How 2 Work ?

00:00 Amen. >> Today, after the confessions, I'm going to request you to remain standing because this week is August 15th. So, we'll pray for our nation after the confessions. Let's do the confessions together. I believe in the Almighty God, our father and creator. I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, God and my Savior. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. He suffered, died, and rose again. He ascended into heaven. He shall soon come again. I believe in God, the Holy Spirit, who is worship and my guide. I believe in holy fellowship, faithful giving, service to God in this church. I believe the Holy Bible is the perfect word of God. I am what it says I am. I am what it says I am. and I can do what it says I can do today as I learn the word of God here in my spiritual family. I am blessed, healed and anointed for a holy [snorts] and victorious. I will never again be the

01:04 same in Jesus name. [snorts] Amen. Shall we pray for our nation as we say Lord thank you? Thank you. Thank you [clears throat] heavenly father. This beautiful morning we pray this week as India celebrates its independence day. Father God that your blessing will be on our nation. Lord we pray that you will continue to prosper our nation that you will give us leaders who are honest, efficient. Father God, we pray that your gospel will bless this nation. >> Lord, we pray that unusual favor of thine will be poured out in the coming days. >> For you have commanded for your children that they are the salt and the light. And let that be so in Jesus' name. >> Thank you for your blessings. In Jesus holy name we pray. Amen. >> Amen. God bless us. Please be seated. This month we are studying about

02:07 abounding and good works. And we started last Sunday with why we work. And today I want to learn with with you from God's word on how we work. How work? How did God expect this thing to really happen? And and honestly when you study this you realize it's work life is really not just about abilities it's also about attitudes. In fact what is fundamentally unusual is that character is at the base of a successful work life. A 360 degree allencompassing work life actually starts with the base of a good character. Wherever character is flawed and is wrong or is inappropriate, you may have success in one vertical of your life and failure in another vertical of your life. And many times the sum total of life is a negative. [snorts] And it is true that today with the social media

03:11 and the ability to curate your life on what you put in the public display that you can probably manipulate what others understand about your success. But deep within yourself, even [snorts] if you manipulate it quite a bit, you still know you're not a full success because not all aspects of your life are successful. If you're only looking at making money, then maybe character is not important. If you're only looking at having fun for a short term, character is not important. But if you're looking at a long-term or full life and maybe generations down the line and you want to be successful in all aspects of life, character comes as foundational. Any leadership that has flawed on character whether it is personal, family life, corporate culture, college life, political life, national, international, any leadership that comes to positions of power but do not have character get exposed over time. [clears throat]

04:17 It is a reality and people under that influence tend to suffer for choices that they may regret but doesn't help. Character comes as foundational for how we got to work. Two people same job or same subjects they study or same projects they're doing but they are completely different in how they approach it. Why? The difference is not in the techniques of how they approach their studies or their work life but also in the character and the attitudes. And that's why the scripture tells you that skills will open doors for you but only character will keep those doors open for you. And and this is so important and this is where we must understand spiritual gifts do not help you bypass the requirement of character. Sometimes we feel God's blessings will help me overcome the weakness of my character. Well, God will help you occasionally at times do

05:19 miracles, but it will still fall back to the common denominator called character. [snorts] No matter how high your talents take you, life will bring you down to the level of your character. And therefore, if you really want to build your life, spiritual gifts and blessings are not an excuse to bypass building godly character. We must build godly character. And that God will bless. In fact, one of the profound verses that comes both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, and I want to refer it from the New Testament, is Hebrews chapter 1. Let's read verse 9. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore, God your God has set you above your companions. >> Oil of >> God is saying, you will not only be above your companions, but my anointing will make you joyful while you are there. Not because you're abiding, abounding above others, but simply

06:23 because of my joy in your life, you will not only be above, but you will be joyful. How do you get there? How do you Okay, go ahead. You want to clap? I understand. [applause] Absolutely. How do you get there? How do you stay joyful in life? Many people come first or come higher than others, but they are sad to the bone. They're angry to the bone. While they are happy that they are better off in comparison with others, deep inside they feel empty because somebody else is still ahead of them. They are still unhappy. How is it you can be joyful while you're successful? Well, the key is given there. It's not just the anointing. Anointing is a key part of it. But another key is given there. Let's read that scripture one more time. You loved righteousness and You see, that's where God gets involved. Therefore, God, your God, there are many gods in this world, but your God has a habit of interfering when you love

