Heavenly Father, I lift up this message that You will speak through me, oh Lord Jesus, to Your throne of grace. Oh Lord, I know, oh Lord Jesus, that Your people have come, oh Lord Jesus, not to hear me, oh Lord Jesus, but to hear You speak, oh Lord. Father Lord, touch my lips, oh Lord Jesus, and prepare the hearts of the people, oh Lord Jesus, that this word, oh Lord Jesus, that will go out, oh Lord Jesus, will accomplish the plan and the purpose for which You have sent it, oh Lord. Lord and Father, in the lives of people, oh Lord, may it bear much fruit, oh Lord, 30, 60, and 100 fold. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Today, I'm going to talk about only one thing, but I'll be repeating that five times. Recently, in my daily devotions, I came across the "one thing" in the Word of God, and that's what I want to share with each and every one of you today. But let me tell you the secret at the start itself, so that you're not in suspense, like when you read a novel. In the five things that I'm going to talk about, it's all about knowing Jesus, and it's all about a relationship with Jesus. So keep that in mind. It's all about knowing Jesus, and it's all about a relationship with Jesus.

So let us go to the first "one thing": knowing God is at the heart of prayer. And where we see this, we see this in Psalms 27:4, which says, "One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple." You know, right, the Psalms were written by King David, and it was written much before the temple was established. And here, David is talking about a different type of temple. And we know from the Word of God that David was a man after God's own heart. Where do we see that? We see that in Acts 13:22. So if he was after God's own heart, he knew God's heart better than anyone else. And that is what David is telling us. After knowing the heart of God, David is telling us what? In the Psalms, there's only one thing that I desire: to be in the house of the Lord.

Thank you very much, dear brothers and sisters, for being here today, because this is a divine choice that you have made, and God will bless you abundantly for what you have done. And even when he was chastened, and even when he had committed sin, and Nathan the prophet came and told him, we see the beauty about this is like Saul, he did not want to hide his sin. He was only worried about one thing. What was he worried about? That we see in Psalms 51:11 and 12. He says, "Do not cast me from Your presence or take away Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and renew a right spirit within me." That's the beautiful song that we sing. See the heart? When you know the heart of God, all that you desire is to please Him. If you know someone's heart, you would not want to do things that hurt that person. You would always like to do things that please Him. And what pleases the heart of God? To be with Him, to be in His presence, to adore Him, to exalt His holy name, to bless Him. That is what pleases the heart of God, and it is so beautiful.

Like I was saying, David got this vision or this revelation about the temple of God that we are today. If you look at the Word of God, it tells us that in 1 Corinthians 6:19, that we are the temple of God. The Holy Spirit abides in us. And should we not then do things that please the Holy Spirit? He is there to lead us and to guide us. He's not left us alone. We are not doing this on our own strength, but we are doing it with the power of the Holy Spirit that is within us. And that is His desire: to enjoy the Holy Spirit's presence. How do you enjoy the Holy Spirit's presence? To listen to His voice and be guided and led by Him, because He is your comforter and He is your guide. And then, when you abide in the Holy Spirit, then you will enjoy the life in abundance that John 10:10 talks about. He says, the Lord Jesus came to give life and life in abundance or more abundantly. Then only will you be able to understand and enjoy this life that He's given you, this life which is full of joy, which is life everlasting.

