, around 5 or 6 in the morning when my eyes opened, I was in the ICCU on bed no. 1 and the first thing when my eyes opened it was written over there ‘Jesus heals.’ And I heard Him say, ‘You are healed.’ So I got up from my bed and said, ‘I am healed.’ The nurses came running, ‘Sir! ICU you cannot get up.’ I said, ‘I am fine.’ I am telling you, for me I know it is literally the difference between life and death. I realize that my ticket got cancelled and the flight is two days from then, I have to go to Tezpur, I have to preach at a crusade or the meeting for the organizers. I was supposed to share the Word with them. They said you cannot go, the flight is packed and only twice a week there is a flight. I said, ‘I will go.’ How will you go? ‘God will make a way. If He did all these things then He has a plan.’ The interesting thing is that I went to the hospital with 900 rupees and came out of the hospital with 3000 rupees, because when God puts His servant in the ICU he still gets an offering. So they asked, ‘How are you going to go on Thursday?’ I said, ‘I am going to travel, because I have to go. If all this was ordained and intervened by God, then this is such a small thing for Him.’ Wednesday night they called me and said, ‘Your ticket is confirmed. They released the governors quota

and yours is seat no.1’ So I traveled legally and preached and finished my mission.

I am telling you, if you do not hear you will die. There are situations in your life where if you do not hear from God you will not know. Sometimes all He has to say is one word, ‘Wait’ that’s all it takes. He says, ‘Wait.’ ‘Wait in Cherith,’ fine! How long? God will tell. The power of that one little four-letter word – Wait! But because we do not hear that word ‘wait’ we are anxious, we are fearful, we are worried, we are doing everything because we did not hear that one word‘wait’.

Another testimony, my little boy came back from school, 4 year old and every day I carry him up the stairs. So I carried him and ran up the stairs and across the corridor. He said, ‘Faster!’ so I ran faster and I had to take a turn and I slipped. In a split second I moved him from my right hand to my left hand to protect him and I fell on my right hand. He didn’t even get a scratch, and I broke my elbow. I open the door, put him in the seat, put on POGO and I said, ‘Wait there, watch,’ and I passed out. Half hour later when I woke up I called somebody and said, ‘Can you come? I think I broke my arm.’ Went to the hospital, cast was put and few the next 6 weeks learnt to do everything with my left hand, including writing, cooking and preaching. Everything I learnt to do with my left hand, even chopping vegetables and meat. Never missed a single meeting. Six weeks later the cast was removed and the next day I was supposed to travel on a huge mission trip to Bhutan, Assam and everywhere. So the cast was removed and the doctor, very kindly, said, ‘It’ll take a couple of weeks for your hand to get its strength back. You have to stretch and do it slowly.’ I was like, okay fine, I thought thinking and negotiating how I am going to travel with all my luggage and everything. That evening I switch on the TV and there was this preacher preaching.

You need to realize nothing is bound by time when God speaks. Suddenly this preacher stops and says, ‘There is a man who is watching me, who broke his right arm and the cast was taken off today. The Lord is asking you to stretch your hand.’ I stretched my hand and I was perfectly healed. I carried my entire luggage and went on my trip the next day. The question is – when you hear, will you believe? Faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God. The Word of God says, ‘My God is a healer.’ My Word of God says that by His stripes we were healed. My Word of God says that he sent forth His Word (Jesus Christ) and healed us of our diseases. My Word of God says that He took my infirmities and sickness upon Himself. Personalize everything. This is not knowledge, this is life.