07:27 righteousness and hate iniquity. >> Hallelujah. >> Because you love righteousness and hate iniquity. Bible is not saying because you do righteousness and avoid iniquity. No, Bible is not saying because you avoid wickedness. It's saying because you hate wickedness. Many of us think being holy means don't do wrong things. Aha. Don't even love wrong things. You see how difficult it is to say a joyful amen for that? Because many things we can't enjoy in the reality. We at least enjoy it in the imagination. I know you'll have to sit like I didn't understand that part of the message. You can go home and repent when no one is watching. But the truth remains God is saying because you loved righteousness. It's one thing to do righteousness, but

08:31 it's another way higher level to actually love righteousness. The problem with many of us is we do righteousness but we really don't love righteousness. We love other things and we don't love righteousness but we do it because God says it. God wants it. Okay. God says no. Learn to love. >> Amen. >> Righteous amens are very important. Learn to love righteousness. It's a discipline you develop. >> Amen. >> Amen. >> And hate wickedness. Don't love wickedness. Many people love wickedness and do righteousness. Therefore, there is no God. Therefore, God happens when you love righteousness and hate wickedness. >> Loving, it's a matter of love. It's a matter of the heart.

09:34 We want to have success in work life, start loving the right things because God loves it. >> Amen. >> Amen. >> It's a thing about relationship. Two people cannot walk together unless they are in agreement. If you and God want to work together in your work life, you have to be in agreement. You can't tell God to change what he likes. We'll have to change what we like according to what he likes. and he loves righteousness. >> And he's got a bad taste for iniquity. He don't like wickedness. But pastor, in our city, without wickedness, you can't get a promotion. [snorts] We can't pastor, if you say the truth in your resume, no one will hire you. Well, I understand these problems, but do you want God involved or is just LinkedIn enough? You want God involved or some referrals enough? Because you loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore, God got involved >> and blessed you and anointed you with

10:37 his holy spirit >> above the others who hung around you [applause] and he anointed you with the oil of joy. Somebody shout joy. Christian life should not look like the pastor baptized you in vinegar or kerosen oil. [laughter] >> Christian life is a joyful life. >> Hallelujah. >> And to walk in joy, we must learn to go ahead. You want to clap. Thank God. Absolutely. [applause] We have to learn to love correctly. Loving correctly is very important. When we start loving the right things, right behavior, right character begins to appear. If you want a mango fruit from your garden, there is no point in planting a papaya seed and fasting and praying over it and paying an offering on the internet to some prophet who will papaya anointing. It doesn't work like that.

11:39 You have to plant a mango seed. What are the results you want? You have to love the process. >> Amen. >> You cannot hate the process and love a different result. No, if you love the process, you will get the consequence, the result of that process. Many people want and they love the result, but they hate the process. They want the result of hard work, but they hate the process of smart work and hard work. They want the result of a good prayer life, but they hate spending time in prayer. And it's Albert Einstein, it's not even the Bible. It's Albert Einstein who dealt with such people and said to do something stupid and expect excellent results. He didn't say that. I just took his name. [laughter] To do stupid things and expect excellent

12:45 results is actually called religion. Tweet that you you can't change the will or the decision effectively unless you change your love. And this is so true about habits, about behavior, because an untransformed interior cannot always produce a transformed behavior. Really, your work life is not shaped by your skill and competence alone. That helps you. But what shapes your work life, what shapes your competence and ability is attitudes. Not just your skill. Skill is only a tool. attitude, character is the baseline, is the platform. And crisis doesn't reveal. Crisis doesn't always reveal what you desire. It usually reveals character. And character is not what is formed in

13:48 crisis. Character is what is revealed in crisis. Character is actually formed in convenience and conveniences and minor experiences of life that don't get reported or even documented. And therefore integrity is a important part of character. Integrity is where your internal desires and your external expressions don't have a conflict in what you believe and how you behave don't have a conflict. That's one way of understanding integrity. And it's becoming very important that we become successful in life. Bangalore in the last four years I think has changed so much the across regions whether you talk of south north east west the rental values in Bangalore have risen by approximately 15% in 2026 alone the highest of any Indian city and ranks to