"You know, it is so beautiful what is said about David in 1 Samuel 13:14 when the Lord is speaking to Samuel. He says that Saul does not do what I have commanded him to do, so I am searching for a person who is after my own heart. That's what we saw again in Acts 13:22, that he found the person in David who was after his own heart. And would you -- it also says further in Psalms 13:36 that David fulfilled all that the Lord had purposed for him in his generation. He fulfilled all that the Lord had purposed for him in his generation. Would you not want the Lord to say, 'Add your name,' and say, 'Surj, you fulfilled all that the Lord planned in your generation'? That is the heart. That is the one thing that we should desire. And King David had the heart of prayer, and this was the one thing that he sought above everything else. What do you seek today? That's a question for each and every one of us. What do we seek today above everything else? Is it to please the Lord? Is it the Lord Jesus Christ? That is the question that only you and I can answer. The second one thing that we will talk about, knowing God, is at the heart of surrender. And the beautiful verse in Mark 10:21 says, 'Then Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven. And come, take up your cross and follow me." This is the story about the Rich Young Ruler. But before that, remember one thing: There is a difference between respecting God and making him first in our lives. And respecting this principle will make you go further in the kingdom of God. Remember, Pastor always says this, right: 'Money makes a good servant but a bad master.' And that is the example that we see here today. And Matthew 6:20-21 tells you -- what does it tell you? I will read it in another version than what is written there. Instead, 'Stockpile heavenly treasures for yourself that cannot be stolen, and it will never rust, decay, or lose their value. For your heart will always pursue what you value as your treasure.' Now, this young man, this young ruler, had come to Jesus, and Jesus asked him, 'Have you followed all the Ten Commandments?' And he says, 'Yes, I have obeyed this.' But then we see after that, the Lord telling him what we read just now. And Jesus challenged him to complete surrender. What does the first commandment of the Lord say? 'Thou shall love thy God with all your heart, all your strength, all your mind.' If that is how he loved God, would he not leave the riches for the kingdom of God? That's the one thing that he lacked. He was probably worried about God's provision for him. He was worried about the fear of losing everything. He was worried about losing his status, his dignity, his position, his wealth, maybe his influence in society. And that's the same question Jesus is also asking each and every one of us: Would you leave everything for me? Let me give you an example: You go to one of these jewelry shops -- I will not say Tanish because my wife will pull me up -- say any jewelry shop, okay? And the jewelry shop owner gives you a proposal. He says, 'You give me everything that you have -- money, property, whatever -- and I will give you everything that is there in this shop. Will you take that or not? Will anyone refuse here?' But that's what we do in the kingdom of God. God owns everything, and the little that we have, we hold onto it, and we do not want to give it to the kingdom of God to get all that is available for us. Sounds familiar? You know what he lost that day by not giving up his treasure? He lost salvation. And dear brothers and sisters, let that not be our story, that for something else, for riches, for possessions, that we lose our salvation and the offer, the bumper offer, Diwali or whatever Christmas or New Year offer that the Lord has for us. You know, it is so beautiful: The Lord will never tell you to do anything if he has not done it himself. What did he do? He gave his everything. He gave his only begotten son. He gave the richest treasure in heaven for who? For you and me. For you and me, correct? And that is why his expectation also is that the little that we have, we give it so that we can get all that he has. So, it's like, you know, he's doing that exchange with you: You give me what you have, I will give you what I have. And what does God have? The gold and the silver, diamonds -- it's not written there, but the gold and the silver, the cattle on a thousand hills -- everything is the Lord's. And we do not even know all the beautiful treasures that are in the other planets and the celestial bodies. We only know what is on Earth, and that also, we only know a little bit of it. That is what we see, that he lacked total submission, and we should also look at every area of our life to see whether we are completely submitted to God in everything. You know, if you cannot give -- and here the subject is knowing the heart of surrender -- if you cannot surrender your everything, you will never understand what surrender according to the Lord is."

You know, many times I think about Judas, you know which Judas I'm talking about, right? Judas Iscariot, who was a disciple of the Lord and he was also the treasurer. And the word of God says that he used to take out money and use it for his own purpose. Now, listen carefully to what I'm going to say. Many times I have done the same. Also, the Lord has told me to give to someone and I said, "Lord, if you're telling me 100, I will only give 90." He's given you 100 to give, and I said, "Lord, I only want to give 90 and I want to keep the 10 for myself." Sometimes I also say, when the Lord tells me to give, I say, "Get behind me, Satan." Yeah, yeah, I've done that. Maybe you all are pious and holy and it's never happened, but I have done that. But remember one thing, if the Lord is telling you to bless someone, it can't be the devil. The devil doesn't believe in blessing. Blessings only come from the Lord. Amen, amen, amen. Not only that, I also have a good exchange. He says 100, I say 90. Lord lets 10, okay, you're not 90, 95, 97, and keeps on going, on going, and going. And there is no rest in your heart till you have done what the Lord has told you to do. And so beautifully, I realized during the prayer and fasting, do you remember what was said? It was said, "Do not pray for what you can pay for." Do not pray for what you can pray for. And I have done it many times. I said, "Brother, I will pray for you. I have it in my pocket." But I say, "Brother, I pray for you that the Lord will provide you what you are looking for, but I do not want to take out my purse and gift you. You need to surrender everything." And the same way Jesus is challenging us today that what do you need to leave behind? What is holding you back from this complete surrender?