15 years ago when this church started, it didn’t start here. I asked the Lord, ‘What do You want me to do?’ one thing I never wanted to do, but He said, ‘Start.’ I said, ‘You know I’ve been running. I don’t want to start a church. I will teach, I will be an itinerary preacher. I will go anywhere You send me, no luxury, no demands, nothing. But church? No!’ God said, ‘But that is what I am asking you to do.’ I said, ‘Okay.’ Then He told me three things for the church, ‘You don’t have to look for a place. The place will come to you. Don’t look for people, people will come to you and I will meet all the needs of the church.’ Do you know that in these 15 years I never invited anybody to this church? My wife may have, but I don’t. I’ve never invited anybody to church. There is nobody sitting here who can say that I called you to church. I don’t call people to church because He said, ‘I will send.’ We, as a church, have been in only two places and both the places came to us. I never went out of my house to even look for a place, the place came to us. Others looked for me but I didn’t look. It came to us. And do you know, till today as a church we have always paid our bills. We have always paid our bills, and yet look around how many people here actually work.

If you don’t hear, it is very difficult, but when you hear you need to know Who is speaking. That is what I said, I gave you that example. When God spoke for the first time what did He say? ‘Let there be light!’ Do you know what light does? Do you know the speed with which it travels? And that is something He spoke. And again He told us, as a church, ‘Not your face, only your voice.’ And until COVID came we were never online, on video. That is why I still don’t like the camera. I never like that camera because He said, ‘You shall be a voice.’ I didn’t want to be a face, I just wanted to be a voice, because faces have its own problems. It creates additional problems. All these years we were just a voice. We were not on YouTube, not on FaceBook. We were on the internet but just as a voice and we had around 15,000 subscribers on Podcast without advertisement. Not a pamphlet printed, not a poster printed, nothing. The simple thing is that, when

you hear,

Will you believe?

Will you obey?

Even till last night, do you know where questions are coming from? The questions are coming from all around the world. They are not coming from India. Every week it is coming from all around the world. From Afghanistan to Australia to Canada to USA, Middle East and from everywhere. But the simple question is, our channel is not even a monetized channel. If you monetize then we will have all the ads coming, FaceBook tries to suppress us as far as possible. You don’t need any of these things. The only one who actually prints something is Ps. Ramesh. I’m telling you all these things because you may not be called into ministry, but we are all called to serve God together with Him. And the simple thing is that – do you believe? Are you in a place where you can hear? Are we at a place where we can hear? Can you stay in that place where you can hear? It is a difference between life and death.

You should not hear only at the end of your life like Lot – ‘Arise! Take your children and run, destruction is coming.’ What is the point of hearing? Is he a saved man? Yes. He entered the Promise Land at the same time as Abraham. But the only time he hears from God is when destruction is knocking at his door. A lot of people hear like that, ‘Make peace with God. You are dying today.’ They make peace and die. That is the only time they heard. What a waste of life! What a waste of life! Yet He came to give us life. That is what God is saying, life is more than this. This is not life. It comes with surrender, you have to go to God over and over, with all your failings keep going back to God daily and say, ‘Lord, I surrender. Not my will but Your will. I am surrendering myself to Your will O Lord. Let Your will be done in my life. I want Your will. I am willing to wait. Each one of us have to personally hear. We are all taught primarily the general will of God. Even prophesy is a confirmation of what you have already heard. You cannot be led by prophesy in the New Covenant.

No. It is a confirmation of what you have already heard.

I still remember that day, that huge church in Kharagpur, Telugu service packed, I preached and there was translation. I saw the CSI priest weeping and weeping and I was wondering why this man was weeping because the message I was sharing had nothing to do with weeping. So after everything was over, he took me to his home and then he told me why he was weeping. He said, ‘Sir, see my phone, I have all your messages. I downloaded from the internet. Today when I heard you preach I realized that this was the voice that I always heard. This is the man standing on my pulpit.’ He didn’t know me, he doesn’t have to know me. We don’t have to be known, escape from that trap. We don’t have to be known, but Christ has to be known. If we are known now we will be unknown then. That is what He means – the least in the Kingdom, they are the unknown ones because they only wanted Christ to be known. These are the things that people

run after in the world. He says, ‘Life is more than that.’