14:55 over 50% of the individual's budget it. This is one of the national statistical records which basically means if you're going to become weak in your work life, you're going to get affected in the quality of your life. And therefore, it is so important that we work effectively. Let's say that together. We work >> effectively. >> And to be effective, we have to learn to love the right things. >> We have to learn to love the right process. >> Amen. We all like a clean bed, but nobody likes folding it when we wake up. We just forget that when we come back, it's going to be messed up there. No. Angels are going to come and fold it up for you. Heavenly Father, I hear about thousands of angels. Oh, God, send them to fold my bed. God says that's your bed. You do it. And and we looked at why it is important. Why it is important. We looked at last week why work is important because it helps in formation of Christlike character in our God is a

15:58 working God >> but today I'm going to tell you our God is not a workaholic and there's a big difference between the two but I'll get there let's look at the scripture proverbs chapter 6 in fact from verse 6 to verse 11 is a whole passage I just want to touch verse number six let's read TOGETHER GO TO THE ANT OH Benaluran consider her ways and bey. It's talking about work but it's bringing the word wisdom. It's talking about work but it's bringing the word wisdom. And it's talking about one of the smallest insects which gets one of the biggest works done which means your size will not determine who you are. His grace on you and your commitment to work gets to decide and determine the results. [applause] Hallelujah. Amen. I have seen in our church fellows without without 12standard education

17:04 have gone up in life where they are employing MBA fellows under them and they have come to me saying pastor pray I feel ashamed. I'm worried that someday I'll get thrown out of my company because I'm not a graduate. I don't even have 12 standard. Pray for me, pastor. One boy told me, "Pastor, pray for me." Even my wife don't know this because she saw my success. She didn't ask me for my education and I didn't tell her. Then I guided him on how to get success through open school and now he's become a graduate through correspondence just to fill up his you know uh resume. I'm telling you a lot of and I've I've seen one guy came from MIT US he was a what they call gold medalist kind of stuff residency road no job and he died at a young age very sad story many times it's not your qualification uh whether the excess of it or the lack of it is your willingness to work smart with the grace of God in your life and

18:07 you will build your future [applause] go ahead give God a big hand man this is soul fruitful. Go to the ant. Now you don't have to go searching for the ant physically. It is given in the scripture. When it says go to the ant, it means what is written about the ant read in the Bible. Okay? Go to the ant. Many people teacher is teaching they observing the ant. You know this is today the ant is not on the floor. It's on the mobile screen. It's a digital one. But learn something here. it. The Bible is saying a couple of things. Number one, they don't have a chief. They don't have an officer. They don't have a ruler. In other words, they are such a community that don't even have someone to guide them. I mean, you can't talk someone, you can't think of someone more miserable than that. They don't have a mentor. But what they do is they take the initiative and they understand instruction from within. And I love that scripture. The Bible says, "You have my Holy Spirit in you to guide you." That's

19:10 right. >> The problem is not that the Holy Spirit is not speaking. The problem is we are not listening. And even if we listen, he speaks in whispers. And we want to hear loud noises because we are the metallic generation that only believes in noise and in not wisdom. They understand seasons and they gather in summer for a hunger. You know, they understand one thing. Winter is going to come when food won't be available. They don't wait to feel the stress of winter. They start working in the convenience of the summer. Don't wait till you feel the pinch of it. Don't wait till the exam dates are announced to start studying. Don't wait till start losing your weight after you become marriageable age. Start working on your disciplines when you are in comfort zone. All who are not saying amen, I'm going to repeat that for you,

20:16 take efforts that you work in your summer while things are convenient, while things are beautiful. Don't wait till the harshness of the winter where you can't work. It's hard to work. The ant though they are so small, they work in their seasons of comforts. They don't just, you know, go lie down saying, "Let me get a tan." They go get work and they do what they want to do because they know there is a season coming which is not going to be very exciting and they don't carry only for themselves. THEY CARRY FOR the whole colony. This is all from the Bible. This is not National Geography. Okay? This is not uh zoology or boty. This is Bible. I'm going from Proverbs chapter 6. They carry for the whole whole colony. In other words, they believe somewhere my life will be a blessing not only for me, I'll be a blessing to more than myself.

