May 17th, 1963 “Obeying the Word of God” Late Mr. N. Daniel
Isaiah 48:18 “O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! Then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.”
By your righteousness, the darkness of your place must flee. At Masulipatnam God did not allow me to preach but to pray. I prayed for three months for the hostel and the boys around me. Those boys lived in sin. But they wanted to hear good sermons. People who live in sin want to hear the Word of God - just to appreciate the preacher. But their whole personality is under the power of darkness.
Do you know how to pray? If you do not pray do not preach. Is. 57: 12 Did God reveal to you your righteousness? Did He show you that your righteousness does not come up to the mark? You rate your Bible reading and your association with God's children very high. Let God examine your righteousness. If you have God's righteousness, nobody can stand in your way. Aim at Christ. Then you will overcome all the other forces. God will give you such righteousness. God will inundate your surroundings. Wherever you go, people will gather around you. There will be no voice raised against your preaching amidst the people around you. You must preach and live what you preach. People will watch and know that you have a righteousness which is not found in the world.
After you are born again you will no longer believe that you are good. Ps.1l9:36,37. You may not know how to be led of the Spirit of God even though you are born again. You must learn it. If not you can be deceived in this point. Covetousness and vanity can creep in unawares. That is the only way Satan can spoil the righteousness God has given you. You say you are born again. But what is the progress you have made? God will not overlook covetousness in you. When I stepped into the lace trade God stopped it. The desire to grow rich must leave you. God delivered me from the pull of money. Ps. 119:127 This is a real experience in a truly born-again person when he can say, 'I value Thy commandments more than gold.' Ps. 119:14 The Word of God is your wealth. It has the power to penetrate into the most secret recesses of your heart to eliminate all the evil in you. God's aim is to bring you into your high places like He brought Joseph and Daniel. As you are obeying the Word of God you grow to be the ruler of your village. The more you obey, the more authority you have. People will look to you. The Word of God is operating in you. It takes away your vanity. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth lest in old age you feel sad and say, 'I have no pleasure in this life.' God will cause your righteousness to increase. The place that your foot shall tread will be yours. If the inner-most recesses of your heart are occupied by the Word of God, like John Bunyan you can say “Angels will witness about me. If there is covetousness and vanity let angels witness against me.”
Let there be no vanity in you. By the words a man speaks, God can see the end of his life. A certain boy began to study law. He read Finney's biography and hoped this was a step to becoming like him. It was vanity. He thought he would become a preacher like Finney. But he went astray. A truly born-again man keeps himself away from vanity. '
Once we went for a sea-bath in Cannanore. Suddenly a big wave nearly carried my wife away. I had to wrestle with that wave to save her. Your righteousness will be like that strong wave. Non-Christians recognise the righteousness that has come into the people of Stuartpuram. Unless you grow and make this Bible your guide and master, you are not on the right path. Are you studying the Word of God? Isaiah 57:15
After you are born again, you must maintain the spirit of humility. A born-again man is easily distinguishable. He is teachable. He loves the Word of God. A praying man will rule like Daniel. Your mother, brothers and sisters will come to you.
God's mind is the mind that rules the world. That mind is holy. Are you holy? Has any evil crept into your heart? Lev. 19:2 He is holy and He will make you holy. When you are holy, the Word of God will dwell in you. You may have a Bible in your hand. But if the Word is in you, people will read it. When people see your actions, they will turn to Christ.
When
you find Christ, you find great wealth. There will come in new health and
sickness will depart from you. There will be no attack of the powers of
darkness. The Word of God is the blood of Jesus we sprinkle in the houses. The
devil's weapon is vanity. Buying a land, seeking promotion and going to