This 5th Sunday, of the first month, what I want to encourage you with is – let Christ be your life. It doesn’t matter how old you are. Your age is irrelevant. Joshua heard at 80, Moses heard at 80. Aaron heard at 83. Samuel probably heard at 8, good for him. If you can hear early its fine. Jesus also heard early, but what He heard was, ‘Be subject, be quiet and sit down there and listen to what Your dad and mom say.’ For how many years, Dad? For another 18 years. I have appointed the time. And the Bible says that His obedience was perfect. The Spirit of God was already upon Joshua. The Spirit of given to those who obey.

So learn these simple lessons. It will start tomorrow, week day. First it is your battle with the flesh. The first battle is – will you wake up? After you wake up, will you get up? After you get up, will you go into the presence of God? Will you stay in the presence of God? That is where it all begins, the simple things. That is where Jesus began – ‘morning by morning He awakened Me.’ See we want the tongue of the instructed. No, that is not where He began. Morning by morning You awakened Me and I did not turn like one rebel. Therefore You open My ear.

See God is not opening your ear. He is first seeing whether you will wake up. ‘Lord, open my ears and I will wake up.’ God says, ‘You wake up first and then I will open your ears.’ Lord, I woke up. He says, ‘No, not one morning. It is written morning by morning. Wake up morning by morning.’ O Lord I woke up very early one morning and You never spoke to me? One morning? That’s it? That is not written about My Son. about My Son it is written – morning by morning. Every morning He woke up. Simple things. That is Amalek. Amalek will fight you and you cannot afford to lose. It is literally a matter of life and death. When did amalek come? When they had tasted the water at Rephidim. When they drank from the Rock.

So this morning we will stand up and once again surrender to the Lord. These are all personal things. We have this group talk and group commitment which happens in IT companies. But surrender is personal. Even if a little child sitting over here surrenders God hears. God sees and God takes you very seriously. So one-on-one say, ‘Lord, this is who I am. I surrender Lord. Help me to surrender. I heard the truth, I receive the truth by faith. Now Lord I don’t have the strength. I receive Your grace by faith. Now give me the strength to obey what I have heard. I don’t want to live a purposeless life.’

I am telling especially the sisters here, sometimes you get offended when I tell things but I cannot speak anything other than what is written in the Word of God. To the young girls what I tell them is – do you know what you should pray? Lord, bring the appointed man in my life when I grow up to whom I can submit and serve. That is my purpose. Go back to Genesis 2, that is your purpose. It is not a career, good for you learn, acquire knowledge and all that. But if you don’t meet that man to whom you are supposed to be a help-mate, to whom purpose has been given, you will live a purposeless life. People get very offended with me, but it is written I cannot help speaking it. God never speaks to a woman in the Bible. Every time he speaks to a woman, He speaks to her about a man. To Eve He says, ‘The Seed of the woman,’ so it is not about Eve, it is about the Seed. To Hagar he says, ‘Lift up the boy,’ so it is about the boy. To Deborah He talks about Barak. To Manoah’s wife He speaks about Samson. To Mary He speaks about Jesus.

Tell me one place where He spoke to a woman and it is not about a man, because God will not subvert His order and you are just living purposeless life if you do not know and ask God, ‘What am I suppose to be?’ There is a false reasoning in the world and if you swallow it you will miss your purpose. You may work and accomplish a lot but when you reach Heaven, which is eternity, all your works will be wiped out. Are you saved? Yes. But did you have purpose? No. God says, ‘You didn’t ask Me. I would have told you.’ Even if you are ministering you should be under that head, because the head of woman is man and the head of man is Christ. The first thing we teach the boys is learn headship, come under Christ, come under Christ. Like Joshua come under so that one day God can speak to you. Stay under, stay under. Don’t worry about doctrine. First learn obedience so that God can speak to you. Don’t look at the patterns you see in the world, it has got nothing to do with the Word of God. This is truth it will never change. God will never change. Inheritance in Heaven is a different thing there is no male or female there. Don’t take that one isolate verse, it is talking about inheritance there in eternity. It has got nothing to do with purpose on earth.