21:24 Leadership is when your water in the basin is more than the water required for just washing your feet. There's enough water to help others. And that's a leadership style. It's natural. And the fifth one, I love this one. It carries in small quantities and does it in repeated consistent formality. >> It carries small loads in repeated call. This is called habit. This is called discipline. >> It understands one thing. I don't have to carry the whole thing in one shot. I can do repeated trips. I can do every morning pray. I don't have to fast one full day and pray 8 hours one shot. I can pray every day half an hour looking to the Lord and I know there will be a miracle down the lane. I can do I can do repeatedly in small quantities. BIBLE IS

22:27 SAYING SLUGARD. Slugard means lazy fellow go to the ant. In other words, go to Proverbs chapter 6 and learn. Now, you don't have to go and count how many legs they have, what is its weight, when it falls down, how does it get up. See, there is no point in learning unnecessary details. >> Learn what is given to you in the scripture and practice it. >> Hallelujah. >> Now, don't put one ant in a matchbox and keep it by your bedside as vision in life. All these stupid things are not going to help. Learn the lesson. and go forward. >> Amen. >> Mistake number one many people make as slugard as lazy is number one they'll never begin on time. I'll do. I'll do. I'll do. I'll do. I'll do. I'll do. Have you heard that? >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. If you haven't seen someone like that, just look in the mirror. I'm telling you, there is a possibility. Slugards

23:32 usually lazy fellows usually never start on time and for sure they never finish on time if they start because in between they have to take rest. Why? Because they're feeling tired of having done nothing. They usually don't finish on time. And the third one is so important. They don't like accountability. They want to blame the weather. They want to blame the society. They want to blame the traffic. They want to blame the pollution. They want to blame others they live with. They want to blame the way they were brought up. They want to blame the future. They want to blame everything else. Two weeks ago, somebody told me, "I'm so stressed. I'm angry." I asked why. They said, "Look at what's happening in Delhi." Why are you getting stressed for that? I'm telling you things will happen around our life. Don't some people you know in our in our

24:34 children's church when we grew up there was a song it says walking with Jesus walking every day walking all the way walking with Jesus walking with Jesus our Lord. Today people are walking with social media. Walking in the sunshine with social media. Walking in the shadow with some influencers commence. [snorts] Walking every day. Walking all the stress. Walking with [snorts] media. Walking hopeless. Pastor, you pray and remove it from my head. [laughter] Go to this ant and learn. The ant is not writing reports on what others are doing. It is doing its work. >> When [applause]

25:39 when two ends meet, have you seen how quickly they finish? Because they are not talking about see the other one carrying less weight. See the other one not as dark as me. You know they don't have all this confusion. Ants are one group that don't waste time in gossip. >> Okay, that's not in proverbs. I just added that laziness is really not an energy problem. It is a courage problem. I'll say that again. Laziness is really not an energy issue. It is not a wellness issue. It is actually a courage issue. You need the courage to be responsible over things in life. And being lazy is not taking rest. Taking rest happens differently. Laziness is not being restful. In fact, taking rest and laziness are opposites

26:41 in the Bible. They're contradictions. They don't go together. Second thing the Bible is talking about is not only laziness but shoddiness. Doing a work shoddily. You know in India we call it jugard. You understand that now? Yeah. Doing it but not having done it. Done. Done. But somebody has to again come and do and and we tell I've done and we write appraisals I have completed. Listen, you can cheat your HR and sometimes they deserve it. But remember remember you're serving a living God and you got to work as unto God Almighty. Don't do shoddy work because it misrepresents who you belong to. Don't be careless or dishonest in your work. Don't make breach of trust. These

27:45 things are so important. Excellence is offering your very sincere best. Perfection is doing things without mistake. God is not asking you to be perfect in everything. He's asking you to be excellent in everything. Mistakes do happen. But God is saying give your sincere best. Amen. >> Amen. >> You know when we got married, I don't know cooking. My wife uh she I thought knew cooking and she went in you know traditional stuff. She went into the kitchen to cook Indian home and uh the food was very sincere and in in in very quickly it became very tasty and very nice. Sometimes our work is not great initially. It's just sincere. But it's okay. You don't have to worry about being perfect. Amen. Today I I'm I'm not able to lose weight because my wife is cooking.

28:50 If there's one thing I want to eat that my wife doesn't cook, it's only mana. But otherwise, boy, going home beats any restaurant. My kids always say, you know, mom, there is no restaurant that can cook like you. Yours is best. Okay, have I made up for talking about being sincere? Now, let's move on. Shortyd work is a problem. And and sometimes God wants to make your work life more effective and better. You know what God does? John's Gospel 15:2, the Bible SAYS EVERY BRANCH THAT DOES not bear fruit, he will prune it. You know what God does? It's called the method of cutting down. In in leadership they call it parto principle. Find out the 20% of what really in your life contributes to the 80%. There are some things you do that make a big difference in your life. Learn to do that well. Not everything that you do actually produces all the results.