The third thing we will talk about is knowing God at the heart of service. Many of times you have heard this verse, Luke 10:42, "But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her." In the word of God, we are talking about the M&M sisters, Martha and Mary, yeah? Okay, who were very close to Jesus and there was a gathering at their home. And Martha was busy taking care that there would be enough of things on the table for all the people that had come in. And Mary was sitting at Jesus's feet and listening to what Jesus was saying. Both were serving the Lord, right? Both were serving the Lord, correct? But when Mary started complaining, that's when the Lord said to her that one thing is needed. And what is that one thing? What is that one thing? Sit at the feet of the Lord and listen to him. I told you, all the five one things are about knowing Jesus and it is about knowing God and having a relationship with Jesus. Because if you want to do service, if you want to work in the Kingdom of God, the first thing or the one thing that is required is for you to understand the heart of God. Because the heart of God is the service of God, because he is the master servant. If you cannot learn from the master servant, you cannot go ahead and do what you want to. If you look at Proverbs 4:20-23, I will read it from the message version. Dear friends, listen well to my words, tune your ears to my voice, keep my message in plain view at all times, concentrate, learn it by heart. Those who discover these words live, really live, body and soul. They are bursting with health. Keep vigilant watch over your heart, that's where life starts. And that is why it is important to understand the word of God, to understand God, to have a relationship with God, because he talks about your health, talks about your life, talks about your body and talks about your soul, all being in good health. Even in our serving, like I told you, it starts by knowing God and His Kingdom. Matthew 6:33, a very common passage, "But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." What is seeking the Kingdom of God? Many times, we read a lot of verses but we don't digest it and we don't churn upon it. And that is what the word "meditate on the word of God" means. So, what is he saying in Proverbs? In Matthew by saying seeking the Kingdom of God, what is that? What is seeking the Kingdom of God? I told you, everything is about Jesus. It is seeking Jesus, because He is the physical representation of the Kingdom of God. He is the physical representation. When you say, "Seek ye the Kingdom of God," it is seeking Jesus, establishing a relationship with Jesus, because that is the foundation. And we know there is no other way to the Father but through Him. Amen, amen. Many of times we can choose what we want to do in our own time because time is, and He's given us free will, and He's given each and every one of us 24 hours in a day, right? If someone has less or someone has more, please come and we can have a good theological discussion after the church. And that is what we need to find time, like Mary, to sit at the feet of Jesus. Because otherwise, we will not be able to understand His heart of service. And it is important to organize time. And Pastor always tells us, fix a time, be in a quiet place, and enjoy the presence of God, whether you read the Bible, whether you're praying, whether you're worshiping, whether hearing from God. But find a quiet time and a quiet place. You know why? Why do you need to find a quiet place and a quiet time? So that you can quieten your hearts. It is all about your heart and Jesus. And that's where you can connect. And I always say, you cannot give what you do not have. So if you want a heart of service, you have to receive the heart of service from Christ Jesus. Then only will you be able to do this service that the Lord has put into your heart. Because out of the abundance of your heart, everything will come out, all good things will come out.

The fourth thing that I wanted to talk about today is knowing God, which is the heart of witness. John 9:25, he answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see." The story is about a man who was born blind and Jesus healed him. And instead of, I would say, enjoying what had happened to this person, instead of celebrating, they were focused not on the miracle, but on why did He do it on a Sabbath. You understand? Many times