Yes you should be educated, but for what? For purpose. Man’s purpose, woman’s purpose are not the same; they work together. Therefore there are so many women in the Bible but only one is mentioned, her name is Sarah. And in Isaiah God says look unto Abraham and Sarah. Them alone I called. Not Rebecca who subvert authority and purpose. Not Rachel who subverted purpose. Not Zipporah who subverted purpose. It is difficult to hear but it is true. Therefore you go to God based on truth and say, ‘Lord, I surrender. I am a girl. (or I am a boy) I surrender. Christ is my Head. I want a head, I don’t want to live life headless.’ A girl/woman should say – I don’t want to live life headless. Let my purpose be defined by the head You place over me.’ For this is where purpose is – the Head of Christ was God, therefore He says, ‘I do nothing other than what I see the Father doing. I say nothing other than what the Father says. I am absolutely and totally under headship.’ Though He is equal to God. He showed us a way and in that way is truth and in that truth is life.

That is the life He has comes to give.

I can only teach you the general will of God, but you have to define and understand and receive purpose and live that life of God which He has ordained for you. And then at the end we all can say, ‘I have fought a good faith. It was a good fight. Thank You Lord I have finished my race. And I kept my faith. I kept my possessed life. I didn’t let the devil steal at the end.’

Closing prayer:

Father, this morning we come to You Lord. We come as a Church, all of us, none of us are exempted Lord. In these last days with so many doctrines, the doctrines of devils floating around in the universities and school, everything that is good is called evil and everything that is evil is called good. People are confused but Lord, the Word of God says that there is no confusion in the house of God; there is only order. There is no shadow of turning with Thee, O Lord. And I pray Father, let there be order in our lives. Let there be light in our lives. And we will walk in that order and walk in that light and walk in that obedience and we don’t even have to wait for the laying of hands. You will keep on filling us with the Spirit of God and when the laying of hands come we will receive a gift to be used for Your glory, for Your Kingdom, for Your purpose. We don’t want any gifts for our own purpose Lord, it is all about Christ, for the hope of our glory is Christ. It is Christ. And the carnal mind, my mind and everyone’s mind here which is carnal is in enmity with God. We don’t even want to think on that route O Father. But there is another mind that is at peace with God, that is at rest with God, where in it says, ‘Wait!’ it is willing to wait. When it says, ‘Run’ like the Spirit told Philip, it is willing to run. When it says, ‘walk’, it is willing to walk like Abraham. Cleanse our ears with Your precious blood that we may hear. Heal our eyes with Your divine anointment Balm of Gilead that we may see and Lord, daily, above all cleanse our lips with Your holy fire that we may speak life; Life into our own lives and not death, but life. Life Father, life to our children, to our friends, to our family, life, life, life, Lord. For You have put life and death in the tongue. Go with us Lord, go before us and teach us also to walk before You so that we may be blameless in Your sight. Help us not to make decisions based on what is right and wrong, but based on what is true in Your sight. We don’t want a ministry, we want You. We are not looking for a job or a career, we are looking for You. For You are our life. We confess today, we proclaim today that You are our life. Thank You Father, thank You Lord. I commit everyone, especially the children Lord, I believe in my heart that this is a different generation growing right before our eyes. A children who truly in their innocence love You, they love You in their little ways, they love You. Guard their hearts and their minds Lord that they will always love You, they will always seek You, they will always worship You and they will always serve You Lord. A generation that will know God and do great exploits.

And all those who are older, let them also take heart that they were many in the Kingdom whom God called when they were old, age is just a number for You Lord. If You could quicken Abraham’s and Sarah’s body when they were old to fulfill Your promise, You can still do it with anybody Lord. Let there be a quickening in weak and old bodies O Lord that Your promise may come to pass in their lives too Lord. For You are the God of all flesh. That the very Spirit of God may reside in us and quicken our mortal bodies which is dead because of sin but the Spirit is life and the Spirit may quicken our mortal bodies O Lord that we may serve You till the end O Father. Thank You, thank You Father, thank You Lord. Lord I praise You, I worship You, I glorify You Lord. For in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit rest and abide with

each one of us. Amen.