29:52 It's called the parado principle. 20% of your life usually makes 80% of the difference. And sometimes we prioritize the things that don't make the big difference. Take time to audit, BUDGET, LOOK BACK, INTROSPECTION, look at life and see what God is working on so you can prioritize that and make your life greater success. This is so important. So important. And I'll tell you why this is important. Because nationally this year 2026 India as a nation the student loan debt has crossed over 90,000 crores and the defaults have increased by about 8%. The highest non-performing asset today has become this category of loans. Why? Because somehow efforts are not put into what gives maximum rewards. just listen to some influencer, somebody say something, go take a loan and invest

30:54 into something and then you're not getting paid back because you haven't checked what really helps with your skill sets, with your opportunities. This is why prayer is very important. Walking with God has become very important. >> Amen. >> Amen. Your God is able to help you. Learn to depend on him. Learn to connect with him. Learn to seek him. He will give you success. [applause] Really character is the bedrock because holiness, justice and love are important in work life. Holiness, the purity and a sense of accountability. Justice which is fair dealings which is fair in the way you handle your time, your talents, your treasures. Love in your work life is about understanding others and about the willingness to serve meaningfully. Not just serving and becoming a doormat and saying I'm suffering for Jesus. No, the Lord told you serve meaningfully.

31:57 Don't throw your talents in front of swine because they are going to illreat your gifts and then turn around and destroy you. So be careful that you do things meaningfully. You know there's a difference between gift and a bribe. And this is one confusion many people have. A gift is what you give for somebody doing something that blessed your life whether it was their duty or not their duty. A bribe is what you pay to somebody so that they will pervert law and justice and do something out of the way violating consciousness, violating the written law. That's called a bribe in the Bible. Avoid bribes. Gifts. Sometimes you give with your heart. Sometimes you give because their heart wants it. You know, you don't don't have a choice. I was looking for a Bible character who lived under corrupt times. I was saying, God, today world is so different, you know. And and the book of ecclesiastics keeps coming back to me. World is no

33:00 different. Only thing gadgets have changed. Attitudes are the same. Sin is the same because devil is the same. Amen. One good thing is devil doesn't multiply. They don't have children from what I understand in the Bible. So we dealing with the same population of demonic and their character never change. So he's only a trickster. He's a manipulator. I mean if he was in the flesh, I'm telling you, he would have become the international president. He's he's the best con man. And he has nothing new. And therefore, what happened 2,00 5,000 years ago happens even today. It's just that back then it happened wordto mouth. Today it happens on social media. It happens on email. It happens in the corporate settings. It happens in the finness of things. Well, it always happened. There was a guy called Daniel. Daniel. Daniel was a fellow who was taken as a slave from Jerusalem and brought into the place called Babylon. And Babylon were one of the most corrupt civilizations.

34:03 Corrupt where they had slavery, where they human trafficking was legalized. I mean, think about it. It's crazy. And uh, you know, uh, slaves were all kinds of stuff. And this man Daniel brought as a slave, decided to be thankful. I mean, now that's called counterculture. If anybody is entitled to having a bad day every day of their life, it's a slave. And this fellow decides to be thankful. Excuse me. Who preached you into this? Daniel? Nobody. He didn't have a priest over him. But you see, what happens outside you, you can't control. But what happens inside you, you are responsible for it. >> This guy decided, I'll be thankful TO GOD FOR WHAT? FOR WHATEVER. I'll be thankful. He had a thankful heart. And the guy from being in the slavery came up to being the prime minister of Babylon. And it's not like a holy group of people AROUND HIM. THE BIBLE does

35:05 mention they were the most corrupt people around him. MOST CORRUPT. You think some of these uh African nations are corrupt? You know, I never talk about India. Babylon was the headquarters of corruption. from the king itself was corrupt. Dejà vu right everyone was corrupt and Daniel was not corrupt. See that's where the problem is. If you are corrupt there is no problem. When you're not corrupt it's a big problem. From a nearby one police told me one day I'm coming to your church. It's in uh Rwanda. How not to be corrupt because everyone is corrupt and we have to share. There is a register on black money.

36:11 What to do? I said I don't know. Ask God. Some things I don't know what to say. Sometimes corruption is so bad. But I know one fellow called Daniel who lived there. He lived in the heights of corruption. He became a boss without corruption. >> So they decided to catch him. They sent the ED, FC, Farah, they sent uh GST, it everything of Babylon and could not find one fault in him. Amen. >> Some of you who didn't say amen, you're sitting like the ED and GST officer. They could not find a fault in him. So they made a new law. They passed the law in their parliament so that they can make Daniel guilty because when they find you are the salt and the light and you're doing nothing wrong, how to catch you? So they change the law. So you become wrong.