, we as the children of God, focus more on the law and less on the grace. We focus more on the law and less on the grace. Remember, the law was given by Moses, but truth and grace came through Christ Jesus. And that is why, and then they ask him 101 questions and things like that. But he says, he says beautifully, one thing he says, one thing I know, that I was blind, but now I see. Let that be your testimony. The one thing I know, I was a sinner, but today I have been set free. The one thing you should know, that I was wicked, but today I am righteous in the sight of God. That is the one thing, and that should be your testimony. Do not get engaged with people trying to theologically convince them about your salvation, something private the Lord has done for you, something beautiful that the Lord has done for you, which you know better than anyone else. Speak to people about your testimony. And that is what we are doing, that is what we are doing after the 21 days of prayer and fasting. Speak about your testimony, because that is the only thing that will touch hearts, and that is what the Lord has done for you. Then the people will come back to you asking for more, asking for you to pray for them, asking you to tell them more about this beautiful God that you serve. That's when you talk about the message of salvation, that's when you tell them how to follow Jesus. And that's what I wanted to tell you, brothers and sisters, today. Your heart of witness should stem out of what Christ has done for you, that one thing. That one thing will touch someone else's life. Do not keep it to yourself. Speak it out with the people, so that it can also touch their lives. This salvation message, this that the Lord has given you, is to witness to the others. See how beautifully this blind man that was healed, he said, "I do not know anything about him, but one thing I know, I could not see. Today, I can see." And that, I believe, brothers and sisters, is each one of our testimonies today. And that is what we need to share with the whole world. Amen, amen.

So, the question that I will ask you is, when did you last witness about what God is doing in your life? Think about that. When did you last witness about what God is doing in your life?

The last thing is, knowing God is at the heart of ambition. And this is what Paul is talking about, Philippians 3:13-14, "Brethren, I do not count myself to be apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things that are ahead." Paul did not let his past determine his future, because many times, memories of the past have a strange way of holding and pulling you back from moving forward in the kingdom of God. He had a goal, and he went for that goal. His one purpose in life, one singular purpose, was that one thing that he wanted to do, is what the Lord had told him to do, and move forward. And that is what we should also focus upon, forget what is behind. Don't allow your past and your fears to hold you in your walk with Christ. You will have troubles, you will have storms, you will have difficulties. But greater is He who is with you than who is in the world. The Holy Spirit will lead you and guide you. He will raise up a standard by the power of His might, not your might, His might. And that is what will see you overcome every challenge, every difficulty. And you will see progress and growth in your life. If you need to forgive yourself, forgive yourself. Stop blaming yourself for what has happened and move forward. Forgive those who have hurt you. Let not these memories hold you back from what the Lord has planned and purposed for you to become. Believe one thing, dear brothers and sisters, that you have been created for love, for God's love. And you have been created to love others. You have been created for love and to love. Isaiah 43:18 and 19 says, "Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth, shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. If you do not remember, remember that. Then what the Lord is promising, He will do, is the second part of the verse. Springs of living water will flow out. He will make roads, He will make ways for you where you thought it was impossible. And you will see rivers in the desert. Have you ever seen rivers in the desert? You will see if you believe the Lord. You forget about the latter things. What is your ambition in the kingdom of God? Ask yourself this. What is your ambition in the kingdom of God? Are you low? Are you like Paul, striving to finish the race and get the appreciation from the Lord and the crown that is waiting for each and every one of us? What is your ambition and where are you in your race today? Many of times when we show the race and like I have shown here the race, it seems like 100 m, you just run and you finish the race. This is a marathon that each and every one of us have. Where are you in the race? Have you given your name to be a part of the race? Or you are at the starting line? Or you are at the middle? Or you are about to finish? So, when you look at these five verses today, we see five different people from five different backgrounds. But the heart of each story is the one thing we need to understand, and that is knowing God and having a relationship with God. Keep checking all along your life, are you increasing in these two things? Are you going deeper and deeper into these things? Through David, in the first verse, we saw that knowing God is at the heart of prayer. So enjoy the presence and the guidance of the Holy Spirit as He lives in you, leads you, and guides you. Through the Rich Young Ruler, we see knowing God is at the heart of total surrender. Follow Him, love Jesus more than anything else, and you will do great exploits in the kingdom of God. Thirdly, like through Mary, we see that knowing God is at the heart of service. Had it not been for Mary, we wouldn't have known what Mary was doing. Manage your time, choose to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen before you can go out and serve in the Kingdom of God. Through the blind man, we see knowing God is at the heart of witness. Tell others what the Lord has done in your life. Tell them, "I was blind, but now I see." Tell them what you know the best. Tell them about your testimony. And through St. Paul, we see knowing God is at the heart of ambition. Press on, don't look back, don't give up in the middle of the storm, and strive for the prize and the crown that the Lord has set before you. Amen, amen. Hallelujah, let's give the Lord a huge round of applause.