37:14 H no [clears throat] new tricks. No, Satan, I told you, is the m is the same old thing he repeats in new formats. But Daniel decided to stay holy. How did he stay holy is my question. When all this is happening, how did he stay holy? How did he stay successful? Look at Daniel chapter 5. I want to read one verse. Verse number 11. There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father, he was found to have insight, intelligence and wisdom. >> What happened is belar is the son of the big king called Nebuchadnezzar. And uh Nebuchadnezzar when he got into trouble, Daniel came to Nebuchadnezzar and gave him the word of the Lord. Now Nebuchadnezzar is dead and gone. His son Beler is sitting. These names are not very important except those who want to speak in tongues. Say these names a few

38:16 times. It kind of helps. [snorts] This fellow don't know what to do. So his mother comes and says, the king's mother comes and says, during the time of your father, there was a fellow. How come the king did not know who the prime minister is? Because the corruption is so much that when the new empire came that Daniel got sidelined and no one knows about him. There is no one to give him a referral. There is no one to bring him into the appointed place. Sometimes it happens. You're shining bright. Then a new team comes and throws you in the side. Happened to Daniel. But the thing is Daniel kept growing through the seasons. >> They can throw you wherever. But what happens inside you is your choice. You can grow on the inside. you can start shining brighter. Hallelujah. And the Bible says the mother came and told the king, "Oh, Bel says your father's time." There was

39:19 this fellow. What was his quality? The spirit of God is in him. >> And therefore, he shakes. He speaks in tongues. Not only that, read one more time. Because the spirit of God is in him. What all happens? In him was found to have insight, intelligence and wisdom. They are saying like our God have wisdom. This fellow got that much wisdom and therefore next line. Your father appointed him as the chief of the main problem. So anointed this fellow king has no clue what he's doing. Every king in the world is like that. No clue what they are doing. They appoint all useless fellows. So they took [laughter] they h how can I be preaching so perfect?

40:24 They took Daniel and put him above witchcraft, soothsayers, all the demonic community. Who is senior pastor? Daniel, anybody who is experiencing corporate stress, Daniel is your CEO. He's your mentor. The fellow filled with the Holy Spirit has to lead a church full of demonp possessed. And God blessed him there. THAT GOD IS YOUR GOD. [applause] THAT GOD IS YOUR GOD. THAT GOD IS YOUR GOD. OH, COME ON, SOMEBODY. GIVE THE LORD A MIGHTY HAND OF PRAISE. THAT GOD IS YOUR GOD. >> HALLELUJAH. >> HALLELUJAH. HUNDREDS OF CHALDIANS AND SOOTHSAYERS AND BLACK MAGICIANS AND EVERYBODY GETS A NEW LEADER WHO DANIEL THEY ARE WAITING TO KILL THAT fellow and

41:28 he has to come and say brothers pastor I'm anointed what to do these are all demonp possessed [snorts] yes but Daniel knew how not to bow down to them and yet love them and work with them >> we have to learn to do that >> it is going to happen. God has not changed. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. If God could do it with Daniel, God can do it with you. God will do it with you. [applause] Hallelujah. But there are secrets to why it happened. You see, we need God's help. Because in 2023, you know, uh over 70% of the unemployed Indians uh were about the age of 20s. Okay? And these are graduates. But in 2017, it was only 46%. In other words, in just about five years, the rate of unemployment has gone up by about 20 30% nationally. When times get tough and and over the

42:34 world is disaster, okay, I don't want to talk about international. It's it's crazier. In some ways, India is a bright spot. Now, I want to say this. God who takes care of people in the past is able to take care of people today. His hand has not grown weary. His ears have not grown deaf. Our God is a miracle working God. I finished two pages of my four. I think I'm going to close, but I'll just say this quickly. Daniel prayed three times every day. Looks like before he ate his food, he would pray or something like that. Three times he prayed. And when he prayed it was not like father you know what I'm going through what do you know lord I am going through this that is not that kind of prayer he knelt down number one is reverence yes he's our friend yes he's our brother but he's also your king >> he's also your master >> there's something called devotion there's something called reverence don't lose that

43:37 he knelt before God three times a day and kept his vision towards Jerusalem. My brother, my sister, don't make your sickness your vision. Don't make your trouble your vision. Stay on your knees until it goes and the real vision of God's promise becomes your vision. >> You've prayed well only when your vision has come back correct. >> Hallelujah. >> He kept his windows towards Jerusalem open, which means he kept his vision right and he thanked God. He should be complaining, "God, what is this? God, you're making me senior pastor. Why do you punish me like this, God?" No. Thank you, Lord. You have a purpose through this. Thank you, God, because you are God even in this. I thank you because you are never wrong. I thank you. You will give me grace to go through what I'm going through. I thank you that you are answering my prayer. He thank God three times a day. Hallelujah. >> Amen. And one more thing I liked about him, he never denounced his colleagues though they were corrupt.

44:40 He should have denounced them but he didn't. He should have reported on them saying these are all corrupt but he didn't. I tell you just mind your business. >> Only two people understood that line because we are living in a culture where looking at what others do has become important in our life. what they are driving, whom they are marrying, after marrying, whom they are talking to. We have our God is the one we worship. Amen. Don't worship your work. Never make it your idol. How do you know it has become an idol in your life? Whenever you are loving or trusting something more than loving or trusting God, it has become an idol in your life. Amen. >> Amen. Sin is not only in loving bad things but sin is also to love good things more than loving God. Ambition is never a problem. You should desire. You should have good ambitions. Please have ambitions. The Bible does talk about the

45:43 importance of planning and having good plans and ambitions. The problem is when ambitions become an idol and instead of God controlling your life, ambitions control your life. That becomes a problem. Simple five ways to check if there is an idol in your life. Number one, imagination. Where does your mind go when you have nothing to think of? Where does your money go once all necessities are paid? Where does your emotions go when you go through pain or pleasure? Where do your sacrifices go? What are you willing to lose something for? And the most important one, if God says no to you in something that you like, is it going to cause you too much grief? Chances are it's becoming an idol. That's why Jonah 2:8, the Bible says, "Those who cling to worthless idol, >> don't allow too many idols."

46:48 Workcoholism is an idol. Don't make it an idol. I mean sometimes you have to work hard because there is a necessity. Now that's different. Okay? Because we've got people today who are exploiting you know we've got pharaohs today in corporate offices wearing tie and uh you know business suit and with a smile. Pharaoh had a whip but these guys have got a handshake. But these are nothing but modern pharaohs work 14 hours in a day. Some are local pharaohs. But that's what the scripture says. Solomon was one of them. He was not satisfied. He had houses, vineyards, gardens, pools, servants, silver, gold, fame. And you know, one thing I left out. You know, see that's one thing I don't have to say. I mean, one thing people know what to remember. Ecclesiastics chapter 4 all the way from verse 4 to 10 talks about whatever my eyes desired. I did not keep it away from me. I got it. Whether it's a person or a thing, I

47:54 liked it. Hey, that looks nice. Pick it up. That was his condition. That's why his wife didn't have a house. Had a housing colony with 1,000 addresses. And do you know what happens to him? What are your last words, Solomon? Vanity of vanities. What else you expect? When when workcoholism becomes an idol in your life, rest feels like sin. Business is one addiction that sounds like an ambition but functions like self-destruction. Hurrying is really not auling problem but a attitude problem. Its roots are inadequacy and therefore eliminate hurry because if you're in a hurry and you enjoy hurried life, you can't enjoy love. You can't enjoy the things that God has given you. And generally for a hurried life, the payment is done by a neglected marriage,

48:57 absent parenting, abandoned friendships etc. And resting is so important. 72% of Indian employees report burnout in 2026. It used to be only 58% in 2022. It's the sharpest increase in any growing economy around the world. Talk about Gen Z. They are talking about stress, anxiety at international levels because Pharaoh just changed his name. today is called corporate. That's all what it is. That's why God brought the system of Sabbath. How do you work? Learn to take rest and delight in what you have done. Sabbath actually means rest and enjoy. Amen. >> Amen. >> Rest and enjoy. Rest and enjoy. Everybody say with me, >> rest and enjoy. >> After work. >> After work. What what really what really shocked me

50:03 is over 70 to 90% is the gap that runs between mental illness created by stress and is today treated as a moral or spiritual failure while it is actually overload. And this is why we need to learn to go to God and seek his grace and help. I want to close with Psalm 84:11. Let's read together. For the Lord is a son and shield. The Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those. >> Let's read that one more time. I want you to claim it as a promise of God for your life. Your work life is going to be blessed as a student. You're going to be successful. What you started, you're going to finish. God is going to bring you opportunities you never could imagine. Our God is a God of Daniel. You are going to rise up in the name of Jesus. Amen. I want to clap with you. But first, let's do that one. Let's shout together. For the Lord God is a son and shield. The Lord bestows favor

51:08 and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is. >> Go ahead and give him a big hand clap. Thank you, Jesus. [applause] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Every eyes are closed, every heads are bowed. Father, we want to thank you that you are a prayer answering God. And in our work life, you are able to do miracles. As we work with justice, with integrity, and character becomes our bedrock, and we are faced with corruption, and we are faced with evil and demonic. We want to thank you that you are the God of Daniel. We don't know how but you did bless him and rise them to the top. We thank you that you can do that with each one of us. Oh father, hallelujah. We don't understand many things but we do know this. You are a promisekeeping God. Your word will never fail. And today, this morning, we thank you that your

52:12 people have a blessed future because you are their God. And when you are our God, there is no defeat in the name of Jesus. Our setbacks are set up for a greater comeback by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus, I declare your goodness on your people week after week this month. May your miracles keep happening in our lives in Jesus' name we pray. And the people said, "Amen." You want to give God another round of praise? Go ahead. Hallelujah. [applause] >> [music] >> Blessed are Jesus is mine. Oh, what a [singing] for [music] taste of glory divine hair of salvation. Purchase of [music] God, born of [singing] his spirit, washed in his blood.

53:19 This is my story. This is my song. [music] Praising my savior all the [singing and music] day long. This is my story. This is my song. [singing] Praising my savior [music] all the day long. Perfect submission. Perfect delight. [music] Wishings of rapure. [music] Not bust on my side. Angels descending [singing] bring from above. Echoes of mercy. [singing] Whispers of love. This is my story.

54:25 This is my song. Praising my savior [singing] all the day long. [music] This is my story. This is my song. [music and singing] Oh, praising my savior all the day long. Perfect sub. [music] All is at rest. I am my savior. I'm happy. I'm blessed. No, watching and waiting. [singing] looking above. Filled with his goodness, lost in his love. This is my [music] story. This is my Come on, church. [music]

55:29 Praising my Shall we all lift our hands? Everybody >> lift your hands and worship him and tell him Lord this is my story. This is [music] my song. [singing] Praising my savior all the day long. Go ahead. Let's give the Lord a mighty hand. Everybody lift up your voice and thank him. Worship. Thank you Jesus. [music] Heavenly Father, we just want to thank you for the word that came alive this morning. Oh God, thank you that your word is shaping our work life, our character. That each one of us, oh God, will be the light and the salt of this world. And we pray that your Holy Spirit will move in power, move in grace over each one of our life, over our family. Oh God, we just want to thank you for your word that came alive this morning. Once again, Lord, at this time we

56:31 especially pray for those who are celebrating the birthdays and marriage anniversaries this week. Thank you, Lord, for adding it another year into their life. Bless them abundantly. Let them experience your anointing and your grace in abundance. Oh God, Father, we pray for those who are traveling this week. Your journey mercies will go with them. We pray for those who have come to the church for the very first time. Their life will never be the same again. your presence will continue to transform their lives, oh God, and all of their needs be met according to the riches and glory. Father, we pray for the tithes and the offering that your blessing be upon all those those who are giving, oh God, to your kingdom. Your provisions will continue to supply all their needs, oh God, according to the riches and glory. Father, we pray that those who have lost their loved one this week, we pray that your presence, your peace, your comfort will fill their life. Some of them who are going through loss, the pain, we ask, oh God, that your presence will continue to strengthen them. Oh

57:33 God, that your promotions, that your victories be upon each one of their lives. Father, send us with your pre peace, send us with your grace, oh God, we give you thanks, we give you praise in Jesus most holy name we pray. Amen. >> Now may the grace of Lord Jesus Christ, the love of the heavenly father, and the sweet abiding presence of the Holy Spirit rest and abide upon each one of us from now and forever more. And the people of God say, "Amen." [snorts] >> Amen. Amen. We want to take a minute to welcome all those who are here for the very first time. Thank you for joining us this Sunday morning. As you exit, please do move into the guest lounge. There is a team waiting to meet with you and talk to you. And all those who require prayers, the pastors are here in the front as well as in the overflow. Have a wonderful, blessed balance of the day and a wonderful week ahead. God bless you. Thank you and bye-bye. >> [music]

59:10 >> Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.